| | The Daily Insider
Afternoon News & Headlines
Wednesday, August 21, 2002
4:00pm ET | |
| |
| • | Union Acknowledges MLB's Move, But Talks Still Do Not Progress |
| • | TSA Releases Q2 Numbers But Shelves Public Stock Offering |
| • | SunTrust Inks Deal To Become Official Bank Of The Falcons |
| • | ESPN Execs Announce Cities In Running To Host '03 Great Outdoor Games |
| • | Women's Skins Game To Return To LPGA Schedule After Five-Year Hiatus |
| • | Articles Of Interest/In Other News/Tonight's Events/Daily Stat/Channel Surfing |
MLB LABOR TALKS BREAK MIDDAY WITH NO PROGRESS ANNOUNCED
The SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL reports MLB's labor negotiations broke for lunch today shortly after noon ET with no progress reported, but the union "welcom[ed] the league's willingness to drop $30[M] from its initial revenue sharing demands." MLBPA General Counsel Gene Orza said, "It's a move. How significant it is remains to be seen, but it's certainly better than them not having made it." As of press time, the sides have not reconvened (SPORTSBUSINESSJOURNAL.com, 8/21).
FALCONS INK SUNTRUST AS THEIR OFFICIAL BANK
The Falcons have signed a four-year sponsorship agreement with SunTrust Banks, Inc., which designates the institution as the "Official Bank of the Atlanta Falcons." The deal includes advertising, promotions, appearances and donations to Falcons' charities. SunTrust will receive radio, game program and jumbotron advertising. Additionally, Falcons players and coaches will make appearances on behalf of the bank, including in-branch promotions. Neither side divulged the cost of the agreement (THE DAILY).
THE SPORTS AUTHORITY MEETS ANALYSTS EXPECTATIONS IN Q2
CNN/Money reported that The Sports Authority's (TSA) Q2 numbers "matched the consensus estimate of analysts surveyed by the research firm First Call." TSA's Q2 net income raised to $9.3M, or $0.27 a share, up from $7.6M, or $0.23 a share, a year earlier. Additionally, sales for the quarter were $375.8M, a rise of 1.3%. However, TSA said that "the continued soft economy and the uncertainty about consumer sentiment during the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks would make the final six months of its fiscal year difficult to predict" (CNN/Money, 8/21).
TSA also announced today that its BOD has decided not to pursue its proposed public offering of $90M in common stock at this time, and has withdrawn the registration statement filed to register the offering with the SEC on July 1, 2002. At press time, shares of TSA were trading at $6.98, down $1.65 (THE DAILY).
MADISON JOINS RENO, ST. LOUIS IN RUNNING FOR OUTDOOR GAMES
The CAPITAL TIMES (WI) reports that ESPN execs yesterday announced that Madison, WI, is "one of seven cities being considered to host" the '03 Great Outdoors Games July 10-13. Other cities under consideration are Reno, NV; St. Louis; Minneapolis; Providence, RI; Portland, OR; and Lake Placid, NY – which has hosted the event the last three years. ESPN Outdoors GM Michael Rooney said that the site decision "will be made within 45 to 60 days" (CAPITAL TIMES, 8/21).
BUZZER BEATERS
New Hampshire Int'l Speedway Owner Bob Bahre said today that he "plans no changes" for the September 15 Winston Cup race at the track. Bahre "defended the track after drivers complained" that the July 21 race was dangerous, and said that the "only thing that has been done since then was to roll the track on a few hot days" (AP, 8/21).
The AP reported that after a five-year hiatus, the Women's Skins Game "will be back on the [LPGA] schedule in 2003, played at Wailea Golf Club on Maui the last week of January." The event "will be played in conjunction with the seniors, although the competition -- and television times -- will be different" (AP, 8/20).
The ECHL Greensboro Generals today announced that the team has entered a partnership with Woody Racing and driver Mike Bledsole to have the team's "G-Star" logo placed on the hood of Bledsole's No. 83 car for the final two events of the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series at Ace Speedway in Altamahaw, NC (THE DAILY).
Nautica Enterprises has renewed and expanded its sponsorship agreement with the Basketball City facilities in N.Y. and Boston. The agreement, which runs for two-and-a-half years, will guarantee Nautica's presence on the Basketball City Web site and on all promotional and collateral materials. In addition, all staff at Basketball City will be dressed in Nautica Competition jerseys and t-shirts (THE DAILY).
The AP reports that the TX-based Jon Rex Jones family announced today that it would donate $1M to the Univ. of OK athletic department. The donation "is to benefit the football stadium renovation and the women's basketball program" (AP, 8/21).
TODAY'S ARTICLES OF INTEREST
The WASHINGTON POST's Thomas Heath profiles MLBPA General Counsel Gene Orza, and writes that he is "outwardly warm and affable, an appearance that belies the fact that he is an iron-fisted union negotiator … whom many in and around baseball consider to be one of the smartest minds in the game" (WASHINGTON POST).
