Warner Bros.' "42" came in second in the weekend box office results, scoring $18M to give it a total of $54.1M "after ten days." EW.com's Grady Smith noted the movie "seems likely to hit the $100 million mark," making it a "big winner for Warner Bros., which was in dire need of a box office hit" (EW.com, 4/21). MLB today announced plans "to take thousands of teenagers to see" the film. Teams will pick students from 8th-12th grade "for private screenings in their cities." MLB Commissioner BUD SELIG "will host the first showing Tuesday in Milwaukee" along with JACKIE ROBINSON's daughter SHARON (AP, 4/22). Meanwhile, actor CHADWICK BOSEMAN, who plays Robinson in the movie, is “in talks to join the cast" of KEVIN COSTNER's movie “DRAFT DAY,” which will be shot in Cleveland (CLEVELAND.com, 4/22).
PASS RUSHER GETS SACKED: Dolphins DE JARED ODRICK on Friday filed suit with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, claiming he was "one of more than 50 people swindled by" online trading company Success Trade Securities. Odrick's attorney JEFFREY EREZ said that before "deciding to invest, Odrick did his due diligence with the NFLPA." Success Trade broker JINESH BRAHMBHATT had been one of the "registered advisors listed on the union’s password-protected website, as alleged in Odrick’s lawsuit." Although FINRA records "indicate Brahmbhatt had a clean history, Success Trade did not." Erez said, "They cleared this guy. ... That's what the horrible part is. Jared's a good kid. He did exactly what he was supposed to do" (MIAMI HERALD, 4/22).
TRANSITION GAME: Former NBAer HAYWOODE WORKMAN is "one of only three NBA players to ever become a referee in the league." Former NBAer and current ref LEON WOOD said, "When you go from being a player or coach to a referee, you've gone to the dark side. You're on this island." Wood and Workman have "sought to interest current players in joining their exclusive group." But they said that it has been a "tough sell." Workman said that the players he eyes "are journeymen like himself" (N.Y. TIMES, 4/21).
JUMPING IN THE POOL: Gold Medal-winning U.S. swimmer RYAN LOCHTE appeared on NBC’s “Today” this morning to promote his new E! reality show, “What Would Ryan Lochte Do?” Lochte said, When you think about Olympians, you think they eat, they train, they sleep. That's it. For me, that is not the case at all. I like doing other stuff. I like going out and having a good time. I like doing stuff that I can probably get myself hurt in, like playing basketball, skateboarding, surfing, you name it, I'm doing it.” Lochte said for the reality series, which debuted last night, the “camera is there 24/7 and I wasn't used to that.” But he added, "I had a blast doing it. The best thing about this show was I got really close with my family. I mean, I was seeing them probably once or twice every three months. This show, I saw them like once or twice every week and it just brought us a lot closer together” (“Today,” NBC, 4/22).
CHARITY STRIPE: Passes from Colts QB ANDREW LUCK on Friday were "selling for $1,000 each" at a fundraiser benefiting the Indiana Univ. Simon Cancer Center. Organizers estimate that they "netted more than" $650,000 with a "first-time event called the Chuckstrong Tailgate Gala." With donations from the event, including $24,000 from Luck’s passes, organizers said that the campaign "has netted more than $1.1 million for cancer research" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 4/21)....Phillies SS JIMMY ROLLINS and the Saint Francis Veterinary Center “officially opened the Rollins Center for Animal Rehabilitation, a state-of-the-art rehabilitation and pain management center for animals” (NJ.com, 4/20)....Former NFLer TEDY BRUSCHI on Saturday attended the opening party for the new Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Charlestown, Mass. Bruschi is a Spaulding trustee (BOSTON GLOBE, 4/22).
NAMES: Former Dodgers Owner FRANK MCCOURT and his ex-wife, JAMIE, have "returned to court to fight over their divorce settlement." Jamie McCourt is asking a California Superior Court judge to set aside the settlement that paid her $131M plus a share of the couple’s residences "in exchange for giving up her claim that she co-owned the team" (N.Y. POST, 4/21)....Former Bills equipment manager DAVE HOJNOWSKI last Thursday filed a federal lawsuit against the team, claiming that he was “fired, not retired, and that his age -- he’s 54 -- was a key factor in the Bills’ decision to let him go” (BUFFALO NEWS, 4/21)....Former MLBer GREG MADDUX last month sold his 8,404-square-foot Las Vegas mansion “for almost” $1.9M, approximately 20% below the $2.35M he paid to buy it in ’96 (VEGASINC.com, 4/20).
IN MEMORY: Hendrick Motorsports was “shaken by the news Friday that the MIT officer killed during the manhunt for the Boston Marathon bombing suspects was the brother of ANDREW COLLIER, a machinist in its engine shop” (AP, 4/19).
