ESPN.com’s Darren Rovell reported sales of JOE POSNANSKI’s “Paterno” have “dropped off” since the book went on sale Aug. 21. Nielsen Bookscan, which tracks sales in all outlets except Wal-Mart, reported that the book has “only sold 29,000 copies,” with 11,439 copies being sold “in the first week alone.” The biography of late Penn State football coach JOE PATERNO “saw a 42 percent drop in sales to only 6,623 copies sold” in the second week. Simon & Schuster “published a first printing of 100,000 copies” (ESPN.com, 10/4).
TEAM BUILDING: In Phoenix, Brandon Brown reports Suns TV analyst EDDIE JOHNSON “has started a new sports league exclusively for corporations.” In his Arizona Corporate League, part of his business JJJ Sports LLC, teams "composed of employees from various companies will compete against one another.” The league is “intended to help companies fight absenteeism by keeping employees healthy and improving relationships among them.” Johnson's leagues include “basketball, dodge ball and volleyball” (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 10/5).
FASHION FORWARD: In a Friday N.Y. TIMES feature on fashion in sports, Sam Borden notes Giants WR VICTOR CRUZ “started his own casual clothing line known as Young Whales” to help him “with his fashion statements.” Cruz teamed with stylist RACHEL JOHNSON, who “counts the NBA stars LEBRON JAMES, AMAR’E STOUDEMIRE and CHRIS PAUL among her celebrity clients.” Cruz said, “We don’t get a lot of time where we’re not in our uniforms and people are looking at us. So if you get those few minutes, you want to show people that you have an identity.” Both Johnson and Cruz agreed that attention to fashion “will likely continue increasing as news media coverage and TV exposure of NFL players becomes more widespread.” Meanwhile, Borden notes Redskins QB ROBERT GRIFFIN III “established that socks were his calling card,” while Giants TE MARTELLUS BENNETT “has such an affinity for fedoras that he will occasionally don them on practice days.” Giants CB COREY WEBSTER “was a popular choice among those asked to identify the best-dressed Giants player” (N.Y. TIMES, 10/5).
BANG FOR THEIR BUCKS: In Phoenix, Doug Haller notes Arizona State Univ. “recently added a wealth of NBA experience to HERB SENDEK's men's basketball staff, but the Sun Devils didn't break the bank to do so.” Former NBA coach ERIC MUSSELMAN and former NBA scout LARRY GREER “each will have base salaries of $190,000 this season.” The assistants they replaced “each made the same amount.” Associate head coach DEDRIQUE TAYLOR is Sendek's “highest-paid assistant with a base salary of $200,000.” Both Musselman and Greer “receive car stipends of $400 per month.” Their contracts also “likely include various incentives, but they are not available for review” (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 10/4).
NAMES: Basketball HOFer KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR will be the “subject of a celebrity roast at the JW Marriott L.A. Live and Ritz-Carlton.” Comedian GEORGE LOPEZ will “host the event.” Among the guests will be Basketball HOFer MAGIC JOHNSON (LATIMES.com, 10/3)….Boxing HOFer MUHAMMAD ALI was the guest of honor Thursday night at the 4th annual Norman Mailer Center benefit gala. Ali was in attendance to “watch the first ever presentation” of the Muhammad Ali Ethics Award (AP, 10/5)….Sabres and AHL Amerks Owner TERRY PEGULA and wife, KIM, on Thursday joined Sabres President TED BLACK and Amerks VP/Business Operations ROB KOPACZ on a “good-will ticket crawl” in Fairport, N.Y., to deliver Amerks pre-paid season tickets “to fans right at their house” (DEMOCRATANDCHRONICLE.com, 10/4)….The Univ. of North Carolina on Thursday in a release said that test results showed the tumor removed from men's basketball coach ROY WILLIAMS’ left kidney is not cancerous (NEWSOBSERVER.com, 10/4)….The Washington Nationals Dream Foundation announced that The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation has committed $250,000 in support of the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy (Nationals)….Former NFLer WARREN SAPP has been ordered by a Florida bankruptcy court “to auction off his home.” Sapp, who is $6.7M “in debt, had to auction off the property or face jail time” (LATIMES.com, 10/4).
