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Leagues and Governing Bodies

Gretzky's Agent Denies Report Of Interest In Taking NHL Franchise To Seattle

Hockey HOFer Wayne Gretzky's agent, Darren Blake, is "denying a report" from the N.Y. Post that Gretzky is "trying to bring an NHL team to Seattle," according to the CP. Blake in an e-mail wrote that Gretzky "isn't involved in any bid." Blake wrote, "As you can imagine prospective team owners from various franchises call frequently to gauge his interest in coming on board. Seattle is no different." Meanwhile, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly "declined to comment on the report" (CP, 7/4). In N.Y., Kosman & Brooks reported in the original article Gretzky has "joined a group of investors" hoping to bring a team to Seattle. Sources said that the Gretzky group is "one of three looking to bring an NHL franchise" to Seattle, but each "faces an uphill battle in that league Commissioner Gary Bettman has not said the league is ready to expand." It is "not known if the Gretzky group or either of the other two groups are eyeing an expansion team or hope to move an existing team to the Pacific Northwest." Gretzky in '11 "partnered with Providence Equity Partners," a N.Y-based private-equity firm, in a $1.5B bid for MLSE, which owns the Maple Leafs and Raptors. However, the NHL "rejected the group’s offer because it would have been structured as a leveraged buyout with debt levels higher" than 50% of the franchise value (N.Y. POST.com, 7/4). CBSSPORTS.com's Chris Peters wrote should Gretzky "ever get involved in the Seattle group, it would go a ways in legitimizing their campaign and putting a very famous face on the NHL-to-Seattle process." That said, there are "still so many snags in Seattle's hopes for an NHL team, not the least of which is the need for the city to attain an NBA team once again" (CBSSPORTS.com, 7/5).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

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