In Phoenix, Nick Piecoro cites a Fox Sports report as saying that the Padres are considering D-Backs GM Kevin Towers "for a senior adviser position in which he would work alongside" the team's yet-to-be-hired GM. The team is "several weeks into a search" to fill the GM vacancy and has "reportedly narrowed" the search to four finalists: Red Sox Assistant GM Mike Hazen, Rangers Assistant GM A.J. Preller, Yankees Assistant GM Billy Eppler and MLB Senior VP/Baseball Operations Kim Ng (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 7/18).
IMAGE IS EVERYTHING: The Browns named former Giants VP/Communications Peter John-Baptiste to head their PR department, and FS1's Mike Garafolo noted the Browns "realized they've had some serious image problems over the last couple of years" and are "slowly ... starting to do the right thing here." The hiring of John-Baptiste "was made with image in mind." FS1's Peter Schrager noted John-Baptiste "has been offered several jobs over the last couple of years," but has "turned them down and stayed with the Giants." Schrager: "This is a guy who can come in and be the disciplinarian and also help them craft their message, which is all very important in today's NFL" ("Fox Sports Live," FS1, 7/17).
BARE FINS: A SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS editorial notes the Sharks have "called down the wrath of social media and Internet petitioners" by creating an Ice Team to "clean up the ice during timeouts and interact with the crowd." The female uniform on the team's Web site includes "tight pants and a sort of abridged team jersey top that show some bare midriff." The editorial states, "You see raunchier outfits at the mall. Still, why tick off a big part of the fan base?" The "compromise here" is to "add a few inches to those teal tops so they cover up the midriff" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 7/18).
WIZARD WEAR: In DC, Dan Steinberg reported the Wizards will "have alternate uniforms" in '14-15, their first "since those horrible bronze/gold/black/whatever ones that they introduced" in '06 and retired in April '09. The team also will wear "Los Wizards" jerseys this season "as part of the league’s annual Hispanic heritage celebration" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 7/16).
