The AAU Saturday said that it "was 'shocked and deeply concerned' about allegations of child sex abuse" made against former President BOBBY DODD." Acting AAU President LOUIS STOUT said in a statement that AAU has "become aware of 'serious allegations' about Dodd dating back several decades, and it has opened an independent investigation and also contacted local law enforcement in Memphis" (REUTERS, 12/10).
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Bellotti receives $41,000 a month as
part of his retirement package
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GOING INSIDE COACHES' SALARIES: In Portland, Ted Sickinger noted the "real golden goose" in former Univ. of Oregon football coach
MIKE BELLOTTI's $1.45M pay package is the $41,000 that "washes into his account each month from the Oregon Public Employees Retirement System." Analysis by the Portland Oregonian shows that Bellotti's pension "windfall is not solely the product of his base salary from the university, which was a relatively modest $150,000 in 2005 and 2008 as head coach, and $299,999 as athletic director in 2009." Rather, it was "inflated by endorsements by Nike and the Oregon Sports Network, ticket sales incentives and other perks" (
Portland OREGONIAN, 12/11)....Univ. of Kansas' new football coach
CHARLIE WEIS "hobbled onto the court at Allen Fieldhouse with the help of a cane on Saturday, clutching a microphone in his hand as a sellout crowd silenced for the first time all afternoon." Weis agreed to a "five-year deal worth a guaranteed $2.5 million annually to turn around a program that's 5-19 the past two seasons" (
AP, 12/10)....
JIM MORA JR. became the "highest-paid coach in UCLA history when he agreed to a five-year deal worth about $12 million" (
L.A. TIMES, 12/11)....Univ. of North Carolina trustees on Friday morning "formally approved a seven-year contract that will pay [football coach
LARRY]
FEDORA $1.73 million annually, not including compensation he's expected to receive from apparel and media contracts." North Carolina also will "provide Fedora a one-time payment of $400,000 on or before Jan. 31, 2012" (
Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 12/10).
BENEFITING FROM STADIUM UPGRADES: In L.A., Pring and Lin II wrote under the header, “Coliseum Finance Director Earned Visa Points On Stadium Upgrade.” L.A. Memorial Coliseum Finance Dir
RONALD LEDERKRAMER “could have bought new sound equipment for the Coliseum by issuing a check from the taxpayer-owned stadium.” Sources said that he instead “put the package of high-powered loudspeakers on his personal Chase Visa card.” Experts said that his actions “were a breach of duty, raising questions of whether a conflict of interest – his stake in the rewards points – influenced his decisions as an official responsible for safeguarding the public’s money” (
L.A. TIMES, 12/11).
INT'L BUSINESS VENTURE: Former NFLer TIKI BARBER will be working with international shipping company First Global Xpress. A spokesperson with the company confirmed and said Barber will “partner with us on some business development opportunities,” but did not elaborate. Sources said that Barber “wanted to head a consultancy placement service for ex-NFLers to become mentors to young athletes, but it’s unclear whether FGX has any ties to that business” (N.Y. POST, 12/12).
MAKING TIME FOR KIDS: Saturday night ABC aired “BRINGING AMERICA BACK: AMERICAN DREAMERS” which included a profile of Heat G DWYANE WADE raising his two young sons and his nephew as a single father. ABC’s Juju Chang said Wade is a “man with a mission, to bring back a pillar of the American dream, the bedrock American value of family.” Chang said Wade is “reaching out to fathers and sons to combat the epidemic of broken homes” through his foundation. Wade: “It’s not about how much money I have or don’t have. It’s about the time I’m willing to sit down across from my kids and … helping them get it right.” Chang added, “You might think this is another pro athlete’s pet project, but even PRESIDENT OBAMA appointed Wade as a kind of ambassador-at-large for fatherhood” (ABC, 12/10).
ON-SCREEN WORK: Legendary Pictures Friday announced actor HARRISON FORD will play Baseball HOFer BRANCH RICKEY in the film “42.” The role of JACKIE ROBINSON will be played by CHADWICK BOSEMAN (EW.com, 12/9)….Former NBAer BARON DAVIS will “executive produce the indie thriller ‘LIFE TRACKER’” through his production company Verso Entertainment (HOLLYWOODREPORTER.com, 12/9)....Cavaliers G DANIEL GIBSON and wife, singer KEYSHIA COLE, will star in their own reality show called, “FAMILY FIRST.” Gibson said that “when and where ‘Family First’ will run has not been finalized.” Gibson: “They’re still bidding for it as far as networks go. It should air sometime in February. We’re still putting the finishing touches on it” (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 12/12)
NAMES: Sunday’s N.Y. TIMES featured a Q&A with skier LINDSEY VONN who said, “My top mountains in the U.S. would be Vail, Colo., for the best all-round mountain experience; Heavenly, Calif., for the best West Coast powder; Mount Hood, Ore., for the summer skiing and Breckenridge, Colo., for the best family experience” (N.Y. TIMES, 12/11)....UNC-Charlotte AD JUDY ROSE and husband KEN were not “going to miss the first 49ers-Davidson game at Halton Arena in nearly four years.” The couple “flew back to Charlotte on Saturday to attend the game” and then flew back to Hoover, Ala., on Sunday for the NCAA Div I Soccer Championship game, where the Univ. of North Carolina beat the 49ers (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 12/11)....President Obama, Vice President JOE BIDEN and Patriots coach BILL BELICHICK all attended Saturday's Navy-Army game at FedExField (BOSTON GLOBE, 12/12)....Patriots Owner BOB KRAFT, his daughters-in-law PATTI, WENDY and CAROLYN, and a dozen Patriots wives prepared and served lunch, played bingo and passed out toiletries at the Women's Lunch Place in honor of the late MYRA KRAFT (BOSTON HERALD, 12/11)....BEAU TURNER, TED TURNER's youngest son and part owner of the Hawks, hosts a new show on the Sportsman Channel. Viewers of "Beau Knows Outdoors" see him hunting and fishing (AJC.com, 12/10)....Twins C JOE MAUER got engaged to girlfriend MADELINE BISANZ over the weekend (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 12/12)....Golfer LORENA OCHOA announced Thursday that she gave birth to her first child, a boy named PEDRO (GOLFCHANNEL.com, 12/8).
