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LOS ANGELES DODGERS MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 28, 1999

VINCE SCULLY: Welcome to this exciting chapter in baseball history. I would like to thank the good folks here at Staple Center for allowing us the use of the hall. As you may or may not know, Dodger Stadium is going under extensive remodeling so it was kind, indeed, to be given the facility here today.
I would also like to tell you that by satellite this press conference will also be seen in New York. We have several friends of ours who are back there covering the World Series and they will be taking it all in from the News Corp. Headquarters in New York City.
Another thing I would like to ask you is after the principals have given their little brief chats, after that, questions will be open. We will start the questioning here in Los Angeles. There will be portable microphones, and we would ask you whether it winds up here or in New York, would you please give your name and your affiliation and then direct your question to whomever. For me, if I can inject a personal thought, it is a remarkable, wonderful moment.
Over my lifetime with the Dodgers, I've served as a bridge; the bridge was first constructed in the days of Branch Rickey. Then I was the bridge to Walter O'Malley. Then I was the bridge to Peter O'Malley. Then I was the bridge to News Corporation and today I am yet another bridge.
I am seriously thinking about charging a toll.
(Laughter.)
However, without further ado, as this bridge will be involved in the passing of the torch, I would like you to meet with the President Chief Operating Officer of News Corporation, Mr. Peter Chernin.
PETER CHERNIN: Thank you. I've always actually wanted to be introduced by Vince Scully. It's kind of got a nice ring to it.
Thank you all for coming. I'll try to keep my part very brief since I think there are some other things you're probably interested in.
This is an extremely exciting day for the Los Angeles Dodgers, for the loyal fans of the Dodgers and I think for the future of baseball in Los Angeles.
It is my privilege today to announce my colleague and friend, a man I respect enormously, Bob Daly, who became Chairman and CEO of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
At the same time Bob is joined with Fox Entertainment Group as a minority partner, minority owner of the team and also control person for Major League Baseball.
In his distinguished career, first at CBS then for the past 20 years at Warner Brothers, Bob is, I think, been the icon of entertainment executives. A person that people like myself have looked up to as a model, not only as a model of success but more importantly a model of character and dignity and how to act in one of these jobs and act in these sort of pressure situations in a way that one's integrity is never under question and one's dignity is never under question.
And in that sense, I think Bob has been an enormous winner at everything he's touched, clearly a winner in the performance basis. But, again, more importantly, I think a winner on the character basis.
By bringing in Bob to run the team and share ownership of the team, we have found the best possible person to help us return the Dodgers to excellence and to the status of champions that we think our fans so richly deserve.
Bob brings to the organization not only his history of success, but also a deeply held passion for the Dodgers, and, more importantly, proven skills as a manager and business executive.
Bob knows what it takes to put together a winning team; to put together a winning organization. He's done it throughout his career. He's done it by attracting the strongest executives, highly skilled people and in giving them the support, the nurturing and the care they need to compete in extremely difficult competitive environments.
I think he has a remarkable ability to identify and more importantly to nurture talent, and we expect him to bring those skills to the Dodgers.
We're now asking Bob to return those prodigious talents into a new but familiar direction and we have given him a clear and very direct mandate: Make the Dodgers winners again.
Bob will control the operations of the team. He will function in every respect as a CEO of a corporation, with the responsibility for direction and the operations of the organization.
