In N.Y., Matt Flegenheimer notes for N.Y. Mayor BILL DE BLASIO, governing the city "as an avowed Boston fan, with roots in Massachusetts, always promised to be complicated, despite the cool distance the mayor has kept from Yankee Stadium." De Blasio's aides said that he has been to the ballpark just "once since taking office," and that was for a soccer game. De Blasio has "made no attempt to conceal his affections" for the Red Sox "in an administration stocked with fellow New Englanders." His passion for baseball has "maintained an unusual hold on his life in public and in private." De Blasio has "invoked the film 'Field of Dreams' while describing his municipal identification program and has likened his administration to the 'Moneyball'-minded" A's, baseball’s "foremost modern example of overcoming financial inequality" (N.Y. TIMES, 5/29).
DAMAGES CAPPED: The UCF Athletics Association will "be required to pay the family" of late football player ERECK PLANCHER $200,000 rather than a full $10M jury judgment "following a Florida Supreme Court ruling Thursday." Plancher in '08 "collapsed and died following offseason conditioning drills supervised by the coaching staff" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 5/29).
NAMES: LSU play-by-play announcer JIM HAWTHORNE will be the '15 recipient of the National Football Foundation Chris Schenkel Award. The award "recognizes individuals who have had long, distinguished careers broadcasting college football with direct ties to a specific university" (SHREVEPORT TIMES, 5/27)....Latitude 360 is "planning a new entertainment center in the Atlanta area," and Falcons WR JULIO JONES "will have a minority stake in the entertainment center scheduled to open near the Mall of Georgia in Buford" (FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, 5/29)....The Indians "have released a California red blend" wine, which "has 'notes of chocolate, roasted coffee bean and vanilla spice.'" The red and blue label is "simple, featuring the script Indians logo," but no Chief Wahoo logo. A three-bottle package of the wine "runs $47.99 via mlb.com/wine" (OHIO.com, 5/28)....The Muhammad Ali Center “has scheduled an interactive exhibit titled ‘XOXO: an Exhibit About Love and Forgiveness’ that is to run from June 6 through Sept. 20” (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 5/29).
IN MEMORY: Longtime Bay Area-based sportswriter RON BERGMAN, who covered the Warriors, Raiders and college sports for the Oakland Tribune and San Jose Mercury News, died on Thursday at the age of 80. He "was the quintessential reporter to cover the colorful" A’s dynasty of the ‘70s (S.F. CHRONICLE, 5/29).
