Closing Bell, October 15, 2003

BRYANT’S ATTORNEY GOES ON THE OFFENSIVE AT HEARING TODAY

TheDENVER POST reports that as Kobe Bryant’s preliminary hearing on asexual-assault charge resumed today in Eagle, CO, his attorney, PamelaMackey, “went on the offensive, ... latching onto an initialstatement by Bryant’s accuser that indicated she never said ‘no’ during herencounter” with him.  Mackey “also grilled Eagle County Sheriff’sDetective Doug Winters ... over semen and pubic hair found in the19-year-old woman’s panties the day after the June 30 incident.”  Mackey asked Winters, “The accuser arrivedat the hospital (for a sexual assault examination) wearing panties with semenand sperm in them from somebody else, not Mr. Bryant, correct?”  Winters answered, “That’s correct” (DENVERPOST.com,10/15).

NIELSEN RATINGS TREND FOR LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME SEVENS

The Cubs host the Marlins tonight in the decisive NLCSGame Seven at Wrigley Field, with coverage beginning on Fox at 8:00pm ET.  Since MLB moved to a best-of-seven format in’85, there have been a total of seven LCS Game Sevens.  The following presents a Nielsen ratingstrend for the games:

Note:The Braves scored six runs in the first inning of the ’96 game, en route to a15-0 win (THE DAILY).

WNBA TO LENGTHEN ’04 SEASON BY FOUR WEEKS FOR OLYMPICS

TheWNBA today announced it will lengthen the ’04 season by four weeks, with the WNBAFinals to be played in mid-October, in order to accommodate the WNBA playerswho will represent their countries at the ’04 Olympics in Athens.  The league will not play regular seasongames from August 2-31.  During themonth of August, WNBA players not participating in the Olympics will take partin community outreach initiatives (WNBA).

ARAMARK ANNOUNCES $2M ANNUAL CONTRACT WITH SBC CENTER

Aramarktoday announced that it has signed a contract to provide facility services atthe SBC Center, home of the Spurs. Annual revenue of the five-year contract is estimated at $2M.  The expanded contract – Aramark haspartnered with the Spurs since ’97 – calls for Aramark to provide comprehensivecleaning services and to manage special event preparations.  The partnership already included foodconcessions, retail merchandise, catering and premium services (Aramark).

ECHL TODAY ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF ECHL.COM NETWORK OF SITES

TheECHL today announced that it has launched the ECHL.com Network, which includesthe official Web site of the league andthose of 20 participating ECHL teams. 

TheECHL.com Network navigation bar will be placed at the top of each participatingteam’s Web site.  The left navigationbar features the logos of ECHL corporate partners DirecTV, NHL Center Ice, CCM,JOFA and KOHO with links to their respective Web sites (ECHL).

BUZZER BEATERS

SportingNews this week offers its NBA Preview, featuring Cavaliers F LeBron Jameson the cover, next to the header, “Under Construction.”

SportsIllustrated this week features Oklahoma QB Jason White on the cover,with the header, “College Football Shakeout … Oklahoma Rolls … The Rankings GetRocked And The BCS Title Contenders Are Few.”

ESPNMagazine this week features Colts K Mike Vanderjagt on the cover, withthe header, “Butt Kicker … How Mike Vanderjagt Fired Up The Colts.”

Sporting News	Sports Illustrated

ESPN Magazine

TheBlack Coaches Association today announced that Dell will title sponsor the BCAClassic, an eight-team men’s basketball tournament to be played November 15-17at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati (BCA).

TheNorfolk VIRGINIAN-PILOT reports that Virginia Tech “has gotten thebill for its five weeks of involvement in what was originally a lawsuit filedby five Big East schools against the ACC, Miami and Boston College.  Tech removed itself from the lawsuit when itwas invited to join the ACC in June but the athletic department still must paylegal and other fees of $229,657” (NorfolkVIRGINIAN-PILOT, 10/15).

TheCHICAGO SUN-TIMES noted that Tribune-owned news/talk radio station WGN-AM, theCubs’ flagship, earned its “highest audience share in nearly a decade,”according to the latest Arbitron figures. The station “last exceeded its 7.2 share in the fall of 1993, when itposted a 7.7” (CHICAGOSUN-TIMES, 10/14).

BRANDWEEKreports that rapper Ludacris, also known as Chris Bridges, “hassigned a deal with Sole City Inc., the official licensee of Troop Footwear, todesign a collection of urban footwear, Da’ Hood Collection by Ludacris.”  The collection will launch in February withan athletic shoe called “Da’ Block.” Financial terms were not disclosed (BRANDWEEK, 10/15).

