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Closing Bell

Closing Bell, September 27, 2002

The Daily Insider
Afternoon News & Headlines
Friday, September 27, 2002
4:00pm ET

Celtics Change Hands For First Time Since '83 In $360M Sale

Basketball HOF Weekend Expected To Draw To 250,000 Visitors To Springfield

Callaway Golf Misses Revenue And Sales Targets For Q3 '02

Dick's Sporting Goods Reduces IPO Size By 1.5 Million Shares

Critics Weigh In: The Tuxedo” And “Sweet Home Alabama”

Buzzer Beaters/Daily Stat/Weekend Events/Channel Surfing


GASTON FAMILY SELLS THE CELTICS FOR $360M TO LOCAL GROUP

The Celtics have announced that the team has been sold for $360M to Lake Carnegie, a MA-based private investment group led by Wycliffe Grousbeck, his father H. Irving Grousbeck and Stephen Pagliuca. Grousbeck is a General Partner at Highland Capital Partners, while his father is co-Founder of Continental Cablevision and Pagliuca is a Managing Dir at Bain Capital. The BOSTON BUSINESS JOURNAL reports that while the franchise itself will "become a privately owned entity, it's unclear how proceeds from the deal, regarding the Celtics partnership, will be distributed." Details of the deal show that $50M of the $360M sale price will be used to pay bank debt (BIZJOURNALS.com, 9/27). Units of the Celtics partnership last traded yesterday on the NYSE and closed at $10.60, up $0.20 from Wednesday's close (THE DAILY).

BOSTON.com is reporting that Wycliffe Grousbeck "apparently has wanted to own a Boston sports team for awhile," and had held talks with Tom Werner and Les Otten about buying the Red Sox in '01 before John Henry became interested in the team. Current Celtics Chair Paul Gaston's father, Donald Gaston, bought the Celtics from Harry Mangurian in August '83. Although the purchase price was not disclosed, it was believed to be $15-18M (BOSTON.com, 9/27).


GRAND OPENING OF $45M MUSEUM HIGHLIGHTS HOF WEEKEND

Former Lakers G Magic Johnson, late Croatian G Drazen Petrovic, coaches Larry Brown, Lute Olson and Kay Yow and the Harlem Globetrotters will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball HOF during tonight's '02 Enshrinement Ceremony in Springfield, MA. The ceremony will be broadcast on ESPN Classic from 7:00-9:00pm ET, and will be emceed by Mike Tirico. The Globetrotters have chosen C.M. Newton to present the team during its induction (THE DAILY).

Tonight's enshrinement ceremony is the beginning of a weekend of activities, during which the HOF will open its new $45M museum during a 9:00am ET Saturday grand opening ceremony. The HOF will open to the public at 11:00am. The SPRINGFIELD UNION-NEWS called the facility "the jewel of $103(M) riverfront project" (SPRINGFIELD UNION-NEWS, 9/26).

HOF VP/Finance & Operations Donald Senecal said that everything "is on schedule for tomorrow's public unveiling," and he expects 250,000 visitors to the region this weekend for the festivities (SPRINGFIELD UNION-NEWS, 9/26).

The museum features 80,000 square feet of exhibit space, anchored by Center Court and the Honors Ring. The museum includes six galleries: the Game gallery, the Players gallery, the Media gallery, the Press Box gallery, the Coaches gallery and the Team gallery. Additionally, there is a 5,000-square-foot room reserved for temporary exhibits (THE DAILY).


CALLAWAY GOLF TO FALL SHORT OF TARGETS, FACES DOWNGRADES

RETUERS reports that Callaway Golf Co. "appeared to be nearing the rough after warning" yesterday that its Q3 '02 and full-year revenue and profit will "fall short of targets." The company said that "sales of its new titanium driver … may not offset softness in the golf equipment business." Citing weak consumer spending, the company sees Q3 sales of $155-160M and earnings of $0.13-0.15 per share (REUTERS, 9/27).

Meanwhile, Bear Stearns cut Callaway Golf to a "peer perform" rating (CBS MarketWatch, 9/27). As of presstime, Callaway's stock was trading at $10.24, down $3.20, or 23.8% (THE DAILY).