Bob and I, and other people at News Corp., had a lot of conversations over the last weeks and months, gone to a couple games together -- I think we won those games, right? And not only have we spent a lot of time ironing out this agreement, but more importantly, I think reaching a complete agreement about the kinds of priorities and what we need to return this team to the winning path.
I'd also like just at this moment to take a brief moment to also thank an important colleague of both of ours who's been instrumental in making this happen which is Peter O'Malley, both a long-time friend of Bob's and who has been a remarkable supporter for all of us at Fox during these times, and who would have been with us today had he not been in Japan on some previously arranged business. I think all of us, I think as Vince is a bridge, in many respects so is Peter a bridge. We send him thanks.
On behalf of Peter, Rupert Murdoch, myself, Chase and all of us at Fox, we want to welcome you, Bob, we look forward to not only working with you, but hopefully winning some games together. Thank you very much.
(Applause.)
BOB DALY: Boy am I happy. As Peter said, I have been very blessed that I've had a wonderful career, first at CBS, which I call Chapter 1. I was there for 25 years. That's where I met Mr. Scully, about 25 years ago. Then I've been at Warner Brothers and had a long run, and I've been very happy there.
I decided, you know, when I was running CBS, I had a lot of passion. CBS was a passion; the Dodgers were a passion; my family was a passion. When I went to Warner Brothers, it was Warner Brothers, it was the Dodgers, it was my family.
Now I get a chance, obviously my family is my number 1 passion, but my number 2 passion is now the Dodgers.
I just want to say one thing. When we started to have our conversations, Rupert and Peter and Chase and I, I wanted to put money into the Dodgers, because I wanted to put my money up and be responsible and if we do well, I'm going to be successful and if we don't do well, it's going to cost me money. But I wanted to prove to everybody that not only is my heart in this, but so is my wallet. I plan on doing everything I can to bring the Dodgers back to the tradition that I feel they should be at. I can only say that I started to be a Brooklyn Dodger fan when I was six years old. I told Peter O'Malley when I became friends with him, close to 20 years ago, that his father -- I didn't talk about his father for a long time because I was heart-broken when the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles.
Then I moved to Los Angeles in 1977 and I never wanted to go back to New York. I love Los Angeles. I love the Dodgers. I have lived with the excitement of the Dodgers, and I have lived through some tough moments over the years, and each one of them would set the tone on how I come to the dinner table or how I go to work the next morning.
I've always run a company thinking about it as a team. I believe in team, for those of you who know my situation at Warner Brothers, I had a partner in Terry Semel, we were equal partners.
My job has always been to deal with people, make them feel they're special. Bring out the best in people, if I can, and make people really believe that they can do the job. I do not do people's jobs; they do their own job. But I am a tough boss because I am on top of it; I know what goes on; I will challenge the people at the Dodgers, but, eventually, the people that run the various items will make the final decision. But I will challenge them and I will try to help them in any way I can.
I've spent my life dealing with lawyers, agents for talent, I've spent my life dealing with talent. I know that eventually it comes down to what are you willing to pay somebody. But I am a believer that relationships matter. I'm a believer that people have to feel good about working for an organization. I think players have to feel good about the team, and I will try to instill that in the Dodgers and in the people that work at the Dodgers.
I would also like to say that it is unbelievable to me that Rupert Murdoch and Peter and Chase had the confidence to allow what is a minority shareholder to be the managing partner. I can only say to him he made a dream come true for a kid from Brooklyn. I promise you all that I will do everything; I will be at Dodger Stadium every day and I will do everything I can to bring the tradition back to the Dodgers and make them, in everything I can do, a winning ballclub.
I've had the job only for less than 24 hours, so I'm going to sit down. If you want to ask me any questions, I'll be glad to answer them.

