In St. Louis, David Hunn reported Cardinals manager MIKE MATHENY has “lost his court battle with a local bank over a failed real estate investment in the Chesterfield Valley.” Matheny on Friday said that the ruling will cost him “millions of dollars -- potentially his entire net worth.” Court records show that Matheny’s partnership “still owes at least” $4.4M (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 1/19).
CHECKS & BALANCES: Buccaneers coach GREG SCHIANO must pay his former employer Rutgers Univ. by Jan. 26 the $300,000 balance of an interest-free loan he received “to build a multimillion dollar home” in Piscataway, N.J. (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 1/18)….A regulatory filing showed that Disney President & CEO ROBERT IGER “received total compensation" valued at $40.2M in the last fiscal year, a "20% increase over the prior year” (L.A. TIMES, 1/19).
ON THE SCREEN: Twins BOD Member BILL POHLAD will direct the film “Love & Mercy,” about Beach Boys singer BRIAN WILSON, who “incidentally is a relative” of T'Wolves F KEVIN LOVE (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 1/20)….Texas Motor Speedway President EDDIE GOSSAGE has “just two lines in the Season 2 premiere” of TNT’s “Dallas” at 9:00pm ET on Jan. 28. In the episode, Gossage “introduces Christopher Ewing (played by JESSE METCALFE) to driver RICKY RUDD” (STAR-TELEGRAM.com, 1/20).
MARRIAGE MATTERS: Former U.S. Olympic figure skater MICHELLE KWAN and CLAY PELL, a grandson of the late Sen. CLAIBORNE PELL, were married in Rhode Island on Saturday (AP, 1/20)….Mets 3B DAVID WRIGHT and girlfriend MOLLY BEERS became engaged recently (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 1/21)….IndyCar team Dragon Racing Owner JAY PENSKE, son of IndyCar and NASCAR team Owner ROGER PENSKE, is engaged to model ELAINE IRWIN (N.Y. POST, 1/21)....Former NBAer ALLEN IVERSON finalized his divorce with ex-wife TAWANNA with a $3M buyout (PHILLY.com, 1/21).
NAMES: Power Company of Wyoming, owned by AEG Chair PHIL ANSCHUTZ, is “seeking to build the nation’s largest wind farm and then ship the power to California over a 725-mile transmission line, the longest to be built in decades” (DENVER POST, 1/21)….Fans got to spend Saturday morning in N.Y. with MLB Giants President & CEO LARRY BAER, GM BRIAN SABEAN and Baseball HOFer WILLIE MAYS, as well as the Commissioner’s Trophy. Mays “addressed both the New York Giants Historical Society and the New York Giants Preservation Society and received standing ovations from the crowd” (N.Y. POST, 1/20)….The Pistons yesterday named their press room after late PR Dir MATT DOBEK. The room now “features a mural of Dobek with some of the iconic figures in the team’s history” (DETROIT NEWS, 1/21)….Retired U.S. swimmer MICHAEL PHELPS and Orioles CF ADAM JONES attended the AFC Championship game (BALTIMORESUN.com, 1/21)….Model KATHERINE WEBB, girlfriend of Alabama QB A.J. MCCARRON, was overheard saying that she was moving to N.Y. to "pursue a full-time modeling career" (N.Y. POST, 1/21)....Georgia Tech AD MIKE BOBINSKI “will not begin" his duties until April 1. Bobinski has “business to complete at Xavier and is also the chair of the NCAA men’s basketball committee.” Georgia Tech search committee Chair STEVE ZELNAK said that after the committee interviewed five finalists for the AD position, all seven committee members and Georgia Tech President BUD PETERSON “ranked Bobinski first.” Bobinski said, “Professionally for me, this was in an arena that I wanted to return to” (AJC.com, 1/18)….Basketball HOFer BILL RUSSELL was spotted at today’s inauguration (THE DAILY).
IN MEMORY: Quebec journalist and sports commentator RICHARD GARNEAU died yesterday at the age of 82. Garneau covered “more Olympic Games than any other journalist in the world,” reporting “from 23 games throughout the course of his career.” In addition, he was inducted into the Hockey HOF in ’99 (CBC.ca, 1/21)….Former Univ. of Miami baseball coach RON FRASER died yesterday of “complications from Alzheimer’s disease” at the age of 79 (MIAMI HERALD, 1/21).
