New Celtics owner BILL CHISHOLM made his first appearance at TD Garden last night since his group agreed to purchase the franchise last month. Chisholm sat courtside alongside team governor WYC GROUSBECK in the “seats often occupied by co-owner STEVE PAGLIUCA very close to the Celtics bench" (MASSLIVE, 4/2).
NAMES: The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum held a grand reopening yesterday with its new Penske gallery, part of a $60.5M, 17-month renovation project. The Penske gallery is “but one of more than a half-dozen history-rich, immersive, educational exhibits that debuted this week at the Museum.” The wholesale renovation saw museum President JOE HALE, along with his staff and other consultants, follow ROGER PENSKE’s “wishes -- as the Museum’s de facto landlord -- to double its public usable space, while being barred from building up or out, so as not to affect any sightlines for race fans in the bleachers” (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 4/2)....San Antonio artist MICHAEL SANCHEZ recently completed a new mural of Spurs C VICTOR WEMBANYAMA on a warehouse wall outside Amols’ Party and Fiesta Store. The work features Wembanyama in a “cosmic nod to his ‘alien’ nickname, wearing a throwback Spurs Fiesta jersey in outer space while snapping a selfie with the Millennium Falcon, his Rookie of the Year trophy and 2024 Olympics silver medal, and the Spurs Coyote in a spacesuit.” Sanchez designed the mural with painting assists by fellow San Antonio artists J.C. GOMEZ-MOLINA and BERNARDO MORENO JR. (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, 4/2).
IN MEMORY: FRED HANDLER, the namesake of Handler Park at McGraw-Jennings Field at St. Bonaventure, passed away Tuesday night at 92. Handler, the father of longtime YES Network PR chief ERIC HANDLER, was considered the father of modern-day Bonnies baseball, taking the program from club sport to varsity status and ultimately a member of the Atlantic 10. Fred Handler also was an assistant coach for the men’s basketball team from 1960-70, as well as a teacher in the department of physical education from 1959-97 (including a dozen years as chair). He was inducted into the St. Bonaventure Athletics HOF in 1992 and is also a member of the New York State Baseball HOF and the St. Joseph’s College (Indiana) HOF (his alma mater, where he played football). Longtime ESPN communications chief CHRIS LAPLACA, a St. Bonaventure alum, called Handler a “legendary figure in the history of St. Bonaventure.” LaPlaca: “Our baseball field is named after him, but that’s just the beginning of his impact on our place. He was a coach, mentor and friend to countless Bonaventure people. We lost a great one” (SBJ).