DICK'S SPORTING GOODS REVISES PROPOSED IPO NUMBERS

REUTERS reports that PA-based Dick's Sporting Goods stated today in an SEC filing that it has reduced the size of its IPO from 4.2 million to 2.7 million shares. Stockholders may sell 4.5 million shares, up from 4.2 million and that the total number of shares will be 7.3 million shares instead of 8.4 million. The company also revised the expected price range to $15-18, up from $14-18 (REUTERS, 9/27).


AVALANCHE RETURN TO QUEBEC TO PLAY BEFORE SELLOUT CROWD

The ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS reports that 15,000 Quebecers will "welcome back what's left of their beloved Nordiques" when the Avalanche and Canadiens play a preseason game at the Colisee Pepsi on Saturday night. The team relocated to Denver after the '94-95 season and tomorrow's game sold out in less than two hours with scalpers "selling $60 tickets for as much as $500" (ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS, 9/27).


BUZZER BEATERS

The AP reports that Bern, Switzerland, today formally withdrew from contention to host the 2010 Winter Olympics, after voters recently "overwhelmingly rejected a plan to help pay for the bid" (AP, 9/27).

Meanwhile, the Vancouver 2010 Bid Corporation announced today that the IOC has approved their candidate city logo for the 2010 Winter Olympics (THE DAILY).

The Clippers announced that Bill Walton will not return as the team's TV analyst because "his new job with ESPN and ABC created too many conflicts." Michael Smith has been given a multi-year contract to replace Walton (L.A. TIMES, 9/27).

The Warriors today announced a multi-year ticketing and technology agreement with Ticketmaster (THE DAILY).

MLB.com today announced that it would provide a free, live audio Webcast of radio broadcaster Ernie Harwell's final broadcast during Sunday's 1:05pm ET Tigers-Blue Jays game. Meanwhile, Harwell will simulcast both the radio and TV broadcast for the final half-inning of the game (THE DAILY).

Fox Sports World will launch the "Fox Sports World Report," a one-hour news program devoted to sports with limited U.S. exposure, such as rugby, cricket and tennis. The program debuts Sunday at 10:00pm ET, and will air Sunday through Friday nights in that timeslot (THE DAILY).


YOU HEARD IT HERE:

  • The BOSTON HERALD reports that "reason … overpowered animal instinct," as a group of Bridgewater-Raynham (MA) football players "turned a bikini-clad stripper away from the pregame party after a school parent hired her to perform for the boys." Varsity player Matt Beane said, "This is football, we don't do that kind of thing. All the captains have really good morals" (BOSTON HERALD, 9/27).

WEEKEND EVENTS

Friday

T'wolves G Wally Szczerbiak will shoot a commercial for the team from 4:00-4:30pm CT at Hopkins Cinema Six in Hopkins, MN (THE DAILY).

The Chargers will host their 8th annual "NFL 101 for Women" workshop from 5:30-9:00pm PT at Chargers Park. WR Curtis Conway, C Corey Raymer, CB Ryan McNeil and DE Marcellus Wiley are scheduled to participate (THE DAILY).


Saturday

The Flames begin their "Hockey Week Challenge" at the Pengrowth Saddledome at 11:00am MT, when President & CEO Ken King, VP & GM Craig Button and coach Greg Gilbert participate in "Hockey Talk '02." The event continues at 7:00pm MT Sunday in the first game of the "Battle of Alberta" series with the Oilers (THE DAILY).

The Mavericks will host their inaugural Fantasy Camp from 8:00am-8:00pm CT at American Airlines Center (THE DAILY).

The Pistons will host a free practice at Detroit Mercy's Calihan Hall from 7:00-8:30pm ET (THE DAILY).

Hawks G Jason Terry and C Theo Ratliff will participate in the Atlanta Literary Festival from noon-2:00pm ET at Centennial Olympic Park (THE DAILY).

AHL Philadelphia Phantoms RW Mike Lephart will appear at Boscov's in Voorhees, NJ, to read Disney stories to children starting at 3:00pm ET. Meanwhile, various players will appear throughout the afternoon at the Skate Zone in northeast Philadelphia for the first of three Skate Zone anniversary parties (THE DAILY).


