| | The Daily Insider
Afternoon News & Headlines
Wednesday, April 3, 2002
4:00pm ET | |
| • | Contrary To Reports, Kournikova In Good Standing With adidas |
| • | Sports Emmy Nominations Announced; Who Leads The Pack? |
| • | Maytag Inks Two-Year Appliance Sponsorship With WUSA |
| • | WHO Warns F1 About Tobacco Ads At Russian Race |
| • | He's In, He's Out: Van Gundy Rumors Denied |
| • | Buzzer Beaters/In Other News/Daily Stat/Channel Surfing |
ADIDAS REFUTES REPORT ON KOURNIKOVA IN TODAY'S LONDON SUN
adidas issued a statement to THE DAILY this afternoon denying a report out of London that the company threatened to cut the compensation of endorser Anna Kournikova if she did not start to experience more on-court success. adidas states, "The article that appeared in a couple of this morning's papers claiming Anna Kournikova has been warned to play better by adidas is simply not true! The story has come from a German weekly tabloid (Bild am Sonntag), which on Sunday used a very old interview with our Chief Executive (Herbert Hainer) way out of context. Anna Kournikova is a top symbol and important partner for adidas, and we have worked successfully with her since her professional debut in 1996. This partnership has grown over the past years, and has developed into a strong and successful relationship, and she is currently starring in our ClimaCool TV ads" (THE DAILY).
ESPN LEADS SPORTS EMMY NOMINATIONS LIST WITH 31
Nominees for the 23rd Annual Sports Emmy Awards were announced today by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. ESPN leads all networks with 31 nominations, followed by Fox, with 24. CBS and HBO each received 14 nominations. NBC received nine nominations, while ABC received eight. Two shows led all nominees with five nominations: "NASCAR On Fox," and "REAL Sports With Bryant Gumbel." Included in the list of the nominees this year was the Dick Schaap Outstanding Writing Award, a new award added in '02. The Sports Emmy Awards will be presented on Tuesday, April 23rd at the Marriott Marquis hotel in N.Y. (THE DAILY).
MAYTAG APPLIES TWO-YEAR SPONSORSHIP TO WUSA
WUSA said today its second title game, Founders Cup II, will be held August 24 at Herndon Stadium, home of the Atlanta Beat (THE DAILY).
Meanwhile, the SportsBusiness Journal's Jennifer Lee reports today that Maytag Corp. has completed a two-year agreement with WUSA to become the official home appliance sponsor of the league. The deal includes promotional rights to league and team marks, title sponsorship of all WUSA postgame autograph sessions, on-jersey logos for the Beat, television spots during WUSA broadcasts, print ads in WUSA publications and banner ads on wusa.com. Company brands that will be used in the sponsorship are Amana, Admiral, Jenn-Air, Magic Chef and Maytag (THE DAILY).
F1 WARNED OVER RUSSIAN GRAND PRIX TOBACCO ADS
The World Health Organization has warned F1 racing to "ban tobacco advertising at the Russian grand prix or face expulsion from the high-profile 'tobacco free sport' initiative." The health group fears that the '04 Moscow Grand Prix "will be used by cigarette firms to promote their products in a country already crippled by smoking-relating diseases" (London GUARDIAN, 4/3).
WIZARDS OFFICIAL DENIES VAN GUNDY HIRING RUMORS
Wizards Senior VP/Communications Matt Williams told CNNSI.com that Jeff Van Gundy will not be coaching the WNBA Washington Mystics next season. Williams, on rumors that the former Knicks coach would be taking over the helm of the WNBA franchise as early as today: "It's absolutely false. There never was anything to the reports" (CNNSI.com, 4/3).
BUZZER BEATERS
This week's Sports Illustrated features Univ. of MD G Juan Dixon under the headline "Mighty Maryland: Fear The Turtle" (THE DAILY).
This week's ESPN The Magazine, the '02 MLB Preview issue, features Mets C Mike Piazza on the cover (THE DAILY).
The Seahawks have received more than 60,000 fan votes for their helmet poll, as fans were asked to choose between a blue helmet and silver helmet that the club will wear in '02. Voting, which began last Wednesday, ended today at 1:00pm PT. The Seahawks will announce the winning selection and vote breakdown tomorrow (THE DAILY).
Out Editor-in-Chief Brendan Lemon, who last year disclosed his relationship with an unnamed MLB player, was asked if he wants to reveal the person's identity. Lemon: "No, I don't. It's his decision. He has to decide when he wants to himself." Lemon continued, "What struck me about all the guesses is all the assumptions people made. People thought he'd be single, probably white. I never said what his race or marital status is" (N.Y. OBSERVER, 4/3).
TODAY'S ARTICLES OF INTEREST
The N.Y. TIMES' Sandomir & Wise profile Cablevision President James Dolan.
