In Salt Lake City, Brad Rock writes if the Jazz are “tanking, they have a strange way of showing it,” having won 11 consecutive games before last night. The team sits just outside the Western Conference playoffs, but last night was the “15th consecutive sellout” at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Jazz President Steve Starks said of tanking: “It has never come up” (DESERETNEWS.com, 2/26).
STATUS QUO: In Akron, Nate Ulrich noted the Browns yesterday “sent renewal letters" written by new GM John Dorsey to season-ticket holders and announced prices “won’t rise for the ninth time in the past 10 years.” Before last season, prices “decreased in many of FirstEnergy Stadium’s sections.” The Browns “expect to rank either 31st or 32nd among 32 NFL teams for season-ticket price per game” (OHIO.com, 2/26).
ICE CASTLE: THE ATHLETIC’s Josh Yohe wrote in the “history of Pittsburgh sports, few general managers have been on a run” like the Penguins' Jim Rutherford. His “single greatest attribute is his ability to recognize his mistakes.” What Rutherford has done during the past two years is “nothing short of remarkable.” The later years for Cs Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin’s respective primes are “turning into a potential dynasty and Rutherford’s moves are largely responsible” (THEATHLETIC.com, 2/26).
THE PRICE OF WINNING: In Ottawa, Don Brennan writes Senators Owner Eugene Melnyk has "done some good things over his 15-year tenure,” but he has “made it clear, in both his words and recent actions, that he can no longer afford a NHL franchise.” At least “not a competitive one” (OTTAWA SUN, 2/27).
