FOXSPORTSARIZONA.com’s Craig Morgan wrote the Coyotes extending coach Dave Tippett's contract “has myriad ramifications.” It is a “boost for the current players who have bought into and executed his systems so well.” It also is “important to the bottom line because the fan base believes in Tippett, so should the ownership saga be resolved within the next week, the club could see a boost in season-ticket sales.” In addition, Tippett's presence will “aid the team greatly when it looks to re-sign its own free agents" like G Mike Smith and C Boyd Gordon, or "sign other teams' free agents.” Coyotes GM Don Maloney, who also agreed to a long-term contract extension, said, "It's certainly a big selling point. You need your head coach in place. You need your staff in place before you try and convince players to sign with you” (FOXSPORTSARIZONA.com, 6/24).
HALL PASS: FOXSPORTS.com's Jon Paul Morosi writes D'Backs President & CEO Derrick Hall "understands a lot about the present realities and future possibilities” of MLB. Hall is a “major reason” the D’Backs are “competitive on the field despite ranking 11th among the 15 NL franchises in average attendance, while playing in a market that Hall said has the lowest per capita income of any in the major leagues.” Morosi: “If you didn’t know Hall’s name before, you would be wise to learn it now. Hall is set up to be a central leadership figure in the game for decades to come.” Hall has become MLB’s “happy diplomat, not merely talking about the nationalities represented within his organization but actually traveling to those countries.” His visit to the Dominican Republic this month “was front-page news in the country” (FOXSPORTS.com, 6/25).
SNEAK PEEK: In San Jose, Lauren Hepler notes the MLS Earthquakes debuted a “mobile sales trailer equipped with 3-D technology to help fans visualize” the team’s under-construction stadium. Earthquakes President Dave Kaval said that the team “has sold ‘hundreds’ of season tickets in the first few weeks of the new sales approach, and is taking requests from companies or fans who want to see the Quakes at their office.” He said that the team is “focusing on companies with a large pool of younger ‘Gen Y’ workers” (SILICON VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL, 6/21 issue).
