Names In The News
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| Smith's Compensation In '07 Rises To $2.6M |
Charlotte-based auto retailer Sonic Automotive paid Chair & CEO BRUTON SMITH about $2.6M in '07, up almost 13% from the roughly $2.3M in '06, despite Sonic's stock dropping more than 30%. Smith's salary remained steady at $1.1M and his bonus pay increased slightly to about $1.1M (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 3/14).
HONORS & AWARDS: The U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) has awarded its Katha Quinn Award to ESPN VP/PR JOSH KRULEWITZ and ESPN VP/Communications MIKE SOLTYS. The award, presented annually to individuals who service members of basketball media, is named in honor of former St. John's Univ. SID KATHA QUINN, who died in '88. Krulewitz and Soltys will be honored April 7 at the USBWA's awards at San Antonio's Marriott Riverwalk Hotel in conjunction with the NCAA Division I men's basketball Final Four (USBWA)....MLB has awarded its second annual MLB Beacon Awards to Baseball HOFer FRANK ROBINSON, actress RUBY DEE and Johnson Publishing Founder JOHN JOHNSON. The awards, given for efforts on behalf of civil rights, will be presented March 28 in Memphis at a dinner following the Baseball & The Civil Rights Movement roundtable discussion (MLB).
BOOKS & FILM: NBC's TIKI BARBER is planning a new book titled, "PARALLEL PASS" (N.Y. POST, 3/14)....An updated "BULL DURHAM" collector's edition will be released Tuesday, featuring new commentary from actors KEVIN COSTNER and TIM ROBBINS and a feature about life in minor league baseball (SI, 3/17 issue).
NAMES: Fox' "American Idol" host RYAN SEACREST and band Fall Out Boy have been added to the "Big Dance" festival surrounding the Final Four in San Antonio. Seacrest on April 6 will host My Coke Fest while Fall Out Boy on April 4 will headline the AT&T Block Party (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, 3/14)....Bobcats Managing Member of Basketball Operations MICHAEL JORDAN, who "rarely" appears in Charlotte, is expected to be in town Saturday and Sunday as former Univ. of North Carolina coach DEAN SMITH will be honored at a legends brunch in conjunction with the ACC men's basketball tournament (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 3/13)....Univ. of Louisville coach RICK PITINO and former NBAers WALTER MCCARTY and JAMAL MASHBURN, behind their Kentucky-based Fast Break Donuts LLC, plan to open 17 Dunkin' Donuts stores in central Kentucky during the next several years. The first store is scheduled to open in late April in Lexington (BOSTON HERALD, 3/14).
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