F1 CEO BERNIE ECCLESTONE will pay $100M "to end a German corruption case that's tainted his role" with the racing series for more than three years. Ecclestone said that he would "be able to transfer the amount within a week" (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 8/5). Ecclestone "traded in the currency he understands best to deal with a Munich criminal court -- hard cash" (FINANCIAL TIMES, 8/5). A headline in a Frankfurt, Germany, newspaper read, "Obscene Deal." The reaction to the settlement "was divided" among F1 insiders (N.Y. TIMES, 8/6).
GIVING UP THE FIGHT: Yankees 3B ALEX RODRIGUEZ a year after being suspended by MLB for his part in the Biogenesis scandal has "abandoned that combative strategy" led by his high-profile former lawyers, JOE TACOPINA and DAVID CORNWELL. Rodriguez has "dropped all the lawsuits he filed" against MLB and the MLBPA. With an "eye toward a smooth reintegration into baseball next spring, Rodriguez wants an amicable relationship with the Yankees and the lords of baseball." The "conciliatory approach is personified by JIM SHARP, the measured and respected criminal lawyer who has taken the lead in Rodriguez's affairs after the courtroom debacle earlier this year." Sharp: "It doesn't take a wizard to give him the advice that I'm giving him. You would do the same thing" (N.Y. TIMES, 8/6).
LIFESTYLES OF THE RICH & FAMOUS: USA TODAY's Nicole Auerbach profiles U.S. swimmer RYAN LOCHTE and notes friends of his indicated that despite his reality series lasting just one season, his "popularity soared" following the '12 London Games. With that, so did "the amount of extracurricular activities." Lochte: "I'm not going to lie, it was amazing. If you're a swimmer, you don't go to a red carpet event for a movie premiere. You're not hanging out with SYLVESTER STALLONE. ... I never thought swimming would take me that far. But at the same time, I almost quit swimming that year, especially when my show happened. I never swam during my show." He added, "It was hard doing all these celebrity things, because you get sucked into that lifestyle, the idea of being a celebrity" (USA TODAY, 8/6).
DRIVING FORCE: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's A.J. Baime profiled NASCAR COO BRENT DEWAR, noting he drives a Ford Fusion Energi Titanium. Talking about his daily commute to the organization's HQs in Daytona Beach, Dewar said, "I'm able to drive the first 21 miles in electric mode. Then the car seamlessly switches to its four-cylinder engine. We've outfitted the NASCAR office parking lot with Eaton fast-charging stations. I can recharge in 2 1/2 hours. My commute is 15 miles each way. So for the first six months I had the car, I never once went to a gas station" (WSJ.com, 8/5).
NAMES: Saints and Pelicans Owner TOM BENSON yesterday was "released from a local hospital after being transported by ambulance" from the Saints' practice at the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia (NOLA.com, 8/5)....Former NFLer CLINT DIDIER was the top vote-getter in yesterday's primary election to determine who will fill the U.S. House seat occupied by DOC HASTINGS (R-Wash), claiming 30.4% of the vote. Didier, a Republican, will face off against fellow party member DAN NEWHOUSE in the November election (YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC, 8/6)....NASCAR driver JOEY LOGANO, donning a personalized No. 22 Sporting KC jersey and Team Penske hat, took the field yesterday for "a little instruction" from team F SOONY SAAD. Logano stopped by Swope Soccer Village as "part of a promotional tour" for the Sprint Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 on Oct. 5 at Kansas Speedway (K.C. STAR, 8/6)....A group of int'l women's soccer players have retained Boies Schiller & Lexner in the U.S. and Osler Hoskin & Harcourt in Canada and is "threatening legal action over the decision to play" the '15 FIFA Women's World Cup on artificial turf (GLOBE & MAIL, 8/6)....Brazil's Supreme Court yesterday "provisionally freed" RAYMOND WHELAN, the World Cup hospitality chief who had "been jailed since mid-July on charges that included ticket scalping and corruption" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 8/6)....Boxing promoter LOU DIBELLA announced yesterday that he has signed fighters ELIO ROJAS and JONATHAN ALONSO (ESPN.com, 8/5)….Assistant coaches for the Florida State football team this year will make a combined $3.375M. Seven of head coach JIMBO FISHER’s “eight returning assistants received new contracts that include raises” (TALLAHASSEE DEMOCRAT, 8/6)....NBA Kings CFO JOHN RINEHART was named the ’14 CFO of the Year by the Sacramento Business Journal (SACRAMENTO BUSINESS JOURNAL, 8/1 issue)....Heat G DWYANE WADE and actress GABRIELLE UNION will get married over Labor Day weekend (N.Y. POST, 8/6)....Nationals C WILSON RAMOS “went on paternity leave” as his wife, YELY, gave birth to the couple’s first child yesterday (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 8/5).
