The AP's Antonio Gonzalez wrote Stanford AD BERNARD MUIR's biggest goals heading into his second full year on the job are "upgrading facilities for as many sports as possible and building the Stanford brand." The football staff "outgrew its offices and is moving into a new building -- complete with a weight room and locker room -- in a few weeks" as part of a $21M project that began in '11. Additionally, more projects will "surely be needed in the coming years for Stanford to compete in the arms race of college athletics." As with "most in power at the prestigious private university, Muir prefers not to talk about specific plans publicly." But a renovation of Maples Pavilion and the game-day facilities for the football team "figure to be among the most notable upgrades needed" (AP, 8/9).
IF I COULD BE LIKE MIKE: D-Backs P and MLBPA player rep BRAD ZIEGLER penned a special to ESPN.com, writing under the header, "MICHAEL WEINER A True Class Act." Ziegler: "It's an absolute pleasure to work alongside you, Michael. And it's an even greater pleasure to call you my friend" (ESPN.com, 8/11).
BOYS IN THE HALL: Former NFLer FRED TAYLOR was inducted into the Florida Sports HOF on Saturday, alongside BRIAN GOTTFRIED, MARK MCCUMBER, CORKY ROGERS, LEEROY YARBROUGH, BROOKE BENNETT and PETE CLEMONS (FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, 8/11)....The Nevada Boxing HOF inducted its inaugural class on Saturday night, with the 19 members including boxers MIKE TYSON, SUGAR RAY LEONARD, OSCAR DE LA HOYA, LARRY HOLMES, MIKE MCCALLUM and DIEGO CORRALES (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 8/10).
NAMES: Jazz GM DENNIS LINDSEY was ranked No. 1 in the Salt Lake Tribune’s annual list of the 25 Most Influential People in Utah Sports. Lindsey is the “first pro sports figure below the ownership level to receive the No. 1 ranking in the nine years” of the list, but it was “trending in that direction” (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 8/11)....Lightning CEO & Minority Owner TOD LEIWEKE and his wife TARA will again serve as honorary Chairs for this year’s fifth annual FARA Energy Ball on Sept. 5 in Tampa. The event promotes research and raises awareness for the neuromuscular disease Friedreich’s Ataxia (Lightning)....NBC's AL MICHAELS “agreed to plead no contest to reckless driving” following a misdemeanor DUI charge on April 19. He was “sentenced to 80 hours of community service and placed on probation” (SI.com, 8/11)....Tennis HOFer ANDRE AGASSI and the other owner of his Las Vegas restaurant Sedona Lounge, which features slot machines, have "agreed to pay a $15,000 fine for violating state gaming regulations” (LASVEGASSUN.com, 8/9)....Fox NFL analyst MICHAEL STRAHAN and his fiancée, NICOLE MURPHY, have sold their Bel-Air home for $11M in an all-cash deal, after purchasing it last year for $7.8M (L.A. TIMES, 8/10)....Blackhawks C JONATHAN TOEWS sold his three-bedroom, 32nd-floor condo in Lakeshore East for $1.63M, after purchasing the unit in ’08 for $1.475M (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 8/10).
IN MEMORY: Arizona Republic Coyotes beat reporter JIM GINTONIO passed away last night following a battle with cancer (Mult., 8/12).
