ESPN college football analyst ROD GILMORE said that he "has been diagnosed with blood cancer, but the 'prognosis is good.'" He hinted that he "will be working the opening week of the season." He said that he "has multiple myeloma and it was discovered during an annual physical." He is scheduled to call South Carolina-Vanderbilt on Sept. 1 (AP, 8/15).
LISTEN TO THE MUSIC: NFL.com's Dan Hanzus wrote that he has to "disagree" with ADELE's opinion that the Super Bowl halftime show "is not about the music." The show "can be about the music." The artist "just has to have the chops and vision to pull it off." Hanzus: "Quite frankly, it would be refreshing. The Super Bowl could use a back-to-basic approach after several years of bigger-is-better appeal" (NFL.com, 8/15).
COUNTRY STRONG: Singer BRAD PAISLEY will bring his free concerts to a new group of IMG College partners this fall. The tour will debut with a show on Sept. 4 in Orlando ahead of the Camping World Kickoff Game featuring Ole Miss-Florida State (THE DAILY)....CBS’ SEC football broadcasts this season will feature GARTH BROOKS’ new song “Pure Adrenaline,” which was created for SEC football. The song will feature customized lyrics each week along with elements from an original video shoot featuring Brooks, and will kick off the “SEC Game of the Week” on Saturdays (CBS).
NAMES: The Univ. of Tennessee "declined to release correspondence related to the paid administrative leave" of Dir of Football Operations CHRIS SPOGNARDI, "citing an 'ongoing audit.'" The athletic department "placed Spognardi on paid administrative leave last Tuesday" after a financial audit "found irregularities related to his job" (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 8/16)....MICHAEL JORDAN “plans to open” a 8,500-square-foot eatery in Chicago at Oak Brook 22. It is “expected to seat more than 200 and open between the spring and summer” of ’17. His latest restaurant “will mark yet another dining collaboration with” Chicago-based Cornerstone Restaurant Group CEO DAVID ZADIKOFF (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 8/16).
