Milwaukee-based WISN-AM afternoon drive host MARK BELLING on Friday "blasted" Univ. of Wisconsin-Milwaukee outgoing AD ANDY GEIGER, "calling his hiring 'a disastrous mistake.'" Belling was upset with Geiger's "decision to move the men's basketball games out of the U.S. Cellular Arena and back to the Klotsche Center on UWM's campus." Belling said, "Geiger has misjudged this and is treating UW-Milwaukee like it is Ohio State. ... He decided to move the games back to the glorified high school gym on campus called the Klotsche Center." Belling continued, "It is amazing how far this program has fallen during the time that Geiger is here. It is also amazing how little the guy has accomplished since he has been here" (JSONLINE.com, 1/19).
AWARDS & HONORS: Ad Age announced its "40 Under 40" honorees, including ESPN VP/Programming & Acquisitions LEAH BUHL LAPLACA, WWE Exec VP/Creative STEPHANIE MCMAHON and PepsiCo Senior VP & GM of Gatorade BRETT O'BRIEN (ADAGE.com, 1/21)....Pro Football HOFer JIM BROWN and Basketball HOFers ELGIN BAYLOR and PATRICK EWING yesterday received National Civil Rights Legacy Awards as part of the Grizzlies' 11th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration (Memphis COMMERCIAL APPEAL, 1/22)....MLS Sounders FC GM ADRIAN HANAUER was named Seattle Sports Star Exec of the Year (SEATTLE TIMES, 1/22).
CHARITY STRIPE: The 76ers raised $189,012 to benefit the American Red Cross through their "Operation Rebound" relief effort. Of that amount, some $167,500 was donated by the Sixers owners. The balance came from an online auction of unique Sixers experiences and items (76ers)....Knicks F AMAR'E STOUDEMIRE through his foundation provided lunch for approximately 600 MSG workers in celebration of MLK Day yesterday (ESPNNY.com, 1/21)....Seven Pacers players and several coaches "took time out of their free Sunday evening to visit with ailing children" at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (INDYSTAR.com, 1/21).
NAMES: New allegations of "sexual, physical and emotional abuse against" former VANOC CEO JOHN FURLONG have surfaced in court documents filed by journalist LAURA ROBINSON in response to a defamation lawsuit against her. Furlong has "yet to respond to these new claims and has emphatically denied wrongdoing" (Vancouver PROVINCE, 1/22)....Ohio State men’s basketball coach THAD MATTA will “see an increase” in salary from $2.9M to $3.2M per year (CLEVELAND.com, 1/21)….Gold Medal-winning U.S. gymnast ALY RAISMAN dropped the ceremonial first puck before yesterday's Jets-Bruins game (BOSTONGLOBE.com, 1/21)….Former tennis players CHRIS EVERT, LINDSAY DAVENPORT and JUSTIN GIMELSTOB will appear as themselves in tomorrow’s episode of CBS' "CSI" (AP, 1/21)….Lions DT NDAMUKONG SUH and Basketball HOFer KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR will appear on an upcoming episode of ABC’s “Celebrity Diving” (FREEP.com, 1/21)….NASCAR driver DENNY HAMLIN and longtime girlfriend JORDAN FISH “welcomed their first child on Sunday” with daughter TAYLOR JAMES HAMLIN. Fish works for NASCAR Media Group “in their library area, archiving race and qualifying footage” (TIMESDISPATCH.com, 1/22)….Texans LB BRIAN CUSHING’s 7,000-square-foot waterfront estate in Missouri City, Texas, is "on the market” for $1.3M (CHRON.com, 1/21).
