Names In The News

AM LAW DAILY’s Brian Baxter profiled attorney TREMAYNE NORRIS, a “fifth-year IP associate at Steptoe & Johnson in Washington, D.C., who began taking acting classes just last year.” Norris plays a “prominent role” in a new adidas commercial featuring Redskins QB ROBERT GRIFFIN III. Norris was a TE for Morgan State Univ. and his “gridiron experience helped him overcome a relatively thin acting resume on his way to landing” the adidas gig. Norris said, "They were looking for ex-football players with college experience, and the shoot was on a weekend, so that made it even better for my schedule. This really was a once in a lifetime opportunity." Norris said that he “enjoyed working with Griffin and wasn't even aware that the commercial had begun airing until a security guard at Steptoe's offices pulled him aside one morning last week and asked him whether he was the same guy he saw on YouTube.” Norris: "I tried to keep it a secret, but I started getting calls and emails throughout the day. Everyone (at the firm) was really supportive and thought it was pretty cool" (AMERICANLAWYER.com, 7/26).

HIGHER LEARNING: Golfer PHIL MICKELSON appeared live in-studio on “CBS This Morning” Thursday to promote his Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academy, which helps teachers understand math and science. Mickelson said he and his wife, AMY, are “very passionate about math and science and we understand the important role that it plays in keeping America great and helping us compete on an international scale.” Mickelson: “We’ve partnered with ExxonMobil to create this teachers’ academy where we give the third through fifth grade teachers new innovative techniques to inspire their kids in the math and sciences” (“CBS This Morning,” CBS, 7/26).

SHE'S A LITTLE BIT COUNTRY: NASCAR driver DANICA PATRICK appears in the new video of country singer MIRANDA LAMBERT's song “The Fastest Girl In Town.” Patrick said from the set of the video, “It’s kind of like a ‘Thelma and Louise’-themed video where Miranda and I are partners in crime and I play sort of like the getaway driver. We pull up to a bar, we may have sort of used our femininity to distract the boys, grab some keys, slide out the backdoor and take off with the car” (“NASCAR Now,” ESPN2, 7/26).

PAPER BOY: In New Orleans, Jaquetta White reported Saints and Hornets Owner TOM BENSON is “interested in adding The Times-Picayune to his stable of businesses.” In a July 25 letter to Advance Publications Chair STEVE NEWHOUSE, who is a member of the family that owns the paper, Benson “seeks a meeting to discuss purchasing the paper with a group of investors.” But Newhouse on Thursday reiterated that the company “will not entertain an offer to sell the newspaper” (NOLA.com, 7/26).

NAMES: Jacksonville Mayor ALVIN BROWN announced that the Univ. of Florida’s season-opening Navy-Marine Corps Classic against Georgetown on Nov. 9 “will be played on the USS Bataan at Naval Station Mayport” (GATORZONE.com, 7/25)….Yankees 2B ROBINSON CANO and P DAVID ROBERTSON each "accepted donation checks of $25,000” from Double-A Eastern League Trenton Thunder Team Chiropractor and MVP (Medicine Via Philanthropy) Foundation creator DR. THOMAS HAVERON prior to Thursday’s game against the Harrisburg Senators. The two donated the money to their charities. Cano's RC24 Foundation provides “gifts for disadvantaged youth in the Dominican, while Robertson’s High Socks for Hope was started in 2011 to benefit tornado victims in his home state of Alabama (TRENTON TIMES, 7/27)….NFL Panthers WR STEVE SMITH, who “has no specific connection to the Aurora community,” has pledged to “donate $100,000 to ease the burden of those who are carrying on” (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 7/26).