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Sources: Glendale May Have Colluded To Keep Coyotes From Moving To Seattle

The Arizona Attorney General’s Office is "investigating events leading up to" the Glendale City Council last year "approving a new arena lease agreement by a 4-3 margin and keeping" the Coyotes from relocating to Seattle, according to Geoff Baker of the SEATTLE TIMES. Sources said that the Coyotes "would have been bought" by RLB Holdings Founder & Managing Partner Ray Bartoszek and Carriage House Partners Founder Anthony Lanza and "moved to Seattle as soon as the following day -- playing up to three seasons at KeyArena -- had the vote not passed." Former Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn said, “Most people don’t realize how close we were to actually getting an NHL team." The Arizona AG is "probing whether the four councilors whose votes kept the Coyotes in Arizona violated the state’s Open Meetings Law by meeting secretly to discuss the lease beforehand." Any findings in the AG investigation about a "possible violation of the Open Meetings Law will ultimately come too late for Seattle, still in gridlock over a new Sodo arena project." But the "emerging truth is tough to ignore: A one-vote decision is the only reason Seattle isn’t already gearing up for a second NHL season beginning this week." McGinn: "There wasn’t any of the same energy from the media around the NHL team. But in many respects, the NHL team was closer." Sources said that Bartoszek had "moving trucks on standby to relocate the team to Seattle." They said that a Seattle financing specialist had "helped Bartoszek line up local investors to own a small piece of the franchise" (SEATTLE TIMES, 10/7).

HOOP DREAMS: In Seattle, Chris Daniels noted the NBA's new TV rights deal with ESPN and Turner has "immediately fueled speculation" about an NBA expansion team in the city. Hedge fund manager Chris Hansen's camp "has, so far, been silent" about yesterday's news. But fans on social media have been "pointing to an April 2013 comment" from former NBA Commissioner David Stern. He said, "There's, without knowing what you're selling, what the next TV deal is worth, what the full scope of international is, what our social media, digital rights, et cetera, to cut off a chunk of that and have an expansion is just imprudent on a quick decision." Daniels: "What about now that the deal is done?" Daniels noted NBA Commissioner Adam Silver "did not address the issue" yesterday (KING5.com, 10/6).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. 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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