Penguins Owner HOWARD BALDWIN has signed a two-year,
producing deal with Universal Pictures, "marking the first
studio affiliation for the Baldwin-Cohen Entertainment Co.
Baldwin and his wife, KAREN, have joined entrepreneur RICHARD
COHEN in the partnership. Baldwin is Exec Producer of the new
Jean-Claude Van Damme movie, "Sudden Death," due this fall
(VARIETY, 6/25 issue)....MIKE DYER, President of the St. Louis
Sports Commission, will be joining the NBA as VP of Event
Management. Dyer will direct events such as All-Star Weekend,
the Draft, Draft lottery, and int'l exhibitions and tournaments
(ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 6/21). ....Former Sam Houston Race
Park license holder (and Devils Owner) JOHN MCMULLEN is upset
with the track's proposed reorganization and may file in federal
bankruptcy court to regain control (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 6/20)....
TANYA CURRY was promoted to Dir at ESPN Enterprises (Gould Media
Services). ...HAKEEM OLAJUWON appeared on the "Late Show" last
night. Olajuwon, on winning a second time: "Nobody expected us
to win it, but that is what made it so much fun." Hakeem played
ping-pong with one of Letterman's neighbors (CBS, 6/20)....CLYDE
DREXLER appeared on the "Tonight Show" with Jay Leno. Drexler:
"It's been a great ride" (NBC, 6/20). ....More from MICHAEL
JORDAN's interview with LARRY KING: Jordan said without the
strike, he might have stuck with baseball: "I was in favor of
the players, and next thing I know, I find myself in the middle
of a money-making situation. That really wasn't fun for me"
(CNN, 6/20).
LETTERMAN'S TOP TEN: The Top Ten Good Things About
Being a 2-time NBA Champ: 10) Just six more championships
and you'll have an eight-peat; 9) Every time you eat a
Dorito in public, you make a cool million bucks; 8) Get to
co-anchor CBS News with Dan Rather; 7) When you eat at
Howard Johnson's, they slip you a couple extra fried clams;
6) When you go to Disneyworld, Mickey has to kiss your ass;
5) For some reason, after you win the title twice, those
cute Doublemint twins start hanging around; 4) Every night
for the rest of your life, you're bathing in Gatorade; 3)
"Hakeem" will become the most popular name for newborn
babies; 2) Congratulatory lap dance from Marv Albert; 1) You
get to meet Batman! ("Late Show," CBS, 6/20).
