The Univ. of North Carolina yesterday held a public memorial service that gave "thousands of fans, former players and coaching colleagues a chance to savor memories" of late men's basketball coach DEAN SMITH. The school estimated 9,000-10,000 attended the program, which lasted "more than two hours in the campus arena bearing Smith's name." ACC Commissioner and former UNC AD JOHN SWOFFORD was among those in attendance, while ESPN analyst BRAD DAUGHERTY and former NBAers PHIL FORD and ANTAWN JAMISON were among those who spoke at the event (AP, 2/22). U.S. Sen. THOM TILLIS (R-N.C.), North Carolina Gov. PAT MCCRORY, former N.C. State AD LES ROBINSON and former Georgia Tech men's coach BOBBY CREMINS "also attended" (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 2/23).
FLY ANOTHER DAY: Indians P TREVOR BAUER over the off-season "built an unmanned aircraft" and Wednesday -- the day pitchers and catchers reported -- "flew the drone over the Tribe's training site." Two days after Bauer posted pictures on Twitter, the team received word from the league that it "would be in their best interest if Bauer put the drone away." Manager TERRY FRANCONA said, "We actually got a note telling him to cool it. That actually makes sense. That's all we need. If we get the MLB on us, we don't need the FAA. We'll be in all kinds of trouble" (CLEVELAND.com, 2/20). Bauer said, "Obviously, I'm not trying to break any rules here. I enjoy flying the thing. It's kind of cool and I figured it would take some cool pictures for the fans to see" (CLEVELAND.com, 2/21).
NAMES: Hockey HOFer WAYNE GRETZKY “will officially endorse” PATRICK BROWN in the race for Ontario Progressive Conservative leadership (TORONTO STAR, 2/23)....MLSE will donate C$100,000 to “boost the number” of outdoor skating rinks in Toronto that “will remain open beyond this weekend from 17 to 29.” Toronto was to “shut down dozens of rinks despite another chilly winter, sparking debate at City Hall over whether the city should be more flexible in budgeting for longer rink seasons” (GLOBE & MAIL, 2/22)....A jersey worn by late Hockey HOFer EDDIE SHORE “sold for $119,500” to an unidentified collector in N.Y. on Saturday (AP, 2/22)....Cavaliers Owner DAN GILBERT is “still grabbing up downtown Detroit real estate,” as he “currently owns 70 properties totaling 10 million square feet in the city’s core.” His real-estate investments total $1.6B in “commercial spaces and downtown parking decks and garages” (MLIVE.com, 2/20)....Gold-medal winning U.S. swimmer MICHAEL PHELPS yesterday “announced on Twitter he’s marrying NICOLE JOHNSON,” who was Miss California in ’10 (AP, 2/22)....Giants WR VICTOR CRUZ, 49ers QB COLIN KAEPERNICK and tennis player SERENA WILLIAMS attended WME/IMG co-CEO ARI EMANUEL’s Oscar celebration Friday (N.Y. POST, 2/22)....Fox NFL analyst MICHAEL STRAHAN sold his Brentwood, Calif., home “in an off-market deal” for $21.5M (LATIMES.com, 2/20)....49ers TE VERNON DAVIS has “put his home in south San Jose on the market” for about $2.45M. He bought the Silver Creek Valley Country Club home in ’12 for $1.98M (LATIMES.com, 2/20)....Former MLBer TIM SALMON put his Flagstaff, Ariz., cabin up for sale at about $4M (LATIMES.com, 2/20).
