In Chicago, Ed Sherman notes ESPN's JAY BILAS "has been extremely outspoken in his contention that the NCAA system is grossly unfair to athletes," and those views have "made him an even bigger man in this heated debate." Bilas said, "I'm a little bit torn about it. I'm not stupid. I realize I'd be better off if I kept my mouth shut. Listen, I'm a cheerleader for college basketball. This is a great sport, but it doesn't mean everything is right with it." Bilas "can feel the momentum for change building," and he insists that he "is not surprised by what is happening at Northwestern," where a group of current and former football players formed a collegiate athletes union. Bilas: "To me, the best thing about what the Northwestern players are doing is starting the conversation where the theories and logic of the NCAA are going to be scrutinized" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 2/12).
HEALTH CHECKUP: The Twins yesterday announced that GM TERRY RYAN "underwent successful neck surgery at the Mayo Clinic" on a lymph node. Ryan, "who will remain hospitalized for two or three days, announced Monday that he had been diagnosed with squamous-cell carcinoma" (MLB.com, 2/11)....Two of ESPN analyst CURT SCHILLING’s children, GEHRIG and GABBY, tweeted that their father on Monday "underwent surgery for his cancer." Prior to those tweets, Schilling "remained quiet about his condition other than to send out a pair of tweets a couple of days after the announcement" (BOSTON HERALD, 2/12).
BELTWAY BIGWIGS: PRESIDENT OBAMA "will host a fundraiser for House Democrats at the home" of former NBAer ALONZO MOURNING. The event in Miami on March 20 "will benefit the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee." House Minority Leader NANCY PELOSI (D-Calif.) and other lawmakers also will attend (AP, 2/11). Meanwhile, Obama last night hosted a state dinner at the White House, and attendees included NBA free agent JASON COLLINS, former NBA Commissioner DAVID STERN, Orioles Owner PETER ANGELOS and Astros Owner JIM CRANE (POLITICO.com, 2/11).
NAMES: Red Sox Senior Adviser DR. CHARLES STEINBERG yesterday "received the Distinguished Community Service Award from the Anti-Defamation League" at Fenway Park. Red Sox DH DAVID ORTIZ and 2B DUSTIN PEDROIA served as the event's honorary co-chairs (BOSTON GLOBE, 2/12)....Redskins RB ALFRED MORRIS on Saturday "served as honorary chair of the annual Pink Tie Charity Ball for The HIB's foundation." The Redskins "gave the organization an Alfred Morris jersey to auction off at the event." He "autographed the jersey and when the item went for $7,100 during the auction, Morris announced that he would donate a matching amount out of his own pocket" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 2/11)....DONALD TRUMP has bought Doonbeg golf course in western Ireland and the course will be “renamed Trump International Golf Links, Ireland” (HERALD SCOTLAND, 2/11)….A pair of boxing gloves worn by MUHAMMAD ALI in his first heavyweight championship fight “have hit the auction block again.” Ali wore the gloves in his bout against SONNY LISTON on Feb. 25, 1964. They were originally “bought in an auction from the estate sale of Ali’s former trainer ANGELO DUNDEE in Dec. 2012 for $385,848” (ESPN.com, 2/11)….Rockets C DWIGHT HOWARD has listed his former home in Seminole County, Fla., for $4.9M -- about $3M “less than he paid” in ’08 (ORLANDOSENTINEL.com, 2/11)….MLB free agent P BARRY ZITO has listed a house in Hollywood Hills West for $4.375M (LATIMES.com, 2/11)….Bobcats Owner MICHAEL JORDAN’s wife YVETTE on Sunday gave birth to identical twin daughters VICTORIA and YSABEL in West Palm Beach (AP, 2/12).
