Nike is naming a new building at its HQ after LEBRON JAMES. The LeBron James Building is the "sixth new building added to the Beaverton, Oregon campus" since an expansion began in '15. It will "house Nike's Advanced Innovation team, including a state-of-the-art Sport Research Lab" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 9/5).
Ralph Lawler (r) received the Curt Gowdy Award after a long career as the voice of the ClippersBASKETBALL HOF
AWARDS & HONORS: Former Clippers TV play-by-play announcer RALPH LAWLER and the N.Y. Times' MARC STEIN on Thursday both received the Curt Gowdy Award at the Family Reunion and Awards Dinner at Naismith Memorial Basketball HOF Enshrinement Weekend. The honor is "awarded to members of the electronic and print media for outstanding contributions to basketball" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 9/5)....SHIRLEY SPORK, one of the 13 founding members of the LPGA, will be inducted into the PGA of America HOF in November. Also entering the HOF are golf course designer KARSTEN SOLHEIM and former PGA of America President DENNIS SPRAGUE (Palm Springs DESERT SUN, 9/5).
BIZARRO WORLD: A new film by GABE POLSKY explores how former Disney Chair & CEO MICHAEL EISNER "tried to create a Soviet version of 'THE MIGHTY DUCKS.'" The film, "RED PENGUINS," chronicles a "bizarre period following the fall of the Soviet Union" when then-Penguins Owner HOWARD BALDWIN bought a Russian hockey club and "launched the Russian Penguins." Disney and Eisner "are part" of the movie's narrative. The film debuted at the Toronto Film Festival on Thursday (HOLLYWOODREPORTER.com, 9/5).
NAMES: Patriots President JONATHAN KRAFT has been named Massachusetts General Hospital BOT Chair. Kraft has "spent 10 years on the 18-member board, and will take over as chair of the trustees on Oct. 1" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 9/4)....The city of Arlington and the Cowboys will "team with volunteers from a variety of charity organizations Saturday for the Mayor's Hometown Huddle for 100." The event is a "day of community service and is part of a nationwide volunteer effort to help celebrate" the NFL's 100th season. The nationwide goal is to "get a million to donate 100 minutes of their time to a local cause in an effort to make 100 million impacts on communities" (Ft. Worth STAR-TELEGRAM, 9/5)....NASCAR driver DANIEL HEMRIC is establishing an endowment scholarship at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College in Concord, N.C. The "Daniel Hemric Be the Change Scholarship" will be awarded annually to a student who has "chosen a field of study in motorsports, welding or mechanical engineering" (NBCSPORTS.com, 9/4).
IN MEMORY: TOM COLLINS, an "exuberant promoter who presented the star-studded Champions on Ice tours for almost 40 years," died on Sunday at his home in Edina, Minn., at age 88. Collins' troupes included professional skaters like MICHELLE KWAN, BRIAN BOITANO, KRISTI YAMAGUCHI, NANCY KERRIGAN and JOHNNY WEIR (N.Y. TIMES, 9/5).