Q. Mr. Daly, do you have the option to buy more than the percentage of already purchased and eventually perhaps become the majority owner? I also have a question for Peter, too.
BOB DALY: No, the deal is not structured that I would ever become the majority owner. Major League Baseball, because they have to approve the deal, will not allow us to discuss any of the terms of the deal, but I will always be a minority shareholder. Fox will always be the owner.

Q. Peter, one question. Where does Rick Welts fit into this thing?
PETER CHERNIN: Rick Welts has done so many duties helping to supervise the Dodgers over the coming months as we set forth to look for the best possible candidate to take over the Dodgers. I think Rick was a part of the process in helping us, and Rick joins us in feeling that we succeeded in what we set out to do, find the best possible candidate. Rick will continue his extremely wide range of responsibilities.

Q. Peter, Steve Springer with the Los Angeles Times. Was there a feeling at Fox that maybe this was not the kind of thing that nonbaseball people should be involved with? Was there a feeling you had to be away because there hadn't been a lot of success?
PETER CHERNIN: No. Look, I think we have been very consistent and I remain consistent, which is that this has never been a short-term situation for us. A team, you know, it's as if waking up and saying the success of the Yankees happened in the last 12 months. The success of a team is a long-term phenomenon. What we've try to do in the brief time we've owned the team is provide the resources, help support the leadership. I don't think this is Fox trying to retreat. I think this is Fox having an opportunity to get what we think is one of the top business executives in this city. A man who is deeply committed to both this city and this team. And so I think this was a unique opportunity as opposed to in any sense whatsoever either a retreat or feeling of defeat. We're not happy with the performance of the team, but I don't think any of us went into this with the illusions you snap your fingers and everything happens. It's a long process and we're committed to that process, as I know Bob is.

Q. As a businessman and as a fan, what, in your view, has been wrong with the Dodgers the last couple of years and what would you like to see changed?
BOB DALY: I think, as I've said, I've had the job for less than 24 hours. What I learned a long time ago is I only know how I feel as a fan. It is wrong to make comments about something until you had a chance to get on the inside and talk to people. I'm going to not answer that question directly other than the fact that I would like to see more wins. As a fan, I would have been happier with more wins than losses.
But other than that, I am very happy. I am a huge fan of Kevin Malone. I've known Kevin. I've talked to him over the years, last summer, last spring I spent some time with him in spring training. I'm a big fan of Davey Johnson, I followed his career as a player and as a manager.
With Kevin and Davey, I'm assuming that we will have a better year next year but predicting more than that, I wouldn't want to do today.

Q. Bob, congratulations. What do you feel are the strengths and the weaknesses of this Dodger ballclub as we go into the new millennium?
BOB DALY: Well, again, Rick, by the way, I'm a big fan of yours. I listen to you all the time.
But, again, it's very hard for me, today, and I'll be happy to talk to you after I'm in the job for a month or so, but it's hard for me today, having the job for less than 24 hours, to do an analysis of what I think is wrong with the Dodgers or anything else. I do think the Dodgers had a lot of bad breaks last year, a few things have gone wrong.
I think the one thing that I really feel strongly about is that in order to be a winning team or a winning company or anything else, you have to have a winning attitude and everybody has to row together. And to me, if I instill anything on the team, that's what I'm going to try to do, and I am going to take an active role in making sure the communication is open and everybody knows what's going on and everybody will do their best and beyond that, I think it's inappropriate for me to answer anything more on that.

Q. Sports agents, for years, have been justifying the colossal payments to their players, have been comparing sport, actually, to entertainment. They would say well, the player, you can't judge him by being an athlete. A movie star makes this amount of money, so it only makes sense to pay this player this amount. It seems like that comparison has been validated today by your appointment in a sense that we now have a studio executive who's in charge of a baseball team. I'm just wondering, to a large degree do you see Dodger Stadium in a sense as a great big studio, that this is less a sport than it is just an entertainment product and your players are actors?
BOB DALY: If I can answer that, first of all, as I said, I put my own money in this, so I wanted to put myself on the line.
Secondly, there is a difference. And I'm not justifying the salary of the movie stars yet, but when you produce a movie, you own it for life. There's ancillary rights, a movie lasts 50 years, you have the right to sell it, replay it, anything else. When you make a commitment to an athlete, and I know they have a limited span of when they're going to be able to earn money, but you run a risk that they could get hurt or something could happen.
I think there is a difference. I am not going to bring a movie mentality to running the Dodgers, but I will bring the mentality of treating athletes like I've treated actors or directors or anything else. And that is to respect their ability, to be courteous to them and to do the best I can. But we have to run the Dodgers like any other business in a way in which we hopefully can make a few bucks.
So I don't see it as the same thing.

