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Closing Bell

Closing Bell, March 1, 2002

 
The Daily Insider
Afternoon News & Headlines
Friday, March 1, 2002
4:00pm ET

Shoe Business: Vince Carter's Nike Sneaker Hits Stores Saturday
Sepp Blatter To Face Bribery Allegations For Presidential Race
Eagles Cheerleaders May Expand Lawsuit To Include 73 More Plaintiffs
Excerpts From Gary Bettman's Online Chat With Fans
Critics Weigh In: Gibson's “We Were Soldiers” and Hartnett's “40 Days”
Buzzer Beaters/In Other News/Daily Stat/Channel Surfing

BE LIKE VINCE? NIKE BUILDS AD CAMPAIGN AROUND CARTER'S SHOE

The Nike Shox VC, Raptors F Vince Carter's first signature shoe since signing with Nike in '00, hits retail outlets tomorrow. The shoe also will be available online for a suggested retail price of $160 (THE DAILY). ESPN.com's Darren Rovell reports that Nike "begins a large-scale campaign" to coincide with the launch. Nike recently signed Carter to a multi-year deal reportedly worth $15.5M. Nike Basketball Communications Manager Eric Oberman: "We're using Vince more than any other Nike basketball player that has had their own shoe, with the exception of Michael Jordan. Not only does he demand a signature shoe, but we're ready to build a franchise around him" (ESPN.com, 3/1).


FIFA, BLATTER FACE BRIBERY ALLEGATIONS

The London GUARDIAN reports that FIFA President Sepp Blatter "is to face demands for an independent investigation into bribery allegations at a special meeting of the organisation's executive committee next Thursday." FIFA's exec committee will "demand the formation of an investigation panel to look into claims" 18 African delegates accepted up to $100,000 to vote for Blatter in presidential elections before the 1998 World Cup finals (London GUARDIAN, 3/1).


MORE CHEERLEADERS MAY APPROACH BENCH IN PENDING LAWSUIT

ESPN.com reports that the lawsuit filed by Eagles cheerleaders that alleges that NFL players from the visiting locker room at Veterans Stadium "spied on them while they showered and dressed is expanding for the second time." Attorney Michael McKenna, who represents the cheerleaders, said Thursday that he will "re-file the suit in Philadelphia Common Pleas court within the next two weeks in order to add 73 additional cheerleaders to the 44 [already] named as plaintiffs in the suit" (ESPN.com, 3/1).


CHIT CHAT: BETTMAN TACKLES NHL ISSUES ON THE WEB

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman participated in an online chat yesterday on MSN.com and was asked if the NHL is "seriously considering" rules changes after the success of the Winter Games. Bettman: "We have a general managers meeting scheduled to start next Monday, and we'll be talking about the rule differences. I'm of the belief that the predominant reason for the excitement of the Olympics was the best hockey players playing for their country. I don't believe the nuance differences in the rules are responsible for the excitement. We will be taking a closer look at the hurry-up face-off rule, and see how it will have a positive influence."

When asked about plans to ban fighting in the NHL, Bettman replied, "We like our current rules. You might be interested to know that 60% of our games last season did not have a fight in them." In response to the question, "Who was the surprise player of the Olympic tournament," Bettman replied, "Probably [Flames RW] Jarome Iginla, because he was on a mature, well-respected team and he was a younger player that carried more than his fair share of the load" (MSN.com, 2/28).


BEYOND CHANNEL SURFING: TWO REASONS TO SET YOUR VCR

The Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER reports that ESPN's "Outside the Lines" entitled "Zero Percent: College Basketball's Graduation Crisis," scheduled for 8:00pm ET tonight, examines the "often poor graduation rates in men's college basketball." Univ. of AR men's basketball coach Nolan Richardson, Texas Tech men's basketball coach Bob Knight and Duke G Jason Williams will be interviewed (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 3/1).

