Thousands of people came to "pay final respects" to Steelers Chair DAN ROONEY yesterday as he was laid to rest. Some of those in attendance included U.S. Rep. MIKE DOYLE (D-Pa.), Cowboys Owner JERRY JONES, Colts Owner JIM IRSAY and PRESIDENT OBAMA, NFL Commissioner ROGER GOODELL and former NFL Commissioner PAUL TAGLIABUE (TRIBLIVE.com, 4/18). Rooney was "remembered as an affectionate man of the people and a visionary leader of an NFL dynasty during an 80-minute funeral" at St. Paul Cathedral in Oakland, Pa. The service included "dozens of current and former Steelers." Of the eight pallbearers who carried Rooney's casket, "all but one were grandsons," with former NFLer IKE TAYLOR as the other pallbearer. Several coaches, including MIKE TOMLIN, MARVIN LEWIS and MIKE MCCARTHY, were in attendance, as were team owners ROBERT KRAFT, MIKE BROWN, JIMMY HASLAM III, JOHN MARA and JERRY RICHARDSON (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 4/19).
NAMES: Wayne State's new baseball facility, Ernie Harwell Field, is a tribute to late Tigers radio announcer ERNIE HARWELL and his wife, LULU. The new structure is a "replica of the rotunda at Ebbets Field, where Harwell began his broadcasting career with the Brooklyn Dodgers." The building is 2,676 square feet and cost $2.3M -- "all of which was privately funded" (DETROIT NEWS, 4/19)....Baseball HOFer ROD CAREW and his family will team with the family of late former NFLer KONRAD REULAND to “promote organ donorship and brain health.” The bond between the families was “forged during a March 2 meeting” in which Reuland’s family “heard Konrad’s heart beating in Carew’s chest” following an organ donation (L.A. TIMES, 4/19)....Former MLBer DAVID ORTIZ "hosted a post-race reception” for his Boston Marathon team and their families at Strega Waterfront on Monday night. Ortiz “saluted the 14 runners who ran on behalf of the David Ortiz Children's Fund (BOSTON GLOBE, 4/19)....Grizzlies G MIKE CONLEY “purchased 500 tickets” to tomorrow night’s game against the Spurs as a way to thank Grizz nation" (NBCSPORTS.com, 4/18)....ESPN's “O.J.: MADE IN AMERICA” is “among the 12 winners of Peabody Awards for documentaries” (DEADLINE.com, 4/18).
IN MEMORY: Stewart-Haas Racing CFO GREG PARK passed away last Friday at the age of 60. Park had a long and well-respected career in motorsports finance, having been with SHR since ’08 after previously serving as CFO for MB2/MBV Motorsports and Evernham Motorsports (Adam Stern, Staff Writer).
