| | The Daily Insider
Afternoon News & Headlines
Monday, October 21, 2002
4:00pm ET | |
| |
| • | “Inside” Look: HBO Sports President Comments On Carter Joining Dolphins |
| • | WNBA Miracle Leaving Orlando For Yet-To-Be-Named City |
| • | Sprewell Claims Libel In $40M Lawsuit Against N.Y. Post |
| • | Bombardier Inks Title Sponsorship Of TX IRL Race |
| • | ESPN & ESPN2 Seeing Ratings Increases Year-To-Date Over '01 |
| • | Buzzer Beaters/Daily Stat/Articles of Interest/In Other News/Channel Surfing |
WNBA TO PLAY IN NEW CITY IN '03 AS MIRACLE PLANS RELOCATION
The WNBA announced today that after four seasons in Orlando, the WNBA Miracle will move from Orlando next season to a city to be designated by the league. John Weisbrod, COO of team owner RDV Sports, said, "We were not able to make it work financially in Orlando. We feel right now is the time to focus all of our resources on our core product – the Orlando Magic" (THE DAILY).
CRIS CARTER, NOW A DOLPHIN, TO BE ON HBO'S "INSIDE" THURSDAY
After Cris Carter today formally signed to play for the Dolphins, HBO Sports President Ross Greenburg told THE DAILY, "HBO is happy to accommodate Cris in this truly unique situation as he goes from behind the desk into the huddle. We look forward to maintaining our relationship with Cris and keeping him a part of Inside the NFL. We plan on having Cris on Thursday's edition and we will figure out the rest of his schedule as we go along." There are no plans, as of now, to hire a replacement (THE DAILY).
SPREWELL SUES N.Y. POST AND WRITER FOR $40M CLAIMING LIBEL
The AP reports that Knicks F Latrell Sprewell today filed a $40M lawsuit in NY Supreme Court against NYP Holdings – parent of the N.Y. Post -- and staff writer Marc Berman "over a story about how Sprewell broke a bone in his hand." An October 4 N.Y. Post article cited two anonymous sources claiming that Sprewell was injured "when he hit a wall with his hand while throwing a punch at a man on his yacht after the man's girlfriend vomited." Sprewell claims the injury occurred in a fall on the yacht (AP, 10/21).
BOMBARDIER ON BOARD AS NEW TITLE SPONSOR OF TX IRL RACE
Bombardier, an IRL sponsor since March, has signed a deal to title sponsor the '03 IRL event at TX Motor Speedway. The Bombardier 500k will be held June 7 next year, the first race after the Indianapolis 500 (THE DAILY).
ESPN/ESPN2 ANNOUNCE YEAR-TO-DATE RATINGS – TRENDING UPWARD
ESPN announced today that it's ratings from January through October 16, 2002 are up 13% overall -- from a 0.55 Nielsen cable rating to a 0.62 – and 15% in primetime (1.09 vs. 1.25). Meanwhile, ESPN2's total day average is even at 0.23 compared to last year. ESPN2's audience has increased 11%, however, due to gains in distribution. ESPN2's primetime ratings are up 2%, to a 0.49 from 0.48, and the primetime HH average has increased 11% to 406,000 from 366,000. ESPN2 is now available in over 84 million homes (THE DAILY).
ESPN/ESPN2 YEAR-TO-DATE RATINGS
(December 31, 2001-October 16, 2002 vs. January 1, 2001-October 17, 2001)
| | '01 | '02 | % Change |
| ESPN Total Day | 0.55 | 0.62 | +13% |
| ESPN Primetime | 1.02 | 1.25 | +15% |
| ESPN2 Total Day | 0.23 | 0.23 | Even |
| ESPN2 Primetime | 0.48 | 0.49 | +2% |
DAVID BECKHAM'S NAME HELPS BOOST REVENUES OF U.K. COMPANY
U.K.-based computer games publisher Rage Software today reported that total revenue for '02 has "more than doubled" from last year to US$18.8M. The "biggest contribution" to the improved results came from "David Beckham Soccer." The game, based on the Manchester United MF, has generated to date sales of $6.4M (FINANCIAL TIMES, 10/21).
BUZZER BEATERS
MA-based The Football Network (TFN) signed a four-year deal with the U.S. Flag & Touch Football League for coverage of the league's championship games. TFN is planning to debut as a full-time cable net next fall, and is already producing regional coverage of Atlantic 10 football (THE DAILY).
As of today, ESPN's 2-Minute Drill trivia game and The BottomLine sports information application are available for Motorola's iDEN phone for Nextel customers (THE DAILY).
