MCCLATCHY's Erika Bolstad reports 31 players from the ’72 Super Bowl champion Dolphins -- “nearly every living member of the team -- attended the White House ceremony” yesterday, including Pro Football HOFer DON SHULA and former assistant coach HOWARD SCHNELLENBERGER. PRESIDENT OBAMA said, "These Dolphins made history back before Super Bowl champs started visiting the White House. And let’s face it, this is also just a fun thing to do. I like doing it as president." Bolstad notes it “wasn’t a common practice in the 1970s to invite championship teams, although NIXON might have been unusually distracted during the Dolphins’ historic game,” which took place on Jan. 14, 1973, as he was facing the Watergate scandal. Toward the end of the ceremony, Shula gave Obama a "team jersey signed by the remaining team members. It’s numbered 72. There’s no name on the back, just one word: ‘Undefeated’” (MCCLATCHY, 8/21).
COURT REPORT: KIMBERLY CHARTIER, whose husband, JEFFREY, “died of cardiac arrest in the stands” of Gillette Stadium in ’10, has filed a civil suit in Hampden Superior Court against the Patriots and the NFL. Some reports at the time had indicated that Jeffrey’s death was “immediately preceded by an altercation with a security guard.” One of those named in the suit is ARTHUR SHERMAN of Cumberland, R.I., who it “identifies as that security guard.” The suit indicated that two NFL game officials invited the Chartiers’ son, TEDY, “onto the field before the game started but Sherman confronted Jeffrey Chartier about Tedy’s presence.” The suit charges that the confrontation “lasted more than 15 minutes and Chartier had a heart attack because of the stress” emanating from the altercation (MASSLIVE.com, 8/20).
BOOK SHELF: A book from ESPN's COLIN COWHERD, titled "YOU HERD ME," is set for release on Nov. 19 through Random House publishing (Adam Harris, Assistant Editor)....Former Univ. of Michigan basketball player JOSH BARTELSTEIN is working on an e-book “that will include all of his blog writing at U-M, along with submissions from other former players, including TREY BURKE, TIM HARDAWAY JR. and ZACK NOVAK.” The e-book will be released “near Labor Day” on Amazon, iTunes and Kindle (FREEP.com, 8/20).
NAMES: A live auction during FS Southwest's telecast last night of Astros-Rangers raised $164,261. The funds will support victims of the tornadoes that hit Oklahoma and North Texas in May (FS Southwest)….Tennis player ANDY MURRAY on Monday “donned a hard hat and a yellow neon vest” for a tour of the still-under-construction Madison Square Garden (NYPOST.com, 8/20)….Lakers G KOBE BRYANT and his wife, VANESSA, “have put a house on the market” in Newport Coast, Calif., for $8.599M. The property last sold for $1.7M in ’97 (LATIMES.com, 8/20).
