Many sports execs competed in the ING N.Y. Marathon on Sunday and shared their experiences with THE DAILY. Also finishing the race were espnW VP LAURA GENTILE and NBC Sports Ventures Senior VP ROB SIMMELKJAER, who had a finishing time of 3:28. Eagles Corporate Partnerships Account Exec SEAN O'HARA finished with a time of 3:39:44 and called the run an "amazing experience achieved by terrific organization, execution and support from NYC." O’Hara added, "Fly Eagles Fly was my mantra as I crossed the finish line" (Andrew Westney, Staff Writer).
AFFAIRS OF STATE: PRESIDENT OBAMA yesterday greeted the '13 Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks at the White House, "welcoming his hometown team with a mixture of admiration, humor and knowledge of the journey" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 11/5). Obama "beamed and joked and jabbed his way through a snappy seven-minute ceremony" honoring the Blackhawks for "a second time in his presidency." Blackhawks RW PATRICK KANE said, "It was pretty special to have it with him here, being from Chicago." Obama: "To the Bulls, Bears, Cubs, White Sox, I am term-limited, so you guys have to get moving. I need to see you here soon. Championships belong in Chicago" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 11/5). The Blackhawks also "visited wounded warriors" at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (Illinois DAILY HERALD, 11/5). Obama yesterday also made a "congratulatory phone call" to Red Sox manager JOHN FARRELL (BOSTON HERALD, 11/5).
SAFETY FIRST: The Canadian federal government yesterday "announced funding for new research on concussions with a focus on improving the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the injuries in children and youth." Former NHLer JAMIE MACOUN said that he "wishes there had been a greater awareness of the effects of concussions and injuries in the NHL." Flames President of Hockey Operations BRIAN BURKE said of the NHL's player-safety efforts, "I think we’ve been a leader and the other sports have followed us." The C$4.3M in federal funding "will go to 19 separate research projects across" Canada (GLOBE & MAIL, 11/5).
WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE: EPL club Manchester City's new foreign signings such as JESUS NAVAS and ALVARO NEGREDO are being "urged to watch children’s television programmes to help them learn English." Usually players watch "THE SOPRANOS" or "BREAKING BAD," but at the Etihad Stadium it is "TELETUBBIES," "BALAMORY" and "IN THE NIGHT GARDEN" (London INDEPENDENT, 11/4).
SETTLEMENT REACHED: A wrongful death lawsuit filed by STEVE DAVIS against Patriots Owner ROBERT KRAFT’s business empire "for the '08 drunken-driving death of his daughter" yesterday was settled out of court. 20-year-old DEBRA DAVIS and 19-year-old ALEXA LATTEO were killed on Route 1 outside Gillette Stadium in Foxboro as Latteo drove away from a day "allegedly spent drinking in a parking lot during the annual New England Country Music Festival" (BOSTON HERALD, 11/5).
NAMES: Red Sox Owner JOHN HENRY paid $38.4M for the Boston Globe’s HQs as part of the $70M deal last month to acquire the New England Media Group from the N.Y. Times. Henry also paid $7.8M for the “property containing the Worcester Telegram & Gazette’s printing press in Millbury and $277,000 for the Clinton office of Coulter Press” (BOSTON HERALD, 11/2)….ESPN Exec Chair GEORGE BODENHEIMER is “working on a business leadership memoir.” He has a “deal with the Business Plus imprint of Hachette Book Group for a book tentatively scheduled” for the spring of ’15 (AP, 11/4)….Hurricanes Owner PETER KARMANOS and his wife, DANIALLE, donated $5M to create the Karmanos Center for Natural Birth at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Mich. (MLIVE.com, 11/4)....MLB Exec VP/Baseball Operations JOE TORRE makes his debut on the Baseball HOF ballot this year, joining holdovers in late Yankees Owner GEORGE STEINBRENNER and late MLBPA Exec Dir MARVIN MILLER, among others (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 11/4)….Heat F CHRIS BOSH and his wife, ADRIENNE, “welcomed their third child” yesterday in DYLAN SKYE BOSH (NYPOST.com, 11/4).
