RHONDA GLENN, "a groundbreaker in television broadcasting and a longtime USGA employee," passed away on Thursday at the age of 68. Her book, “THE ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF WOMEN'S GOLF,” is "a benchmark of golf literature and a fine example of the lush, detailed manner in which Glenn told a story." Glenn "was chosen by her writing peers last year to receive the William D. Richardson Award for her outstanding contributions to the game" (GOLFWEEK.com, 2/13). Glenn was the first female anchor on ESPN and "became a USGA historian and tireless promoter of women's golf." She "sat behind the desk at 'SportsCenter' in 1981 just two years after the 24-hour sports network was launched," and was "a golf commentator for ABC Sports for 16 years, and she spent 17 years at the USGA" (AP, 2/13). GOLF.com's Michael Bamberger wrote it is "hard to imagine a person more devoted to golf and to people from every walk of life" (GOLF.com, 2/15).
LIKE MOTHER, LIKE SON: Louisiana Tech women's basketball coach TYLER SUMMITT, the son of former Tennessee women’s coach PAT SUMMITT, was profiled on NBC’s “Nightly News” last night, with the net's Jacob Rascon saying, “He may not be much older than his players, but on the sidelines, Tyler Summitt feels right at home.” The 24-year-old Summitt said, “Instead of growing up and slumber parties at your friend's house, I was in locker rooms, I was in hotel rooms, I was on the bench.” He said when his mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, “At first she said, ‘Why me?’ It took a while for us to say, ‘You know what, this is God’s plan and we’ve got to figure out what our next step is” ("Nightly News," NBC, 2/15).
FROM NET TO NETWORK: After former NHLer COREY HIRSCH was not retained by the Blues last year as a goalie coach, he "tweeted something out about a hockey game he was watching, and Sportsnet hockey analyst ELLIOTTE FRIEDMAN saw it." Friedman said that he "had 'no idea' Hirsch was in a bad place when he put him in touch with MITCH KERZNER, executive producer of studio production for NHL on Sportsnet." Hirsch now "works for Sportsnet as a freelance NHL analyst." Prior to this, Hirsch "had reached out to the NHL alumni, which put on a broadcasting workshop that furnished him with training and confidence to enter a new arena" (TORONTO STAR, 2/14).
PIGSKIN PARADE: NFL Commissioner ROGER GOODELL was "lampooned" on a Mardi Gras float in New Orleans, where the "N.O. Goodell" vehicle "featured a large depiction of Goodell holding a bag of money with a referee's whistle around his neck." Another float depicted images of Saints Owner TOM BENSON's wife, GAYLE, and granddaughter, RITA BENSON LEBLANC, "engaged in hair-pulling kerfuffle" (NOLA.com, 2/13).
PATRIOT GAMES: TMZ last week reported Patriots WR JULIAN EDELMAN "had a meeting with JAY Z’s Roc Nation marketing company." It "doesn’t sound like Edelman is looking to leave agent DON YEE, but rather the meeting highlights the newfound fame and marketing opportunities for Edelman following his Super Bowl heroics" (BOSTON GLOBE, 2/15). Meanwhile, Edelman was spotted last week at Tao Downtown in N.Y. (N.Y. POST, 2/15).
NAMES: The Univ. of Missouri has retained executive search firm Korn Ferry Int'l to "aid in finding a replacement" for AD MIKE ALDEN (COLUMBIATRIBUNE.com, 2/13)....Courtem, an app founded by four brothers from the Anheuser-Busch family and backed by Mavericks Owner MARK CUBAN, is "trying to merge the genuine nature of face-to-face interactions with the convenience of online dating." The brothers "launched the app last December" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 2/15)....Dallas-based WFAA-ABC sports reporter GEORGE RIBA, who "began in the sports department" in '77, will retire on Feb. 20 (DALLASNEWS.com, 2/13)....U.S. women’s national soccer team players ABBY WAMBACH, CHRISTIE RAMPONE and KELLEY O’HARA will be honorary starters for Sunday’s Daytona 500 (NEWS-JOURNALONLINE.com, 2/15)....The USWNT's SYDNEY LEROUX announced on Twitter her marriage to Sporting KC F DOM DWYER (KANSASCITY.com, 2/14)....Golfer ADAM SCOTT and his wife MARIE welcomed a baby girl, BO VERA SCOTT, yesterday in Australia (AP, 2/15)....Roger Goodell last week attended a party for the film “THE REWRITE” in N.Y. (N.Y. POST, 2/14)....UCLA football coach JIM MORA JR. sold his home in Yarrow Point, Wash., for $3M (LATIMES.com, 2/13).
IN MEMORY: Mavericks Music Dir ANTHONY JOHNSON, known at DJ Whiz T, died on Friday (DALLASNEWS.com, 2/13).
