ESPN's Buster Olney called Angels CF Mike Trout being out for up to two months following thumb surgery a "devastating loss" to the game. Olney compared Trout to Cavaliers F LeBron James and Patriots QB Tom Brady before saying, "He will be missed this summer because it did feel like the best player in baseball was putting together his best season" ("OTL," ESPN, 5/30). However, ESPN's Tony Kornheiser said Trout's prolonged absence does not hurt MLB because he is "playing on a team that is no longer a relevant team." Despite calling him MLB's best player, Kornheiser said, "Mike Trout's effect on baseball is not great at the moment" ("PTI," ESPN, 5/30).
GIVE ME MORE: After adding a fourth stage to the Coca-Cola 600 last Sunday, NASCAR Exec VP & Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’Donnell said that the sanctioning body will "review how additional segments -- and points -- could effect racing in the future." O’Donnell said that there has been "discussion to add bonus points for NASCAR’s 'major races' such as the Daytona 500, the Coca-Cola 600, the Brickyard 400 and the Southern 500" (MOTORSPORT.com, 5/30).
ROBERT'S RULES: In Boston, Ben Volin wrote Patriots Owner Robert Kraft played a "major role in bringing the Raiders to Las Vegas." Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones has been "viewed as the linchpin of the deal." But speaking last week at the owners' meeting in Chicago, Raiders Owner Mark Davis "singled out Kraft as instrumental in making the move happen." A Raiders source said that Kraft has been a "vocal proponent of the move from the beginning, and that his 24 years of navigating NFL politics helped make it happen" (BOSTON GLOBE, 5/28).
