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Names In The News

In Cleveland, Dave Davis profiled Cavaliers Owner DAN GILBERT's Rock Gaming LLC, “a powerful new force in the gambling industry that has teamed up with Caesars Entertainment Corp. to develop casinos in Cleveland, Cincinnati and now, possibly, Baltimore.” Davis wrote the big bet is that their concept “of a high-style, up-scale ‘urban’ casino that feeds on the character of a city and its attractions as much as on its slot machines will make them wildly successful and, in the process, revitalize rust belt cities.” Aside from Rock Gaming Principal MATT CULLEN and Cavaliers President LEN KOMOROSKI, “the five other men who own Rock Gaming have worked together in various business ventures for years” (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 10/16).

FINANCIAL TIES: In Orlando, Rachel George reported former Univ. of Florida football coach and ESPN college football analyst URBAN MEYER “received a $1 million payment from the school’s University Athletic Association after his tenure ended” as a “retention bonus in his football contract.” UF AD JEREMY FOLEY said, “We agreed to pay him for what he was due as contemplated in our contract.” A UF spokesperson said that Meyer was paid the money “because he completed the season with the team after resigning on Dec. 8, thereby fulfilling his contract for all intents and purposes.” Hi agent, TRACE ARMSTRONG, said that he then “cut financial ties with the university after beginning his tenure” at ESPN on Feb. 2 (ORLANDOSENTINEL.com, 10/14).

TROUBLED PAST: Warriors Exec BOD member JERRY WEST said that “he has battled depression since childhood, when his father would beat the future Hall of Famer, causing low self-esteem that has plagued him despite a successful career as one of the NBA’s biggest influences.” In a segment airing Tuesday on HBO’s “Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel,” West says, “I would go to bed feeling like I didn’t want to live.” West’s memoir, “WEST BY WEST: MY CHARMED, TORMENTED LIFE,” hits stores Wednesday (AP, 10/15).

BUSY WEEKEND: Heat F and Liverpool investor LEBRON JAMES "donated $10,000 to Liverpool FC’s Foundation during his first visit to the city." He also attended the EPL club's 1-1 draw with Manchester United Saturday at Anfield (LIVERPOOL ECHO, 10/17). Meanwhile, James “took over” The Darby restaurant in N.Y. “to toast his business manager and childhood friend, MAVERICK CARTER.” The “50-person-seated birthday dinner at the supper club” was attended by Warner Music CEO LYOR COHEN and musicians JAY-Z and GAYLE KING (N.Y. POST, 10/16).

JUST FOR KICKS: A’s GM BILLY BEANE answered questions for the Sunday N.Y. TIMES' "Download" feature. Asked what he is currently reading, Beane said, “I have a subscription to FourFourTwo -- it’s a European-based soccer magazine -- and I really look forward to it. I’m a big soccer fan. The passion and the emotion at games I saw in England during the off-season are similar to Southeastern Conference college football in the States.” Beane added that he listens to a "lot of podcasts," and his "favorite is World Football Daily" (N.Y. TIMES, 10/16).

Rose poses with a young fan during an
appearance at Foot Locker on Saturday

NAMESDEION SANDERS “received his Hall of Fame ring during a halftime ceremony” of yesterday's Panthers-Falcons game. Falcons Owner ARTHUR BLANK presented Sanders with the ring (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 10/17)….Magic President ALEX MARTINS took over as Chair of the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission earlier this month (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 10/17)….“RISE & SHINE,” a documentary about MLS Whitecaps D JAY DEMERIT’s “journey from pub leagues in England to semipro Southall FC to Northwood to, finally, Watford” and playing in the World Cup for the U.S. will be shown next month in theaters across the country (L.A. TIMES, 10/16)….Bulls G DERRICK ROSE met fans Saturday in Chicago to celebrate the launch of his new adidas shoe, the adiZero Rose 2. Rose visited the adidas store on Michigan Ave. and Foot Locker on State St. Rose later was on the court at the James Jordan Boys & Girls Club for the “Run with D Rose” event (adidas)….Former MLBer SCOTT WILLIAMSON will “auction off his 2004 World Series ring to ease the strain of an overbuilt home that’s sapped his family’s cash reserves, but, more importantly, to finance an indoor baseball facility for kids on the Indiana-Ohio line” (BOSTON HERALD, 10/15)….London’s Heathrow Airport will create a “Special Games Terminal” for Olympic athletes and coaches to fly out of Britain after the end of the ’12 London Games (AP, 10/14)….The Bruins yesterday “took on the wit-smart undergrads of the Harvard Lampoon in a game of dodgeball” (BOSTON HERALD, 10/17)….Red Sox Owner JOHN HENRY, his wife LINDA and Celtics Managing Partner & CEO WYC GROUSBECK and his wife CORINNE raised more than $1M for the Massachusetts General Hospital for Children (BOSTON HERALD, 10/17).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

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