Former MLBer JACK CLARK has asked that Angels 1B ALBERT PUJOLS "dismiss a defamation lawsuit against him, or at least clarify the accusations." Clark filed a motion yesterday stating that Pujols' suit filed in October "didn't properly identify the elements of defamation or properly identify Pujols." Pujols sued over comments Clark made in early August on St. Louis-based WGNU-AM, saying Pujols "was a juicer" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 1/14).
HERE'S JOHNNY: Texas A&M QB JOHNNY MANZIEL formally rolled out his advisory team in hiring Select Sports Group's ERIK BURKHARDT as his contract agent, LRMR Management Company's MAVERICK CARTER as his marketing, entertainment and media agent, and Sanderson Strategies Group's LEN SANDERSON and DENISE MICHAELS to oversee his communications and PR. Manziel has retained Nix, Patterson & Roach Partners BRADLEY BECKWORTH and JEFFREY ANGELOVICH to oversee all business-related matters, and any Manziel-related company in the future (Elevate).
GLORY DAYS: Former 49ers President & CEO CARMEN POLICY discussed former 49ers Owner EDDIE DEBARTOLO JR.'s Pro Football HOF candidacy on CSN Bay Area's "Yahoo Sports Talk Live" last night and said, "I can't think of anybody who contributed more to the stature of being a great owner, to the kind of presence that an owner can bring to the game without sitting there and taking over control of football operations and personnel." Policy: "He didn't put his two cents in to say you're picking this guy in the first round or the third round. He didn't say you're taking this free agent. He did run that organization with the idea that you play for me, you play hard for me, you fight for me and you win and I'm going to treat you better than you can imagine being treated. He treated people like family because it was a family business, not a commercial business in the true sense of the word" ("Yahoo Sports Talk Live," CSN Bay Area, 1/13).
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Bronx Bombers opens on Broadway at the end of
the month after running off-Broadway last fall |
THE PLAYBILL: In N.Y., Joe Dziemianowicz wrote off-Broadway reviews for "BRONX BOMBERS" were "mixed at best, and cleanup efforts have focused on making the story clearer and characters deeper and more authentic" for its Jan. 31 opening. Producer FRAN KIRMSER said that the YOGI BERRA character's "malaprops have been tweaked." There also will be "a more elaborate set for the in-the-round staging at Circle in the Square that will feel more like a stadium." Kirmser said that the production "will retain a structure that many critics found off-putting." The double-header plot "begins with a realistic 1977 showdown between superstar REGGIE JACKSON and manager BILLY MARTIN only to toss a change-up after intermission in the form of a fantasy dream sequence featuring Yankee legends" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 1/10).
NAMES: The jersey that CHRISTIAN LAETTNER is "believed to have worn" when he hit the famous game-winning shot for Duke against Kentucky in the '92 NCAA Tournament "sold for $119,500 at a Lelands.com auction" (CINCINNATI.com, 1/13)....Blazers G DAMIAN LILLARD this season "began using a new biomechanics evaluation system called OptoGait" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 1/14)....Celtics assistant coach JAMIE YOUNG plans to run in the '14 Boston Marathon, his "first marathon of any kind" (BOSTON GLOBE, 1/14)....Former NFLer NNAMDI ASOMUGHA on Sunday night attended the Golden Globes with his wife, actress KERRY WASHINGTON (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 1/13)....Patriots TE ROB GRONKOWSKI "sold his West Shore Yacht Club 'party pad'" in Tampa for $2.08M. The nearly 4,800-square-foot house "with four bedrooms and seven bathrooms went on the market in August" for $2.4M (TAMPA BAY BUSINESS JOURNAL, 1/10 issue).
IN MEMORY: Former USA Volleyball Great Lakes Region Commissioner LEA WAGNER "died of metastatic lung cancer on her birthday," Saturday, Dec. 14. She served as commissioner from '79-82, and again from '84-'08 (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 1/14)....Late Broadcasting HOFer JERRY COLEMAN "was laid to rest Monday afternoon with full military honors" at the Miramar National Cemetery in San Diego (UTSANDIEGO.com, 1/13).
