Gold Medal-winning U.S. wrestlers RULON GARDNER and HENRY CEJUDO took their campaign to keep wrestling in the Olympics to NBC’s “The Tonight Show” last night. Gardner said, “This is kind of the call of arms that I think everybody in the sport of wrestling around the world has kind of come together to say, ‘Hey, this isn't right. The IOC, we want you to relook at this.’” Cejudo said, “They get rid of wrestling at the Olympic level, more likely they’re probably going to take it out of the NCAAs and then high school.” Leno closed the segment by promoting a website to help save wrestling, www.KeepWrestlingInTheOlympics.com, and telling viewers to “go to our ‘The Tonight Show’ Facebook page for all the details.” Leno: “Just send an e-mail, that's all you have to do. Or write a letter if you’re old school, whatever you need to do. But I really think we need to save this because, to me, it is one of the core sports” (“The Tonight Show,” NBC, 3/18).
COURT REPORT: MLB Giants P BARRY ZITO claims in court that a "friend duped him" into investing $3M in a "fitness software scheme that never materialized." Zito claims that MICHAEL CLARK "told him that dotFIT 'was in the midst'" of a $20M equity campaign. Barry Zito Enterprises seeks damages of at least $3M for "breaches of contract and fiduciary duty, fraud, gross negligence, unfair business practices and civil conspiracy" (COURTHOUSENEWS.com, 3/18)....An Atlanta woman who claimed that her 16-year-old son was fathered by Basketball HOFer MICHAEL JORDAN is "dropping a paternity suit" (AJC.com, 3/18).
NAMES: Patriots Owner ROBERT KRAFT yesterday acknowledged "having a pre-cancerous stage of melanoma, as several substantial blotches were visible on his face" at the NFL owners meetings (BOSTON HERALD, 3/19). Meanwhile, the Kraft family and New England Patriots Charitable Foundation announced the opening of the '13 Myra Kraft Community MVP Awards as part of the Patriots' ongoing Celebrate Volunteerism initiative, which honors the late MYRA KRAFT (Patriots)....ARNOLD PALMER yesterday made a $200,000 donation "to the First Tee of Central Florida to set up the Arnold Palmer Scholarship Fund." The chapter is "committed to growing the fund to more than $1 million in the next ten years” (“Morning Drive,” Golf Channel, 3/19)....Golf Digest Writer-At-Large DAN JENKINS is the '13 AP Sports Editors Red Smith Award winner. Jenkins, a '12 World Golf HOF inductee, will be honored on June 28 in Detroit (Golf Digest)....Tennis HOFer ANDRE AGASSI, UFC President DANA WHITE, Las Vegas Events President PAT CHRISTENSON and Las Vegas Motor Speedway President & GM CHRIS POWELL will be among those inducted to the Southern Nevada Sports HOF on May 31 at Orleans Arena (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 3/19)....Under Armour Founder, President & CEO KEVIN PLANK's total compensation package rose 35% in '12, "most of which was tied" to the company meeting set performance goals. Plank last year made "more than" $1.5M, up from $1.1M in '11 (BIZJOURNALS.com, 3/15)....The Collegiate Event & Facility Management Association announced that Magic CEO ALEX MARTINS will be the keynote speaker at its annual convention on June 12 (CEFMA).
IN MEMORY: Former Canadian Sports Network VP FRANK SELKE JR. died at the age of 83. Selke also served as Canadiens Publicity Dir from ’51-65 (CP, 3/18)....Former Univ. of Oklahoma QB and TV analyst STEVE DAVIS died on Sunday at the age of 60 after a plane crash in South Bend, Ind. (CHRON.com, 3/18)….Former Cleveland State Univ. AD JOHN KONSTANTINOS died on Thursday at the age of 76 (CLEVELAND.com, 3/18).
