REUTERS' Grover & Damouni cited sources as saying that L.A. healthcare magnate PATRICK SOON-SHIONG has "joined forces" with Guggenheim Partners to make a bid for AEG. Sources added that Soon-Shiong also is "expected to bring in additional partners to join the group." One source said that he is "particularly interested in bringing a professional football team to Los Angeles, and aims to buy a team or encourage one to move so it can play in the new stadium." Soon-Shiong currently holds a 5% ownership stake in the Lakers (REUTERS, 9/24).
POSITIVE NEWS: Doctors determined the tumor removed from the right kidney of Univ. of North Carolina-Chapel Hill men’s basketball coach ROY WILLIAMS is not malignant. Doctors next week will perform a biopsy on the tumor Williams has on his left kidney (NEWSOBSERVER.com, 9/25).
AT IT AGAIN: JAMIE MCCOURT, ex-wife of former Dodgers Owner FRANK MCCOURT, has "filed a motion to set aside the couple's divorce settlement, claiming he committed fraud by vastly understating the team's value." The motion filed Monday in L.A. Superior Court claims Frank McCourt "misrepresented the couple's Dodgers assets as worth less than $300 million during their protracted divorce" (LATIMES.com, 9/26).
IN TRIBUTE: The European Ryder Cup team is "honoring the memory of SEVE BALLESTEROS by putting his iconic image on their golf bags." Ballesteros died in May '11. He was the longtime friend of European captain JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL (AP, 9/25)....Meanwhile, the U.S. Ryder Cup team, as well as captain DAVIS LOVE III, will "donate a combined $2.6 million to designated charities and various grow-the-game initiatives through the PGA of America's Ryder Cup Outreach Program" (GOLFCHANNEL.com, 9/21).
NAMES: Red Sox P JON LESTER, his wife FARRAH and actor MIKE O'MALLEY on Monday at the House of Blues in Boston "hosted a fund-raiser for the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation." Red Sox Owner JOHN HENRY, manager BOBBY VALENTINE, NESN announcer JENNY DELL and Bruins LW SHAWN THORNTON were among those in attendance (BOSTON GLOBE, 9/26)....Comcast celebrated the second year of its Internet Essentials program at Kramer Middle School in DC. NBC’s TONY DUNGY, an Internet Essentials spokesperson, gave away “hundreds of backpacks filled with school supplies” at a Philadelphia high school (CABLEFAX DAILY, 9/25)….Pistons G WILL BYNUM donated “170 pairs of his Above The Rim sneakers to homeless teens through The Night Ministry, an outreach organization” (FREEP.com, 9/25)….ESPN’s BOB LEY will serve as co-host for Broadcasting & Cable’s HOF ceremony Oct. 29 at the Waldorf-Astoria in N.Y. (Broadcasting & Cable)….Tigers P JOSE VALVERDE yesterday said that he hired SCOTT BORAS as his agent (FREEP.com, 9/25).
