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Franchise Notes

In Buffalo, Jay Skurski reports the Bills "have made it a clean sweep of sellouts" in '14. The team on Thursday announced that Sunday’s home finale at Ralph Wilson Stadium against the Packers "is sold out," marking the first time since '09 the Bills have "gone an entire season without a blackout." As part of the annual "fan appreciation” game, hot chocolate "will be half price," and several items at the Bills Store will be 25% off. There will also be "more than 1,000 prizes distributed in the stadium during the game, including Bills Bucks, autographed items and game-worn jerseys" (BUFFALO NEWS, 12/12).

CRACKED PISTON? In Detroit, Drew Sharp writes the Pistons are "the worst team in the NBA," even "worse than" the 76ers. This is Owner Tom Gores' "fault." He "succumbed to impulsiveness two years ago, demanding playoff appearances instead of recognizing the necessity of blowing up an aging roster, stockpiling lottery picks and affording those young players the mandatory growing pains." Everybody "blamed president Joe Dumars for assembling the wrong pieces," and he "paid for it with his job." Sharp: "But don't let Gores off the hook" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 12/12).

CAPTAIN RON-ALDO: In Ft. Lauderdale, Dave Brousseau reports former Brazilian soccer player Ronaldo is "joining forces" with the NASL Ft. Lauderdale Strikers. Club officials on Wednesday said that Ronaldo "now owns" a 25% stake in the Strikers. The club also "appointed Tim Robbie as President." He will "oversee all the Strikers' department heads." Robbie "served as president" in '11-12 and later became Managing Dir of the club from '13-14 (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 12/12).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: April 26, 2024

The sights and sounds from Detroit; CAA Sports' record night; NHL's record year at the gate and Indy makes a pivot on soccer

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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