Q. Getting on to that entertainment aspect, in a lot of the new ballparks, particularly in Phoenix, there is an entertainment fiasco that goes along with the attendance of the baseball game. Dodger Stadium has become a shrine, along with Wrigley Field and Fenway Park, and a place where baseball and players on the field are of paramount importance and that's what you're watching. What do you see in terms of making Dodger Stadium, like you say, a place to make more money or to become more of that full-on, entertainment decimation? Or does the purist in you want to see it stay very much just a baseball venue?
BOB DALY: Obviously as you know there are a lot of changes going on in Dodger Stadium. I happen to love Dodger Stadium. Every time I go to Dodger Stadium, I feel like it's a brand new ballpark. I love looking out; I love everything about it.
But, again, some of these newer stadiums obviously have venues where they can make additional money to help support the cost of the players. Obviously that's something we will look at. But I do love Dodger Stadium. I love going there. I think it's a wonderful place.
So there's a little part of me that is traditionalist, but obviously I'm a business man, too. I'll take both into account. I think Dodger Stadium is a wonderful place to go and I think the fans enjoy it. I go there at least 20 times a year, over the last 20 years. I've enjoyed every night I've been there.
BOB DALY: I don't think they're mutually exclusive. I think we can increase the revenue of Dodger Stadium while still keeping the focus on the tradition of baseball and the tradition of the Dodgers. I think that's what we're both interested in.
BOB DALY: That's right. I'd like to add one thing about Rick. I didn't know Rick, but I met Rick, and I have to tell you something.
I am going to pick his brain, because he is one of the best marketing guys I've talked to. He has an unbelievable record coming from the NBA and I just want you to know that I'm the type of person that anybody that can help me do my job, I'm going to talk to. If anybody else has any suggestions, just call me.

Q. Mr. Chernin, it's been reported by some of my colleagues that the role that Mr. Daly will be assuming will be similar to the role of George Steinbrenner and the Yankees and Al Davis with the Oakland Raiders. Will Mr. Daily be that visible and that responsible for the operation of the Dodgers?
PETER CHERNIN: I can't comment on Mr. Steinbrenner and Mr. Davis. What I can say is two things.
I think that Bob is not, certainly in the years I've known him, interested in flamboyance or visible for visibility sake. But Bob will have day-to-day operating control of all aspects of the team and the business of the Los Angeles Dodgers. And I think that, you know, in my view that's how you hire the best people to run an operation. That's the kind of responsibility that Bob had at the studio, that I had at the studio. We wouldn't have it any other way. You spend your life as a businessman trying to get the best people in and you give them the responsibility to run the team, to make it work. I think we do have the added benefit of Bob having invested his own money. Even without that, you try to get good people and give them an opportunity to do their job. Bob will have absolute day-to-day control of the business of the team and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
BOB DALY: And we are not moving the team.

Q. Mr. Daly, I was wondering what your perception of baseball salary structure in general is, and what your feeling -- early feeling is about the Dodger payroll and where it should go or whether it should be lowered, perhaps?
BOB DALY: Again, it really would be premature for me to sit down. I don't even know exactly what the Dodger payroll is. I've read about it in the newspaper. I'm going to sit down this afternoon with Kevin and go over the salary structure and what the status of the players are.
Obviously, we'd love to see the payroll lower, whether that is feasible or not, I don't know. And certainly not in the short-term. But what we really want to do -- and Peter and I have talked about it -- obviously we want to deliver the best team for the fans in Los Angeles. I don't necessarily think spending the most money guarantees you the best team, but there are a lot of commitments that have been made and I think there's a lot of terrific players on the Dodgers, and hopefully the farm system will produce new, young players over the next few years. I don't have any set feeling on whether the payroll should go up or down other than the fact that in my brief conversation with Kevin I know there are quite a number of commitments that have been made and the good part is they're very good players.

Q. Mr. Daly, are you going to have an office at Dodger Stadium?
BOB DALY: Absolutely.

Q. You'll be there every day?
BOB DALY: Absolutely.

Q. What's the accessibility to the media and fans as far as, you know, as visible and as easy as Peter O'Malley was to deal with?
BOB DALY: I didn't hear that.

