| | The Daily Insider
Afternoon News & Headlines
Monday, June 30, 2003
4:00pm ET | |
| |
| • | Legg Mason Tennis Classic Inks Comcast As New Presenting Sponsor |
| • | Mercedes-Benz USA Today Extends Endorsement Agreement With Sorenstam |
| • | Baseball Club Of America Hires Lehman Bros. For Potential Expos Acquisition |
| • | PGA Tour Policy Board To Discuss On-Site Club Testing Tonight In Chicago |
| • | Dolphins’ Jason Taylor To Serve As Spokesperson For Neutrogena Men Brand |
| • | Buzzer Beaters/Tonight’s Events/Channel Surfing/In Other News/The Daily Stat |
COMCAST TO SERVE AS LEGG MASON TENNIS CLASSIC SPONSOR
TheBALTIMORE BUSINESS JOURNAL reports that Legg Mason Tennis Classic organizershave signed Comcast as a presenting sponsor. BB&T had been the presenting sponsor for “three years butswitched this year to a less prominent official sponsorship.” Tournament Dir Jeff Newman, onsigning a sponsor less than five weeks prior to the tournament’s start:“Certainly, we’d prefer to secure a presenting sponsor well in advance. But in terms of maximizing the exposure forComcast, the timing is perfect. All ofour advertising and promotional materials, we’re doing that now. So we were able to incorporate Comcast inall of our materials” (BALTIMOREBUSINESS JOURNAL, 6/27 issue).
MERCEDES-BENZ EXTENDS ENDORSEMENT AGREEMENT WITH ANNIKA
Mercedes-BenzUSA today announced that it has extended its endorsement agreement with LPGATour player Annika Sorenstam through ’05. The current agreement, which began in July ’01, was scheduled toend this year. While terms of the dealwere not disclosed, the company said that it will continue to utilize Sorenstamas part of its Women’s Golf Day Initiative, as well as expand her visibilitywith the brand through a more integrated marketing approach, includingWeb-based initiatives (THE DAILY).
NEW PLAYER EMERGES TODAY IN EXPOS RELOCATIONSWEEPSTAKES
BaseballClub of America, led by NY-based Fairfield Properties co-Founder MarkBroxmeyer, today announced the hiring of Lehman Brothers as financialadvisor on the potential acquisition and relocation of the Expos to theNorthern VA/DC metro area. LehmanBrothers has recently served in the same capacity for Bob Johnson in hisacquisition of the Bobcats and for Disney in the sale of the Angels. The two area groups currently negotiatingwith MLB to acquire the Expos are the Washington Baseball Club and the VirginiaBaseball Club (THE DAILY).
PGA TOUR POLICY BOARD TO CONSIDER ON-SITE CLUB TESTING
ThePALM BEACH POST reports that PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem andmembers of the Tour’s policy board will meet tonight in Chicago to discusson-site testing of golf clubs. USGAofficials will “give a presentation on a portable device called the pendulumtester that can quickly measure the spring-like effect of a driver’s clubface,” followed by a period for “executives from major equipment companies toweigh in” on the issue. The Royal &Ancient Club “already has approved the portable device” (PALMBEACH POST, 6/30).
BUZZER BEATERS
DolphinsDE Jason Taylor will serve as the first spokesperson for the NeutrogenaMen brand and will appear in a national ad campaign. Details have yet to be announced (THE DAILY).
TheAP reports that the Wizards today hired former Bucks GM Ernie Grunfeldas President of Basketball Operations, a day after he was released from hisBucks contract (AP,6/30).
CBStoday released its college football schedule for the upcoming season, whichbegins in primetime with Univ. of Southern CA-Auburn on August 30 at 6:00pmET. The net will broadcast 17 totalgames, culminating with the Wells Fargo Sun Bowl on December 31. The net’s pregame, halftime and postgameshow, “College Football Today,” will air ten times throughout the season andwill continue to be hosted by Tim Brando and Spencer Tillman (THEDAILY).
TheAP reports that the IOC today approved a request by ATHOC to redesign theOlympic medals, the first change since the ’28 Olympics in Amsterdam. On the medal, the Roman amphitheater will bereplaced with a Greek stadium. IOCSports Dir Gilbert Felli: “The stadium looked like the Colosseum in Romeand that was hard for Greeks to swallow” (AP,6/30).
REUTERSreports that IOC today “approved the addition of men’s and women’s BMX cycling” forthe ’08 Olympics in Beijing. TheInternational Cycling Federation will “drop two of its events to add BMX, orbike moto-cross, to the competition” (REUTERS,6/30).
TheTHOROUGHBRED TIMES reported that Magna Entertainment “has completed itspurchase of the long-term operating rights to Portland Meadows (OR) racetrackfrom Portland-based real estate developer and owner Thomas Moyer.” Magna has operated the racetrack “for thelast two years under a lease agreement that was to expire” in April ’05 (THOROUGHBREDTIMES, 6/27).
TONIGHT’S EVENTS
TheDC Chapter of the National Sports Marketing Network will host a networkingmixer from 6:00-9:00pm ET at Willie & Reeds in Bethesda, MD (THE DAILY).
