Blues owners sign letter of intent to sell

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Blues have signed a letter of intent to sell the hockey franchise and the Savvis Center's lease to businessman David Checketts, media outlets reported Thursday.

The St. Louis Blues had no comment, but the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and radio station KTRS-AM reported the development. Phone calls to Checketts were not returned.

The NHL Board of Governors would have to approve the sale of any league franchise.

Checketts, 49, formerly served as president and general manager of the Utah Jazz at age 28, making him the youngest chief executive in NBA history. The Connecticut resident then worked as the general manager of NBA International for a year.

He became president of the New York Knicks in March 1991, and in his four seasons as president the team made it to the Eastern Conference finals twice and to the NBA Finals in 1994.

He was president and chief executive officer of Madison Square Garden from 1994 to 2001. The company owns the New York Rangers, New York Knicks, New York Liberty, Madison Square Garden and the MSG television network. MSG acquired Radio City Music Hall in 1997.

Checketts founded Sports Capital Partners, a consulting and investment service firm for sports teams in 2001. In 2002, the firm acquired SportsWest Communications, a syndicated broadcaster of college sports. He bought into Major League Soccer last year and established a team in Utah, Real Salt Lake.

The Blues were put up for sale by owners Bill and Nancy Laurie in June. They claimed to have lost $60 million over the previous two seasons. A phone message left for the Lauries was not immediately returned.

The Lauries bought the Blues and the team's lease on the Savvis Center in September 1999. Laurie unsuccessfully tried to bring an NBA team to the Savvis Center.

Tkachuk rejoins Blues

St. Louis Blues forward Keith Tkachuk, who was suspended at the start of training camp after failing his physical, joined the team for practice on Thursday.

Tkachuk was suspended last Friday. He had been working with a personal trainer since then, and had done some skating at area rinks.

Last week, the NHL Players' Association filed a grievance on behalf of Tkachuk, who had 33 goals and 38 assists in 2003-04.

Tkachuk, 33, is the second-highest paid player in the NHL at $7.6 million.