Sunday's edition of CBS' "60 MINUTES" will feature Cardinals 1B ALBERT PUJOLS, who said that charity is "his passion." CBS cameras accompanied Pujols on a recent visit to his native Dominican Republic to help the country's poor (CBS). "60 Minutes" Producer DRAGGAN MIHAILOVICH "spent several months with Pujols to produce the piece," starting with an October visit to St. Louis (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 4/8).
COMING TOGETHER: Bill Sutton & Associates has forged a strategic partnership with A Game Development Principal ALICE PETZOLD to expand the executive coaching, leadership development and career mentoring consultancy practice. Petzold specializes in providing executive coaching to strengthen leaders, revitalize teams and align organizations, and she brings more than 20 years of professional experience with the organizations including the IOC, NASCAR, the Cavaliers, the USL, major agencies and startups (Bill Sutton & Associates).
OUT IN FRONT: In N.Y., John Branch profiles Outsports.com, which is the "only substantial Web site devoted to the widening intersection of sports and gay issues, offering a blend of blog posts, breaking news, photo galleries and commentary." Co-Founders CYD ZEIGLER and JIM BUZINSKI, the "only two employees," said that the site is "not about outing athletes ... but supporting them, and it attracts hundreds of thousands of eyeballs every month." Branch writes, "The fact that Outsports could still seem so distinctive a couple of decades into the age of the Internet -- with its endless assortment of blogs, Web sites, chat groups and more -- says something about the enduring taboo of being a gay athlete" (N.Y. TIMES, 4/8).
FAMILIAR FACE: ESPN.com's Ed Hinton profiled Texas Motor Speedway President EDDIE GOSSAGE, the "most cited executive in auto racing." Gossage, "as you may have noticed by his ubiquitous mention all over the media, as often as he can get it, is no blushing wallflower." Gossage: "I don't know how to promote races other than to be almost the carnival barker." Hinton wrote, "Those of us who have known Gossage for any time at all ... sense that he harbors political ambitions." But Gossage said, "I would never run for office -- I'm too honest. I'm a race promoter." Meanwhile, Gossage "does acknowledge packing a semi-automatic pistol -- often two" (ESPN.com, 4/7).
KEEPING BUSY: In DC, Mike Wise profiled Redskins TE CHRIS COOLEY, who has a "pottery room at home." Cooley "estimates he has made 350 pieces the past three weeks in anticipation of his first public showing Friday night at The Cooley Gallery, in Leesburg, Va. Cooley "estimates he has sold about $50,000 worth of his work and has given away thousands more to charity." Over the holidays, he "hit the Redskins team store at the Leesburg outlets ... hard." He "uses his employee discount to get 40 percent off at the team store," and he buys his jerseys and "then signs them and re-sells them at his gallery at the price everyone else would pay" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 4/7).
NAMES: L.A. DOWNTOWN NEWS ranked several sports personalities among its "42 Most Powerful People In Downtown." AEG President & CEO TIM LEIWEKE ranked No. 1, Clippers F BLAKE GRIFFIN ranked No. 28 and Dodgers Owner FRANK MCCOURT ranked No. 42 (L.A. DOWNTOWN NEWS, 4/4 issue)....Rival Sports Group and agent TONY DUTT will rep NBA Draft prospects MARCUS and MARKIEFF MORRIS "during the draft and contract negotiations" (AP, 4/7)....Red Sox Owner JOHN HENRY reportedly "has put his 164-foot yacht, Iroquois, up for sale" for $28.7M (BOSTON HERALD, 4/8)....FC Barcelona MF LIONEL MESSI's "global popularity is set to rise even higher after signing up to Facebook on Wednesday, collecting almost seven million followers by the afternoon." Messi "doesn't have a Twitter account" (AP, 4/6)....Bulls Chair JERRY REINSDORF spoke with Suns F GRANT HILL and "talked to his mother personally to express regret for a fan cursing and spitting at Hill as he left the court" following Tuesday's Suns-Bulls game (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 4/8)....NASCAR Green Innovation Managing Dir MIKE LYNCH participated in a Q&A with the DAILY OKLAHOMAN's Scott Wright (DAILY OKLAHOMAN, 4/8).
IN MEMORY: NHL Central Scouting Bureau VP EJ MCGUIRE passed away Thursday at the age of 58 due to cancer. McGuire had directed the NHL's Central Scouting Department since '05 (NHL). Versus' BILL PATRICK said McGuire was "one of the most beloved and respected men in hockey" ("Hockey Central Pregame," Versus, 4/7).
