Lightning owner JEFF VINIK and his wife, PENNY, “plan to divorce.” A Vinik spokesperson said that the divorce proceedings “will not affect ownership of the Lightning or the team’s day-to-day operations. The move to end the marriage “comes nearly four years after Penny Vinik first initiated divorce proceedings.” Those proceedings were paused in June 2020 before Penny withdrew her petition in November 2020 (TAMPA BAY BUSINESS JOURNAL, 2/2).
FAMILY AFFAIR: As Republican Senate candidate and former MLBer STEVE GARVEY rises to become a "serious contender in the California Senate primary," he is "attracting more scrutiny." A "big and brutal story" from the L.A. Times reported that Garvey has had "no relationship with two of his children despite their efforts, and that he cut off a third child without explanation 15 years ago." Garvey has "vaulted into a tie for second place in a new poll," battling with Democratic Rep. KATIE PORTER to "land the second runoff spot against Democratic Rep. ADAM SCHIFF, the frontrunner" (POLITICO, 2/1).
MONEY MOVES: UCLA women's basketball commit KENDALL DUDLEY landed a deal with Klutch Sports Group back in December, and because Kendall plays her high school basketball in D.C., which does not bar its athletes from profiting off their NIL, she was able to sign with Klutch almost a full year before she will take the court for UCLA. Klutch will help Dudley “build a following, make connections in the industry and ultimately screen and land NIL deals.” Kendall had two options when she signed with an agent as a high-school senior: be a “big fish for Ballislife,” a multimedia company that has started repping young players for NIL deals, or be a “much tinier fish for Klutch,” a legacy agency that would have every resource imaginable (WASHINGTON POST, 2/2).
NAMES: The LARRY H. & GAIL MILLER FAMILY FOUNDATION donated $22M toward redevelopment of Salt Lake City’s Ballpark neighborhood, specifically Smith’s Ballpark, which will be vacant after the 2024 season. The Miller family is leading a $100M fundraising initiative to provide an investment into the city’s Ballpark NEXT project, and its contribution launched the fundraising effort (DESERET NEWS, 2/1)....U.S. Rep. ADRIANO ESPAILLAT (D-N.Y.) has introduced a bill that calls on the U.S. Treasury to mint commemorative coins recognizing both Baseball HOFer ROBERTO CLEMENTE’s 18-year career and his humanitarian work off the field (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 1/31)....Olympic gold medalist BOB BEAMON, who shattered the long jump world record at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, auctioned his gold medal for $441,000 on Thursday. The record auction price for an Olympic gold medal was set in 2013, when one of JESSE OWENS’ four golds from the 1936 Berlin Games went for $1,466,574 (NBCSPORTS.com, 2/1).
