Levine worked on John McCain's '08 presidential campaignGETTY IMAGES
Yankees President RANDY LEVINE today said there is no validity to a MSNBC report suggesting he could be a candidate to become the next White House Chief of Staff. While Levine has been a supporter of PRESIDENT TRUMP, the longtime baseball exec said he is “very happy being president of the Yankees,” a position he has held since ‘00. Levine said he did not know how his name surfaced in the report, citing his as a “wild card” candidate for the White House job (Eric Fisher, THE DAILY). MSNBC's Craig Melvin earlier reported Levine was being mentioned as a potential candidate to fill the position following JOHN KELLY's departure at the end of the year. Others being linked to the opening are U.S. Rep. MARK MEADOWS (R-N.C.), Treasury Secretary STEVEN MNUCHIN and Trump's '16 Deputy Campaign Manager DAVID BOSSIE ("MSNBC Live," MSNBC, 12/10). Levine "worked on JOHN MCCAIN's 2008 presidential campaign." He also was Deputy N.Y. Mayor under RUDY GIULIANI and "worked in the Department of Justice during the REAGAN Administration" (NYDAILYNEWS.com, 12/10).
COURT REPORT: Former Univ. of Minnesota Ticketing Dir BRENT HOLCK has "admitted in court to enriching himself through a long-running scheme involving football and men's hockey and basketball ticketing orders." Holck "pleaded guilty Friday in federal court in Minneapolis to wire fraud for siphoning money" from April '12 through January '17 (STARTRIBUNE.com, 12/9)....Former NFLer FRANK GARCIA was "arrested Saturday, charged with misdemeanor assault on a female." Garcia co-hosts the afternoon show "Garcia & Bailey" on WFNZ-AM in Charlotte. He is also an "assistant high school football coach with Charlotte Catholic" (CHARLOTTEOBSERVER.com, 12/9).
NAMES: Baseball HOFer DENNIS ECKERSLEY "opens up like never before" in the one-hour documentary, "ECK: A STORY OF SAVING," which premieres on MLB Network on Thursday at 8:00pm ET. The result of the film is an "emotionally packed, highly spirited and refreshingly honest documentary that baseball fans can't afford to miss" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 12/8)....Before the final buzzer of Lakers-Grizzlies on Saturday, LEBRON JAMES was "spotted giving his game shoes to a Grizzlies arena employee." James said that he had "noticed 23-year-old BRIAN'E MILLER wearing his shoes on previous visits to Memphis and decided to surprise her with an extra special pair of LeBrons this time" (USATODAY.com, 12/9)....Former MLBer MIGUEL MONTERO is the CEO of ZT Sports, a "sports management agency he launched with his brother-in-law CARLOS MURCIA." The two have 17 clients, "most from Latin America." Many of the clients are "prospects in the lower minor leagues, players they envision growing along with the agency." The "lone big leaguer" is free agent CF GORKYS HERNANDEZ. Montero "believed there was a better way to treat players, and he felt his on-field experience would lend itself well to the role he thought an agent could play in a player's career" (AZCENTRAL.com, 12/8)....Former NFLer BRIAN WESTBROOK is the "latest big-name athlete to join the ranks of SeventySix Capital's Athlete Venture Group." Westbrook joins former MLBer RYAN HOWARD and former NFLer DEMARCO MURRAY (BIZJOURNALS.com, 12/7).