Q. Are you going to be accessible to the media and, therefore, the city's fans?
BOB DALY: I have never not returned a phone call in my life for anybody that's ever called me. You can check my reputation on that.
So if you call, I'll talk to you.

Q. Finally, as far as the total control issue is concerned, let's say you want to sign a free agent, is there any circumstances where you would have to talk to Fox or can you do that without checking in?
BOB DALY: I would just say this, I am a firm believer, I am a minority shareholder in Fox. I would not do anything that would commit the Dodgers to an amount of money that would be in somebody's terms, "staggering," without having a conversation with the Fox people. But that will be a decision that Kevin and I will be making.
But clearly, as a partner and since Fox is the majority shareholder, I certainly will keep them abreast of what's going on and we will take everything into account when we try to find a new player.
But obviously, it is our desire to bring the best players to Los Angeles.

Q. It's been written today that Bob Graziano may come back in a position with the organization and I was just wondering what the status of that is at this point.
BOB DALY: Let me just say that, as I said, yesterday roughly at noon time, we finalized my arrangement.
I notified some people at the Dodgers that I was going to come aboard, one which was Bob. Bob did come to my house yesterday afternoon. I had about a 15-minute meeting with him. I've known Bob for a long time. I asked him to please stay there and help me through the transition. I said to him, when the dust settles, we should sit down and we should talk about what you want to do with your life and whether there's a role for you at the Dodgers.
I happen to know Bob for a very long period of time. I have a very high regard for him. I think he loves the Dodgers, and if there's a right role for Bob and he wants to take it, we'll sit and discuss it. Obviously, I haven't had the job for more than 24 hours yet.
PETER CHERNIN: I'd also like to add, it's not inconsistent with what Fox's plans have been all along, what we announced at the end of August or the beginning of September. All we had done, we informed Bob we were going to bring someone in as the Chairman of the Dodgers, which is what we've done now. We said to Bob then as we said to him now we would like him to remain in a capacity either with the Dodgers or Fox Sports, we value his contributions and that as a courtesy we didn't want him to hear on the outside that we wanted to bring in somebody.
So we hope the two Bobs can work something out or that Bob will stay with Fox in some capacity.

Q. Peter, I've had sources tell me Bob does not currently have a contract with the Dodgers. The perception is that he was fired. If he's going to come back and help in the transition, does he not have to first have a contract? And, what about the perception that he was fired?
PETER CHERNIN: First of all, Bob was in no way, shape or form fired. I'll say it again. Bob was told that we would bring in a chairman above him. We had no desire to remove him. It was up to him whether he wanted to stay or not stay. He does have a contract with the Dodgers, which we're prepared to honor for him to stay, or, you know, settle out his contract should he choose to leave.
He wasn't fired then. He isn't fired now.

Q. Mr. Daly, you've been a long-time friend of Tom Lasorda. I was wondering if his role in the organization will change at all with your situation?
BOB DALY: I think, first of all, Tommy Lasorda is one of my closest friends. We've known each other for a long time, and he's -- I think I said to him before, I think we've had 125 lunches over the last 20 years.
Tommy is, to me, a very important part of the Dodgers, and I know that him and Kevin Malone work very closely together. Obviously, I will use everybody at the Dodgers to help me run the Dodgers. I hope Tommy stays forever. He is, as far as I'm concerned, one of the most important Dodgers.
So I look forward to his wisdom and I know Kevin looks forward to continuing to work with Tommy and I hope he stays forever. I'm sure we'll have a lot of discussions.

Q. Mr. Daly, you said earlier that you're confidence that Kevin and Davey will produce more wins next year. I'm wondering, is there something you know that we don't know? Or what kind of information do you have about that?
BOB DALY: Well, I don't have any more information than you have. I do know, as a person who actually, you know, watches, listens to or follows on the sports track every single Dodger game. I know last season was a tough season, and I know that the caliber of the people -- of the players on the Dodgers, in my opinion, are very good. Obviously there needs to be some adjustment and that's something that Kevin and I and Davey and everybody else, Tommy, who ever else, will be talking about. There's a general manager' meeting that takes place in November and I'm sure there will be things that will be discussed and there will be free agents becoming available.
Obviously the plan is to help the team along and help the holes that need to be fixed. Again, I don't have anything I can tell you today, although I am confident that we will have a better year. That's as far as I am willing to predict. I won't predict anything more than we will have a better year.

