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Closing Bell

Closing Bell, November 26, 2002

The Daily Insider
Afternoon News & Headlines
Tuesday, November 26, 2002
4:00pm ET

After Eight-Month Stint With Coyotes, Lites To Return To Stars

The Tradition Finds A New Title Sponsor And A New Home City

Cavaliers To Honor Radio Broadcaster Joe Tait's 2,500th Game Tonight

HBO's "Real Sports" To Feature Jeanie Buss Tonight At 10:00pm ET

SLOC President Fraser Bullock Receives Standing Ovation At IOC Meeting

Buzzer Beaters/Daily Stat/In Other News/Channel Surfing


The Closing Bell will not publish on Wednesday, November 27, Thursday, November 28 or Friday, November 29 in observance of Thanksgiving. We will return on Monday, December 2. Have a safe, enjoyable Thanksgiving.


COYOTES PRESIDENT & COO JIM LITES RETURNING TO STARS

Coyotes Chair & Gov. Steve Ellman announced today that Jim Lites will vacate his position as President & COO to return to the Stars, where he will reassume his role as team President, a post which he left in March. The DALLAS MORNING NEWS reports the Stars held a 2:00pm CT news conference to announce the move. Stars Owner Tom Hicks "brought Lites back to begin the process of separating employees who are currently working" for both the Stars and MLB Rangers. Hicks is attempting to sell the Stars (DALLASNEWS.com, 11/26).

Meanwhile, the ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS reports that Twins Senior VP/Business Affairs Dave St. Peter has been named the team's new President, taking over for former President Jerry Bell, who was named President of C.R.P. Sports, an umbrella company owned by Carl Pohlad, which oversees the team and RSN Victory Sports One (TWINCITIES.com, 11/26).

See tomorrow's issue of THE DAILY for more on these stories.


JELD-WEN SIGNS FOUR-YEAR DEAL TO TITLE THE TRADITION

The PGA Tour announced today that OR-based window and door manufacturing company JELD-WEN has signed a four-year agreement to title The Tradition, one of the Champions Tour's major championships. The purse will be $2M, among the top five on the Champions Tour. The event will be played August 25-31, 2003, in Portland, OR, at a yet to be determined location. The event had been played in AZ since its inception in '89. Peter Jacobsen Productions will manage the event (THE DAILY).


COLLEGE FOOTBALL RATINGS UP ON ESPN; DOWN ON ESPN2

Through Sunday, ESPN's 52 college football telecasts are averaging a 1.93/ (1,675,806 HHs) Nielsen cable rating, a 14% increase over last year's 1.69/ (1,432,663 HHs) for 44 telecasts.  On ESPN2, the ratings are down 6%, to a .94/ (794,970 HHs) for 44 telecasts from last year's 40-telecast 1.0/ (807,807 HHs) average (THE DAILY).


"REAL SPORTS" TO PROFILE LAKERS EXEC VP JEANIE BUSS TONIGHT

On tonight's edition of HBO' s "Real Sports," which airs at 10:00pm ET, Armen Keteyian profiles Lakers Exec VP/Business Operations Jeanie Buss, daughter of team Owner Jerry Buss, and in Boston, Bill Griffith calls the piece "a fascinating look into a different world" (BOSTON GLOBE, 11/26).

Keteyian asks Jeanie Buss about her much-publicized relationship with Lakers coach Phil Jackson: "You could argue that there's a huge or inherent conflict of interest with the owner's daughter dating the coach of the team." Buss: "How do you figure that?" Keteyian: "Well, how hard would it be for your dad to fire Phil, knowing that he's dating you?" Buss laughs and says, "That would be understood. Someone asked me, 'What would happen if your dad fired Phil?' I'd see him and say, 'Hey, bummer at the office. Where are we going to dinner?' Our relationship isn't about him being the coach. Our relationship is about two adults being together."

Keteyian asks her father Jerry, "Was is it a situation that you were comfortable with, to have your head coach dating your daughter, who's the upper management?" Buss: "I don't see that it has any bearing whatsoever. I read the newspaper like anyone else, and I've seen comments like that, but what's the big deal? I wouldn't hesitate at any time, if I felt it was the right thing, to fire Phil. None."

Keteyian asks Jeanie if she will succeed her father in running the franchise: "Has your father ever said to you flat out, 'Jeanie, this is yours next'?" Buss: "No, there's no reason to because I'm his legs. Whatever he wants done, he just tells me, and I get it done. He's the visionary; I'm his field soldier." Keteyian puts a similar question to Jerry Buss, asking, "Is she your choice to succeed you as the next owner of the Lakers?" Jerry Buss: "I don't know. Certainly, she will play a large role in it. Today, I think most teams have four or five responsible people. She certainly would be one of those if she chooses to be" ("Real Sports," HBO, 11/26).


