The Astros last night "paid the first of what is sure to be many tributes" to Yankees SS DEREK JETER as he enters his final season, with the team, giving him "a pair of cowboy boots with Yankees’ pinstripes, a 10 gallon cowboy hat and a set of golf clubs." Astros Owner JIM CRANE "gave Jeter a trip to the Floridian golf club, which he owns in Palm City," along with "private lessons at the course" (AP, 4/2).
JOHNNY ON THE SPOT: NFL Draft prospect JOHNNY MANZIEL is profiled in today's N.Y. TIMES style section for his choice of attire during the Texas A&M pro day last week. Manziel said that he "didn't understand why there were so many questions about his wardrobe choice." As of yesterday, his jersey from the workout "could be pre-ordered on Nike’s site for $180." The workout also "turned out to be something of a catwalk for a coming collection: Those camouflage workout shorts aren’t yet on sale, but Nike announced on Twitter that they would be available in July" (N.Y. TIMES, 4/3). Meanwhile, Rapper DRAKE on Tuesday released a song titled "DRAFT DAY." In the song, Drake "name drops a number of celebrities and athletes," including Manziel (NEWSDAY, 4/2).
HEY BROTHER: A&E on Tuesday announced an eight-part reality show about the five HERBERT brothers who won $1M "when their Doritos commercial was named the best ad" during Super Bowl XLIII. The brothers in the five years since have "parlayed Doritos popularity into directing soft drink commercials, creating board games and writing a feature film script." A&E GM & Exec VP DAVID MCKILLOP said that the series from Zig Zag Productions, tentatively called "THE HERBERT BROTHERS," will "premiere this summer" (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 4/3).
SALARY SCALE: New Mexico men's basketball coach CRAIG NEAL "will receive a two-year contract extension." Neal’s original contract "was for five years and ran through" the '17-18 season. The contract "will now run through" the '19-20 season. Neal "receives a base salary of $750,000 from UNM, and the financial terms of his contract weren’t changed" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 4/1)....Recently hired South Florida men's basketball coach ORLANDO ANTIGUA "will earn $900,000 a year, with $25,000 annual escalators built in." Among Antigua's performance bonuses are $100,000 for a regular-season conference title; $50,000 for an at-large NCAA Tournament berth; and $250,000 for a Final Four appearance (TAMPABAY.com, 4/2).
CRIBS: Falcons WR DEVIN HESTER has sold his 10,000-square-foot Lake County, Ill., home "after cutting the price three times and raising it once." He initially listed the seven-bedroom, eight-bath home for $2.63M, but the sale closed on Monday at $1.8M (CHICAGOBUSINESS.com, 4/2)....Free agent NFLer ADAM PODLESH listed his five bedroom, 4,248-square-foot Lake County house for $949,000 after buying it in late '11 for $797,500 (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 4/3).
ON THE DOCKET: U.S. District Court Judge LAWRENCE KAHN "has denied a request by ESPN to dismiss a libel suit filed" by LAURIE FINE, the wife of former Syracuse assistant basketball coach BERNIE FINE. She accused ESPN "of libel and slander in its coverage of child-molesting allegations against her husband" (AP, 4/1)....Former MLBer BRANDON BACKE is seeking $1.5M "for injuries he says were caused" by Galveston, Texas, police officers in '08. He testified in fderal court on Tuesday that the "beating by officers ended his baseball career." He said that he "can no longer use his right arm for such simple tasks as tucking in a shirt" (AP, 4/2)....Former MLBer LENNY DYKSTRA yesterday filed a lawsuit stating that he "suffered an unprovoked and brutal beating by deputies" in an L.A. County jail two years ago (AP, 4/2).
CHARITY STRIPE: The Mariners, MLB and the MLBPA are donating $225,000 to assist with the recovery from last month's massive mudslide in Snohomish County, Wash. The donation will be made to the American Red Cross Washington Landslide Relief Fund (Mariners)....Wells Fargo yesterday announced that, as part of its pact with the Bobcats, it will donate $50,000 to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina in support of its capital campaign (Bobcats)....Ravens WR TORREY SMITH "attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday for a new playground at Dogwood Elementary in Baltimore" (Baltimore SUN, 4/3)....TNT's KENNY SMITH yesterday was in Charlotte to "present a $25,000 check to the Urban League Young Professionals of the Central Carolinas." The check is part of the Coors Light Full Court Refresh program (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 4/3).
NAMES: Cowboys TE JASON WITTEN “will drive the official pace car” for Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Duck Commander 500 at Texas Motor Speedway (ESPNDALLAS.com, 4/2)….Former NFLer DREW BLEDSOE will attend the grand opening Saturday of a new Maximum Beverage liquor store in Farmington, Conn., to “promote his wine, Doubleback.” The store was “able to get Bledsoe for the opening because one of the partners of the liquor store” is ESPN’s COLIN COWHERD (HARTFORD COURANT, 4/2)….An “iconic” NORMAN ROCKWELL painting of Red Sox players, “The Rookie,” could sell for as much as $30M “when it goes to auction” May 22 at Rockefeller Center (NYPOST.com, 4/2)….A Louisville man “working on a new seating area at Churchill Downs is charged with criminal mischief after allegedly driving his Mustang around the infield doing doughnuts and causing more than $1,000 in damage” (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 4/2)….NASCAR Managing Dir of Team Marketing Services CHAD SEIGLER was named to Charlotte’s “40 Under 40” list. Seigler said his fantasy job would be Indians GM (CHARLOTTE BUSINESS JOURNAL, 3/28 issue)….L.A. Times columnist BILL PLASCHKE for the fifth time took first place in the AP Sports Editors annual contest for column writing among papers with circulations of more than 175,000 (L.A. TIMES, 4/2).
IN MEMORY: Newsday sports writer MARCUS HENRY “died unexpectedly Tuesday at his home” at the age of 41 (NEWSDAY, 4/2)….Former Rochester Democrat & Chronicle sports writer BRUCE KOCH died March 24 at the age of 85. He joined the paper in the '40s and primarily covered golf and bowling (ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT & CHRONICLE, 4/2).
