Names In The News

Toomer Helping Develop Ritz-Carlton In Caribbean

Giants WR DAVID TYREE, Ravens LB RAY LEWIS, Patriots DE RICHARD SEYMOUR and TE BENJAMIN WATSON and Colts coach TONY DUNGY, along with other NFL players and coaches, last Friday in Phoenix participated as members of the first NFL Players All-Star Choir in a performance to be aired Sunday on the Gospel Music Channel TV net at 9:00pm ET. The choir's performance was part of Super Bowl Gospel Celebration '08 and was recorded live at Symphony Hall in Phoenix (Gospel Music Channel)....Giants WR AMANI TOOMER, along with other pro athletes, is an equity investor in a new multimillion-dollar project surrounding a soon-to-be-built Ritz-Carlton on Turks & Caicos island. The project will "include a variety of ownership opportunities" for Toomer (N.Y. POST, 2/6)....The Alaska Legislature has established the first Saturday of every March as SUSAN BUTCHER Day, in honor of the four-time Iditarod champion. Butcher, who was the second woman ever to win the race, died of leukemia in August of '06 (USA TODAY, 2/6).

BEST WISHES: MLB.com's BARRY BLOOM is recovering in Phoenix after colon resection surgery this week to remove a cancerous polyp. Bloom expects to make a full recovery and is targeting a return to work next week (THE DAILY)....ESPN's LEN PASQUARELLI, who last Sunday underwent heart surgery while covering Super Bowl XLII, remains in a Phoenix-area hospital and is “expected to be hospitalized for at least another week" (ESPN.com, 2/5).