| | The Daily Insider
Afternoon News & Headlines
Monday, January 21, 2002
4:00pm ET | |
| • | Canada’s WTSN Inks One-Year Broadcasting Deal With WUSA |
| • | Reports Have Gruden Leaving Raiders; Is He Heading To Tampa Bay? |
| • | Spalding Pumps Air Behind Self-Inflating Infusion Concept |
| • | CFL Enters Exclusive Licensing Agreement With Collegiate Company |
| • | Dwindling Australian Open Crowds Watched Safin Oust Sampras |
| • | Buzzer Beaters/In Other News/Daily Stat/Channel Surfing |
WUSA INVADES GREAT WHITE NORTH WITH BROADCAST DEAL
The WUSA will add Canadian television network WTSN to its global television roster. The agreement is for one year, with an option for a second season in ’03. WTSN will broadcast 28 games during the league’s second season (THE DAILY).
GRUDEN MAY LEAVE OAKLAND; IS TAMPA BAY HIS DESTINATION?
ESPN.com reports that Raiders coach Jon Gruden “is not expected to coach in Oakland beyond the 2002 season, and will not accept a contract extension if offered.” Gruden did not directly address his future with the Raiders during a press conference today, except to say that he “would fulfill the remaining year of his contract.” If Gruden decides not to coach in Oakland beyond next season, it could “force Raiders owner Al Davis to work out an arrangement with the [Buccaneers], who might be inclined to exchange draft picks and/or cash for the right to make Gruden their coach” (ESPN.com, 1/21).
SPALDING PUMPS SOME DOLLARS INTO LINE OF INFUSION BALLS
BRANDWEEK.com reports that Spalding Sports will spend $20M to expand on its self-inflating Infusion ball concept. Spalding will unveil three additional basketballs and three soccer balls at the Super Show in Las Vegas this week, and will “follow its model of signing a star athlete as an endorser and tying in with a league.” Lakers G Kobe Bryant “will continue as an Infusion spokesperson, appearing in a TV spot, to run on MTV, ESPN and during NBA programming.” (BRANDWEEK.com, 1/21).
CFL LICENSING AGREEMENT ESTABLISHES DEGREE OF SUCCESS
The CFL entered a licensing and product marketing agreement with The Collegiate Licensing Company that will establish a new company, Licensing Partners International (LPI), which will focus exclusively on the growth and development of the CFL licensing business. Fred Scalera, who has over twenty years experience in pro sports and Olympic licensing, market research and planning, has been hired to run LPI (THE DAILY).
THOMAS MOVES TO HEAD OF CLASS TO SPREAD KING’S TEACHINGS
CBS’ “The Early Show” this morning featured Knicks F Kurt Thomas, who visited students at a school in Harlem last week to promote the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. through the “Promote the Quote” program. Thomas: “We don’t have to do this at all. This is something that I enjoy doing. It’s one thing that brings light to my life outside of basketball” (“The Early Show,” CBS, 1/21).
BUZZER BEATERS
Marat Safin “overwhelmed” Pete Sampras with “his crunching backhand and attacking returns” today to win to win 6-2, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (8) and advance to the Australian Open quarterfinals (AP, 1/21).
The SYDNEY MORNING HERALD reports that Tennis Australia officials “acknowledged that the total attendance at this year's Australian Open will be slightly down on last year's record figure.” President Geoff Pollard “expected about 528,000 to come through Melbourne Park, … down 15,000 on last year's numbers” (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 1/22).
The CHICAGO SUN-TIMES reports the Bears will auction off “rows and rows of blue chairs” from Soldier Field for $200 a pair at www.bearschairs.com (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 1/21).
Seagram's VO Gold “It's What Men Do” national survey of 1,000 men and women reports that 53% of men surveyed “preferred to bond with their buddies at [the Super Bowl] than spend a night on the town with a [supermodel].” Read more information regarding the survey (THE DAILY).
San Diego Soccer Development has retained Creative Options Advertising to provide support for its investor and public relations program (THE DAILY).
Gotcha Brands today announced a six-year agreement with Hawaiian event promoter, Reid Inouye, to sponsor his long-running Pipeline event. The extreme sports professional surfing event, now known as the "Gotcha Pipeline," will take place this year from February 19 through March 3 in Oahu (THE DAILY).
TODAY’S ARTICLES OF INTEREST
The S.F. CHRONICLE’s Peter Sinton on the overhaul of Sears Point Raceway.
The Cleveland PLAIN DEALER’s Tony Grossi on medical bills faced by former NFL players.
The WALL STREET JOURNAL’s Stefan Fatsis on the major networks’ new approach to broadcast rights fees and the practice of renting airtime to outside producers.
The N.Y. TIMES’ Fabrikant & Schiesel on rumors of tension at Viacom.
