THREE IS THE MAGIC NUMBER: The Superlative Group President MYLES GALLAGHER, on the possible sale of IMG's three major divisions: athlete management, event ownership and TWI: "If you look at the three business groups, we can't see anybody out there in the industry that would take all of them on and get them to integrate well into another competitor. ... In our estimation, it probably makes the most sense for a management buyout and, if that weren't to happen, then it would be broken off into the three areas" ("Power Lunch," CNBC, 6/2).
RUMOR MILL: In N.Y., gossip columnist Cindy Adams writes Cablevision CEO JAMES DOLAN "may nick off a small piece of the Knicks" for P. DIDDY to purchase, who is also now "dickering to buy into the" Hawks. Meanwhile, Adams reports former MSG President DAVE CHECKETTS is in "deep negotiations to become head of the YES network" (N.Y. POST, 6/3).
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| Robert Kraft & Family Honored At Tradition Gala |
HONORS: DALE ARNOLD and SEAN MCDONOUGH hosted the TRADITION GALA presented by NEW BALANCE at FleetCenter Tuesday night. Honorees included former SI Managing Editor MARK MULVOY and Patriots Owner ROBERT KRAFT and his family (THE DAILY)....NHL Broadcasters' Association President CHUCK KAITON, the only radio broadcaster in the 25-year history of the Hurricanes franchise, received the FOSTER HEWITT MEMORIAL AWARD, becoming the 26th broadcaster inducted into the unofficial media wing of the hockey HOF. ESPN.com's JIM KELLEY, formerly of the Buffalo News, was named winner of the ELMER FERGUSON MEMORIAL AWARD, which honors print media (Luke Decock, Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 6/2).
SCHOOL DAYS: In Boulder, Kyle Ringo reported Univ. of Colorado WR JEREMY BLOOM "will enroll in summer school this week after taking the spring semester off to work on his moguls skiing career." The school is then expected to "declare him ineligible to play [football] because he accepted endorsements this spring to fund his skiing." Bloom and the school would "then appeal to the NCAA for reinstatement," but the NCAA is not "likely to grant reinstatement unless Bloom repays the money and agrees not to accept endorsements in the future" (Boulder DAILY CAMERA, 6/2)....In L.A., Gary Klein reports USC WR MIKE WILLIAMS is "seeking reinstatement of his NCAA eligibility." Williams indicated that he has "cut ties with sports agent MIKE AZZARELLI and has signed paperwork provided by USC that will officially start the reinstatement application process." While Azzarelli initially said that he "would file a lawsuit against the NFL on Williams' behalf," he said Tuesday that no "legal action was pending, and he advised Williams to seek reinstatement" (L.A. TIMES, 6/3).
NAMES: DALE EARNHARDT JR. yesterday served as Daytona Int'l Speedway (DIS) "President for a Day" and announced Magic G TRACY MCGRADY will be grand marshal for the July 3 Pepsi 400 at DIS (George Diaz, ORLANDO SENTINEL, 6/3). When asked "what would happen if he was king of NASCAR for a day," Earnhardt said that "all Nextel Cup races would be 300 miles ... and he would move the All-Star Challenge race from Lowe's Motor Speedway." Earnhardt Jr.: "Move the All-Star race to Daytona right before July and make it a two-week deal. It would be cool to have it here" (Daytona Beach NEWS-JOURNAL, 6/3)....TWIN CITIES MARATHON officials announced yesterday that their October 3 race "will open its prize purse to all runners — regardless of citizenship." The announcement "reverses an earlier decision to limit prize money to American runners" (STAR-TRIBUNE, 6/3).
