Names In The News
Former NBAer EDDIE JOHNSON “isn’t considering legal action yet” after the
Chicago Tribune and other media outlets mistakenly identified him as being charged
with sexual assault on an eight-year-old girl earlier this week. The alleged culprit
was another former NBAer of the same name. Johnson said, “I’m not thinking on
those terms. My deal right now is to get my name right. I’m accepting apologies.
I’m seeing what I need to do to keep clearing my name.” Former teammate CHARLES
BARKLEY said that he would appear on talk radio shows “and speak on Johnson’s
behalf.” Barkley: “It was just lazy journalism” (USA TODAY, 8/11).
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Gambling Allegations Surface
Against Mets’ Lo Duca (l)
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CATCH AS CATCH CAN: In N.Y., T.J. Quinn cites sources saying that “at least
twice during the past year, illegal bookmakers” tried to pressure Mets C PAUL
LO DUCA “into paying gambling debts.” The first incident was in June ‘05 when
a man called the Marlins “to tell them Lo Duca, then with the team, owed him money,
which was immediately reported to [MLB].” In May, someone “called associates of
Lo Duca’s and demanded payment for another alleged debt, and threatened to go
to Shea Stadium to intimidate Lo Duca.” Lo Duca declined comment and Mets “front
office personnel, security officials and NYPD officers at Shea said they did not
know of such an incident.” MLB Senior VP/PR RICH LEVIN did not say if MLB
is investigating, but sources said that the league “would be in touch” (N.Y.
DAILY NEWS, 8/11).
TIGER TALE: Auburn Univ. professors THOMAS PETEE and JAMES WITTE
were forced to resign for offering athletes “an unusual number of individualized
directed-reading courses ... that required little academic rigor.” But Auburn
interim President ED RICHARDSON “stressed that athletes were not shown
special favor despite being given high marks for little work” (N.Y. TIMES,
8/11).
E TV: DALE EARNHARDT JR., the first ever NASCAR driver to appear
on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” said during his appearance, “Years ago,
you used to get out and fight [with other drivers] and run around and chase each
other with a jackhammer and stuff like that. Those were the good old days. But
it’s gotten so corporate now that ... we’ve got to act a certain way and we can’t
get out and always say what we think or act how we feel” (Comedy Central, 8/11).
NAMES: Suns G STEVE NASH trained with the MLS Red Bulls Thursday
morning in preparation for their game against FC Barcelona Saturday night (Morris
County DAILY RECORD, 8/11)....Marlins President DAVID SAMSON is trying
to raise $100,000 for both the Florida Marlins Community Foundation and the Challenged
Athletes Foundation by competing in the Ford Ironman World Championship in October
(ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 8/11)....MLB President & COO BOB DUPUY donated
$4,000 to U.S. Sen. JOE LIEBERMAN’s (D-CT) re-election campaign. ANDRE
AGASSI gave $2,100. Lieberman lost in the Democratic primary Tuesday 52%-48%,
but plans to run as an Independent (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 8/11).
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