Padres Exec Chair RON FOWLER yesterday awarded eight high school grads $5,000 through the Brad Fowler Memorial Scholarship. The program, which has "awarded 96 college scholarships, is in honor of Fowler's son," who died in '77 in an auto accident. The scholarship is "awarded to high school seniors in San Diego county who have overcome obstacles associated with drugs, alcohol and other addictions." Strong academic commitment is a "requirement, as is athletic participation." All recipients will "get a second $5,000 scholarship if they remain in good academic standing after a year" (UNION-TRIBUNE, 6/27).
HIT THE BOOKS: MIKE TYSON's new book, "IRON AMBITION: MY LIFE WITH CUS D'AMATO," tells the story of his manager, trainer and father figure who "turned Tyson from Brooklyn street thug and juvenile delinquent into boxing’s youngest heavyweight champion at 20." Tyson said, "The book is about Cus and his teachings and my life living with him" (USA TODAY, 6/27).
WINNING!!! Actor CHARLIE SHEEN has "revealed himself as the owner of two of the most coveted pieces of BABE RUTH memorabilia, which will be sold Friday." Sheen said that he "consigned" Ruth's '27 World Series ring and an "original copy of the sale document" that sent Ruth from the Red Sox to the Yankees to auction house Lelands.com. Bidding on the ring has "topped $600,000" and the high bid on the sale document has "surpassed $400,000" (ESPN.com, 6/26).
STATE YOUR CASE: Forbes' list of the "Richest Person In Every State" included the following sports execs: Nike co-Founder & Chair Emeritus PHIL KNIGHT (Oregon, $25.1B); Jazz Owner & Chair GAIL MILLER (Utah, $1.2B); Rams Owner STAN KROENKE (Missouri, $7.5B); Saints and Pelicans Owner TOM BENSON (Louisiana, $2.6B); Cavaliers Owner DAN GILBERT (Michigan, $5.9B); and Nationals Managing Principal Owner TED LERNER (Maryland, $5.8B) (FORBES.com, 6/21).
NAMES: The Dolphins and some of former NFLer JIM KIICK's past teammates "teamed up to buy him a Super Bowl ring to replace the one he lost." The Dolphins presented Kiick with the replica a couple of weeks ago (MIAMI HERALD, 6/27)....Redskins TE VERNON DAVIS teamed up with shoe company Mezlan to "promote fatherhood and the significance of mentorship among male role models." The partnership began June 6 and "included a meet-and-greet session" with Davis as he "took photos, signed autographs and shared his life experiences with the kids" (WASHINGTON POST, 6/27)....Mets P MATT HARVEY was “spotted in the Hamptons this past weekend with locals buzzing that he and a group of his bros rented an estate" in Montauk (NYPOST.com, 6/26)....Patriots QB TOM BRADY over the weekend “posted a picture on Instagram of himself” and Warriors G and fellow Under Armour endorser STEPHEN CURRY “on the links” (BOSTON GLOBE, 6/27)....NATHANIEL CONANT, a former temporary Univ. of Missouri athletics employee and recent alum, “drove his Volkswagen Passat through Mizzou Arena and onto Norm Stewart Court early Sunday and caused an estimated $100,000 worth of damage" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 6/27)....Gold-medal winning U.S. figure skater TARA LIPINSKI “wed Fox Sports producer TODD KAPOSTASY on Saturday at the historic Middleton Place plantation" in Charleston, S.C. Lipinski’s “pal and ‘bridesman,’ JOHNNY WEIR was also in attendance” (NYPOST.com, 6/26).
