Closing Bell, November 21, 2003

HERITAGE CLASSIC IS NHL’S FIRST REGULAR-SEASON OUTDOOR GAME

The Heritage Classic, the NHL’s first regular-season outdoorgame matching the Canadiens and Oilers, will be played Saturday at CommonwealthStadium in Edmonton at 5:00pm MT, and USA TODAY notes that the temperature forthe game is “expected to be about 15 degrees. … The NHL will be monitoringtemperatures, and if conditions become too severe, the game will be postponeduntil Sunday.”  The game will follow theMegaStars game featuring former Oilers and Canadiens (USA TODAY,11/21).

The CBC will broadcast the game in Canada as a regular “HockeyNight in Canada” broadcast, and the TORONTO STAR reports that production costs“will exceed $200,000 – four times a normal game.”  Adding to the expense is the OmniCam camera, “which will providea new look for hockey. … It should give viewers a better concept of the game’sspeed” (TORONTOSTAR, 11/21).

“HNIC” Exec Producer Joel Darling: “Thechallenge is to shoot the game properly in a way ... that people at home areused to watching hockey.”  Making thattask difficult is “the lack of the standard center-ice camera position fromwhich much of the game is usually shot. To simulate that as best as possible, CBC will mount a camera on a crane15 feet back and 25 feet above the playing surface” (OTTAWASUN, 11/21).

In Toronto, William Houston writes, “The game may be specialin Canada, but it has not been picked up by a U.S. network, althoughsubscribers to the NHL’s pay-per-view package will see the ‘Hockey Night’telecast”(TorontoGLOBE & MAIL, 11/21).

EARTHQUAKES-FIRE TO SQUARE OFF SUNDAY IN MLS CUP 2003

MLS will host MLS Cup 2003, matching the San JoseEarthquakes and the Chicago Fire, Sunday at The Home Depot Center at 3:30pmET.  ABC will broadcast the game with anSAP option for Spanish-language commentary. JP Dellacamera will handle play-by-play duties, while TyKeough will serve as analyst.  EricWynalda will provide on-field commentary and Marcelo Balboa willserve as sideline reporter.  For theSpanish-language broadcast, Ernesto Motta will call the match, with RobertSierra serving as analyst (MLS).

Recent MLS signee Freddy Adu will be interviewed athalftime (USA TODAY, 11/21).

BRAVES’ McGUIRK TODAY UNVEILS NEW EXEC LEADERSHIP TEAM

Braves Chair & President Terry McGuirk todayannounced his new exec leadership team. Braves Exec VP & GM John Schuerholz will continue to overseebaseball operations and player personnel, while Mike Plant has beennamed Exec VP/Business Operations and Derek Schiller has been namedSenior VP/Sales & Marketing.  Also, WilliamBartholomay assumes the title of Chair Emeritus, and former Senior VP BobWolfe will serve as an operational adviser to McGuirk (Braves).

SUPERSET TENNIS EXHIBITION TO DEBUT SATURDAY IN PORTLAND

SuperSetTennis, a one-set, sudden-death tennis exhibition for a $250,000 purse, debutstomorrow at the Rose Garden in Portland. Eight players – Andre Agassi, Robby Ginepri, Max Mirnyi,James Blake, Vincent Spadea, Todd Martin, Jan-Michael Gambilland Taylor Dent – will play in the one-day event, with an eliminationround, two semifinal sets and a title set. The event will be taped for broadcast on CBS on Thanksgiving Day.  As a bonus, Anna Kournikova will playa set against Amanda Coetzer.  Australian promoter Steven Duvall, who is organizing theevent, “plans four SuperSet events for men and four more for women at venuesworldwide over the next five to 10 years” (AP,11/19).

HUBBARD GROUP GRANTED LICENSE TO BUILD NEW MEXICO TRACK

The L.A. TIMES reports that former HollywoodPark CEO & Ruidoso Downs Owner R.D. Hubbard and his partnership “havebeen granted a license by the New Mexico State Racing Commission to build andoperate a track and casino” near Hobbs, NM, about five miles from the Texasborder.  To be called Zia Park, the $43Mproject will include a “racetrack for quarter horses and thoroughbreds, acasino, a simulcast facility and a hotel” (L.A.TIMES, 11/21).

