In Baltimore, Childs Walker notes NFLPA Exec Dir DEMAURICE SMITH was the keynote speaker Thursday at the Univ. of Maryland's commencement ceremony, and as he took the podium, a group of students chanted, "We want football!" Smith shouted, "I want football, too!" Smith, who "grew up rooting for the Terps," donned a red hat before he began his speech about "living with courage and a commitment to fairness." Smith addressed the lockout in his speech: "There are many who would like to myopically reduce the last few years, my leadership, into the sound bite of just getting a new contract done. But the larger decision in March of 2009 was to stand before the players and ask a simple question: 'Do we care enough about who we are and who we want to be?' ... The decision to pursue and if necessary fight for what is fair is a vastly different frame of mind than simply being content with 'shut up and play'" (Baltimore SUN, 5/20).
METS LIFE: In N.Y., Thompson, Coffey & Vinton report Mets ownership "immediately denied" a claim made Thursday by Madoff trustee IRVING PICARD in his billion-dollar clawback lawsuit. Picard "expanded on an allegation" in the suit, claiming that FRED WILPON and SAUL KATZ "went 'shopping' for fraud insurance in 2001 and therefore knew [BERNIE] MADOFF was corrupt." Picard said that the fact that Katz' and Wilpon's Sterling Partners was in the market for this "one of a kind" policy that "may have protected against Ponzi schemes 'establishes incontrovertibly' that Sterling Partners was on notice that Madoff was suspicious." Wilpon and Katz continue to "deny knowing anything of Madoff's schemes," and Sterling Equities General Counsel Greg Nero said that the "most sensational claim in Picard's new filing was 'just wrong'" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 5/20).
YOU DON'T KNOW MAGICJACK: In West Palm Beach, Hal Habib profiles WPS majicJack FC Owner DAN BORISLOW and writes, "MARK CUBAN Lite is one way to describe" him. Like the Mavericks Owner, Borislow is "an unorthodox sports owner who speaks and does as he pleases." Borislow "made millions by inventing a device to make phone calls over the Internet, yet his club has no Web site, virtually no front office and does no marketing -- he says he isn't concerned with selling tickets." His "rogue methods" caused the league last week to issue a news release "accusing him of lying about WPS issues and blasting him for failing to fulfill obligations to sponsors." But Borislow "thinks the entire enterprise depends on his financial clout." Borislow: "If we go away, they don't have a league" (PALM BEACH POST, 5/20).
NAMES: The PGA Tour Sony Open in Hawaii raised more than $1M for Friends of Hawaii Charities, Inc., "for the seventh straight year" (Honolulu STAR-ADVERTISER, 5/19)....Dodgers P MATT GUERRIER has made a donation of $25,000 to benefit the Salvation Army's tornado relief fund (Dodgers)....A's GM BILLY BEANE had left shoulder replacement surgery on Wednesday. The procedure was performed by team orthopedist Dr. WILL WORKMAN. Beane "will be out the rest of the week" (SFGATE.com, 5/19)....Washington County, Pa., ticket seller NATHAN ROESING has sued Iron City Brewing LLC and a part owner over the rights to the company's 14 Steelers PSLs at Heinz Field. Roesing alleges that Iron City "has not turned over the seat licenses to him after he purchased them for $112,000" (Pittsburgh TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 5/19).
