Senators Owner EUGENE MELNYK yesterday "underwent a successful liver transplant in Toronto ... less than a week after his team made a desperate public plea for a donor." The team in a statement said that both Melnyk and the anonymous donor "were resting comfortably and doing well." More information "was expected" today, "as well as an update on Melnyk’s progress at some point this week." About 500 potential donors "submitted medical histories." Regardless of the "progress of his recovery, it’s unclear whether Melnyk will want to resume the duties that go with being an NHL team owner" (OTTAWA CITIZEN, 5/20). The transplant was "successfully finished more than eight hours" after it began around noon ET yesterday (THEHOCKEYNEWS.com, 5/19).
HARK THE SOUND: PGA of America Secretary SUZY WHALEY is profiled in the Univ. of North Carolina's CAROLINA ALUMNI REVIEW, which notes she is the "highest-ranking woman in American golf history and in line to ascend to one of the game's most powerful positions." After her two-year term as secretary ends in late '16, she is "expected to become" PGA VP, and two years later "take over" as PGA President. There will be "votes along the way, but once someone is an officer on the board, it's generally a formality." Whaley said, "I don't consciously think about breaking barriers. My goal has always been to strive to be the best I could possibly be in the moment." Current PGA President DEREK SPRAGUE said that Whaley is a "good ambassador for the sport." Sprague: "She brings an incredible amount of enthusiasm and energy to the role of secretary. She'll inspire more women within golf and outside golf to pursue their passion and to take leadership roles within the golf industry and outside of it as well" (CAROLINA ALUMNI REVIEW, 5/ '15 issue).
THE PRICE OF GOLD: Former football coach CHARLIE WEIS in '14 "remained the highest paid coach on Notre Dame's payroll despite being fired by the university" following the '09 season, earning "nearly twice as much as BRIAN KELLY, the man who replaced him." The school paid Weis, who was "fired as coach at Kansas last September, $2,054,744." Kelly was "paid a base salary of $995,244 and his total pay from the university" was $1.18M. Notre Dame AD JACK SWARBRICK "had a base pay of $808,240 and earned" $1.35M, up from $1.14M a season earlier. Men's basketball coach MIKE BREY "had a base salary of $767,908 and earned $992,264, up from $806,488 a year earlier" (AP, 5/19)....Meanwhile, Pitt men's basketball coach JAMIE DIXON made more than $3.2M in '14, making him the school's "highest-paid employee." Dixon's "base pay increased by $91,715 from the previous year" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 5/20).
ON THE BIG SCREEN: DreamWorks has “picked up the movie rights” to “PHENOMENON,” author ROSEANNE MONTILLO’s biography of late Olympian BETTY ROBINSON. The film details how Robinson became the first woman to win a Gold Medal in track and field and the “incredible challenges she surmounted to win her second.” FRANK MARSHALL will produce the adaptation along with co-producer ROB WEISBACH. Marshall is “very connected to the Olympics,” having been a former BOD and Exec Committee member of the USOC. He was also inducted into the U.S. Olympic HOF in ’08 (HOLLYWOODREPORTER.com, 5/19).
NAMES: A New Orleans civil court judge yesterday ruled that the remainder of RENEE BENSON’s lawsuit against her father, Saints & Pelicans Owner TOM BENSON, “will be closed to the public, including the media” (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, 5/20)....Former Islanders Owner JOHN SPANO, who "conned" the NHL into "thinking he was a wealthy entrepreneur well-qualified to buy one of the league's most storied franchises has been convicted on fraud-related charges in Ohio." Spano "pleaded guilty Monday to 16 counts of forgery" (AP, 5/19)....USA Track & Field CEO MAX SIEGEL was named one of FAST COMPANY's “Most Creative People in Business” (FAST COMPANY, 6/'15 issue)....Former MLBer JAMIE MOYER and his wife, KAREN, yesterday presented WNBA Storm G SUE BIRD with their foundation’s Humanitarian Award at a luncheon in Seattle (SEATTLETIMES.com, 5/19)....Saints QB DREW BREES and his wife, BRITTANY, reached a deal to become co-owners of Louisiana-based restaurant chain Walk-On’s Bistreaux & Bar (Baton Rouge ADVOCATE, 5/20)....Former NASL N.Y. Cosmos Dir of Soccer ERIC CANTONA has sued the team, alleging they "booted him" without paying nearly $1M. Cantona was hired in '11, and he alleges that the team "fired him after he punched a photographer last year, and then failed to pay him the rest of the money he is owed" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 5/20).