See The Daily Insider’s Articles Of Interest section for more sports business-related links.
IN OTHER NEWS……..
Kmart’s plight worsened on Monday when its “sole grocery supplier suspended shipments” after Kmart “failed to make a regular weekly payment for deliveries of food and other goods.” Fleming Cos. said it stopped shipments to all Kmart stores “except for certain perishable food products that were already in transit” (REUTERS, 1/21).
Nokia launched the first “luxury mobile phone company” on Monday, offering “hand-crafted cellular phones, adorned with gold or platinum, and costing more than $20,000” (REUTERS, 1/21).
Linda Sue Park’s “A Single Shard” won the Newbery Medal today, awarded annually to “the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.” The award was named for the 18th-century British bookseller John Newbery (AP, 1/21).
Former Beatle George Harrison topped the British singles charts on Sunday as buyers “snapped up the re-issue of his 1971 number one hit ‘My Sweet Lord’” (REUTERS, 1/21).
TODAY’S EVENTS
The 76ers and the Philadelphia Tribune will honor Temple Univ. professor Dr. Molefi Kete Asante with the first “Community Service All-Star Award” prior to the Sonics-76ers game at the First Union Center (THE DAILY).
THE DAILY STAT: WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLERS
The following lists this week's Wall Street Journal Bestsellers in the hardcover categories of Non-Fiction and Fiction for the week ending January 12 (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 1/19):
| THIS
WEEK | HARDCOVER NONFICTION |
| 1) | GET WITH THE PROGRAM, (Bob Greene) Simon & Schuster |
| 2) | BIAS, Bernard Goldberg (Regnery) |
| 3) | WHO MOVED MY CHEESE?, Spencer Johnson (Putnam) |
| 4) | BODY FOR LIFE, Bill Phillips (HarperCollins) |
| 5) | JOHN ADAMS, David McCullough (Simon & Schuster) |
| 6) | JACK: Straight From the Gut, Jack Welch with John A. Byrne (Warner Business) |
| 7) | THEODORE REX, Edmund Morris (Random House) |
| 8) | DEATH OF THE WEST, Patrick J. Buchanan (St. Martin's Press) |
| 9) | PRAYER OF JABEZ, Bruce Wilkinson (Multnomah Publishers) |
| 10) | THE FINAL DAYS, Barbara Olson (Regnery) |
| | |
| THIS
WEEK | HARDCOVER FICTION |
| 1) | HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE, J.K. Rowling (Scholastic) |
| 2) | SKIPPING CHRISTMAS, John Grisham (Doubleday) |
| 3) | THE MILLIONAIRES, Brad Meltzer (Warner Books) |
| 4) | BASKET CASE, Carl Hiaasen (Knopf) |
| 5) | SMOKE IN MIRRORS, Jayne Ann Krentz (Farrar Straus and Giroux) |
| 6) | ONE DOOR AWAY FROM HEAVEN, Dean Koontz (Bantam) |
| 7) | THE CORRECTIONS, Jonathan Franzen (Farrar, Straus & Giroux) |
| 8) | VIOLETS ARE BLUE, James Patterson (Little, Brown) |
| 9) | LAST MAN STANDING, David Baldacci (Warner) |
| 10) | JOURNEY THROUGH HEARTSONGS, Mattie J. T. Stepanek (VSP Books) |
CHANNEL SURFING
ESPN will air men’s college basketball: Georgetown-Notre Dame at 7:00pm ET, and Missouri-Oklahoma at 9:00pm ET.
ESPN2 will air the ’02 Australian Open Men’s Quarterfinal at 9:00pm ET.
ESPN will air men’s college basketball, Wyoming-San Diego St., at midnight ET.
ESPN Classic’s “SportsCentury” will profile Reggie Jackson at 8:00pm ET.
Nets G Jason Kidd and former 76ers President Pat Croce will be on PBS’ “The Charlie Rose Show” at 11:00pm ET.
Former Olympian John Carlos, former NFL star Rosie Grier and rapper Chuck D will be on FSN’s “The Last Word.”
The Golf Channel launches a new half-hour show, “Playing Lessons from the Pros,” at 9:00pm ET.
E!’s “True Hollywood Story” will profile the “Last Days of Elvis” at 8:00pm ET.
A&E’s “Biography” will profile author J.K. Rowling at 8:00pm ET.
MTV will air the animated movie “Daria: Is It College Yet?” at 8:00pm ET
HEADLINERS
Here are tonight’s headline guests on the following talk shows:
| “The Late Show” | Ray Romano (r) |
| “The Tonight Show” | Sarah Jessica Parker |
| “The Late Late Show” | Tony Danza (r) |
| “Late Night” | Leelee Sobieski |
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please let us know at:
dailyinsider@sportsbusinessdaily.com
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