SPORTSNET.ca's Stephen Brunt wrote Blue Jays President & CEO Mark Shapiro and Exec VP/Baseball Operations & GM Ross Atkins' to-do list for the offseason is "both obvious and obviously daunting." They have to "approach ownership, suddenly in transition at the top, and make the case for added payroll." It "seems possible, at least, given the glories of the past two seasons, given the way the fans flocked to the Rogers Centre and watched games on television in unprecedented numbers, that this year the purse strings might be loosened a bit, understanding that the ball club also provides more than straight bottom-line value to the company" (SPORTSNET.ca, 10/27).
STAYING THE COURSE: In Indianapolis, Anthony Schoettle reported NASL club Indy Eleven Owner Ersal Ozdemir "remains bullish" on the league "despite the defection of two of its teams" to the USL this week. Ozdemir said that he is "not only looking forward to the team’s playoff run," but "already planning" for the '17 NASL season. Team officials are "putting next year's season tickets on sale Friday morning." NASL Commissioner Bill Peterson in a statement said, "We have never had a stronger and more unified group of owners who are committed to the league's model, its structure, and its long-term vision." Former Eleven GM Peter Wilt, who is now trying to launch a NASL team in Chicago, said that whatever "void there is in the league will be filled" (IBJ.com, 10/27).
OIL CHANGE: In N.Y., Ben Shpigel writes under the header, "The Buzz Is Back in Edmonton? The Oilers Must Have a Prodigy." Oilers C Connor McDavid since being drafted No. 1 overall in '15 "has shifted the paradigm in the NHL's northernmost outpost." He has "turned Edmonton into a hockey destination once again, complete with a sparkling new downtown arena," Rogers Place. McDavid also "spurred a front-office overhaul that detonated the organization’s culture of cronyism and precipitated a series of personnel moves that, so far, have recast the Oilers as an emerging power" in the Western Conference (N.Y. TIMES, 10/28).
