Former Dodgers Owner FRANK MCCOURT would "like to get back to owning a sports franchise, but for now he does have his hand in a few sports ventures." McCourt said that he "just landed the Olympic marathon trials for 2016, and he still owns" the L.A. Marathon. McCourt, who "splits his time between Miami, LA, New York, and Cape Cod is still trying to develop the land he owns around Dodger Stadium" (BOSTON GLOBE, 2/2).
HORRIBLE BOSSES? Brooklyn Cablevision workers "demanded fair wages Saturday, slamming owner JAMES DOLAN as a stingy, corporate fat cat hell-bent on intimidating their union." The approximately 200 workers, joined by Rev. AL SHARPTON and an assortment of politicians, said Dolan has waged "an anti-union campaign of fear and intimidation" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 2/3).
SERVING UP EDUCATION: Thanks to a "funding assist" from Tennis HOFer ANDRE AGASSI, Las Vegas' "vacant, former University of Phoenix site has been remodeled as Doral Academy West." The school is the "first local investment for the Canyon-Agassi Charter School Facilities Fund, a nationwide effort to move charters from stopgap buildings into permanent campuses." Doral, which opened in August, will "celebrate its launch with a visit today from Agassi and Gov. BRIAN SANDOVAL." Its debut marks the "beginning of a new push by Agassi to build charter schools in Southern Nevada" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 2/3).
TICKED OFF OVER TICKETS: New Jersey resident JOSH FINKELMAN on Jan. 6 filed a class action lawsuit in Newark federal court "formally known on the docket as Josh Finkelman v. National Football League." The complaint is the "first suit that a football fan aggrieved by the price of tickets has filed against the NFL." Finkelman's "perhaps quixotic legal campaign hinges on the difference between the face value of his tickets, about $500 each, and what he had to pay to get them" (N.Y. TIMES, 2/2).
NOT SO FIERCE? Lifetime on Saturday debuted its biopic "THE GABBY DOUGLAS STORY," based on U.S. gymnast GABBY DOUGLAS, and the movie's "greatest challenge" was having actress IMANI HAKIM "re-create scenes from Douglas' gymnastic routines." Choppy editing "helps depict some illusion of performance," with Hakim "working to match Douglas' real movements as she is transposed into Douglas' spot at the end of real routines." But the "simmering hum" of the movie "never reaches the fever pitch of Douglas' true rise and triumph" (HOLLYWOODREPORTER.com, 2/1).
NAMES: Former NBAer ANTOINE WALKER "just finished a documentary on his NBA life for which he is seeking a distributor" (BOSTON GLOBE, 2/2)....BILL CLINTON on Jan. 24 received the inaugural "Joe DiMaggio American Icon Award," benefiting the Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital (N.Y. POST, 2/1)....Ravens coach JOHN HARBAUGH received the "third annual NFL Salute to Service Award" (Baltimore SUN, 2/2)....Bills LB ARTHUR MOATS on Sunday was named the winner of the United Way Team NFL Playoff Challenge (BUFFALO NEWS, 2/3)....Lions RB JOIQUE BELL last week "made his Broadway debut as a bit actor in 'ROCK OF AGES,' playing a bartender in the musical comedy." Bell spent "eight minutes on stage, and his only line came when he was offstage and the narrator threw a Playbill at him" (BOSTON GLOBE, 2/2)....TIM TEBOW is "considering a broadcast career, and was spotted talking" to Mavericks Owner MARK CUBAN at Tao Uptown Saturday night (N.Y. POST, 2/3).
