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Names In The News

In Boston, Peter Abraham writes MLB agent SCOTT BORAS is "perhaps the only player agent the average fan can name because of his success in generating record contracts for his clients." Boras has "influence throughout the game." For some fans, he is "an easy target for their wrath." That Boras "readily makes himself available to the media expands the size of that target." Boras "heads a 75-person staff with a sprawling headquarters in Newport Beach, Calif.," and other agents "resent his notoriety." One agent said, "It's all just a big show." But baseball insiders, "especially younger executives, respect Boras" (BOSTON GLOBE, 11/14).

SPIN CYCLE: In L.A., Betsy Sharkey writes the LANCE ARMSTRONG film "THE ARMSTRONG LIE," is "all fascinating watching, starting with exceptional race footage that captures the exhilaration of the superstar cyclist's sweat-drenched Tour de France wins." The "extensive clips of Armstrong's years of denials amid rumors and investigations are even more gripping." By "weaving the facts and interviews with teammates, trainers, doctors and critics around the deceit," director ALEX GIBNEY "exposes the charismatic and camera-ready athlete's pathological construction of that towering house of cards" (L.A. TIMES, 11/14).

THAT IS FUNNY: Comedy website Funny Or Die will "tackle its first TV documentary series, a sports docu-series set to air on Discovery Channel sometime in 2014." Funny Or Die has "shot a pilot of the untitled series, which stars strength and conditioning coach MIKE BARWIS who will train with a different pro athlete in each episode." The company is "in preproduction" on seven more episodes. Each hour-long episode will "feature a pro athlete traveling to Detroit to train with Barwis." The pilot features NFL Cardinals S TYRANN MATHIEU (VARIETY.com, 11/13).

NOT SO FUNNY: Two men were "arrested at their homes in Scottsdale after being accused of cheating" several former and current NHLers out of at least $15M in investments. Financial advisor PHILLIP KENNER "advised his clients to invest in property transactions that were actually for his personal investments," while former race-car driver TOMMY CONSTANTINE "re-directed clients investments to pay for racing teams in California" (AZCENTRAL.com, 11/13).

NAMES: White Sox Chair JERRY REINSDORF "escaped serious injury after a frightening three-car accident at 65 mph on Interstate-10 in Phoenix last week about 20 minutes after leaving the team’s spring training home of Glendale." Reinsdorf said that no one "was hurt, but his car didn't fare as well" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 11/14)....ESPN's RICK SUTCLIFFE and Univ. of Kansas Hospital CEO BOB PAGE last night were recipients of the Buck O'Neil Legacy Award (K.C. STAR, 11/14)....The '13 Team USA Congressional Reception was held Tuesday night. In attendance were former Olympians and Paralympians BONNIE BLAIR, MIKE ERUZIONE, DOROTHY HALL and BRADLEY SNYDER (THE DAILY)....An Orange County (Calif.) auction house said that it "checked with" the family of late U.S. Olympian JESSE OWENS "before putting his gold medal from the 1936 Berlin Olympics on the block." Owens "gave the medal to a friend, entertainer BILL ROBINSON, whose widow has now decided to sell it" (LATIMES.com, 11/13)....Baseball HOFer MICKEY MANTLE’s family has donated $40,000 to the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund. The money was raised by an online auction of his ’60 Yankees contract (Bergen RECORD, 11/14)....Golfer JEFF SLUMAN last month sold his four-bedroom condo in a North Lake Shore Drive highrise on the Gold Coast for $1.2M (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 11/14).

IN MEMORY: Former NFLer and noted TV analyst TODD CHRISTENSEN died yesterday morning at the age of 57, from complications during liver transplant surgery at Intermountain Medical Center near his home in Alpine, Utah. Former BYU football coach LAVELL EDWARDS, who coached Christensen, said that Christensen “battled liver disease and various other related illnesses for about two years.” Christensen worked as a color commentator for NBC Sports from ’90-94, and worked for ESPN and the Mtn. He also called Navy games for CBSSN in ’12 (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 11/14).

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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