Inside Out

When Jay Larkin became the International Fight League COO, he stabilized operations, cut waste, eliminated redundancy and was promoted to CEO. He plays down his impact. “It was just digging out from under startup costs. We stopped revenue from pouring out and waited for the bell to catch our breath. Then we went on the offensive.” Now ticket sales and revenue are up. He’s humble about facing a brain tumor. “It’s hideous, terrifying.” He’s back working, but he has “too much respect for it to feel I’ve licked it.” He takes his lead from former ABC president and ESPN board member Alex Wallau. “He was even more ill than me. He told me he never says he beat it. ‘It’s such a monster that I can never feel comfortable.’” So Larkin goes about his work taking caution and inspiration from Wallau, and he’s begun to dream about returning to Broadway. He and his wife, ballerina Lisa de Ribere, “are show people. We’ll be back on Broadway someday no matter how irrational a business it is.” … Larkin, Seth Abraham and Bob Arum have more in common than a professional interest in fighting. Larkin, who formerly produced boxing for Showtime; Abraham, the founder of Starship SA who was prominent in boxing as the president of HBO Sports and MSG; and Arum, the president of Top Rank, were all born in Brooklyn. But few know that all three were born in the exact same room at New York Jewish Hospital. … Now that Marty Appel was named the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame’s Dick Steinberg “Good Guy,” he said he has to “keep my nose clean until June.” Appel, whose first job in the biz was answering Mickey Mantle’s fan mail, was actually a friend of Steinberg, the late Jets GM. He was nominated for the hall by fellow PR man Doug Drotman and will be inducted with Lenny Krayzelburg, Ron Mix, Bruce Pearl, Sam Rosen and Tony Kornheiser. “But I won’t get inducted and receive the ‘Good Guy’ award until June, so I have to stay out of trouble until then.” … Kornheiser pleads innocent. “I don’t know what I’ve done.” He blames his induction on “Pardon the Interruption” producers Matt Kelliher and Erik Rydholm. “Michael Wilbon and I are not as good without each other. We’re two fat dolts. Together we have something special.” But, he said, the real culprits are the producers. “Matt and Erik are fantastic young guys that keep us enthusiastic and produce a great show. Without them, we’re nothing; with them, we’re on a fabulous show.” … Two other inductees: Jim Warsaw in the Orange County Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and Arn Tellem in the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.

The UJA-Federation of New York’s Sports for Youth Initiative, chaired by WNBA Commissioner Donna Orender and ESPN executive vice president Russell Wolff, will honor Nets CEO Brett Yormark and New York Sports Commissioner Ken Podziba. … Michael Johnston, a Denver high school principal and author of “In the Deep Heart’s Core,” gave the keynote at the benefit for George Boiardi, the Cornell lacrosse player who died on the field in 2004 from a game injury. Boiardi and Johnston were both involved in Teach for America, a program for children in America’s most desperate classrooms. Jeremy Schaap was master of ceremonies. Both Boiardi and Schaap’s father, Dick Schaap, wore No. 21 for the Cornell lacrosse team. … Could you imagine sitting through a 12-hour cricket match after flying to Australia and then delivering 40 hours of standup on sponsorships? It’s no wonder that Dan Migala slept through Sunday upon his return. But he’ll be at it again as he lectures on what he calls the six virtues of sponsorship, applying those principles to philanthropy at the Giving Back Fund’s All-Star Fundraising Conference next week in Los Angeles.

Jim Courier (left) and Jonathan
Kotomori team up for some fun
in Boston.

Jim Courier spotted Jonathan Kotomori as soon as he walked in. “He was the only kid from Tenacity,” a Boston after-school and summer program for at-risk kids, “in work boots rather than tennis shoes. He instantly became my favorite and my partner.” They played pingpong and mini-tennis at Boston University's Agganis Arena, a promo for Courier’s Outback Champions Series, which will feature Pete Sampras and John McEnroe in Boston this spring. Courier and 13-year-old Kotomori, who sings in the Boston Choir, were “trash talking opponents,” said the four-time Grand Slam winner. “He never stopped smiling, and we never stopped having fun.”

The panel at SI Group President Mark Ford’s pre-Super Bowl dinner for 150 top advertisers may have focused on Eli Manning, but he was the only one of the Manning men not on it. Father Archie and brothers Peyton and Cooper fielded questions from moderator Peter King along with Phil Simms, Cris Collinsworth and Lynn Swann. One Pats loyalist got a big hand when she reminded the crowd that there was another team in the big game. … Actress Holly Robinson Peete and husband Rodney Peete, former NFL quarterback and “Best Damn Sports Show Period” co-host, treated the Super Bowl as if it were their private platform to raise money for the HollyRod Foundation. Laila Ali, Danica Patrick, Regina King, Gabrielle Union, James Lesure, Terry Crews and Kurt Warner walked the runway at the Peetes’ Gridiron Glamour celebrity fashion show and brunch attended by Emmitt Smith, Shawn Marion, John Salley, Chad Johnson and others. They also hosted benefit performances by Chris Rock and Chris “Ludacris” Bridges.

John Genzale can be reached at johngenzale@gmail.com.