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Closing Bell

Closing Bell, April 16, 2002

 
The Daily Insider
Afternoon News & Headlines
Tuesday, April 16, 2002
4:00pm ET

Lacking Resolutions, BCS Meetings Push On In Phoenix Today

Nobody Home: Eight MLB Ballparks Report Record Low Attendance

Wonder What Song They’ll Sing: Baha Men Tune Up For NBA

Sportvision, Ignite To Develop Integrated Marketing Programs

Tonight’s A Good Night For A Fan To Feel Appreciated

Buzzer Beaters/Tonight’s Events/Daily Stat/Channel Surfing


BCS MEETINGS GET NOWHERE, CONTINUE TODAY IN PHOENIX

The L.A. TIMES reports that the commissioners of the six major college conferences “were unable to reach any conclusions” on changes to the BCS after meeting for 4 1/2 hours on Monday in Phoenix, but are meeting again today. Pac-10 Conference Commissioner Tom Hansen, however, was “pessimistic they would reach any conclusions.” Hansen: “It's too complicated to resolve right now. We have a lot of work to do. … We may get some things resolved [today], we may not. More likely we won't” (L.A. TIMES, 4/16).


EIGHT MLB BALLPARKS EXPERIENCE LOWEST ATTENDANCE EVER

The AP reports today that in the first two weeks of the season, eight MLB ballparks “have drawn their lowest crowds for a regularly scheduled game, including seven that were part of the new-ballpark boom.” Overall, the average attendance for a major league game “was down 3.5 percent in the first two weeks of the season, to 29,403” (AP, 4/16).


WHO LET THE BAHA MEN OUT? GROUP TO PLAY SELECT NBA GAMES

The NBA has teamed with pop group the Baha Men for a sports and music tour in which the band will perform the halftime show at select NBA games, and perform live at the NBA Store on Fifth Avenue in N.Y. The scheduled games include tonight’s Pistons-Nets game at the Continental Airlines Arena and tomorrow’s Bucks-Pistons game at the Palace of Auburn Hills. In addition, the Baha Men will record a television spot for the league’s ongoing “Love It Live” campaign, which has featured such artists as Elton John and Pink (THE DAILY).


SPORTVISION, IGNITE TEAM FOR SPORTS MARKETING PROGRAMS

Ignite Sports and Sportvision today announced that the companies will work together to develop integrated marketing programs to sports sponsors based around Sportvision’s media products and Ignite’s sports marketing and interactive publishing solutions. Sportvision’s current products include the virtual 1st & Ten line, RACE f/x for NASCAR Winston Cup races and Virtual Caddy for the PGA Tour (THE DAILY).


RELIVE SALT LAKE CITY’S WINTER GAMES WITH VHS/DVD SET

The official NBC ‘02 Olympic Winter Games highlight VHS/DVD will be released to retail outlets nationwide today. The 85-minute video features the U.S. Olympic Team’s successful Winter Olympics run, during which Team USA won a record 34 medals. The two-hour DVD will include over 45 minutes of additional bonus footage of Team USA medal moments (THE DAILY).


BUZZER BEATERS

The Kroger Co. and Kentucky Speedway announced that the facility’s June 15 NASCAR Busch Series race will be titled “The Kroger 300 Presented By Oreo” (THE DAILY).

A reporter asked White Sox relief P Keith Foulke if he and his bullpen mates keep an eye on their stock portfolio on the scrolling ticker located near the home bullpen at Comiskey Park. Foulke: “No, we don’t even pay attention to that. If you’re thinking about that, you’re thinking about the wrong thing. You’re out there to make money, not to see how your money did” (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 4/16).

Apparel, footwear and accessories company Mossimo was listed on the NASDAQ Small Cap Market today for the first time under the symbol MOSS (Just-Style.com, 4/16).

The L.A. TIMES reviews the video game “NBA 2K2” by Sega and Visual Concepts. For both the Xbox and Game Cube, the game “can be summed up in one sentence: This is the finest basketball video game ever made. No hoop game has captured the grace and athleticism as well as ‘NBA 2K2’” (L.A. TIMES, 4/16).

Boston Globe writer Ron Borges “won two first-place awards and shared a third” in the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) writing contest. Newsday’s Bobby Cassidy Jr. and George Kimball, writing for The Irish Times, “shared top honors for column writing.” The winners will be honored April 26 at the 73rd BWAA dinner in N.Y. (AP, 4/16).


TODAY’S ARTICLES OF INTEREST

The AP listed the winners of the annual Associated Press Sports Editors contest.

The HARTFORD COURANT’s Bruce Berlet on “sweeping expansion” in the AHL.

Author John Feinstein writes a column in the WALL STREET JOURNAL on Arnold Palmer’s last time playing in The Masters.

The MIAMI HERALD’s Jeff Miller on new things fans can get from athletes to sell as memorabilia.

The ATLANTA CONSTITUTION’s Scott Leith on changes to the leadership tier at Coca-Cola.

The WASHINGTON POST’s Mark Maske on the Redskins’ new “shared” approach to team decisions.

The ATLANTA CONSTITUTION’s Al Levine on what motivates women to play full-contact football for the NWFL.