BUZZER BEATERS

The AP reported that if the Yankees and Devil Rays open the’04 season in Japan, both teams “would play exhibition games at the Tokyo Domeon March 28-29 against the Yomiuri Giants and Hanshin Tigers” (AP,11/20).

OpSec Brand Protection today announced that it has beenawarded a four-year contract extension of its brand protection program with theNBA, WNBA and NBDL.  OpSec will continueto provide the leagues with anti-counterfeiting technologies and services (OpSec).

The INDIANAPOLIS STAR reports that Galyan’s Trading Co.yesterday announced a net loss of $3.6M for fiscal Q3 ’03, “blaming higherstore occupancy costs and more aggressive markdowns to reduce inventories.  Though slightly better than analysts’expectations, the figures were worse than [Q3 ‘02], when the sporting goods andapparel retailer reported a net loss of $1.5[M]” (INDIANAPOLIS STAR,11/21).

Nazareth Speedway announced that Key Pontiac has signed atwo-year renewal of its sponsorship contract. The auto dealership has been a speedway sponsor since ’87 (NazarethSpeedway).

“Fox NFL Sunday” co-host Terry Bradshaw: “Now I readthat we’ve got Keyshawn joining our show, which I guess paints a prettyclear picture as to where my career is headed” (“Imus in the Morning,” 11/21).

The trailer for Walt Disney Picture’s “Miracle,” a filmbased on the ’80 U.S. Olympic hockey team, debuts today in ESPN Motion onESPN.com.  The film opens nationwideFebruary 6 (ESPN).

USA TODAY notes that Kelly Slater “became prosurfing’s first millionaire [yesterday] by boosting his earnings to $1,000,055for his 12-year career.  Slater passedthe magic number by earning $1,300 for a third-round seeding in the $125,000Vans Hawaiian Pro at Oahu, Hawaii” (USA TODAY, 11/21).

Surfer Bethany Hamilton, who lost her arm in a sharkattack last month, revealed on ABC’s “20/20” one of the thoughts she hadimmediately following the attack: “Iwas thinking, ‘I wonder if I’m going to lose my sponsor’” (N.Y. DAILYNEWS, 11/21).

The COLUMBUSDISPATCH notes that Hank Aaron “was honored with the first Anti-Defamation League Diversityin Sports Award last night, … an award that will be named in his honor infuture years” (COLUMBUSDISPATCH, 11/21).

WEEKEND EVENTS

“Batavia Downs Live” debuts on Time Warner Cable channel 98in Rochester, NY, at 7:00pm ET, and the ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT & CHRONICLEnotes that with the show “bringing live harness racing into the living room,Batavia Downs is making its most aggressive and progressive counterattackagainst casinos and alternative forms of entertainment” (ROCHESTERDEMOCRAT & CHRONICLE, 11/20).

A monetary gift from Wilt Chamberlain’s estate willbe presented to the Univ. of Kansas during halftime of theUT-Chattanooga-Kansas 7:00pm CT men’s basketball game at Allen Fieldhouse.  The donation will benefit the basketball andvolleyball teams “as well as scholarships for underprivileged students” (K.C. STAR,11/20).

Sugar Ray Leonard will be among the speakers at the17^th Annual Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards inPalm Springs.  NBC’s Jay Lenowill emcee the awards gala Saturday night.

Saturday

The IAAF Council will meet in Berlin to discuss ways tocombat cheating in track & field. IAAF President Lamine Diack: “It is a conspiracy of cheating which probably also involvesorganized crime.  The IAAF must showstrong leadership now and fight back with every available means to protect theintegrity and perhaps the future of our sport” (REUTERS,11/20).

The White Sox will conduct a one-day seat sale at 11:00am CTat U.S. Cellular Field for upper deck seats that were removed due to demolitionof the deck’s top rows.  Single seatscost $30 and double seats cost $50.

