SPORTSNET.ca's Mark Spector predicts the NHL "will make Las Vegas its 31st team, and on a measure of success, it will be a lot closer to Columbus or San Jose, than Arizona or Florida." With a downtown rink and "market exclusivity, hockey might have a better chance to survive in Las Vegas than it would in Seattle" (SPORTSNET.ca, 3/21).
TIME FOR A CHANGE? In Boston, Nick Cafardo wrote MLB should "go to an expanded roster." Teams would maintain an active 25-man roster, but "expand the overall roster to 28." MLB Chief Communications Officer Pat Courtney said that there "have been discussions on the topic but nothing has been advanced." Cafardo wrote while the "dialogue continues," the game "evolves into one in which players keep getting hurt." Some even go as far as to think "all 28 players should be active, as they were after work stoppages and shortened spring trainings, perhaps for the first month of the season" (BOSTON GLOBE, 3/23).
DOUBLE DOUBLE YOUR ENJOYMENT: In N.Y., Ben Rothenberg reported with the "stars rarely aligning" for doubles matches any other week besides the BNP Paribas Open, the ATP Tour "is looking for ways to increase the discipline’s popularity the rest of the year." As the ATP Tour works to "increase television exposure and online streaming, players past and present are also hoping to raise the profile of doubles players among fans and the news media." ATP VP/Player Relations Ross Hutchins, a retired doubles player, is "encouraging doubles partners to stick together longer so that fans can develop a connection with them." Hutchins "organized a pro-am event between top doubles players and reporters to strengthen connections with the media" (N.Y. TIMES, 3/22).
