A group of Lightning players visited Brew Bus Brewing in Tampa yesterday to "help bring normalcy to a neighborhood that had lived in fear" after a "serial killer murdered four people over two months." With the "suspected killer in custody," the team "hoped to bring a boost to local businesses." Lightning C STEVEN STAMKOS was "signing autographs," while D VICTOR HEDMAN and RW J.T. BROWN "drew a large crowd" nearby. Hedman said, "It’s been a tough almost two months for them. For us as an organization, we want to be the ones that go out to the fans, show our faces, give back to them" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 12/5).
CHARITY STRIPE: The David Ortiz Celebrity Golf Classic was "held over the weekend" in the Dominican Republic and raised $1.2M for the David Ortiz Children’s Fund’s mission. Among the guests were Baseball HOFers BARRY LARKIN and JIM RICE, former MLBer TIM WAKEFIELD, Red Sox DH HANLEY RAMIREZ, Orioles CF ADAM JONES, Rangers 3B ADRIAN BELTRE and Indians DH EDWIN ENCARNACION (BOSTON GLOBE, 12/5)....Cubs 1B ANTHONY RIZZO was "presented with the 'Mayor’s Medal of Charitable Service' on Sunday at his family foundation’s sixth annual 'Walk-off for Cancer' in his hometown" of Parkland, Fla. The Walk-off for Cancer "raised a record-breaking $960,000" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 12/5)....Cowboys QB DAK PRESCOTT was "joined by several of his teammates" in visiting Dallas' Medical City Children's Hospital yesterday (DALLASNEWS.com, 12/4).
NAMES: Crain's Chicago Business named White Sox Marketing Dir BETH GRABOWSKI and ESPN's SARAH SPAIN '17 "40 Under 40" honorees (CHICAGOBUSINESS.com, 12/4)....Middle Tennessee State football coach RICK STOCKSTILL purchased "$10,000 worth of tickets" for MTSU students to attend the Dec. 16 Raycom Media Camellia Bowl in Montgomery. The tickets will be "available on a first come, first served basis" beginning at noon CT tomorrow at the MTSU ticket office. A student ID will be "required for pick up" (Murfreesboro DAILY NEWS JOURNAL, 12/5)....Baseball HOFer REGGIE JACKSON has "joined the cast of the 'Damn Yankees' Benefit Concert Reading" slated for Dec. 11 at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre (DEADLINE.com, 12/4).
