Golfer RICKIE FOWLER on Tuesday helped to "rebuild the home" of ERIK LOVGREN, whose Sea Bright, N.J., house was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. Fowler was there on behalf of Farmers Insurance, one of his sponsors, which "called him to ask if he'd help." Fowler last year "held a golf clinic and talked for hours with more than 100 golfers from three high schools" in Oklahoma after the area was hit by tornadoes (USATODAY.com, 8/20).
COURT REPORT: Colts Owner JIM IRSAY had his trial for two misdemeanor charges stemming from a March traffic stop "rescheduled for Oct. 30" after it was originally scheduled for next Thursday (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 8/22)....DAN MEERS, who "performs as the Chiefs’ mascot, KC Wolf, reached a confidential settlement with an unnamed party concerning severe injuries he sustained last November while rehearsing a pre-game, zip-line routine at Arrowhead Stadium." Meers "slammed into the upper deck of Arrowhead Stadium when the rigging of a bungee cord attached to a zip line failed, and he suffered spinal and pelvic injuries that required surgery" (K.C. STAR, 8/22).
NAMES: Steelers Chair and former U.S. Ambassador to Ireland DAN ROONEY "will return to Ireland next week to attend Penn State's opening game" against UCF in Dublin. The inaugural trophy that "will be awarded to the winning team will be named after Rooney" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 8/22)....New Georgia State Univ. AD CHARLIE COBB's contract "includes a $10,000 bonus" if the football team reaches a BCS game and a $5,000 bonus "should the team make a bowl game." He also will receive $2,500 in Nike apparel as part of his annual allowances (AJC.com, 8/21)....Ravens WR TORREY SMITH "was presented Thursday with the Tim Wheatley Award," created in '10 by the Baltimore Sun Media Group to honor local athletes' contributions off the field (Baltimore SUN, 8/22)....Former NFLer JAMES "BIG CAT" WILLIAMS on Thursday teamed up with U.S. Sen. MARK KIRK (R-Ill.), creating a PSA to "spread the word about the dangers of cyberbullying" (Chicago DAILY HERALD, 8/22)....Former NBAer VIN BAKER on Thursday had his gold medal from the '00 Sydney Games sold by Grey Flannel Auctions for $67,642 (ESPN.com, 8/21)....Bears WR BRANDON MARSHALL put his house in Southwest Ranche, Fla., up for sale for $4.9M (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 8/22)....Filmmaker SPIKE LEE on Thursday was spotted having dinner with VCU men's basketball coach SHAKA SMART at Edo's Squid near the VCU campus (RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH, 8/22).
