Closing Bell, June 17, 2003

STEVE PATTERSON TO BE NAMED TRAIL BLAZERS PRESIDENT

The Portland OREGONIAN reports that the Trail Blazers have scheduled an 11:30am PT news conference tomorrow at which they are expected to announce Steve Patterson as the club’s new President. Patterson will replace Bob Whitsitt, who announced May 7 that he will step down from the position June 30. Patterson was most recently Texans Senior VP & Chief Development Officer. In addition to working with the AHL Houston Aeros, Patterson is a former Rockets GM (OREGONLIVE.com, 6/17).

ASPEN/SNOWMASS TO HOST EIGHTH ANNUAL WINTER X GAMES

ESPN today announced that it has selected Aspen/Snowmass to host the eighth annual Winter X Games from January 22-25, 2004, marking the first time a city has hosted an X Games for three consecutive years. In most cases, the X Games change locations every two years. The event will air on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC Sports from January 24-28, while ESPN Int’l will distribute the event to more than 110 million homes in more than 145 countries worldwide (THE DAILY).

A’S TODAY EXTEND PARTNERSHIP WITH THE PEPSI BOTTLING GROUP

The A’s today announced an agreement to extend the team’s multiyear partnership with The Pepsi Bottling Group through ’07, as well as name Pepsi the official soft drink of the team and Network Associates Coliseum. The agreement, which also includes pouring rights for Raiders’ home games, is an extension of a similar agreement signed in ’99 (THE DAILY).

MERVYN’S TO AUCTION AUTOGRAPHED BASES TO BENEFIT RBI

S.F.-based department store Mervyn’s today announced it has partnered with MLB for Mervyn’s Bases to Benefit RBI (Reviving Baseball In Inner Cities), a program in which actors such as Billy Crystal, Kiefer Sutherland, Cindy Crawford, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Marisa Tomei and Angela Bassett, as well as players such as White Sox DH Frank Thomas, Dodgers RF Shawn Green, Mets P Tom Glavine and Rangers DH Juan Gonzalez, will autograph and decorate bases to be auctioned on MLB.com from July 1-14. Additionally, actors Carlos Bernard and Ali Landry will join ESPN MLB analyst Joe Morgan as official spokespersons for the program (THE DAILY).

MAGIC JOHNSON PROMOTES “WHO’S GOT GAME?” ON NBC’S “TODAY”

Magic Johnson appeared on NBC’s “Today” this morning with co-host Matt Lauer to promote MTV’s “Who’s Got Game?,” a new series that follows 12 streetballers as they compete for a $100,000 prize and the right to have their hometown court named in their honor. The show, which is produced by MTV and Johnson, debuts Sunday. Johnson said of the player selection process, “You want the best as well as the most popular. These guys are legends on their playgrounds and their home courts. So what we wanted to do was get not only great streetball players, but also great personalities.” Johnson also commented on future opportunities the show may present the players: “They can display their skills, maybe get overseas, maybe get a shot at the NBA or … the NBDL” (“Today”, NBC, 6/17). Johnson selected contestants from the Atlanta, DC, N.Y., L.A., Houston and Chicago markets, two of whom are women (THE DAILY).

BUZZER BEATERS

NASCAR today announced a 10:00am ET press conference on Thursday in N.Y., at which Chair Bill France and Vice Chair & Exec VP Brian France will make a “major news announcement.” Reports this week state that the press conference is to name Nextel as the title sponsor of NASCAR’s top racing series. NASCAR drivers Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. will also attend (THE DAILY). The AP cites two NASCAR sources and two Winston Cup team sources as saying that Nextel "will be announced as the title sponsor" at the press conference (AP, 6/17).

The FIFA Marketing AG BOD today appointed Jerome Valcke as FIFA Business Division Dir, succeeding Patrick Magyar and Michael Thomson in the role. Valcke will report directly to FIFA General Secretary Urs Linsi (THE DAILY).

The ATP today appointed Chris Clouser to three roles: ATP Properties CEO, ATP Inc. President and ATP Foundation President. Clouser most recently served as Burger King Brands Chief Global Marketing Officer, following a stint as Twins CEO (THE DAILY).

Seattle-based Jones Soda today announced that skateboarder Bucky Lasek has signed a sponsorship agreement with the company, joining BMX rider Mat Hoffman and skateboarders Jason Ellis and Bam Margera on the company’s sponsor roster. Lasek’s other sponsorships include Birdhouse, Billabong, Genetic Shoes, Smith, Optics, Pro-Tex Helmets, Clive, RDS, Independent and T-Mobile. Terms of the deal were not disclosed (THE DAILY).

NEWSDAY reports that ESPN’s “Outside The Lines Nightly,” which airs weekdays at midnight ET, “has made some inroads, juggling enterprise pieces and expanding on late-breaking news of the day.” The ratings “have been similar to ‘Baseball Tonight,’” a fact that Exec Producer Vince Doria called “encouraging” (NEWSDAY, 6/17).

