Princess of Wales KATE MIDDLETON “returned to Wimbledon” yesterday along with her husband PRINCE WILLIAM and two of their children to watch the men’s final between tennis players CARLOS ALCARAZ and JANNIK SINNER. The British royals were “joined by” KING FELIPE VI, a “number of former Wimbledon champions and a slew of Hollywood celebrities.” Actors KEIRA KNIGHTLEY, MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY, NICOLE KIDMAN and JOHN LITHGOW were “all seated in the Royal Box, as was London Mayor SADIQ KHAN” (AP, 7/14).
ROUSAUD’s VERSION: Former La Liga club Barcelona Dir EMILI ROUSAUD in his new biography “THE FAITH OF THE ENTREPRENEUR” “cited the ‘embarrassing’ behaviour” of soccer players GERARD PIQUÉ, SERGIO BUSQUETS and JORDI ALBA as a “key factor behind the financial issues which continue to plague the La Liga champions to this day.” Rousaud “claims that ‘Messi’s entourage’ were reluctant to offer any financial support to the club” (SI, 7/13).
IN HONOR OF: Longtime IOC member ANITA DEFRANTZ was inducted into the Team USA HOF as part of an eight women class that includes former U.S. sprinter ALLYSON FELIX, former tennis player SERENA WILLIAMS, beach volleyball player KERRI WALSH JENNINGS, and U.S. gymanst GABBY DOUGLAS. Also inducted Saturday were BODE MILLER, MIKE KRZYZEWSKI, PHIL KNIGHT, STEVE CASH, SUSAN HAGEL, FLO HYMAN and MARLA RUNYAN, along with the 2010 four-man bobsled team and the 2004 women’s wheelchair basketball team (L.A. TIMES, 7/12).
BATTER UP: This year’s MLB Celebrity Softball Game included 26 celebrities who “made their grand entrances” on Saturday night. The NL team was managed by former MLBer JAVY LOPEZ, while the AL team was managed by music producer JERMAINE DUPRI. Both rosters “had professionals and amateurs.” Celebrities that participated in the event included former softball players NATASHA WATLEY and JENNIE FINCH and Baseball HOFer CC SABATHIA. Other celebrities to take the field included QUAVO, J.I.D, WISIN, YOUNG MIKO, PRINCE ROYCE, MYKE TOWERS, RONNIE DEVOE, MICHAEL KELLY, DASCHA POLANCO, STORM REID, DRUSKI, FUNNY MARCO, JAKE STORIALE, MARIA TAYLOR, NICKY CASS, ELLE DUNCAN, HARRY DOUGLAS, and TERRELL OWENS (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 7/13).
NAMES: Cavaliers G DONOVAN MITCHELL has gotten engaged to singer COCO JONES (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 7/12)....Pro Football HOFer RANDY MOSS is now a South Florida chicken restaurant entrepreneur as a partner in the news Crisppi’s Chicken on Biscayne Boulevard, just north of downtown Miami (MIAMI HERALD, 7/11)....Premier League club Liverpool announced that they will “permanently retire” the No. 20 shirt “across all levels at the club after the death of their striker” DIOGO JOTA and his brother, ANDRE SILVA, in a car accident (London TIMES, 7/11)....49ers RB CHRISTIAN MCCAFFREY and his wife OLIVIA CULPO yesterday announced the arrival of their first child, COLETTE ANNALISE MCCAFFREY, sharing the news in a joint post (N.Y. POST, 7/13).
