Adam Silver's name recently came up in an ESPN report about one unnamed NFL owner gauging his interest in running that league, but the NBA Commissioner reiterated he has "no plans to go anywhere." Silver said, "I love my job and I view myself as a basketball guy. This is my 25th year in the NBA. I'm a huge fan of our league, of course, but also of college basketball. Other than being a Giants fan, I can't say I know all that much about football" ("Golic & Wingo," ESPN Radio, 11/27).
NOT GETTING LEFT BEHIND: In Seattle, Geoff Baker notes the NHL has "long coveted" Houston, and the city likely will soon "receive an NHL team after years of being blocked from doing so" by former Rockets Owner Les Alexander. However, that "doesn't mean Seattle gets left behind." Sources said that the league "wants both Houston and Seattle." Baker: "Why wouldn't it? You're talking about the nation's No. 8 (Houston) and No. 14 (Seattle) media markets, and Seattle offers potential for a much bigger geographical TV footprint spanning a multistate territory" (SEATTLE TIMES, 11/27).
WARNING SHOT: THE ATHLETIC's Peter Gammons wrote with the Braves' punishment for rules violations in the international free-agent market and the news of Japanese P/OF Shohei Ohtani possibly being allowed to come to the U.S. this offseason "breaking on the same day, there is a cross message." One team official said, "It's very clear that the Commissioner's Office has sounded the alarm that if anyone tries any trickery in the Ohtani signing that Manfred will lower the boom" (THEATHLETIC.com, 11/22).
