Closing Bell, October 14, 2003

MLB GIANTS’ PACIFIC BELL PARK TO BE RENAMED SBC PARK

The MLB Giants and SBC Communications today announced that Pacific Bell Park will change its name to SBC Park on January 1, 2004, to reflect the company’s stated move from a regional brand to a global identity. SBC and the Giants are in the midst of a 24-year naming rights agreement. Debra Nichols Design, the company that designed the ballpark’s original signage, has developed a new logo and signage (Giants).

XEROX BECOMES BILLS’ PRINT PROVIDER WITH MULTI-YEAR DEAL

BUFFALO BUSINESS FIRST reports that the Bills and Xerox today announced a multi-year marketing sponsorship package naming Xerox the official print provider of the Bills. Xerox will receive “category exclusivity, signage throughout Ralph Wilson Stadium, advertising in Bills publications and hospitality on game days.” Beginning next season, the company will also sponsor the team’s training camp in Rochester. Furthermore, Xerox said that it will “combine its consulting services and digital office systems to help the Bills’ organization manage document processes with improved quality and faster turnaround time” (BIZJOURNALS.com, 10/14). The ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT & CHRONICLE notes that the deal is an extension of an existing agreement (ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT & CHRONICLE, 10/14).

FOX EARNS HIGHEST MONDAY NIGHT LCS RATING EVER LAST NIGHT

Fox earned an 11.6/18 final Nielsen rating for last night’s Yankees-Red Sox ALCS Game Four, the highest LCS Monday night rating ever and up 68% from the comparable 6.9/12 for last year’s Cardinals-Giants Game Five, also on a Monday. The game earned a 44.1/60 in Boston – the highest for any sporting event in the market since the Patriots’ Super Bowl XXXVI victory of the Rams in ’02. Yankees-Red Sox earned a 25.3/34 in N.Y., the highest Yankee rating in the market since the Yankees-D'Backs World Series Game Seven in ‘01 (THE DAILY).

ABC’s “MNF” earned a 8.4/13 final Nielsen rating for last night’s Falcons-Rams, down 13% from last year’s 9.6/16 for the comparable 49ers-Seahawks, and marking the lowest “MNF” rating ever, below the 8.7/15 for last year’s 49ers-Rams on December 30 (THE DAILY).

Fox claims this marks the first time an LCS game has beaten "MNF" in final ratings (THE DAILY).

FITZBRADSHAW RACING, KERRY EARNHARDT TERMINATE CONTRACT

FitzBradshaw Racing and NASCAR Busch Series driver Kerry Earnhardt today mutually agreed to terminate their contract, allowing each to seek alternate options for the remainder of the ’03 season and beyond. Earnhardt, who has been with FitzBradshaw since its inception in November ’01, was removed from the driver’s seat of the No. 12 Chevrolet in July (FitzBradshaw Racing).

FitzBradshaw Racing today also announced that The United States Playing Card Company will be a primary sponsor for the No. 12 Chevrolet in the November 8 Target House 200 and the North Carolina 200 on February 21, 2004. The company will be an associate sponsor of the car for four races next season (FitzBradshaw Racing).

MARK KANE, MIKE HOUSER ELEVATED TO NEW POSTS AT FILA TODAY

Fila President & CEO Jon Epstein today named VP/Footwear Marketing Mark Kane to the post of VP/Lifestyle Footwear. Kane will be responsible for developing a global lifestyle footwear line for the company, including classic and vintage styles. Epstein also named Business Unit Manager Mike Houser to the post of Global Dir of Kid’s Footwear. Houser will be responsible for developing a global children’s product line, overseeing a category that includes adult takedown product, stand-alone offerings and special make-ups for key categories and countries (Fila).

BUZZER BEATERS

COLUMBUS BUSINESS FIRST reported that Wendy’s Int’l will return as the title sponsor of the LPGA Tour tournament in Dublin, OH, for the next three years. Officials also confirmed that the ’04 event will change from a 54- to 72-hole format. Wendy’s has served as title sponsor since ’01 (BIZJOURNALS.com, 10/13).

The SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE reports that Callaway Golf “will immediately move portions of its golf-ball manufacturing operation” to the Chicopee, MA, headquarters of recently acquired Top-Flite Golf (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 10/14).

The HONOLULU ADVERTISER reports that the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl “will be televised in Japan on a delayed basis, a first for the event.” The December 25 game will be shown in the U.S. on ESPN, and in Japan on the Sports-I-ESPN network, “which reaches approximately 3.2 million households” (HONOLULU ADVERTISER, 10/14).

