CAA Baseball led all agencies in player representation during the first and supplemental first rounds of the '12 MLB First Year Player Draft with seven clients selected. SCOTT BORAS had six clients selected, followed by The Legacy Agency and SFX Baseball with five clients each. Wasserman Media Group is acting as advisor to first overall pick, Astros draftee CARLOS CORREA (SPORTSAGENTBLOG.com, 6/5).
CHARITY STRIPE: The Florida Aquarium yesterday announced that Lightning Owner JEFF VINIK and his wife, PENNY, have made a $500,000 donation to the aquarium's Rising Tides Capital Campaign. The donation propelled the campaign past the halfway mark, as it has now raised $8M toward its goal of $15M (Florida Aquarium/Lightning)....Golfer BUBBA WATSON yesterday accepted a $250,000 check for charity that has been raised by the sale of his trademark Bubba-gum-pink Ping G20 driver (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 6/6)....The NHL Kings donated $50,000 to a reward fund created for those who "provide information on the fatal shooting of a 1-year-old boy Monday night" in L.A. (LATIMES.com, 6/5).
WOMEN IN THE GAME: BROADCASTING & CABLE and MULTICHANNEL NEWS named their '12 "Women In The Game" sports TV exec honorees. Below is a complete list of the honorees (BROADCASTING & CABLE, 6/4 issue).
MULTICHANNEL NEWS' "WOMEN IN THE GAME"
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Fox Sports Media Group Exec VP/Business & Legal Affairs Karen Brodkin
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ESPN Senior VP/Global Strategy, Business Development & Business Affairs Marie Donoghue
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UFC VP/Digital, Technology Research & Development Christy King
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WNBA Sparks CEO Paula Madison
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MLB VP/Broadcast Operations Bernadette McDonald
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NBA Digital Senior VP & GM and Turner Sports Strategy Senior VP/Marketing & Programming Christina Miller
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Tennis Channel Senior VP/Marketing Robyn Miller
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Pac-12 Networks VP & GM Lydia Murphy-Stephans
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CBS Sports Exec Dir Deanna O'Toole
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NBC Olympics Coordinating Producer and Golf Channel Exec Producer & Senior VP/Production & Operations Molly Solomon
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Univision Deportes Senior Exec Producer of News Sharon Van Zwieten
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Time Warner Cable Exec VP and Chief Video & Content Officer Melinda Witmer
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NAMES: Baseball HOFer and Dodgers Special Advisor
TOMMY LASORDA is "resting comfortably" in a N.Y. hospital after suffering a mild heart attack Monday (
LATIMES.com, 6/5)....The Univ. of Miami said yesterday that it has settled a breach of contract lawsuit filed by former football coach
RANDY SHANNON in April over money he said he was denied after his firing in November (
AP, 6/5)....ESPN's
KARL RAVECH, sportscaster
AHMAD RASHAD and UConn AD
WARDE MANUEL are among the celebrities who will play in the PGA Tour Travelers Championship Celebrity Pro-Am June 20 at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Conn. (
COURANT.com, 6/5)....Under Armour Chair, President & CEO
KEVIN PLANK kicked off Footwear News' first N.Y. summit on Monday. Foot Locker Inc. Chair & CEO
KEN HICKS concluded the day with a "lively conversation" (
WWD.com, 6/5)....The NLL named Minnesota Swarm co-Owner, VP & Alternate Governor
ANDY ARLOTTA winner of the league's '12 Exec of the Year Award (
NLL)....Churchill Downs is among the '12 inductees to the Kentucky Athletic HOF (
BLOODHORSE.com, 6/5)....A court yesterday ordered the bankrupt Mickey Mantle's Restaurant & Sportsbar in N.Y. padlocked after 25 years (
N.Y. POST, 6/6).
IN MEMORY: Former Mariners GM HAL KELLER passed away yesterday at the age of 85 after battling esophageal cancer. Keller served as the Mariners Dir of Player Development for four years before taking over as GM from '84-85 (SEATTLE TIMES, 6/6).