Tipoff in Minneapolis
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At the office grand opening and formal planning “tipoff” last month for the Minneapolis Local Organizing Committee for the 2019 Final Four: JoAn Scott, NCAA managing director of men’s basketball championships; Lindsay Whalen, Olympic gold medalist and Minnesota Lynx point guard; and Kate Mortenson, organizing committee president and CEO.
Photo by: ERIC MILLER
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Nets Pride
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The Brooklyn Nets hosted their first Pride Night, celebrating LGBTQ diversity and inclusion, last month. After a pregame panel discussion, Jason Collins (center), the first openly gay athlete in any of the four major North American sports leagues, was honored at center court by Brook Lopez (left) and Nets GM Sean Marks with the Courage and Leadership Award, renamed the Jason Collins Courage and Leadership Award, to be given to a leader in the community annually at Nets Pride Night.
Photo: COURTESY OF BROOKLYN NETS
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Big givers
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Marc Pollick, founder and president of The Giving Back Fund, and poker player Jamie Gold, a member of the fund’s board, attend the organization’s annual Big Game Big Give event Feb. 4 at the estate of Lisa and Michael Holthouse in Houston.
Photo by: JILLPHOTOGRAPHY.COM |
Career conference
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Sports Management Worldwide had its Basketball Career Conference at the NBA D-League Showcase in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada last month. SMWW founder and President Lynn Lashbrook (center) is with conference speakers Masai Ujiri (left), Toronto Raptors general manager, and D-League President Malcolm Turner.
Photo: COURTESY OF SPORTS MANAGEMENT WORLDWIDE
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Oregon wins NSF Case Cup Competition
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Oregon (below) beat South Florida in the final of the NSF Case Cup Competition at the National Sports Forum this month in Minneapolis. Oregon’s faculty adviser is Craig Leon, and South Florida’s is Michelle Harrolle. Also competing were Ohio, Temple, South Carolina, Nebraska, George Washington and Long Beach State.
Photos by: CHRISTY SEAVER
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Walter Payton Man of the Year Luncheon
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Connie Payton, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Brittney Payton, the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year finalists — Eli Manning, Larry Fitzgerald and Greg Olsen — Nationwide CMO Terrance Williams and Jarrett Payton gather for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Luncheon during Super Bowl weekend in Houston. Manning and Fitzgerald were named co-winners of the award presented by Nationwide during NFL Honors on Feb. 4.
Photo by: GARY BOGDON
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Winner!
S&E Sponsorship Group’s Brian Cooper won SportsBusiness Daily’s annual Super Bowl Pick ’Em, correctly predicting the Patriots’ 34-point total, Tom Brady as MVP and Kia as the Ad Meter winner and pegging the Falcons’ score at 21. He edged the LPGA’s Dave Lafrennie, whose first three predictions were the same but who had the Falcons at 20 points.
Please submit photos for review of industry conferences, parties, product launches and openings showcasing the people and personalities at the event. Include the event date, location, names/titles of those featured along with credit information. The photo specifications are as follows: 300dpi, tiff, jpeg or eps color images. Submit digital photos for review at: photo@sportsbusinessjournal.com or send color prints to: Faces & Places, c/o Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Journal, 120 W. Morehead St., Suite 310, Charlotte, NC 28202.
