The Broke and the Beautiful: Equestrian Edition

This week on The Broke and the Beautiful, Frank McCourt isn’t just horsing around with an equestrian jumping show, and soccer’s not so popular in Pittsburgh even amid World Cup fever. Also, a gal pal of Armand Assante is in some trouble.

Frank McCourt may no longer own a Major League Baseball team, but he’s not neighing all sports. According to Bloomberg, Mr. McCourt, who in 2012 sold the Los Angeles Dodgers to a group led by ex-basketball star Earvin “Magic” Johnson, bought a 50% stake in the Longines Gold Champions Tour. The international horse jumping show canters across 14 different venues in 12 countries.

Mr. McCourt didn’t disclose the financial terms of the deal, but he did say he wanted to herd the tour to some (unspecified) places in the U.S., where it doesn’t currently have any legs. “The sport is a natural in terms of reaching out to very large international companies that are looking to reach our expanding audience,” Mr. McCourt told Bloomberg.

We’re in the middle of World Cup fever, but right now, a U.S. city isn’t experiencing the same excitement. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, soccer is a little less popular in Pittsburgh than in other areas of the East Coast. TV viewership for the World Cup has been lower in Pittsburgh than in other U.S. cities. And the partnerships that own the minor-league Pittsburgh Riverhounds soccer team filed for bankruptcy in March, with the owners fighting over a promised loan. Earlier in the year, Riverhounds Chief Executive Jason Kutney told the Post-Gazette that the team is “still fighting…to make sure that Pittsburgh is a proper soccer city.”

Actor Armand Assante’s Brazilian gal pal is in a little trouble, the New York Daily News reported. Giselle Oliveira, who lives at one of Mr. Assante’s properties in Campbell Hall, N.Y., has gone to court for allegedly spending $40,000 on actor Josh Brolin’s credit card at sale-based retailer Ideeli.com. She also allegedly stole $10,000 in items from Saks Fifth Avenue. Ms. Oliveira has told authorities she was forced into stealing because she was cooperating with the Department of Homeland Security on a major case. According to her lawyer, Richard Sinrod, authorities “stepped away” and didn’t stop the Manhattan District Attorney from charging her.

(And just for fun: The Broadway musical “Kinky Boots” recently celebrated its 500th performance. The musical, whose score was written by Cyndi Lauper, chronicles a man’s efforts to save his father’s shoe factory, which is on the verge of bankruptcy.)

Write to Melanie Cohen at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @MelanieLisa.