The Univ. of New Mexico said that former men's basketball coach STEVE ALFORD owes the school a $1M buyout as part of a "contract extension that was to take effect April 1," two days after UCLA hired him. Alford in a letter to the school "has offered $200,000 under the terms of his previous contract." But he was "required to give 30 days' notice," so UNM officials "believe he is therefore bound by the terms of what would have been his new contract." Alford wrote the new contract "never became effective because UNM and I never reached agreement on a final written employment contract including those terms" (L.A. TIMES, 5/1).
TRUST THE MIDAS TOUCH: REUTERS' Bill Rigby wrote Trail Blazers and Seahawks Owner PAUL ALLEN's "ventures in decidedly low-tech sectors -- sports teams, commercial real estate and energy pipelines" in recent years "have come to look prescient." Together with a "new round of tech investments and an ambitious philanthropy program, they may yet establish Allen as much more" than Microsoft Founder BILL GATES' "lucky junior partner." The Blazers and Seahawks are "now worth many times what he paid for them." Even Allen's partial ownership of the MLS Sounders "is looking like a good bet." Allen has "all but single-handedly transformed the once-shabby South Lake Union district near downtown Seattle into the Pacific Northwest's hippest tech outpost, anchored" by Amazon. A recent "foray into the energy business yielded" a $2.25B return from a $200M investment in Plains All American Pipeline (REUTERS, 4/30).
PLAYING H-O-R-S-E: Louisville basketball coach RICK PITINO has "had the habit of naming his horses after his Cardinal players," and has named two of his horses Dieng and Siva after C GORGUI DIENG and G PEYTON SIVA. Last summer Pitino "went more creative" and named a horse Russdiculous after G RUSS SMITH. Pitino on Monday announced the name of his new 2-year-old horse would be Three Point Luke, in honor of F LUKE HANCOCK (NBCSPORTS.com, 4/30).
CHARITY STRIPE: Patriots QB TOM BRADY yesterday announced that a "portion of the proceeds from this summer's Best Buddies Challenge: Hyannis Port is being earmarked for victims of the Boston Marathon bombings." Brady is "again the honorary chairman of the 100-mile charity ride and walk benefiting Best Buddies International, the nonprofit devoted to helping people with intellectual disabilities" (BOSTON GLOBE, 5/1)....Former Univ. of North Carolina baseball player CHASE JONES has “created a nonprofit, Vs. Cancer, and has 40 events scheduled this year.” Jones, a cancer survivor himself, this year has “raised about $250,000” (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 4/26).
NAMES: In DC, Dan Steinberg wrote the Library of Congress’ recent acquisition of broadcaster BOB WOLFF’s “massive collection of audiovisual recordings is so significant.” Wolff “preserved thousands of audio recordings from his 74 years (and counting) in the industry.” The Library’s acquisition included “more than 1,600 items and an estimated 1,500 hours of footage” (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 4/29)....Ravens RB RAY RICE will be "featured in the new AOL web series called ‘My Ink.’” The show is "produced by MIKE TOLLIN and is focused on professional athletes’ body art." Rice said, “I get to show off my tattoos a little bit, and they all have sentimental value to me” (BALTIMORESUN.com, 4/30)....Saints coach SEAN PAYTON yesterday visited the Louisiana Legislature and had lunch with Congress members (Baton Rouge ADVOCATE, 5/1)….Portland State Univ.’s Center for Retail Leadership is “launching a certificate program aimed at preparing students to work in Oregon’s athletic and outdoor industries,” with enrollment to begin this fall (OREGONLIVE.com, 4/26)….Alabama QB A.J. MCCARRON will serve as the honorary pace car driver for Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway (Talladega)….Korean rapper PSY attended the Rockies-Dodgers game last night and met with Dodgers P and Korean native HYUN-JIN RYU (Dodgers).
IN MEMORY: Former Oakland Tribune Sports Editor STEVE HERENDEEN died of cancer last Thursday at the age of 61 (OAKLAND TRIBUNE, 4/30).
