In Toronto, Craig Daniels disputes a Toronto Globe &
Mail report that former Raptors President & part Owner John
Bitove, Jr. will buy back a stake in the team. Bitove, Jr.:
"I read with some amusement that I'm miserable (without the
team)." Daniels also writes on the Grizzlies: "Far too many
strange changes have happened within the corporate halls of
the Grizzlies' parent company, Orca Bay, in the past year
for this latest episode [firing coach Brian Winters] to be a
coincidence. Several high-ranking executives have been
fired, Seattle billionaire John McCaw pushed Vancouver's
Arthur Griffiths aside and took full ownership control, and
the entire corporate atmosphere has turned 180 degrees. What
was once open and accessible is now closed and paranoid"
(TORONTO SUN, 1/30)....In Charlotte, Bill Polian will remain
Panthers GM. Owner Jerry Richardson said he would not grant
the Jets or any other team permission to speak with Polian
(CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 1/30)....In Seattle, Larry Stone notes
that the Cactus League "is surging again." Jim Brink,
Operations Manager for Peoria Sports Complex, home of the
Mariners and Padres: "This is our fourth year, and right now
we're having our best year. From a ticket standpoint, we're
far above any other year in sales" (SEATTLE TIMES, 1/29).
