Lions OT EMMETT CLEARY has "pledged to donate his brain to the Concussion Legacy Foundation" to further CTE research (DETROIT NEWS, 12/28). Cleary said, "It's not a big deal. It's kind of analogous to signing your driver's licence. ... I just feel as a player who’s kind of aware of the ongoing research and has had such good experience playing ball, I almost feel like I owe it to the players and my own teammates I’ve had, and all the former players and all the guys that will play in the future, to I guess do my part" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 12/28).
BREAKING BARRIERS: BLEACHER REPORT's Howard Beck profiled Magic Dir of Player Development & Quality Control BECKY BONNER, who is "tasked with everything from player appearances and facilities upgrades to scouting and player evaluation." Unofficially, she is "training to become" a GM -- "perhaps the first female GM in league history." In the months ahead, she will "be in the Magic's war room." She will be the "lone female voice in that room." Among women working in NBA front offices, Bonner is the one "best positioned to smash the front office glass ceiling." She is a "six-year veteran of the league office who's worked with LEBRON JAMES." Bonner's older brother MATT played 12 seasons in the NBA (BLEACHERREPORT.com, 12/27).
UNCOVERING THE TRUTH: Film director BRYAN FOGEL's documentary, "ICARUS," played a "key role in exposing the vast athletics doping program orchestrated by the Russian government," which recently prompted the IOC to ban Russia from the Pyeongchang Games. Fogel said, "'Icarus' was one (piece) of the evidence that the (IOC) used in making that decision and we're very pleased about that" (DEADLINE.com, 12/25).
WINE & DINE: With two days off before the Cavaliers finish a west coast road trip, coach TYRONN LUE "arranged for his team a tour of Napa Valley, Calif." LeBron James is a "maturing wine connoisseur and his 33rd birthday is Saturday" (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 12/28). Lue does not drink and said that he "won't taste." Lue: "It's not a big deal, they're grown. You go to dinner, they're going to drink wine anyway, so what's the difference? I think taking a team trip, going to bond a little bit" (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 12/28).
NAMES: Miami Herald sports columnist GREG COTE was "named the winner" of the '17 Edwin Pope Orange Bowl Vanguard Media Award and will be honored at the Orange Bowl's coaches luncheon tomorrow. Cote has been "covering the South Florida sports scene" since the '80s (MIAMI HERALD, 12/28)....LAVAR BALL and the rest of the Ball family were named the ’17 SoCalNewsGroup Sports Persons of the Year (INSIDESOCAL.com, 12/22)...."I, TONYA," the film about Olympic skater TONYA HARDING, ranked No. 6 in USA Today’s Best of ’17 movie list. The movie chronicles Harding’s life from “awkward backwoods teen to rebellious Olympic hopeful who wound up tapping into America’s love for celebrity trainwrecks before it was cool” (USA TODAY, 12/28)....Baseball HOFer BARRY LARKIN was “quietly watching” his son, Celtics G SHANE LARKIN, play against the Wizards on Monday at TD Garden (BOSTONGLOBE.com, 12/27)....ESPN’s SARA CARDONA and Falcons TE ERIC SAUBERT made their relationship “Instagram official over the holidays” (NYPOST.com, 12/27)....Actress LAURA DERN is dating former NBAer BARON DAVIS (NYPOST.com, 12/27)....Rapper SNOOP DOGG on Tuesday was sporting a bomber jacket made by the Negro League Museum (INSTAGRAM.com, 12/26).