Meanwhile, NBC's "Dateline" on Sunday will profile the '02 Winter Olympics athletes, focusing on the attention they receive after the Games and their potential endorsement deals. U.S. Gold Medal-winning speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno, Bronze Medal-winner Michelle Kwan and Canadian Gold Medal-winning figure skaters David Pelletier and Jamie Sale will be featured (THE DAILY).


BUZZER BEATERS

AHL President & CEO Dave Andrews announced today that the Portland Pirates and the city of Portland have been awarded the '03 AHL All-Star Classic. The announcement was made at a press conference at Portland's Cumberland County Civic Center (THE DAILY).

YES Chair & CEO Leo Hindery Jr. today announced an agreement with the Yankees' Triple A affil Columbus Clippers to broadcast six of the team's games (THE DAILY).

The D'Backs report a 65% increase in individual-game ticket sales over last season, the bulk of which "is reflected in the first three games of the season against National League West rival San Diego" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 3/1).

SPORTSTICKER reports that Forbes Magazine's latest "World's Richest People" list shows that Philip Anschutz lost 66% of his overall worth in the past year. This year, Forbes reports that Anschutz is worth $5.1B, down to 54th overall from 16th overall last year (SPORTSTICKER, 3/1).


WEEKEND EVENTS

Friday

The Mighty Ducks will host its sixth annual Casino Auction at the Four Seasons Hotel in Newport Beach, CA, 8:00pm-midnight PT. All proceeds will benefit The National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Orange County Chapter (THE DAILY).

To help commemorate the 40th anniversary of Wilt Chamberlain's NBA-Record 100 point game, the 76ers will dedicate this evening's contest with the Nets in his honor. The 76ers will reunite some of the personnel who witnessed the feat, including statistician Harvey Pollack, who served as the Warriors' PR man and was also the game's official scorer; Philadelphia radio legend Bill Campbell, who called the game; Pulitzer Prize winning AP photographer Paul Vathis; and current 76ers Promotions Coordinator Jeff Millman, who was a ballboy at the game.

Additionally, the 76ers will announce the establishment of the Wilt Chamberlain Memorial Fund, which is being initiated by Chamberlain's former teammate Billy Cunningham and will provide scholarship opportunities to athletically and academically talented youngsters in the Philadelphia area.

The team is also set to give away a Dikembe Mutombo bobblehead to the first 5,000 kids age 14 and under at the game. The Mutumbo bobblehead comes complete with his trademark finger waving (THE DAILY).


Saturday

The Pirates will hold an open house Saturday at PNC Park from 10:00am-3:00pm. It coincides with the first day that single-season tickets go on sale (THE DAILY).

The PALM BEACH POST reports that the Marlins will hold a "scaled-back version of FanFest, which was delayed because of the ownership change," this Saturday from 10:00am-4:00pm at Pro Player Stadium. Called "Select-A-Seat Day," fans can meet Tony Perez and Andre Dawson and purchase single-game tickets for the season. A "major absence Saturday will be the players, who in the past have participated in the event. On Saturday, they'll be in Melbourne playing the New York Mets" (PALM BEACH POST, 3/1).


Sunday

Mystics G Markita Aldridge will participate in the Washington Freedom's Bowling Tournament to benefit the Children's National Medical Center on Sunday from 3:00-7:00pm ET. The event takes place at Strike Bowling in Bethesda, MD (THE DAILY).

The Hawks will host the second annual "Full Court Fest" charity gala sponsored by Philips Electronics, A-B, Outback Steakhouse, Sprite and WebMD. The black tie and sneakers event will be at Philips Arena 5:00-8:00pm ET. Tickets are $125 each, with all proceeds benefiting the Atlanta Hawks Foundation and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (THE DAILY).


