Names In The News
Forbes Senior Editor BRETT PULLEY's new book on Bobcats Owner & BET Founder ROBERT JOHNSON, "THE BILLION-DOLLAR BET: ROBERT JOHNSON AND THE INSIDE STORY OF BLACK ENTERTAINMENT TELEVISION," started as a cover story for the magazine and "became an account of one man's achieving the 'American Dream.'" Pulley, on Johnson not cooperating in the writing of the book: "I looked at it like this: You want to be just treated like a businessman, like JOHN MALONE, WARREN BUFFETT, and DAVID GEFFEN, all the moguls out there. ... That's the way I'm treating this. It was never a thing of asking him if we could do a book. He's gotten to the point he's in the big leagues" (Donna Williams Vance, PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 5/7).
BRAND JORDAN: MICHAEL JORDAN is scheduled to visit Taiwan as part of an '04 Asian swing that includes Japan, Hong Kong and China. The exact dates have not been determined. Nike Taiwan will sponsor an activity on its Web site — www.nike.com.tw — where fans "can pay homage" to Jordan (TAIWANNEWS.com, 5/4)....Yankees SS DEREK JETER is interviewed by PLAYBOY's Diane Shah in the June issue. Jeter, on his relationship with Yankees Owner GEORGE STEINBRENNER: "It's always boss-employee. He's the boss. But I think we have a really good relationship. I don't know how it could be any better in terms of playing for him. In the off-season I can do whatever I want, whenever I want to do it. He wouldn't call me if he read I was out until such and such an hour in January. He wouldn't say, 'You need to be home'" (PLAYBOY, 6/'04 issue).
NAMES: In DC, Jim Reedy reports many Univ. of Virginia observers suspect author JOHN GRISHAM "was the driving force behind the anonymous donation that allowed [UVA] to begin construction of its $4[M] baseball stadium in 2001, though few at the university know for certain" (WASHINGTON POST, 5/7)....K.C.-based HOK SPORT+VENUE+EVENT has signed a lease for its new $22M HQs in the River Market section of the city. Developer OPUS NORTHWEST plans to begin construction on the four-story, 93,000-square-foot office building in mid-June and complete it by September '05 (K.C. STAR, 5/7).
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