In Pennsylvania, Sara Ganim cited a source as saying that Penn State Univ. offered to name the school's football stadium after late coach JOE PATERNO "as leverage to get the family to sign a full release in exchange" for paying the full contract after Paterno was fired in November. However, the source said that the family "didn't budge" off of Paterno's long-standing request to keep the Beaver Stadium name on the venue. Following Paterno’s death in January, the university “offered the family three items in exchange for a full release, which would have prevented the family from suing the university and from publicly speaking negatively about it.” Those items were the football stadium name, an "apology for how Paterno was fired by phone" and a promise to honor the contract "that was eventually honored last week” (Harrisburg PATRIOT-NEWS, 4/22).
MAGIC MAN: In L.A., Kim Christensen profiled Guggenheim Partners CEO and Dodgers Controlling Owner MARK WALTER and wrote though MAGIC JOHNSON is the “famous public face of the new ownership team” of the Dodgers, Walter will "have a hand in everything from player salaries to improvements” at Dodger Stadium. Walter often is described as "decent ... private, unassuming and almost studiously unflashy.” Walter until recently was “seldom in the news -- and apparently liked it that way.” When the Chicago Tribune contacted about three dozen of the city’s top bankers, investors and power brokers after the winning bid for the Dodgers was announced last month, most of the execs "had never met Walter and none said they knew him well.” Walter has a net worth of $1.3B, and ranks seventh among MLB owners (L.A. TIMES, 4/21).
STEELERS IN THE CLEAR: The Steelers “do not have to pay attorney fees” related to former NFLer CHIDI IWUOMA's worker’s compensation claim. The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania ruled that Iwuoma, who played for the Steelers from October ’02-September ’06 and again from December ’06-September ’07, “clearly suffered injuries while with the team," but he was “not ‘disabled’ since he went on to play for other pro teams.” He signed with the Titans in December ’07 and played two games for them. Over the span of several months in ’08 and ’09, Iwuoma “filed four separate petitions for workers' compensation benefits” related to various injuries he suffered while playing for the Steelers (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 4/23).
NAMES: Under Armour notified employees Thursday about a “data breach that may have exposed their names, Social Security numbers and salary information.” The company told employees in an e-mail that an "unencrypted thumb drive containing employee payroll information," which was sent by mail in connection with a recent audit, “was lost in the U.S. mail on or about April 12 by its auditing firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers” (DAYTON DAILY NEWS, 4/21)....Desert Classic Charities and the Humana Foundation “passed out a tournament-record $2,045,000 to 40 desert charities, more than $200,000 more than the event’s previous mark.” The event, formerly known as the Bob Hope Classic, has now “donated $52 million in 53 years” to various local organizations (DESERT SUN, 4/21)....Chargers S ERIC WEDDLE “is more than just the honorary co-chair" of "Invest in Excellence: The Campaign for Utah Athletics." Weddle announced a $250,000 donation at Saturday night’s kickoff dinner at Rice-Eccles Stadium (DESERET NEWS, 4/23)....The Suns and D'Backs are creating a new "speaker series aimed at business audiences.” One session will examine “what it’s like to work in the front office and the business operations of pro sports franchises.” The series will begin tomorrow with a panel discussion featuring D'Backs Senior Dir of Legal Affairs & Associate General Counsel CALEB JAY and run through October (BIZJOURNALS.com, 4/20)....EPL club Manchester United F WAYNE ROONEY and England rugby union player MATT DAWSON are “among the new wave of high-profile figures suing News Corp. Chair RUPERT MURDOCH's News International over alleged 'News of the World' phone hacking” (GUARDIAN, 4/21). … Hendrick Motorsports Owner RICK HENDRICK tomorrow is opening a $55M high-end auto mall in north Charlotte. The Hendrick Luxury Auto Mall has three separate dealerships -- BMW, Lexus and Mercedes -- and each has its own building (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 4/22).
