White Sox Vice Chair Eddie Einhorn is offering each member
of the women's U.S. Olympic gymnastics team $1M if all seven sign
with Magic Productions, a tour "poised to rival" the John
Hancock/Jefferson Pilot/Bill Graham Presents 33-city tour
starting September 19, according to Debbie Becker of USA TODAY.
The Hancock/Pilot/Graham tour has some team members under
contract, including Shannon Miller, Dominique Dawes and Dominique
Moceanu, and Dawes is "seeing a lawyer today" to see if the
contract she signed with the tour is valid. She "wants to sign
with the Magic tour, which is offering $10,000-20,000 a show,
compared to $3,500-$5,000 for the John Hancock tour." Einhorn:
"There is a pot of about $20 million for this (John Hancock)
tour. It's not right for the girls to get only $800,000."
Einhorn created Friends of the Magnificent Seven with other
baseball owners, but USA TODAY's Becker notes "it is likely a
moot offer" as the contracts with Hancock/Pilot/Graham have been
signed. Leigh Steinberg, agent for Kerri Strug, said they will
make a decision this week (USA TODAY, 8/26). Bob Graham Presents
spokesperson Stan Feig, told the CHICAGO TRIBUNE's Phil Hersch:
"The sharks have emerged. The villains here are hindsight and
greed" (BOSTON GLOBE, 8/25).
