The Verizon IndyCar Series will "have an on-screen, feature film presence" in the upcoming Warner Bros. film, 'FOCUS.'” The film starring WILL SMITH "will also feature" IndyCar team Owner BRYAN HERTA and driver CARLOS MUNOZ. Scenes "were shot at NOLA Motorsports Park, which hosts the inaugural Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana," on April 12. Herta said, "We were approached about providing cars for the movie and two other drivers had conflicts, so I thought, ‘What the heck; I’ll drive it'" (NBCSPORTS.com, 2/24)....A trailer was released yesterday for "FAMILY FIRST: THE MARSHAWN LYNCH STORY," which follows Lynch's path from Oakland to the NFL. The movie "is set to come out sometime this year, and Lynch's younger brother, DAVONTE, plays Marshawn in high school." The Seahawks RB "then plays himself once the plot progresses to his college life" (AZCENTRAL.com, 2/24).
GOING BY THE RULEBOOK: HBO's "REAL SPORTS" this season is celebrating its 20th anniversary, and last night invited several network comedians to come on and share their takes on the show. HBO's BILL MAHER did a take on his "New Rules" segment, saying, "New Rule: The NFL must admit that if they're going to make billions of dollars off of head injuries, it's not fair to make the players try to remember what college they went to." He added, "New rule: Every Olympic athlete can't have a remarkable backstory. I know NBC likes to create gripping drama but there's got to be at least one competitor whose sister wasn't paralyzed in a cyclone, who didn't spend time as a street orphan in Sao Paulo, who hasn't battled back bravely from Epstein-Barr syndrome. They’ve got less afflicted athletes in the Special Olympics. Just once I'd like to hear, ‘This is Todd. He's got a 3.2 at Penn State and he skates. Period.'” More Maher: “New rule: The NFL can run their anti-domestic violence ads or they can be sponsored by Anheuser-Busch, but they can't do both" ("Real Sports," HBO, 2/24).
HONOR ROLL: Pro Football HOFer TERRY BRADSHAW "headlines a group of four to be honored March 7 for their contributions to the sport by The Touchdown Club of New Orleans" (Baton Rouge ADVOCATE, 2/25)....The Nationals announced yesterday that May 9 would be "Frank Robinson Day." The Baseball HOFer "will be inducted into the Nationals Ring of Honor as part of an anniversary celebration" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 2/25).
NAMES: Bucks co-Owner WES EDENS has invested $150M of his "personal fortune ... for Fortress Investment Group's latest permanent-capital pool called Fortress Equity Partners LLC" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 2/24)....Ohio State football coach URBAN MEYER was one of 2,500 passengers on Royal Caribbean's Brilliance of the Seas cruise ship that was "circling in the Gulf of Mexico yesterday" due to dense fog. The ship, which was hosting the annual Buckeye Cruise for Cancer, now has "returned to the Port of Tampa with the help of the U.S. Coast Guard" (DISPATCH.com, 2/24)....Former NBAer SHANE BATTIER is hosting the March 3 South Beach Battioeke karaoke contest. The event benefits the Battier Take Charge Foundation, which "awards college scholarships to top-performing, underprivileged high school students" in Miami, Houston and Detroit (SOUTHFLORIDA.com, 2/24)....Former MLBer KERRY WOOD placed his Chicago home on the market for $3.595M after paying $3.325M for it in ’08 (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 2/25)....Panthers FB MIKE TOLBERT has “put his home in the Scripps Ranch area of San Diego on the market” for $1.3M (LATIMES.com, 2/24)....Former Centerplate CEO DES HAGUE, who resigned last year, pleaded guilty yesterday to “causing an animal to be in distress” (CP, 2/24)....Brooklyn police said that 52-year-old iron worker PETER ZEPF was constructing a green roof on Barclays Center yesterday when he was “crushed to death by steel beams” (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 2/25).
