The WALL STREET JOURNAL’s Matthew Futterman notes MLB during the past 18 months “has begun putting an entirely new evaluation system in place in the Dominican Republic, one that includes stepped-up drug testing and identity verification and the first legitimate talent-evaluation process the country has known.” If all “goes as planned, the efforts should bring something that’s been sorely missing” in the U.S. “when it comes to analyzing baseball talent: a high level of comfort and certitude.” A’s Dir of Latin American Operations Raymond Abreu said, “The system is so much more efficient. All we used to have was a report on a workout” (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 7/8).
ROLE WITH IT: Thursday's episode of ESPN's "PTI" includes Michael Wilbon talking as NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman during the "Role Play" segment. Wilbon, referencing the current NFL and NBA lockouts, said as Bettman, "We already went through this and everybody laughed at me and ... they all thought I was stupid because my league missed a season. Now what have I got? I got cost-certainty and they’re sitting out for awhile, the NBA maybe forever. ... My league has what the other leagues want" ("PTI," ESPN, 7/7).
FAR EAST MOVEMENT: SI golf writer Rick Lipsey in a recent interview with LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan asked how many events the tour expects to have “in five to 10 years.” Whan responded, “Thirty-one to 33 would be ideal. The top players play about 25 times, so if we play too many events, sponsors will not be happy when they don’t see big names.” Regarding the LPGA’s expansion in Asia, Whan said, “We’ll have staff there within a couple of years. … Even our U.S.-based sponsors want to work in Asia” (GOLF.com, 7/7).
TOP DOG: In Charlotte, Katherine Terrell reports the “fledging North American Lacrosse League awarded its second franchise to Charlotte on Thursday.” The NALL’s first franchise went to Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and the league “plans to have as many as eight by the end of the year.” The indoor team “comes during a period of lacrosse growth” in Charlotte, and will join the MLL Hounds, an outdoor team, “as the second lacrosse team to organize in the city this year.” The unnamed indoor team “will play eight home games in Bojangles’ Coliseum” (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 7/8).
