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People and Pop Culture

Names In The News

Golfer SMYLIE KAUFMAN’s interview with CBS’ JIM NANTZ last weekend during The Masters “may have come off a bit awkward to viewers, but the 24-year-old may have netted himself a new set of wheels after it.” During the interview, Nantz “asked Kaufman what kind of car he drives, and Kaufman responded” by saying he has an ‘08 Nissan Murano. Kaufman said, “Drives really nice.” Nissan is now “offering to upgrade” Kaufman to a ‘16 Murano (GOLFWEEK.com, 4/11).

OPEN UP: Red Sox DH DAVID ORTIZ “took the mound to throw out the first pitch” during his final home opener yesterday with Basketball HOFer BILL RUSSELL, Hockey HOFer BOBBY ORR and former NFLer TY LAW. Also in attendance were Boston Mayor MARTY WALSH, Red Sox Owner JOHN HENRY and his wife LINDA, Red Sox Chair TOM WERNER, Live Nation President DON LAW, clothing designer JOSEPH ABBOUD, Entercom Boston VP/Market Manager PHIL ZACHARY and General Sales Manager DANA PANEPINTO, and biographer DORIS KEARNS GOODWIN (BOSTON HERALD, 4/12).

DODGER BLUE
: Baseball HOFer JACKIE ROBINSON’s “color barrier-breaking” contracts were “put on display in Times Square” yesterday. Actor PAUL SORVINO, who is also a sculptor, additionally “unveiled a bronze bust of Robinson, saying he wept many times while making it.” The contracts “will be on public display starting April 15” (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 4/12). Meanwhile, Dodgers announcer VIN SCULLY yesterday witnessed the renaming of what used to be Elysian Park Avenue near Dodger Stadium to Vin Scully Avenue. A “few hundred fans” attended the ceremony (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 4/11).

TAILOR MADE
: For a quarter century, AMAN LI has “served as emergency tailor” to the MLB Rangers. At any time, the owner of Lee’s Tailor Couture in Arlington “can be called upon to repair rips in a uniform, patch up a glove or personalize a jersey.” Rangers clubhouse manager BRANDON BOYD said, “We visit him every day, sometimes multiple times, every day we’re at home.” The Rangers “buy about 500 ready-to-use jerseys a year from Majestic Athletic.” Li “gets the ‘emergency’ business that trickles down, such as when a player is traded to the Rangers or called up from the minors.” He can “sew a new player’s name and number on a jersey in about an hour” (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 4/12).

NAMES
: Michigan State AD MARK HOLLIS last night hosted the school's annual Spartan Academic Excellence Gala at the Breslin Center. Baseball HOFer JOHN SMOLTZ "was the keynote speaker" (DETROIT NEWS, 4/12)....Former CONCACAF interim President ALFREDO HAWIT yesterday pleaded guilty "to racketeering conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy and conspiracy to obstruct justice." Appearing in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District, Hawit "admitted to having asked for and accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from soccer marketing executives." He "agreed to pay $950,000" to the U.S. (N.Y. TIMES, 4/12)....Cowboys Owner JERRY JONES on Saturday was "sitting ringside" for MANNY PACQUIAO-TIMOTHY BRADLEY in Las Vegas (DALLASNEWS.com 4/11)....Actor LEONARDO DICAPRIO was spotted at Sabres-Islanders on Saturday with fellow actors KEVIN CONNOLLY and LUKAS HAAS (N.Y. POST, 4/12)....The "plaid blazers, boldly colored dresses and printed scarves donned by hoops reporters all over the country" last week to honor TNT's CRAIG SAGER were the "result of an idea hatched by" Lakers sideline reporter MIKE TRUDELL. Trudell "sent out an email to reporters all over the league asking them to participate in his #SidelineForSager initiative (ESPNW.com, 4/8)....Comcast "only had a so-so year" in '15, "especially as federal officials forced it to withdraw its bid for Time Warner Cable." But Comcast Chair & CEO BRIAN ROBERTS and other top execs "shouldn’t have any complaints." A filing to the SEC showed that Roberts’ compensation rose 10% to $36.2M. NBCU CEO STEVE BURKE’s compensation declined 0.7% to $33.7M (DEADLINE.com, 4/8)....Saints and Pelicans Owner TOM BENSON's mental competency case will "remain closed to the public after the Louisiana Supreme Court denied an effort by his estranged family to partially unseal some records." The court "refused the request Friday without a hearing and with no majority opinion" (NOLA.com, 4/9).

IN MEMORY
: Longtime Saints color analyst HOKIE GAJAN yesterday died at the age of 56. Both Gajan and late former NFLer WILL SMITH “were the two members elected for enshrinement” into the Saints HOF last month. Gajan joined WWL Radio as a color analyst in ’00 and “brought his down-home Louisiana style to the broadcasts” (ESPN.com, 4/11).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

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