Boston-based Woolf Associates Inc. was negotiating a deal with entertainer Bill Murray to host a tribute to Arnold Palmer at Boston Symphony Hall to benefit a local scholarship fund. The tribute will be held during the Ryder Cup tournament Sept. 24. Tickets cost $500 and $1,000.
BIG STUFF: Basketball Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson bought an ownership interest in the newly formed Cincinnati Stuff of the International Basketball League. The IBL and the Stuff launch their inaugural season in November. "The Big O," as he was known in his NBA days with the Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks, will also be honorary chairman of the team's community outreach program and chairman of the Stuff advisory board. Robertson joins an ownership group that is headed by Doug Kirchhofer, who also owns the International Hockey League's Cincinnati Cyclones and the home facility for both teams, the Firstar Center.
COACH CORRALLED: Charlotte-based soccer shin-guard maker Parker Athletic signed Bruce Arena, head coach of the U.S. national men's team, as a spokesman. Arena also has been named to the company's board of directors. Parker Athletic is poised for a $2 million marketing campaign next year.
SOUNDING THE BELL: Lindsay Davenport, the reigning U.S. Open women's champion, and Marc J. Shapiro, vice chairman of Chase Manhattan Corp., one of the Open's top sponsors, are scheduled to ring the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange on Aug. 30, the first day of the tournament.
NASTY SAYS NO: Another buyer stepped in after "Nasty" Nestor Aparicio declined an option to buy WNST-AM 1570, the Baltimore radio station he had leased for the last year, meaning the city's only all-sports format will sign off at the end of September. Aparicio will move to a nighttime show on WCBM-AM 680.
SHOOTING FOR PRIME TIME: Boston Bruins goalie Byron Dafoe recently filmed scenes for The Disney Channel show "The Jersey," the Boston Herald reported. The show, about a girl who is transformed into a professional hockey player when she pulls on a magic jersey, will be shown in October or early November.
