Names In The News

Nike Founder & Chair PHIL KNIGHT next week will be inducted into the Basketball HOF and will be introduced by Bobcats Owner & HOFer MICHAEL JORDAN and former Georgetown Univ. men's coach JOHN THOMPSON. Jordan's partnership with Nike "revolutionized how the sport was marketed and helped raise the game's profile globally." Thompson has had a seat on Nike's BOD since '91 (BIZJOURNALS.com, 8/28). Former NBAer REGGIE MILLER will also be inducted and will be presented by Dodgers investor & HOFer MAGIC JOHNSON, TNT analyst & HOFer CHARLES BARKLEY and Miller's sister, TNT analyst & HOFer CHERYL MILLER. Also being inducted next week is former NBAer MEL DANIELS, who will be presented by WAYNE EMBRY and ARTIS GILMORE (INDYSTAR.com, 8/28).

READY FOR THE BIG SCREEN: DAILY VARIETY's Jeff Sneider reports the NFL is teaming with TONY KRANTZ's Flame Ventures to produce "Week 14," a "drama that Krantz will produce and direct from a script by RON SHELTON." CAA is "shopping the package, which studios are expected to bid on in the coming weeks." The plan is "to head into production after the Feb. 3 Super Bowl." Aimed to be "a four-quadrant movie in the vein of 'Crash,' [the] pic will chronicle the last three weeks of the NFL's regular season as seen through the eyes of fictional players, coaches and their significant others" (VARIETY.com, 8/28).

AGENTS OF CHANGE: Octagon has signed ESPN's CHRIS FOWLER for representation in broadcasting, marketing, speaking, literary and other endeavors. Octagon President PHIL DE PICCIOTTO will represent him. He was formerly represented by PERRY ROGERS (Liz Mullen, SportsBusiness Journal)....Rockies CF DEXTER FOWLER has “changed agents” from SCOTT BORAS to Excel Sports Management’s CASEY CLOSE (ESPN.com, 8/28)....NFL free agent TE CHRIS COOLEY has retained agent DAVID DUNN (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 8/28).

NAMES: Big Ten Commissioner JIM DELANY and nine others on Aug. 3 "began the trek up Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa." The group "reached the summit" at 6:20am local time on Aug. 8. Tournament of Roses Exec VP SCOTT JENKINS "organized the trip, which also included" Conference USA Commissioner BRITTON BANOWSKY and Rose Bowl Chief Administrative Officer KEVIN ASH (ESPN.com, 8/28)....Indiana State Univ. is "moving ahead with plans for a 15-foot-tall bronze statue" to honor Basketball HOFer LARRY BIRD. School officials "expect to dedicate it in the fall of 2013" (AP, 8/28)....PGA Waste Management Phoenix Open Tournament Chair ALEX CLARK announced that Thunderbirds, the group that organizes the event, "will distribute $5,552,416 to local charities through proceeds raised from the 2012 tournament" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 8/29)....Univ. of Tennessee women's basketball head coach emeritus PAT SUMMITT will receive the USTA's Billie Jean King Legacy Award (AP, 8/28)....The NFL has selected West Virginia Univ. AD OLIVER LUCK to join the league's player safety advisory panel (AP, 8/28)....Bruins LW MILAN LUCIC and his wife BRITTANY “threw a party in the Bahamas to celebrate their recent marriage” (BOSTON GLOBE, 8/29).