The 100 biggest political donors of '14 included TD Ameritrade Founder JOE RICKETTS, whose family owns the Cubs, at No. 8 after donating $6.8M. Former Univision Chair JERRY PERENCHIO was listed at No. 12 with $4.5M donated. Texans Owner BOB MCNAIR's $3.9M in donations ranked 15th, while WWE Chair & CEO VINCE MCMAHON and his wife LINDA were listed 17th with $3.7M in donations. Each of these donors made contributions to Republican campaigns (POLITICO.com, 1/11).
COURT REPORT: Hockey HOFer GUY LAFLEUR is seeking more than C$2M “from the Crown and Montreal police" in legal proceedings that began yesterday. Lafleur testified in ’07 at his son MARK’s “criminal case and was the subject of an arrest warrant in 2008 when the Crown deemed he had given contradictory testimony.” He was “found guilty” in ’09 before the conviction “was overturned on appeal.” Lafleur is “arguing the arrest warrant was exaggerated and unjustified and that his life has been adversely affected by the criminal case” (CP, 1/12)....Former Kyle Busch Motorsports GM & Competition Dir RICK REN “is suing the team for $390,000.” Ren was “released from the organization” following the ‘13 season. He alleges that he and his consulting company “are owed a $35,000 bonus from 2012 and $355,000 in commissions from two sponsorships he landed for the organization” (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 1/12).
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Kawhi Leonard gave Obama an autographed
ball during the team's visit to the White House |
NAMES: When the Spurs visited the White House last week to be honored by
PRESIDENT OBAMA for winning the '14 NBA title, he called the team "a great metaphor for what America should be all about." Obama, poking fun at coach
GREGG POPOVICH’s strategy of resting veteran players, said, “I was thinking about sending the Vice President to this event so I could stay fresh for the State of the Union” (
MYSANANTONIO.com, 1/12)....UAB men’s basketball coach
JEROD HAASE “has received a two-year contract extenision that includes a mandate against criticizing school administrators.” Under the deal, Haase agrees to “keep public statements complimentary to the administrators of the athletic program and to UAB” (
AP, 1/12)....Professional squash player
RAMY ASHOUR is profiled in the “Life & Style” section of today’s WALL STREET JOURNAL (
THE DAILY)....The Mount St. Joseph (Ohio) High School men’s volleyball team received an “updated locker room” thanks to a donation by Reds P
AROLDIS CHAPMAN (
CINCINNATI.com, 1/12)....SI and Bicycling magazine came in at No. 9 and No. 6, respectively, on AD AGE’s “Magazine A-List” for ’14 (
ADAGE.com, 1/12).
