BASEBALL
Michael R. Stiles joined the Philadelphia Phillies as vice president for operations and administration. Stiles was previously the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
BASKETBALL
Amy Privette Perko was named team president of the National Basketball Developmental League's team in Fayetteville, N.C. Perko will be responsible for overseeing all of the club's operations including business affairs, human resources, community relations, ticket sales, marketing, promotions and communications. For the past five years, Perko has been associate athletic director/senior woman administrator at the University of Kansas.
Bill Sutton will join the NBA as vice president, team marketing services effective June 1. He will direct efforts supporting team ticket sales, improving local revenue and increasing basketball fan satisfaction. He has been a professor of sport marketing and graduate program director at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst since 1993.
HOCKEY
The West Coast Hockey League appointed Michael deMaine director of compliance. He will oversee the team rosters, transactions, compensation and insurance issues. Mary Hutchison was named manager of media and public relations for the league. She will be responsible for media and public relations activities as well as day-to-day interaction with team communications personnel.
FOOTBALL
The Minnesota Vikings hired Dave Blando as senior football analyst. Blando spent the previous four years with the Denver Broncos as director of salary cap and football finance administration. With the Vikings, he will assist Rob Brzezinski in all areas of the football administration department.
The Arena Football League hired Lorenzo Sciarrino as AF2 properties coordinator. Sciarrino previously was sales coordinator for SFX Sports Group.
JBN Media hired Jamie Christian as play-by-play announcer for the Indoor Professional Football League's Trenton (N.J.) Lightning and as sideline reporter for the AFL New York/New Jersey Gladiators. JBN Media owns radio rights to several sports properties.
GOLF
Marriott Golf appointed Mike Ellis senior instructor of the Faldo Golf Institute at Shadow Ridge Resort in Palm Desert, Calif. Ellis previously was head golf professional at the Florida Golf Learning Center in Oviedo, Fla. Marriott Golf manages golf courses in the United States, Central America, Europe and the Middle East.
Tiare Bevan Peck was promoted to director of communications for the World Golf Hall of Fame. Peck will oversee communications and public relations for the hall of fame and its initiatives as well as the Imax Theater located at the World Golf Village in St. Augustine, Fla.
Pixl Golf Co. hired several independent outside sales representatives. Rick Fitzgerald was hired to cover central and northern Florida, Wally Geesey to cover southern Florida, Craig Shaw to cover South Carolina, Mike Kerr to cover Indiana and Mike Reardon to cover the northern New Jersey/New York metropolitan section. Pixl Golf develops and markets pixel face-inserted golf technology.
Tiffany Nelson joined Phoenix-based SunCor Golf as director of sales. Nelson will be responsible for generating, booking and executing groups and tournaments at all six SunCor Golf courses in the Southwest. She also will be in charge of promoting and selling SunCor's Player's Club Card. SunCor is a golf course management company.
MacGregor Golf Co. appointed David Hanake territory manager for the Pacific Northwest. MacGregor produces handcrafted golf equipment.
The World Golf League named Jim McLean chair of its competition committee. The World Golf League is a competitive format allowing golfers of all skills to get paid for playing golf.
MOTORSPORTS
Action Performance Cos. named Rick Ray to its board of directors. Ray runs NuRay Holdings, a Charlotte-based investment company.
Keith Green was named director of public relations at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. Green will be responsible for all media relations and will assist with overall strategic communications as it relates to marketing, promotions, advertising and sales. He will write press releases, coordinate press conferences and media events, manage the media center on race weekends and manage content for the track's Web site.
OLYMPICS
Brad Saindon was named an assistant coach of the USA men's national volleyball team. Saindon spent the last four years as head coach of the Australian women's national and Olympic volleyball team.
COLLEGE
Carol DiGirolamo was named senior women's administrator at Neumann College in Aston, Pa. She will continue as women's head field hockey coach for the college.
FACILITIES
First & Goal Inc. named Jeffrey Klein vice president/facility general manager for the Washington State Football/Soccer Stadium and Exhibition Center. Klein's responsibilities include budget creation and management, organization, special events and supervision of the stadium and exhibition center operational staff. He also will serve as liaison between the Seattle Seahawks and the NFL.
John Rhamstine was named director of civic facilities for Norfolk, Va. He will oversee the Norfolk Scope, Chrysler Hall, Harbor Park, Harrison Opera House, Wells Theatre and MacArthur Memorial facilities. Rhamstine has been director of event production with the Seattle Center since 1997.
MAGAZINES
Sports Illustrated promoted Andrew Hersam from New York divisional sales manager to New York ad sales director. Chris McLoughlin will replace Hersam as New York divisional sales manager. McLoughlin was previously New York sales development director. James Houran, formerly New York account manager, was named New York sales development director replacing McLoughlin. Dara Faucher was promoted from sales development manager to director of special projects.
