As for markets, I will probably decide them, it'll cut down on a number of problems. I'd like to do something original for team locations, too (My 1st idea was to take different districts of one city, most likely Montréal since it's the only one I know. Could also create a fictional land or something. If it was to be more "regular" I would probably pick all teams in the Great Lakes region).
Local press... that would be an idea. I still would like to setup a newspaper (Coranto) so that everyone could contribute. That was a fan could voice his opinion as a fan, and not necessarily as a journalist. I guess in the end it'll probably be about the same.
As for owners hiring/firing GM/coaches, we'll wait for that... we'll have enough trouble finding enough people just to fill the league in the 1st place that this is a luxury I hope we'll have someday
By the way, I'm still looking for a server. I'm not sure ootp-leagues is still taking applications, but if they are I'd like to have 12 order IDs.