In N.Y., Frank Isola reports Basketball HOFer Phil Jackson "has yet to formally accept" Knicks Owner James Dolan’s offer to become the team's "next front office savior, so now the waiting game continues." It is "entirely conceivable that Jackson is leveraging the Knicks to score a gig" with the Lakers, where his fiancee Jeanie Buss serves as Exec VP/Business Operations. It also is "entirely conceivable that the Hall of Fame coach is doing his due diligence to determine whether he can work with Dolan and risk tarnishing his pristine legacy with a failed marriage" in N.Y. Isola: "One thing about the Jackson chase is abundantly clear -- Dolan is flying solo on this one" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 3/11).
LOOKING TO NEXT YEAR: In Vancouver, Ed Willes writes Canucks GM Mike Gillis yesterday afternoon "sent out an email to the team’s season-ticket holders, outlining the organization’s plans for the future." Gillis wrote that the Canucks’ mission "remains the same: 'to win the Stanley Cup.'" He wrote that the organization has "assembled a 'talented group of prospects,' and that, coupled with the cap room they’ll enjoy following" the trade of G Roberto Luongo to the Panthers, will "allow the team to add to this nucleus." The Canucks then "went out and blew a 3-0, third-period lead" to the Islanders last night, which "essentially ended any hope they had of making the playoffs." Willes: "It's about the credibility of this organization under this ownership, this general manager and this coach. They can send out all the letters they want explaining their plan. The story they're telling on the ice is far more convincing" (Vancouver PROVINCE, 3/11).
THE RIGHT MOVE: NFL.com's Judy Battista wrote the Bills' decision not to play a home game in Toronto in '14 was "a necessary and correct triumph for the football interests of a team for which monetary considerations can never be too far out of the conversation." The financial "windfall that had filled the Bills' coffers as a result of the first deal had run out, replaced by a more modest contract that decidedly did not make the competitive disadvantage worth it as the team tries to gain momentum around a young coach and quarterback." The Bills are "in a constant fight not to slip into the lowest rungs of the league's earners." This week's announcement means that "now the Bills will need" their fans "to leave the comfort of their yards for the seats that they've struggled to fill even since their glory days" (NFL.com, 3/10).
