| | The Daily Insider
Afternoon News & Headlines
Thursday, May 16, 2002
4:00pm ET | |
| • | Francis Rockets Into Multi-Year Sponsorship With Reebok |
| • | Golfers Toms, Sorenstam Go Three Dimensional For Video Game |
| • | Hildalgo Discusses Nike's World Cup Marketing Efforts On "Lunch" |
| • | Perry Ellis Plunges Into Exclusive Licensee Deal With Nike Swim |
| • | Comments On Commentators: Who's Calling Tyson-Lewis, WNBA Games? |
| • | Buzzer Beaters/In Other News/Daily Stat/Channel Surfing |
REEBOK'S NEW MULTI-YEAR DEAL LAUNCHES A FRANCHISE
Reebok today announced that it has signed Rockets G Steve Francis to a multi-year endorsement contract extension. Francis has been with the company since his rookie season in '99. Reebok will feature Francis in its Above The Rim (ATR) advertising campaign this summer. The ATR shoe, part of the Rbk collection, will be available July 12 (THE DAILY).
MICROSOFT "LINKS" UP WITH TOMS, SORENSTAM FOR VIDEO GAME
Microsoft Game Studios today announced an agreement with golfers David Toms and Annika Sorenstam to feature the duo in the latest installment of the PC-based golf game "Links 2003." As part of the agreement, the game's development team will create 3-D versions of the golfers for use in the program (THE DAILY).
SOCCER, WORLD CUP KICKED AROUND ON "POWER LUNCH"
Nike VP & Global Brand Dir of Soccer Joaquin Hildalgo appeared on CNBC's "Power Lunch" this afternoon and said that the company's effort around the World Cup, which CNBC's Bill Griffiths estimated at $155M, "is the single largest marketing effort in the history of the entire Nike brand." Griffiths asked U.S. Soccer national team members DeMarcus Beasley and Landon Donovan that since soccer is "not the big money sport," do they "wish they could make more money playing this sport." Beasley responded, "I think I would be doing it for free. … It's not about the money at all." But Donavan said, "We could use more money" (CNBC, 5/16).
PERRY ELLIS DIVES INTO LICENSE DEAL WITH NIKE SWIM
Miami-based Perry Ellis will become the exclusive licensee for Nike Swim for the U.S. The license, which will be effective June 1, includes women's and girl's swimsuits, men's and boy's racing swimsuits, swim equipment and apparel (THE DAILY).
BUZZER BEATERS
PAINT BOOTH: Each week, auto racing teams often display will display different paint schemes on their cars to reflect a different sponsor, brand, promotion or special cause. This week, as the NASCAR Winston Cup Series holds its all-star events, which include The Winston, at Lowe's Motor Speedway, Cheerios will feature a "Star Wars" theme on John Andretti's No. 43 Petty Enterprises Dodge. Valvoline will leverage the Eagle One car-care products with a special paint scheme on its No. 10 MBV Motorsports Pontiac of Jerry Nadeau. Meanwhile, Penske Racing's No. 2 Miller Lite Ford of Rusty Wallace will sport Harley-Davidson logos (THE DAILY).
ESPN & ESPN2 unveiled their WNBA commentators for this season. Michele Tafoya and Mark Jones will serve as play-by-play announcers with new analysts Geno Auriema and Carolyn Peck, as well as the returning Doris Burke and Nancy Lieberman. Pam Ward will serve as studio host, and Lea Olsen and Vera Jones will be sideline reporters. ESPN's first WNBA telecast is June 1 (THE DAILY).
The AP reports that Jim Lampley, James Brown, Jim Gray and Bobby Czyz "will be the announcers for the pay-per-view telecast of the Mike Tyson-Lennox Lewis heavyweight title bout June 8" in Memphis (AP, 5/16).
Bob Costas officially agreed to a multi-year contract with NBC today that will require him to continue as host of NBC's Olympic coverage, while also taking on 15 or more additional annual assignments for NBC Sports and NBC Entertainment (THE DAILY).
MLBP officially named Deloitte & Touche to be the third-party authenticator for the MLB Authentication Program, replacing Arthur Andersen (THE DAILY).
The ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH reports that an "out-of-court settlement has been reached in the wrongful death suit" against Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington Univ. by the husband and daughter of Florence Griffith-Joyner (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 5/16).
