Names In The News

In L.A., Blankstein, Lin II & Pringle report L.A. County prosecutors "have raided the homes" of former L.A. Memorial Coliseum Commission GM PATRICK LYNCH and Events Manager TODD DESTEFANO, "seizing computers, documents and other material in connection with a conflict-of-interest scandal surrounding the agency." The "early morning searches indicated that authorities had intensified a corruption investigation into dealings between DeStefano and companies that have done business with the Coliseum and companion Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena" (L.A. TIMES, 6/10).

BILL'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE: ABC’s “Nightline” profiled ESPN.com’s BILL SIMMONS on Thursday, with ABC’s Terry Moran saying, “You don't have to be a sports fan to appreciate the talents of Bill Simmons, the writer whose take on the game and how it's played has at times seemed to carry the weight of a pronouncement by the Holy See.” ABC’s John Berman: “He's a columnist, author, documentary producer, podcast personality, discussing everything from the NBA playoffs to ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER.” Berman said Simmons “was a pioneer on the web.” Simmons: “I had to figure out a way to write that column in a way that I could pull readers to where I was despite the fact I wasn't going in locker rooms. I started writing about all the stuff me and my friends were talking about.” Meanwhile, Simmons said of his latest venture, Grantland.com, “The new website is going to be 70% sports, 30% pop culture and it's going to try to fill in some of the voids that I feel like are out there” (“Nightline,” ABC, 6/9).

MEET-AND-GREET: The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER's Marisa Guthrie cites sources as saying that "days after NBCUniversal successfully won U.S. television rights to the Olympics until 2020, top company executives are holed up in Santa Barbara for the first strategy-planning retreat under the new Comcast ownership." The company's $4.38B deal for the next four Games "is cause for many high fives" (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 6/10).

WEIGHING HER OPTIONS: Former LPGA golfer ANNIKA SORENSTAM on Thursday said that she has not made a decision yet about keeping MARK STEINBERG as her agent as he departs IMG. Sorenstam: “I'm still looking around. ... I know that he’s looking around, trying to figure out what he’s going to do. We all know he’s going to stay in the business and he’s taking TIGER with him. ... I told him I want to wait and see what you're going to do. Who are you going with? Are you starting your own? What can you offer?" Sorenstam added she does "a lot of business in Asia. I need those contacts. I need contacts in Europe. For me, it’s not about playing inside the ropes anymore. … Mark knows that and we've had several conversations about it” (“Morning Drive,” Golf Channel, 6/9).

(l-r) Wendy Lewis, Sue Rodin, Stacey Allaster and Lisa Baird at the WISE awards ceremony

COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION: Bills LB SHAWNE MERRIMAN won another judgment in his lawsuit against former NBAers CHRISTIAN LAETTNER and BRIAN DAVIS, following the nearly $4M judgment Merriman won against the two in December. A judge awarded Merriman the judgment after Laettner and Davis failed to repay the $3M Merriman loaned them for various investments. Laettner and Davis also must transfer real estate interests, valued at $3M, to Merriman (THE DAILY)....Switzerland's government "plans to ask Interpol whether the agency's independence is affected by accepting" a $29M donation from FIFA, which is "funding Interpol for a 10-year project in Singapore to help tackle match-fixing" (AP, 6/8).

NAMES: N.Y. Times contributor MIKE TANIER will attempt to cover "six major New York area sporting events in 24 hours" this weekend. Tanier will start Friday night at the Revolution-Red Bulls game, before attending five more events on Saturday: the NYRR New York Mini 10K; the Indians-Yankees game; the adidas Grand Prix; the Belmont Stakes; and the WNBA Fever-Liberty game. He will be "documenting his experience live" on NYTimes.com, "with photos and tweets throughout the day and into the night" (NYTIMES.com, 6/9)....The Mariners revealed on Thursday that they will make a video for the "It Gets Better" project, an "anti-suicide campaign geared toward gay youth" (SEATTLETIMES.com, 6/9)....Outgoing Astros Owner DRAYTON MCLANE is "among 32 primary and veteran nominees" for the Texas Sports HOF's Class of '11 (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 6/10)....The National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications announced ESPN as a winner of the organization's first-ever Members' Choice Award (THE DAILY)....Yankees 1B MARK TEIXEIRA and 3B ALEX RODRIGUEZ on Wednesday filmed cameos for "ENTOURAGE." Both players will "play themselves on the HBO show." The story "depicts them as investors in Queens Italian restaurant Don Peppe" (N.Y. POST, 6/10)....Indianapolis 500 winner DAN WHELDON on Wednesday night presented an award at the CMT Music Awards (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 6/10).