| | The Daily Insider
Afternoon News & Headlines
Friday, July 12, 2002
4:00pm ET | |
| • | NASCAR Pulls Into New Broadcast Pits At NBC/TNT This Weekend |
| • | WSJ's Sam Walker Makes The "Call" On MLB's Week Of PR Blunders |
| • | Pols Leap On Bandwagon To Condemn Selig, State Of MLB |
| • | Give Her Something Special: Floral Arrangements, Gift Baskets & The CFL |
| • | Critics Weigh In: Is Tom Hanks Back On The "Road" To Oscar Success? |
| • | Buzzer Beaters/In Other News/Daily Stat/Weekend Events/Channel Surfing |
NBC/TNT NASCAR COVERAGE TO FEATURE B-B-B-BENNY IN THE PITS
Beginning this weekend, NBC/TNT takes over from Fox coverage of the NASCAR Busch and Winston Cup Series. NBC will carry tomorrow's BGN Tropicana Twister 300 at Chicagoland Speedway at 3:30pm ET and will show the Winston Cup Tropicana 400 at 2:30pm ET Sunday. For its 20 second-half Winston Cup races last year, NBC/TNT averaged a 3.9/10 Nielsen rating, and the race from Chicagoland earned a 5.6/14.
NBC/TNT NASCAR Producer Sam Flood said, "We've added a few new wrinkles to try to keep growing the product. We're taking advantage of [analyst] Benny [Parsons], and will get him down in the pits a little bit more in the pre-race show to get him to interact with people. We've got a new 'Benny in the Pits' element that will debut Sunday." Pit reporter Bill Weber added, "We're going to go in-depth on some issues. That's been our trademark since we first came on the air. … What you're going to see this year is the same coverage from the seven announcers that we had last year, only more of ourselves" (THE DAILY).
"GOT" PAINT SCHEMES? COMPANIES CAPITALIZE ON CHICAGOLAND
This weekend at Chicagoland Speedway, in addition to the Muppet paint schemes reported on yesterday, "got milk?" will adorn the No. 5 Kellogg's Chevy of Terry Labonte, while Mobil 1 will be the featured sponsor on Ryan Newman's No. 12 Alltel Ford. JoDee Messina and musical recording "Inside Traxx" will be featured on Bobby Hamilton's No. 55 Schneider Electric Chevy this weekend. Finally, Citgo will sport the BASSMasters Classic on the No. 99 Citgo Ford of Jeff Burton.
In the Busch Series, which races at Chicagoland on Saturday, Dr Pepper will celebrate the launch of Red Fusion with a special paint scheme on the No. 26 Dr Pepper Chevy of Ron Hornaday, and the Nestle-sponsored No. 10 Ford of Scott Riggs will feature Nestea instead of the familiar Nesquik.
Several companies are joining the Winston Cup Series' regular competitors this weekend, including Siemens, which will make its Winston Cup debut as sponsor of Bill Davis Racing's No. 27 Dodge of Scott Wimmer; Stacker 2 makes its second appearance of the season on-board Innovative Motorsports' No. 98 Chevy of Kenny Wallace; Aaron Rents also makes its second appearance of the year, as the company is backing Michael Waltrip Inc.'s No. 00 Chevy of Jerry Nadeau; and Naturally Fresh will debut with a sponsorship of Brett Bodine Racing's No. 127 Ford of Kirk Shelmerdine (THE DAILY).
MANAGEABLE GAMES ON AGENDA FOR PENDING IOC MEETINGS
AROUND THE RINGS reports that the "shape and size of the Olympic Games in the 21st century may become more apparent following meetings in the coming days at IOC headquarters in Lausanne." The Games Study Commission headed by IOC VP Dick Pound will meet today and tomorrow and "assemble the recommendations it plans to make on how to make future Olympics more manageable to host." Pound: "This really is to analyze and resolve the cost of the Games." Recommendations produced by the commission this weekend will be reviewed by the IOC Exec Board, which will next meet in August (AROUND THE RINGS, 7/12).