The London GUARDIAN reports that John McEnroe "has signed to present 10 episodes of 'The Chair' this autumn" on BBC1 (London GUARDIAN, 5/16).
TODAY'S ARTICLES OF INTEREST
MSNBC.com's Roland Jones on South Korea and Japan's financial rewards for hosting the World Cup.
MSNBC.com's Arata Yamamoto on Japan expressing concern over the expected size of the World Cup crowds.
CBS SPORTSLINE's Dennis Dodd on stricter standards for college football teams to compete at the NCAA Division I level.
SALON.com's Allen Barra on the appeal of on-ice fighting in the NHL.
See The Daily Insider's Articles Of Interest section for more sports business-related links.
TONIGHT'S EVENTS
The Sports Hall of Fame of N.J. will induct nine new members at a 5:15pm ET ceremony at the Pegasus West Restaurant in Meadowlands Racetrack. Inductees include former Twins manager Tom Kelly, former Royals OF Willie Wilson and Devils President & GM Lou Lamoriello (THE DAILY).
The first 10,000 fans at tonight's Rangers-White Sox game at Comiskey Park will receive a White Sox Rally Sock from American National Bank (THE DAILY).
The CFL Ottawa Renegades will host a Quarterback Club event from 5:00-7:00pm ET. President Brad Watters and GM Eric Tillman are scheduled to attend (THE DAILY).
IN OTHER NEWS…….
Charles Schwab Corp. said today it "will begin grading stocks the way teachers grade students." Schwab is "seeking to profit from the negative scrutiny surrounding Wall Street research" by touting the merits of its own system, which it says is "free of investment banking conflicts" (REUTERS, 5/16).
The late singer Aaliyah leads the way in nominations for this year's BET Awards, scoring four nominations, "more than any other artist, for best female R&B artist, best actress, best video and for the viewer's choice for Video of the Year" (AP, 5/16).
THE DAILY STAT: BILLBOARD CHARTS
The following lists Billboard Magazine's top-selling CDs for the week ending May 16 (BILLBOARD, 5/25):
| RK | ALBUM | ARTIST | LABEL |
| 1) | Juslisen (Just Listen) | Musiq | Def Soul |
| 2) | A New Day Has Come | Celine Dion | Epic |
| 3) | MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 | Lauryn Hill | Columbia |
| 4) | Ashanti | Ashanti | Murder Inc./Def Jam |
| 5) | No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems | Kenny Chesney | BNA |
| 6) | Spider-Man | Soundtrack | Roadrunner/Columbia |
| 7) | C'mon, C'mon | Sheryl Crow | A&M |
| 8) | Hood Rich | Big Tymers | Cash Money/Universal |
| 9) | Now 9 | Various Artists | Universal/EMI/Zomba/Sony |
| 10) | Josh Groban | Josh Groban | 143/Reprise |
CHANNEL SURFING
ESPN will air NHL Eastern Conference Finals, Maple Leafs-Hurricanes, at 7:00pm ET.
ESPN Classic's "Vintage NBA" will profile Bill Bradley at 7:00pm ET.
ESPN Classic's "SportsCentury" will profile Deion Sanders at 8:00pm ET.
HBO's "On The Record" with Bob Costas will featureWWE Chair Vince McMahon and Charlie Sheen.
Pacers F Jermaine O'Neal will be on ESPN's "Unscripted."
Lions QB Joey Harrington and artist LeRoy Neiman will be on FSN's "Best Damn Sports Show Period."
Former 76er Matt Geiger, Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Stephen A. Smith and the Atlanta Constitution's Terence Moore will discuss Allen Iverson and Larry Brown on FSN's "The Last Word."
E!'s "True Hollywood Story" will profile musician Jerry Garcia at 8:00pm ET.
NBC will air season finales of "Friends," "Will & Grace" and "ER."
CBS will air the season finale of "CSI."
Kings co-Owners Joe and Gavin Maloof will appear on "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno at 11:30pm ET.
HEADLINERS
Here are tonight's headline guests on the following talk shows:
| "The Late Show" | Natalie Portman |
| "The Tonight Show" | Ewan McGregor |
| "The Late Late Show" | Big Head Todd |
| "Late Night" | Will Ferrell |
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.
