| | The Daily Insider
Afternoon News & Headlines
Wednesday, October 29, 2003
4:00pm ET | |
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| • | U.S. Senator Tells BCS Reps That System Looks “Un-American, Unfair, Rigged” |
| • | NFL Network Inks Four Additional Advertisers One Week Prior To Launch |
| • | LeBron James Makes Regular-Season Debut Tonight On ESPN At 10:30pm ET |
| • | IOC Looking Into Viability Of Rechecking ‘02 Olympic Drug Tests For THG |
| • | Oscar De La Hoya To Serve As Boxing Commentator During ’04 Olympics |
| • | Buzzer Beaters/Tonight’s Events/Channel Surfing/In Other News/The Daily Stat |
SEN. JOE BIDEN TELLS BCS REPS THAT SYSTEM LOOKS UN-AMERICAN
TheU.S. Senate Judiciary Committee conducted a hearing this morning, “BCS or Bust:Competitive and Economic Effects of the Bowl Championship Series On and Off theField,” and the AP reports U.S. Senators said that the BCS “shuts out toomany schools and needs to be repaired.” Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE): “I don’t know if you guys know how itlooks to fans of teams that aren’t part of this system. It looks un-American. It really does. It looks unfair. It lookslike a rigged deal.” NCAA President MylesBrand said that he is “open to a system that would be more inclusive, butdoes not believe that there is a need for radical changes or adoption of aplayoff system” (AP,10/29).
NFL NETWORK ADDS FOUR ADVERTISERS WITH LAUNCH NEXT WEEK
NFLNetwork today announced that Dairy Management, Damon’s Grill, EA Sports andSony Playstation have signed advertising deals with the net, which launchesNovember 4. Ad packages include a mixof in-program enhancements and show and segment sponsorships, as well ascommercial advertising during and between programs. Earlier this month, America Online, FedEx, IBM andBayer/GlaxoSmithKline’s Levitra signed on as charter advertisers on NFLNetwork. The net will be carriedinitially on DirecTV’s basic service that is in 11.8 million homes (NFLNetwork).
LEBRON JAMES MAKES REGULAR-SEASON DEBUT TONIGHT ON ESPN
ESPNtonight debuts its NBA regular-season coverage with Magic-Knicks at 8:00pm ET,followed by Cavaliers-Kings at 10:30pm ET. With LeBron James making his regular-season debut, the ST. LOUISPOST-DISPATCH reports that the media has requested “more credentials fortonight’s game than were distributed for any of the Kings’ hotly contestedplayoff games against the Lakers in recent years” (ST.LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 10/29).
IOC CONSIDERING RECHECKING ’02 OLYMPIC DRUG TESTS FOR THG
TheAP reports that the IOC “is looking into whether drug tests at the 2002 SaltLake City Olympics can be rechecked for the recently discovered steroidTHG.” IOC lawyers are “studying thelegality of retroactive testing of frozen urine samples,” as well as askingscientists “if the frozen 19-month-old samples are viable” (AP,10/29).
TheCO Springs GAZETTE reports that FINA, the governing body of int’l swimming,“will follow track and field in retesting hundreds of urine samples from itsJuly world championships for the newly detected steroid [THG]” (CO SpringsGAZETTE, 10/29).
BUZZER BEATERS
SportingNews this week offers its NFL second half preview, featuring Colts QB PeytonManning and WR Marvin Harrison on the cover, with the header, “CanThe Colts Keep It Up?” A regional coverfeatures Marlins P Josh Beckett hoisted on the shoulders of histeammates, with the header, “Flying Fish.”
SportsIllustrated features a similar shot of Beckett on the cover, with the header,“The Marlins … How A Young And Fearless Team From Florida Struck Down TheVaunted Yankees.”
ESPNMagazine this week offers its NBA preview issue and features LeBron Jameson the cover, with the header, “And So It Begins … LeBron: Year One.”
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| Sporting News | Sports Illustrated |
Telemundotoday announced that Oscar De La Hoya will be a boxing commentatorduring the ’04 Olympics on both Telemundo and NBC (Telemundo).
Ashworthtoday announced that it has been awarded the contract by Pinehurst Resorts asthe lead apparel vendor for the ’05 U.S. Open Championship to be held June13-19 (Ashworth).
BRANDWEEKreports that Visa next week plans to break the third spot in its current NFLcampaign, via BBDO, N.Y. In this spot,Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden “meets a fan who goes too far to try to helpthe coach get into his car, resulting in a damaged door and Gruden flashing histrademark ‘Chucky’ scowl” (BRANDWEEK.com, 10/29).
GOLFWORLDnotes that at the beginning of ’03, the PGA Tour “instituted new guidelines intendedto speed up play. With the seasonnearly over, tour officials say the effort seems to be working. The time of an average first and secondround this year is 4 hours, 37 minutes, nearly 10 minutes faster than it wasthe last two years” (GOLFWORLD, 10/31 issue).
The ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS reports that theSingle-A Midwest League Quad Cities River Bandits will change their name toSwing next season (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS,10/29).
