In Salt Lake City, Kyle Goon notes Jazz G RICKY RUBIO's mother, TONA VIVES, died last year from lung cancer, and he honors her by "continuing his fight to fund cancer research." Rubio, in his first season with the Jazz, has "made a strong impression with his robust charity efforts in state borders and beyond." He has "volunteered his time at events to speak at cancer charity events, bought tickets for families afflicted with the disease and given a lot of money to fund research." The "latest donation came in the form of an oversize check to the 5 For the Fight Foundation, which is a nonprofit partner of the Jazz." Rubio last Friday "handed over $20,000 for lung cancer research, and the donation was matched by Layton Construction for 40,000 cancer-fighting dollars given in a single day" (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 12/26).
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| Gorodetsky has been known to bet upwards of $100,000 on various sports contests |
YOU BET YOUR LIFE: USA TODAY's Josh Peter profiles ROBERT GORODETSKY, who has "emerged as one of the most compelling and controversial, albeit largely unknown, figures in sports." Known to "bet upwards of $100,000 on games," Gorodetsky has won and lost "millions of dollars in what he calls 'BigRobStyle.'" His bets have also attracted "attention from the likes of RJ BELL, a longtime gambling analyst in Las Vegas." Now with "momentum building to legalize sports gambling outside of Nevada, Gorodetsky and his inner circle think he could emerge as America’s leading sports bettor and sell his advice to gamblers across the country" (USA TODAY, 12/26).
ALL IN THE FAMILY: JERRY JONES' family "celebrated an epic football victory Friday night at AT&T Stadium" as the Cowboys Owner's grandson, JOHN STEPHEN JONES, led Highland Park High School to its second consecutive state football championship. Jones "threw for a Texas-state championship record 564 yards and four touchdowns in a 53-49 comeback win." He is the son of Cowboys Exec VP, COO & Dir of Player Personnel STEPHEN JONES (DALLASCOWBOYS.com, 12/22).
ON THE NIGHTSTAND: Filmmaker FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA as part of the N.Y. TIMES' "By The Book" section touted author STEFAN FATSIS' "Wild And Outside: How A Renegade Minor League Revived The Spirit Of Baseball In America's Heartland." Coppola credited the book with explaining the "workings of the minor leagues in baseball" (N.Y. TIMES, 12/24).
NAMES: D-backs draftee PAVIN SMITH yesterday used part of his $5M signing bonus and “paid off his family’s mortgage” as a Christmas gift to his parents. Smith “tweeted a video of his mother and father crying” as his mother read a letter announcing the good deed (AZCENTRAL.com, 12/25)....PRESIDENT TRUMP spent some of Saturday “golfing with friends” and golfers JIM HERMAN, DANIEL BERGER, JUSTIN THOMAS and his father at Trump Int’l Golf Club (CBSNEWS.com, 12/24)....JORDAN SPIETH apparently proposed to his longtime girlfriend ANNIE VERRET on Sunday. The two "have been dating since high school" (GOLFWEEK.com, 12/25).
