In L.A., Randy Harvey writes with P/OF Shohei Ohtani, the Angels are "nationally relevant again," a "big leap for a team that was bordering on irrelevance even in Southern California." Through 16 games on FS West, their ratings "are up 120% overall, and 191% in the 25-54 age group over the same number of games last season." Fox Sports baseball host Kevin Burkhardt said Ohtani is the "best thing to happen to baseball in a long time." Burkhardt: "The Angels. Think about this. They've got the best player in the game. But they're a West Coast team. Not everyone sees Mike Trout. There is a buzz around the country about (Ohtani), about the Angels, about baseball, that quite honestly hasn't been there. He's different" (L.A. TIMES, 4/17).
WHO'S THE BOSS? In S.F., Scott Ostler notes 49ers CEO Jed York has said in the past he has "no tolerance" for domestic abuse, yet LB Reuben Foster is still with the team. It "appears that York, in his quest for wins, lured" GM John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan to Santa Clara with "promises of full control over who stays and who goes." It also appears those decisions are "sometimes player-value-based." But the true boss "should be" York, as by "letting Foster hang around with no real explanation, the 49ers promote the appearance that they’re waiting to let money and fear work their magic by making a domestic-abuse case disappear" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 4/17).
ON THE RIGHT PATH: The Major League Rugby Seattle Seawolves have "sold out all their season tickets (1,800) and all seats (3,500) for the home opener April 22 against the San Diego Legion." Seawolves co-Owner Shane Skinner said he is "extremely confident" the club "will sell out the season." He said, “We only have 283 tickets left for the April 28th match, so (we are) pacing extremely well for that match and the May matches.” Skinner "wants to win games and doesn’t want to lose money." But he said that he "mostly wants to advance the game of rugby" (SEATTLETIMES.com, 4/13).
