Sarah Robb O'Hagan is one of 8 nominees nominees for the '18 WISE Women of the Year AwardGETTY IMAGES
Women in Sports & Events announced its nominees for the '18 WISE Women of the Year Award, which will be presented to three women at an award luncheon June 13 in N.Y. The nominees are FS West/Prime Ticket Senior VP & GM LINDSAY AMSTUTZ; Under Armour Chief HR Officer KERRY CHANDLER; Paciolan President & COO KIM DAMRON; Visa Head of Global Sponsorship Marketing KATE JOHNSON; MLS Chief Administrator & Social Responsibility Officer JOANN NEALE; Flywheel Sports CEO SARAH ROBB O'HAGAN; AmericanAirlines Arena Exec VP & GM KIM STONE; and WWE Chief Revenue & Marketing Officer MICHELLE WILSON (WISE).
TALES OF THE FLAME: The IOC announced a group of Olympic athletes will be attending the Pyeongchang Games as "Olympic artists in residence." The four artists include Greek-American distance runner ALEXI PAPPAS, British javelin thrower ROALD BRADSTOCK, Swiss fencer JEAN-BLAISE EVEQUOZ and U.S. biathlete LANNY BARNES (NYTIMES.com, 2/5)....USA Today profiles the Lindsey Vonn Foundation, which "supports girls and young women through scholarships, camps and speaker series." To see its influence, "look no further than American teammate" JACKIE WILES. When Wiles was "struggling to pay for her training and travel two years ago, Vonn and her foundation pitched in to help." Since then, Wiles has "made her first two World Cup podiums" (USA TODAY, 2/6).
NAMES: KOBE BRYANT yesterday attended the Oscar nominees luncheon after his contributions to the animated short “DEAR BASKETBALL” helped it draw a nomination. Bryant “wore a beaming grin through the event” and posed for photos "with his many fans in the room” (AP, 2/6). Meanwhile, Bryant “will reportedly guest star” on ABC’s “HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER” this season (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 2/6)....Pistons F BLAKE GRIFFIN is making his “movie debut” on Friday in IFC Films' “THE FEMALE BRAIN,” which will be released via video-on-demand (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 2/6)....Director EZRA EDELMAN has “signed on to direct Legendary’s biopic” on late Baseball HOFer ROBERTO CLEMENTE. Edelman won an Oscar for "O.J.: MADE IN AMERICA" (VARIETY.com, 2/5).
IN MEMORY: Former NHLer ART DORRINGTON, the first African-American to sign an NHL contract, died at the age of 87 in late December. Dorrington was “hailed by some as the JACKIE ROBINSON of hockey for his trailblazing role in integrating the sport” in the U.S. (GLOBE & MAIL, 2/6).
