Courtesy of College Football Playoff Moderator Patti Phillips, CEO of Women Leaders in Sports, and panelists Laila Brock, SVP, Atlanta Dream; Rich Clark, executive director, College Football Playoff; Amanda Gifford, VP of production, ESPN; and Carla Williams, athletic director, University of Virginia, participated in a discussion at the Celebrating Female Playmakers reception in partnership with the College Football Playoff and Women Leaders in Sports on Jan. 18 at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.
Sarah Baum / Annika Foundation Annika Sorenstam (back row, center) poses with PGA Show attendees at the Lohla Sport booth on Jan. 22 in Orlando. Sorenstam is the global ambassador for the golf-lifestyle women’s apparel brand.
Kat Goduco Photo Crew Jerry Shaffer, U.S. Marine Corps veteran and chairman of the Red Star Foundation; Atlanta Hawks legend and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins; and U.S. Army Retired Gen. Paul E. Funk II attended the Atlanta Hawks’ ninth annual Crowning Courage event, in partnership with Crown Royal, honoring the service of active duty and retired military personnel during the team’s game on Jan. 23 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
Andrew Giangola Ahead of PBR’s sold-out debut Jan. 24-25 at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, former Steeler and Arizona Ridge Riders honorary coach Brett Keisel; star riders Keyshawn Whitehorse and Nick Tetz; head coach Colby Yates; and GM Casey Lane posed for a photo with Keisel’s horse, James, who is named for Keisel’s former teammate and best friend, James Harrison.
Bull Stock Media PBR and PPG Paints Arena celebrated the weekend in Pittsburgh with a Penguins jersey and PBR belt buckle swap. From left: Oak View Group’s Michael Stuever, VP of operations, and Kevin Grove, VP of programming; Sean Gleason, PBR CEO/commissioner; and Kevin Acklin, Pittsburgh Penguins president of business operations.
Angel City FC Angel City FC player Ali Riley, team co-founder and president Julie Uhrman, majority owner Willow Bay and player Christen Press participated in the Jan. 21 ribbon cutting for the team’s new training center at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, Calif.
Omaha Productions The Paley Center on Jan. 23 played host to the premiere of “The Buddy Way,” a feature-length documentary from Omaha Productions on the life and career of football coach Eugene “Buddy” Teevens III. Among those in attendance were Eli Manning; New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft; NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell; and Peyton Manning, an executive producer on the film.
Courtesy of Mike Soltys ESPN veterans Rosa Gatti, who retired in 2013 as SVP, communications counsel and corporate outreach; founder and former President/CEO Bill Rasmussen and Mike Soltys, former VP, communications, gathered for an impromptu reunion at Rasmussen’s Florida home in January while shooting a documentary on the ESPN launch.
Courtesy of Ben Sutton Ben Sutton, founder, chairman and CEO of Teall Sports & Entertainment and Kimberly Schlapman, singer in the group Little Big Town and big Buckeye fan, enjoyed the CFP National Championship game.
Michael Jones and Jordyn Flood / Black Flight The Charlotte Hornets ERG group, Black Flight, and Black Sports Professionals of Charlotte organized a MLK Day Celebration on Jan. 20 at Spectrum Center. From left: Dr. Karla Jones of Queens University; Ayaana Glenn of the Charlotte Hornets; Alystia Moore of Scripps Sports; Tracey Allsbrook of Lowe’s and BSP Charlotte chapter president; Rashii Givens of the Charlotte Hornets, Amber Hutson of Togethxr; and Keira Durrette of Young9 Foundation.
At the FanDuel Partner Summit in Ponte Vedra Beach on Jan. 27, Scott Warfield, PGA Tour VP of gaming; Keith Wachtel, president, NHL business; Kenny Gersh, MLB EVP, media and business development; Scott Kaufman-Ross, NBA EVP of media and gaming, recreated the photo shoot featured in SBJ in September 2021.