The ORLANDO BUSINESS JOURNAL reports that Advantage Networks “has teamed up with the Southern Conference to allow the Orlando-based sales and marketing representation company to serve as a non-exclusive sales agent in support of the conference’s corporate partner program” (BIZJOURNALS.com, 10/14).

TONIGHT’S EVENTS

Falcons RB Warrick Dunn will host the “Simply Red Gala” at the Woodruff Center & Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, beginning at 5:30pm ET. The event, which includes a preview of the gospel musical “Crowns,” benefits the “Home for the Holidays” program started by Dunn’s foundation. Delta Airlines is the title sponsor of the event.

The MLS Earthquakes will host Mexican club Chivas de Guadalajara at Spartan Stadium at 8:00pm PT.

CHANNEL SURFING

Fox will air Yankees-Red Sox ALCS Game Five at 4:00pm ET, and Marlins-Cubs NLCS Game Six at 8:00pm ET.

Lakers G Gary Payton will be on ESPN’s “Rome is Burning” at 7:00pm ET.

ESPN will air the eighth episode of “Playmakers” at 9:00pm ET, followed by encore presentations at 10:00pm ET and midnight ET.

ESPN Classic’s “SportsCentury” will profile Rocky Graziano at 8:00pm ET.

ESPN’s “OTL Nightly” will visit Magic F Grant Hill during his rehab, as he speaks for the first time about the mental and physical struggle to continue his career, at midnight ET on ESPN2.

Rockies CF Preston Wilson, Raiders RB Charlie Garner, Chiefs TE Tony Gonzalez and Univ. of OK QB Jason White are scheduled to appear on FSN’s “BDSSP.”

Five-time defending Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong will be on PBS’ “The Charlie Rose Show.”

A&E’s “Biography” will profile Nicolas Cage at 8:00pm ET.

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

HEADLINERS

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

TODAY’S ARTICLES OF INTEREST

The WASHINGTON POST’s Thomas Heath writes in a Front Page piece, “The expansion of major professional sports teams that has accompanied the growth in the nation’s economic wealth over the past two decades has spawned a largely passive sports investor class. Minority investors are handing over [$1-100M] to controlling partners of major sports teams, earning perks and social cachet but little say over how the teams are run. As the price of buying professional sports teams continues to soar, these investors are an increasingly important source of money for would-be owners and for established owners trying to cover operating losses” (WASHINGTON POST).

The WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL’s Dan Kibler writes, “In the past 10 years, NASCAR has raced in 10 locations for the first time, including eight freshly built raceways. The appeal of Winston Cup racing has emerged from its Southern roots and has a nationwide following that is the envy of many other sports. That has enabled large corporations to become involved as sponsors at the track and team levels” (WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL).

The TORONTO SUN offers an explanation of the NHL labor situation in the words of both sides’ leaders. Al Strachan speaks with NHL Exec VP & CLO Bill Daly, while Terry Koshan sits down with NHLPA Exec Dir Bob Goodenow (TORONTO SUN).

• Profile of prospective Dodgers Owner Frank McCourt.
• Profiles of the three prospective buyers of the Nets.
• IRL is secure and CART is at a crossroads, but circuits’ futures are intertwined.
• One columnist pleads with Keith Olbermann to return to “SportsCenter.”
• Question of whether Democrats should woo NASCAR dads is a lively debate.

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

TODAY’S TEASER…

Sports & Entertainment: During the penultimate season of “Seinfeld,” Jason Alexander’s George delivers an impromptu physics lesson on hitting to two Yankees. Name them.

IN OTHER NEWS……

BROADCASTING & CABLE reports that Disney has given ABC Cable Networks CEO Anne Sweeney “another major piece of real estate to develop, moving all aspects of ABC Family Channel under her purview.” While Sweeney’s group had been tasked with “affiliate sales and marketing for ABC Family and programmed its kids’ block,” other areas “including programming, marketing and ad sales” were not previously under her direction (BROADCASTINGCABLE.com, 10/14).

Coca-Cola Enterprises today announced that Terrance Marks has been elected Corporate VP & Chief Revenue Officer. Marks, who has been with Coca-Cola since ’87, will be responsible for revenue management and the coordination of package development, innovation and planning for the North American Group (Coca-Cola).

THE DAILY STAT: TOP SPORTS SITES FOR WEEK ENDING SEPTEMBER 28

The following are the top five sports Web sites ranked according to home unique audience for the week ending September 28, 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 37,000 home users with Internet access (Nielsen//NetRatings).  Note: Traffic to the SportsLine.com brand does not include traffic to its network of sites, such as the NFL Network and PGA Tour.

…TODAY’S ANSWER

Bernie Williams and Derek Jeter appeared in the episode, entitled “The Abstinence.”

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

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