Brookline (Mass.) District Court Acting Clerk Magistrate EDWARD SAVAGE concluded that there was "not enough evidence to bring criminal charges against" MIKE MILBURY after the NBC hockey analyst was involved in a confrontation with a 12-year-old youth hockey player. Milbury's attorney, MARK BERTHIAUME, said that Savage "concluded that there was insufficient evidence to charge Milbury with any crime." Milbury said, "Needless to say, but I'll say it, I'm relieved." Berthiaume said that Milbury "will resume work after the holidays" (BOSTON GLOBE, 12/24).
PAYING TRIBUTE: Patriots coach BILL BELICHICK after the team's win over the Dolphins Sunday gave the game ball to Owner ROBERT KRAFT, who has had a "difficult year with the summer death of his wife, MYRA." Belichick "said a few words about the significance of the Krafts, and then tackle MATT LIGHT got up and pulled out an oil painting the players paid to have commissioned for Kraft." The painting shows a "group of Patriots players in a huddle raising their hands and an index finger, pointing to the initials 'MHK,' for Kraft's late wife." Light said that the players "wanted to do something to commemorate the season that had been dedicated to Myra Kraft" (SI.com, 12/26).
TOP CAT: In Charlotte, Rick Bonnell in a front-page piece profiled Bobcats Vice Chair CURTIS POLK, who is the “most powerful person in the Charlotte Bobcats organization you’ve never heard of.” Polk has advised Bobcats Owner MICHAEL JORDAN “on all things financial for over 20 years,” and only Jordan “outranks Polk in authority” within the team. Polk is the Bobcats’ alternative governor, and his role within the franchise “is to use his financial background to analyze Jordan’s next moves.” Bonnell: “It’s the contrast between these two that actually makes the relationship so strong -- Jordan’s intuition, balanced by Polk’s dispassionate analysis” (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 12/25). Panthers QB CAM NEWTON and Yankees SS DEREK JETER attended the Bobcats' home opener against the Bucks last night (THE DAILY).
FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS: USA TODAY’s Jim Corbett reports former NFLer DORSEY LEVENS has produced a “powerful” 24-minute documentary titled “BELL-RUNG” that “spotlights the haunting number of post-concussion problems suffered by former players.” Levens interviewed 10 Atlanta-area former players, including JAMAL LEWIS and ELLIS HOBBS. Levens “hopes to warn about the need for further safeguards against the insidious side effects of playing America’s most popular sport” (USA TODAY, 12/27).
NAMES: Knicks F AMAR'E STOUDEMIRE Sunday staged a breakfast for a "few hundred" MSG employees who were forced to work the Celtics-Knicks game on Christmas. Stoudemire: "They work here but never get a chance to see the players -- the janitors, cooks, ushers. It was a great opportunity for myself to do something special for them and put smiles on their faces on Christmas" (N.Y. POST, 12/26)....Court and law enforcement officials said that an Orange County (Calif.) Court Commissioner "has authorized a warrant" for agent LEIGH STEINBERG, but there are "no plans to arrest him." Steinberg "failed to appear in Orange County Superior Court on Dec. 15 for a debtor's examination." He said that he "failed to attend the court hearing based on advice from his attorney" (LATIMES.com, 12/22)....Sources said that Cowboys WR DEZ BRYANT has left agent EUGENE PARKER to sign with DREW ROSENHAUS (ESPNDALLAS.com, 12/26)....The N.Y. DAILY NEWS named late cartoonist BILL GALLO as its Sportsman of the Year. The paper's Filip Bondy wrote, "Just this once, we are choosing one of our own, and there shouldn't be much argument from readers." There were "plenty of local heroes on the playing field." It was "best, though, to honor the man who made us smile and occasionally cry over a decades-long span" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 12/25)....Hawks F AL HORFORD married former Miss Universe AMELIA VEGA on Saturday (SUNTIMES.com, 12/27).
IN MEMORY: BETTYE DANOFF, one of the LPGA's 13 founding members, died Thursday at the age of 88 (AP, 12/23).
