In N.Y., Jonathan Abrams notes the NBA yesterday fined Bulls F Joakim Noah $50,000 for an “antigay slur toward a taunting fan in footage captured on the TNT broadcast.” The league last month issued a $100,000 fine to Lakers G Kobe Bryant for “hurling an almost identical slur at the official Bennie Adams in footage also broadcast by TNT.” NBA Senior VP/Marketing Communications Mike Bass said that Bryant’s fine “was more severe than Noah’s because his act included verbal abuse of an official.” Noah’s “outburst drew almost instant rebukes from groups who support gays” (N.Y. TIMES, 5/24).
CAP CONTROL: NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly this past weekend said that the NHL salary cap “will go up” next season, and in Montreal, Pat Hickey notes since the '04-05 lockout, league-wide revenues “have increased by $750-800 million and the cap has increased by more than $20 million a team.” But the salary cap increase “won’t be good news for all teams.” As the cap “goes up, so does the floor,” which will “create a burden for some of the NHL’s have-nots.” Hickey writes revenues will "go up again next season, partly because the Atlanta Thrashers will be attracting sellout crowds in Winnipeg and there will be increased television dollars as a result of the new U.S. deals with Versus and NBC” (Montreal GAZETTE, 5/24).
SAVE THE DATE: Crowne Plaza Invitational Tournament Dir Peter Ripa said that date for the '12 PGA Tour event at Colonial "will move back by one week." Ripa said that Colonial officials "have been assigned the week of May 21-27, 2012 on next year’s tour calendar." The dates “overlap Memorial Day weekend, a stretch that belongs this year to the HP Byron Nelson Championship, which begins Thursday" in Irving, Texas. Nelson officials yesterday confirmed that “their 2012 dates will be May 14-20, 2012.” Ripa said of the date switch, “That’s ultimately going to help us with our field. It’s a good spot for us on the calendar” (STAR-TELEGRAM.com, 5/23).
ELECTION PROMISES: FIFA President Sepp Blatter said that “rebuilding FIFA's image would be his top priority if he is re-elected as president next week after a series of corruption allegations leveled at soccer's ruling body.” He “promised to tackle allegations of past corruption and strengthen FIFA's panels that investigate alleged wrongdoing.” Blatter: "We have to make sure that in the next term of office immediately starting after the election that we rebuild the image of FIFA." Blatter “pledged ‘there will be facts’ revealed in his zero-tolerance project being presented to the FIFA Congress on June 1” (AP, 5/23).
