Cablevision Chair CHARLES DOLAN is "reportedly close to
a deal" to buy Nobody Beats The Wiz (N.Y. POST, 1/27)....
DEAN SMITH will receive the ESPY Award's sixth annual Arthur
Ashe Award for Courage (ESPY Awards)....CHARLES BARKLEY, on
PRESIDENT CLINTON's recent troubles: "I feel bad for the
man. Even though I'm a Republican, I like Bill Clinton. I
hope he (survives). I think this stuff is politically
motivated. I think the women involved are trollops"
(HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 1/27)....Former wrestler JESSE "THE
BODY" VENTURA will run for Gov. of MN as a Reform Party
Candidate (STAR TRIBUNE, 1/27)....DENNIS RODMAN's "Double
Team" was the No. 124 top-grossing film of '97 earning
$11,438,337, according to VARIETY. SHAQUILLE O'NEAL's
"Steel" ranked No. 215, earning $1,734,074 (VARIETY,
1/26)....O'NEAL is profiled by Charles Pierce in ESQUIRE
under the header, "The Last Shaq Fan." Pierce likes the
fact that Shaq is a "bustling young adult, with tepid albums
and forgettable movies to his credit, and the centerpiece of
a burgeoning young basketball powerhouse with a volatile
hint of plutonium at its core" (ESQUIRE, 2/98).