rob manfred mlb commissioner talks about the Tampa Bay Rays – AP
The sale of the Tampa Bay Rays is nearing completion and could be finalized as soon as September. The ownership group is led by Patrick Zalupski, a very successful housing developer from Jacksonville. Current owner Stu Steinberg will receive $1.7 billion for the team, which he purchased in 2004 for $200 million.
Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred is undoubtedly not as recognizable as Taylor Swift, but when he’s at a ballpark, he’s always under the watchful eye of cameras. So, on Monday night, when he was in Atlanta watching the Home Run Derby, his prolonged time sitting next to the likely new owner of the Rays, Patrick Zalupski, did not go unnoticed.
While it’s not completely unheard of, it’s certainly not standard practice for Commissioner Manfred to be publicly seen with a potential buyer while a team is actively for sale. The league typically keeps ownership transitions private until deals are finalized or nearly finalized.
The plans for sale approval are likely to include discussions about a stadium as part of the MLB process; however, a stadium agreement is not required at this stage. Commissioner Manfred declined to specifically comment on the status of the deal. During a session with the Baseball Writers’ Association of America on Tuesday, he stated, “I have no reason to quibble with or dispute the reports that are out there.”
Most sales of MLB teams typically take between three to six months to finalize. However, the sale of the Baltimore Orioles for $1.75 billion was completed in just three and a half months, with David Rubenstein as the buyer. Rubenstein, a billionaire, is well-known in the baseball community and is a lifelong Orioles fan fitting all the boxes other MLB owners want to see.
In The Best interest of Baseball
The phrase “In the Best Interest of Baseball” is often used by the league to convey a serious message to owners, players, and the media. While there is no concrete evidence that Commissioner Manfred used this phrase when discussing the sale of the Tampa Bay Rays with owner Stuart Sternberg, having covered baseball for 50 years, it’s evident that the sale of the team aligns with the principles of the “In the Best Interest of Baseball” playbook.
Manfred’s Commitment To Keeping the Team in Tampa Bay
On December 6, 2024, Commissioner Manfred met with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in Tallahassee to reassure him that the Rays would not be leaving the Tampa Bay Area. Three days later, he traveled to St. Petersburg to meet with Mayor Ken Welsh and members of the Pinellas County Commission. This meeting took place just before their vote to approve a stadium in the Gas Plant area.
Although the Rays had supported this plan in July, they backed out after hurricane Milton damaged the roof of Tropicana Field, citing potential cost overruns. Once the Rays turned down the St. Petersburg deal, Steinberg realized he had exhausted all options after various stadium proposals had been presented and subsequently rejected by the Rays’ ownership. It became clear to Commissioner Manfred that, “in the interest of baseball,” the Rays needed to be sold.
Time to Sale the Team
On June 18, 2025, the Rays confirmed that they had entered exclusive discussions with a group led by Patrick Zalupski regarding a potential sale of the team. On the same day, Sportico reported that Zalupski had signed a letter of intent to purchase the team for $1.7 billion. The Rays also released a statement acknowledging these negotiations.
The New Ownership Group Was Vetted
Several potential ownership groups expressed interest in purchasing the team from Sternberg, with some reportedly willing to pay an astounding $2 billion. Credit goes to JP Peterson, a longtime Bay Area sports personality, for being the first to identify the existence of multiple interested groups.
However, from my experience covering the sales of professional sports franchises, I have learned that the selection of an ownership group matters more than the financial offer. It is likely that Major League Baseball chose the Zalupski group to buy the Rays to ensure that the team remains in Tampa. This group has several yet-to-be-named partners from Tampa, and these minority owners are well-known in Hillsborough County and the City of Tampa, where they have successfully completed deals in the past.
Tampa Will Be The Home of The Rays
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor and Hillsborough County Commissioner are both eager to speak with the Zalupski group as soon as the bill of sale is finalized. My sources indicate that the group is particularly interested in the Ybor City site, which nearly came to fruition in 2018, as well as potential developments around the Florida State Fairgrounds site. Like many other new stadiums, the Zalupski group is also looking to create a stadium village area.
Keep Dreaming Orlando
On March 15, 2025, the Dreamers publicly announced that they had secured an anchor investor and were actively pursuing the Tampa Bay Rays. They cited the stadium collapse as a pivotal opportunity for their plans. If MLB Commissioner Manfred had wanted the Rays to relocate to Orlando, he would have selected their group to negotiate a deal instead of the Zalupski group.
