Malcolm I Glazer

Manchester United, the world's wealthiest and arguably most famous soccer club, became American property in all but name Thursday. Malcolm Glazer, the billionaire owner of the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, achieved effective control of the English team by buying a 28.7% stake in the club from Irish racehorse owners J.P. McManus and John Magnier. That raised Glazer's share in the 127-year-old team to 56.9% and paved the way for a complete takeover.

Not to suggest that some Manchester United fans are unhappy, but the message on a placard here would be difficult to misconstrue. It read, "Glazer, watch your back!" Ever since American sports baron Malcolm Glazer announced Monday that he had secured enough shares to take control of the most fabled name in British football, known as soccer in the U.S., supporters have been in an uproar. And supporters is probably too mild a word for the devotion some feel for the Red Devils.

Tampa Bay Buccaneer owner Malcolm Glazer's bid to buy the Dodgers appears to be part of a larger plan to bring the NFL back to Los Angeles, either through the expansion market or the relocation of an existing team. Sources say Glazer, 74, has been telling people that "Los Angeles is a $1-billion market for the NFL," and that he is interested in building a new football stadium on the Dodgers' 300-acre Chavez Ravine site.

Malcolm Glazer's ownership of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers may not be an impediment to his family acquiring the Dodgers after all. In a meeting with sports editors before the draft Saturday in New York, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue said that Glazer could buy the Dodgers and remain the owner of the Buccaneers as long as the enterprises were operated separately.

Although the sale of the Dodgers to Tampa Bay Buccaneer owner Malcolm Glazer remains possible, negotiations have been slowed -- if not significantly threatened -- by complex financing regulations in the NFL and Major League Baseball, high-ranking executives in both sports said Tuesday.

The protracted attempt by Malcolm Glazer to buy the Dodgers remains plagued by the Tampa Bay Buccaneer owner's inability to satisfy cross-ownership rules in baseball and the National Football League, multiple sources said again Tuesday. Negotiations are not dead, but the sources could not predict when -- or if -- they will be completed.

Palm Beach financier Malcolm Glazer agreed to buy the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a record price Monday, winning a bidding war that featured baseball owners George Steinbrenner and Peter Angelos. Glazer, who failed in five other efforts to land professional franchises, pledged to keep the NFL team in town.

Tom Werner, chairman of the San Diego Padres, has reached a tentative agreement to sell the team to Malcolm I. Glazer for $82.5 million, sources told The Times. Glazer is CEO of First Allied Corp. of Boynton Beach, Fla., a financial institution with investments in real estate and TV stations. His agreement with Werner hinges on the approval of other owners, a process believed to have started informally. Werner was attending an owners meeting in Cincinnati on Wednesday and could not be reached.

Florida businessman Malcolm Glazer is negotiating to buy a portion of the San Diego Padres, but an investment banker said a deal isn't imminent. Paul Wachter, managing director of West Coast investment banking for Wertheim Schroder & Co., denied a report in Thursday's Times that Padres chairman and managing partner Tom Werner had reached a tentative agreement to sell the team to Glazer for $82.5 million. "We're still having discussions with them, but we're not that close," Wachter said.

Malcolm Glazer, who last week was reported to be on the verge of making an offer to buy Victor Kiam's 51% interest of the New England Patriots, is said to be no longer interested in buying the NFL team.