Don Mahoney, publishing director of Sports Illustrated Golf Plus, was named vice president, sales for Time Inc. Golf Properties. In addition to his duties with Sports Illustrated Golf Plus, Mahoney will work with Golf Magazine Properties to develop marketing solutions for the golf equipment category by using all of Time Inc.'s golf assets.
TELEVISION
Jon Achar joined ESPN as director of creative services. Achar will be responsible for on-air and print promotion of the programming on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNNEWS. These responsibilities will include the creative development of campaigns, promotion spot design, copywriting and production. He previously was director of creative services for Fox Broadcasting Co.
CTV SportsNet added Jerry Howarth to replace Joe Carter as color commentator for Toronto Blue Jays broadcasts.
Former Toronto Blue Jay Pat Tabler joined TSN as analyst for Blue Jays broadcasts.
J.P. Dellacamera and Wendy Gebauer were named the announcing team for TNT and CNNSI's Women's United Soccer Association games. Dellacamera has been involved in soccer broadcasting since 1980. Gebauer has worked as a soccer analyst for ESPN and ABC's coverage of the 1999 Women's World Cup, for Fox Sports Network and for North Carolina Public TV.
Mark Ockerbloom joined New England Cable News in Boston as primary sports anchor. He was weekend sports anchor for KOCO-TV in Oklahoma City.
RADIO
CHUM's all-sports radio network named Jim Van Horne host of its afternoon drive show. Van Horne previously was Sportsdesk anchor on TSN.
One-on-One Sports named John E. Cravens owned-and-operated-station group head and general manager of Chicago's AM 820. One-on-One Sports is a 24-hour sports radio network broadcasting over 425 affiliates.
INTERNET
San Jose Earthquakes defender Jimmy Conrad joined cnnsi.com as a professional athlete contributor for the site's coverage of Major League Soccer. Conrad will write a biweekly column for the site. Fans also can submit questions to Conrad for a regularly posted question-and-answer session.
TheSportsCoach.com signed exclusive agreements with John Baptista, head baseball coach for St. Mary's College, and Rhonda Revelle, head softball coach for the University of Nebraska. Baptista and Revelle will serve as experts for The-SportsCoach.com's Web site. TheSportsCoach.com is a Web-based sports-training provider and youth-sports fund-raiser.
SPORTS COMMISSIONS
Preston James IV was appointed to the San Antonio Sports Foundation board of directors. James owns Omega Sports, an athlete management firm. Matt Parkin, Steve Cummings and Michael Mason also were appointed to the board.
The Portland Oregon Sports Authority added the following to its board of directors: chair, Randy Miller of The Moore Co.; president, Kevin Kelly of First Call Heating and Cooling; president-elect, Roger Krage of Crown Pacific LP; vice president, Karen Whitman of Karen Whitman Projects; treasurer, Scott Thomason of Thomason Autogroup; and secretary, Peter Gray of Bank of America. Jack Cuniff of Adidas America and Bruce Schilling of Nike were elected to the Sports Authority's executive committee. Also elected to the board were Ed Ellis of Peter Jacobsen Productions, Dave Girt of Moss Adams, Randy Loveland of United Airlines, Terry Shanley of Cushman & Wakefield, Linsey Shields of AK Media and Malia Wasson of U.S. Bank.
MARKETING
Millsport LLC promoted Lou Garate from account supervisor to account supervisor, group account director. He manages the ExxonMobil, Northwestern Mutual and Prestone accounts and has worked on Dannon and assisted in business development. Maureen Kelly was promoted from account manager to account supervisor. She directs programs for the event management services division for clients including Penske Truck Leasing and the Pepsi Softball game, and she will be handling upcoming events for Northwestern Mutual. Jennifer Schulte was promoted from project assistant to project coordinator. She supports the Pepsi Sports account and has helped coordinate activities for Team Pepsi, Pepsi Racing and Pepsi Golf. She also will be taking on additional assignments for Pepsi's NCAA sponsorship. Heather Breen joined the company as project coordinator in the event management services division. She previously was with the Wrenfield Group. Millsport is a Stamford, Conn.-based sports marketing agency.
Stephen Lombardi was named director of business development at General Sports and Entertainment. Lombardi will be responsible for development and cultivation of new business opportunities. He also will assist in generating sponsorship opportunities for the Sports Executive Leadership Conference. General Sports and Entertainment is a Rochester, Mich.-based sports marketing and management company.
Chris Braun was named agent for golfers for Sports Alliance.