WALKER WALKS US THROUGH WEEK OF PR BLUNDERS FOR MLB
The Wall Street Journal's Sam Walker was on CNBC's "Morning Call" to discuss the tumultuous week in MLB and detailed this week's "PR blunders" by the league – including the All-Star Game fiasco and the subsequent conflicting statements on whether an MLB team will not be able to meet payroll on Monday. Walker: "I think the problem with a lot of Bud's [Selig] bloopers and blunders lately is that he is not getting the message across that it is really possible that some team could run out of money this season. Teams are really dependent on corporate money, and they have taken on a lot of debt and they don't have the big, rich single owner that needs to cut checks anymore" (CNBC, 7/12).
BACKLASH: POLITICIANS STEP UP TO PLATE TO BASH BUD, MLB
Chicago Mayor Richard Daley tells the CHICAGO SUN-TIMES that he "has yet to regain the lifelong passion for baseball that he lost" after the '94 strike, "and if the players and owners make the same mistake again, they'll risk alienating him and the rest of their fans forever." Daley: "If they go on strike, they're going to lose a lot of people. The American pastime will be slowly declining. … Their competition is coming from soccer and from alternative sports: Rollerblading, biking and jogging. They'd better understand -- not just the owners, but the players -- that the fans make the game" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 7/12).
Meanwhile, NJ Assemblyman Neil Cohen announced today that he is introducing legislation that would "bar any major league baseball team from relocating" to NJ as long as Bud Selig remains Commissioner. Cohen: "Bud Selig's suspension of the 2002 All-Star game was the straw that broke the camel's back. ... His decision turned an otherwise wonderful evening into a field of screams. We need to take a stand as a state and a nation and tell Bud Selig 'Ye'r out'" (POLITICSNJ.com, 7/12).
BUZZER BEATERS
The WASHINGTON POST reports that DC Council members on Thursday "pressed the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission and the promoters of the coming Grand Prix auto race to turn over all financial details of their contract" by Monday, and said that they "would resort to a subpoena if the information was not provided" (WASHINGTON POST, 7/12).
The CFL and Canada-based Growers Direct and Flora World today announced a promotional partnership that will result in a new product line for Canada's national floral retailer. The announcement will result in league trademarks being offered to consumers through customized floral arrangements and gift baskets (CFL).
"Wheel of Fortune" host Pat Sajak today launched his own baseball and entertainment themed show, "The Pat Sajak Baseball Hour," on MLB Radio. Former MLBer Billy Sample serves as Sajak's co-host (MLB.com).
The ST. PETERSBURG TIMES notes that the obits of the late Darryl Kile, Jack Buck and Ted Williams are all featured at thedeadballera.com, a baseball shrine "where every player is safe at home." Baseball fan Frank Russo "built the site after finding himself frustrated that so little was explained about a player's death -- or life -- in baseball reference books." Russo: "This site is not intended to be macabre or depressing." More than 1,000 obits are catalogued alphabetically and Russo calls himself a baseball necrologist (ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, 7/12).
WEEKEND EVENTS
Friday HDNet and CART will deliver the first-ever high definition television broadcast of live auto racing during qualifying session for the Marconi Grand Prix of Cleveland. The Friday session will be shown on tape-delayed basis at 10:00pm ET and Saturday's session will be shown live at 1:30pm ET (THE DAILY).
The WNBA Portland Fire invites all kids 12 and under to attend tonight's Sparks-Fire game for free to help celebrate Spot the Fire Dog's birthday. The first 7,500 fans to enter will also receive a team poster, courtesy of GI Joe's (THE DAILY).
The 10th Annual Alex Spanos All-Star Classic between top high school football players will be held at San Diego Mesa College at 7:30pm PT (THE DAILY).
Saturday The Astros and Methodist DeBakey Heart Center will host a heart disease prevention workshop before their 12:15pm CT game against the Reds at Minute Maid Park. Free in-ballpark blood pressure screenings will be offered from 10:15am CT through the end of the 7th inning (THE DAILY).
The Red Sox will honor the Negro Leagues and wear vintage uniforms for their game against the Blue Jays. It is the first time the team has done so since a "Turn Back The Clock" game in '97 (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/12).
The Cubs will host "Meet the Team, Have a Ball" from 11:00am-1:00pm CT. In addition to an autograph session with current and former Cubs players, participants will receive a disposable camera and official MLB baseball. Proceeds from the $200 per person event will benefit Cubs Care (THE DAILY).
