| | The Daily Insider
Afternoon News & Headlines
Wednesday February 19, 2003
4:00pm ET | |
| |
| • | Sports Illustrated President Bruce Hallett Appears On CNBC’s “Power Lunch” |
| • | PGA Tour Player Aaron Baddeley Signs Endorsement Deal With MacGregor |
| • | NASCAR Drivers Jeff Green, Kerry Earnhardt Sign Sponsorship Deals Today |
| • | Suns Today Announce That ’03-04 Season-Ticket Prices Will Remain Steady |
| • | Sports Personalities Litter The Late Night Scene Tonight |
| • | Buzzer Beaters/Tonight’s Events/Channel Surfing/In Other News/The Daily Stat |
HALLETT DISCUSSES THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF SWIMSUIT ISSUE
Sports Illustrated President Bruce Hallett appeared today on CNBC’s “Power Lunch” to promote the ’03 swimsuit issue, which hit newsstands today. Hallett: “It’s sort of the Mardi Gras of print. We think it’s a lot of harmless fun that we have around an otherwise dreary time of the year.” Hallett commented on the numerous athletes that participate each year for the issue, and said, “They’re enthusiastic about it. I think they recognize it for what it is. It’s a bunch of fun, and it’s great exposure in a great environment, and we love the quality of people that want to come into this issue.” Hallett especially noted Serena Williams, saying, “Isn’t she gorgeous?”
Regarding the financial impact of the swimsuit issue, Hallett said, “It’s a scary part of the whole SI franchise when you think about how big it is as a business. It’s about a $50[M] business today.” When asked to confirm if the swimsuit issue alone generates $50M of revenue, Hallett said, “It’s about $35[M] worth of advertising and a whole bunch of circulation revenue.” Hallett also made it clear that the issue is not solely read by males, saying, “Of the 50 million people who read it, about 17 million of those people are women. So it sort of crosses genders, and it’s a very successful kind of formula that we’ve got” (“Power Lunch,” CNBC, 2/19).
BADDELEY TO OWN MACGREGOR DISTRIBUTOR IN AUSTRALIA
The Melbourne AGE reports that 21-year old PGA Tour player Aaron Baddeley will become “one of Australia’s youngest sporting tycoons” after signing an “agreement with MacGregor to use its clubs.” As part of the agreement, Baddeley will also “own the company that distributes MacGregor equipment in Australia and New Zealand.” The multi-million dollar agreement has no expiration date. Baddeley will begin using MacGregor equipment and wearing its branded headwear at this week’s Nissan Open (Melbourne AGE, 2/20).
GM CARD TO SPONSOR WINSTON CUP CAR DRIVEN BY JEFF GREEN
The GM Card today announced that it has signed a sponsorship agreement with Richard Childress Racing’s (RCR) No. 30 America Online Racing Winston Cup Chevrolet, driven by Jeff Green. As part of the agreement, the No. 30 car and Green’s helmet will be outfitted with decals. The GM Card will be the car’s primary sponsor during the Georgia 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on October 26. The sponsorship is a continuation of the relationship between RCR and GM (THE DAILY).
The Knights Inn hotel chain today announced that it will serve as an associate sponsor of the FitzBradshaw Racing Chevrolet, driven by Kerry Earnhardt in NASCAR BGN and select Winston Cup races. Earnhardt drives the No. 12 car in BGN, and will make his Winston Cup debut in the No. 83 car. Furthermore, team co-Owner Terry Bradshaw will be the voice on Knights Inn radio spots in ’03 (THE DAILY).
PEPSI RE-UPS WITH THE PGA OF AMERICA THROUGH 2012
PepsiCo North America today announced that it has extended its partnership with the PGA of America through 2012, as part of which Pepsi, Lipton and Aquafina will continue as the organization’s respective official soft drink, iced tea and bottled water. PepsiCo, which became a partner of the PGA of America in ’93, offers a preferred beverage program to more than 10,000 PGA member facilities, and supports the PGA of America with broadcasting, hospitality and merchandising commitments (THE DAILY).
BUZZER BEATERS
Sporting News this week features Daytona 500 winner Michael Waltrip, under the header, “Rain Man.”
As noted in yesterday’s Morning Buzz, Sports Illustrated this week offers its ’03 swimsuit issue, featuring cover girl Petra Nemcova.
ESPN Magazine this week features Pistons F/C Ben Wallace, under the header, “Throwback.”
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| Sporting News | Sports Illustrated |
The Suns today announced that season-ticket prices for the ’03-04 NBA season will remain the same for all seats excluding the seats at the top and the bottom of the pricing scale, reportedly about 200 accounts. The team will lower its lowest ticket price from $10 to $8, while it will raise the price of floor seats from $400 to $450. The announcement marks the fourth time in the last five years there has been no significant change in the pricing structure (THE DAILY).
The Binghamton (NY) PRESS & SUN-BULLETIN reports that Broome County officials will open the bids today for what is expected to be a $1-1.3M renovation project on Broome County Veteran Memorial Arena, home of the AHL Binghamton Senators. The project would add eight skyboxes with 160 seats to the venue (Binghamton PRESS & SUN-BULLETIN, 2/19).
The AFL Dallas Desperados today announced that KTTX-Telemundo will air a 30-minute weekly program about the team Fridays at 10:30am CT. Spanish play-by-play broadcaster Victor Villalba will host the show (THE DAILY).
A LIGHTER BUZZ
The ORLANDO SENTINEL offers five actual Wonderlic questions that NFL prospects will have to answer at the scouting combine today in Indianapolis. Question 2: A dealer buys some TV sets for $3,500. He sells them for $5,500, making $50 on each set. How many TV sets did he sell? (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 2/19).
