In Seattle, Alex Iniguez reported NHL Seattle Senior Advisor Dave Tippett is leaving the team to become Oilers coach. Tippett "helped inform the NHL Seattle ownership group" on decisions such as "where to put the team's training facility, the layout of a renovated KeyArena and the team's ongoing search" for its first GM. Tippett had been "considered an option to coach Seattle's team when it begins play" in '21 (SEATTLETIMES.com, 5/28).
REWATCH VALUE: After the Triple-A PCL Fresno Grizzlies played a video seeming to call U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) an enemy of freedom, team President Derek Franks said that the "simple answer" for how the incident happened was that "no one completely watched the video before it was shown." He said that the person "responsible for selecting the video got it online from someone not affiliated" with the team. Franks said that the employee was "familiar with a version that doesn't have an overtly political message." Franks added that the issue is "being handled internally" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 5/29).
GOING ALL-IN: In L.A., Arash Markazi wrote MGM Resorts has done a "good job" of promoting the WNBA and the Las Vegas Aces after buying the San Antonio Stars and moving the team to Las Vegas in '17. Team merchandise is "sold at MGM gift shops and the games are shown on monitors around the casinos" (L.A. TIMES, 5/28).