Sunday

Actor Denis Leary will host his third annual Celebrity Hat Trick hockey game at the Worcester (MA) Centrum Theater beginning at 3:00pm ET. The game, which features a team comprised of Hollywood stars against a Bruins alumni team, will benefit The Leary Firefighters Foundation. Aerosmith's Steven Tyler will sing the national anthem and co-coach the Hollywood team with actress Elizabeth Hurley (THE DAILY).

The Clippers will host a private party for season ticket holders at Knott's Berry Farm amusement & theme park from 7:00pm-midnight PT (THE DAILY).

The Seahawks have designated Sunday night's game against the Vikings as the team's 4th annual "Canada Day" celebration (THE DAILY).


TODAY'S DAILY STAT: MOST-SEARCHED ATHLETES ON LYCOS

The following are the most-searched athletes on Lycos search engines for the week ending September 21 (Lycos):

RK
ATHLETE
1)
Anna Kournikova
2)
Oscar de la Hoya
3)
Serena Williams
4)
Fernando Vargas
5)
Michael Jordan
6)
Allen Iverson
7)
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
8)
David Beckham
9)
Martina Hingis
10)
Jeff Gordon
 

CRITICS WEIGH IN: “THE TUXEDO” AND “SWEET HOME ALABAMA”

Is "The Tuxedo" a black-tie affair? Just how sweet is Reese Witherspoon's new romantic comedy?:

Movie

“The Tuxedo”

“Sweet Home Alabama”

Chicago Sun-Times

Hollywood Reporter

L.A. Times

N.Y. Times

USA Today


CHANNEL SURFING

FRIDAY

ESPN2 will air NCAA football, Texas Tech-New Mexico, at 7:00pm ET.

ESPN will air Astros-Giants at 10:30pm ET.

ESPN Classic's "SportsCentury" will profile Magic Johnson at 9:00pm ET.


SATURDAY

NBC will air day two coverage of the Ryder Cup at 8:00am ET.

Fox will air "This Week In Baseball" at 12:30pm ET.

Fox will air regional MLB coverage at 1:00pm ET.

TNT will air NASCAR BGN Mr. Goodcents 300 at 2:00pm ET.

ESPN will air third round coverage of the PGA Tour Valero Texas Open at 4:00pm ET.

Fox will air regional MLB coverage at 4:00pm ET.

Game

Network

Time

Iowa-Penn St.

ESPN

noon ET

UCLA-San Diego St.

ESPN2

2:00pm ET

Michigan-Illinois

ABC

3:30pm ET

Nebraska-Iowa St.

ABC

3:30pm ET

Georgia Tech-UNC

ABC

3:30pm ET

Stanford-Arizona St.

ABC

3:30pm ET

Kentucky-Florida

CBS

3:30pm ET

Minnesota-Purdue

ESPN2

6:00pm ET

South Florida-Oklahoma

TBS

7:00pm ET

Alabama-Arkansas

ESPN

7:45pm ET

Syracuse-Auburn

ESPN2

9:00pm ET

 

SUNDAY

NBC will air day three coverage of the Ryder Cup at 7:00am ET.

NBC will air NASCAR Winston Cup Protection One 400 at 1:00pm ET.

ABC will air F1 U.S. Grand Prix at 1:30pm ET.

ESPN will air final round coverage of the PGA Tour Valero Texas Open at 4:00pm ET.

ESPN Classic's "SportsCentury" will feature Darryl Strawberry at 8:00pm ET.

Game

Network

Time

Coverage

Saints-Lions

Fox

1:00pm ET

10%

Panthers-Packers

Fox

1:00pm ET

15%

Bears-Bills

Fox

1:00pm ET

16%

Cowboys-Rams

Fox

1:00pm ET

33%

Texans-Eagles

CBS

1:00pm ET

N/A

Browns-Steelers

CBS

1:00pm ET

N/A

Jets-Jaguars

CBS

1:00pm ET

N/A

Dolphins-Chiefs

CBS

1:00pm ET

N/A

Giants-Cardinals

Fox

4:05pm ET

16%

Bucs-Bengals

Fox

4:05pm ET

9%

Titans-Raiders

CBS

4:15pm ET

N/A

Patriots-Chargers

CBS

4:15pm ET

N/A

Vikings-Seahawks

ESPN

8:30pm ET

National

 

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

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