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USA TODAY's Steve Berkowitz cites an NCAA tax filing as indicating that President MARK EMMERT received nearly $400,000 in compensation for his first three months in the position. The amount, which covered the final three months of '10, means Emmert was paid at a rate of nearly $1.6M annually -- nearly 40% more than predecessor MYLES BRAND in '08, his final full calendar year on the job. Data indicates that in his previous position as Univ. of Washington President, Emmert was paid $870,000 a year (USA TODAY, 7/10).

CAROLINA BOY: In Winston-Salem, Richard Craver profiled ESPN President JOHN SKIPPER, a Lexington, N.C. native who went to the Univ. of North Carolina and has a home in Winston-Salem which “allows him to be near his parents and in-laws.” Skipper said coming from a small town like Lexington "helped enrich my entrepreneurial skills and drawing on the common sense I was taught." Skipper: “I like to believe I am an example of what the UNC system is all about -- taking small-town kids with talent and giving them worldly exposure so that they can contribute in their communities and wherever opportunities lead them.” NBA Deputy Commissioner & COO ADAM SILVER calls Skipper "the least fussy, petty individual" he deals with in the industry. Silver: "It's never about himself or the pursuit of personal credit. He still carries his own bags, takes public transportation, doesn't have to have an entourage” (WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL, 7/8).

OLYMPIC TALK: A pair of U.S. Gold Medalists appeared on NBC's "Today" this morning. Former gymnast SHAWN JOHNSON promoted her new book, “WINNING BALANCE,” and NBC’s Natalie Morales said, “This book is really beautifully written. There are a lot of life lessons throughout the book and inspirations.” Johnson said, “I feel like throughout my whole career people have kind of covered my story from their point-of-view, what they thought and what they saw. Through my whole journey, I’ve kept diaries and journals and I just wanted to take that vulnerable side and really connect to people and let them know what I was really thinking." Meanwhile, tennis player VENUS WILLIAMS talked about dealing with Sjogren's syndrome, an autoimmune disease that “affects my whole life.” Williams: “It’s been a huge transition for me. I’ve learned so much. I’m still learning so much. It’s about being positive. I’ve changed my whole lifestyle.” Williams will become the first tennis player to compete in four Olympic Games and she said the Olympics have “been beyond my dream.” Williams: “The whole experience of just being an Olympian, it’s not about winning per se. If you can do that, that’s like icing on the cake” (“Today,” NBC, 7/10).

ANNUAL GIVING: The AP's Genaro Armas noted Penn State Univ. "received more than $208 million in donations for the fiscal year that just ended, the second-highest total in university history despite the upheaval after the arrest of JERRY SANDUSKY on child sex abuse charges." The school said yesterday that there was a "slight uptick in the number of alumni who donated money or gifts in the fiscal year that ended June 30 to more than 75,500, reversing two years of slight declines." The number of donors overall "also rose slightly to more than 191,000" (AP, 7/9).

WHO'S ON FIRST? The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Woo & Scheck note former NBAer MARK MADSEN is "one of several former-top-tier athletes aiming to extend their careers by joining recreational and beer leagues." It is "hard to tell how many athletes of Mr. Madsen's caliber play in recreational leagues." Former MLBer ERIC BYRNES, who plays in a recreational softball league, said that he "loves the league for its camaraderie, but he grouses about a rule that penalizes a team for belting more than three home runs a game" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 7/10).

BUFFALO SOLDIER: In Buffalo, Tim O'Shei in a profile of NBA Senior VP/Events & Attractions GAIL HUNTER examines her "career path from Buffalo Public School 63 to Buffalo Academy of the Sacred Heart to SUNY Fredonia and then, after working in Buffalo for a short time, law school at the University of North Carolina" (BUFFALO BUSINESS FIRST, 7/6 issue).

NAMES: Canucks G ROBERTO LUONGO Saturday played in the World Series of Poker's $10,000 buy-in No Limit Hold'em World Championship in Las Vegas. Luongo's entry was funded by British Columbia Lottery Corp., which operates legal online poker games in the Canadian province (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 7/8)....Golfer RORY MCILROY "has been immortalized in the form of a mural" in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The two-story painting, by artist DANNY DEVENNY, was commissioned by Belfast-area private landlord DECLAN BOYLE (GOLFCHANNEL.com, 7/9)....Jaguars TE MARCEDES LEWIS has purchased a condo in L.A.'s Residences at W Hollywood for about $1.2M (L.A. TIMES, 7/10)....Lululemon Athletica has purchased the Newbury Street building that houses one of its Boston stores for $7.5M (BOSTON HERALD, 7/10).

IN MEMORY
: Former Stanford Univ. basketball player PETER SAUER, the oldest son of former Blues and MLB Cardinals exec MARK SAUER, died Sunday night while playing in a recreational outdoor basketball game (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 7/10).

GAME CHANGERS: SportsBusiness Journal again this fall will shine the light on women who are making key contributions in sports business. If you know someone who should be considered for the second annual Game Changers: Women in Sports Business section, please send her name, company/title and -- in 300 words or less -- reason for consideration to women@sportsbusinessjournal.com.

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

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