In Minneapolis, Gallu, Burton & Kishan report Wild minority Owner PHILIP FALCONE yesterday "was accused of fraud" by the SEC. Falcone, who manages the $26B hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners, "stands accused of misappropriating client assets, favoring selected investors and manipulating bond prices." He "still maintains ties" to Minnesota, and owns a 30% stake in the Wild. The team and majority Owner CRAIG LEIPOLD issued a statement yesterday that said the accusations against Falcone "do not affect the Minnesota Wild in any way" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 6/28).
SAFE AT HOME: Red Sox P CLAY BUCHHOLZ on Tuesday night was released "after spending five days at Mass General Hospital where he was diagnosed with esophagitis." Buchholz said that he "was visited" in the hospital by Red Sox principal Owner JOHN HENRY and team President & CEO LARRY LUCCHINO (BOSTON.com, 6/27).
COURT REPORT: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Stevens & Crawford report former BayernLB Chief Risk Officer GERHARD GRIBKOWSKY "was sentenced to more than eight years in prison Wednesday for accepting $44 million in alleged bribes" from F1 Management Chair BERNIE ECCLESTONE in connection with a '05 "agreement to sell a stake in the motor-racing franchise." Ecclestone "hasn't been charged in the case, but is under investigation" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 6/28).
GOING BEYOND SPORT: LOCOG Chair SEBASTIAN COE presented the P&G UK Impact Award to Street League, a charity which uses soccer to help disadvantaged members of society into work, education or training. Coe presented the award, launched by global organization Beyond Sport in partnership with P&G, at the "Beyond Sport London Reception, held just one month before the Beyond Sport Summit & Awards" (London TELEGRAPH, 6/28).
A GIANT HELP: The Univ. of San Francisco yesterday named the MLB Giants recipient of the '12 USF California Prize for Service and the Common Good, which recognizes individuals or organizations that have made significant advancements or innovations in serving the public and advocating on behalf of the underserved populations of California. USF will honor the Giants at a gala dinner Nov. 12 on campus (Giants).
NAMES: Former TCU AD FRANK WINDEGGER yesterday at the NACDA meetings received the James J. Corbett award, the highest honor bestowed upon someone in college athletics administration (DALLASNEWS.com, 6/27)....The Boston Sports Museum honored Bruins Owner JEREMY JACOBS yesterday at the 11th annual "The Tradition," a summer event that honors New Englanders involved in athletics (NESN.com, 6/27)....The Santa Clara City Council Tuesday night voted 4-2 to begin negotiations to build a four- or five-star hotel across from the new 49ers stadium with Golden Joe, a business group fronted by Pro Football HOFer JOE MONTANA (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 6/27)....The Broncos yesterday pledged $50,000 to assist relief efforts in the wake of the Colorado wild fires. DE BEN GARLAND, DT MITCH UNREIN and DT KEVIN VICKERSON, along with some Broncos cheerleaders, will be in Ft. Collins today "to visit with people evacuated because of the High Park Fire and the firefighters who have been battling that fire for more than two weeks." That is likely "just the first player-organized volunteer effort in coming days" (DENVERPOST.com, 6/27).
IN MEMORY: Longtime Dolphins exec EDDIE JONES died yesterday morning at the age of 74. Jones began his NFL career as a business manager for the Saints in '68, and went on to oversee the Dolphins' daily operations for 18 seasons, including 10 years as team president. He originally joined the organization in '88 as VP/Administration & Finance before being named Exec VP & GM in '90. He was promoted to President in '96 (Dolphins). Jones' "biggest accomplishment was his role in the sale of the team" from JOE ROBBIE to WAYNE HUIZENGA, a process that began in '90 and was concluded in '93 (PALM BEACH POST, 6/28)....Former Triple-A Denver Bears GM JIM BURRIS, 89, died last Friday of congestive heart failure. Burris served as GM of the Bears for 20 seasons, from '65-84 (DENVER POST, 6/26).
