Names In The News

Sony Ericsson WTA Tour President STACEY ALLASTER was honored as Sports Media Canada’s ’06 Exec of the Year, becoming the first woman ever to receive the award (Sony Ericsson WTA Tour).

BOCOG Changes Names Of Mascots For ’08 Beijing Olympics

FRIENDLY SUGGESTION: The mascots for the ’08 BEIJING OLYMPICS were renamed “in an attempt to keep consistent with the Chinese version.” The five doll mascots were initially called “FRIENDLIES,” but were renamed “FUWA,” a literal Chinese pinyin translation. A BOCOG official said that the change “would help popularize the mascots among the Chinese people.” He said, “Fuwa reads more smoothly. And we hope it helps the Chinese people to understand the mascots better.” Fuwa translates into English as “lucky kids” (XINHUA, 10/16).

NORTON ANTI-VIRUS: Former NFLer YANCEY THIGPEN and former NBAer TRAVIS KNIGHT are among 49 people “who are scrambling to recover millions they entrusted” to California-based financial adviser ROLLO “RICK” NORTON. Estimated losses are approaching $35M, “potentially making this one of the country’s biggest financial frauds in the past decade” (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 10/14).

NAMES: California-based AMERICAN PRODUCT EXCHANGE filed a lawsuit against NIKE in U.S. District Court in Arkansas alleging it was “falsely led to believe it would be the middleman in [Nike’s] product sales to WAL-MART” (ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE, 10/14)....The N.Y. POST’s Page Six reports Daily Variety researcher DANIEL EDELSON, “a Queens native decked out in Mets gear, was punched and pummeled by rowdy locals in a Dodger Stadium bathroom” during an NLDS game. Dodgers Special Advisor to the Chair TOMMY LASORDA “called Edelson to personally apologize and invite him to a game next season” (N.Y. POST, 10/17)....The ’06 Red Smith Kentucky Derby Writing Contest honored the Philadelphia Inquirer’s BOB FORD and MIKE JENSEN, the Philadelphia Daily News’ DICK JERARDI and the K.C. Star’s WRIGHT THOMPSON (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 10/17).