PRO FOOTBALL TALK's Gregg Rosenthal reported the Dolphins "will no longer be selling Jets t-shirts at their team store." Dolphins CEO Mike Dee sent an e-mail yesterday to Miami Herald reporter Armando Salguero, following his tweet and blog entry about the Jets shirts, that read in part, "At our fan’s request, we are about to announce a new policy that we will no longer sell visiting team merchandise at the stadium on gamedays." The Dolphins share Sun Life Stadium with the Marlins, and Dee added, "As part of this arrangement with the operator of the team store, we gave them a limited window to sell everything that they had in stock on a discounted basis prior to the start of the NFL season. With the Mets coming to town this weekend to play the Marlins, they are attempting to move all of their old Jets merchandise this week" (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 7/20).
HUNGRY FOR HOCKEY: The Sabres yesterday announced that they have achieved a record season-ticket renewal rate of 99%, and have capped season-ticket sales at 15,200 for the '11-12 season. The Sabres also will cap the number of mini-packs at 3,500 accounts, the first time they have done so. The team also announced variable pricing for next season, placing its 40 regular-season home games into five classifications: Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Value. The categories are based on the opponent, time of year and day of the week (Sabres).
FILLING THE VOID: In Nashville, Josh Cooper notes the Predators recently have "looked toward the Atlanta market in hopes of luring some hockey fans four hours to Nashville for Predators games." With the Thrashers moving from Atlanta to Winnipeg, Nashville is "Atlanta's closest NHL city." Predators CEO Jeff Cogen said, "It is not the panacea because there's a void in Atlanta and we're four hours away. It could mean a couple hundred tickets per game on the weekend, maybe. Would I like to explore and maximize that situation? Absolutely." Cooper notes if the Predators are "able to broadcast games in Atlanta, that could change Nashville's approach to the market." Cogen said that the "broadcast rights and territories are controlled by the NHL" (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 7/21).
CALIFORNIA OR BUST: Padres Vice Chair & CEO Jeff Moorad Tuesday said that the team will put the Triple-A PCL Tucson Padres "up for sale at the end of the minor league season if a ballpark deal isn't finalized" with Escondido, Calif., "or another North County city." A group "led by Moorad has been in discussions with Escondido for the past year about moving the minor league team to a 9,000-seat ballpark to be built by the city using redevelopment money -- funds that are no longer readily available under the new state budget." Moorad said that groups in "three cities outside San Diego County are interested in purchasing" the franchise (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 7/20).
