In Las Vegas, Matt Youmans profiles UFC President DANA WHITE ahead of Saturday's UFC 100 event. White is "worth more than" $200M, and a day in his life is "charged with the adrenaline rush of a drag race." White is "going full speed for about 20 hours," and if he is "not working or playing cards, his brain is spinning over work ideas and what more he can do to help his surging mixed martial arts business win more fans all over the globe" ( LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 7/7 ). Also in Las Vegas, Adam Hill notes White and UFC Chair & CEO LORENZO FERTITTA are "downright inseparable." White said that even though UFC co-Owner FRANK FERTITTA does not have an office at UFC's Las Vegas HQs, he is "very much a part of the company." White: "It's very rare in business that you could have three guys making decisions and have no ego problems" ( LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 7/7 ). White: "When mixed martial arts is played all over the world by the same rules, then it's a sport. That's my goal. When I've accomplished that, maybe that's the end for me" ( LAS VEGAS SUN, 7/7 ). TRIPPED UP : Winnipeg-based Roadtrips Inc. has filed a statement of defense to deny VANOC's claims that the company is "breaking the law by offering" tickets to the '10 Vancouver Games as part of a travel package. Roadtrips also has filed a counterclaim against Jet Set Sports, the official ticket package provider for VANOC, and ticket management company Tickets.com, alleging that the companies are "conspiring against Roadtrips to keep it out of the lucrative Olympic ticket resale market and breaking the law themselves." The CP's Stephanie Levitz noted reselling tickets "isn't illegal" in British Columbia, but VANOC argues that ticket sales "outside official partnership agreements are a violation of those agreements." VANOC said that it "will invalidate any tickets sold by unofficial sources" ( CP, 7/2 ). TO THE VICTOR GOES THE SPOILS : Wimbledon women's champion SERENA WILLIAMS appeared on CBS' "Late Show" last night where CBS' David Letterman congratulated her on winning Wimbledon and said, "This tennis thing is really working out, isn't it?" Williams: "It really is. I'm glad I don't have to go out and get another job." Letterman brought up the issue of grunting on the court, and Williams said she watched MONICA SELES growing up and "that's kind of who I modeled my grunt after.” Williams: “You have to have role models when it comes to grunting." At the end of the interview, Williams and Letterman hit tennis balls into the studio audience. Letterman had several tennis racquets behind his desk and tried to give her a non-Wilson racquet. Williams requested a Wilson racquet, the racquet she uses in tournaments. After being handed a Wilson racquet, she said, "Yeah, this one's cuter" ( "Late Show," CBS, 7/6 ). POWER POLL : Univ. of Florida (UF) AD JEREMY FOLEY "easily tops" the ORLANDO SENTINEL's list of "The Most Powerful People in College Sports" in Florida. The UF athletic program "has been a model for schools across the country" since Foley became AD in '92, and for the '07-08 year the school "ranked No. 3 in the country in revenue generated from all athletic teams" with $106M. Foley "brought a businessman's approach to his job at a time when college athletics needed to be run like a business." Others making the list include FS Florida and Sun Sports Senior VP & GM Steve Liverani (No. 4), Orange Bowl Committee CEO Eric Poms (No. 10), Florida State Univ. AD Randy Spetman (No. 11), Florida Citrus Sports CEO Steve Hogan (No. 14), Univ. of Central Florida (UCF) AD Keith Tribble (No. 17), UCF Institute for Diversity & Ethics in Sport Dir Richard Lapchick (No. 19) and ESPN's DICK VITALE (No. 20) ( ORLANDO SENTINEL, 7/7 ). NAMES : The Pro Football HOF on August 8 will honor late Chiefs Owner LAMAR HUNT with a ribbon-cutting ceremony to open the new Lamar Hunt Super Bowl gallery at the HOF in Canton, Ohio ( K.C. STAR, 7/7 )....Golfers TIGER WOODS , MIKE WEIR and CAMILO VILLEGAS will join NOTAH BEGAY III at Turning Stone Resort's Atunyote Golf Club course on August 24 to compete "in a skins game to benefit Native American children." All proceeds benefit the Notah Begay III Foundation, which "seeks to reduce diabetes and obesity among Native American youth" ( AP, 7/6 )....Pro Football HOFer JOE MONTANA has "tentatively been awarded" $47M in state bonds to "kick-start a $300[M], mixed-use development that would be built on 12 acres next to the South Hayward BART Station" near Oakland ( S.F. CHRONICLE, 7/6 ).
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| Williams Helps Letterman Hit Tennis Balls Into Audience During Visit To "Late Show" |
