Names In The News

Former UCLA G NOELLE QUINN, a prospective top pick in this year’s WNBA draft, has become the second female basketball player to sign with BILL DUFFY’s BDA Sports, which reps Mercury G DIANA TAURASI, Rockets C YAO MING, Suns G STEVE NASH and Nuggets F CARMELO ANTHONY. Her primary agent will be LINDSAY KAGAWA. Before signing Taurasi in ’05, Duffy “had been approached by WNBA stars ... but turned them down” (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 3/14).

BOOK SHELF: N.Y. Times sports media writer RICHARD SANDOMIR and his agent, MARK REITER, have written “THE ENLIGHTENED BRACKETOLOGIST: THE FINAL FOUR OF EVERYTHING,” which goes on sale May 6 for $15.95 via Bloomsbury. The authors “believe brackets are the ultimate decision-making tools” (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 3/14)....A judge has prevented O.J. SIMPSON from “receiving further compensation from a canceled book deal and TV interview and ordered the bundled book rights to be auctioned off.” In the book, titled “IF I DID IT,” Simpson explains “how he might have committed” the murders of his ex-wife, NICOLE BROWN SIMPSON, and RON GOLDMAN. Proceeds from the auction will go to the Goldman family (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 3/14).

NAMES: DON KING has an audience with POPE BENEDICT XVI at the Vatican on March 21, which came about through LUCA MESSI, a boxer for whom King promoted a fight two years ago. King is in Paris promoting Saturday’s sold-out rematch between O’NEIL BELL and JEAN-MARC MORMECK and will be honored at a festival in Italy before his trip to Rome (N.Y. POST, 3/14)....ESPN Publishing Senior VP & GM KEITH CLINKSCALES was selected as the recipient of the ’07 Disney Media Networks Black Achiever in Industry Award, presented by the Harlem YMCA. Clinkscales will receive the award during a ceremony tomorrow night at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Manhattan (ABC)....Warriors C ADONAL FOYLE, a native of the island of Canouan in the Caribbean, took the oath of U.S. citizenship yesterday (USA TODAY, 3/14).