The N.Y. TIMES' Christopher Clarey profiles IOC Exec Board member SERGEI BUBKA as he runs for the position of IOC president. Bubka is "by far the youngest" of the six candidates. Bubka said, "The most important is not age. The most important is experience. I have big and huge experience now." Bubka is "focused on strengthening the Olympics' ties to the screen-centric younger generation." He is "worried that the average age of global Summer Olympic viewers, according to his data, is 50." His campaign platform "includes a proposal to create a global youth council" (N.Y. TIMES, 8/15).
CHARACTER ASSASSINATION: Yankees 3B ALEX RODRIGUEZ, who voiced an "animated version of himself" in the children's film "HENRY & ME," will "likely find his character on the cutting-room floor because of his involvement" in the Biogenesis case. Longtime Yankee adviser RAY NEGRON, who is exec producer on the film, said its investors will "make a move to get another character" to replace Rodriguez, although "they still haven't pulled the plug yet" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 8/15).
DEATH & TAXES: IRS lawyers are "defending a tax bill" of more than $2B sent to the estate of late Pistons Owner WILLIAM DAVIDSON, reiterating claims he "didn’t properly account for huge gifts to family members and the value of stocks put in trust for his heirs." The lawyers answered the estate reps’ arguments filed in June saying the tax bill -- $2.8B in all -- was "wildly inflated and that, despite a huge IRS notice of deficiency, the estate didn’t owe anything more" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 8/15).
NAMES: PRESIDENT OBAMA, Comcast CEO BRIAN ROBERTS, World Bank President JIM KIM and former U.S. Trade Rep RON KIRK yesterday played a round at the Vineyard Golf Club on Martha's Vineyard (POLITICO.com, 8/14)....Boxer VITALI KLITSCHKO "revealed his intention to run for president of Ukraine" in '15 (LONDON TIMES, 8/15)....The documentary “BRANCA’S PITCH” on former MLBer RALPH BRANCA “has received North American distribution from Strand Releasing.” Strand is “planning a release on DVD and VOD to coincide with the end of the baseball season” (VARIETY.com, 8/14)....Miami-based Sportsmanias.com, an online startup that offers personalized sports news aggregation, has secured $1M in funding from Mas Equity Partners Founder JORGE MAS (Eric Fisher, Staff Writer)....Legacy Business Advisors CEO TANESHIA NASH LAIRD has entered into a partnership with Basketball HOFer JAMES WORTHY and James Worthy Enterprises to “work with companies to help them enhance sales and marketing initiatives (Legacy)....Bears OT JERMON BUSHROD “paid $790,000 for a four-bedroom, 3,500-square-foot house” in Vernon Hills, Ill. (CHICAGOTRIBUNE.com, 8/15).
IN MEMORY: Former Yankees traveling secretary BILL KANE died yesterday (TWITTER.com, 8/15).
