The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Christopher Stewart writes it is CBS President & CEO LESLIE MOONVES' "attention to detail -- some producers would say meddling" which has "driven his turnaround for the CBS network from dead last in the ratings to No. 1." Moonves said, "I'm very involved. It's probably sometimes overbearing and annoying, but I know what I'm talking about." Bernstein Research Media Analyst TODD JUENGER said, "You have the debate of whether or not Les's core business of broadcast TV is going to be relevant in the future. But the biggest deal is that Les is running out of growth levers to pull" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 11/30).
FUTURE OCCUPATION: In Detroit, David Mayo noted Pistons F COREY MAGGETTE, who "expects to earn his college degree next summer, has begun to plot what his next job might be." Maggette said, "Who knows what will happen? Who knows? I might be a guy that might be in a front-office position. I'm already preparing myself for that as I finish this career." Maggette left Duke Univ. after one season and "expects to graduate next year from Arizona State with a degree in business administration and technology." He said that he has "spoken regularly" with Pistons President of Basketball Operations JOE DUMARS and Assistant GM GEORGE DAVID "about their front-office journeys" (MLIVE.com, 11/29).
CHARITY STRIPE: Patriots K STEPHEN GOSTKOWSKI, P ZOLTAN MESKO, Celtics F CHRIS WILCOX and MLS Revolution G MATT REIS were among athletes that helped to "raise some dough for the Boston Children's Hospital at the Champions For Children's event" (BOSTONHERALD.com, 11/29)....Jets QB MARK SANCHEZ was in Far Rockaway on Monday helping with City Harvest. Sanchez distributed pantry bags and food from Dinosaur BBQ to about 300 residents (NEWSDAY.com, 11/27).
NAMES: Celtics coach DOC RIVERS and Nets coach AVERY JOHNSON were spotted having dinner recently at Strega Waterfront in Boston. Meanwhile, Patriots TE ROB GRONKOWSKI and WR JULIAN EDELMAN and Bruins LW SHAWN THORNTON toasted EchoStor Technologies CEO JOHN DOOLEY at his 40th birthday party at Fenway Park (BOSTONHERALD.com, 11/29)....Rams & EPL club Arsenal Owner STAN KROENKE purchased the 124,000-acre Broken O Ranch in Montana, which had an asking price of $132.5M. Prior to the purchase, “Kroenke’s personal portfolio held an estimated 740,000 acres’ worth of U.S. real estate, making him the 10th largest landowner in America” (FORBES.com, 11/29)….Celebrities expected to attend MLS Cup at Home Depot Center on Saturday include actors GERARD BUTLER, JEREMY PIVEN, film director JASON REITMAN, Lakers F PAU GASOL and Gs KOBE BRYANT and STEVE NASH, several NHL Kings players and “Man vs. Food” host ADAM RICHMAN (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 11/29)….Former NFLer HERSCHEL WALKER “will soon help open Herschel’s Famous 34 Pub & Grill” in downtown Athens, Ga. (ONLINEATHENS.com, 11/28)…New Balance CEO JIM DAVIS gave over $100,000 to the America 360 Committee -- a super PAC meant to aid the campaign for former U.S. Sen. SCOTT BROWN (R-Mass.) -- in the days leading up to the election (POLITICO.com, 11/29)….DALE EARNHARDT JR. was voted NASCAR’s most-popular driver for the 10th consecutive year, tying BILL ELLIOTT for the longest streak. Earnhardt Jr. moved within six of Elliot for the all-time lead at 16 (ESPN.com, 11/29)….Red Sox C RYAN LAVARNWAY, CF RYAN KALISH, P CHRIS CARPENTER, SS PEDRO CIRIACO and mascot WALLY THE GREEN MONSTER on Thursday were “spreading some holiday cheer to Mass Pike commuters, waving them through the Allston-Brighton tolls for a free hour and handing out the 2013 baseball schedule" (BOSTON HERALD, 11/30)….The Van Tuyl car dealership is “buying Glendale land previously envisioned for a new USA Basketball headquarters and the ill-fated Main Street Glendale development” for $7M. The land sits near Univ. of Phoenix Stadium and Jobing.com Arena (BIZJOURNALS.com, 11/27).
THOUGHTS WITH BARLOW: Orioles PR Dir MONICA BARLOW has been diagnosed with stage-four lung cancer. The 35-year-old Barlow said, "I try to think about cancer as little as possible" (ABC2NEWS.com, 11/28).
IN MEMORY: Longtime Angels, Clippers and NHL Kings PA announcer DAVID COURTNEY passed away on Thursday from pulmonary embolism. He was 56. Courtney “began announcing for the Kings in 1989 and for the Angels in 1994, and he also served as the Los Angeles Rams PA announcer for three years before the NFL team moved to St. Louis” in ’95 (L.A. TIMES, 11/30). Courtney “was en route to working” Wednesday's T’Wolves-Clippers game, “but was having shortness of breath and went to a local hospital to have an angiogram.” Kings play-by-play announcer BOB MILLER said, “He was one of the top public address announcers in all of sports” (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 11/30).
