Three high school football teams from the Ferguson-Florissant School District in Ferguson, Mo., "were able to practice in the Rams' indoor facility and also watch the Rams practice outside in the VIP section of bleachers at Rams Park" yesterday after the Rams invited the teams. Rams coach JEFF FISHER said of the outreach in light of the ongoing unrest in Ferguson surrounding the death of teenager MIKE BROWN, "We wanted to do something" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 8/21).
ON THE DOCKET: ESPN's LINDA COHN in July "quietly filed" a Manhattan federal-court negligence lawsuit against the operators of Brewster Ice Arena in Brewster, New York, after a "bunch of rowdy kids pushed a heavy coin machine on top of her before an event there -- leaving her with a gash" on her right arm that took 25 stitches to close. She "blames the Brewster arena's management for not preventing it" (N.Y. POST, 8/21).
CHARITY STRIPE: About 300 guests attended last night's Bill Belichick Foundation HOF Huddle at the Boston Harbor Hotel. The foundation "presented two sports grants to Metro Lacrosse and Fields of Growth, and Warrior and Nike also donated gear to both programs." About $200,000 was raised for the foundation through the event (
BOSTON HERALD, 8/21)....MLB Exec VP/Baseball Operations
JOE TORRE and MLB Commissioner-elect
ROB MANFRED yesterday "joined the 'ALS Ice Bucket Challenge' ... outside MLB's Park Avenue offices, raising $16,700 for ALS research as the two men and 165 MLB employees dumped buckets of ice cold water over their heads" (
N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 8/21)....Golfer
RICKIE FOWLER participated in the ice bucket challenge with seven members of the U.S. Ryder Cup team (
THE DAILY).
AWARDS & HONORS: The Sports Broadcasting HOF on Dec. 16 will induct CBS Sports Exec VP/Engineering, Operations & Production KEN AAGAARD, NFL Exec VP/Media STEVE BORNSTEIN, NBC Olympics Sound Design & Communication Dir BOB DIXON, Fox Sports Media Group CEO DAVID HILL, F&F Productions Founder, President & CEO GEORGE ORGERA, late ABC sportscaster CHRIS SCHENKEL and former NBA Commissioner DAVID STERN during a ceremony at the N.Y. Hilton Hotel (Sports Broadcasting HOF).
NAMES: NASCAR driver JIMMIE JOHNSON and members of his Hendrick Motorsports pit crew yesterday “surprised” the Charlotte Independence High School football team as part of the Gatorade “Beat the Heat” campaign (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 8/21)….U.S. Gold medal-winning swimmer MICHAEL PHELPS' coach BOB BOWMAN will be the keynote speaker for the ’14 USA Triathlon Art & Science of Triathlon Int’l Coaching Symposium at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas (USA Triathlon)….Members of congress, congressional staff and lobbyists will “square off on the court in a Sept. 8 charity event designed to benefit at-risk youth in DC.” The event will be held at the Smith Center at George Washington Univ. (POLITICO.com, 8/20).
