In St. Paul, Doug Belden reports New Jersey Superior Court judge DEANNE WILSON yesterday ordered Vikings Owner the WILF family to pay $84.5M in damages "to former partners they defrauded in a decades-old real estate deal." Wilson ordered about $52M in compensatory damages, interest and punitive damages to plaintiff ADA REICHMANN and about $33M to JOSEF HALPERN "stemming from an apartment complex deal in the 1980s." Lawyers for the Wilf family said that they "will appeal and added that the order will have no impact on financing for the new Vikings stadium" (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 9/24). Wilf family attorney PETER HARVEY said that the appeals process "will last between two and three years." He added, "The stadium will be built and opening kickoff will have taken place long before this case is decided by the appellate division and, if necessary, the New Jersey Supreme Court." Harvey: "It's just a non-issue. It never was an issue, frankly" (FOXSPORTS.com, 9/23).
HALL MONITOR: National Baseball HOF & Museum President JEFF IDELSON is profiled in the N.Y. TIMES' Frequent Flier feature and writes, "Most of my travel involves seeing sponsors, fund-raising, meeting with the Hall of Fame players and collecting artifacts for the museum." He added, "I'm a good flier, and I am the guy that you want to be behind in a security line." However, during the "so-called home run chase during Labor Day weekend back in 1998, I traveled to St. Louis and there was some drama." Idelson: "I went to St. Louis with ROGER MARIS's record-setting bat, which is part of the museum's collection. ... When MARK MCGWIRE broke the record three days later, it was my job to get all of his gear and the record-setting bat back to Cooperstown." Prior to landing in Albany, N.Y., "I was called into the cockpit and was told that state police would escort me off the flight because of the huge crowds inside the Albany airport." The news "leaked that I was carrying 'the bat' that McGwire used" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/24).
BUC-ING THE TREND: Pennsylvania Gov. TOM CORBETT "skipped the state GOP's fall dinner on Friday to take in a Pirates game, a move political observers say could pay off at election time more than dining with the party faithful would." Corbett faces a "potentially tough re-election race next year." He said, "It's probably better to be out among the people, to bring those numbers up" (PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 9/24).
NAMES: The CP's Dene Moore wrote under the header, "Third Lawsuit Alleging Sexual Abuse Filed Against Former Olympics CEO JOHN FURLONG." Another former student "has filed a lawsuit alleging he, too, was abused" by Furlong. Furlong was the "face" of the '10 Vancouver Games and is currently MLS Whitecaps Exec Chair (CP, 9/23)....The Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal named Twins VP/Technology JOHN AVENSON the ’13 CIO of the Year for a medium private company (MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL BUSINESS JOURNAL, 9/20 issue)….Jamaican boxer NICHOLAS WALTERS over the weekend signed a multiyear promotional agreement with Top Rank Boxing and will make his first featherweight title defense on Nov. 9 (ESPN.com, 9/23)….Graphic designer BRANDON ORT, who created the winning logo for Wrigley Field’s 100th anniversary in ’14, on Saturday “traveled with his wife, daughter and other family members to unveil the design” at the Braves-Cubs game (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 9/24)….Jets QB GENO SMITH “got a pat on the back” from JAY Z on Sunday when they “attended the joint birthday party” for Thunder F KEVIN DURANT and rapper WALE at Avenue nightclub in N.Y. (N.Y. POST, 9/24)….Bruins President CAM NEELY, comedian LENNY CLARKE and actress ALISON WACHTLER filmed NHL promos in Dorchester, Mass., for NBC and director BOBBY FARRELLY (BOSTON HERALD, 9/24)….Clippers F BLAKE GRIFFIN yesterday announced that he and former USC basketball player BRYNN CAMERON “have had a baby boy named FORD WILSON CAMERON-GRIFFIN.” Cameron also has a son with free agent QB MATT LEINART (LATIMES.com, 9/23).
