Longtime N.Y. Daily News reporter DICK WEISS last night at the College Football HOF enshrinement festivities in Atlanta received the Bert McGrane Award, an "honor annually bestowed on a member of the Football Writers Association of America" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 8/29).
RISKY BUSINESS: Nets Owner MIKHAIL PROKHOROV "leads a small pro-business party in Russia" called Civic Platform, which is "fielding candidates in 30 or so" elections next month. Prokhorov said that he is "testing how much can be achieved" within Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN's political system "without resorting to civil disobedience, and risking prosecution, though he does not rule out that he could be arrested" (N.Y. TIMES, 8/29).
CHARITY STRIPE: The Jets yesterday at their 13th annual Kickoff Luncheon raised $800,000 benefiting the New York Jets Foundation and the Alliance for Lupus Research (NEWSDAY.com, 8/28)....Tigers P JUSTIN VERLANDER joined the Detroit Tigers Foundation to announce a commitment of $1M to launch an initiative called Wins for Warriors that will support the mental health and emotional well-being of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans and their families in Detroit, Richmond and Norfolk (Tigers)....Golfsmith has partnered with Nike Golf to "custom fit and provide golf clubs and other gear" to survivors of the Boston Marathon bombings as part of Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital’s "Back in the Swing Adaptive Program" (BOSTON HERALD, 8/29).
NAMES: Retired U.S. swimmer MICHAEL PHELPS will appear as himself in the upcoming season of USA Network’s “SUITS” (HOLLYWOODREPORTER.com, 8/28). Meanwhile, Phelps attended Ravens practice on Tuesday with girlfriend WIN MCMURRY and spoke “to several players afterward” (BALTIMORESUN.com, 8/27)....Tennis player RAFAEL NADAL and girlfriend MARIA FRANCISCA PERELLO were “bombarded by fans” at Tao Asian Bistro in N.Y. (N.Y. POST, 8/29)....Former White Sox Senior Dir of Player Personnel DAVID WILDER yesterday was sentenced to "two years in federal prison for accepting nearly half a million dollars in kickbacks from the signing bonuses and contract buyouts” of Latin American prospects. Wilder will begin serving his sentence Oct. 31 and was “ordered to pay $440,781 in restitution to the White Sox" (CHICAGOTRIBUNE.com, 8/28).
