YASHING OUT: Ottawa business exec Len Potechin "has
issued an ultimatum" to Senators C Alexi Yashin "on behalf
of season ticket-holders -- play hockey or we sue."
Potechin, on Yashin not playing this season because he's
"unhappy with his $3.6-million contract": "We think it's
wrong what he's doing." If Yashin "doesn't show up for the
first game," Ottawa attorney Arthur Cogan said that he "will
file for a certification of the class action." On
Wednesday, Cogan sent a letter to Yashin stating that his
"holdout will put him in breach of contract with the season
ticket-holders" (AP, 8/26).
MORE NOTES: In N.Y., Wilner & Robinson note that Mets
fans "have quickly gobbled up" 1,100 mini-season ticket
plans in less than two weeks. The plans, which require a
$100 non-refundable deposit toward next year's season
tickets, were a "late-season creation" by the team's
marketing department and have a guarantee of playoff and
World Series tickets (N.Y. POST, 8/26)....Dodgers President
& CEO Bob Graziano said that it would be a "negative" for
MLB if Disney decides to sell the Angels. Graziano: "Disney
is good for baseball" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 8/26)....In St.
Paul, Charley Walters reports that Oilers VP/Hockey
Operations Doug Risebrough "is expected to be hired" as Wild
GM "within two weeks" (PIONEER PRESS, 8/26)....The Twins are
going to "hand out ballots and run a major write-in
campaign" during the MN State fair next week for former
player Kirby Puckett, who was not included on MLB's list of
the century's 100 greatest players (PIONEER PRESS, 8/26).
