MLB Network’s Jon Paul Morosi noted the Blue Jays’ large following in Canada and said it "really emphasizes to me how much potential this franchise has." He said, "If you actually project their TV ratings -- of course, their whole country is local TV -- over a full country, it is the equivalent of having 16 million fans in this country watching one team. So the economics there clearly are huge. ... That’s clearly one of the reasons why the Jays have a huge amount of potential to have a juggernaut for many years to come in the AL East” (“MLB Whiparound,” MLB Network, 4/12).
HOUSE SWAP: In Ft. Worth, Mac Engel wrote the Stars "have officially replaced" the Mavericks as the "more relevant and significantly better home team" at American Airlines Center. The Stars have the top seed in the Western Conference entering the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and a "packed house and fandom" is expected for tomorrow's round one game against the Wild, something the city has "not seen since the days of Reunion Arena." It only "took the Stars to miss the playoffs in six out of the past seven years, but they finally built a core of players" locals can "identify with and praise" (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 4/12).
LAYING OUT THE PLAN: In Las Vegas, Richard Velotta in a front-page piece notes Raiders Owner Mark Davis "will appear" before the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee on April 28 to "discuss relocating" the team to Las Vegas. A source said that Davis will "be at the meeting to address the stadium plan and the Raiders' potential move." Davis has "visited Las Vegas at least twice in the past two months, once to tour a potential site" owned by UNLV, and "once to examine Sam Boyd Stadium as a potential site for Raiders games" until the would-be new stadium is complete (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 4/13).
