Patriots Foundation President JOSH KRAFT is stepping down as Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston CEO after 12 years in the post to "assume a newly created position of president of Kraft Family Philanthropies." Kraft will "manage all of the family's initiatives, including the Kraft Family Foundation, the Kraft Center for Community Health, the Foundation to Combat Anti-Semitism, the Patriots Foundation, and the Revolution Charitable Foundation, as well as assisting with the family's participation in the Reform Alliance" (ESPN.com, 7/19).
GO LOCAL: NWSL Chicago Red Stars D SARAH GORDEN launched a campaign to "raise money for Get Yo Mind Right Chi, a local mental-health initiative that is part of Healthy Hood Chicago." Gorden "committed to donating $5 for every pass she completed in the Red Stars’ final preliminary match of the Challenge Cup" and tagged Red Stars Ds JULIE ERTZ and CASEY SHORT, Red Stars support group Chicago Local 134 and Fire F CJ SAPONG. Gorden’s challenge as of Saturday had "raised $15,707 for Get Yo Mind Right Chi and Healthy Hood." The Red Stars "contributed $6,164, and supporters outside the organization raised $9,543" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 7/20).
NAMES: Industrial designer LEN MARTIN "teamed up" with Rooney Sports & Entertainment Group President TOM ROONEY and Young Preservationists Association of Pittsburgh Exec Dir MATTHEW CRAIG to "create commemorative plaques that will mark home plate, the pitcher’s mound and second base at the former field" at Three Rivers Stadium (Pittsburgh POST-GAZETTE, 7/19)....An hour-long profile "being made by Uninterrupted Canada" featuring members of the Nurse family "has been in production for months and is scheduled to air in the fall on TSN." RICHARD NURSE was a WR in the CFL and his wife, CATHY, was a standout basketball player at McMaster Univ. Their eldest daughter, TAMIKA, played basketball at Oregon and Bowling Green; their son, DARNELL, plays for the Oilers and their youngest, child, KIA, is an All-Star Guard for the WNBA N.Y. Liberty (GLOBE & MAIL, 7/17)....Knicks F TAJ GIBSON and N.Y. Mayor BILL DE BLASIO "shared the stage" in Brooklyn on Saturday "preaching a theme of Black Lives Matter and about stopping gun violence" (N.Y. POST, 7/19)....Former Maple Leafs GM BRIAN BURKE's upcoming book, "Burke's Law: A Life In Hockey," is scheduled for release Oct. 13 (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/19).
IN MEMORY: Former Phillies Special Assistant to the GM BART BRAUN died suddenly on Friday at his home in Vallejo, Calif. He "spent 44 years in baseball" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 7/18).
