Closing Bell, January 14, 2004

JOHN McENROE TO JOIN CNBC AS HOST OF PRIMETIME PROGRAM

By Josh Rosen, Staff Writer, TheSports Business Daily

JohnMcEnroewill join CNBC to host a one-hour primetime program debuting this spring. McEnroe will also serve as co-ExecutiveProducer with his agent, IMG’s Gary Swain, on the 10:00pm ET/PT nightlyprogram. The show will cover a varietyof topics, including news, entertainment and politics, as well as sports. Swain told The Daily one of thereasons McEnroe agreed to the show was because NBC and CNBC offered “for theshow to be more than just sports.” Swain: “That’s appealing to John because he feels he has the knowledge, thetalent and the ability to be entertaining and communicate on a broad variety oftopics.” Show title and launch datehave yet to be announced. Upon launch,CNBC’s primetime lineup will be as follows:

Swainsaid that McEnroe’s recent comments in the London Telegraph about unknowinglytaking steroids as a player would not impact his marketability. Swain: “I think people understand that thiswas at a time when it was not illegal for him to take this and it wasunknowing. … The mere fact that he would volunteer this information shows thathe’s not the kind of person that would try to mislead people or misrepresentthings.”

PGA TOUR HIGHLIGHTING CHARITABLE TIES IN NEW AD CAMPAIGN

ThePGA Tour has launched a new ad campaign this month aimed at generatingawareness of the Tour’s charitable commitments. The campaign’s four 30-second spots combine the tagline, “TheseGuys Are Good,” with the Tour’s “Giving Back” charity theme. Ernie Els, Chad Campbell, JesperParnevik, Duffy Waldorf and Jerry Kelly are featured in theads participating in a variety of charitable activities. Each ad highlights a charitable tie of theTour, including The Salvation Army, Boys & Girls Clubs, Big Brothers BigSisters of America and Habitat for Humanity (PGA Tour).

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Toview all the spots, see tomorrow’s edition of The Daily.

ESPN/ABC TODAY ANNOUNCE GROSS RATINGS POINTS UP IN ‘03

ESPNtoday announced that the share of national gross Nielsen ratings points forsports programming aired by ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 rose in ‘03 to 51.6%, up from46% in ’02 and 43% in ‘01. ESPN led allnetworks with 27.9% of sports viewing, followed by Fox (14.8%), ABC (14.5%), CBS(14%) and ESPN2 (9.2%). For men 18-34,the percentage of viewing claimed by ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 is 59%, up from 52%last year and 50% in ‘01. For ‘03, ESPNwas first with 37% (ESPN).

AHL NORFOLK ADMIRALS SEEKING FINANCIAL CONCESSIONS FROM CITY

TheVIRGINIAN-PILOT reports that the AHL Norfolk Admirals “have told city officialsthat they are losing $750,000 per season and need more financial concessionsfrom the city to survive.” The city has“renegotiated the team’s lease each of the last three seasons. Those changes have resulted in approximately$250,000 in additional revenue for the Admirals this season.” City Council members said that they are “notinclined to grant the team financial concessions” (VIRGINIAN-PILOT,1/14).

BUZZER BEATERS

SportingNews this week features Raptors F Vince Carter on the cover, with theheader, “The Return Of Vinsanity … Why Vince Carter Is Better Than Ever.”

SportsIllustrated this week features Eagles QB Donovan McNabb on the cover,with the header, “What A Rush! … A Wild Weekend Was Capped By The Last-MinuteHeroics Of Donovan McNabb And The Eagles.”

Sporting News	Sports Illustrated

TheAFL and the Elias Sports Bureau today announced a three-year agreement for Eliasto become the official statistician of the league, beginning with the ’04season. Elias’ statistics will be thefoundation for the league’s fantasy football game, which is hosted by Sandbox (AFL).

TheAP reports that Churchill Downs today released its ’04 schedule, which includes45 stakes races and a “record $9.375[M] in purses” (AP, 1/14).

TheTHOROUGHBRED TIMES notes that total attendance atBritish racecourses “topped the 6-million mark in 2003, marking the first timein more than 50 years that the tracks surpassed that milestone. Overall attendance increased by about 8%from 5.56-million in 2002 to 6.02-million” (THOROUGHBREDTIMES, 1/14).

Wheatiestoday unveiled a special-edition box featuring former Spurs C David Robinsonas part of its tradition of honoring African-American athletes during BlackHistory Month (Wheaties).

REUTERSreports that Vans today “raised its earnings outlook … for thethird quarter and full year, citing strong same-store sales and wider margins”(REUTERS,1/14).

TheWorld Poker Tour today announced that it has selected independent boutiquetrademark licensing agency Brandgenuity to launch a strategic World Poker Tourbrand licensing program (World Poker Tour).

TheHONOLULU ADVERTISER reports that Michelle Wie yesterday accepted aninvitation to play in the LPGA Kraft Nabisco Championship March 25-28 atMission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, CA. Wie also accepted an invitation into the Wendy’s Championship forChildren, to be played August 19-22 at Tartan Fields Golf Club in Dublin, OH (HONOLULUADVERTISER, 1/14).

TheAP reports that Amer Sports, which manufactures products for the Wilson, Atomicand Suunto brands, is buying FitnessProducts International, which manufactures strength-training products,including the Icarian brand, for $12M. Amer is Finland’s “biggest cigarette maker but last year announced itwould quit tobacco production in 2004 and concentrate on sports equipment” (AP,1/14).

