Sports Briefs
SPORTS MARKETING
Tiger still No. 1 in endorsements
Tiger Woods has seen his endorsement income drop by $22 million compared to last year, according to SI.com's annual "Fortunate 500'' list of highest-paid American athletes.
But Woods still topped the list for the seventh year in a row with a total of $90 million, an estimated $70 million of which comes from endorsements. Eight athletes who play in the New York area made the list, topped by Alex Rodriguez at No. 5, Derek Jeter at No. 8 and CC Sabathia and Eli Manning ($26.5 million) in a tie for 13th. Five Yankees were among the top 50. Mark Teixeira was 35th at $20.2 million and A.J. Burnett 50th with $16.7 million.
Phil Mickelson ranked second overall to Woods, followed by Floyd Mayweather Jr. and LeBron James. SI estimated Woods' total earnings at $99.7 million on last year's list and $127.9 million two years ago.
Man U most valuable franchise
For all the turmoil and talk of debt, Manchester United is still the most valuable franchise in all of sports. Forbes released its list of the world's most valuable teams Wednesday, with the English Premier League club leading the way at $1.84 billion. The top American franchise, the Dallas Cowboys, was second at $1.65 billion. The Yankees, Washington Redskins, New England Patriots, Real Madrid, the Giants, Arsenal, the Jets and Houston Texans round out the top 10. Amid protests from fans, Manchester United's owners, the Glazer family, have insisted it will not entertain offers for the club, which has around $1 billion of debt.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Gonzalez pleads not guilty
Former Seton Hall basketball coach Bobby Gonzalez pleaded not guilty to shoplifting a satchel at an upscale shopping mall last month. Gonzalez spoke during the five-minute arraignment only to verify his address in Harrison, N.Y. His attorney, Anna Cominsky, entered the plea on his behalf. Neither commented after the proceeding. Gonzalez is accused of taking a satchel worth about $1,400 from the Polo Ralph Lauren store in The Mall at Short Hills, N.J., on June 29. - AP GIRLS LACROSSE
Northport's Fortunato leads Under-15 squad
Northport's Courtney Fortunato scored a game-high five goals to lead her squad to a 12-5 win over Stars Gold (Va.) Tuesday in the final of the Under-15 U.S. Lacrosse national championships held at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Alexis Maffucci of Half Hollow Hills added three goals and an assist, and Emily Columbus (also of Northport) scored twice. Dorrien VanDyke (another Northport Tiger) and Julia DiMaria (Half Hollow Hills) each scored one goal.