Sunday Royals players will sell gloves for underprivileged little leaguers in the Kansas City area after Sunday's game. The event is scheduled for 5:30pm CT at Dick's Sporting Goods in Olathe, KS (K.C. STAR, 7/12).
The WNBA will hold the All-Star Summer Jam, its annual basketball festival, on Sunday and Monday on 5th and G Streets, NW, in Washington, DC. The event will contain more than 50,000 square feet of basketball activities, clinics, live music and clinics (THE DAILY).
TODAY'S DAILY STAT: LYCOS MOST-SEARCHED ATHLETES
The following are the most-searched athletes by Lycos search engine users for the week ending July 6 (Lycos):
| RK | ATHLETE |
| 1) | Anna Kournikova |
| 2) | Daniela Hantuchova |
| 3) | David Beckham |
| 4) | Ilhan Mansiz |
| 5) | Serena Williams |
| 6) | Apolo Anton Ohno |
| 7) | Oliver Kahn |
| 8) | Ronaldo |
| 9) | Allen Iverson |
| 10) | Landon Donovan |
IN OTHER NEWS…..
The ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH reports that Anheuser-Busch "is selling its marketing and business communications subsidiary, Busch Creative Services Corp., to the unit's executives." The unit's revenue is estimated to be less than 1% of the $12.9B in net sales posted by A-B last year. The "size of the group or the names of executives involved in the buyout were not available" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 7/12).
REUTERS reports that singer George Michael "believes his life would be in danger if he returned to the United States following an outburst of anger" over his latest single which "ridicules the U.S.-led 'war on terror'" (REUTERS, 7/12).
CRITICS WEIGH IN: "CROCODILE HUNTER," "REIGN OF FIRE" & "ROAD TO PERDITION"
All roads lead to Tom Hanks' "Perdition" this weekend, though there's always the cheery "Crocodile Hunter" or the semi-heated "Reign of Fire" if Sam Mendes' Depression-era gangster flick is sold out::
| | ——— Movie ——— |
| | Crocodile Hunter | Reign of Fire | Road to Perdition |
| Chicago Tribune | 
|
| 
|
|
| Hollywood Reporter |
| 
|
|
|
| L.A. Times |
|
|
|
|
| N.Y. Times |
|
|
|
|
| Washington Post |
|
|
|
CHANNEL SURFING
FRIDAY Mavericks C Shawn Bradley will appear in one of the clues on "Jeopardy!" Check local listings for time and channel (THE DAILY).
Cubs RF Sammy Sosa, D'Backs CF Steve Finley, Celtics F Paul Pierce, Fox Sports' Terry Bradshaw and actor Joe Mantegna are scheduled to appear on "Best Damn Sports Show Period."
ESPN will air WNBA Sparks-Fire at 8:00pm ET.
ESPN Classic's "SportsCentury" will profile Jerry Rice at 8:00pm ET.
SATURDAY Fox will air regional MLB coverage at 1:00pm ET: Phillies-Mets or Reds-Astros.
NBC will air WNBA Liberty-Mystics at 1:30pm ET.
NBC will air NASCAR BGN Tropicana Twister 300 at 3:30pm ET.
Fox will air regional MLB coverage at 4:00pm ET: D'Backs-Dodgers or Rockies-Giants.
SUNDAY ESPN will air "Off Course with Jack Wagner" at 8:30am ET.
John Saunders, Mitch Albom, Bob Ryan and Mike Lupicawill be on ESPN's "The Sports Reporters."
ESPN's "Outside the Lines" will explore the issue of selling artwork of professional athletes without their permission, focusing on artist Rick Rush, who painted a picture of Tiger Woods winning the '97 Masters and was sued by Woods' ETW.
ABC will air PGA Tour Greater Milwaukee Open, final round, at 2:00pm ET.
FSN will air ATP Miller Lite Hall of Fame Championships at 2:00pm ET.
NBC will air NASCAR WC Tropicana 400 at 2:30pm ET.
CBS will air NFL Quarterback Challenge at 4:00pm ET.
ESPN's "Sunday Night Baseball" will feature D'Backs-Dodgers at 8:00pm ET.
Tiger Woodswill be the "Sunday Conversation" on ESPN's "SportsCenter" at 11:00pm ET.
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.
