An L.A. judge has "dropped the two remaining actions" against Thunder G and former NBPA President DEREK FISHER in ousted NBPA Exec Dir BILLY HUNTER's lawsuit, leaving the "disgraced former union chief to fight it out" with the NBPA over his termination. All actions against Fisher's former business manager JAMIE WIOR were "dropped last week," as were 12 of 14 against Fisher. Attorney ANDREW KASSOF said that the remaining actions against Fisher that were dropped Tuesday "involved Hunter's allegations of breach of contract and intentional interference with contractual relations." Hunter had alleged that Fisher and Wior conspired during the '11 lockout to "have him ousted as the NBPA's executive director so they could take control of the union" (CBSSPORTS.com, 1/22).
TRIBAL COUNCIL: Marlins President DAVID SAMSON said of his time competing on CBS' "SURVIVOR: CAGAYAN," "I love being out of my comfort zone. It's why I've done the Ironman, done the double marathons, loved getting the ballpark done when others couldn't do it. I love things that aren't easy. ... The team is going to win or lose without me, because I'm not involved in the day-to-day of who gets called up, who gets sent down. When it was filmed, I knew it wasn't a time to negotiate contracts or get budgets for next season." In Ft. Lauderdale, David Hyde writes when Samson "disappeared last summer" to film the show, "rumors began inside the team." One staffer said that Samson was "climbing Mount Kilimanjaro," while others thought Samson "was in sex rehabilitation" (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 1/23). The show premieres Feb. 26, with former NBAer CLIFF ROBINSON among the other contestants (EW.com, 1/22).
JUUUUST A BIT OUTSIDE: HOF broadcaster BOB UECKER, who "has a statue outside of Miller Park, soon will have one inside the stadium." Uecker will "be honored with a statue in the last row of the Terrace Level," atop the Uecker Seats. The statue will "pay tribute to the popular Miller Lite 'All Stars' ad campaign which featured Uecker’s famous tagline, 'I must be in the front row.'" Uecker said, "I can't think of a better place to put this statue. This will be great for fans and even better for pigeons. You might even be able to see a little part of the field" (JSONLINE.com, 1/22).
NAMES: Univ. of Vermont AD ROBERT CORRAN's annual base salary will increase by $35,000 to $235,000 per his recent contract extension (VERMONT CYNIC, 1/22)....Raiders cheerleader LACY T. yesterday filed a lawsuit against the team, claiming that it “withholds pay from the squad and does not compensate them for all the hours they work.” She claims that the team “pays its cheerleaders $1,250 annually, which equates to less than $5 an hour” (L.A. TIMES, 1/23)....The White Sox yesterday named former NFLer and MLBer BO JACKSON Team Ambassador (White Sox)....Former MLBer CHIPPER JONES yesterday on Twitter admitted that he “accidently started a fire in the woods" behind his home in Roswell, Georgia (AJC.com, 1/22)....Brewers 2B RICKIE WEEKS on Saturday got married to TIPHANY EASTERLING at the St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort in Miami. Brewers LF RYAN BRAUN and team Owner MARK ATTANASIO were among those in attendance (JSONLINE.com, 1/21)....Boston-based WEEI-FM morning show co-host JOHN DENNIS recently “popped the question to longtime galpal KATHY KESSEL” and she accepted (BOSTON HERALD, 1/23)....Heat G DWYANE WADE sold his four-bedroom townhouse in Chicago’s River West neighborhood for $1.66M (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 1/23).