However, if for some reason, which I can’t imagine, Tampa and St. Petersburg are unable to finalize a stadium deal, Orlando could become a potential option. It’s important to note that Orlando’s interest in acquiring the Rays is closely linked to the ownership—specifically, the Orlando Dreamers group. If the Rays are owned by someone outside this group, Orlando’s desire to bring the team to the city would significantly decrease.
The Dreamers may consider working on acquiring another franchise and relocating it to Orlando, or they might attempt to obtain an expansion franchise. However, the likelihood of MLB adding a third franchise to Florida is very low, particularly one located less than 90 miles from Tampa. The Rays could potentially block such a move or expansion because, technically, Orlando falls within their designated region.
PLAYOFF GAMES IN TAMPA
MLB has confirmed that the Tampa Bay Rays will be allowed to play all their playoff and World Series home games at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa—their temporary stadium for the 2025 season.
Notre Dame 2025 Season Preview: Irish Poised for Another Playoff Push
By: Matthew Weatherby
Ever since about 12:45 yesterday afternoon, Notre Dame and its fans have been under fire. While there have been many fans who have been hyperbolic in terms of where the team stood this season. At the core of their frustration, there is one absolute truth: Notre Dame got screwed.
Before I get into the case of Notre Dame, I want to preface that, at the core, I do not have a problem with Miami being in over Notre Dame. In fact, when you look at the numbers, it appears that the committee made the right choice.
But, much like with Lane Kiffin, it is not the decision itself. But, the process of how it was reached.
The Politics of it
The playoff was not designed to get 2 G6 teams into the field. As much as everyone loved the model of inclusion when the playoffs expanded, people seem none too pleased with it when it comes time for the final ranking, and their team is on the outside looking in. It felt like the committee was put in a spot where they could not exclude one of the power conferences. I am of the belief that if Virginia had beaten Duke Saturday, we would be sitting here talking about a rematch of the game played week 2 in South Bend.
But that last sentence plays more into the politics of this. While they are not supposed to care about rematches, and to an extent, they don’t. It is hard to believe that the committee didn’t look at that potential rematch and see their bracket consist of 3 rematches in 4 of the first round games. For reference, Alabama and Oklahoma are a rematch, as well as Tulane and Ole Miss.
It feels as simple as this: the committee has to answer to the conferences. It is the same reason that Alabama did not move after Saturday’s result. So an SEC championship game participant was never going to be punished for the extra game, and the committee couldn’t really afford to leave the ACC out.
Why Notre Dame fans should be mad
Notre Dame dropped two spots in two weeks. Surely they must have done something to deserve it, right? Wrong over the last two weeks Notre Dame went on the road and beat Stanford by 29 points. Ok the the teams that jumped them must’ve done something much more notable, right? Wrong again. Alabama survived against Auburn and got shelled in the SEC Championship, while Miami piled it on late against Pitt on the road and rooted for Duke in the ACC Title game. There was nothing to justify the movement other than politics and realizing they had messed up earlier in the ranking process.
You got the rug pulled out from under you, Notre Dame. Plain and simple. People are upset about Notre Dame not playing in a bowl game, and I get their point as well. But the committee failed Notre Dame because they failed as a group. If they had actually adhered to their OWN Guidelines that were created, then this wouldn’t be an issue. But Hunter Yurachek and whatever clown show that assembled in Grapevine, Texas, failed for weeks to do so. For weeks, no less.
The Committee’s Failure
These teams are supposed to be viewed in groups, and yet somehow, despite being in the same group as Miami for weeks, the committee failed to move them ahead of Notre Dame until the ACC was not getting a team in. If they do this correctly and again follow THEIR OWN RULES, then Notre Dame and its fans may not like it, but they would be more in the Texas and Vanderbilt camp in terms of the reaction.
None of that happened, so instead, you have two teams that did not play last Saturday swap places. All the while, Hunter Yurachek continues to make it up as he goes in every interview he does with ESPN. I mean, for God’s sake, when Rece Davis pressed him on the reasoning as to the timing of the switch and why it was Miami instead of Notre Dame, it was like he was reading it off a script.
This is where the anger should be. The room is full of 12 people who have to have next to no accountability for the decisions that they make on a weekly basis. There are no questions that have to be answered. You saw that throughout the weekend. Yurachek went on gameday and gave answers that were just a word salad that amounted to nothing. He followed it up with a similar performance yesterday after the rankings were announced.
No one will ever get peace on this process until there is some accountability from the committee. For as long as there isn’t any accountability, the committee can just kind of do what they please.
