Prior to Thursday night's first round of the NFL Draft, Saints Owner TOM BENSON told reporters that his granddaughter, co-Owner & Exec VP RITA BENSON LEBLANC, "is hospitalized at Oschner Hospital" in New Orleans. USA TODAY's Glenn Guilbeau notes LeBlanc "has been on leave from work for several weeks." Benson said, "Unfortunately Rita's in the hospital. She's OK. Oschner's taking good care of her" (USA TODAY, 4/27). In New Orleans, WVUE-Fox reporter Jennifer Hale wrote on Twitter Friday, "Rita Benson LeBlanc released from hospital" (TWITTER.com, 4/27).
NEW ROLE: Israeli basketball club Maccabi Bazan Haifa hired former Syracuse Univ. associate head coach BERNIE FINE as a basketball consultant to the team, which is owned by Florida-based businessman JEFFREY ROSEN. After 36 seasons at Syracuse, Fine was "fired in November, amid allegations that he sexually molested two former ball boys" (ESPN.com, 4/26).
NAMES: ESPN's CHRIS BERMAN this week appeared at his alma mater, Brown Univ., to honor outgoing AD MICHAEL GOLDBERGER, who is leaving the school after nearly 40 years (GOLOCALPROV.com, 4/25)....After the Knicks Tuesday announced GLEN GRUNWALD as the team's permanent Exec VP & GM, interim head coach MIKE WOODSON and former President of Basketball Operations ISIAH THOMAS, along with their wives, met for dinner at Serafina in White Plains, N.Y. (N.Y. POST, 4/26)....RIHANNA and JAY-Z will headline the BBC Radio 1 Hackney Weekend 2012, on June 23-24, a month before the London Games (BLOOMBERG.com, 4/26)....Wells Fargo has made a $100,000 donation to The First Tee of Charlotte, part of the bank's celebration of the 10th anniversary of the PGA Tour's Wells Fargo Championship next week (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 4/27)....The D'Backs will receive the '12 Arizona Business Leadership Award. Team President & CEO DERRICK HALL will accept the award on behalf of the organization (D'Backs)....U.S. Treasury Secretary TIM GEITHNER questioned several CEOs Wednesday "about business trends" during a closed-door meeting at Nike HQs in Portland, Ore. Participants at the meeting included Nike President & CEO MARK PARKER and Columbia Sportswear President & CEO TIM BOYLE (BIZJOURNALS.com, 4/26).
