ADWEEK's Lisa Lacy profiled Wasserman Exec VP/Brands HEIDI PELLERANO, who growing up "wanted to be an Olympic athlete and the first Puerto Rican woman on the moon." Instead, she "earned a degree in electrical engineering from Duke" and got a job "working for a consulting firm embedded at the Pentagon with the Air Force's B-1 bomber team." But she "realized sports were central to what she wanted to do next." A role "combining analytics with sports wasn't exactly a straightforward transition, so she earned two master's degrees -- one in sport management at UMass Amherst, followed by an MBA at Duke"(ADWEEK.com, 3/14).
In '12, Barkley said that Jordan needed to stop hiring his friends for top jobs with the then-BobcatsGETTY IMAGES
WHY CAN'T WE BE FRIENDS? MICHAEL JORDAN and CHARLES BARKLEY were “once best friends, but they don’t speak anymore.” Barkley: “It’s disappointing and it hurts a lot.” In '12, Barkley on TNT said that Jordan “needed to stop hiring his friends for top jobs” with the then-Bobcats. Barkley: “We don’t have a relationship.” He added, “You can say nine great things about [some famous athletes], but if you say one bad thing about them, they or their agent call you.” More Barkley: "The best guy on television is BARRY MELROSE. I love Barry Melrose. He can say stuff. He reminds me of me without the negativity of the players” (NYPOST.com, 3/14).
NAMES: Ravens QB JOE FLACCO and wife DANA have made a "significant gift" to Univ. of Delaware athletics. The amount was "not disclosed, but was reported as the largest made by a UD football alumnus" (DELAWAREBUSINESSNOW.com, 3/14)....The Univ. of Memphis on Wednesday fired men's basketball coach TUBBY SMITH, but the school will be "paying him for years to come." Memphis will owe Smith nearly $10M as a "result of firing him without cause" (COMMERCIALAPPEAL.com, 3/14)....Padres co-Owner TOM SEIDLER has been named the '18 Person of the Year by Big Brothers Big Sisters of San Diego County. Seidler will "receive his award at the organization's 56th annual gourmet dinner Oct. 18" (SANDIEGOUNIONTRIBUNE.com, 3/14)....NASCAR driver RYAN BLANEY on April 20 will be featured on the NBC show "TAKEN" in an episode titled "Imperium." Blaney "spent two days in December filming" the show in Canada. This was "not Blaney's show business debut." He "did a voiceover" for "CARS 3", and had a "cameo appearance" in "LOGAN LUCKY" last year (USATODAY.com, 3/14)....NICK GILBERT, the son of Cavaliers Owner DAN GILBERT, made it through surgery in February to “treat a brain tumor” and has now “returned home following 38 days in the hospital” (CLEVELAND.com, 3/14)....Critical issues facing women in athletics were the “focus of a symposium” yesterday sponsored by San Jose State’s Institute for the Study of Sport, Society and Social Change. Many SJSU football players “attended the half-day event with an all-star panel” featuring FS Arizona Suns analyst ANN MEYERS DRYSDALE and sexual assault survivor BRENDA TRACY (MERCURYNEWS.com, 3/14)....The NBA Kings announced finalists for their third annual Capitalize contest, which “aims to help local entrepreneurs and innovators build their startup businesses.” The finalists are Cognitive, Highlands Power, HomeZada and ProtXX (SACBEE.com, 3/14).
