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Closing Bell

Closing Bell, June 25, 2003

The Daily Insider
Afternoon News & Headlines
Wednesday, June 25, 2003
4:00pm ET

Seahawks Today Name Wild President & COO Tod Leiweke As New CEO

Expos Today Announce TV Deal With French-Language Station For 14 Games

ESPN To Broadcast Auction Of Bonds’ 73rd Home Run Ball On “SportsCenter”

F1 Today Withdraws Plans To Implement Self-Imposed Tobacco Ban In ‘06

Jacques Rogge Today Notes Paris’ “Excellent Chances” To Host ‘12 Olympics

Buzzer Beaters/Tonight’s Events/Channel Surfing/In Other News/The Daily Stat


TOD LEIWEKE TO OVERSEE ALLBUSINESS OPS AS SEAHAWKS CEO

TheSeahawks today announced that they have named Wild President & COO TodLeiweke as the franchise’s new CEO. Leiweke, who will assume the role full-time at the end of July, will beresponsible for all business operations, sales and marketing, sponsorship andadministration. In addition, Leiwekewill oversee First & Goal, the company that manages Seattle SeahawksStadium & Exhibition Center for the state. PresidentBob Whitsitt will focus on football operations (THE DAILY).


EXPOS TODAY SIGN TV DEALWITH FRENCH-LANGUAGE STATION RDS

TheExpos today announced a deal with French-language TV station RDS to broadcast aminimum of 14 regular-season games, eleven of which will originate from OlympicStadium. In addition to televised awaygames against the Blue Jays and Braves, the September 9 game against the Cubsat Hiram Bithorn Stadium in Puerto Rico will be broadcast. Denis Casavant will provideplay-by-play on the broadcasts, while Rodger Brulotte will serve as thecolor analyst (THE DAILY). TheCP notes that RDS is the French-language arm of TSN, and that the deal is theExpos’ first TV agreement of the season (CP, 6/25).


NAPA, LONG JOHN SILVER’S OUT AS WORLD THOROUGHBRED SPONSORS

Whilethe NTRA and Breeders’ Cup announced Nextel and Dodge as new World ThoroughbredChampionships event and division title sponsors this week, BLOODHORSE reportsthat NAPA and Long John Silver’s are “out as title sponsors after oneyear.” NAPA ended its sponsorship ofthe Sprint division “because of issues related to Kmart,” as the company tookthe deal over from Penske Auto Centers, which closed the shops operating withinKmart last year. Long John Silver’sremains a marketing partner (BLOODHORSE.com, 6/25).


BONDS’ HOME RUN BULL TO BE AUCTIONED LIVE ON “SPORTSCENTER”

ESPNwill televise the auction of Giants LF Barry Bonds’ 73rd homerun ball live during the 6:00pm ET edition of “SportsCenter.” The PALM BEACH POST reports that ToddMcFarlane, who paid $3M for Mark McGwire’s 70th homerun ball, “says he’ll be a bidder for the Bonds ball.” But McFarlane spokesperson KenReinstein said, “He certainly has no intention of breaking any records heset previously” (PALMBEACH POST, 6/25).


F1 TODAY WITHDRAWS SELF-IMPOSED TOBACCO SPONSORSHIP BAN

RACERreports that F1’s governing body, the FIA, today announced it was “withdrawing its plansto introduce a self-imposed ban on tobacco sponsorship” in October ’06, howeverit did recommend that motorsports businesses “avoid tobacco sponsorship dealspast that date.” The European Union’sJuly ’05 ban still remains in place (SPEEDTV.com, 6/25).


BUZZER BEATERS

Sporting News this week asks the question, “How’s ThatFeel?”

SportsIllustrated this week offers its fourth annual “Where Are They Now?” issue,featuring Bo Jackson on the cover.

ESPNMagazine this week features supplement guru William Llewellyn on thecover, under the header, “Catch Him If You Can … How Juicers Stay One StepAhead Of The Enforcers.”

Sporting News
Sports Illustrated
ESPN Magazine

WoolfAssociates today announced the signing of Basketball HOF inductee RobertParish to an exclusive marketing agreement, under which the company willcoordinate and manage all endorsement and marketing-related efforts for Parish(THE DAILY).

TheAP reports that IOC President Jacques Rogge today “expressed confidence… that Athens is ready for the 2004 Olympics.” Rogge also noted “Paris’ ‘excellent chances’ to host the 2012 SummerOlympics but reminded officials that there were other top cities in contention”(AP,6/25).

ThePHILADELPHIA BUSINESS JOURNAL reports that NJ-based Harbor Technologies hasbeen selected by the Eagles “to design, deploy and help manage the computer andcommunications network” at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles will retain the company “for three years to provideengineering staff at all stadium events to monitor network activity and ensureoptimal performance” (BIZJOURNALS.com,6/25).

TheAtlanta Sports Council today announced that the city has been selected to hostthe ’04 USA Open Volleyball Championships, which will be played May 29-June 5in the Georgia Dome (THE DAILY).

TheNHRA today announced that O’Reilly Auto Parts has been named the title sponsorof the NHRA Jr. Drag Racing League, an entry-level series for kids 8-17 (THEDAILY).

The Nashville-based National Women’s Football Associationannounced that its championship game will be played August 2 at VanderbiltStadium (THEDAILY).

ATTENDANCEWATCH:

  • The All England Club announced record attendance of 41,929 for yesterday’s Wimbledon session. The attendance total broke the previous record set during the first Tuesday of the ’01 fortnight (TENNISWEEK.com, 6/24).

