In Atlanta, David O'Brien writes Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos has "full control" of the club on the baseball side, and fans are "seeing exactly why the organization felt he was the guy they needed to take over amid the stink" of the John Coppolella scandal. Anthopoulos in eight months has "helped guide the Braves back to prominence" in the standings, in terms of "outside perception and, perhaps most important, optimism within the organization." He has "surrounded himself with a heady group of forward-thinking assistants" and has "improved the morale of every part of baseball ops including professional and amateur scouting" (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 6/20).
DOWN IN THE JUNGLE ROOM: In Cincinnati, Paul Dehner Jr. noted the Bengals' new Jungle Pass season-ticket plan allows fans to basically "BOGO to get in the building off their current cheapest ticket plan ($400)." The plan "doesn't come with perks of being a full-fledged season ticket holder like an account manager." The seats will be in "some of the worst seats in the house" and they "can't be re-sold." This could be a way of "connecting to a younger crowd which has zero problems watching the game while standing and socializing in the concourses and only feel comfortable with mobile tickets anyway" (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 6/18).
DOUBLE DIPPING: In Buffalo, Jack Goods reports Terry and Kim Pegula are "in line to add a Rochester-based NLL team to their stable of sports franchises." The question is whether that team will be the NLL Rochester Knighthawks or a "new organization." The report from earlier this month stated sources as saying that current Knighthawks Owner Curt Styres "would sell the team" to Pegula Sports & Entertainment. Styres would then be "awarded an expansion team in Halifax, Nova Scotia, a long-rumored landing spot for the NLL." Should the Pegulas, who already own the Buffalo Bandits, acquire a Rochester team, the NLL would have to "rescind a previous rule that prohibited owners from operating more than one franchise" (BUFFALO NEWS, 6/20).
