In an attempt to cut costs, The New York Times Co. (NYSE: NYT) is folding Play, the quarterly sports magazine launched in February of 2006, as the weak economy and declining ad sales slam its stock price and threaten the future of its dividend.

The Wall Street Journal reports (subscription required) that the company explored a variety of options for making Play work, including cutting staff and going online-exclusive, but there was just no way to make the magazine profitable.

It's a shame for sports fans because, as you'd probably expect from The New York Times, it offered a level of intelligence and nuance that is rare in the world of sports writing. A few years ago, the concept might have had a better shot, but with the company's balance sheet the way it is, it's just not in a position to bleed cash on projects that might pan out well over the long-term.

As the stock price craters, you have to wonder at what point the company will become an attractive takeover target once the economy begins to turn around. But with a dual-class voting structure that puts one family in total control of the company's future, a deal seems unlikely even if it is in the best interests of shareholders.

Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) is a top developer of graphics chips for the PC market. But now the company wants to move into a new, hot market: chips for portable devices.

So today, Nvidia agreed to pay $13.50 per share for PortalPlayer (NASDAQ: PLAY).

It's a good move for PortalPlayer, whose stock has plunged this year – from $30 to as low as $8.50. Basically, in April, the company's marquee customer, Apple Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), said it would not use the company's chips in some of its iPods.

Now, with a much bigger backer (i.e., Nvidia), PortalPlayer should have lots of leverage. And, of course, Nvidia will get a footprint in a fast-growing market. In fact, on news of the deal, Nvidia's stock increased $1.03 to $33.63, over 3%.

It looks, however, like the deal was fairly leaky. That is, over the past couple weeks, the stock price of PortalPlayer surged about 25%. Were some people buying on insider information?

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and operates InvestorOffering.com.