TODAY'S DAILY STAT: MOST POPULAR LYCOS ATHLETE SEARCHES

The following charts the top athlete searches on Lycos for the week ending February 23 (Lycos):

RK
ATHLETE
1)
  Anna Kournikova
2)
  Apolo Anton Ohno
3)
  Michelle Kwan
4)
  Jamie Sale
5)
  Anni Friesinger
6)
  Michael Jordan
7)
  Allen Iverson
8)
  Sarah Hughes
9)
  Sasha Cohen
10)
  Jeremy Bloom
 

CRITICS WEIGH IN: “WE WERE SOLDIERS” & “40 DAYS AND 40 NIGHTS”

Mel Gibson commandeers his "Soldiers," while Josh Hartnett wages a war in the name of celibacy. See what the nation's top critics thinkHartnett Hartnett wages a war against celibacy:

Movie
 

We Were Soldiers

40 Days And 40 Nights

Chicago Sun-Times

L.A. Times

N.Y. Times

USA Today

Washington Post

 

CHANNEL SURFING

FRIDAY

ESPN will air "Reel Classics Uncut: Behind the Scenes – A Season On The Brink" at 7:30pm ET.

ESPN will air "OTL: Zero Percent – College Basketball's Graduation Crisis" at 8:00pm ET.

Fox will air the 33rd NAACP Image Awards, hosted by Chris Tucker, at 8:00pm ET.

ESPN will air men's college basketball, DePaul-Marquette, at 9:00pm ET.

ESPN2 will air Friday Night Fights at 9:00pm ET.

CBS will air Miss USA '02, hosted by Deion Sanders and Ali Landry, at 9:00pm ET.


SATURDAY

College Basketball
Game Network
Time
UMass-Xavier ESPN
Noon ET
Florida-Kentucky CBS
Noon ET
Atlantic Sun Conf. Tournament ESPN
2:00pm ET
NC State-Wake Forest CBS (regional)
2:00pm ET
California-Arizona CBS (regional)
2:00pm ET
OH Valley Conf. Tournament ESPN2
3:00pm ET
Providence-Notre Dame CBS (regional)
4:00pm ET
Oregon-UCLA CBS (regional)
4:00pm ET
Big South Conf. Tournament ESPN2
5:00pm ET
Seton Hall-UConn ESPN
7:00pm ET
Texas-Iowa State ESPN
9:00pm ET

ABC will air the IRL Grand Prix of Miami at 1:00pm ET.

ABC will air regional NHL coverage at 3:00pm ET: Flyers-Rangers, Red Wings-Penguins and Stars-Avalanche.

NBC will air the PGA Tour's Genuity Championship at 3:00pm ET.

ESPN will air men's soccer, Honduras-U.S., at 4:00pm ET.

FX will air NASCAR BGN Sam's Town 300 at 4:00pm ET.

ESPN2 will air women's tennis '02 State Farm Tournament at 7:00pm ET.

A&E will air "Target: Stars On Ice 2002" at 9:00pm ET.

Olympian Jonny Moseley will host NBC's "Saturday Night Live" at 11:30pm ET.


SUNDAY

CBS will air men's college basketball: Boston College-Syracuse at Noon ET, regional coverage of Kansas-Missouri or Alabama-Mississippi at 2:00pm ET, and Illinois-Minnesota at 4:00pm ET.

NBC will air 76ers-Raptors at 12:30pm ET.

ESPN2 will air Sharks-Stars at 3:00pm ET.

FOX will air the NASCAR UAW Daimler Chrysler 400 at 3:00pm ET.

NBC will air the PGA Tour's Genuity Championship, Final Round at 3:00pm ET.

ABC will air UNC-Duke at 3:30pm ET.

ESPN will air women's tennis '02 State Farm Tournament Final at 5:30pm ET.

CNBC will air the SBC Senior PGA Classic, Final Round at 5:30pm ET.

NBC will air Pacers-Kings at 6:00pm ET.

ESPN2 will air the SEC women's college basketball tournament championship at 6:00pm ET.

ESPN's "The Life" will focus on Duke basketball at 8:00pm ET.


If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please let us know at:
dailyinsider@sportsbusinessdaily.com

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