Louisville AD VINCE TYRA said that his department will have to "decide later whether to accept more financial support" from Papa John's Founder JOHN SCHNATTER. Schnatter last week said that he had "spoken with Tyra about donating toward Louisville's baseball program." Tyra confirmed that he had those discussions but said that he "wasn't sure of Schnatter's interest at this point." He added that the goal is to "take down" all Papa John's signage from the football stadium "before the first home game Sept. 8" (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 7/17).
Bernanke, who served two terms as Chair of the Federal Reserve, is a regular at Nationals ParkGETTY IMAGES
WHY CAN'T WE BE FRIENDS? Tonight's MLB All-Star Game in DC highlights the role baseball and the Nationals "play in bridging the increasingly stark divides in Washington." Regulars at Nationals Park include former U.S. Rep. TOM DAVIS, former Federal Reserve Chair BEN BERNANKE, former White House Chief of Staff JOSH BOLTEN and former U.S. Sen. BOB DOLE, who "doesn't make many public appearances these days, but showed up at Nationals Park on the Fourth of July to greet the military." The late conservative columnist CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER was a Nationals "season-ticket holder," while former National Security Adviser SUSAN RICE is "a fan." On many nights, members of Congress from both parties "hold political fundraisers" in one of the ballpark's skyboxes (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 7/17).
HEADS UP FOOTBALL: The NFL announced the three winners of its HeadHealthTECH Challenge, part of the league’s broader $60M effort to “better understand the biomechanics of head injuries and help companies develop better equipment.” The winning companies were “chosen out of 85 applicants and awarded a total of $385,504 to further test and develop their various products.” Massachusetts-based Corsair Innovations received $168,504 to “develop its textile-based impact energy absorbing material” that could “replace the foam padding in current helmets.” Montreal-based FieldTurf received $195,000 to “develop technology for a new surface that could reduce head impacts and lower extremity injuries.” Mississippi-based Yobel Technologies received $20,000 to “support testing of its new facemask design, which is supposed to absorb more energy and can fit on existing helmets” (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/15)
NAMES: Charlotte-based nonprofit Foundation for the Carolinas said that it has been given $30M from former NFL Panthers limited partner DERICK SPRINGSTEEN CLOSE "donating some of his proceeds from the recent sale of the team" to DAVID TEPPER (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 7/17)....Patriots Owner ROBERT KRAFT went to "pay his respects" to the Weymouth, Mass., police department after news spread of officer MICHAEL CHESNA's "killing in the line of duty" (BOSTONHERALD.com, 7/16)....Cowboys QB DAK PRESCOTT, WRs MICHAEL GALLUP, DEONTE THOMPSON, LANCE LENOIR JR. and ALLEN HURNS went to Toy Story Land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando last week (Ft. Worth STAR-TELEGRAM, 7/17)....Clippers F SAM DEKKER and ESPN reporter OLIVIA HARLAN were married on Saturday in Door County, Wisc. (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 7/17)....Yankees RF GIANCARLO STANTON attended SI’s Swimsuit Fashion Show in Miami Sunday night, as well as an after-party at Wall nightclub (NYPOST.com, 7/16).