TheST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS reported that the Univ. of MN has reached an agreement “to return moneyto the [NIT] because the Gophers used ineligible players during men’sbasketball games” in ‘96 and ‘98.  Whilethe Gophers generated $100,000-200,000 during the appearances, it is “believedthe school will only have to reimburse the NIT a five-figure amount” (ST.PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 10/14).

Thejersey that Lions QB Joey Harrington wore during his first career start isavailable on eBay.  The current bidfor the jersey, which includes the Ford Field inaugural game patch and issigned by Harrington, is $3,210.  Theauction ends Sunday.  Proceeds of theauction will benefit Detroit Lions Charities (THE DAILY).

A LIGHTER BUZZ

ActorJohn Cusack, a self-proclaimed “avid and rabid” Cubs fan, appeared onNBC’s “Today” this morning to promote his new movie, “Runaway Jury,” in betweenattending Marlins-Cubs NLCS Game Six last night and Game Seven tonight.  When NBC’s Matt Lauer asked Cusack ifhe would “hunt down” the fan that interfered with Cubs LF Moises Alouduring the eighth inning last night if the Cubs lose the series, Cusackreplied, “I think the city of Chicago will do that for me.”  Cusack: “All this will be forgotten when[the Cubs] win Game Seven.”  Cusack, ontonight’s game: “Kerry Wood is going to cowboy it up and they are goingto win Game Seven” (“Today,” NBC, 10/15).

TONIGHT’S EVENTS

TheLightning and Melitta USA will host the third annual Glitz & Stickscelebrity casino evening on the ice at St. Pete Times Forum, beginning at7:00pm ET.  All Lightning players willdeal blackjack and spin roulette wheels for the guests.  Individual tickets are $175.

TheNFL Giants will host 350 women from the N.Y. metro area for the team’s sixthannual Football 101 clinic from 5:00-10:00pm ET at Giants Stadium.  Proceeds from the event benefit domesticviolence shelter My Sister’s Place/Giants Courage House in Westchester, NY.

SoldierField will host an int’l exhibition soccer match between the national teams ofMexico and Uruguay at 8:00pm CT.

CHANNEL SURFING

Foxwill air Red Sox-Yankees ALCS Game Sixat 4:00pm ET and Marlins-Cubs NLCS GameSeven at 8:00pm ET.

RedskinsDE Bruce Smith will be on the “HotSeat” during “SportsCenter” at6:00pm ET.

ESPNwill premiere “The Season: Roger Clemens”at 7:00pm ET.

ESPN2will air Bruins-Stars at 8:30pm ET.

ESPN’s“OTL Nightly” will examine the Cubs’place in baseball lore based on the outcome of tonight’s game at midnightET.

SunsF Shawn Marion and F Amare Stoudemire, Colts coach Tony Dungy, NASCAR driver Carl Edwards and actor Cuba Gooding Jr. are scheduled toappear on FSN’s “BDSSP.”

Boxer Shane Mosley will be on NBC’s “Last Call” with Carson Daly at 1:35am ET.

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

HEADLINERS

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

TODAY’S ARTICLES OF INTEREST

TheL.A. TIMES’ Mike Penner writes of corporateownership of the Dodgers and Angels, noting that Fox’ run did not “producea division championship or playoff appearance, but it did achieve thecorporation’s No. 1 objective with the Dodgers: beating Disney to the regionaltelevision beachhead.”  Meanwhile,Disney’s run “suffered some of the most embarrassing growing pains in bigleague history,” but managed to “hang in long enough to burn out with onemiraculous, inexplicable October, resulting in the 2002 World Serieschampionship trophy” (L.A. TIMES).

The ARIZONA REPUBLIC’s Bob McManaman writes, “Usually,whatever Wayne Gretzky touches turns to gold.  As recently as spring 2002 he demonstrated his Midas touch asexecutive director of Canada’s men’s Olympic hockey team, assembling a squadthat brought his homeland its first hockey gold medal in 50 years.  But there has been no such magic in TheGreat One’s three seasons at the helm of the Phoenix Coyotes” (ARIZONAREPUBLIC).

• Conversation with Art Modell, in his final season as Ravens Owner.
• ACC expansion is bound to earn the conference a few enemies.
• Q&A with National Association of Basketball Coaches Exec Dir Jim Haney.
• John Feinstein writes that basketball coaches and the NCAA must work together to raise the profession’s standards.

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

TODAY’S TEASER…

Mindbenders: What word starting with BRbecomes another word that sounds the same as the first with the addition of anE?

THE DAILY STAT: PRIMETIME NIELSEN RATINGS

Thefollowing lists the final Nielsen ratings for the top ten primetime shows forthe week of October 6-12.  Also providedare the weekly viewership averages for each net (USA TODAY, 10/15).

…TODAY’S ANSWER

Braking becomes Breaking.

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

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