Q. You talked about the tradition of the Dodgers. What kind of things would you like to see be done to enhance the tradition of the Dodgers?
BOB DALY: Well, I think that, to me, the most important thing -- and, again, this is just my feeling -- one of the most important things is for the people at Dodger Stadium and the people that work with the Dodgers, feel good about their surroundings, the team, and everything else. I've learned a long time ago it's very important, when you show up for work, to have a great feeling about where you are and who you work for. And one of the things that I intend to do -- and that's why I will spend every day at Dodger Stadium, and I did this when I was out in Warner Brothers. I knew everybody at Warner Brothers, I knew the gardeners, the guards at the gate. I walk around a lot, get to know people.
First we have to bring an attitude back that this is an group effort. Every time we win I want the ushers and guards and everybody that works there to have a good feeling. Also what will help the feeling, if we get a few more wins.
But in addition to that, I think everybody has to know that there's going to be -- every effort is going to be made on the part of everybody that works for the Dodgers to do a better job. And that's what I mean by that.
When I left Warner Brothers after 20 years, I shook hands with every single person that came up to me, and most of them were waiters, secretaries, gardeners, all of the executives. I plan on being very visible with the personnel there, and I plan on being at most of the games, and I hope that that will instill a feeling that the Dodgers belong back where they belong as one of the best franchises in Major League Baseball.

Q. Peter, the last two years have been difficult in regards to the changing of Dodger tradition and imagery. It's been talked about a lot this morning. Can you talk about how the people at Fox felt about the criticism the Dodgers took for the changes in the organization?
PETER CHERNIN: Well, I think, first of all, let me assure you we didn't let it.
You know, I think it comes with the territory. I think -- first of all, I don't think there have been that many changes. It's sort of amusing to think people at Fox were choosing what music was being played or what caps were being worn. It's a little naivete to assume those are Fox decisions, but so be it.
In general, I think Fox tried to maintain the traditions. I think that, you know, I think we care about those traditions, we respect those traditions. As Bob says, I think Dodger Stadium is a magical place. You go out there, not only magical in terms of its setting, but magical in terms of the ushers, guards, people in the parking lot. There is a feel to it.
Any transition is difficult. I think any transition, when you have the kind of visibility that a company like ours has, is difficult. And, certainly, you know the team wasn't winning and we deserve -- honestly, the purpose of a team in a community is to instill and bring pride to that community, and it's difficult to do when the team isn't winning. In that sense, we at Fox and I, personally, take responsibility for that.
So in that sense, you know, it's hard to argue with any of the criticism.

Q. Bob, you had mentioned -- Vinny mentioned that Peter O'Malley was not here today. He had a prior commitment. Do you see any role for him in your new administration?
BOB DALY: I had lunch with Peter before he went to Japan, and, you know, I love Peter O'Malley. He's a wonderful man. I think, you know, to me, what I'd love to see Peter do is come back for some more Dodger games.
I think he's a terrific fan. I would love for him to -- and I will use him as a resource -- like I said, I'll use everybody. I hope he is available to consult with me and talk to me, because having his wisdom would only benefit me.
And so he wanted to be here; he had this plan to go to Japan. I'm sorry he's not here to speak for himself, but we have been friends for a long time, and I have nothing but the highest regard for him and his sister and their whole family. I know them all well; I've been to spring training for the last seven years; I've spent a lot of time with Peter and his sister and they're wonderful people and I hope they come to more Dodgers games and I hope Peter will give me the same advice that I have given him over the years.

