THE MMQB's Peter King wrote he still "cannot figure out" why NFL Panthers Owner Jerry Richardson "doesn't put a clause in his contract of sale for the Panthers to ensure the team remains in Charlotte." Maybe he will, and maybe "we just haven't been told everything about the negotiations." Richardson's reputation is "already badly sullied because of the sexual harassment scandal that forced him to sell the team; what would his everlasting legacy be if eight years from now the Panthers move?" (SI.com, 5/6).
MORE THAN LUCK: In Providence, Bill Reynolds writes Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge's name will always "live forever in New England sports history, courtesy of his great career as a very good player in one of the golden era's in Celtics' history." From the beginning it "was quickly apparent he was fearless and he was going to do things his way." Now in his 15th season as the Celtics' "basketball boss, here he is with a great coach and a very good young team, a team that figures to have its own glory days in the not-too-distant future" (PROVIDENCE JOURNAL, 5/7).
STICK TO THE PLAN: In Boston, Ben Volin cited a source as saying that the Dolphins had the pick of Alabama S Minkah Fitzpatrick "all ready to go at No. 11" when Dolphins Owner Stephen Ross "stepped in and implored his team to trade back, both to acquire more picks and to save money on the first-rounder." Ross' football people "talked him out of it, and the Dolphins went ahead with the Fitzpatrick pick" (BOSTON GLOBE, 5/6).
FOR THE KIDS: In Detroit, Brian McCollum notes the Pistons are "aiming to widen musical opportunities for young students in the city through a new partnership with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra." The multiyear initiative will expand the DSO's Civic Youth Ensembles program and "subsidize free attendance to DSO performances for fourth graders in the Detroit Public Schools Community District." The DSO partnership is a "sign of the team's growing entrenchment in the city" after moving to Little Caesars Arena (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 5/7).
