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Closing Bell

Closing Bell, September 17, 2002

The Daily Insider
Afternoon News & Headlines
Tuesday, September 17, 2002
4:00pm ET

NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue Sits Down With The Daily
Ford, NASCAR Announce Today Title Sponsorship Of Season Finale Weekend
ESPN Original Entertainment To Launch Reality Shows Tonight
Devil Rays To Offer $1 Tickets, Concessions To Season Finale On Sunday
Univ. Of NC Wins Judgment That Prohibits Usage Of Trademarks
Buzzer Beaters/Daily Stat/Tonight's Events/In Other News/Channel Surfing

TAGLIABUE TALKS ON THE STATE OF THE NFL AND FUTURE GROWTH

NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue sat down with Editor-at-Large Terry Lefton on Thursday in N.Y. for an exclusive interview on the state of the league. Tagliabue discussed the league's areas for growth, new business development and overseas initiatives, as well as sponsorship, marketing and new media strategies.  The following is an excerpt of the full conversation that will be featured in tomorrow's issue of THE DAILY:

THE DAILY: Have you collected enough data yet to call the decision to have the league's opener on a Thursday night for the first time this year a success?

TAGLIABUE: Certainly, the Thursday kickoff achieved what we hoped. ... The goals were mostly to start the season off with a sharp focus on the NFL before the games were played and not just afterward, and also to do something in the context of giving back to the city of New York.

THE DAILY: Was it successful enough to do next year?

TAGLIABUE: I think we'll do it again. We found out what the key elements are: you use the ESPN Thursday night game as a platform to get network ratings, and you add entertainment to make it a fan-fest with music, and you have benefits for the city and for the league. ... A lot of owners have asked if we'll rotate it around and if their city will be included. Larger cities with a lot of energy and a largely-populated downtown would be most appropriate – Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas and Miami come to mind (THE DAILY).


FORD, NASCAR ANNOUNCE CHAMPIONSHIP WEEKEND PLANS

Ford and NASCAR jointly announced today that Ford will title sponsor NASCAR's inaugural championship weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway through '05. Now known as Ford Championship Weekend, the November 14-17 event will feature the season finales for the Winston Cup, Busch and Craftsman Truck Series. The races will be called the Ford 400, Ford 300 and Ford 200, respectively. In addition, Ford and the South FL Ford Dealers acquire the official vehicle status at the speedway for the term of the agreement, including the pace cars for all three races (THE DAILY).


ESPN ORIGINAL ENTERTAINMENT TO FOCUS ON REALITY CONCEPT

ESPN Original Entertainment (EOE) will premiere at 7:00pm ET "The Focus Group," a 30-minute show featuring a group of sports fans discussing current issues. At 8:00pm, EOE will premiere "Beg, Borrow & Deal," an eight-week series of one-hour shows, in which two teams of four will race across the country while attempting to accomplish sports-related tasks.

In Boston, Bill Griffith writes that "The Focus Group" has "the feel of an unofficial talent search. Surely, it's cheaper even than hiring sportswriters (or perhaps they all were committed to other shows)" (BOSTON GLOBE, 9/17). In Orlando, Jerry Greene writes of the show, "It's going to be 'The Sports Reporters,' except with amateurs. In other words than that, it's going to be really, really cheap to make" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 9/17).

In Atlanta, Mike Tierney writes, "Just one question about ESPN's sports-themed reality show being rolled out tonight: What took you so long?" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 9/17). To answer part of Tierney's question, "Beg, Borrow & Deal" was "originally cast more than a year ago … but fallout from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks delayed the show" (HARTFORD COURANT, 9/17).


NCSN ADDS SIX MORE CONFERENCES TO PROGRAMMING ROSTER

The National Collegiate Sports Network (NCSN) today announced that it has reached exclusive, multi-year agreements to cover championships, tournaments and regular season contests for the following conferences: America East, Big West, Colonial Athletic Association, Gateway Football, Horizon League and Western Athletic. The announcement brings to 17 the number of affiliated conferences (THE DAILY).


MICHAEL ANDRETTI LATEST TO MOVE FROM CART TO IRL

The AP reports that Michael Andretti will leave CART and join the IRL for the '03 season, teaming with Dario Franchitti and Tony Kanaan. CART VP/Communications Adam Saal said that the switch by Andretti "was expected and will not change the series' plans to field at least 18 cars next season" (AP, 9/17).

CART and Bear Sterns announced that they will be holding a business-to-business forum at the Grand Prix of the Americas in Miami on October 3 in an effort to help teams educate prospective sponsors of the financial opportunities that exist in CART (THE DAILY).


