PRESIDENT OBAMA yesterday honored the Super Bowl champion Seahawks at the White House. Most of the Seahawks players were in attendance, along with coach PETE CARROLL, Owner PAUL ALLEN and team President PETER MCLOUGHLIN. Obama "ribbed" Seahawks GM JOHN SCHNEIDER, who was "captured in a post-Super Bowl Instagram photo mugging shirtless and sporting an enormous belt." Obama then "turned to Allen to give him a chance to speak," but Allen "shyly declined" (SEATTLE TIMES, 5/22). Meanwhile, Obama today at the Baseball HOF will “discuss the Administration's efforts to support increased travel and tourism” in the U.S. (POLITICO.com, 5/22). Obama will be the "first sitting president" to visit the HOF (ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT & CHRONICLE, 5/22).
COME TOGETHER: CBS last night aired a special edition reunion special of this season's "Survivor" cast. Former NBAer CLIFF ROBINSON said appearing on the show "definitely ranks up there" in terms of competition." He said, "'Survivor' is definitely a lot tougher than basketball." Host JEFF PROBST said to Marlins President DAVID SAMSON, "You're a big-time executive, you make these million dollar decisions. You shocked me when out of the gate you hit the guy next to you, GARRETT, as the guy to send out of here." Samson, when asked if he had any regrets, said, "No, I think it was my only play. I was playing to win and I lost the pennant in April and I expected to be there in October." Samson was the first person voted off the show this season. He said, "There's one winner, there's 17 losers here. I was just the first one" ("Survivor," CBS, 5/21).
RECOVERY MODE: Saints Owner TOM BENSON yesterday "headed home" after "suffering a fall at an NFL meeting, hitting his head, being hospitalized and spending the night in Atlanta on Tuesday." Saints VP/Communications GREG BENSEL on Twitter wrote Benson is "healthy" (Baton Rouge ADVOCATE, 5/22).
HOUSE HUNTERS: NFL free agent LB NICK BARNETT recently paid $1.9M for a 6,050-square-foot house in Carlsbad, Calif. (LATIMES.com, 5/21)....Clippers assistant coach TYRONN LUE is selling his 7,488-square-foot home in Las Vegas for $1.65M (LATIMES.com, 5/21)....D-Backs GM KEVIN TOWERS' house "in east Phoenix's high-end Arcadia neighborhood is on the market" for $1.95M. The property has "been on the market for six months" (AZCENTRAL.com, 5/21).
DOING BUSINESS: Rays Manager JOE MADDON has "provided a first look of his Tampa restaurant, Ava, through a stylish sketch on Twitter." Maddon is collaborating with MICHAEL STEWART, owner of Tampa's 717 South, on the restaurant project. Ava is "set to open this summer" (TAMPABAY.com, 5/21)....Red Sox Owner JOHN HENRY yesterday announced that he will "sell
the Worcester Telegram & Gazette" to Florida-based Halifax Media
Group. Henry acquired the Telegram & Gazette in his purchase of the
Boston Globe (BOSTON HERALD, 5/22).
NAMES: Denver Mayor MICHAEL HANCOCK "may have been the latest in a long line of Colorado public officials to go to the Super Bowl, but the trip's private funding caught some heat" yesterday during a Denver Board of Ethics hearing. The board members in response to a "citizen complaint" voiced a consensus that "no ethics violation probably occurred when the mayor, his mother and two staffers accepted the $40,000 trip" to the February game" (DENVER POST, 5/22)....Basketball HOFer SCOTTIE PIPPEN “will start his second year of a partnership with Nike to offer free basketball skills clinics in neighborhood parks” across Chicago. The clinics “will be held every Saturday this summer” beginning May 31 (SUN-TIMES.com, 5/21)....Actor CHARLIE SHEEN this week will join ESPN's BARRY LARKIN and KARL RAVECH for the "BASEBALL TONIGHT: SUNDAY NIGHT COUNTDOWN" pregame show at 7:00pm ET outside Great American Ball Park (CINCINNATI.com, 5/21)....Mavericks Owner MARK CUBAN "ended up financing" the wedding of a Watauga, Texas, couple that had come across "a series of hardships" (LATIMES.com, 5/21)....Prim Capital Chief Compliance Officer CAROLYN KAUFMAN, who had been "convicted of charges in her firm's handing" of the NBPA's investments and finances, has been sentenced in N.Y. to "six months' house detention" (AP, 5/21)....Former MLBer TOMMY JOHN will speak at the Terre Haute (Ind.) North Vigo High School commencement ceremonies June 8 (Terre Haute)….Late Double-A Southern League Jacksonville Suns Owner PETER BRAGAN will be posthumously inducted into the league’s HOF on June 17 (JACKSONVILLE.com, 5/21)….FIFA has designated the Hospital for Special Surgery in N.Y. as its Medical Centre of Excellence (FIFA).
