The AP's Mesfin Fekadu reports BEYONCE will be the "halftime show performer" during Super Bowl XLVII. An official announcement is due tomorrow. The singer performed the National Anthem at Super Bowl XXXVIII in '04 (AP, 10/16).
SELLING IT OFF: The AP's Jim Litke reports ESPN college basketball analyst BOB KNIGHT will put just about everything he "amassed over more than four decades in the coaching business" on the auction block over the next two months. The items will be "offered for sale between now and Dec. 5." Knight said that he and Basketball HOFer JOHN HAVLICEK, who played together at Ohio State, "hatched the idea of funding their grandchildren's educations by cleaning out the closets and drawers in their homes" (AP, 10/16).
THE MAN BEHIND THE COACH: ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported NFL Giants coach TOM COUGHLIN held an event for his Tom Coughlin Jay Fund Foundation on Friday in N.Y. which “grossed more than $1 million, helping families for children suffering from leukemia and cancer.” Giants QB ELI MANNING attended the event and “he was glad his new teammates could experience Tom Coughlin the man, not just the coach” (“Monday Night Countdown,” ESPN, 10/15).
UNSTOPPABLE: In Charlotte, "NASCAR on ESPN" Stage Manager ANDREA HILDERBRAND was among a few people profiled under the header “Fantastically Fit.” In addition to “being bike-crazy, she is a runner, a CrossFit enthusiast, an avid mountaineer (she summited 19,347-foot Cotopaxi in Ecuador in 2011), and a competitive shooter” (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 10/16).
HOOPS HYPE: Lakers G KOBE BRYANT will host the United Way of Greater L.A.'s Home Walk on Nov. 19 (LATIMES.com, 10/14)....Basketball HOFer KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR yesterday was named the California After School STEM Ambassador at a statewide education conference in San Diego (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 10/15)....Nets C BROOK LOPEZ on Sunday attended Comic Con at N.Y.’s Javits Center. Lopez “hopes to parlay” his interest in comic books “into a second career.” He said, “I want to try my hand at everything” (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 10/16)….Heat G RAY ALLEN put his 11,093-square-foot Wellesley, Mass., home on the market for $5.2M (BOSTON GLOBE, 10/16).
NAMES: Illinois Gov. PAT QUINN named former NFLer GARY FENCIK Illinois Lottery Control Board Chair (CHICAGOTRIBUNE.com, 10/16)….Houghton Mifflin Harcourt inked a deal with Patriots TE ROB GRONKOWSKI and his family for “Growing Up Gronk,” a book by and about the Gronkowski family. The family “enlisted journalist JEFF SCHOBER to help with the book” (BOSTON GLOBE, 10/16)....The Duke Univ. men’s basketball team yesterday played in front of U.S. Army service members at Funk Gym on the base at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, N.C. The team's wake-up call came at 5:45am ET and they “marched to the PT field for physical training and a two-mile run.” The team began practice “by interrupting their stretching routine to stand and applaud as the troops filed into Funk Gym” (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 10/16)....The Hilton N.Y. yesterday hosted a "cocktail and photo reception" for Republican VP candidate PAUL RYAN. Among the nearly 200 co-chairs for the event were NFL Jets Owner WOODY JOHNSON, Steelers investor DAVID TEPPER and 76ers Managing Owner JOSH HARRIS (NYTIMES.com, 10/15).
