Red Wings C SERGEI FEDOROV has financed a closed- circuit system room at CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL IN DETROIT. He will attend an opening ceremony and participate in the hospital's annual "Snow Pile" program on December 21 (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 12/13)....Magic C JOHN AMAECHI has been named to the BOD for the ORLANDO MUSEUM OF ART (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 12/13)....In Boston, Vanessa Jones reports an "increasing number of athletes are elbowing their way" into the music industry. BOB FRANCIS, President of Patriots DE WILLIE MCGINEST's 55 Entertainment: "We're not doing this business to play around and throw money away like most of these athletes are doing. We wanted to sign people that we (can) help shape their careers and actually make money with." Mandalay Urban Entertainment President JEFF CLANAGAN: "Basically, the problem with a lot of athletes who have their own label is that they don't really run the business the way it needs to be run" (BOSTON GLOBE, 12/14)....USA TODAY's Chris Jenkins writes that NFL Commissioner PAUL TAGLIABUE has enlisted former NFLers JOHN MACKEY, ANTHONY MUNOZ, WILLIE LANIER, and PHIL SIMMS to promote the $100M YOUTH FOOTBALL FUND, a "byproduct" of the '98 CBA. According to tax records, the fund gave out just over $1M in grants in '98. NFL Dir of Community Affairs BETH COLLETON said that "grants have increased since then," to $5M in '99, $6M this year and more than $7M in '01 (USA TODAY, 12/14)....Orioles Owner and attorney PETER ANGELOS has signed on as co-counsel in the case of Baltimore physician CHRISTOPHER NEWMAN, who has brain cancer that the suit claims is "linked to his heavy cell-phone use." Newman has filed an $800M lawsuit against numerous companies, including Motorola and Verizon (USA TODAY, 12/14).
