U.S. figure skaters MAIA and ALEX SHIBUTANI will "use video conferencing to mentor students from Jinbu Middle School" in PyeongChang leading up to next February's Games. The Shibutanis beginning in September will "host a series of monthly mentorship sessions with the students via video chat." The pair in February is "expected to meet the class when they travel to South Korea" for the Olympics. The program was announced today by the USOC "in partnership with the PyeongChang Organizing Committee" (USA TODAY, 8/21).
PIECE OF HISTORY: The wreckage of the USS Indianapolis has been "located more than 70 years after it was sunk by Japanese torpedoes" during WWII. Seahawks Owner PAUL ALLEN announced Saturday that the "research team from his company, Vulcan, searched 600 square miles of ocean using information discovered by a Navy historian who found records of the last recorded sighting of the Indianapolis." Allen's research team "found the wreckage 18,000 feet underwater in the North Pacific Ocean" (ABCNEWS.com, 8/19)....Items related to COLIN KAEPERNICK’s protest during the national anthem and his other "efforts to call attention to racial inequality and police brutality will be displayed as part of a Black Lives Matter collection" at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History museum (USA TODAY, 8/21).
BRITISH INVASION: CNBC’s Joe Kernen wondered what Jets Owner WOODY JOHNSON's appointment as U.K. Ambassador "means for the box at the Meadowlands.” Kernen: “What does it mean for the Jets? Good or bad?” CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin noted, “Anything could be better at this point.” Kernen said he likes Johnson, but notes the owner "isn’t necessarily someone that can dictate the fortunes” of a franchise. CNBC’s Michelle Caruso-Cabrera said owners in fact can influence their team, including “how much they want to spend.” Sorkin: “Look at the owner of the Knicks” (“Squawk Box,” CNBC, 8/21).
THE GOOD STUFF: Rockets G JAMES HARDEN visited his JH-Town Weekend basketball tournament at Rice Univ.'s Tudor Fieldhouse. The event was "kicked off" when Harden and his mother MONJA WILLIS "donated backpacks and school supplies to 150 children from the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Houston." On Saturday, former and current NBAers played charity a game in front of an "electric crowd" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 8/20)....Cowboys QB DAK PRESCOTT and Pro Football HOFer CHARLES HALEY teamed up for a “back to school fundraiser” yesterday at a Topgolf facility in Colony, Tx. Prescott and Haley “combined their two charities to team up to support ‘Huddle Up for Life and Tackle Tomorrow.’” The event “brought out several former Cowboys” (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 8/21).
NAMES: Former Padres GM JACK MCKEON was inducted into the Padres HOF in an on-field ceremony before Saturday's game at Petco Park. He is the 14th member of the Padres HOF (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 8/20)....Former NBAer JAMAAL TINSLEY has “filed a lawsuit accusing his former agent and attorney, financial managers and housekeeper of taking more money than they were due” (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 8/19)....Former MLBer DAVID ORTIZ will be the “special guest at the annual Saratoga Wine and Food Festival held at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center” on Sept. 8. Ortiz “launched a new line of cigars and wines earlier this year” (AP, 8/20)....Artist J. PATRICK WALSH has “created another version of his SERENA WILLIAMS hologram, ‘Serena Hologram xl, 2017,’” for a show called “Figure Ascending a Return.” A pro shop at the show will sell "custom-designed tennis gear, featuring Williams” (N.Y. TIMES, 8/20)....Pro Football HOFer MICHAEL STRAHAN is profiled by the N.Y. TIMES as part of the paper’s “Sunday Routine” feature (N.Y. TIMES, 8/20)....Penguins D BRIAN DUMOULIN brought the Stanley Cup to his alma mater, Boston College, on Friday and also “dined with it on the rooftop of Legal Harborside to celebrate with friends and family.” Last year, Dumoulin “brought it to his hometown of Biddeford, Maine” (BOSTON GLOBE, 8/21).