GrandAmerican Road Racing Association today announced that it has reached anagreement with RaceTeam Promotions to become the sanctioning body of theentry-level open-wheel FR2000 Series (Grand American Road Racing).

A LIGHTER BUZZ

ESPN.com reported that the independent Central BaseballLeague Fort Worth Cats “are offering the opportunity to be on a bobblehead, whichwill be distributed to 1,500 fans for a game during the 2004 season. The winning bidder has the opportunity toput his or her face – or a face of their choice, subject to team approval – onthe bobblehead,” which will be dressed in a Cats uniform (ESPN.com,1/13). As of presstime, biddingon eBay had reached $3,675. Biddingends Sunday at 8:47pm ET.

TheGREEN BAY PRESS GAZETTE reports that Packers QB Brett Favre has placedhis ’97 Porsche Boxster oneBay, and will “hand over the keys … to the winning bidder next week in hisMississippi hometown.” While there,Favre will “pose for photos and autograph the car.” The average Boxster of that vintage “is valued at[$22,000-25,000] by online pricing services,” but David Thomason, who ishandling the auction, said that the car’s provenance “will add another $10,000”(GREENBAY PRESS GAZETTE, 1/14).

CHANNEL SURFING

DCUnited F Freddy Adu is scheduled to host MTV’s “TRL” at 5:00pm ET.

ESPNwill air NCAA men’s basketball: Cincinnati-Marquetteat 7:00pm ET and North Carolina-Marylandat 9:00pm.

ESPNClassic’s “SportsCentury” will profile JoeDiMaggio at 8:00pm ET.

ESPN2will air 76ers-Mavericks at 9:00pmET.

NFLNetwork’s condensed“Game of the Week” features Panthers-Rams at 9:00pm ET.

FormerNFLer Andre Reed, Rams T Kyle Turley, Eagles WR Freddie Mitchell, Panthers RB DeShaun Foster, N.Y. Post columnist Peter Vecsey and Nicole Richie are scheduled to appear on FSN’s “BDSSP.”

HBO’s“Inside the NFL” will profile lateDolphins QB David Woodley at 10:00pmET.

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

ESPN’s “OTL Nightly” will examine Nebraska’s prolonged search for a football coachat midnight ET, including the first TV interview with former coach Frank Solich.

A&E’s“Biography” will profile Lynda Carter at8:00pm ET.

HEADLINERS

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

TODAY’S ARTICLES OF INTEREST

TheARIZONA DAILY STAR’s Greg Hansen writes, “ One of the keendisappointments of the 2003 sports calendar was that Tucson native ArteMoreno spent $184[M] to buy the Anaheim Angels. It meant that he almost surely won’t buy the Diamondbackswhenever Jerry Colangelo retires. At another time and another place, Moreno would have been the idealowner of the Diamondbacks. Whatseparates Moreno from Colangelo is that Moreno is financially fluid, anindependent baseball owner with enough wealth that he doesn’t have to answer toa [BOD] or a corporation” (ARIZONA DAILY STAR).

TheSAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE’s Chris Jenkins writes, “The Angels are literally changingthe face of their club to more accurately reflect their populace. Not to mention their ambitious new owner,Arte Moreno. For years, the Angels wereamong the whitest teams in the majors. … Asked point-blank about the fact thatthree of this winter’s free-agent signees were Dominicans, the other aVenezuelan, Moreno shook his head and smartly insisted it was merecoincidence. Still, people are gettingthe point. It’s a point that long has been lost in San Diego, where the Padres’often-expressed desire to appeal to neighboring Mexico and an ever-growingHispanic citizenry frequently has come off as so much lip service” (SANDIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE).

TheFT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM’s T.R. Sullivan writes, “This has been a winter of discontent and unrestfor baseball fans in North Texas, and nobody understands that better thanRangers Owner Tom Hicks. … They meticulously have followed a planestablished by Hicks, [GM John Hart], [Assistant GM Grady Fuson]and manager Buck Showalter at a November 2002 summit meeting at AugustaNational. The Rangers are followingthrough with their vow to go with young players as much as possible and get thepayroll down to a level where the club can at least break even financially” (FT.WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM).

• Tourists still visit the Astrodome, but Houston has lost interest.
• Rockets C Yao Ming happy to yield the spotlight to LeBron James.
• Steroid scandal has rattled ATP, and taken steam out of the Australian Open.

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

TODAY’S TEASER…

Mindbenders: What seven-letter wordbecomes longer when the third letter is removed?

IN OTHERNEWS……

CBSMarketWatch reports that Oracle CEO Larry Ellison and his fiancée,novelist Melanie Craft, got married before Christmas at an unknownlocation. The news comes “a day afteran employee shake-up at Oracle that results in Ellison giving up hischairmanship of the company to [Oracle CFO] Jeff Henley” (CBSMARKETWATCH.com,1/14).

TheMILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL reported that Miller Brewing’s sales “continued todecline in 2003, but the brewer reported an improving picture for [Miller Lite]during the last three months of the year.” The Miller Lite brand “largely offset weaknesses among other brandsduring the three months that ended 2003. During that period, Miller sales were down just 1%” (MILWAUKEE JOURNALSENTINEL, 1/14).

THE DAILY STAT: PRIMETIME NIELSEN RATINGS

Thefollowing lists the final Nielsen ratings for the top ten primetime shows forthe week of January 5-11. Also providedare the weekly viewership averages for each net (USA TODAY, 1/14).

…TODAY’S ANSWER

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

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