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People and Pop Culture

Names In The News

Smoltz said that he would not mind being mic'ed up for the U.S. Senior OpenGETTY IMAGES

Baseball HOFer JOHN SMOLTZ, who qualified for the U.S. Senior Open, said that it has been a "mixed blessing to be busy with MLB Network and Fox work this month." Smoltz was "scheduled to call the Dodgers-Mets game at Citi Field on Saturday night, fly home to Atlanta" yesterday, then "head to Colorado" today for the golf tournament, which starts this week.. Work has "kept him from focusing on golf to the point of distraction." Smoltz said that he would "not mind being mic'ed up" for the U.S. Senior Open by his Fox colleagues, but he "wants to be careful." Smoltz: "For people who are really good amateur golfers wondering what it would be like, I hope to bring that experience to them. I'm not doing it to be corny or broadcaster-ish or anything of that nature. I have the ultimate respect for guys who have done it their entire career" (NEWSDAY.com, 6/23).

HARDWOOD HEART: Rockets G JAMES HARDEN returned to his former middle school in L.A. yesterday for the Adidas Basketball "Imma Be A Star" Block Party. Harden and Adidas Global GM/Basketball KRIS AMAN unveiled 12 new outdoor basketball courts for Audubon Middle School and announced that they will update the indoor basketball gymnasium (THE DAILY)....Warriors C JAVALE MCGEE "hosted the fourth annual Juglife Foundation Water For Life charity softball game" at the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum on Saturday. The event "benefits McGee's Juglife Foundation, which encourages people to drink more water" (SFCHRONICLE.com, 6/24)....Nike and the Trail Blazers have "joined forces with the city of Portland to resurface dozens of basketball courts at city public parks." Nike will "donate $750,000 and the Blazers $300,000 to spruce up nearly 100 basketball courts city wide" (OREGONLIVE.com, 6/22).

SPOTTED IN THE STANDS: Rams players got an "all-access tour of Dodger Stadium" before Saturday's game against the Giants on the 15th, then "took in  the action from the Dodgers' suite" as a guest of Dodgers investor PETER GUBER. The idea behind the gesture was the "power of networking." Then last Tuesday, former Adidas Dir of Brand Marketing for Football & Baseball JEREMY DARLOW spoke at the Rams' facility to rookies about the "importance and power of what they say and how they come off publicly" (SI.com, 6/25)....Singer MARC ANTHONY “visited Tropicana Field on Friday to see his beloved Yankees play the Rays.” Anthony “spent nearly an hour on the field before the game.” He "owns Magnus Talent Agency" along with CEO MICHEL VEGA, and they represent Rays SS ADEINY HECHAVARRIA, Yankees P AROLDIS CHAPMAN and C GARY SANCHEZ (TAMPABAY.com, 6/22)....TOM BRADY and his wife, GISELE BUNDCHEN, “attended U2’s concert at TD Garden” in Boston Thursday night (BOSTONGLOBE.com, 6/22).

NAMES: Former NFLer SHAWN SPRINGS is the Founder & CEO of Windpact, an "early-stage company based in Leesburg, Va." Springs wants to "crack the market serving athletes, soldiers, recreational facilities and workplaces where people are at risk from blows to the head and body." Springs said, "If you think of an impact, we want to solve for it." The company has "15 products in the pipeline" and is tacking toward $1M in "revenue this year" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 6/22)....Former Kansas AD SHEAHON ZENGER has a "new short-term gig, agreeing to coach linebackers" for the Lawrence Free State High School football team this season (KANSASCITY.com, 6/22)....UC-Riverside AD and longtime basketball coach STAN MORRISON was inducted into the California Sports HOF alongside Pro Football HOFer TIM BROWN, Baseball HOFer TONY LA RUSSA, former NFLer CLIFF BRANCH and former NBAer MICHAEL COOPER (DAILYNEWS.com, 6/23)....Monumental Sports & Entertainment was named an ’18 Top Workplace by the Washington Post (MS&E)....Boston Mayor MARTY WALSH “welcomed” MLL Commissioner SANDY BROWN and Ohio Machine F DAVEY EMALA to City Hall, where they “officially amped-up the anticipation for next week’s All-Star Game at Harvard Stadium” (BOSTONHERALD.com, 6/24).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

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