Welcome to Monday’s Morning Mashup. For the latest news, start at our WEEI.com home page or click here for the top stories from our news wire.
MONDAY’S BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS:MLB: Home Run Derby, 8 p.m. (ESPN)
AROUND THE WEB:
-- Papa John’s founder John Schnatter is now blaming Roger Goodell for the pizza company’s split with the NFL back in February.
The NFL dumped Papa John’s as a sponsor in favor of Pizza Hut and Schnatter blamed the NFL in a conference call shortly after. Now he is blaming the commissioner himself, saying in a radio interview Friday the company doesn’t want to do business with Goodell.
“We are very glad to get out of the NFL relationship, because we still get to sponsor some players and we still get to sponsor some teams and we still get to be part of the community,” Schnatter said. “But we don’t want to do business with Roger Goodell, period. And I don’t want to do business with Roger Goodell, and we’ve had enough success where we get to pick who we do business with. And Roger Goodell runs the NFL, and we made a decision to get a divorce, and we did.”
In November, Schnatter said on conference call that the NFL ratings decline and player protests during the national anthem were to blame for Papa John’s lower sales projections.
Schnatter stepped down as Papa John’s CEO in December and his friend and business partner Peyton Manning sold his restaurant franchises before the split with the NFL.
-- LeBron James has been a Laker for just two weeks and LaVar Ball already has big plans for a business partnership with Lonzo’s new teammate.
James was seen having dinner with Al Pacino and Leonardo DiCaprio last week and LaVar his eventual involvement in power meetings with James.
"In Hollywood, anything's possible," LaVar says. “He’s successful, I’m successful. We hook up together maybe become something more powerful. But it's all good!"
Of course, he said teaming up with James is not his first priority but he’ll find time for the new Laker at some point.
“I don’t know about that lane right now,” Ball said. He said he is focusing on his empire right now. “Maybe down the line we link up. But who knows?”
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