Sports Illustrated’s $10 Million MysteryThere was plenty of cash to keep the venerable sports magazine alive. Why did its parent company, Arena Group, choose not to?
Did We Jinx Rafa?When we ran tennis great Rafael Nadal on our Fashion Issue cover last fall, he was at the top of his athletic and sartorial games. So what happened?
Jets Fans’ Great ShamePeter King doesn’t think you like Brett Favre, or at least not enough.
ByJoe DeLessio
company town
Anti-Feminist Sues Columbia Over Women’s Studies ProgramRoy Den Hollander, the guy who sued against ladies’ night promotions at nightclubs, is at it again. Plus, no one cared that the New York ‘Times’ raised its cover price, and Lehman sells a key asset.
gossipmonger
Steve Tisch, Billionaire Baller?Newly divorced billionaire and New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch might be dating women on both coasts. Martha Stewart created a special Christmas tree for Sirius Radio’s office, complete with Howard Stern cookie ornaments. Former NYSE head Dick Grasso left CNBC’s Charles Gasparino a creepy “merry Christmas” message on his answering machine, despite the fact that Gasparino’s new book takes Grasso to task for the $190 million kiss-off he took after leaving the Exchange. John Mayer has had a crush on Ricki Lake for two years (Ed. note: WTF?!), and actually got her digits at the wonderfully successful Sunshine Sachs Christmas party. Lance Armstrong picked up the tab for dinner with former flame Sheryl Crow. Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera hung out together at the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year party. Andy Samberg, Amy Poehler, and Seth Meyers had lunch together.
gossipmonger
Diddy, Still Fighting After All These Years
Diddy and a hip-hop marketing man fought over a model at Soho club Upstairs. The publisher of Forbes and the editor of Sports Illustrated really like white truffles. Butter owners Richie Akiva and Scott Sartiano were hit with a $120 million lawsuit by the developer of their new Chelsea club. Terrence Howard will make his Broadway debut in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr. were congratulated at dinner at Primola because Gellar changed her last name to Prinze. At Da Tomasso, Celine Dion ordered fourteen dishes of ravioli with tomatoes and peppers.
company town
‘Times’ Laughs in Morgan Stanley’s Face (Well, Back)MEDIA
• Marcus Brauchli remains top editor at the Journal, but there’s a growing sense of inevitability that Robert Thomson, Sunday Times of London editor and Murdoch “old boy,” will challenge him for the position. (Related question: Does Murdoch have any “boys” who are not “old”?) [NYO]
• The Times’ third-quarter earnings almost doubled analysts’ expectations, giving the paper a chance to gloat about the big hit Morgan Stanley took a week ago by selling its stake in the company. [NYT, DealBook/NYT]
• Rick Reilly, previously the highest-paid writer in the history of Time Inc., will get $2 million a year for five years at ESPN. Who knew wussifying sports would pay so well? [NYP]
company town
Rupert Murdoch Wins the PartyMEDIA
• News Corp. surpassed Time Warner to become the largest media company on the planet, and Murdoch held off a shareholder revolt in order to keep his family tyranny in place. [Hollywood Reporter, USAT]
• ESPN poached marquee columnist Rick Reilly from Sports Illustrated after 22 years with the mag. Dan Patrick, who SI just poached from ESPN, will take Reilly’s place at the back of the book. [NYT, Deadspin]
• Stephen Colbert took his campaign to the Tim Russert show: “This is not a dream, you are not going to wake up from this. I am far realer than Sam Brownback.” [NYT]
gossipmonger
Bill Clinton’s Handshakes Are Still FetishizedMike Bloomberg, Ron Perelman, and David Koch are the three most philanthropic New Yorkers, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy. Bill Clinton gave Cindy Adams a tutorial on shaking hands. An old man yelled at Edie Falco. Peter Fonda says stage actors “have intercourse with the audience every night.” Donald Trump wants to dump Nancy O’Dell as the host of Miss USA. A random model — Amber Valletta — doesn’t care for New York. Josh Hartnett and Maria Sharapova considered doing karaoke on Thursday night. Steve Schwarzman grew up poor.
