In N.Y., Celona & Saul cite sources as saying that MSG Exec Chair JAMES DOLAN on Sunday was “so furious with a security guard who didn’t recognize him outside the swanky Delta Sky 360 Club that he fired her right on the spot.” But sources said that Dolan “had a change of heart overnight -- and the guard was back at her post the very next day.” Sources said that the guard, FIORDALIZA HERNANDEZ, asked Dolan “for his ID -- which he never wears.” Dolan, “instead of laughing it off,” said, “Do you know who I am?” The “startled security guard admitted she didn’t” (N.Y. POST, 4/2).
TRANSITION GAME: In Atlanta, Ken Sugiura writes Georgia Tech AD MIKE BOBINSKI began his new job yesterday and on his first day in the role “had already heard from the constituency.” A season-ticket holder had “left a message for him.” Bobinski said, “I think it was a welcome and a question at the same time. That’s O.K. I’m good. That comes with the territory.” Bobinski “left a message of his own and vowed to try again.” He also "intended to spend some of his first day on the job setting up his Twitter account." Bobinski, who has also been serving as NCAA Tournament Selection Committee Chair, will “conclude his chairmanship with the Final Four at the Georgia Dome.” Though he “officially relinquished his spot on the committee,” Bobinski will “attend to chair duties this week and watch the games at the Dome from the scorer’s table.” As for his new role at GT, Bobinski “doesn’t plan on making sweeping decisions soon, though he’ll have to hire a replacement” for Senior Associate AD PAUL GRIFFIN, who “will retire this summer.” Bobinski “tried unsuccessfully to persuade him to stay on full time, but hopes he can continue in a lesser role” (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 4/2).
COURT REPORT: Rhode Island’s Economic Development Corp. yesterday said in a court filing that “there is ‘crushing evidence’” that ESPN's CURT SCHILLING and others “concealed financial information about his now defunct video game company and that its lawsuit against them should be allowed to move ahead.” The 269-page filing said that the defendants’ “main argument -- that the EDC board that approved a $75 million loan guarantee for 38 Studios in 2010 was aware the company wouldn't have sufficient funds to complete its video game project -- is false and what it calls a ‘red herring’” (AP, 4/1).
NAMES: New USC men’s basketball coach ANDY ENFIELD “was earning $157,000 a year” as coach of Florida Gulf Coast, but a source said his new deal will pay him “well over" $1M annually (ESPN.com, 4/1)….The Mets and Yankees yesterday “launched their seasons at home at the same time for the first time ever” with N.Y. Mayor MICHAEL BLOOMBERG attending both games. Bloomberg “began the afternoon at Yankee Stadium, after taking a No. 4 train from City Hall to the Bronx.” He stayed “until the fourth inning, when he left his seats behind home plate for the drive to Citi Field.” The mayor arrived “in the sixth inning, settled in behind home plate and stayed until the final out of the Mets’ 11-2 rout” of the Padres (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 4/2)....Wizards Gs JOHN WALL and BRADLEY BEAL, F NENE and C EMEKA OKAFOR yesterday were participants in the 135th annual Easter Egg Roll at the White House (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 4/1)….Singer PAUL MCCARTNEY will play Fenway Park on July 9 (Live Nation).
IN MEMORY: Homestead-Miami Speedway Founder RALPH SANCHEZ died yesterday after a bout with cancer. Sanchez also invested in the inaugural Grand Prix of Miami in ’83. NASCAR President MIKE HELTON said Sanchez made Miami “a very significant destination for NASCAR and its fans” (MIAMI HERALD, 4/2).