In the March issue of GOLF DIGEST, Nets G and 10-handicap Jason Kidd said, “I think I would make a great caddie. … I actually thought about the senior tour, until I started calculating that Phil and Tiger will probably be there about the same time” (GOLF DIGEST, 3/02 issue).
TONIGHT’S EVENTS
The SoBe Suzuki Dirty Girls Dirt Bike School will be held today and tomorrow at Extreme Arizona in Phoenix. The two-day program that is geared towards women’s media will teach female beginners how to ride safely (THE DAILY).
CHANNEL SURFING
Supercross rider Nathan Ramsey will be on FSN’s “54321” at 5:00pm ET.
Ben Affleck sits down in the “Budweiser Hot Seat” during tonight’s 6:00pm ET edition of “SportsCenter” on ESPN.
ESPN will air NCAA men’s basketball, Memphis-Louisville at 7:00pm ET, and Maryland-Duke at 9:00pm ET.
ESPN2 will air the America’s Cup, Race 4 at 7:00pm ET.
ESPN will air Islanders-Sharks at 10:30pm ET.
ESPN Classic’s “SportsCentury” will profile Maurice Richard at 8:00pm ET.
AFL Commissioner David Baker and author Dan Doyle are scheduled to appear on FSN’s “BDSSP.”
MTV’s “Cribs” will feature BMX rider Dave Mirra at 10:00pm ET.
Pacers G Reggie Miller will be on CBS’s “Late Show” with David Letterman at 11:35pm ET.
SI swimsuit cover model Petra Nemcova will be on NBC’s “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno at 11:35pm ET.
PGA Tour golfer Phil Mickelson will be on CBS’ “The Late Late Show” with Craig Kilborn at 12:35am ET.
A&E’s “Biography” will profile Connie Francis at 8:00pm ET.
E!’s “True Hollywood Story” will profile Doris Day at 8:00pm ET.
E!’s “Revealed” will profile the Dixie Chicks at 10:00pm ET.
HEADLINERS
Here are tonight’s headline guests on the following talk shows:
| “Late Show” | Kevin Spacey |
| “The Tonight Show” | Rev. Al Sharpton |
| “The Late Late Show” | Juliette Lewis |
| “Late Night” | Carson Daly |
| “Jimmy Kimmel Live” | Laura Linney |
TODAY’S ARTICLES OF INTEREST
The DALLAS MORNING NEWS’ Rana Cash writes of college athletics, “The incidents of rioting and injuries in post-game melees are numerous. The solutions to stopping these incidents are not. Coming up with them is the crux of the Sportsmanship and Fan Behavior Summit, a meeting of college administrators and community leaders” to be held Thursday in Dallas. Cash notes that there is a “desperate and determined agenda to get a handle on fan behavior before it becomes uncontrollable” (DALLAS MORNING NEWS).
CBS SPORTSLINE’s Rick Horrow writes, “As pitchers and catchers for all teams have reported for spring training this week, baseball finds itself in a renewed search for economic growth and stability. The industry generated over $3.7[B] in revenue last year, and enters the midpoint of its Fox television partnership (in effect through at least 2006). On the other hand, the industry faces a cumulative debt of over $2.5[B], and executives confront three major challenges in the upcoming months: (1) stabilizing player-owner relationships; (2) maximizing revenue streams; and (3) diversifying and expanding ‘the fan experience’” (CBSSPORTSLINE.com).
In a USA TODAY sports section Cover Story, Pete Williams goes behind the scenes of Tempe-based high-tech pro training center Athletes’ Performance, which “this time of year, specializes in helping NFL aspirants become stronger, quicker and, if need be, bigger, before the combine.” For a cost of $10,500, NFL hopefuls receive an “intense preparation session that, for many of the players, will include private training until the draft” (USA TODAY).
See The Daily Insider’s Articles of Interest section for these and more sports business-related links.
TODAY’S TEASER…
Mindbenders: The words below have one unusual feature in common. What is it?
Abstemiously - Facetiously
IN OTHER NEWS……
Ted Turner, on the nearly four-hour Civil War epic, “Gods and Generals,” which hits theaters nationwide Friday: “We’ll know within the first two months or maybe sooner [if it's a financial success], but I think this movie doesn't have to have a crushing or smashing opening weekend. It is long, but on the other hand, so was 'Gone With the Wind' and 'Lawrence of Arabia' and so is the Super Bowl and so is the NBA All-Star game.” Turner reportedly invested $90M of his own money into the project (L.A. TIMES, 2/19).
THE DAILY STAT: HIGHEST PAID NHL PLAYERS
The following details the two highest-paid players at each position in the NHL, according to USA TODAY. Salary figures include signing bonuses, but not performance bonuses (USA TODAY, 2/19).
| PLAYER | TEAM | POSITION | SALARY | SIGNED
THROUGH |
| Joe Sakic | Avalanche | Center | $9,856,018 | 2006-07 |
| Bobby Holik | Rangers | Center | $9,600,000 | 2006-07 |
| Nicklas Lidstrom | Red Wings | Defensemen | $10,500,000 | 2003-04 |
| Brian Leetch | Rangers | Defensemen | $9,680,000 | 2002-03 |
| Patrick Roy | Avalanche | Goalie | $8,500,000 | 2003-04 |
| Curtis Joseph | Red Wings | Goalie | $8,000,000 | 2004-05 |
| Keith Tkachuk | Blues | Left wing | $11,000,000 | 2006-07 |
| Paul Kariya | Ducks | Left wing | $10,000,000 | 2002-03 |
| Jaromir Jagr | Capital | Right wing | $11,483,333 | 2007-08 |
| Pavel Bure | Rangers | Right wing | $10,000,000 | 2004-05 |
…TODAY’S ANSWER
Both words contain all the vowels in alphabetical order.
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please let us know at:
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