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The GLOBE & MAIL's David Shoalts wrote there is a "great deal of skepticism about" Devils Chair & Managing Partner Jeff Vanderbeek's chances of meeting the club's $77M loan payment on Aug. 14. However, one investment type source "warned about counting Vanderbeek out." The source said, "He's tenacious and he's pulled rabbits out of the hat before." Shoalts noted there are "at least two groups interested in buying the Devils watching the situation closely but neither is interested in being any kind of partners of Vanderbeek." The groups either want NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman to "step in, seize the franchise under any number of NHL rules about paying your bills or, most of all, for the team to wind up in bankruptcy" (GLOBE & MAIL, 7/2).

ATTENDANCE DROP OFF: In Minneapolis, Patrick Reusse noted at the halfway point of the MLB season, the Twins "are 175,000 behind last season's attendance pace." They have 16 games after Labor Day and "will be announcing fewer than 30,000 tickets sold for a number of games." They will "finish in the neighborhood of 2.7 million, after selling 3,108,107 tickets" in '11. This year's 23,000 season-ticket equivalents "will take a big hit this winter, and the groups that bought far fewer tickets this summer surely will not be motivated to increase those numbers" in '13 (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 7/1).

BUZZING WITH EXCITEMENT: A New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE editorial stated Hornets draft picks C Anthony Davis, G Austin Rivers and F Darius Miller "could represent a giant leap for the franchise for years to come." Fans celebrated the draft, "but they know that it will be the results on the court that will determine how good this class is." However, it has been "a while since New Orleans basketball fans have had so much to be buzzed about, and they are rightfully thrilled" (NOLA.com, 7/2).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: April 25, 2024

Motor City's big weekend; Kevin Warren's big bet; Bill Belichick's big makeover and the WNBA's big week continues

TNT’s Stan Van Gundy, ESPN’s Tim Reed, NBA Playoffs and NFL Draft

On this week’s pod, SBJ’s Austin Karp has two Big Get interviews. The first is with TNT’s Stan Van Gundy as he breaks down the NBA Playoffs from the booth. Later in the show, we hear from ESPN’s VP of Programming and Acquisitions Tim Reed as the NFL Draft gets set to kick off on Thursday night in Motown. SBJ’s Tom Friend also joins the show to share his insights into NBA viewership trends.

SBJ I Factor: Molly Mazzolini

SBJ I Factor features an interview with Molly Mazzolini. Elevate's Senior Operating Advisor – Design + Strategic Alliances chats with SBJ’s Ross Nethery about the power of taking chances. Mazzolini is a member of the SBJ Game Changers Class of 2016. She shares stories of her career including co-founding sports design consultancy Infinite Scale career journey and how a chance encounter while working at a stationery store launched her career in the sports industry. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

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