In Miami, Douglas Hanks reports the Marlins “account for about one in every five unsold tickets” throughout MLB when compared to last year’s sales as the team is “enduring what may be the roughest sophomore season ever in a new ballpark.” That gives the Marlins the “highest share of the blame" for MLB’s nearly 3% decline in ticket sales for '13, accounting for 21% of "the decline in ticket sales across the league.” Still, the “unwanted distinction isn’t quite as bad as the 40 percent share that Sports Illustrated assigned to the Marlins last week” (MIAMI HERALD, 6/5). SI's Stephen Cannella said, "If you take the Marlins out, the overall picture doesn't look quite so bad" ("Street Signs," CNBC, 6/4).
GETTING HIS HANDS DIRTY: Chiefs Chair & CEO Clark Hunt at the end of last season said that he “planned to be more involved” with the franchise. In K.C., Adam Teicher writes, “So far he has, at least publicly.” Hunt said of his appearance yesterday at practice, “I am trying to be around the team more. Definitely that’s part of it. But a big part of it is just my excitement as a fan just wanting to see Andy [Reid] and his staff coaching the team” (K.C. STAR, 6/5).
GLASS HALF FULL: In Ft. Lauderdale, Omar Kelly notes Dolphins Owner Stephen Ross is hoping the team's makeover "makes South Florida's NFL franchise relevant again,” and he is “under the impression he paid handsomely for a winning organization.” Even though the Dolphins “hold up the trophy as the NFL's spending champ this offseason, nobody should pretend the organization spent irresponsibly.” The Dolphins were “misers in 2012, squirreling away cap space for this year's spending spree.” The Dolphins “purposely let a ton of their own free agents sign with other teams, and targeted younger players that fit the scheme second-year coach Joe Philbin and his staff want to run” (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 6/5).
SURVEY SAYS: In Seattle, Brian Rosenthal cites an Elway Poll of King County residents that found that 51% “reacted with a shrug to the NBA’s decision” to keep the Kings from relocating to Seattle. Thirty-three percent were “disappointed, and 12 percent were glad.” Four percent said that they “had no opinion.” The results “painted a starkly different picture from a poll conducted almost exactly one year ago, when just 24 percent of local residents said they didn’t care about bringing the NBA back to Seattle.” Elway’s most recent poll “contacted 401 King County heads of household from May 28 to 30,” with a margin of error of “plus or minus 5 percentage points” (SEATTLE TIMES, 6/5).
