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People and Pop Culture

Names In The News

In Sacramento, Ailene Voisin profiled NBA Kings Managing Partner VIVEK RANADIVE and wrote, "Spend a few hours on his turf, and it quickly becomes apparent that his romance with the Warriors was never going to last." He is "never satisfied being a minority owner of anything." Ranadive "wants to run the show." After joining JOE LACOB and PETER GUBER's ownership group, "he soon bristled at his lack of influence as a minority partner." Former NFLer ROGER CRAIG, who also serves as a VP for Ranadive's tech firm Tibco, said, "Vivek isn't good at taking orders." Ranadive, who is "spending an increasing amount of time in Sacramento tending to arena negotiations, repairs to Sleep Train [Arena], schmoozing politicians, meeting his coaches and players, etc., is buying a loft in midtown." He will "not be an absentee owner."  Ranadive said that he "speaks often" with California Gov. JERRY BROWN, and "not always about basketball." Ranadive hopes to "schedule a Kings preseason game" in India next fall (SACRAMENTO BEE, 9/29).

GETTING PERSONAL: Hockey HOFer BOBBY ORR's autobiography, "ORR: MY STORY," is due out next month, and he said of writing the book, "It was hard for me. It's not a book all about the games and the goals. I didn't want that. It took me a long time to decide to do a book because I couldn't get it in my thick skull that people would read it and get something from it." He added, "Hopefully everyone who reads it will get something from it. I write about people who helped me along the way, and I'm suggesting to the kids that they can remember the sacrifices their brothers and sisters and parents have made so they can realize their dream" (BOSTON GLOBE, 9/29).

TALKING ABOUT PRACTICE: In Chicago, Janet Kidd Stewart profiled Katten Muchin Rosenman partner ADAM KLEIN, who serves as outside counsel for White Sox and Bulls Chair JERRY REINSDORF. Klein also "recently represented the new owners of the Sacramento Kings in a deal that keeps them in the city." He has represented the Celtics "on a broadcast rights agreement," as well as the Pistons and Warriors on the sales of those respective teams. Klein also has worked for "owners of, investors in or buyers of" the Mets, Blues, A's and MLS Fire. Klein has been "picking up work not only from teams but from sports broadcast clients such as Time Warner Cable and sponsors including Miller Brewing" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 9/29).

ODD MAN OUT? In S.F., Matier & Ross reported Sacramento lobbyist DARIUS ANDERSON has "retained big-muscle litigator JOE COTCHETT" to go after the new NBA Kings ownership for "allegedly squeezing him out of a piece of the deal." Anderson had "been a key player in keeping the Kings from being sold and moved to Seattle." The new owners "aren't buying Anderson's role in making the deal happen" (SFGATE.com, 9/29).

TURNING PRO
: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Christopher Rhoads reported Cuba, in an "effort to thwart the wave of top baseball players defecting to the U.S., said on Friday it would allow its athletes to play abroad as professionals." Under the new rules, baseball players who "played abroad would give a portion of their salaries to the cash-strapped Communist government, although the official announcement didn't mention a percentage" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 9/28).

BUILD ME UP: TNT NBA analyst and Newark native SHAQUILLE O'NEAL on Friday broke ground on the city's "first high-rise apartment" since '62. O'Neal plans to "convert the former Science High School building into a 23-story, 169-unit apartment tower with retail space on the ground floor." He is working "in partnership with New Jersey-based Boraie Development (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 9/28).

NAMES: Former NFLer BERNIE KOSAR early yesterday morning in Solon, Ohio was “arrested and accused” of DUI (CLEVELAND.com, 9/29)….MLB player agent REGGIE JEFFERSON “has left SFX and joined” the agency of LARRY REYNOLDS (BOSTON GLOBE, 9/29)….The video game under development when 38 Studios, founded by ESPN’s CURT SCHILLING, went bankrupt is “headed to the auction block.” RICHARD LAND, the receiver for the company, “declined to estimate the worth of the unfinished game, code-named Copernicus.” But Land said it has “significant value” (AP, 9/27)….Celtics G RAJON RONDO, Patriots WR JULIAN EDELMAN, Bruins Cs PATRICE BERGERON and GREGORY CAMPBELL and Red Sox CF JACOBY ELLSBURY modeled for designer JOHN VARVATOS’ “Style & Substance” campaign “in celebration of his new boutique” in Boston. Edelman and Rondo attended the shop’s grand opening party on Thursday night (BOSTON HERALD, 9/29).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

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