In DC, Dan Steinberg reports the Redskins' name issue "finally worked its way into political ads" that aired locally last night during the Redskins-Cowboys "MNF" telecast on ESPN. The topic was broached by Republican political strategist
ED GILLESPIE "in his campaign to unseat" U.S. Sen.
MARK WARNER (D-Va.). In the ad, the narrator says, "Senate Majority Leader
HARRY REID has a bill to force the Redskins to change their name. Mark Warner refused to answer if he supports the bill or not. Why won’t Warner fight the anti-Redskins bill? Why won’t he answer the question?” Gillespie then says, "I’ll answer the question. I’ll oppose the anti-Redskins bill. Let’s focus on creating jobs, raising take-home pay and making our nation safer, and let the Redskins handle what to call their team" (
WASHINGTONPOST.com, 10/28).
SILVER LINING: NBA Commissioner ADAM SILVER will run the first three miles of the TCS New York City Marathon on Sunday "as part of a 24-person relay of basketball luminaries." Former NBAer DIKEMBE MUTOMBO "will cross the finish line for the group, which is trying to encourage kids to exercise." Silver yesterday said that he will "run over the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge from Staten Island to Brooklyn then pass a baton" to Basketball HOFer CHRIS MULLIN. Each celebrity "will be joined on his or her one-mile leg [by] a local student who takes part" the N.Y. Road Runners' youth programs. Silver "will run alongside" 14-year-old LAUREN PITARRESI from Staten Island (AP, 10/27).
GIVING BACK: The Univ. of Maryland School of Business will study enterprise and markets at a new center of excellence funded by $5M from The Snider Foundation, led by Flyers Chair ED SNIDER. An additional $1M commitment from the Charles Koch Foundation will help create the Ed Snider Center for Enterprise and Markets (UM)....Steelers QB BEN ROETHLISBERGER and his wife ASHLEY have agreed to donate $1M to the Miami Univ. (Ohio) Indoor Sports Center (MU). The center's playing surface will be called Ben Roethlisberger Field (CINCINNATI.com, 10/27).
TOUR GUIDES: The Thunderbirds, the group that hosts the PGA Tour Waste Management Phoenix Open, will donate $7.06M to local charities through proceeds raised from the '14 tournament. This marks the first time since '08 that the group has raised more than $7M (Thunderbirds)....The PGA Tour Travelers Championship announced that $1.558M from the net proceeds of this year's event "have been donated to more than 140 charities." It is the "most since Travelers became the tournament title sponsor" in '07 (HARTFORD COURANT, 10/28).
NAMES: NFL VP/Player Benefits PATRICK KERNEY said that the league will "sponsor its first personal-finance program for players and wives in March" at either the Univ. of Miami or UCLA. Participants will "develop spreadsheets to calculate whether they can sustain their current lifestyles in the years ahead" (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 10/28)....The Yankees, Mets and MLB Commissioner BUD SELIG are making a donation to Baseball HOFer YOGI BERRA, three weeks after burglars stole MVP plaques and World Series rings from Berra’s namesake museum in Little Falls, N.J. (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 10/28)....Churchill Downs Inc. is ranked 67th on Forbes list of the “100 Best Small Companies In America” for ’14 (CDI)....Several Bruins players yesterday visited Boston Children’s Hospital dressed up as characters from the movie “FROZEN” (ESPN.com, 10/27)....Bruins President CAM NEELY will reprise his role as “Sea Bass” in the upcoming film “DUMB AND DUMBER TO” (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 10/27)....49ers TE VERNON DAVIS sold his Marina del Ray, Calif., condo for $822,000 (LATIMES.com, 10/27)....Cavaliers F LEBRON JAMES and his wife SAVANNAH welcomed their third child and first daughter, ZHURI, on Oct. 22 (ESPN.com, 10/27).