MLB OFFERS FANS POSTSEASON VIEWING GUIDE, HONORS CLEMENTE

MLB yesterday launched its official Postseason Viewer's Guide on MLB.com, the first time the official version has been made available to the public. The downloadable guide features a listing of all postseason matchups, including air times and the networks and cable channels on which games will be broadcast. View the guide here (THE DAILY).

MLB Commissioner Bud Selig announced today that all teams playing at home tomorrow will celebrate "Roberto Clemente Day," as part of the league-wide effort to honor his memory. As part of the tribute, the local recipients of the Roberto Clemente Award will be recognized at each game (THE DAILY).


BUZZER BEATERS

Patrick Ewing officially announced his retirement from the NBA and accepted a position as an assistant coach with the Wizards (Mult., 9/17).

The Yankees today officially announced the relocation of their Double A franchise from Norwich, CT, to Trenton, NJ.  The Eastern League Trenton Thunder, previously affiliated with the Red Sox, signed a four-year player development contract with the Yankees that will run through the '06 season (THE DAILY).

The ST. PETERSBURG TIMES reports that, as part of Fan Appreciation Day, the Devil Rays will offer $1 tickets and concessions during Sunday's 1:15pm ET game against the Blue Jays, their home finale (ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, 9/17).

Toshiba Business Solutions announced today a sponsorship of the NTRA, offering significant discounts on Toshiba products to NTRA members. Toshiba will also be designated as the official business solutions provider to the NTRA (THE DAILY).

The Univ. of NC announced today that it has won a $325,521 judgment against the operator of a pornographic Web site – UNCGirls.com – that featured the school's trademarks. The ruling also prohibited the Web site operator from trafficking the UNCGirls.com domain name or any other domain name containing "UNC" or any other similar mark (THE DAILY).

USA Canoe/Kayak (USACK) has signed Seals Sprayskirts of Johnstown, NY, as the "Official Sprayskirt of USA Canoe/Kayak" through '05. As part of the agreement, Seals Sprayskirts will supply USACK with approximately 100 sprayskirts for its national teams and will produce officially licensed sprayskirts for sale to the public (THE DAILY).


YOU HEARD IT HERE:

  • The L.A. TIMES reports that the "Aztec Warrior has emerged as the unofficial replacement for Monty Montezuma," who was "eliminated as culturally retrograde" by San Diego St. Univ. (SDSU) President Stephen Weber last year. The Aztec Warrior will be banished to "roam the stands," as he "will not be allowed on the field." San Diego County Supervisor & SDSU alum Dianne Jacob: "The warrior does not mock, he is not shameful, and he shouldn't be hidden away in a closet somewhere" (L.A. TIMES, 9/17).

TONIGHT'S EVENTS

The CBA will hold its 17th Annual College Draft by teleconference tonight beginning at 8:00pm ET. Fans will be able to view live pick-by-pick coverage at the league's Web site, and each team will be hosting a draft party in their home city (THE DAILY).

Chargers QB Drew Brees, S Rodney Harrison, DE Marcellus Wiley and WR/KR Tim Dwight will attend the second annual Chargers Taste of the NFL Celebrity Dinner at 6:00pm PT at the On Broadway Event Center in San Diego (THE DAILY).

Giant DE Michael Strahan will participate in a presentation and demo of Midway's NFL Blitz 2003 game today from 6:00-8:00pm ET at the Best Buy in Secaucus, NJ (THE DAILY).

The following NFL players will be making in-store appearances tonight as part of the Players Inc NFL Player of the Day promotion: (THE DAILY).

Dolphins WR Dedric Ward What's The Score Miami
6:00-7:00pm ET
Patriots RB Antowain Smith The Bleachers Abbington, MA
6:00-7:00pm ET
Bengals T Levi Jones Shelby County Collectables Sidney, OH
6:00-7:00pm ET
Cowboys DE Ebenezer Ekuban Nick's Sports Cards Dallas
7:00-8:00pm CT
Seahawks RB Maurice Morris Card Exchange Seattle
7:00-8:00pm PT

The '02 N.Y. All-Star Basketball Classic charity game, featuring NBA players, and benefiting wheelchair charities, will be held at MSG tonight at 7:00pm ET (THE DAILY).

The Sabres will host their first "Tuesday Night with the Team" at 6:00pm ET tonight at HSBC Arena, featuring a scrimmage, equipment sales and "Select-A-Seat" for season ticket holders (THE DAILY).


TODAY'S ARTICLES OF INTEREST

The DENVER POST's Jason Blevins writes that the Denver City Council's push for ethnic diversity in the ski industry "could force the hand of largely white industry." While the resort industry "has slowly recognized the potential business found in minority skiers," the council's actions "could help nudge" the industry into a decision that some believe is "smart business" (DENVER POST).

