In Boston, Adam Kurkjian reports golfer and Boston resident JAMES DRISCOLL created the Birdies for Boston charity and will use it through the PGA Tour to "benefit the victims" of the Boston Marathon bombings. Driscoll said, "I immediately jumped on it. I talked to all the people on the PGA Tour, and (the idea) hit the ground running really fast." Driscoll by Thursday had a "Birdies for Boston campaign named and copywritten, then approved by the PGA Tour and on its site." The charity can be "accessed by going to the PGATour.com site under charities and Driscoll's page." Driscoll also has the site "linked on his Twitter page." Driscoll has "pledged $1,000 for every birdie he makes" this week at the RBC Heritage and at next week's Zurich Classic of New Orleans (BOSTON HERALD, 4/19).
SKY WALKER: Paris Saint-Germain MF DAVID BECKHAM will become an "ambassador for BSkyB, in what the broadcaster described as a 'long-term partnership' that will involve the former England football captain supporting its work to encourage grassroots sport across the UK and Ireland." Beckham also will be featured in "advertising promoting Sky's sports coverage and other services." Beckham will "work with the 10-year-old Sky Sports Living for Sport initiative, in which about 30,000 young people participate annually" (GUARDIAN, 4/19).
NAMES: Wells Fargo on Thursday had ESPN's LOU HOLTZ "rev up a nationwide audience of thousands of real estate agents." Holtz was the "featured speaker at an invitation-only program" hosted by the bank in Chicago (S.F. CHRONICLE, 4/19)....TIME magazine released its list of the 100 most influential people in the world, and making the list were several figures from the sports world: Serie A club AC Milan F MARIO BALOTELLI, Heat F LEBRON JAMES, tennis player LI NA, U.S. Anti-Doping Agency CEO TRAVIS TYGART and U.S. skier LINDSEY VONN. CHRIS EVERT writes the piece on Li, while Yankees SS DEREK JETER writes about James and NASCAR driver DANICA PATRICK writes about Vonn (TIME, 4/29 issue).
