The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Jared Diamond writes the White Sox have "embarked on a scorched-earth rebuild that could set a new standard for how to repair a struggling franchise." With the AL's worst record, they have "already acquired 15 prospects in trades over the last eight months, including three ranked in the top 12 in baseball by MLB.com." Those moves have turned an "unremarkable White Sox farm system into arguably the industry’s best -- a stunningly rapid turnaround." White Sox Senior VP & GM Rick Hahn said, "We’re certainly pleased with how things have started off in this process." Diamond notes whether it is "'tanking or simply a sound strategy, this much seems clear: The most successful rebuilds are the most aggressive rebuilds" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 7/27).
INSULT TO INJURY: In Montreal, Brendan Kelly wrote while it is "great" the Canadiens want to go paperless, their move to mobile ticketing while increasing prices for printed tickets is just a "crass cash grab." If the team had just won the Stanley Cup, fans "might not be feeling so grumpy about this latest price increase." But this is "adding insult to injury following a season in which the once mighty Habs did their usual Houdini-like disappearing act in the playoffs" (MONTREALGAZETTE.com, 7/24).
PLAYING THE ADVANTAGE: The USL has awarded a franchise to Fresno, Calif., which will launch for the '18 season. The club, which will be operated by an investor group led by local businessman Ray Beshoff, will be called Fresno FC and play its games at Chukchansi Park in downtown Fresno, where both the Triple-A PCL Fresno Grizzlies and fourth-tier PDL soccer team Fresno Fuego both play. It is expected that modifications will be made to the venue ahead of the team debuting next season (Ian Thomas, Staff Writer). Beshoff "declined to state how much his group paid" for the franchise, but USL franchises "typically can run about" $5-6M. Beshoff said that he has "been in talks with at least three MLS teams about the Fresno Football Club becoming an affiliate" (FRESNO BEE, 7/27).