Q. Peter, you alluded earlier to this not being any sort of retreat from the Dodgers or Fox, but might you be looking for some other minority shareholders down the road?
PETER CHERNIN: We have no plans right now to look for any other minority shareholders. You know, look, I think what we felt when we tried to buy -- started buying the team two and a half years ago, exactly what we feel right now, this is one of the great organizations in the world of sports. This is the city in which we live in, and, you know, as Bob says, who would ever dream that you could be associated with the Los Angeles Dodgers when you're growing up or when you're working?
So we think, both personally and as a corporation, this is a great asset and we think this is a great deal for this asset because we expect Bob to work so hard to make it more valuable for all of us.
VINCE SCULLY: In the interest of time, can we have one more question?

Q. I was hoping maybe both of you could address this. In recent years there's been a proliferation, be it Fox, Disney, Tribune Company, of corporate and especially entertainment corporations getting involved in Major League Baseball and the professional sports. At least locally and certainly in Chicago it hasn't worked out too well to this point for the corporations involved. Can you address the objectives maybe of entertainment companies getting involved, and how you see it's worked for Fox.
PETER CHERNIN: You know, honestly -- and maybe this is defensive, although I don't think so -- I think it's far too early to say it hasn't worked out for Fox. We finished, you know, a season and a half, season and three-quarters in control of the team. You know, we're in this for a long period of time.
When I first started at the movie studio, it wasn't going well. You work hard, try to put your team together, you build it up and you achieve some success. Unfortunately, in this life, success doesn't come easily. I think it's what Kevin's struggling with, I think it's what we're all struggling with; we're trying to build an organization and an organization not for the quick fix, not for the quick sort of pat on the back, but something -- you look at the great organizations in sports, the Braves, the Yankees, they put together amazing organizations that last for years and years.
That's our goal here, and I think one I certainly have every confidence that Bob can achieve.
I wouldn't say it didn't work out. In terms of our objectives, look, I think that there are obviously, you know, they're easy to identify business objectives whether it has to do with media rights for sports, et cetera, et cetera. But it is also, you know, this is not the greatest business we're in. We're not -- it doesn't -- it's not profitable right now and I think our desire is to make a profit.
But, more importantly, you know, this is the city in which we live. This is the city in which every person at Fox works. More importantly, we'd love to have a winning team out there and be part of it. That alone would be pretty cool and a big joy for all of us.
BOB DALY: I would just add one thing. I just came from a company that's very happy with their involvement in Major League Baseball, and that's the Atlanta Braves. They may not be happy this morning, but they were happy five days ago.
And if you look back and look at what the Atlanta Braves were in 1990, there was a period of time when they were the laughing stock of baseball. They put together an organization and to be -- you know, for somebody who has been part of that company and knows the people well and has shared in their -- shared in the information about the team, and knowing what it means to both Turner and his channel and to Time Warner and the pride that it takes for -- the pride that it means to the people that work on Time Warner, on the Atlanta Braves, the fact is in 1990 they were a laughing stock. The only debate that was taking place in the last five years was who was the "Team of the Decade," was it the Yankees or Atlanta Braves?
I would just say one thing. I hope we're sitting here seven, eight years from now and that's the debate going on, is whether it's the Dodgers or some other team that is the "Team of the Decade."
VINCE SCULLY: Right now to conclude this particular portion of our press conference, I would ask Mr. Bob Daly to come up here to the podium for the moment, sir, if you will. The boy from Brooklyn, who is now the President of the Dodgers.
And, first of all -- Chairman, Chairman, excuse me. Chairman.
Mr. Daly, '99, from then on. And your crown, sir.
BOB DALY: Thank you, very much. I appreciate that.
(Applause.)
BOB DALY: There's only one thing I'd like to say. Either I'm going on a diet or I'm going to fire the person that put out this T-shirt.
VINCE SCULLY: By the way, for everyone's interest, there are several team members of Dodger personnel sitting in the front row: Rick Welsh, Tommy Lasorda, Tommy Hawkins. They will also answer one-on-one questions as will Mr. Daly and Mr. Chernin.
Otherwise, thank you very much for your attention. Nice going, New York.
And we'll move it along.
(Applause.)

End of FastScripts

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