The Daily Insider
Afternoon News & Headlines
Tuesday, November 6, 2001
4:00pm ET
| • | Troubled Ericsson Drops Tennis Title Deal |
| • | Colangelo Says MLB’s "Economic Model Needs To Be Changed" |
| • | Winter Games Attract Bon Jovi, ‘N Sync For Closing Concert |
| • | NBA Goes To Court To Block Antitrust Suit |
| • | 76ers To Raise Banner Commemorating Conference Championship |
| • | Buzzer Beaters/Channel Surfing |
ERICSSON TO PULL TITLE SPONSORSHIP OF TENNIS OPEN
The SportsBusiness Journal’s Daniel Kaplan reports that troubled Swedish mobile phone maker Ericsson plans to drop its title sponsorship of the Ericsson Open tennis tournament after the ‘02 event and exit the tourney entirely after ‘03. The company and tournament are expected to announce the development Wednesday.
Ericsson had signed a five-year, $30M deal beginning with the ’00 tournament, replacing 15-year sponsor Lipton. But shortly after the deal was signed, the company encountered significant market decline in its mobile phone business. Tournament Chair Earl "Butch" Buchholz said, "They had economic issues, and did not have the wherewithal" to complete the sponsorship, which is owned by IMG. Buchholz: "We need to be understanding about a sponsor." Buchholz expressed optimism that a replacement would be found, but conceded that the economic climate is not good. However, he pointed out that Ericsson's withdrawal would likely have occurred even without the economic effects of September 11, a sign of just how poor Ericsson's condition is. The company lost $377M the third quarter.
While the ‘02 event will run March 20-31, Ericsson’s role in the ‘03 tourney has not yet been decided. The tournament is the second largest U.S. tennis event, behind only the U.S. Open, and has been a trendsetter among non-Grand Slam tournaments in staging a women’s and men’s tournament simultaneously in the same venue (THE DAILY).
COLANGELO ADDRESSES CONTRACTION BEFORE TODAY’S MEETING
Just before entering today’s MLB owners meetings in Chicago, D’Backs Managing General Partner Jerry Colangelo said of contraction, "I think at the appropriate time you are going to hear from the commissioner on that subject. … There is a great disparity that exists that doesn’t exist in some other sports. The economic model needs to be changed. And whatever that includes or excludes remains to be seen." Colangelo added, "The World Series was considered one of the great World Series from baseball historians and that’s great and we ought to build on that. I’m very sensitive about how we move forward. … Hopefully we can do a lot of things in a constructive way" (ESPNews, 11/6).
BON JOVI, ‘N SYNC HEADLINE WINTER GAMES’ CLOSING CEREMONIES
The DESERET NEWS reports SLOC President Mitt Romney today announced Bon Jovi, `N Sync, Harry Connick Jr., Christina Aguilera and Charlotte Church will be among the guest performers for the Closing Ceremonies of the ‘02 Winter Games, scheduled for February 24 (DESERET NEWS, 11/6).
TX-based GameCom announced today that it entered into an agreement with the SLOC to place a new virtual reality entertainment system, the Universe VR 720, at the Olympic Village ski lodge in Park City, UT. The system will be in the Park City-area from mid-November ‘01 until March ‘02 (THE DAILY).
The DESERET NEWS cites retired NYPD pickpocket expert Lothel Crawford Jr. as saying pickpocketing at the ’02 Salt Lake Olympics will be a "big problem, because if it's an international event, it's going to attract people from all over the world. Their guard will be down, and these pickpockets know exactly how to target tourists." Crawford added that Salt Lake City enforcement officers are "woefully unprepared for the problem." Crawford: "They don't know jack (expletive) about pickpockets right now" (DESERET NEWS, 11/6).
NBA TRIES NEW COURT: LEAGUE OPPOSES ORCA BAY’S EFFORTS
BLOOMBERG NEWS reports the NBA has filed for an injunction in the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of NY to "prevent the former owner of the Vancouver Grizzlies [Orca Bay Basketball L.P.] from suing the league for blocking" a proposed ’99 sale of the team to Blues Owner Bill Laurie. The NBA rejected Laurie’s bid to buy the team, which relocated to Memphis, TN, this year, because he "wanted to immediately move the struggling franchise to St. Louis." The league is claiming it would "suffer irreparable injury" if Orca Bay is allowed to file an antitrust suit over the rejected sale. The league further "contends that it has the right to place conditions on the sale of its teams and that owners are barred from suing the league" (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 11/6).
