Sources said that President-elect DONALD TRUMP is "likely to pick" Cubs co-Owner TODD RICKETTS to be Deputy Secretary of the Commerce Department. Ricketts "hails from a family of powerful conservative donors," while he too has been a "prolific donor ... running a conservative super PAC that aided Trump in the waning days of the race." Ricketts' possible move to the Commerce Department "continues Trump's recent trend of selecting top-level mainstream Republicans and mega-donors" (CNN.com, 11/24). Trump named Magic co-Owner BETSY DEVOS, the daughter-in-law of Magic Owner RICHARD DEVOS, incoming Secretary of Education (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 11/24).
CRIMSON DEVELOPMENT: Alabama football coach NICK SABAN has "built a business empire off the field," with a "collection of investments and projects that roughly traces the path of his 40-year career." They include a strip mall outside East Lansing, Mich., apartment complexes around Houston, a pair of small apartment buildings in Baton Rouge, an upscale residential development in Tuscaloosa and a "growing collection of Mercedes-Benz dealerships." Saban recently "listed 23 entities, some with names like Blitzmore LLC and First Down LLC, in which he or his wife, TERRY -- a licensed real estate professional -- hold 5% or more of the stock, or serve as officers" (WSJ.com, 11/26).
GOOD WORK: The PBA elected former Commissioner MARK GERBERICH to its HOF. He served as commissioner from '96-'00 (PBA)....SI Kids named TAI, RAINN and BROOKE SHEPPARD of Brooklyn its '16 SportsKids of the Year. The sisters, aged 11, 10 and 9, respectively, were selected from among thousands of entries for overcoming substantial obstacles (SI).
NAMES: Red Sox Owner JOHN HENRY has purchased a yacht for $84M. The 216-foot boat, previously named the Ester III, was "reportedly owned" by former Olympic Russian Federation of Bobsleigh President GEORGY BEDZHAMOV. Henry has "renamed" the boat Iroquois (PAGESIX.com, 11/25)....Former MLBer SHAWN GREEN has founded Greenfly, one of a "seemingly endless number of technology ventures hoping to revolutionize some aspect of sports and entertainment." The company name is a "knowing wink to a popular and disparaging term players use to describe those they consider hangers-on, including fans and media." The Greenfly product "helps teams collect words and images from those sources and spread them across the Internet" (L.A. TIMES, 11/25)....The Islanders following their practice on Nov. 17 "skated with visually impaired children" from the N.Y. Institute of Special Education and Third Eye Insight, a fitness program for the blind (NEWSDAY, 11/27)....LADY GAGA described her upcoming Super Bowl LI halftime performance by saying, “I always say you got to play a dive bar like you play an arena and you play an arena like you play a dive bar” (“CBS News Sunday Morning,” 11/27)....Yankees P DELLIN BETANCES got married Friday at The Venetian in Garfield, N.J. (N.Y. POST, 11/27)....Boxing Promoter DON KING joined Donald Trump for Thanksgiving at Mar-a-Lago (POLITICO.com, 11/23)....Spurs coach GREGG POPOVICH and the entire team "dined at The Palm" in Boston on Thursday (BOSTONGLOBE.com, 11/25).
IN MEMORY: Former golfer and instructor PEGGY KIRK BELL died last Wednesday at the age of 95. She was "golf royalty, an ambassador from a different era who lived long enough to see the rewards of her labors." Few people "did more to advance the game of women's golf -- and golf itself -- than Bell, who won a handful of tournaments in the '40s and '50s but was always a teacher first above all else" (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 11/25).
