On Long Island, David Lennon writes with the Mets, the Wilpon family is "always shuffling personnel because they're the only ones without an expiration date -- or a consistent plan that can produce sustainable success." Hiring Exec VP & GM Brodie Van Wagenen was the Wilpons' "biggest Hail Mary pass yet," but "being a GM takes more than a sales pitch, and Van Wagenen is learning that the hard way." Nearly "every word" he has said so far has "come back to bite him." Lennon: "We can't help but think he's getting pressure from above to dump the sales pitch and start collecting scalps instead" (NEWSDAY, 6/21).
LAPOINTE MAN: In Montreal, Stu Cowan notes local businessman Clifford Starke, as part of his "latest offer to the CFL and Commissioner Randy Ambrosie" to buy the Alouettes, has added former CFLer Eric Lapointe to his investor group. Lapointe was the "leader of one of three groups that went public with their interest" in buying the team from the league, before his group "dropped out of the bidding" (MONTREAL GAZETTE, 6/21).
TAKING PRIDE: 49ers Chief Administrative Officer & General Counsel Hannah Gordon said the team's Pride campaign saw "almost 1,000 fans sign up within the first couple of days." Gordon said, "The response that we got through email, through Twitter, the stories that people told us about what it meant to them, it really made it all worthwhile." She added the 49ers Pride campaign is the "first fan community for LGBTQ+ fans and allies among NFL teams, and we're hopeful that other teams will follow suit" ("NFL Total Access," NFL Network, 6/19).