A LIGHTER BUZZ
Clippers F Bobby Simmons, who is in Tokyofor the team’s season-opening series against the Sonics, said prior to theteam’s departure the one aspect of the trip to which he is not looking forward:“I don’t like Chinese food” (L.A.TIMES, 10/26).
TONIGHT’S EVENTS
The T’Wolves open their season tonight at theTarget Center against the Bucks at 8:00pm ET, and the team will honorco-Founders Marv Wolfenson and Harvey Ratner as the team beginsits 15th season (Minneapolis STAR TIBUNE,10/29).
CHANNEL SURFING
NFLPanthers RB Stephen Davis will be onthe “Hot Seat” during “SportsCenter” at 6:00pm ET.
ESPNwill air Magic-Knicks at 8:00pm ETand Cavaliers-Kings at 10:30pm ET.
ESPN2will air Blues-Red Wings at 7:30pmET.
ESPNClassic’s “SportsCentury” will profile the year 1982 at 7:00pm ET.
ESPN’s“OTL Nightly” will examine thecrime and punishment of Willie Mays Aikens and his pursuit of freedom atmidnight ET on ESPN2.
Chiefs TE Tony Gonzalez,Don King, Vikings S Brian Russell, Texas Tech QB B.J. Symonsand actor Jeff Garlin are scheduled to appear on FSN’s “BDSSP.”
HBOwill air “Inside the NFL” at 10:00pmET.
MarlinsP Josh Beckett will be on NBC’s “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno at 11:35pm ET.
NASCARWinston Cup driver Tony Stewart willbe on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”
A&E’s“Biography” will profile Jamie LeeCurtis at 8:00pm ET.
E!’s“True Hollywood Story” will profile JonBenetRamsey at 8:00pm ET.
HEADLINERS
Hereare tonight’s headline guests on the following talk shows:
| “Late Show” | Keanu Reeves |
| “The Tonight Show” | Michael Clarke Duncan |
| “The Late Late Show” | Gary Sinise |
| “Late Night” | Al Franken |
| “Jimmy Kimmel Live” | Brian Nash |
TODAY’S ARTICLES OF INTEREST
TheWALL STREET JOURNAL’s Nelson & Ellison write, “A brewing battle over how NielsenMedia Research measures television audiences highlights a big problem formarketers: Getting a reliable picture of consumer behavior remains a fuzzyprocess even as data collecting grows more sophisticated” (WALL STREETJOURNAL).
USATODAY’s Pete Williams writes, “Private jet travel enables players – spending anaverage of $350,000 a year – to crisscross the country without worrying aboutconnections, delays or making it back in time for a game or practice. … Morethan 200 sports stars subscribe to one of several private jetprograms. The most popular plan ismarketed by Marquis Jet Partners” (USA TODAY).
TheWASHINGTON POST’s Sally Jenkins writes of a reported six-hour meeting betweenRedskins Owner Daniel Snyder and coach Steve Spurrier, “Who meetsfor six hours? Maybe the U.N. SecurityCouncil. An intelligence debriefingcould take six hours. It takes sixhours to finalize a merger. But surelyit shouldn’t take six hours for something as trivial as a conversation betweenan NFL owner and his head coach” (WASHINGTON POST).
SeeThe Daily Insider’s Articles ofInterest section for more sports business-related links.
TODAY’S TEASER…
Mindbenders: What is black when you getit, red when you use it and white when you are finished with it?
IN OTHERNEWS……
REUTERSreports that Microsoft today said that it is “splitting its MSN division intotwo units, one to take control of Web communications while the other developsits information portal and targets growth in areas such as search technologyand music services” (REUTERS,10/29).
THE DAILY STAT: PRIMETIME NIELSEN RATINGS
Thefollowing lists the final Nielsen ratings for the top ten primetime shows forthe week of October 20-26. Alsoprovided are the weekly viewership averages for each net (USA TODAY, 10/29).
| RK | PROGRAM | NET | DAY | RAT/SHR | VIEWERS (IN MILLIONS) |
| 1) | CSI | CBS | Thu | 17.0/25 | 27.6 |
| 2) | World Series Game Six | Fox | Sat | 13.9/25 | 23.2 |
| 3) | World Series Game Four | Fox | Wed | 13.6/23 | 20.9 |
| 4) | Survivor: Pearl Islands | CBS | Thu | 11.7/18 | 20.2 |
| 5) | World Series Game Five | Fox | Thu | 13.2/21 | 19.9 |
| 6) | World Series Game Three | Fox | Tues | 12.5/21 | 18.9 |
| 7) | Friends | NBC | Thu | 12.4/20 | 18.8 |
| 8) | ER | NBC | Thu | 12.1/19 | 18.0 |
| 8) | Everybody Loves Raymond | CBS | Mon | 11.4/17 | 18.0 |
| 10) | CSI: Miami | CBS | Mon | 11.8/19 | 17.5 |
| space |
| NET | VIEWERS |
| Fox | 14.3 |
| CBS | 12.6 |
| NBC | 10.8 |
| ABC | 9.3 |
| WB | 4.2 |
| UPN | 3.5 |
…TODAY’S ANSWER
Charcoal.
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