The ORLANDO BUSINESS JOURNAL's Cindy Barth on the popularity of The Golf Channel.
The SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE's Kathryn Balint on a lack of high-tech renovations at the Padres' new ballpark.
The ATLANTA CONSTITUTION's Tony Barnhart on schools that earn money by playing in the NCAA Tournament.
The PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE's Bob Smizik on the chances of an MLB labor dispute.
The SAN ANTONIO BUSINESS JOURNAL's W. Scott Bailey on the need for contraction in the NBA.
See The Daily Insider's Articles Of Interest section for more sports business-related links.
TONIGHT'S EVENTS
Mia Hamm and members of the Washington Freedom will sign autographs for fans at the Orioles' Opening Night Game. Hamm also will throw out the first pitch for the 7:05pm ET game (THE DAILY).
Patriots K Adam Vinatieri will attend tonight's 7:05pm ET AHL Manchester Monarchs game against the Springfield Falcons. Fans will have the chance to win signed NFL footballs, Vinatieri jerseys, Super Bowl XXXVI DVDs and photos (THE DAILY).
The Boise St. athletic department will unveil its new logo today during a 2:00pm MT press conference on campus (IDAHO STATESMAN, 4/3).
IN OTHER NEWS….
WorldCom Inc. said today that it will "cut 3,700 jobs at its main data and Internet business, or 4 percent of its total work force, as it continues to trim costs to offset slowing revenue growth" (REUTERS, 4/3).
REUTERS reports that AOL Time Warner sold $6B of bonds today, 50% more than planned, to "cut short-term debt and position itself for acquisitions." Investors said AOL "drew more than $10 billion of bids for its bonds by offering yields as high as 7.753 percent" (REUTERS, 4/3).
The AP reports that the Grammy Awards "will return to New York City next year" after a four-year West Coast hiatus. The '03 show will be held February 23 in MSG, the site of its last N.Y. date in '98 (AP, 4/3).
Bob Newhart received the Kennedy Center's annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor (REUTERS, 4/3).
THE DAILY STAT: PRIMETIME NIELSEN RATINGS
The following lists the final Nielsen ratings for the top ten primetime shows for the week of March 25-31. Also provided are Nielsen ratings averages season to date for the nets' primetime coverage (USA Today, 4/3).
| TOP TEN PRIMETIME NIELSEN RATINGS FOR MAR. 25 – MAR. 31
|
| RK | PROGRAM | NET | DAY | RAT/SHR | VIEWERS
(IN MILLIONS) |
| 1) | ER | NBC | Thu | 16.1/27 | 24.8 |
| 2) | CSI | CBS | Thu | 15.4/25 | 25.2 |
| 3) | Everybody Loves Raymond | CBS | Mon | 13.9/21 | 22.0 |
| 4) | Friends | NBC | Thu | 13.7/23 | 22.0 |
| 5) | Law & Order | NBC | Wed | 13.1/23 | 19.3 |
| 6) | NCAA Basketball Champ. | CBS | Sat | 11.3/21 | 18.5 |
| 6) | Survivor: Marquesas | CBS | Thu | 11.3/19 | 20.5 |
| 8) | West Wing | NBC | Wed | 11.2/18 | 17.0 |
| 9) | Yes, Dear | CBS | Mon | 10.9/17 | 17.1 |
| 10) | JAG | CBS | Tue | 10.3/17 | 15.9 |
| |
| NIELSEN AVERAGES SEASON-TO-DATE
|
| | | NBC | | 9.0 | |
| | |
| | | CBS | | 8.1 | |
| | |
| | | ABC | | 6.5 | |
| | |
| | | Fox | | 6.0 | |
| | |
| | | UPN | | 2.7 | |
| | |
| | | WB | | 2.4 | |
CHANNEL SURFING
ESPN2 will air Phillies-Braves at 7:00pm ET and Giants-Dodgers at 10:00pm ET.
ESPN's "SportsCentury" will profile TX Tech men's basketball coach Bob Knight at 7:30pm ET.
ESPN will air Blues-Stars at 8:00pm ET.
TNT will air Lakers-Nets at 8:00pm ET.
ESPN Classic's "SportsCentury" will profile Tim Flock at 8:00pm ET.
Former MLB manager Whitey Herzog and former MLB P David Clyde will be on FSN's "The Last Word."
D'Backs 1B Mark Grace and actor George Lopez will be on FSN's "Best Damn Sports Show Period."
E!'s "True Hollywood Story" will profile Phil Hartman at 8:00pm ET.
HEADLINERS
Here are tonight's headline guests on the following talk shows:
| "The Late Show" | Michael J. Fox |
| "The Tonight Show" | Ashley Judd |
| "The Late Late Show" | Mariel Hemingway |
| "Late Night" | Tara Reid |
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please let us know at:
dailyinsider@sportsbusinessdaily.com
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