Closing Bell, September 26, 2002

CBS TO ASSUME NCAA CORPORATE MARKETING SALES FROM HOST

CBS Sports announced today it has amended its agreement with Host Communications and has assumed all corporate partner marketing sales and servicing responsibilities for the NCAA, including TV requirements for Division I Men's basketball and 65 other NCAA national championships. In addition, CBS will continue to administer radio and Internet rights for all NCAA championship programming. Host will continue under a two-year deal to administer NCAA domestic and international merchandise licensing programs, publication of game programs for each of the NCAA's 87 national championships and the production of "Hoop City" fan festivals at the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's basketball championships. See tomorrow's issue of THE DAILY for more (THE DAILY).

MOODY'S REPORT SHOWS NFL AND NASCAR AHEAD OF THE PACK

Moody's Investor Services today released a report that said the NFL is the major U.S. sports league or sanctioning body with the "strongest financial structure" and is in the best position "to weather a slowing economy and avoid troubles with broadcast contracts, labor unrest or fan apathy." NASCAR finished second in the study, followed by the NBA, MLB and the NHL. The NHL was reported as the "weakest of the leagues" because Moody's expects a players' strike in '05 as "owners are expected to seek a salary cap." Report Author/Moody's Senior VP Neil Begley said, "The NFL and NASCAR have fairly strict revenue sharing arrangements that eliminate a barbell effect that can leave stronger teams competing for money against weaker ones" (REUTERS, 9/26).

FA ANNOUNCES $1.17B DEAL TO REPLACE WEMBLEY STADIUM

The London GUARDIAN reports the FA "finally confirmed" today that a deal has been completed for the new $1.17B Wembley national stadium. The demolition of the existing stadium is expected "almost immediately" and the new 90,000-seat stadium is due to be complete in early '06. The facility will be financed through a $663.37M loan from German bank WestLB, $264.7M from public money, $186.86M from the Sport England National Fund and $77.86M from the British government and a London development agency (London GUARDIAN, 9/26).

CHUCK ROAST: TNT FEATURES BARKLEY IN NEW TALK SHOW

As first reported in today's issue of THE DAILY, TNT officially announced today that the net will debut a new live original series, titled "Listen Up! Charles Barkley with Ernie Johnson," on Thursday, October 31, from 7:00-7:30pm ET. The series will be based in Atlanta, but will move to remote locations on occasion. Credits for the show are as follows:

ICHIRO, BONDS, HUNTER TO LEAD TEAM ON TOUR OF JAPAN

MLB officially announced that three of the players that will lead a team of MLB stars on an eight-game barnstorming trip of Japan this coming November are Mariners RF Ichiro Suzuki, Giants LF Barry Bonds and Twins CF Torii Hunter (THE DAILY).

BUZZER BEATERS

PAINT BOOTH: Each week, some auto racing teams display different paint schemes on their cars to reflect a different sponsor, brand, promotion or special cause.  This week, while the NASCAR Winston Cup Series visits Kansas Speedway for Sunday's Protection One 400, the No. 40 Chip Ganassi Dodge of Jimmy Spencer will feature Energizer rather than the usual Target colors. Additionally, Valvoline will feature sister brand Zerex on its No. 10 MBV Motorsports Pontiac of Johnny Benson. MB2 Motorsports' No. 36 Pontiac of Ken Schrader will tout M&M Mars' Pedigree dog food brand instead of the usual M&M's brand.

Meanwhile, during Saturday's Busch Series Mr. Goodcents 300, Welliver-Jessel Motorsports' No. 66 Dodge of Casey Mears will don the Univ. of KS colors through a partnership with team sponsor Phillips 66. Additionally, FitzBradshaw Racing's No. 12 Supercuts Chevy of Kerry Earnhardt will feature a logo promoting team co-Owner Terry Bradshaw's book, "Keep It Simple" (THE DAILY).

The NCAA today released the NCAA Graduation Rates report, which showed that Division I student-athletes reached the 60% plateau for the first time since numbers have been tracked. That figure compares to 58% for the entire full-time student body at the same institutions (THE DAILY).

The Durham HERALD-SUN reports that Duke Univ. basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski "publicly endorsed" NC GOP U.S. Senate candidate Elizabeth Dole at a fundraiser Wednesday night and said that he would "recruit her." Former NBAer Mike Gminski was a co-chair of the event (Durham HERALD-SUN, 9/26).

Speedo today announced a partnership with Fallon Brand Consulting to assist in efforts to position the Speedo brand for continued growth in the lifestyle apparel and accessories category (THE DAILY).

Minor League Baseball today announced that regular season attendance for the 176 teams in its 15 affiliated leagues reached over 38,600,000 fans, the third-highest total in history (THE DAILY).

ESPN has contracted NFL Films to collaborate on the production of the net's second made-for-TV movie, "The Junction Boys," which is scheduled to air December 14 at 9:00pm ET (THE DAILY).

TODAY'S ARTICLES OF INTEREST

The N.Y. TIMES' Richard Sandomir examines MSG's efforts to boost Knicks season-ticket sales, and writes that after the team's "failure to make the playoffs … and the recession that hammered Wall Street, MSG, for the first time, contacted everyone on the team's 8,000-person waiting list" (N.Y. TIMES).

The DETROIT NEWS' Lynn Henning offers a Q&A with retiring Tigers radio broadcaster Ernie Harwell, who thinks that a broadcaster has to "be the same kind of person you are off the air [because] if you do everything on a high note, you don't have any contrast" (DETROIT NEWS).

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

IN OTHER NEWS….

The WASHINGTON POST reports that Christopher Hitchens will no longer write his "Minority Report" column in "The Nation" (WASHINGTON POST, 9/26).

THE DAILY STAT: BILLBOARD CHARTS

The following lists Billboard Magazine's top-selling CDs for the week ending September 12 (BILLBOARD, 9/26):

CHANNEL SURFING

ESPN will air NCAA football, Florida St.-Louisville, at 7:30pm ET.

ESPN2 will air MLS playoff coverage, Fire-Revolution, at 7:30pm ET.

ESPN Classic's "SportsCentury" will profile Randy Moss at 8:00pm ET.

Magic Johnson will appear on CNN's "Connie Chung Tonight" at 8:00pm ET.

CNN's "NewsNight with Aaron Brown" will profile Tigers radio broadcaster Ernie Harwell at 10:00pm ET.

ATP player Andy Roddick, NBA HOFer Rick Barry, Negro Leagues Baseball Museum Chair Buck O'Neil and singer Travis Tritt are scheduled to appear on FSN's "Best Damn Sports Show Period."

Mighty Ducks LW Paul Kariya will be on FSN's "The Last Word."

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

E!'s "True Hollywood Story" will profile "Three's Company" at 8:00pm ET.

HEADLINERS

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

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

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