TheChicago Chapter of the National Sports Marketing Network will host a networkingmixer from 6:00-9:00pm CT at the W Hotel Lakeshore (THE DAILY).
CHANNELSURFING
ESPNwill air Cubs-Phillies at 7:00pm ET.
ESPNwill air the Tylenol Par 3 Shootout, Day One at 10:00pm ET.
ESPN2will air round of 16 Wimbledonhighlights at 7:00pm ET.
ESPNClassic’s “SportsCentury” will profile BillParcells at 8:00pm ET and WoodyHayes at 8:30pm ET.
ESPN’s“Outside The Lines Nightly” willexamine the power struggle between Univ. of GA President Michael Adamsand deposed AD Vince Dooley at midnight ET.
NHLHOFer Phil Esposito and Palm BeachPost golf writer Craig Dolch arescheduled to appear on The Golf Channel’s “19thHole” at 7:00pm ET.
’02European Ryder Cup captain Sam Torrancewill be on The Golf Channel’s “Golf Talk”at 8:00pm ET.
A&E’s“Biography” will profile KatharineHepburn at 8:00pm ET.
HEADLINERS
Here are tonight’s headline guests on thefollowing talk shows:
| “Late Show” | Jim Carrey (r) |
| “The Tonight Show” | Drew Barrymore (r) |
| “The Late Late Show” | Dennis Miller (r) |
| “Late Night” | Patrick Stewart (r) |
| “Jimmy Kimmel Live” | Anna Nicole Smith (r) |
TODAY’S ARTICLES OF INTEREST
TheL.A. TIMES’ Bill Dwyre writes, “Wimbledon has reached the round of 16. Today, the schedule calls for eight men’sand eight women’s singles matches. Thatmakes it Magnificent Monday. For thesake of the sport, it would truly be magnificent if Andy Roddickwon. It has been written before, and itwill be written again. Tennis is asport inneed of a new superstar. AndRoddick is one of the few right now whose foot will fit into Cinderella’sslipper” (L.A. TIMES).
TheWASHINGTON TIMES’ Donna DeMarco wrote, “Lance Armstrong can addmarketing phenom to his résumé. Theworld-class cyclist is one of the top product endorsers in the country. And he shows no sign of slowing down as morebusinesses align themselves with him, from cycling companies to automakers. …Last year Armstrong was the fifth-biggestproduct pitchman among athletes, behind Tiger Woods, MichaelJordan, Kobe Bryant and Anna Kournikova” (WASHINGTON TIMES).
TheN.Y. TIMES’ Pete Thamel wrote, “After surviving the first round of cuts for theUnited States junior national team earlier this month, Al Jefferson, a6-foot-9 high school senior, wrote USA Basketball a letter saying he would notbe joining the team. Instead of playingfor his country in a prestigious international competition against top-flightopponents, Jefferson chose toplay for his Nike-sponsored summer traveling team. … Basketball’s changingculture, and its focus on self-interest, has undermined the junior nationalteam and the Pan American team” (N.Y. TIMES).
SeeThe Daily Insider’s Articles ofInterest section for more sports business-related links.
TODAY’S TEASER…
Sports:What wasthe most lopsided Wimbledon men’s final in the Open Era?
IN OTHER NEWS…
TheWALL STREET JOURNAL reports that RealNetworks has reached an agreement underwhich Vodafone “will use its software to deliver video and audio clips tohigh-end handsets.” RealNetworks is“hoping that by pushing aggressively into the mobile-phone market it willpersuade content owners to make video and audio clips available in its format,rather than that developed by Microsoft.” Terms of the deal were not disclosed (WALLSTREET JOURNAL, 6/30).
BROADCASTING& CABLE reports that Court TV President & COO Dick Bearhs “willexit his post at the end of the year,” but will stay on as special advisor tothe net he has been with since ’92. Bearhs is a longtime veteran of AOL Time Warner, 50% owner of the net (BROADCASTING& CABLE, 6/30).
THE DAILY STAT: N.Y. TIMES BESTSELLING NONFICTION
The following presents best selling nonfiction books forthe week ending June 21 (NYTIMES.com, 6/30):
| THIS WEEK | HARDCOVER NONFICTION |
| 1) | LIVING HISTORY, Hillary Rodham Clinton (Simon & Schuster) |
| 2) | A SHORT HISTORY OF NEARLY EVERYTHING, Bill Bryson (Broadway) |
| 3) | MONEYBALL, Michael Lewis (Norton) |
| 4) | BEYOND BELIEF, Elaine Pagels (Random House) |
| 5) | AN UNFINISHED LIFE, Robert Dallek (Little, Brown) |
| 6) | WHO'S YOUR CADDY?, Rick Reilly (Doubleday) |
| 7) | THE TEAMMATES, David Halberstam (Hyperion) |
| 8) | OPEN, John Feinstein (Little, Brown) |
| 9) | DERELICTION OF DUTY, Robert (Buzz) Patterson (Regnery) |
| 10) | CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR, George Crile (Atlantic Monthly) |
…TODAY’S ANSWER
John McEnroe lost only four games to JimmyConnors in ‘84, winning 6-1, 6-1, 6-2.
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