Magic Senior VP PAT WILLIAMS' son, BOBBY WILLIAMS, ran yesterday's Boston Marathon in 4:19:40, "pinch-running for his father." Pat Williams was "unable to run because he is fighting multiple myeloma," and race organizers "made an exception to allow Bobby Williams to run in his father's place" (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 4/19). Meanwhile, the Mandarin Oriental in Boston "hosted a marathon viewing party yesterday," and Red Sox President & CEO LARRY LUCCHINO was among the attendees. Red Sox Owner JOHN HENRY, his wife, LINDA PIZZUTI HENRY, and Reebok VP/Government & Community Relations PAUL FOSTER were among the attendees at a marathon party at Abe & Louie's in Boston (BOSTON GLOBE, 4/19). Celtics President RICH GOTHAM and VP/Corporate Partnerships & Business Development TED DALTON attended a party at Towne, along with Red Sox Vice Chair DAVID GINSBERG and Exec VP & COO SAM KENNEDY (BOSTON HERALD, 4/19).
MEETING OF THE MINDS: In Phoenix, Ginger Rough reports a "blue-ribbon panel appointed by Gov. JAN BREWER to help the Fiesta Bowl repair its tarnished image met for the second time on Saturday." The meeting was "not publicized in advance, and its agenda was not open to the public." Brewer in a statement said that the group "heard directly from Fiesta Bowl representatives," including Chair DUANE WOODS, and "received a 'detailed' briefing from the investigators who authored a 276-page report on the bowl's alleged misdeeds." It is "not clear when Brewer's panel will release any additional recommendations it has for the bowl" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 4/19).
FOR A GOOD CAUSE: The Level Field Fund yesterday announced the first round of athlete funding to help support athletes in need of financial assistance with the release of 33 grants totaling more than $110,000. Athletes from skiing, snowboarding, swimming and judo are among the initial grant recipients benefiting from the support. The Level Field Fund was founded by U.S. Gold Medal-winning snowboarder ROSS POWERS (Level Field Fund)....The Tony Hawk Foundation is "sending $25,000" for a "planned skateboarding park" in Cleveland (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 4/16)....Kia Motors America, as part of its support of the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award that yesterday was awarded to Magic C DWIGHT HOWARD, will donate a new Kia Sorento to BETA Center, a private, nonprofit organization in Orlando (Kia)....Twenty-eight members of the NFL Cardinals organization recently ran in Pat's Run in Tempe, Ariz. The race, organized by friends of late NFLer PAT TILLMAN, "drew 28,000 fun-runners in Tempe for the 4.2-mile course" (SI.com, 4/18).
NAMES: The Cowboys Sunday held their seventh annual Taste of the NFL: The Ultimate Cowboys Tailgate Party, and players "attended the event." Contact between NFL coaches and players is "prohibited because of the lockout, but the league made an exception for long-standing charity events" (AP, 4/17)....In a suit filed yesterday in Manhattan federal court, TANIT BUDAY claims that the Yankees "copied their famed top-hat logo from a design dreamed up by her late uncle in 1936 at the request of then-Yankee owner JACOB RUPPERT." Buday is "seeking unspecified damages for copyright infringement, unjust enrichment and breach of contract with her uncle, KENNETH TIMUR." Yankees spokesperson ALICE MCGILLION said there is "no proof" of Buday's claim (N.Y. POST, 4/19)....Jets CB ANTONIO CROMARTIE "has signed with CAA Sports." He will be repped by CAA Football co-Heads BEN DOGRA and TOM CONDON. Cromartie's longtime agent GARY WICHARD "died last month after a year-long battle with pancreatic cancer" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 4/19)....Lions DT NDAMUKONG SUH yesterday posted on Twitter that 1,935 people "attended his Tweetup before his alma mater Nebraska's spring football game Saturday." That "would break the previous Tweetup world record of 1,149, set by Ford Motor Co. in 2009," but Guinness World Records spokesperson SARA WILCOX said that the record is "not official yet" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 4/19).
