In Philadelphia, Emily Kaplan writes if former NCAA presidents GENE CORRIGAN or CEDRIC DEMPSEY "were still in power, Penn State's sanctions would not have been as harsh." Corrigan and Dempsey yesterday were part of a panel discussion titled "The Future of the NCAA and Its Membership." The event was "hosted by Penn State's John Curley Center for Sports Journalism." The panel "covered several topics, including the impact the Penn State scandal will have on the future of college athletics." Corrigan said to the crowd of 500 Penn State students, faculty and townspeople, "I was upset for you. I felt you were hit in the head pretty hard." Dempsey said of the NCAA, "If they're not right up in the midst of it, there's no way you can find a sensible conclusion out of it. You don't do this to your children. You find out what happened" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 10/4).
COURT REPORT: Univ. of Tennessee women's basketball head coach emeritus PAT SUMMITT, in an affidavit as part of the lawsuit filed against the school by former Media Dir DEBBY JENNINGS, said that she "initially felt she was being forced to step down as the Lady Vols' basketball coach by Tennessee athletic director DAVE HART, who later told Summitt that she had misinterpreted his comments." Jennings' lawsuit alleges that "age and sex discrimination led to her forced retirement from the school where she had worked for 35 years" (AP, 10/3).
FOR SALE: In Boston, Todd Wallack notes former MLBer CURT SCHILLING could be "forced to sell a 'bloody sock' he wore while leading" the Red Sox to a World Series title, among "other cherished items, to help pay back millions of dollars in loans he guaranteed for his failed video game company, 38 Studios." A document filed with the Massachusetts Secretary of State's office shows the sock was "among the collateral Schilling recently pledged to lenders" (BOSTON GLOBE, 10/4).
CARING EFFORT: In Massachusetts, Julie Donnelly reported Patriots Owner ROBERT KRAFT earlier this week, during an annual meeting of the national medical device lobbying group Advamed, said that he is "looking to raise a 'couple hundred million' dollars to take his Kraft Center for Community Health national." Kraft and his late wife MYRA "donated $20 million to launch the center in January 2011, when she was battling ovarian cancer." Kraft said that he "sees better care coordination to be a central challenge for the health care community and he urged medical device companies to become part of the solution" (MASSHIGHTECH.com, 10/3).
A GREAT REVEAL: YAHOO SPORTS' Kevin Iole wrote Boxer ORLANDO CRUZ is "a hero" after issuing a statement yesterday "admitting his sexual orientation." Cruz is "believed to be the first openly gay active male boxer." He plans to "give what he called a 'tell-all' interview to Telemundo next week in which he'll explain his thought process and why he chose to make public his secret" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 10/3).
NAMES: Soccer player CHARLIE DAVIES "reached a settlement with businesses that served alcohol to the woman responsible for an auto accident in which he suffered severe injuries three years ago." Davies last year filed a $20M lawsuit "against the owners" of DC nightclub Shadow Room and Red Bull North America "which hosted a private party" the night of the crash (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 10/3)....NHL Rangers G HENRIK LUNDQVIST and nine teammates Tuesday night attended Rangers C BRAD RICHARDS' inaugural Wines of the World fundraiser "to benefit the Brad Richards Foundation" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 10/3)....A source said that NASCAR driver KYLE BUSCH purchased a 13,000-square-foot home on Lake Norman in September for “a Charlotte-area record” $7.5M (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 10/4)….The Windermere, Fla. home of former NFLer WARREN SAPP will be auctioned off Nov. 1 as part of his bankruptcy. The 10,000-square-foot house was built in '05 for $7M (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 10/4)….Retired Gold Medal-winning U.S. swimmer MICHAEL PHELPS is reportedly “living in a million-dollar compound on South Curley Street” in the Canton neighborhood of Baltimore (Baltimore SUN, 10/3)….Tennis HOFer ANDRE AGASSI has “joined the development team behind Splash Canyon Waterpark,” which had been scheduled to open in southwest Las Vegas Valley earlier this year. It is now scheduled to open on Memorial Day ’13 (REVIEWJOURNAL.com, 10/3)….Celtics G RAJON RONDO is “looking dapper on the cover” of the men's issue of Boston Common magazine which comes out next week (BOSTON GLOBE, 10/4).
IN MEMORY: Grizzles VP/Basketball Operations & Team Programs DANA DAVIS was found dead at the age of 56 in his home early yesterday. The cause of death is “unknown.” Foul play is “not suspected.” Davis began his career at the Grizzlies as traveling business manager (Memphis COMMERCIAL APPEAL, 10/4).