The L.A. TIMES' Helene Elliott writes that of the 34 U.S. teams or individuals who won medals at the '02 Olympics, figure skater Michelle Kwan "was the big winner commercially," as she "embodies desirable traits such as perseverance and dependability, if not the white-hot flash of gold-medal glory" (L.A. TIMES).

The SAN ANTONIO BUSINESS JOURNAL's W. Scott Bailey reports on two small, minority-owned businesses that are not only "playing important roles in the build-out of the SBC Center luxury suites," but are helping the Spurs "make good on the promise that area businesses … would get more than scraps when construction began" (SAN ANTONIO BUSINESS JOURNAL).

See The Daily Insider's Articles of Interest section for these and more sports business-related links.


IN OTHER NEWS…

The N.Y TIMES reports that Electronic Arts plans to announce this week contracts worth more than $2M "that integrate products from McDonald's and Intel into a video game to be released this fall." The game will let players "be nourished by virtual Big Macs and communicate using computers emblazoned with the Intel logo" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/17).


THE DAILY STAT: NIELSEN//NETRATINGS FOR SPORTS SITES IN AUGUST

The following are the top sports Internet properties accessed from home and work, ranked by Nielsen//NetRatings in terms of unique audience the week ending August '02. "Unique audience" = the number of people who access a site, with each person counted only once. "Active Reach %" = the number of unique Web users viewing a Web site one or more times, expressed as a percentage of the total active Web population for this month (i.e. 7.6% of Web users accessing the Internet from home viewed a site on ESPN at least once during this time period). "Average Time Spent" = the average amount of time a visitor has spent at that property for the month. The data is based on audience measurement of more than 50,000 U.S. panelists who have Internet access at home and 7,000 U.S. panelists who have Internet access at work. Traffic to these sites is listed as the predominant URLs, and is grouped to include commonly owned sites (NetRatings).

TOP SPORTS SITES – AUGUST '02
AT HOME
RK
BRAND OR CHANNEL
UNIQUE
AUD (000)
ACTIVE
REACH %
AVERAGE
TIME SPENT
(HH:MM:SS)
1)
ESPN
7,994
7.6%
0:37:54
2)
NFL Internet Network
4,670
4.4%
0:26:47
3)
Yahoo! Sports
4,237
4.0%
0:50:44
4)
SportsLine.com
3,964
3.7%
0:35:49
5)
CNNsi
2,808
2.7%
0:12:11
6)
MLB.com
2,594
2.5%
0:28:25
7)
NASCAR.com
2,396
2.3%
0:23:33
8)
eBay Sports
2,260
2.1%
0:07:14
9)
OCSN
1,488
1.4%
0:09:02
10)
World Wrestling Entertainment
1,157
1.1%
0:14:31
 
AT WORK
RK
BRAND OR CHANNEL
UNIQUE
AUD (000)
ACTIVE
REACH %
AVERAGE
TIME SPENT
(HH:MM:SS)
1)
ESPN
13,173
10.8%
1:22:32
2)
NFL Internet Network
7,867
6.5%
0:24:58
3)
Yahoo! Sports
6,838
5.6%
1:04:40
4)
SportsLine.com
6,316
5.2%
0:49:13
5)
CNNsi
5,937
4.9%
0:16:04
6)
MLB.com
4,837
4.0%
0:28:22
7)
OCSN
3,319
2.7%
0:11:23
8)
eBay Sports
3,248
2.7%
0:07:21
9)
NASCAR.com
3,232
2.7%
0:30:09
10)
sportingnews.com
2,023
1.7%
0:26:52
 

CHANNEL SURFING

ESPN will air Giants-Dodgers at 10:00pm ET.

ESPN will air the premiere of "The Focus Group" at 7:00pm ET.

ESPN will air the premiere of "Beg, Borrow & Deal" at 8:00pm ET.

ESPN will air "Off Course with Jack Wagner" at 9:00pm ET.

Jack Ford, Michele Tafoya, Dan LeBatard and Jimmy Roberts will be on ESPN's "The Sports Reporters II" at 9:30pm ET.

ESPN Classic's "SportsCentury" will profile Roger Maris at 8:00pm ET.

Chargers DE Marcellus Wiley and Chiefs TE Tony Gonzalez will be on FSN's "The Last Word."

Dolphins RB Robert Edwards, "Koufax" author Jane Leavy and Fox Sports Radio's Tony Bruno will be on FSN's "Best Damn Sports Show Period."

A&E's "Biography" will profile Priscilla Presley at 8:00pm ET.


HEADLINERS

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

"The Late Show"

Matthew Perry (r)

"The Tonight Show"

Ellen DeGeneres

"The Late Late Show"

Bill Scheft

"Late Night"

Robin Williams (r)


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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