UFC President DANA WHITE has "declared himself '100 percent cured' of Meniere’s disease after one visit to Dr. PETER WEHLING in Dusseldorf this month." White said that "symptoms of the inner-ear disorder, which include bouts of vertigo, intermittent hearing loss, and ringing and feelings of pressure in the ear, went away within days of the procedure." White: “The only way you can go there is to have a referral" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 4/23).
ICE CAPADES: N.Y. Mayor MICHAEL BLOOMBERG yesterday revealed plans to convert the Bronx-based Kingsbridge Armory into a "nine-rink, 750,000-square-foot sports Mecca to be known as the Kingsbridge National Ice Center." KEVIN PARKER, the center's developer, has "teamed up with high-profile partners" Hockey HOFer MARK MESSIER and retired U.S. Olympic figure skater SARAH HUGHES. Five rinks will be "built on the sprawling main floor," with four others "slated for two platforms about 40 feet above ground level." The $275M project is set to open in '18 (N.Y. POST, 4/24).
A GOOD WALK SPOILED? In Philadelphia, Mike Kern wrote Merion Golf Club Dir of Golf Course Operations MATT SHAFFER will be the "most influential person" at this June's U.S. Open. Shaffer's job is to "make sure the conditions are nothing short of perfect." At a U.S. Open, "more than any other major, pain and suffering are pretty much encouraged." Shaffer said, "If they start complaining or whining, I'm winning. That's the way I look at it. I have almost enough money saved for retirement" (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 4/23).
TWEET, TWEET NOTHINGS: Bruins RW TYLER SEGUIN "apologized yesterday for a tweet he sent out that some have called homophobic." Seguin appeared in a music video with rapper SLAINE and tweeted, "Just listened to the song in my bed. gave me goosebumps no homo..." Seguin "deleted the tweet and apologized within minutes of sending it" (BOSTON HERALD, 4/24)....Senators D ERIK KARLSSON yesterday joined Twitter, and in the "first four hours, more than 17,000 had clicked on to his list" (OTTAWA SUN, 4/24).
CHARITY STRIPE: MLB Rangers players, employees, players' wives and former OF KEVIN MENCH yesterday "loaded a truck" with donations for the community of West, Texas, following the explosion of a fertilizer plant there last week. Fans and the Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation "also donated thousands of dollars in gift cards and $40,000 in cash" (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 4/24)....Several Nationals players and coaches visited patients at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WASHINGTON TIMES, 4/24)….The Detroit Tigers Foundation and Trader Joe’s are expected to present a check of $26,360 to the Gleaners Community Food Bank of Detroit as a result of the 1,318 strikeouts the team’s pitchers recorded during the ’12 MLB season. The program will continue this year (Tigers).
NAMES: Multichannel News' “40 Under 40” list includes Golf Channel and NBC Golf Media President MIKE MCCARLEY, NHL Broadcast Relations Dir EMILY NASITS, DirecTV VP/Revenue & Product Marketing ALEX KAPLAN and Univision Deportes VP/Sports Programming ERIC CONRAD (MULTICHANNEL NEWS, 4/22 issue)….BMO Harris Bank will be presenting sponsor of former NFLer DONALD DRIVER's "Driven to Achieve Awards." The bank will provide “close to $400,000 over a three-year period" (JSONLINE.com, 4/23)….New Rutgers men’s basketball coach EDDIE JORDAN after signing a five-year, $6.25M contract was introduced yesterday at a news conference “that felt more like a homecoming.” By hiring “one of its few basketball heroes, Rutgers began the road toward recovery” (NORTHJERSEY.com, 4/23)….Cavaliers coach MIKE BROWN and his wife, CAROLYN, have “listed their house" in Anaheim, Calif., for $3.75M after purchasing the home for $3M in ’11 (LATIMES.com, 4/23)….Nationals P RAFAEL SORIANO on Monday “welcomed a baby boy” (WASHINGTONTIMES.com, 4/22).
