Leading Iowa's list of the "20 highest-paid state employees" are Univ. of Iowa football coach KIRK FERENTZ, who made $3.825M in FY '14, and Iowa State Univ. men's basketball coach FRED HOIBERG, whose $1.85M salary marked a 33% increase over FY '13. Other athletics officials on the list include ISU football coach PAUL RHOADS ($1.75M), UI men's basketball coach FRAN MCCAFFERY ($1.31M), and UI AD GARY BARTA ($921,432) (Cedar Rapids GAZETTE, 11/4).
IT'S NOT AN ACT: NBA Commissioner ADAM SILVER said of Clippers Owner STEVE BALLMER, “When I first met with him -- I had watched his videos on YouTube, jumping up and down at sales meetings and everything else -- honestly I wasn't sure if that was the real Steve Ballmer or if he put on a performance at sales meetings. But that’s Steve Ballmer. That’s the way he is at dinner. That’s how he is when he orders. ‘I’ll have the steak!’ That’s the real Steve and people here are learning that. The players see that. They love his enthusiasm” (“Fox Sports Live,” FS1, 11/2).
SHINING ARMOUR: Under Armour Founder, Chair & CEO KEVIN PLANK “sold 110,000 shares of company stock on Friday, at prices of $65.52 per share or $65.99 per share, for a total value” of $7.2M. He sold “another 250,000 shares on Oct. 30 at an average price of $64.32 per share,” or $16M. Earlier in the week, Plank “sold 250,000 shares of Under Armour stock” valued at $16.1M (BALTIMORESUN.com,11/3).
SHOW YOUR WORK: Hawks F AL HORFORD appears in today's "What's Your Workout" feature in the WALL STREET JOURNAL. After recurring injuries have forced him to "adjust his workouts and train smarter," he now "focuses more on body weight exercises, lower body and core strength." Horford: "No more bench press or heavy dumbbell biceps curls. I need to avoid anything that puts strain on my upper body" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 11/4).
NAMES: Heat President PAT RILEY and C CHRIS BOSH spent yesterday "working with America's Moms for Soldiers at AmericanAirlines Arena to help prepare care packages for U.S. troops in based in Afghanistan in advance of Veteran's Day" (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 11/4)....Gold-medal winning South Korean figure skater YUNA KIM "has been appointed as an official ambassador" for the '18 Pyeongchang Games. Kim "helped campaign for Pyeongchang during the city’s candidacy and was one of the presenters" when it was selected as host (AP, 11/3)....Giants RF HUNTER PENCE is "among the inductees" in the '15 Univ. of Texas-Arlington Athletics Hall of Honor (STAR-TELEGRAM.com, 11/3)....Baseball HOFer FRANK THOMAS' restaurant, The Big Hurt Brewhouse, opened Saturday afternoon in Berwyn, Ill. (SUNTIMES.com, 11/3)....Browns QB JOHNNY MANZIEL will appear on the cover of the December issue of Golf Digest (THE DAILY)....Former NFLer JASON SEHORN and actress ANGIE HARMON have "called it quits after 13 years of marriage" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 11/4)....Golfer PHIL MICKELSON listed his 9,200-square-foot Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., home for about $6M (LATIMES.com, 11/3)....Blackhawks C JONATHAN TOEWS "has signed a deal to sell his three-bedroom Lakeshore East” condo unit in Chicago after it “was on the market for less than five days" listed at $2.3M (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 11/4)....NHLer MICHAL HANDZUS has listed his Hermosa Beach, Calif., home for $4.199M (LATIMES.com, 11/3).
IN MEMORY: Former Trail Blazers co-Owner HERMAN SARKOWSKY "passed away Sunday in Seattle" at 89. Sarkowsky is "the man behind the famous raincoat story that led to the team’s founding." He teamed with LARRY WEINBERG of L.A. and ROBERT SCHMERTZ of New Jersey in '70 to pay the $3.7M expansion fee "to secure what would become the Trail Blazers" (OREGONLIVE.com, 11/3).
