49ers season-ticket holder AMIR KAZEMZADEH "has sued the team, saying a new ticket policy unfairly requires fans who want to sell single-game tickets more than 72 hours before kickoff to make those sales over Ticketmaster, with stiff fees for both seller and buyer." The suit accuses the 49ers and Ticketmaster of “anticompetitive practices to dominate and restrict ticket sales” in violation of federal antitrust laws. The suit was filed last week in federal court "as a proposed class action on behalf of all season ticket holders" for the upcoming season. The Fan Freedom Project, the organization promoting the lawsuit, "backed a similar suit in March" by StubHub against the Warriors (S.F. CHRONICLE, 8/12).
ZIP CODE: Louisiana-Monroe AD BRIAN WICKSTROM on Monday "withdrew his name from consideration" for the same position at Akron. Wickstrom in a text message wrote, "The amount of uncertainty with the changes on campus and its impact on athletes made me reconsider moving forward." UA's $32M athletic budget -- "almost triple the budget of ULM -- made the job attractive to Wickstrom., but other financial issues at the school led to the baseball program being discontinued and elimination of 215 university jobs" (NEWSSTAR.com, 8/10).
JUST RECRUIT IT: Nike at the recent Black Hat USA cybersecurity conference "was a visible -- an unusual -- presence amid companies like Microsoft and Dell" that were "looking for cybersecurity talent." Nike, which has "moved into the fitness tracking arena with its now-defunct FuelBand wearable and current mobile app offering, has been particularly aggressive in courting talent." Mastercard earlier this year "accused Nike of conspiring to steal cybersecurity employees by pushing two of the credit card company's top tech managers to break their contracts." Nike called the allegations "meritless." Following the Black Hat event in Las Vegas, Nike "sponsored an after-hours party" at XS at The Wynn and "long lines of people snaked around each other at the entrance of the club." A bouncer said that "7,000 people signed up for the event" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 8/10).
AWARDS & HONORS: South Carolina AD and former baseball coach RAY TANNER “has been selected for induction” into the American Baseball Coaches Association HOF on Jan. 8 in Nashville (THESTATE.com, 8/11)....Redskins WR PIERRE GARCON, former NFLer KEVIN FAGAN, golfer STEVE LEBRUN and former MLBer DOUG BOCHTLER are among the first Athletic HOF class for John I. Leonard High School in Greenacres, Fla. (PALMBEACHPOST.com, 8/11)....SMG Dir of Sales & Marketing for Wichita’s Intrust Bank Arena CHRISTINE PILECKAS has been honored by the Young Professionals of Wichita as the Volunteer of the Year for the Pulse Action Team (THE DAILY).
NAMES: FIFA yesterday named former IOC Dir General FRANCOIS CARRARD Chair of a group of 21 officials "that will propose reforms for soccer's corruption-plagued governing body." Also named to the reform group was FIFA Exec Committee Member SHEIK AHMAD AL-FAHAD AL-SABAH of Kuwait, which "confirmed his growing influence in world soccer" (AP, 8/11)....While TIGER WOODS’ golf schedule “precluded him from being at the opening of his new restaurant at Harbourside Place in Jupiter on Monday, he made it clear he’s going to be a hands-on owner.” Woods’ “high standards would suggest any restaurant bearing his name will offer top-notch food and service." He also said that it will "serve as a top-notch sports bar” (PALMBEACHPOST.com, 8/11)....Pro Football HOFer MIKE DITKA yesterday “shared philosophy, practical advice and other life lessons with a sold-out crowd from the Schaumburg Business Association at his Ditka’s restaurant” outside Chicago (DAILYHERALD.com, 8/11)....Twins P TREVOR MAY yesterday appeared yesterday at a Best Buy’s “Geek Squad Academy, a technology camp hosted at Washington Magnet School in St. Paul” (STARTRIBUNE.com, 8/12)....ESPN’s STEPHEN A. SMITH will serve as keynote speaker at the 11th annual MEAC/SWAC Challenge in Orlando on Sept. 4 (ESPN).
