Weekend Hot Reads....

The COLUMBUS DISPATCH's Michael Arace writes under the header, "NHL All-Star Presence Testifies To John H. McConnell’s Passion." McConnell, the late Founder, Owner and Chair of the Blue Jackets, "saw, in his mind's eye," a weekend such as this NHL All-Star Weekend for Columbus, "the city he loved." Arace: "McConnell wanted to show off his city. To do that, he had to get more people to notice it. And he did."

REUTERS' Andrew Both wrote under the header, "Super Bowl Has Ways To Go In Captivating Global Audience." While the NFL "has a loyal following in countries including Britain, Australia, Canada and Mexico," Asia "may be a tougher market to crack, including China, the Holy Grail for international sports bodies." Last year's Super Bowl "was watched by an estimated 160 million viewers worldwide," a fraction of the "global audience of about 1 billion" for the Germany-Argentina FIFA World Cup final.

Elsewhere: 

• N.Y. TIMES' historian Beschloss: "Before The Bowl Was Super."
• Which tennis players "have the strongest, rowdiest, most rambunctious" followings?
• Late play-by-play announcer Bob Wilson's "voice still resonates for Bruins fans."
• Rising cable prices are "likely to test the patience of customers."
• Phoenix Open can help PGA Tour "as it thinks about life" without Mickelson, Woods.
• L.A. TIMES’ Bill Plaschke, on the NFL: "We loudly cheer as they slowly die."