The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER named Fox Chair & CEO RUPERT MURDOCH No. 1 on its NYC Power List. The publication also named Time Warner Chair & CEO JEFF BEWKES (No. 2), NBCUniversal President & CEO STEVE BURKE (No. 4), ESPN/ABC Sports President GEORGE BODENHEIMER (No. 8) and NBC Sports Group Chair DICK EBERSOL (No. 16) to the list (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 5/6 issue).
IN HOT WATER: U.S. Attorney ROSA EMILIA RODRIGUEZ on Tuesday said that federal authorities are investigating Nationals P LIVAN HERNANDEZ for his “possible connection to a money laundering case.” Hernandez’ name “surfaced in the case during testimony in a drug trafficking trial in Puerto Rico that recently ended with the conviction of ANGEL MANUEL AYALA-VAZQUEZ, Puerto Rico’s biggest drug kingpin.” MLB has “requested a meeting with authorities at the Puerto Rican District Attorney’s office, and the meeting likely will take place in ‘a couple weeks’” (WASHINGTON POST, 4/28)....Braves pitching coach ROGER MCDOWELL “issued an apology on Wednesday in response to a fan’s complaint that McDowell spewed homophobic comments, made crude sexual gestures and threatened to knock out his teeth with a bat before” the Braves-Giants game at AT&T Park last Saturday (AP, 4/27).
ON THE BIG SCREEN: STEPHEN NEMETH and ROBIN BROIDY with produce “SNAKE AND MONGOOSE,” a “biopic centered on the drag-racing rivalry between DON ‘THE SNAKE’ PRUDHOMME and TOM ‘THE MONGOOSE’ MCEWEN.” Nemeth’s Rhino Films and Broidy’s Storywise Productions formed a partnership with the NHRA, which “gave the producers access to archival footage.” The film “will begin shooting this fall” (VARIETY.com, 4/25).
CHARITY STRIPE: PGA Tour The Players Championship yesterday announced that it “will spend the next 10 years raising $50 million for the children of Northeast Florida.” The tournament has raised about $27M for charity in the past 10 years, with $15M of that “going to youth-related programs” (FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, 4/28)….The MLB Cardinals Saturday "pledged $30,000 to the American Red Cross to help in the aftermath of the storm that ripped through the St. Louis area" last weekend. Two-thirds of the amount "came from the team," and the remaining money "came from Cardinals Care, the team's charitable foundation" (FOXSPORTSMIDWEST.com, 4/26)....MLS Dynamo MF DANNY CRUZ "has started a Cruzin' for a Cure Campaign to raise $30,000" for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society "through various initiatives over the next two weeks." Cruz "has recruited his single teammates and coaches for a bachelor auction" Saturday (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 4/23).
NAMES: Pro Football HOFer JOHN MADDEN is "putting his two-bedroom apartment at the Dakota apartment house" in N.Y. on sale for $4.9M. Madden's agent, SANDY MONTAG, said that his client "decided to give up the apartment because he was spending less time" in N.Y. Madden "lives in the Bay Area" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 4/28)….Pro Football HOFer-elect RICHARD DENT yesterday said that he is working with the IRS “to reduce the reported $1.16 million the federal government contends he owes in delinquent taxes” (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 4/28)….CARL LEWIS Tuesday “filed a federal lawsuit challenging a ruling” by New Jersey Secretary of State KIM GUADAGNO that the former Olympian “can’t run for state Senate because he doesn’t meet the residency requirement” (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 4/27)….Jets CB DARRELLE REVIS last night joined President BARACK OBAMA “for dinner at an affair at the Waldorf Astoria hotel” in Manhattan. Revis said that he was “truly blown away because the first thing the president wanted to know about was Revis Island” (N.Y. POST, 4/28).
IN MEMORY: The funeral for late Dolphins broadcaster JIM MANDICH will take place Saturday evening, but his family “has requested that it remain private, and include only family members and friends.” The Dolphins aired a tribute to Mandich on WINZ-AM last night, but team Senior VP/Media Relations HARVEY GREENE said that he is “uncertain about any other tribute the team might be planning” (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 4/28).
