In Philadelphia, Jeremy Roebuck reports Penn State Univ.'s former outside counsel law firm “rejected this week the notion that it bore any responsibility for the alleged sexual abuse a 22-year-old Harrisburg man says he endured at JERRY SANDUSKY's hands.” The State College-based firm McQuaide Blasko “asked to be removed as a defendant in the man's lawsuit, calling his story ‘a virtually incomprehensible rant.’" The accuser’s claim against the law firm “stems from allegations that it handled prior reports of abuse against the former coach for the university and therefore could have stopped the purported 2005 pool incident” (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 12/20).
AWARDS & RECOGNITION: The Connecticut Women’s Basketball HOF named WNBA Storm co-Owner LISA BRUMMEL to its ’13 induction class, to be honored in April (SEATTLETIMES.com, 12/17)….The Nevada Boxing HOF revealed its inaugural class of 19 inductees, including MIKE TYSON, OSCAR DE LA HOYA and SUGAR RAY LEONARD. Other inductees include boxers MIKE MCCALLUM, DIEGO CORRALES, LARRY HOLMES and JULIO CAESAR CHAVEZ; trainers EDDIE FUTCH and FREDDIE ROACH; officials MILLS LANE and JOE CORTEZ; media members AL BERNSTEIN and ROYCE FEOUR; promoters BOB ARUM and DON KING; execs MARC RATNER and JAMES NAVE; and special contributors SIG ROGICH and KIRK KERKORIAN (LASVEGASSUN.com, 12/19)….USA Basketball named MIKE KRZYZEWSKI and GENO AURIEMMA coaches of the year after leading the U.S. teams to Gold Medals at the London Games (AP, 12/19)….The Sacramento Business Journal named NBA Kings Senior VP/Sales & Marketing JEFF DAVID to its “40 Under 40” list (Kings).
CHARITY STRIPE: Heat G DWYANE WADE’s mom, JOLINDA, plans to raise “more than $650,000 for the initial 100-home project” by Food for the Poor in Haiti. She hopes the contributions come “partly from fellow clergy and fellow National Basketball Association moms” (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 12/20)….Red Wings scout KIRK MALTBY and radio play-by-play announcer KEN KAL, along with a “handful of public relations employees, helped bag hay and accept food donations” for the Michigan Humane Society that will “be distributed to local pet owners of low-income families” (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 12/20)….The '72 Lakers championship team on Dec. 8 raised “$150,000 to benefit the West Coast Sports Medicine Foundation” and its inner-city outreach program Team to Win (LATIMES.com, 12/19).
NAMES: MVP Sports Group Owner DAN LOZANO hired TWC Sports Management agent JEFF RANDAZZO as a baseball agent (THE DAILY)….Bears DE ISRAEL IDONIJE and his business partner ALAIN NJIKE are “being sued for allegedly owing more than $94,000 in rent and other expenses for their now-shuttered” restaurant in the Chicago area (CHICAGOTRIBUNE.com, 12/19)….Rapper RICK ROSS last night attended the Warriors-Kings game, where he was “presented with a black Kings jersey with No. 28 and ‘Ross’ on the back.” Ross watched the game in seats “usually occupied by” Kings co-Owners JOE and GAVIN MALOOF (SACRAMENTO BEE, 12/20)….GQ magazine’s list of “The 25 Most Stylish Men of 2012” includes Thunder G RUSSELL WESTBROOK at No. 24 (GQ, 12/’12 issue)….Jets QB TIM TEBOW is “a free agent” after his “split from” girlfriend CAMILLA BELLE (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 12/20)….Rays President MATT SILVERMAN paid $1.5M this month for a 3,505-square-foot home in St. Petersburg described as a “Tuscan Mediterranean masterpiece” (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 12/20).
