During Sunday's Dolphins-Bills game, an "unorthodox ad" aired on TVs in Western New York, with "the target" being Republican gubernatorial candidate
ROB ASTORINO. The ad accused him of "being a Dolphins fan." The 30-second, Democrat-funded advertisement "features an old photo of Astorino" in Dolphins teal on the Sun Life Stadium field. Later, it "shows a photo" of current New York Gov.
ANDREW CUOMO standing with Pro Football HOFer
JIM KELLY and team President & CEO
RUSS BRANDON "holding a custom Bills jersey -- Cuomo, No. 56." The ad states, "Governor Cuomo stood with us. He’s delivered for Buffalo and all of western New York. So this November, when Rob Astorino comes asking for your vote, let’s remember who was on our team" (
LOHUD.com, 9/15).
COURT REPORT: The College of Charleston and former basketball coach DOUG WOJCIK "have finally reached an agreement" that will pay him $400,000 after he was fired in August "after being accused of verbally abusing players." The school is "responsible for $150,000 of the settlement," while the rest "came from the state's insurance reserve fund." Wojcik as part of the deal "agrees not to sue the school or any of its subsidiaries or apply for another job" with the school (Charleston POST & COURIER, 9/17)....Former NFLer DARREN SHARPER is “taking legal aim” at the Saints “from his California jail cell, pressing on with a previously denied workers compensation claim that his former employer owes him more than $95,000 because of a November 2009 knee injury he says shortened his career.” Sharper will “try this week to overturn a judge's ruling that found he waited too long to file his injury claim and failed to prove subsequent injuries the former safety says brought a premature end to his playing days” (NOLA.com, 9/16).
POLITICAL FOOTBALL: U.S. Sen. CORY BOOKER (D-N.J.) "has introduced" the Securing Assistance for Victim Empowerment (SAVE) Act that "would disallow major professional sports leagues, most notably the NFL, from claiming status as tax-exempt nonprofits." The bill "is aimed at raising" $100M over 10 years, which "would be used to pay for state domestic abuse programs across the country." It "is unlikely to gain widespread support" (NYTIMES.com, 9/16).
BE-SPOKEN FOR: Former GMR Marketing execs GREG BUSCH and MIKE BOYKIN earlier this year "stepped away from their jobs" at GMR and "created Bespoke Sports & Entertainment, a marketing solutions agency aiming to offer its clients consulting and marketing services tailored to their needs." Busch said that the firm "will help clients market products and allow spectators at sporting events to interact with the brand through giveaways from vendors." When looking for a company name, Busch said that he and Boykin "wanted a moniker that emphasized what the firm would strive to do." They "settled on bespoke, an adjective referring to something made to order or customized to fit a particular person or thing" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 9/17).
NAMES: Flyers President PAUL HOLMGREN yesterday was named co-winner of the '14 Lester Patrick Trophy, given out annually for "outstanding service to hockey" in the U.S. NHL Deputy Commissioner BILL DALY also will receive the award. Both will be honored on Dec. 4 in Minneapolis during the U.S. Hockey HOF Induction Ceremony (NJ.com, 9/16)....MSG Chair JAMES DOLAN "has pledged to give $100,000 to the ALS Association if 6,000 people join him in playing the [kazoo] when his band JD & the Straight Shot opens for the Eagles at Madison Square Garden" tomorrow (N.Y. POST, 9/17)....Yankees SS DEREK JETER's children's novel, "THE CONTRACT," went on sale yesterday. It is the "first title off the presses of his new company, Jeter Publishing, an imprint of Simon & Schuster." In the book, which "is aimed at readers between ages 8 and 12, the protagonist is a boy named Derek Jeter -- a fictional version of the baseball great as a young boy" (NYDAILYNEWS.com, 9/16)....Spurs F TIM DUNCAN “will be featured on a special batch of variant covers for an upcoming issue of Marvel Comics’ THE PUNISHER, whose trademark death’s head logo adorns one of Duncan’s knee braces” (MYSANANTONIO.com, 9/16)....Golfer BILLY HORSCHEL and his wife BRITTANY welcomed a baby girl, SKYLAR LILLIAN, yesterday (THE DAILY).
