| | The Daily Insider
Afternoon News & Headlines
Friday, January 10, 2003
4:00pm ET | |
| |
| • | Robert Johnson Gains Unanimous Approval For NBA Expansion Franchise |
| • | Judge Today Rules That David Dunn Can Continue Representing NFL Clients |
| • | PGA Tour To Enter Realm Of Pregame Shows With “PGA Tour Sunday” |
| • | Arbitration Court In Switzerland Rules In Favor Of USA Track & Field Today |
| • | Critics Weigh In: “Antwone Fisher” And “Just Married” |
| • | Buzzer Beaters/Daily Stat/Weekend Events/Channel Surfing |
NBA NEWS AT DEADLINE: JOHNSON UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED
The NBA BOG today unanimously approved the granting of an expansion team to Charlotte, NC, to be owned by Robert Johnson. The team will begin play in the ’04-05 season (THE DAILY).
Meanwhile, Spurs Sports & Entertainment announced today that it has named the newly acquired WNBA team the San Antonio Silver Stars. The team’s logo, uniforms and complete colors have yet to be unveiled (THE DAILY).
DUNN WILL NOT HAVE TO PAY ADDITIONAL DAMAGES TO STEINBERG
The SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL’s Liz Mullen reports Judge Ronald Lew today “denied two motions made by attorneys for agent Leigh Steinberg and his firm, Steinberg, Moorad & Dunn,” ruling that football agent David Dunn “can continue to represent players and won't have to pay additional damages.” Steinberg’s lawyers had asked the judge “to enjoin Dunn from representing NFL players until ’05,” and also asked for $23.5M in additional damages on grounds of unjust enrichment. Lew said the jury that awarded Steinberg, Moorad & Dunn $44.66M in damages in November “already had awarded compensation for damages caused by Dunn” (SPORTSBUSINESSJOURNAL.com, 1/10).
“PGA TOUR SUNDAY” TO OFFER FINAL ROUND PREGAME COVERAGE
The PGA Tour will debut “PGA Tour Sunday,” a live hour-long pregame show at 11:00am ET on USA Network. The show, which will broadcast 49 weeks per year, will prepare viewers for final round coverage of PGA Tour, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour events (THE DAILY).
CBS will air “Fairway Heroes of The PGA Tour,” a Nickelodeon GAS and PGA Tour Productions collaboration that pairs two children with PGA Tour players Chris DiMarco and Justin Leonard for eighteen holes, at 2:00pm ET. CBS Sports golf anchor Jim Nantz and analyst David Feherty also appear in the special (THE DAILY).
CART PRESIDENT CHRIS POOK ANNOUNCES GERMAN 500 VENUE
The AP reports CART President & CEO Chris Pook said today that CART had entered into a “strategic relationship” to hold the German 500 on May 11 at EuroSpeedway Lausitz in Klettwitz, south of Berlin, six days after a race at the Brands Hatch circuit in England. The 2002 race in Germany was canceled when the track “ran into financial trouble.” The German 500 will be “the only major open-wheel oval-track racing event in Europe in 2003.” The track is the same track where Alex Zanardi lost his legs in a crash in ‘01 (AP, 1/10)
USA TRACK & FIELD DOES NOT HAVE TO RELEASE NAMES
The AP reports an arbitration court in Lausanne, Switzerland, today ruled that USA Track & Field (USATF) “does not have to release the names of 13 athletes who failed drug tests from 1996-2000,” ending “a long-running dispute between the U.S. federation and the sport’s world governing body.” The court’s ruling read in part: “After considering all the relevant circumstances, CAS decided that there existed a valid reason in this case as to why USATF should not now be ordered to disclose the information requested by the IAAF” (AP, 1/10).
TSN HOPES TO MARKET DIGITAL CHANNEL WITH WICKENHEISER
The Toronto GLOBE & MAIL reports that TSN turned down Canadian women’s hockey team member Hayley Wickenheiser’s first game in a men’s professional league, opting to allow sister network WTSN to air the Finnish Hockey Federation second-division Kirkkonumnen Salmat-Kettera game at 1:00pm ET. The problem, however, is “few Canadians will be able to see it, because the distribution of WTSN, a digital channel, is small.” While digital TV is an about two million Canadian homes and “significantly fewer subscribe to WTSN,” TSN is in eight million homes. Nonetheless, TSN defends the attempt to “market the digital channel in the hope of increasing its distribution.” A TSN exec said, “If we don't put events of this magnitude on digital channels, the growth won't be there” (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 1/10).
BUZZER BEATERS
While reports had the Jets-Raiders AFC Divisional Playoff not sold out as of Wednesday, the SACRAMENTO BEE reports that “PSL holders who tried to buy [extra] tickets said they were told by the team's seller, the Oakland Football Marketing Association, that the game was sold out as early as Tuesday” (SACRAMENTO BEE, 1/10).
