In Minneapolis, La Velle Neal III reports Twins GM Terry Ryan is "taking more daily control of the front office" as he works his way back "after five months following cancer treatment." He was "actually the closer" on the team's signing of 1B Kendrys Morales. Ryan "still has to go through physical therapy for swallowing." But Twins Assistant GM Rob Antony said that teams should "start calling Ryan directly to talk about players." Antony added that Ryan is "the only one who knows how he feels, but he looks like he has got his spark back." Ryan "should be on the team’s next road trip toward the end of the month" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 6/10).
SELLING THE CELL: In Chicago, David Haugh noted the White Sox last Friday released a "cool commercial" in which they "sell the idea that U.S. Cellular Field during the ninth inning has become Chicago's new baseball hot spot." That is when the team has "won an American League-leading six games in their final at-bats." Broadcaster Hawk Harrelson exclaims in the 30-second spot, "Our kids just will not quit!" the White Sox "plan on going nowhere but further up the standings and deeper into the city's consciousness as a legitimate divisional contender" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 6/8).
FAN CAT-ALYST: Jaguars President Mark Lamping during the team's annual state of the franchise news conference yesterday said that season-ticket renewals are up 10% and new season-ticket sales are up 46% "from last year at this time." ESPN.com's Michael DiRocco noted some of that is "undoubtedly due to the upgrades the team made in free agency," but it is "also due to improvements to EverBank Field." There is "no denying there is finally some buzz around the franchise, as evidenced by the record 6,214 fans that showed up for the second day of a two-day rookie minicamp." The stadium improvements "can only help keep that going" (ESPN.com, 6/9).
YOU SAY YOU WANT A REVOLUTION? In Boston, Christopher Gasper writes the Revolution, who "remain atop the table" in MLS, "have a chance to capitalize on the current state of affairs on the Boston sports scene." Gasper: "People always ask and debate what kind of sports town Boston is. ... The simple answer is that this isn’t a baseball, hockey, football, or basketball town. It’s a Winners town, period." The Revolution on Sunday "drew a season-high 23,950 to Gillette Stadium on a picturesque" afternoon, marking the "seventh-largest stand-alone Revolution crowd" in venue history (BOSTON GLOBE, 6/10).
