AP national golf writer DOUG FERGUSON "lost the ring" that was given to him when he received the PGA of America's Lifetime Achievement Award last April while "at the beach with his family." However, PAM and JAMES BRUBAKER were walking on Atlantic Beach in N.C. on Monday when they "noticed what they thought was a gold bottle cap." Pam "picked it up and it was Ferguson’s ring -- which had his name inscribed on it." Brubaker then "found Ferguson on Facebook and sent a photo of the ring with a message, 'I think I found a ring that belongs to you'" (AP, 7/31).
SPEAKING OUT: U.S. figure skater ASHLEY WAGNER in a special to USA TODAY writes she was "sexually assaulted" by late U.S. pair skater JOHN COUGHLIN in June '08 just after she had turned 17. Wagner: "I want to make this sport safer for those kids. I went to U.S. Figure Skating and proposed changes to athlete education and wellness designed to keep these young skaters as safe as possible." Wagner added, "People need to start talking about how to create boundaries" (USA TODAY, 8/1).
TALKING POLITICS: CHARLES BARKLEY "attended the two Democratic presidential debates" this week in Detroit. He said that he "just wanted to come one time" to a debate among presidential candidates (WASHINGTON POST, 8/1)....U.S. Sen. KAMALA HARRIS (D-Calif.), a Giants fan, wore a "cap with the logo" of the Dodgers at her walk-through before last night's debate (S.F. CHRONICLE, 8/1)....UFC fighter COLBY COVINGTON said that DONALD TRUMP JR. “will be in attendance” for his fight against ROBBIE LAWLER on Saturday night in Newark (MMAJUNKIE.com, 7/31).
NAMES: Former NFLer MERRILL HOGE in a lawsuit alleges that Roundup “caused him to develop non-Hodgkin's lymphoma,” a complaint that “could lead to a multimillion-dollar judgment against the weed killer’s manufacturer, Monsanto.” Hoge appears to be the “most notable name out of the thousands of lawsuits filed against Monsanto since the active ingredient in Roundup, glyphosate, was labeled as a probable human carcinogen by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer” in ’15 (USA TODAY, 8/1)....Former NFLer CLAY MATTHEWS JR. will be inducted into the Browns Ring of Honor during halftime of the team’s Sept. 22 game against the Rams (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 7/31)....California-based Loma Brewing Co., operated by former MLBer KEVIN YOUKILIS, has created an IPA called “Bow to Bochy,” which is “named in honor” of Giants manager BRUCE BOCHY (San Jose MERCURY NEWS, 7/31).