TODAY’S EVENTS
The 76ers will raise their banner commemorating last season’s NBA Eastern Conference championship prior to tonight’s home game against the Pacers (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 11/6).
The L.A. TIMES reports that tonight’s "SportsCentury Flashback" revisits November 7, ‘91, the day Magic Johnson announced he had contracted HIV. The show leads off with comments from L.A. Times Sports Editor Bill Dwyre and L.A. Times columnist Bill Plaschke. Dwyre: "Magic was a playboy. It was showtime on the court, and it was showtime off the court." Plaschke: "The partying has always been legendary, but Magic was such a good guy, a nice guy, it was sort of like Babe Ruth. Lots of things about what happened off the court just weren't written about" (L.A. TIMES, 11/6).
BUZZER BEATERS
Last night’s Broncos-Raiders "MNF" game on ABC drew a 12.6/20 overnight national Nielsen rating, which was even with last year’s Dolphins-Jets game (THE DAILY).
Former NBAer Dennis Rodman "is about to take over the Sloppy Joe’s restaurant and nightclub" located in CA, and "plans to change the name and the concept." Rodman said, "I want a different flavor, a Las Vegas feel at the Spectrum" (ORANGE COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL, 11/6).
The Toronto GLOBE & MAIL reports Ottawa’s CFL team "will be nicknamed the Renegades" (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 11/6).
The Titans, Motorola, Sprint and the Wireless Foundation "collected used cell phones outside Adelphia Coliseum on Sunday." The Titans donated 1,838 phones, all programmed to dial 911, to victims of domestic abuse (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 11/6).
Augusta National Chair Hootie Johnson announced today "the club was donating $500,000 to the Tiger Woods Foundation." Woods, on the gift: "I never expected this, and I am thrilled that Augusta National has come through … in such a big way" (AP, 11/6).
The AP reports former Cowboys OL Nate Newton on Sunday "was arrested when police confiscated 213 pounds of marijuana" from a van he was riding in (AP, 11/6).
IN OTHER NEWS….
The Federal Reserve cut key interest rates today by half a percentage point to 2 percent (CNN, 11/6). The AP today chronicles the history of Federal Reserve rate changes since 1958 (AP, 11/6).
THE DAILY STATS
| Music Albums |
| The following lists Billboard Magazine's top-selling CDs for the week of October 22-28 (BILLBOARD, 11/10): |
| | | |
| Rank | Album | Artist | Label |
| 1 | Great Depression | DMX | Def Jam |
| 2 | Morning View | Incubus | Epic |
| 3 | A Day Without Rain | Enya | Warner |
| 4 | God Bless America | Various Artists | Columbia |
| 5 | Pain Is Love | Ja Rule | Def Jam |
| 6 | Live in Chicago | Dave Matthews | RCA |
| 7 | Silver Side Up | Nickelback | Roadrunner |
| 8 | Hybrid Theory | Linkin Park | Warner |
| 9 | Usher's 8701 | Usher | Arista |
| 10 | Totally Hits 2001 | Various Artists | Arista |
CHANNEL SURFING
TBS will air Magic-Spurs at 8:00pm ET.
ESPN will air the Western Michigan-Toledo college football game at 8:00pm ET.
ESPN2 will air Sharks-Blues at 8:30pm ET.
ESPN will air "Dick Vitale’s Slam Bam Jam Preview" at midnight ET.
ESPN Classic’s "SportsCentury" will profile Joe Namath.
Mark Grace will be on "The Last Word."
A&E’s "Biography" will profile Ronald Reagan.
VH-1’s "Behind The Music" will profile Billy Idol at 7:00pm ET and Boy George at 9:00pm ET.
Fox will air "The Simpson’s Halloween Special" at 8:30pm ET.
HEADLINERS
Here are tonight’s headline guests on the following talk shows:
| "The Late Show" | Billy Crystal |
| "The Tonight Show" | Dennis Miller |
| "The Late Late Show" | Wayne Newton |
| "Late Night" | Carson Daly |
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please let us know at:
dailyinsider@sportsbusinessdaily.com
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