The DELAWARE COUNTY TIMES reported that with the Red Wings-Flyers game seven hours before the kickoff of the Falcons-Eagles NFC Divsional playoff game, nearly “90,000 people are expected to crowd into the sports complex area throughout the day, a number that has instilled fears of parking nightmares and hours-long traffic jams.” However, Comcast Spectacor Senior VP John Page said “There shouldn’t be any problems” (DELAWARE COUNTY TIMES, 1/8).
Throughout the weekend, each NHL captain will wear a special team jersey featuring a Hockey Fights Cancer commemorative patch. Each captain will then autograph his jersey and donate it to the ’03 Hockey Fights Cancer Online Charity Auction, which begins January 24 (THE DAILY).
The AP reports Australian Open Dir Paul McNamee today said that he is “willing to consider a change [to the event’s January slot], but only as part of an overhaul of the entire tennis calendar.” McNamee added that the “earliest realistic time to change would be in 2007, after Melbourne held the 2006 Commonwealth Games” (AP, 1/10).
The N.Y. POST’s Page Six reports that Lakers C Shaquille O’Neal “is now a Muslim and good buddies with Nation of Islam head Louis Farrakhan,” who was a guest at O’Neal’s recent Beverly Hills wedding (N.Y. POST, 1/10).
WEEKEND EVENTS
Friday
The Dodgers and the Dodger Dream Foundation today will dedicate Dodger Dream Field at Algin Sutton Recreation Center in south L.A. during a 3:00pm PT ceremony. Dodgers President & COO Bob Graziano, Exec VP & GM Dan Evans, Senior VP/Communications Derrick Hall and 2B Joe Thurston are expected to attend (THE DAILY).
ESPN The Truck will be parked outside America West Arena in Phoenix from 3:00-7:00pm MT, prior to the Grizzlies-Suns game. The truck offers an interactive sports experience, allowing people to be taped as “SportsCenter” anchors or have a photo taken for the cover of ESPN Magazine (THE DAILY).
Saturday
The Rockies will kick off their 10th annual Winter Caravan with a 9:30am MT “Hot Stove” session for season-ticket holders at the CO Convention Center. Two teams of Rockies reps, including manager Clint Hurdle and 1B Todd Helton, will then depart on a seven-day tour of CO and WY to promote the team (THE DAILY).
Nike and U.S. Soccer Foundation officials will participate in a shoestring untying ceremony from 10:00am-noon PT to celebrate the opening of the new soccer field at L.A.’s Ross Snyder Recreation Center. The Field Turf field was made from 125,000 recycled athletic shoes (THE DAILY).
ABC Sports in the U.S. and CBC Sports in Canada will present the announcement of the starting lineups for the Eastern Conference and Western Conference All-Stars at approximately 1:40pm ET (THE DAILY).
The Pistons will give G Chauncey Billups bobbleheads to the first 10,000 fans in attendance for the team’s 7:30pm ET game against the Bucks. The bobblehead features Billups’ full complement of tattoos (THE DAILY).
The Predators will give hats, courtesy of Chevrolet Team Monte Carlo, to the first 10,000 fans in attendance for the team’s 7:30pm ET game against the Coyotes. Additionally, there will be NASCAR-themed giveaways and cars from Nashville Speedway on the concourse (THE DAILY).
Sunday
The NHL Rangers will host SuperSkate V, an all-star hockey game that benefits Rangers Cheering for Children and the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation, at 1:00pm ET at MSG. In addition to hosts Rangers C Mark Messier and Christopher Reeve, “Strange Brew” star Rick Moranis and comedian Denis Leary will participate (THE DAILY).
NHL Diversity will participate in Miami’s Three Kings Parade as part of the NHL’s “El Hockey Es Para Todos” program to promote the ’03 All-Star Weekend. Thirty-two children from Hispanic Unity of FL will walk in the parade wearing NHL team and All-Star jerseys. The parade is expected to attract 500,000 onlookers (THE DAILY).
The Sports Management Program of the Univ. of MA will present Comcast-Spectacor President Peter Luukko the Harold J. VanderZwaag Distinguished Alumnus Award in a 5:15pm ET ceremony at the First Union Center (THE DAILY).
The Sixers will give a Charles Barkley Celebriduck to the first 5,000 children under the age of twelve in attendance for the team’s 7:00pm ET game against the Magic (THE DAILY).
THE DAILY STAT: TOP SPORTS SITES FOR WEEK ENDING DECEMBER 29
The following are the top five sports Web sites ranked according to unique work audience for the week ending December 29, according to Nielsen//NetRatings. Unique audience = the number of persons accessing this site or network, with each counted only once. Average Time Spent = the average amount of time a visitor has spent at that property for the week. Notes: Traffic to SportsLine.com does not include traffic to its network of sites, such as the NFL Internet network. This data is based on 8,000 U.S. panelists with Internet access at work (Nielsen//NetRatings).
| RK | BRAND OR CHANNEL | UNIQUE
AUD.