DAILY RACING FORM reports that Churchill Downs “handled more than $14[M] on Saturday, breaking the record for a Stephen Foster Day card” by 4.4%. While ontrack attendance for the four-stakes day was down 2.4% to 12,483 and ontrack wagering declined just under 1%, “offtrack wagering was a record $12.7[M],” up 5.3% from the Stephen Foster Day record of last year (DAILY RACING FORM, 6/17).

DAILY VARIETY reports that advertising conglomerate WPP “has bought a 30% stake” in Spanish media company MediaPro. MediaPro, “which records and manages the rights to a wide range of sportscasts, will package events for sponsorship by WPP clients, which include J. Walter Thompson, Ogilvy & Mather, Young & Rubicam and media planning company Mindshare” (DAILY VARIETY, 6/17).

TONIGHT’S EVENTS

The NJSEA will host a public forum from 7:00-9:00pm ET at Continental Airlines Arena to hear comments and recommendations concerning the proposed Meadowlands Xanadu project. NJSEA Chair Carl Goldberg, NJSEA President & CEO George Zoffinger, Mills Corporation Chair & CEO Laurence Siegel, Mack-Cali Realty Corporation CEO Mitchell Ilersh and Independent Atlantic League Bergen Cliffhawks Owner Steve Kalafer will make presentations (THE DAILY).

The Phillies will hold their annual charity glove drive at tonight’s Braves-Phillies game at Veterans Stadium at 7:05pm ET. Fans donating a glove will receive a raffle ticket for a chance at a baseball autographed by either Phillies manager Larry Bowa, 1B Jim Thome, RF Bobby Abreu, SS Jimmy Rollins or C Mike Lieberthal (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 6/17).

Heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis will throw out the ceremonial first pitch at tonight’s Giants-Dodgers game at 7:10pm PT at Dodger Stadium (L.A. TIMES, 6/17).

The USBL Brooklyn Kings will honor former Knicks F Bernard King before tonight’s game against the Brevard Blue Ducks at Long Island Univ.’s Schwartz Center at 7:00pm ET (THE DAILY).

CHANNEL SURFING

ESPN will air the College World Series: Miami-Texas at 8:00pm ET.

ESPN2 will air Tuesday Night Fights: Brian Adams vs. Juan Valenzuela at 8:00pm ET.

ESPN will air “Rome Is Burning” at 7:00pm ET. Heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis, HBO boxing commentator Jim Lampley, ESPN.com Page 2 columnist Ralph Wiley and Adam Carolla of Comedy Central’s “The Man Show” are scheduled to appear.

ESPN Classic’s “SportsCentury” will profile the ’97 NBA Finals Game 5 at 8:00pm ET.

Magic Johnson is the featured guest on NBC’s “Late Night” with Conan O’Brien at 12:35am ET.

Laila Ali will appear on CBS’ “The Late Late Show” with Craig Kilborn.

The season premiere of E!’s “Star Dates” will feature Fred Berry, best known as Rerun from “What’s Happening?,” at 9:00pm ET.

A&E’s “Biography” will profile U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton at 8:00pm ET.

HEADLINERS

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

TODAY’S ARTICLES OF INTEREST

The N.Y. TIMES’ George Vescey writes of ATHOC President Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki and her role in Athens’ preparation for the ’04 Olympics, “Some Athenians say there are closet skeptics who fear embarrassment and incompletion. But there has been considerable progress after three years were virtually lost following the selection of Athens in 1997. The Games were on the verge of being moved to another site when Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, who had led the bidding process, was brought back in 2000 to run the organizing committee” (N.Y. TIMES).

The PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS’ Paul Domowitch writes, “This fall, the [NFL] will take another significant step in its evolution when it launches its own television channel, the NFL Network. The channel, like the NFL Sunday Ticket package, will air on DirecTV, but is expected to be on most cable systems within a year or two” (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS).

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

TODAY’S TEASER…

Sports & Entertainment: Who was the musical director on the short-lived “The Magic Hour,” starring Magic Johnson?

IN OTHER NEWS……

The N.Y. POST’s Page Six reports that Time Inc. Editor Norman Pearlstine “will moderate an X-rated panel tonight at the 92^nd Street Y” featuring his wife and “My Secret Garden” author Nancy, “Sex and the City” author Candace Bushnell and adult film producer Candida Royalle (N.Y. POST, 6/17).

THE DAILY STAT: TOP SPORTS SITES FOR THE WEEK ENDING JUNE 1

The following are the top five sports Web sites ranked according to unique home audience for the week ending June 1, according to Nielsen//NetRatings. Unique Audience = the number of persons in thousands accessing the 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. This data is based on 50,000 home users with Internet access (Nielsen//NetRatings).

…TODAY’S ANSWER

Sheila E.

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