Notre Dame and Conferences
Notre Dame will not be joining a conference following this result. I know people have hypothesized that a result like this would be the breaking point for Notre Dame and that it would lead them to join a conference it won’t. They get a significant financial benefit from not being in a conference. Notre Dame also has an agreement where, starting next year, if they are in the top 12 in the final ranking, they are guaranteed a spot in the playoff. Kind of like a conference champion.
Notre Dame’s athletic director did say today that there has been some damage done to their relationship with the ACC. Which is understandable, considering it felt like they were running a presidential campaign against them getting into the playoffs.
Final note on the bowl game absence. People view it as pouting and weak. I think it is due to the way in which they were left out, along with the current college football calendar. Why would I go play in the Cheez-It Bowl when I can worry about recruiting, roster retention, and staff changes?
Jason Robertson has been named the HockeyStickFittings.com Sniper of the Month for November 2025
Jason Robertson has been named the HockeyStickFittings.com Sniper of the Month for November 2025. With a balanced 13-goal and 13-assist month, Jason inflicted nonstop damage onto Dallas’ opponents. The 6’3” left-shot winger mixed soft-ice timing with a punishing catch-and-release from the circles, driving the Stars’ attack and reminding everyone why he’s among the league’s top goal scoring talent.
The defining stretch landed mid-month: three consecutive multi-goal games on November 13, 15, and 18, highlighted by a hat trick on November 15 in a 5–1 win over Philadelphia. On the power play he works the bumper position slipping into soft seams between the dots where his quick set, strong top hand through contact, and deceptive, heavy release beat goalies before they’re set.
A second-round pick (39th overall) by Dallas in 2017, Robertson was born in Arcadia, California and developed stateside before moving to Canada to play most of his junior hockey with the Kingston Frontenacs of the Ontario Hockey League. He broke out as a franchise scorer with a 100-point season in 2022–23 and has since evolved into Dallas’s centerpiece shooter.
His weapon of choice? The CCM Tacks XF Ghost (approx. 380 grams), a mid-kick build designed for full-shaft loading and controlled power. With a pro-stiff blade and modern carbon layup, it’s built less for whippy snapshots and more for heavy, one-touch strikes—the perfect match for Robertson’s lean-and-rip mechanics and quick release from the bumper and high slot.
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The fact that the Buccaneers still had hope at the end of the game what’s a potential Baker Mayfield game-winning Drive was more of an indictment of the team they were playing against then a reflection of how well Tampa Bay had played.
They were down 24-20 against the 2-10 (now 3-10, not to spoil the ending) New Orleans Saints, with under two minutes left and no timeouts.
Instead of continuing the heroics that have saved this team from embarrassment all season, the Buccaneer offense went away with a thud as they turned it over on downs for the fifth time Sunday afternoon to end their miserable effort against one of the worst teams in football.
It was an ugly game with the weather matching the mood, as both teams committed silly turnovers, with both quarterbacks throwing an interception, and both defenses looked out of their depth at times.
SirVocea Dennis had several plays where he looked absolutely lost including a key third down conversion where Saints receiver Chris Olave managed to pick up a first down in the fourth quarter to continue a key Saints drive that led to a field goal.
The pass rush managed to get after Saints rookie QB, Tyler Shough, with 3 sacks, yet they failed to prevent disaster at the end of the game with the Saints managing to score an ultimately game winning touchdown on a play where Bucs defenders missed at least 2 chances at bringing down the QB.
There is still a road to Tampa Bay winning this horrendous division, as there always is when the opposing teams are as bad as they are in the NFC south.
Yet Sunday’s game was as deflated as it gets, and it calls into question why it even matters if the Buccaneers make the playoffs or not, as the chances of them winning a game against a playoff caliber team are slim to none.
Head coach Todd Bowles has preached the need for the defense to improve their tackling yet no changes have come to fruition.
The offense looked as lifeless as it’s ever been as even without starting left tackle Tristan Wirfs, a two touchdown performance is not going to cut it against one of the league’s worst defenses.
Now, it’s just a battle of who can suck the least between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Carolina Panthers, as Carolina was on a Bye week and now the teams are tied for the top of the division.
If the Buccaneers want to take home yet another NFC South crown they will have to be Carolina at least once which at this point seems like an unlikely proposition.
Their next game takes place Thursday night at Raymond James versus the Atlanta Falcons.
It is indeed a Bucs Life, and things look bleak for the Buccaneers.
Politics8 years ago