French Ligue 1 soccer club Paris Saint-Germain will “step up their bid to bring DAVID BECKHAM back to Europe as club officials attempt to meet” the MLS Galaxy MF in L.A. Beckham will be offered “an 18-month contract at the club,” with a salary of at least US$5.7M. Beckham's contract with the Galaxy “ends at the conclusion of the MLS season, on November 20.” EPL club Tottenham, where Beckham trained earlier this year, and English soccer club Leicester “are also keen” on obtaining his services (London DAILY MAIL, 10/5).
PLAYING FOR A CAUSE: The Penguins and Capitals are “teaming up to raise money for the families of the Russian hockey players killed in a plane crash last month.” The teams for their Oct. 13 game at the Consol Energy Center will “wear commemorative patches honoring the 28 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl players who died when their plane went down in western Russia” (AP, 10/4).
MIND YOUR MANNERS: The Indianapolis Super Bowl Host Committee and its partners have developed a “Super Service Training Program geared toward the hospitality industry.” Starting this week, hotel, restaurant and retail workers statewide “are participating in the online program.” Hospitality workers are “getting helpful hints, such as saying ‘my pleasure’ instead of ‘no problem’ or ‘you're welcome’" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 10/5).
NAMES: In N.Y., Ben Walker noted the baseball that rolled under Red Sox 1B BILL BUCKNER’s legs during Game Six of the '86 World Series will “go on eBay this month with a $1 million price tag, put up for auction by” songwriter SETH SWIRSKY. Swirsky “plans to begin the online auction on Oct. 15” and “intends to close the bidding late on the night of Oct. 25 -- at the exact minute of the 25th anniversary” of the famous error (NYPOST.com, 10/4)....EPL club Chelsea Owner ROMAN ABRAMOVICH yesterday in London Commercial Court admitted that he “had paid more than $2 billion to BORIS BEREZOVSKY for acting as his ‘political godfather’ in the chaotic early days of post-Soviet Russia.” But he denied that the two “had ever been business partners.” Abramovich denied that he “had betrayed and blackmailed Mr. Berezovsky after the latter fell out” with Russian Prime Minister VLADIMIR PUTIN (LONDON TIMES, 10/5)....Redskins Owner DAN SNYDER has bought the “Lady Anne, a 224-foot ‘superyacht’ purchased for the bargain price of $70 million, give or take a few million.” Power & Motoryacht list the Lady Anne as “one of the 100 largest yachts in the world” (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 10/4)....Univ. of Maryland radio broadcaster JOHNNY HOLLIDAY, Georgetown radio announcer RICH CHVOTKIN and former Washington Bullets GM BOB FERRY will be inducted into the Washington Metropolitan Basketball HOF on Nov. 9 (WASHINGTONPOST.com 10/4)….Former NFLer ED BUDDE will serve as grand marshal and former MLBer GREG PRYOR will be the honorary starter for Friday’s ARCA series Kansas Lottery 98.9 at Kansas Speedway. Former NHLer KEN MORROW will be the grand marshal and Kansas Dir of Homeland Security Maj. Gen. LEE TAFANELLI will be the honorary starter for Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series Kansas Lottery 300 (KANSASCITY.com, 10/4).
