THE SCOOP: FRIDAY, JANUARY 17

IMG head Mark McCormack suffers heart attack

By Sandra Harwitt
tennisreporters.net

Mark McCormack, 72, the founder and chairman of IMG, is hospitalized and in critical, but stable condition after suffering from cardiac arrest.

"Some reports have said it was a heart attack, but it was actually cardiac arrest," Linda Dozeretz, a spokesperson for IMG, told tennisreporters.net. "There are some reports that he is in a coma, but we have never said that he is in a coma."

Dozeretz said they were not releasing where the sports agent giant was being treated.

As recently as this past December, the Sporting News identified McCormack as one of the 10 most powerful people in sports. An attorney with a law degree from Yale University, McCormack founded IMG in 1960. The Cleveland-based firm has vastly expanded from its Ohio headquarters and currently has 85 offices in 33 countries and close to 3,000 employees.

McCormack, the author of five books, started IMG on a high note, signing golfing great Arnold Palmer as his first client back in 1960. These days he represents heavyweight athletes such as Venus and Serena Williams, Jennifer Capriati, Monica Seles, Lindsay Davenport, Tommy Haas, Tim Henman, Chris Evert, John McEnroe, Tiger Woods, David Duvall, Vijay Singh, Karrie Webb and Annika Sorenstam.
He is married to second wife, former tennis pro Betsey Nagelsen, since 1986. The couple have a daughter and McCormack has three grown children from his previous marriage.