Bon Jovi on team looking at Bills buy
Rocker Jon Bon Jovi is part of a Toronto group that has retained a banking firm and submitted paperwork expressing interest in buying the Buffalo Bills, three people who have reviewed documents regarding the sale process told the Associated Press on Friday.
It is unclear if the group would eventually want to move the NFL team to Toronto. The club is on the market after Hall of Fame owner Ralph Wilson died in March.
The group includes Larry Tanenbaum and the Rogers family. Tanenbaum is chairman of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, which controls the NHL’s Maple Leafs and NBA’s Raptors. The Rogers family includes Edward Rogers, who is deputy chairman of Rogers, the Toronto communications giant.
The group is on a list of prospective buyers who have submitted a nondisclosure agreement form to Morgan Stanley, the banking firm overseeing the Bills sale. The Toronto group has retained the Goldman Sachs banking firm to assist in the bid.
Bon Jovi previously expressed interest in owning an NFL franchise but never specifically mentioned the Bills. This is the first real indication linking him to Tanenbaum and Rogers.
Brown, Macy’s settle profiling lawsuit
A black actor who accused Macy’s of racially profiling minorities as shoplifters is settling his civil rights lawsuit, one of several cases that drew attention last year to long-simmering complaints about how big retailers treat minority customers.
Macy’s Inc. and one of “Treme” star Rob Brown’s lawyers said Friday they had reached a settlement, in principle. A federal judge had indicated in a filing Wednesday that an agreement was in the works.
Macy’s and Brown’s attorney Douglas Wigdor wouldn’t discuss the terms. Macy’s said only that it values every customer and remains “committed to ensuring that every individual who steps into our store feels welcome and appreciated.”
Brown appears on “Treme,” an HBO drama series, and has acted in films such as “Coach Carter” and “Finding Forrester.” He said he was falsely accused of credit card fraud at Macy’s flagship store after buying a $1,300 watch for his mother for her college graduation in June 2013.
He was handcuffed, held for almost an hour in a store detention cell and grilled about the watch by men who mocked the idea that he could afford it before he was released without any charges, according to his court complaint.
“I believe that I was profiled,” Brown said last fall.
The birthday bunch
Singer Vikki Carr is 74. Singer-musician Commander Cody is 70. Actor George Dzundza is 69. Rock musician Brian May is 67. Rock musician Bernie Leadon is 67. Actor Campbell Scott is 53. Actor Anthony Edwards is 52. Actor Benedict Cumberbatch is 38.