NHL purchase of Coyotes is final

The Phoenix Coyotes are officially a ward of the league after the NHL finalized its purchase of the bankrupt franchise for $140 million today. (Bankruptcy court judge Redfield Baum gave his blessing to the sale yesterday, as expected.) Coyotes fans celebrated by staying home from the game in record numbers. Next up: the sale of the team by the NHL to parties unknown, who may or may not keep the team in Arizona. The league says it will look first for local buyers, but only for the next year — and its notion of "local" is, shall we say, flexible.