Atlanta-based travel agent technology provider Worldspan officially announced the renewal of its presenting sponsorship of NCAA women's athletic events on FSN South for '02-03. Host Communications brokered the deal as part of its SEC Corporate Partner Program. Worldspan has participated in the program for four years (THE DAILY).
Actor Samuel L. Jackson is this week's special contributor to NFL.com's "Passion for the Game" column (THE DAILY).
TONIGHT'S EVENTS
Blackhawks players and coaching staff will appear at the Dave & Buster's in Addison (IL) from 6:00-9:00pm CT for an autograph session, with proceeds benefiting Chicago Blackhawk Charities (THE DAILY).
The Browns will host their fourth annual Taste of the NFL Celebrity Dinner from 6:00-9:00pm ET in the OfficeMax Club Lounge in Browns Stadium. Proceeds will benefit the Cleveland Foodbank (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 10/20).
TODAY'S ARTICLES OF INTEREST
The WASHINGTON POST's Sally Jenkins writes under the header, "Augusta should stay men only." Jenkins has "a sneaking suspicion that there ought to be an anachronism or two left in the world, because we too often mistake equity for some lame idea of sameness" (WASHINGTON POST).
The BOSTON GLOBE MAGAZINE's Charles Pierce writes that although NBA players "used to prove themselves in college before turning pro," Celtics F Kedrick Brown represents "the new face of the NBA," because "he's young, he's rich, but he still has to prove he can play" (BOSTON GLOBE MAGAZINE).
IN OTHER NEWS…
REUTERS reports that J.P. Morgan Chase's stock "surged on Monday on speculation that Bank One Corp. would buy the bank" (REUTERS, 10/21).
J.K. Rowling's agent Neil Blair said today that despite media speculation that Rowling may be planning an extra book, she "will not write an eighth episode of the popular Harry Potter series." The first four Potter books have sold 175 million copies worldwide (REUTERS, 10/21).
THE DAILY STAT: N.Y. TIMES BESTSELLING NONFICTION
The following presents best selling nonfiction books from the N.Y. Times for the week ending October 12 (N.Y. TIMES).
| THIS WEEK | HARDCOVER NONFICTION |
| 1) | LEADERSHIP, Rudolph W. Giuliani with Ken Kurson (Miramax/Hyperion) |
| 2) | LET'S ROLL!, Lisa Beamer with Ken Abraham (Tyndale) |
| 3) | LET FREEDOM RING, Sean Hannity (ReganBooks/HarperCollins) |
| 4) | LONGITUDES AND ATTITUDES, Thomas L. Friedman (Farrar, Straus & Giroux) |
| 5) | ABRAHAM, Bruce Feiler (Morrow) |
| 6) | LIVE FROM NEW YORK, Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller (Little, Brown) |
| 7) | TAKE ON THE STREET, Arthur Levitt with Paula Dwyer (Pantheon) |
| 8) | SANDY KOUFAX, Jane Leavy (HarperCollins) |
| 9) | THE DEMON IN THE FREEZER, Richard Preston (Random House) |
| 10) | FIGHTING BACK, Bill Sammon (Regnery) |
Other book sales of note include Charles Barkley's "I May Be Wrong But I Doubt It," ranking No. 30 and "Keep It Simple" by Terry Bradshaw at No. 34 (N.Y. TIMES).
CHANNEL SURFING
ESPN will air "Monday Night Countdown" at 7:30pm ET.
ABC will air "MNF," Colts-Steelers, at 9:00pm ET.
ESPN2 will air "The New American Sportsman" at 8:00pm ET.
ESPN2 will air "Fish On!" at 9:00pm ET.
ESPN2 will air "True Outdoor Adventures" at 9:30pm ET.
ESPN Classic's "SportsCentury" will profile Reggie Jackson at 8:00pm ET.
Fox announcer Joe Buck, MLB HOFer Yogi Berra, Mavericks head coach Don Nelson and Johnny Knoxville of MTV's "Jackass" will be on FSN's "Best Damn Sports Show Period."
Berra and Giants P Kirk Rueter will be on FSN's "The Last Word."
Bob Costas will be on CNBC's "After Hours" at 9:00pm ET.
A&E continues its "TVography" series with a profile of Charlie's Angels at 8:00pm ET.
E!'s "True Hollywood Story" will profile John F. Kennedy, Jr. at 8:00pm ET.
HEADLINERS
Here are tonight's headline guests on the following talk shows:
| "Late Show" | Tom Cavanagh (r) |
| "The Tonight Show" | Jennifer Garner (r) |
| "The Late Late Show" | Tom Green (r) |
| "Late Night" | David Arquette (r) |
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please let us know at:
dailyinsider@sportsbusinessdaily.com
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