(000) | TIME PER
PERSON
(HH:MM:SS) |
| 1) | ESPN | 3,060 | 0:19:39 |
| 2) | NFL Internet Network | 1,479 | 0:19:36 |
| 3) | Yahoo Sports | 1,237 | 0:16:46 |
| 4) | SportsLine.com | 1,053 | 0:11:25 |
| 5) | CNNsi | 866 | 0:08:27 |
CRITICS WEIGH IN: “ANTWONE FISHER” & “JUST MARRIED”
While Denzel Washington’s directorial debut “Antwone Fisher” has been critically acclaimed, the Brittany Murphy-Ashton Kutcher romantic comedy, “Just Married,” seems destined for a dubious distinction – worst movie of the year.
| | ———————Movie——————— |
| | “Antwone Fisher” | “Just Married” |
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CHANNEL SURFING
FRIDAY
ESPN will air second round coverage of the PGA Tour’s Mercedes Championship at 7:00pm ET.
ESPN2 will air Celtics-Mavericks at 8:00pm ET
ESPN will air Clippers-Sonics at 10:30pm ET.
ESPN Classic’s “SportsCentury” will profile John Elway at 8:00pm ET.
Dolphin RB Ricky Williams, Seahawks QB Matt Hasselbeck, FSN’s “The NFL Show” co-host Tony Siragusa, UConn G Diana Taurasi and actor Steve Guttenberg are scheduled to appear on FSN’s “Best Damn Sports Show Period.”
Dodgers CF Dave Roberts will be on FSN West’s “The Paperboys” at 6:30pm PT.
USC QB and Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer will be on FSN West’s “Lakers Live” at 7:00pm PT.
SATURDAY
ESPN will air “NFL Countdown” at 11:00am ET.
BET’s “Maad Sports” will feature Clippers F Elton Brand at 12:00pm ET.
BET’s “Maad Sports Countdown” will feature NBA Kings F Chris Webber’s favorite videos at 12:30pm ET.
ABC will air Avalanche-Stars, Red Wings-Flyers or Rangers-Penguins at 1:00pm ET. The ’03 NHL All-Star Game starting lineups will be announced during the 1st intermission.
Canada’s WTSN will air the Finnish Hockey Federation second-division Kirkkonumnen Salmat-Kettera game at 1:00pm ET, featuring Canadian women’s hockey team member Hayley Wickenheiser.
ESPN will air the ’03 East-West Shrine Game at 2:00pm ET.
CBS will air Steelers-Titans in the AFC Divisional Playoff game at 4:30pm ET.
Fox will air Falcons-Eagles in the NFC Divisional Playoff game at 8:00pm ET.
“NFL Under the Helmet” on Fox will feature 49ers WR Terrell Owens, Steelers WR Plaxico Burress, Giants LB Mike Barrow and Lions KR Desmond Howard.
“NBA Inside Stuff” on ABC will feature Magic G Tracy McGrady, Lakers F Robert Horry, Hornets G Baron Davis, Wizards C Brendan Haywood, T’Wolves F Kevin Garnett and WNBA Miracle G Adrienne Johnson.
ESPN will air the third round of the PGA Tour’s Mercedes Championship at 7:00pm ET.
ESPN Classic’s “SportsCentury” will profile Bill Mazeroski at 7:00pm ET.
Hasselbeck, Broncos OT Ephraim Salaam and Browns S Robert Griffith will be on FSN’s “The NFL Show” at 10:30pm ET.
Winston Cup driver Jeff Gordon will host NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” at 11:30pm ET. Avril Lavigne is the musical guest.
| NCAA Men’s Basketball Schedule | Network | Time |
| North Carolina-Virginia | ESPN | noon ET |
| Penn State-Michigan | ESPN2 | 4:30pm ET |
| Cincinnati-Texas Christian | ESPN | 5:00pm ET |
| Austin Peay-Murray State | ESPN2 | 6:00pm ET |
| Temple-Richmond | ESPN2 | 8:00pm ET |
| UC-Santa Barbara-Utah State | ESPN2 | 10:00pm ET |
SUNDAY ESPN’s “Outside The Lines” will feature NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue and examine NFL issues at 9:30am ET.
ESPN will air “Sunday NFL Countdown” at 11:00am ET.
Fox will air 49ers-Bucs in the NFC Divisional Playoff game at 1:00pm ET.
ESPN2 will air NCAA women’s basketball, Wisconsin-Illinois at 2:00pm ET and George Washington-Temple at 4:00pm ET.
CBS will air Jets-Raiders in the AFC Divisional Playoff game at 4:30pm ET.
FSN will air NCAA men’s basketball, Wake Forest-Duke at 6:30pm ET.
ESPN will air the final round of the PGA Tour’s Mercedes Championship at 7:00pm ET.
ESPN2 will air Blues-Mighty Ducks at 8:00pm ET.
ESPN Classic’s “SportsCentury” will profile the year 2000 at 8:00pm ET.
ESPN will air the Australian Open at 11:00pm ET.
FSN’s “Beyond The Glory” will profile Kobe Bryant.
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please let us know at:
dailyinsider@sportsbusinessdaily.com
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