Menu
People and Pop Culture

Names In The News

Clippers G CHRIS PAUL is profiled in USA TODAY's "Talking Your Tech" feature, and Jefferson Graham notes Paul watches games "via his many, many devices." He has his "full-size iPad connected to his Slingbox back home to watch games, and an iPad Mini to catch movies." Paul is watching games "on his iPhone via the Slingbox and the NBA League Pass app when being driven to the games." He also has "two iPods to keep him busy with music." Paul said of Slingbox on his iPhone, "It looks great to me. I can see it clearly, and that's what I want to do, is watch the game" (USA TODAY, 12/18).

COURT REPORT: Vikings Owners ZYGI and MARK WILF and their cousin LEONARD "likely will not have to immediately pay" $84.5M in damages and roughly $15M in legal fees as they appeal a New Jersey state judge's rulings against them in a long-running lawsuit. Judge DEANNE WILSON said that her "'inclination' was not to demand immediate payment in a final order expected to be issued Thursday or Friday." But Wilson said that she "likely will require the Wilfs to post a bond worth at least what they owe in judgments, legal fees, interest and expenses because they defrauded partners in a big apartment complex" in the N.Y. suburbs (STARTRIBUNE.com, 12/17).

BIGGEST OF THE BLUE: Michigan AD DAVE BRANDON "continues to be the highest-paid employee at the university," with a '13 salary of $850,000. His salary "isn't paid by the university's general fund, largely made up of money from state aid and tuition," but rather from the "self-sufficient athletic department budget." Not making the top 10 list are football coach BRADY HOKE, who "makes $300,000 in base salary, and basketball coach JOHN BEILEIN, who makes $350,000." Both have other additions in their contracts "that drive up their total compensation" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 12/18).

TRAVEL GURU: Former NBAer OBINNA EKEZIE in '08 started Nigeria-based Wakanow.com, Africa's "one-stop-shop for cheap flights, hotel reservations and airport pickups." Wakanow predicts '13 revenue of about $100M. That is double the income from last year, when the company "booked about 150,000 trips." Ekezie said that the company "recently turned profitable as margins have climbed" from 4% to 7% (CNBC.com, 12/16).

NAMES: North Carolina women's basketball coach SYLVIA HATCHELL said of her ongoing battle with leukemia, "I am doing really good right now." She added of her leave of absence from the job, "My biggest problem is I get bored" (ESPNW.com, 12/17)....USL Pro club Sacramento Republic FC VP/Marketing & Communications ERIKA BJORK and Exec VP & co-Founder JOE WAGONER were listed among the Sacramento Business Journal's 40 Under 40 (SACRAMENTO BUSINESS JOURNAL, 12/13 issue)....Indiana State women’s basketball coach TERI MOREN will be inducted into the Indiana Basketball HOF on April 26 (INDYSTAR.com, 12/17)....Former California Univ. of Pennsylvania football player MATT ONYSHKO filed a federal suit yesterday claiming that the NCAA “knew but did not warn” him about the “long-term effects he could develop from repeated concussions” (PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 12/18)....Patriots RB STEVAN RIDLEY and TE ROB GRONKOWSKI yesterday "joined the Boston Pops for a performance" at the Boston Children’s Hospital (BOSTON GLOBE, 12/18).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2013/12/18/People-and-Pop-Culture/Names.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2013/12/18/People-and-Pop-Culture/Names.aspx

CLOSE