In Indianapolis, Bill McCleery notes the city has "become the first Super Bowl host city to tackle a charitable service project intended to reach all 32 NFL cities by rolling out 'Super Baskets of Hope.'" Hundreds of volunteers are "expected to gather Jan. 30 in Conseco Fieldhouse to fill 7,000 baskets with gifts." The baskets will be delivered to "critically ill children in each NFL city." The deliveries also will "go to communities across Indiana since the state is home to the 2012 Super Bowl." Colts Owner JIM IRSAY and Colts LB GARY BRACKETT were "among those attending Thursday's announcement at Riley Hospital for Children" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 12/9).
TAKING A CLOSER LOOK: In L.A., Pringle & Lin II reported L.A. County Supervisor MARK RIDLEY-THOMAS in '09 used his position on the L.A. Memorial Coliseum governing commission to "score $560 worth of Panthers tickets -- on the public's dime." Officials said that after the L.A. Times "obtained Coliseum records about the purchase, Ridley-Thomas reimbursed the agency -- two years after he received the tickets." The transaction is the "first to tie a commissioner directly to a questionable expense at the Coliseum, whose finances have been the subject of 10 months of Times reports" (L.A. TIMES, 12/8).
NAMES: Flyers Chair ED SNIDER will be inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in Chicago Monday. Flyers President & COO PETER LUUKKO and Flyers GM PAUL HOLMGREN will be at the ceremony. NBC play-by-play announcer MIKE EMRICK will also be inducted, along with former NHLers CHRIS CHELIOS, GARY SUTER and KEITH TKACHUK (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 12/9)....U.S. men's national soccer team coach JUERGEN KLINSMANN will "earn $2.5 million in base salary," more than "four times higher than his predecessor, BOB BRADLEY, and 13 times larger than women's coach PIA SUNDHAGE." No other details about Klinsmann's contract, "including incentives and other payments, appeared in the U.S. Soccer Federation's audited financial statements" (WASHINGTON POST, 12/9)....Pro Football HOFer DAN MARINO Wednesday attended a private party for his company MMD Realty. Marino is “an equity partner whose job will be to drum up business” (SUN-SENTINEL.com, 12/8)….Actor TUG COKER has been cast to play Basketball HOFer LARRY BIRD in the upcoming Broadway play “Magic Bird” (VARIETY.com, 12/8)….If Lakers F LAMAR ODOM is traded to the Hornets, the move “may affect production" of E!’s reality series "KHLOE & LAMAR" (VARIETY.com, 12/8)....Former MLBer CURT SCHILLING “won’t throw his baseball cap into the ring to run” for BARNEY FRANK's (D-Mass.) seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Schilling said, “If it was any other point in time, I would do it in a heartbeat. But it’s an elected position -- it’s 365 days a year, nights, weekends. I can’t do it right now” (BOSTON HERALD, 12/9)….The city of S.F. announced Thursday that skateboarder TONY HAWK is giving a $10,000 grant to a new South of Market skate park (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 12/9).