As part of the Philips Electronics/Bud Light Post-GameConcert Series, Sevendust will perform a free concert following theCavaliers-Hawks 7:00pm ET game at Philips Arena.

Showtime will televise its 500^th boxing bout withFrancisco Bojado-Juan Carlos Rubio in the second fight of athree-fight card at 9:00pm ET.

The RugbyWorld Cup championship, matching England and Australia, will be played, and theL.A. TIMES notes the event will be “witnessed by 3 billion people in 29countries, according to the event organizers, including the 83,500 at TelstraStadium in Sydney” (L.A.TIMES, 11/21).

The Jimmy V Women’s Basketball Classic tips off at noon ETwith Texas-NC State, followed by Purdue-Duke at the RBC Center in Raleigh,NC.  A portion of the proceeds willbenefit the V Foundation for Cancer Research.

The Broncos will kick off the second year of their domesticviolence awareness campaign at Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium at 11:00amMT.  Verizon Wireless will join theBroncos in supporting HopeLine for victims of domestic violence.  Verizon reps will collect used wirelessphones and accessories prior to the game.

CHANNEL SURFING

NBAHOFer Walt Frazier, Celtics G Paul Pierce and Rockets G Steve Francis will be on “Wheel of Fortune” as part of NBA Week.

ESPN2will air the Preseason NIT: Massachusetts-TexasTech at 7:00pm ET.

ESPNwill air T’Wolves-Cavaliers at8:00pm ET and Rockets-Trail Blazersat 10:30pm ET.

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

MLBHOFer Willie Mays, S.F. Mayor Willie Brown, Freddy Adu and comedian RobinWilliams are scheduled to appear on FSN’s “BDSSP.”

A’s P Barry Zito will guest star on CBS’ “JAG” at 9:00pm ET.  Zito plays the star pitcher of the Navy’sbaseball team who faces assault charges for a bean ball pitch during the annualNavy-Marine All-Star Game.

ESPN2will air NCAA football: BoiseState-Fresno State at 9:00pm ET.

Knicks C DikembeMutombo will be on NBC’s “Last Call”with Carson Daly at 1:30am ET.

ESPNwill air “College GameDay” from AnnArbor, Michigan,at 10:30am ET.

NBC willair the President’s Cup at noon ET.

ESPN2will air third round coverage of the LPGA Tour ADT Championships at 3:30pm ET.

NBA TV will air Clippers-T’Wolvesat 8:00pm ET.

Sunday

ESPN’s “Outside The Lines” will look back onhow the American sports world reacted toPresident Kennedy’s assassination 40 years ago at 9:30am ET.

NBC willair the President’s Cup at noon ET.

ESPN2will air Texas-NC State in the JimmyV Women’s Basketball Classic at noon ET.

ABC willair the final round of the LPGA Tour ADTChampionships at 1:30pm ET.

ESPNwill air Purdue-Duke in the Jimmy V Women’s Basketball Classic at2:30pm ET.

ABC willair Fire-Earthquakes in the MLS Cupat 3:30pm ET.

NBA TV will air Hornets-Pistonsat 6:00pm ET.

ESPN will air part two of “The Season: Roger Clemens” at 6:00pm ET.

TODAY’S TEASER…

General: What Homer Simpson phrase was added to theOxford English Dictionary in ‘01?

THE DAILY STAT: COWBOYS, PACKERS ARE THE FAVORITE NFL TEAMS

The Packers and Cowboys share the distinction as America’sfavorite NFL team, according to a Harris Interactive poll released today.  Results are based on a nationwide survey of2,056 adults, of which 1,031 follow pro football.  The survey was conducted October 21-27, 2003.  The following lists the top ten, includingties (Harris Interactive):

CRITICS WEIGH IN: “THE CAT IN THE HAT” & “GOTHIKA”

Mike Myers stars as the titular feline in “The Cat inthe Hat,” a live-action adaptation of the book by children’s author Dr.Seuss.  Meanwhile, Halle Berrystars as a criminal psychologist who awakens to find herself a patient in thevery institution in which she works in the psychological horror film “Gothika.”

…TODAY’S ANSWER

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