CAVALIERS TO HONOR BROADCASTER JOE TAIT

The Cavaliers will honor radio broadcaster Joe Tait during tonight's 7:00pm ET game against the Kings, as he calls the 2,500th Cavaliers game of his career. In addition to a halftime video presentation, the team will distribute bobble-belly dolls to the first 5,000 fans in attendance. The bobble-belly dolls are sponsored by Ben & Jerry's (THE DAILY).



BUZZER BEATERS

The WTA Tour today announced a schedule of 60 events in 31 countries for the '03 season (THE DAILY).

The OTTAWA CITIZEN reports that only 132 fans at last night's Maple Leafs-Senators game "took advantage of a promotion that offered free tickets to future games" for turning in a Maple Leafs jerseys. There was "still a sea of blue-and-white jerseys in the crowd" (OTTAWA CITIZEN, 11/26).

The DESERET NEWS reports that SLOC President Fraser Bullock's presentation to the IOC Exec Board today "received a standing ovation." IOC President Jacques Rogge "praised organizers for ensuring that the Games were not distracted by various events that could have made them less than successful" (DESERET NEWS, 11/26).

College Sports TV (CSTV) and The Ivy League announced today that they have reached a multi-year, multi-sport programming agreement by which CSTV will have the rights to live telecasts in 33 men's and women's sports (THE DAILY).

KATIE AT NIGHT:

  • NBC "Today" co-host Katie Couric was last night's guest on CNN's "Larry King Live." King: "Now, these rumors – everybody writes about it, so I got to ask you about it – you and [Red Sox Owner] Tom Werner, who I know pretty well. If you marry him, you're going to have the lifetime wish: a baseball owner. You will own the Red Sox." Couric answered, "Well, Larry, I think we're getting a little ahead of ourselves actually." King continued, "Wouldn't you like to own a baseball team?" To which Couric responded, "You know, Larry, that may be your fantasy, but it's not necessarily mine" ("Larry King Live," CNN, 11/25).

TODAY'S ARTICLES OF INTEREST

The BOSTON GLOBE's Thomas Palmer profiles FleetCenter VP/Business Development Charles Jacobs, whose arrival in Boston "comes at a time when the family's properties are about to resume center stage in the public eye." Jacobs, the son of Bruins & FleetCenter Owner Jeremy Jacobs, "honed his business skills" on the West coast for ten years working for the NHL Kings and other companies (BOSTON GLOBE).

The SOUTH FLORIDA BUSINESS JOURNAL's Alexis Muellner profiles Pro Access President Eric Levin, who in addition to running a sports marketing practice, is "an accomplished restaurateur, club owner, developer and 'frustrated architect'" (SOUTH FLORIDA BUSINESS JOURNAL).

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


IN OTHER NEWS……

The AP reports that the U.S. economy "stuck in low gear in the spring, lurched ahead at a brisk 4[%] annual rate in the summer, a stronger performance than the government previously thought" (AP, 11/26).


TODAY'S DAILY STAT: N.Y. TIMES BESTSELLING NONFICTION

The following presents bestselling nonfiction books from the N.Y. Times for the week ending November 16 (NYTIMES.com).

THIS
WEEK
HARDCOVER NONFICTION
1)
PORTRAIT OF A KILLER, Patricia Cornwell (Putnam)
2)
LEADERSHIP, Rudolph W. Giuliani with Ken Kurson (Miramax/Hyperion)
3)
WHO SAYS ELEPHANTS CAN'T DANCE?, Louis V. Gerstner Jr.
(HarperBusiness)
4)
A LONG WAY FROM HOME, Tom Brokaw (Random House)
5)
JOURNALS, Kurt Cobain (Riverhead)
6)
MY LOSING SEASON, Pat Conroy (Nan A. Talese/Doubleday)
7)
SANDY KOUFAX, Jane Leavy (HarperCollins)
8)
THE CONQUERORS, Michael Beschloss (Simon & Schuster)
9)
LIVE FROM NEW YORK, Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller (Little, Brown)
10)
I MAY BE WRONG BUT I DOUBT IT, Charles Barkley. Edited by Michael Wilbon (Random House)

CHANNEL SURFING

ESPN will air NCAA men's basketball EA Sports Maui Invitational semifinals, Kentucky-Virginia at 7:00pm ET and Indiana-Gonzaga at 9:30pm.

ESPN Classic's "SportsCentury" will profile Jacques Plante at 8:00pm ET.

Boxers Christy Martin and Mia St. John, "MLB on Fox" analyst Steve Lyons and rappers Master P and Lil' Romeo are scheduled to appear on FSN's "Best Damn Sports Show Period."

TNT will air the PGA Grand Slam of Golf at 8:00pm ET.

A&E's "Biography" will profile Dr. Phil at 8:00pm ET and Oprah Winfrey at 9:00pm.

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


HEADLINERS

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

"Late Show" George Clooney
"The Tonight Show" Don Rickles
"The Late Late Show" Halle Berry
"Late Night" Caroline Rhea

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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