The Oceanside, Calif., City Council announced yesterday that the city's Beach Community Center and Pier Amphitheater will be named after late NFLer JUNIOR SEAU (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 5/17). Meanwhile, "less than two months shy of its 16th anniversary, Seau's the Restaurant in Mission Valley shut down" yesterday. Trustees for the Seau estate said in a statement, "Without Seau's charismatic leadership, it was felt that the future profitability of the restaurant could be in question" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 5/17).
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Smith poses with several U.K. athletes during
London premiere of "Men In Black 3" |
DROPPING THE GLOVES: In London, Oliver Moody notes actor
WILL SMITH yesterday visited several Team U.K. athletes while in London for the premiere of his film, "
MEN IN BLACK 3." Smith said of boxing, "I had a little taste of it when I made
ALI but there's a whole other level of conditioning. I'll be at the Olympics to watch" (
LONDON TIMES, 5/17).
FIGHTING BACK: In Green Bay, Steve Clark notes Packers WR JORDY NELSON, S CHARLIE PEPRAH and President & CEO MARK MURPHY appeared at Omro High School yesterday to kick off the team's Tailgate Tour. The main message of the visit "was to discuss bullying and spread the word about its effects and what to do when it's encountered" (GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE, 5/17).
IN NEED OF A SAVE: In Boston, Waterhouse & Wallack note former MLBer CURT SCHILLING "scrambled to prop up his ailing video game company, asking Rhode Island officials Wednesday for more public aid while Governor LINCOLN CHAFEE questioned whether the state should cut its losses in the firm, 38 Studios LLC." Chafee said that the Rhode Island Economic Development Corp. will "resume discussion at another meeting scheduled for Monday." Whitehouse & Wallack note Schilling "said little after a closed door two-hour meeting with Chafee and other officials." His only comment afterward was, "My priority right now is to get back to my team" (BOSTON GLOBE, 5/17).
TRIPLE THREAT: The NBA yesterday named Pacers President of Basketball Operations LARRY BIRD the recipient of the '11-12 Exec of the Year award. Bird is the only person to win the NBA's MVP, Coach and Exec of the Year awards (Pacers). TNT’s Charles Barkley said of Bird, “He’s really quiet; he doesn’t like all the hoopla and all the attention so I didn’t foresee him going into this business. But I’m happy for him because he is a great guy” (“Inside the NBA,” TNT, 5/16). ESPN’s Mike Greenberg said of Bird winning all three awards, "Is that the greatest career in the history of American Sports? If you look at the variety of the different things that he did, has there ever been anybody that has had a greater all-around career than Larry Bird taken in its totality?" (“Mike and Mike in the Morning,” ESPN Radio, 5/17).
NAMES: MUTILCHANNEL NEWS named NBC Sports Social Media Manager LYNDSAY IORIO to its Top 10 Social Media Mavens list. Iorio: "The area of social I'm keeping an eye on specifically right now and trying out just about every application are the social TV and check-in platforms like GetGlue, IntoNow and Viggle" (MULTICHANNEL.com, 5/14)....NASCAR team Owner RICHARD CHILDRESS was inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association HOF last night at a gala in Concord, N.C. (RCR)….Eagles QB MICHAEL VICK is scheduled to wed KIJAFA FRINK at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach on June 30. Vick’s agent JOEL SEGAL is expected to attend (N.Y. POST, 5/16)….Knicks F AMAR’E STOUDEMIRE has “registered for summer classes, working toward a bachelor’s degree in general studies” at the Univ. of Miami (SUN-SENTINEL.com, 5/15)….CBS Sportsline Founder MIKE LEVY said of interim Yahoo CEO ROSS LEVINSOHN, “When he worked for me, he was a young guy with a lot of talent. He was very outspoken and did a hell of a job. He showed a lot of maturity and leadership. When he was working for me at Sportsline, he was dealing with the CBS TV people all the time -- people like (CBS Sports President) SEAN MCMANUS” (ADWEEK.com, 5/15)....CSNBAYAREA.com’s Matt Steinmetz wrote what is “unusual" about Warriors VP & General Counsel DAVID KELLY is that he’s "also a rapper … and, apparently, a pretty darn good one.” Kelly is known as “Cap D” in the hip-hop community, and he “got noticed” for his ’10 album “PolyMath” (CSNBAYAREA.com, 5/15).