OTHER
Terry McGuirk, vice chairman of Turner Broadcasting System Inc., was named CEO of Turner Sports Teams. In his new position, McGuirk will assume corporate oversight of the company's three pro sports franchises — the Atlanta Braves, Hawks and Thrashers — as well as Turner Field and Philips Arena. Stan Kasten will continue to be president of the Braves, Hawks and Thrashers as well as corporate vice president of Turner Sports Teams, keeping responsibility for the day-to-day operating oversight of the teams and venues. Kasten will report to McGuirk.
Stephen Solomon resigned as president of Univision's Sports Division. Solomon was chief operating officer of the NHL before moving to Univision.
Michael Blanchette was promoted to consultant at The Taylor Research & Consulting Group Inc. He manages qualitative and quantitative research studies for the company in media and entertainment, Internet, telecommunications and other industries. The company also promoted Stacey Adams to accounts payable administrator. She prepares invoices for payment, manages client and vendor relations, manages cash receipts and general ledger analysis, and assists the controller in general ledger account analysis. The Taylor Research & Consulting Group is a consulting firm providing research to clients in the communications, IT, sports, entertainment and media, financial and professional services, automotive and health-care industries.
The United Soccer Leagues' A-League Rochester (N.Y.) Raging Rhinos and the American Hockey League Rochester Americans named Daniel DiPofi chief financial officer for both teams. DiPofi will oversee the financial aspects of the Rhinos and Americans as well as the financing and construction of PaeTec Park. He previously was chief financial officer of Hoffend & Sons Inc.
Aggreko Inc., the U.S. division of U.K.-based Aggreko Plc., hired Mike Ricci as director, strategic alliances and global events. He will be responsible for coordinating the company's efforts to secure relationships with major sporting events such as the Olympic Games, Formula One, NASCAR, CART, World Cup and World Championship Skiing. Aggreko Inc. supplies engineering services and equipment for electrical generation, temperature control and compressed air utility applications.
McArthur Sports named David Steele vice president of event marketing and Angela Tortora vice president of product development. Previously in sales management for McArthur Sports, Steele's new responsibilities include further expansion of McArthur's ISP and hot market presence in the professional leagues and at major sporting events. Tortora was most recently licensing manager for ABC Distributing Inc. McArthur Sports is a licensed supplier of sports-related gifts, memorabilia, limited-edition collectibles, golf accessories, terry and fleece products for the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB and major collegiate associations.
Game Face Inc. named Bret Polvorosa director of executive training.
The United States Professional Volleyball League named Mike Miazga director of media and public relations. Miazga will oversee public relations efforts for the league, which launches in January.
Christy Hall was promoted to director of sports marketing and licensing at Southwest Airlines.
Wisconsin-based Mueller Sports Medicine Inc. elected Brett Mueller president.
Lance Schrader joined the United States Professional Volleyball League as director of development. He will assist in investor, team operator and sponsor contacts. Schrader was previously men's and women's volleyball coach at Trinity International University.
Golfweek won first place in the special projects category of the Golf Writers Association of America's writing contest. The magazine won for its special report "The USGA's Authority Crisis." John Steinbreder was lead writer for the piece. Writer Brian Hewitt won third place in non-daily news for a piece on Tiger Woods' victory at the WGC-NEC Invitational, and Golfweek also won third in non-daily special projects for a special section called "Amateur Golf 2000." Hewitt, Jeff Rude and James Achenbach won honorable mentions along with Golfweek contributing writer Dave Shedloski.
Shane Battier of Duke and Ruth Riley of Notre Dame were named Verizon Academic All-America Team Members of the Year for the men's and women's basketball teams. The Verizon Academic All-America Teams are selected by a vote of the College Sports Information Directors of America. Verizon, formerly GTE, has sponsored the team since 1985.
Marriott's Stone Mountain Golf Club in Georgia received the "Consumers Choice" designation as the
Atlanta metro area's top public golf facility. The course also was named "Merchandiser of the Year" in the public course category by the Georgia Section of the PGA of America. Meetings & Conventions Magazine gave Stone Mountain Golf Club the "Gold Tee Award" recognizing the entire property including Evergreen Conference Resort.
King County Event Producers Awards honored Ron Crockett and Barry and Ginger Ackerley. Crockett, owner of Emerald Downs, received the Presidents Award for his promotional abilities for his thoroughbred racetrack. The Ackerleys, who are in the process of selling the Seattle SuperSonics, won the Royal Broughman Lifetime Achievement Award for their service to King County events.
Chris Evert and Pete Sampras were inducted into the Ericsson Open Hall of Fame along with honorary inductee Gerry Boycks.
The Southeast Chapter of the South Florida PGA Section named Marriott's Ocean Club "Merchandiser of the Year." Ocean Club is on Hutchinson Island in Florida. The award recognizes golf shops for merchandising expertise with emphasis on sales figures and creative marketing techniques.