BUFFALO BUSINESS FIRST’s Rick Maloney on the cyclical nature of pro sports and its current effect on Buffalo’s pro franchises.

See The Daily Insider’s Articles Of Interest section for more sports business-related links.


TONIGHT’S EVENTS

The Cavaliers will host Fan Appreciation Night at the team’s 7:00pm ET home game against the Pacers. A drawing will be held to give away a ball signed by G Andre Miller and a warmup shirt from each player (THE DAILY).

The Wizards will host Fan Appreciation Night at the team’s 7:00pm ET home game against the Knicks. Jerseys will be handed out to select fans, while other prizes will be handed out throughout the game (THE DAILY).

The CHICAGO SUN-TIMES reports that tonight’s Indians-White Sox game at Comiskey Park “is the first Pepsi half-price ticket night,” where fans who bring an empty Pepsi can to the box office “can purchase a half-price ticket” (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 4/16).


IN OTHER NEWS……

Coca-Cola Co. posted a Q1 net loss today after “the impact of an accounting change and other special items outweighed a 5 percent surge in soft drink case sales in most of its main markets.” AT press time, Coca-Cola was trading at $53.48, up 2% (REUTERS, 4/16).

The AP reports that TV veteran Robert Urich, former star of "Vega$" and "Spenser: For Hire," died Tuesday of cancer at the age of 55 (AP, 4/16).

Vivendi Universal Chief Jean-Marie Messier fired Pierre Lescure, the “head of loss-making pay-TV arm Canal Plus,” today in a “bitter row over strategy that promptly turned into a live televised farce.” Canal Plus unions and staff “took over the station's programming in front of a studio audience,” clapping and cheering as Lescure “fought back tears and blew farewell kisses” (REUTERS, 4/16).


THE DAILY STAT: NIELSEN//NETRATINGS TRACKS TOP SPORTS SITES

The following are the top sports Web properties accessed from home and work according to Nielsen//NetRatings, ranked by unique audience for the week ending April 7. This data is based on a home and work panel of 62,000 and 8,000 respondents, respectively, with Internet access. This list does not include traffic to the unique sites of the yahoo.com domain. Traffic to the sites listed are the predominant URLs, and are grouped to include commonly-owned sites (Nielsen//NetRatings).

AT HOME
RK SITE
UNIQUE
AUD. (000)
ACTIVE
REACH %
AVERAGE
TIME SPENT
(HH:MM:SS)
1) ESPN
2,970
3.7
0:24:46
2) MLB Internet Group
1,515
1.9
0:13:26
3) Sportsline.com
1,395
1.8
0:21:58
4) NASCAR Online
1,116
1.4
0:11:03
5) sportsillustrated.cnn.com
872
1.1
0:08:08
6) NFL Internet Network
766
1.0
0:09:54
7) NBA Internet Network
563
0.7
0:09:54
8) fansonly.com
411
0.5
0:07:44
9) sportingnews.com
390
0.5
0:14:03
10) NHL Internet Network
298
0.4
0:07:58
         
AT WORK
RK SITE
UNIQUE
AUD. (000)
ACTIVE
REACH %
AVERAGE
TIME SPENT
(HH:MM:SS)
1) ESPN
3,408
8.6
0:35:18
2) MLB Internet Group
1,607
4.1
0:17:02
3) Sportsline.com
1,353
3.4
0:22:35
4) sportsillustrated.cnn.com
1,148
2.9
0:07:52
5) NASCAR Online
650
1.7
0:13:55
6) NFL Internet Network
635
1.6
0:07:11
7) fansonly.com
633
1.6
0:08:41
8) NBA Internet Network
456
1.2
0:15:33
9) sports.iwon.com
449
1.1
0:07:50
10) sportingnews.com
353
0.9
0:05:52


CHANNEL SURFING

ESPN’s “SportsCentury” will profile Chris Webber at 7:30pm ET.

TBS will air Pistons-Nets at 8:00pm ET.

ESPN will air the ’02 Action Sports & Music Green Carpet Special at 8:30pm ET, followed by the awards show, hosted by Jay Mohr, at 9:00pm ET.

ESPN Classic’s “SportsCentury” will profile Dick Butkus at 8:00pm ET.

IMG football agent Tom Condon and NFL prospect Bryant McKinnie will be on ESPN’s “Unscripted.”

Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman will be on FSN’s “The Last Word.”

Buccaneers S John Lynch, Braves LF Chipper Jones and NFL prospect Mike Williams will be on FSN’s “Best Damn Sports Show Period.”

A&E’s “Biography” will profile actor James Caan at 8:00pm ET.

E!’s “True Hollywood Story” will profile Larry Flint at 8:00pm ET.

Comedy Central will air Bill Murray’s “The Sweet Spot” at 10:00pm ET.


HEADLINERS

Here are tonight’s headline guests on the following talk shows:

“The Late Show” Cher (r)
“The Tonight Show” The Rock
“The Late Late Show” William Shatner (r)
“Late Night” Mira Sorvino

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

The Closing Bell provides an afternoon recap of the latest news and headlines each Monday through Friday at approximately 4:00pm ET. If you would like to sign up for an e-mail alert to the Closing Bell, go to My Account and personalize your e-mail alert options.

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