Names In The News

Livengood Will Not Return To Arizona

Univ. of Arizona (UA) AD JIM LIVENGOOD yesterday said his UA contract "will not be extended," his "first-ever public acknowledgment he will not return" to the school. Livengood, who "makes $280,000" on a deal that expires June 30, "spent the day interviewing" for the vacant AD position at UNLV (AZSTARNET.com, 12/15)....San Diego State Univ. physics professor MILTON TORIKACHVILI "plans to rally faculty support next month" for his request that the university "postpone the hiring of a new athletic director until the state fiscal crisis is over." Former AD JEFF SCHEMMEL resigned last month (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 12/16).

GETTING STRONGER: YAHOO SPORTS' Dave Meltzer profiled Strikeforce CEO SCOTT COKER, who has "signed television deals with Showtime and CBS, a video game deal with EA Sports, and has signed contracts" with several fighters. Coker said Strikeforce a year ago "had 15 to 20 guys under contract." Coker: "Now we've got ... as many as 155 athletes under contract." Meltzer noted Coker "expects to run 20 shows" from March '10-February '11 (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 12/15).

BEST OF THE BEST: Penguins C SIDNEY CROSBY yesterday was named the winner of the '09 Lou Marsh Award "as Canada's athlete of the year." Crosby "beat out five other finalists," Suns G STEVE NASH, tennis player DANIEL NESTOR, skier JOHN KUCERA, speed skater CHRISTINE NESBITT and MMA fighter GEORGES ST-PIERRE. Crosby is the 73rd recipient of the award, which is "voted on annually by sports journalists" from across Canada (TORONTO STAR, 12/16).

COMING SOON: Golf Channel has greenlit "DONALD J. TRUMP's Fabulous World of Golf," a "celebrity-infused nonscripted series, for an April 26 primetime launch." Trump is "recruiting actors, musicians, politicians, business execs and pro athletes to compete against each other for charity on the show." The six half-hour episodes, which will air Mondays at 9:00pm ET, will feature such matchups as JERRY RICE vs. LAWRENCE TAYLOR (DAILY VARIETY, 12/16)....Patriots coach BILL BELICHICK's girlfriend, LINDA HOLLIDAY, will host a segment on the next episode of New England Cable News' "Style Boston," which airs December 23. Holliday "does a piece on NFL gear, filmed with Reebok execs at the Patriots Hall of Fame and the Pro Shop at Patriot Place," and she also "shares tips on how to make, and wear, the hoodies made famous by Belichick" (BOSTON GLOBE, 12/16).

CHARITY STRIPE: Go Daddy at its annual holiday party Saturday night at Chase Field "announced that it would donate $500,000 to Phoenix based UMOM New Day Center to fund what will be called the DANICA PATRICK GoDaddy.com Domestic Violence Center." Go Daddy Founder & CEO BOB PARSONS throughout the party "drew employee names for cash prizes of $500, $1,000 and up," and he "introduced boxing great MUHAMMAD ALI as the guest of honor" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 12/16)....ESPN.com's RICK REILLY pledged to match his readers' donations to Nothing But Nets "net for net, up to a total of $25,000." NBA Cares "will throw in two free tickets to an NBA game for every $10 donation" (ESPN.com, 12/14).

Contador Won't Appear In Armstrong Documentary

NAMES: The All American Rejects on February 13 will kick off the Whistler Victory Ceremonies around the Vancouver Olympics, a series of “15 nightly free performances in Whistler” during the Games. USHER on February 27 will close out the series, which also includes performances from FEIST, Our Lady Peace and The Fray, among many others (Vancouver PROVINCE, 12/16)….Cyclist ALBERTO CONTADOR “rejected an offer to participate” in a forthcoming documentary about LANCE ARMSTRONG, Contador’s former teammate. The film, directed by ALEX GIBNEY, is scheduled to be released next year (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 12/15)….The L Magazine named N.Y. Times sports reporter MICHAEL SCHMIDT, who has broken “some of the biggest controversies of the decade” including stories tying MANNY RAMIREZ, SAMMY SOSA and DAVID ORTIZ to performance-enhancing drugs, to its “25 Under 25: Young New Yorkers Who Are Better Than You” list (THELMAGAZINE.com, 12/15)….NFL Commissioner ROGER GOODELL and former U.S. Secretary of State CONDOLEEZZA RICE recently arrived "unrecognized" at San Pietro in Manhattan “without a reservation,” but got a table from WVOX-AM’s BILL O’SHAUGHNESSY and his wife, NANCY CURRY (N.Y. POST, 12/16).