A LIGHTER BUZZ

In the wake of the Bears’ presenting sponsorship dealwith Bank One, last night’s 1:00am ET edition of “SportsCenter” offered the“Top 10 NFL Partnerships We’d Like To See.”

10.

Browns football brought to you by Alpo

9.

Dolphins football presented by StarKist Tuna

8.

49ers football brought to you by Sharpie

7.

Buccaneers football brought to you by Tampa Area Community Theatre

6.

Redskins football presented by Jimmy Dean Sausage

5.

Jets football brought to you by Delta, American, USAir, Jet Blue … Whatever

4.

Giants football presented by BigandTallDirect.com

3.

Raiders football brought to you by Maybelline Cosmetics

2.

Packers football presented by Cheez Whiz

1.

Colts football presented by Mayflower Transit


TONIGHT’S EVENTS

T’WolvesF Kevin Garnett will throw out the ceremonial first pitch at the 7:05pmCT White Sox-Twins game as part of the African-American Night festivities (ST.PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 6/22).


CHANNELSURFING

RedskinsLB LaVar Arrington will be on the “Budweiser Hot Seat” during ESPN’s“SportsCenter” at 6:00pm ET.

ESPNwill air Reds-Cardinals at 7:00pmET.

ESPN2will air Phillies-Braves at 7:00pmET.

ESPN2will air early-round Wimbledonhighlights at 10:00pm ET.

ESPNClassic’s “SportsCentury” will profile SonnyListon at 8:00pm ET.

ESPN’s“Outside The Lines Nightly” willexamine the ACC’s decision process and the ramifications of expansionat midnight ET.

FalconsQB Michael Vick, NBA prospect Carmelo Anthony, Cowboys QB Quincy Carter and talk show host Jerry Springer are scheduled to appearon FSN’s “BDSSP.”

A&E’s“Biography” will profile Graham Kerrat 8:00pm ET.

E!’s“True Hollywood Story” will profile JustineBateman at 8:00pm ET.

TheHistory Channel’s “Modern Marvels”will feature the Golden Gate Bridgeat 7:00pm ET.

TheTravel Channel will air the World PokerTour Championship at 9:00pm ET.


HEADLINERS

Hereare tonight’s headline guests on the following talk shows:

“Late Show” Lucy Liu
“The Tonight Show” Pamela Anderson
“The Late Late Show” Jeremy Sisto
“Late Night” Clyde Peeling
“Jimmy Kimmel Live” Kelsey Grammer

TODAY’S ARTICLES OF INTEREST

TheDETROIT NEWS’ Joanne Gerstner wrote, “Women rule inHockeytown – and the NHL. Theleague estimates that close to 40[%] of its fan base is female, the highestfollowing for any major pro sport. TheRed Wings also have noticed a strong female following, leading to the creationof new products such as women-sized hockey jerseys” (DETROIT NEWS).

TheTORONTO STAR’s Allan Ryan writes, “Projectingthe assorted win totals through a full 162-game schedule, the Devil Rays,now headed for a 55-107 finish, would get each of those wins for about$356,000. … At the other end of the scale, the Rangers, for whom each of 72wins a year ago cost $1.47[M], will now be paying $1.75[M] for each of a projected– yikes! – 59, while the Mets and Yanks will be in for $1.61[M] and $1.59[M],respectively” (TORONTO STAR).

SeeThe Daily Insider’s Articles ofInterest section for more sports business-related links.


TODAY’S TEASER…

Mindbenders: To what question can aperson never answer “yes?”


IN OTHERNEWS……

TheN.Y. TIMES reports that CNN Sales & Marketing President Larry Goodmanis retiring from the post he has held for the past eight years (N.Y. TIMES,6/25).

BROADCASTING& CABLE reports that new Comedy Central owner MTV Networks yesterday “swung the long-expected ax, cutting 80 employees, or 20%”of Comedy Central’s work force. MTVNetworks “centralizes a lot of services to its portfolio of networks, so alot of positions at stand-alone Comedy Central were redundant” (BROADCASTING & CABLE,6/25).


THE DAILY STAT: PRIMETIME NIELSEN RATINGS

Thefollowing lists the final Nielsen ratings for the top ten primetime shows forthe week of June 16-22. Also providedare the weekly viewership averages for each net (USA TODAY, 6/25).

RK PROGRAM
NET
DAY
RAT/SHR
VIEWERS (IN MILLIONS)
1) CSI
CBS
Thu
9.7/17
14.3
2) CSI: Miami
CBS
Mon
9.1/15
13.7
3) Everybody Loves Raymond
CBS
Mon
8.6/14
13.0
4) Without a Trace
CBS
Thu
8.7/16
12.6
5) King of Queens
CBS
Mon
8.2/13
12.4
6) 60 Minutes
CBS
Sun
8.4/18
11.6
7) Law & Order: CI
NBC
Sun
7.0/12
10.7
8) Law & Order: SVU
NBC
Fri
7.4/14
10.3
9) Law & Order
NBC
Wed
7.1/13
10.1
10) American Juniors
FOX
Tue
6.0/11
9.8
NET
VIEWERS
CBS
8.1
NBC
7.4
Fox
6.2
ABC
6.2
UPN
2.8
WB
2.5


…TODAY’SANSWER

“Are you asleep?”

If you have any questions,comments or suggestions, please let us know at:
dailyinsider@sportsbusinessdaily.com

The Closing Bell providesan afternoon recap of the latest news and headlines each Monday through Fridayat approximately 4:00pm ET. If you would like to sign up for an e-mail alert tothe Closing Bell, go to MyAccount and personalize your e-mail alert options.

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