In anticipation of next week's USOC vote on the 2012 U.S. Olympic bid city, the Baltimore SUN's Robert Little examines N.Y.'s bid. NYC 2012 Exec Dir Jay Kriegel said, "Our bid isn't contingent on airport expansion, or hotel construction, or roads, water and sewer – it's all here. This is New York. We are heavily blessed with infrastructure" (Baltimore SUN).
The DETROIT FREE PRESS offers a special section on Ford Field, a stadium that's unveiling – because of the state of the Lions – "will be like unwrapping the toy you've wanted for months, only to discover that the batteries aren't included and the 7-Eleven around the corner is closed for the day" (DETROIT FREE PRESS).
See The Daily Insider's Articles of Interest section for these and more sports business-related links.
TONIGHT'S EVENTS
NFL analyst Boomer Esiason will make a $1(M) donation to the National Cystic Fibrosis Foundation on behalf of his foundation. Arnold Brant, the official clothier of "The NFL on CBS," will in turn make a $10,000 donation to Esiason's foundation. CBS Sports President Sean McManus and "The NFL Today" host Jim Nantz are among those expected to attend the 6:00-8:00pm ET event at Saks Fifth Avenue in N.Y. (THE DAILY).
The Cowboys will hold their annual "Kickoff to School Literacy Night" at the Alamodome from 6:30-8:00pm CT (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, 8/21).
NESN's "Red Sox Digest" becomes "The Boston Globe Pregame Report" at 6:30pm ET, leading up the Rangers-Red Sox game. The basic format of the program remains the same (BOSTON GLOBE, 8/20).
IN OTHER NEWS……
REUTERS reports that Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, "under increasing pressure from his ruling Liberal Party to quit," said today that he "would step down in February 2004" (REUTERS, 8/21).
Former Enron Corp. finance exec Michael Kopper today became the "first insider to plead guilty to a criminal role" in the company's collapse, giving prosecutors "ammunition for charges against other former company officials" (REUTERS, 8/21).
Cyndi Lauper injured her leg last night when she "tripped on stairs off the side of the Ford Center stage" in OK City during her opening performance for Cher. Lauper tripped and "fell about five feet to the ground, hitting her shin and ankle." After her finale, a stagehand "picked her up and carried her off stage" (OKLAHOMAN, 8/21).
THE DAILY STAT:
The following lists the final Nielsen ratings for the top ten prime time shows for the week of August 12-18. Also provided are Nielsen ratings averages season-to-date for the nets' primetime coverage (USA TODAY, 8/21).
| TOP TEN PRIMETIME NIELSEN RATINGS FOR AUGUST 12-18 |
| RK | PROGRAM | NET | DAY | RAT/SHR | VIEWERS
(IN MILLIONS) |
| 1) | Everybody Loves Raymond | CBS | Mon | 8.3/14 | 13.0 |
| t2) | American Idol | Fox | Tue | 7.4/12 | 12.7 |
| t2) | CSI | CBS | Thu | 8.3/14 | 12.7 |
| 4) | American Idol | Fox | Wed | 6.9/11 | 12.1 |
| t5) | 60 Minutes | CBS | Sun | 8.0/16 | 11.7 |
| t5) | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | NBC | Wed | 8.2/14 | 11.7 |
| t7) | CSI | CBS | Sun | 7.8/14 | 11.4 |
| t7) | Dateline | NBC | Tue | 8.2/15 | 11.4 |
| t7) | Dog Eat Dog | NBC | Mon | 6.9/11 | 11.4 |
| 10) | Becker | CBS | Mon | 7.5/12 | 11.1 |
| NIELSEN AVERAGES SEASON-TO-DATE |
| | |
| NBC | 8.4 | |
| | |
| CBS | 7.9 | |
| | |
| ABC | 6.0 | |
| | |
| Fox | 5.5 | |
| | |
| UPN | 2.6 | |
| | |
| WB | 2.4 | |
CHANNEL SURFING
ESPN will air the Little League World Series, Louisville-Ft. Worth, at 7:00pm ET.
ESPN2 will air Rangers-Red Sox at 7:00pm ET and Reds-Diamondbacks at 10:00pm ET.
ESPN Classic's "SportsCentury" will profile Wilt Chamberlain at 8:00pm ET.
Braves RF Gary Sheffield will be on FSN's "The Last Word."
Former Heat cheerleader Trista Rehn, who will be featured in ABC's upcoming reality show "The Bachelorette," as well as Marlins players A.J. Burnett and Kevin Millar and Univ. of Miami football coach Larry Coker are scheduled to appear on FSN's "Best Damn Sports Show Period."
A&E will profile George Carlin at 8:00pm ET.
E!'s "Revealed" features Sarah Michelle Gellar at 10:00pm ET.
HBO and NFL Films will air the fourth episode of "Hard Knocks" at 11:00pm ET.
Yankees P Roger Clemens will be on the "Late Show" with David Letterman.
HEADLINERS
Here are tonight's headline guests on the following talk shows:
| "The Late Show" | Al Pacino |
| "The Tonight Show" | Tom Cruise (r) |
| "The Late Late Show" | Luke Perry |
| "Late Night" | Tom Brokaw (r) |
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please let us know at:
dailyinsider@sportsbusinessdaily.com
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