Closing Bell, January 29, 2004

P. DIDDY, KID ROCK, NELLY IN THE HOUSE FOR AOL PRESS CONFERENCE

AOL today hosted a press conference at the Super Bowl media center to officially introduce its halftime program. In front of at least 85 cameras and a stading-room only crowd, P. Diddy, Nelly and Kid Rock spoke at the event, which began 20 minutes late. The halftime show's featured performer, Janet Jackson, was not in attendance. When asked who he was pulling for in the game, P. Diddy said, "North Carolina," which drew laughter from most in the room. After saying he had a special surprise, a reporter asked if Jennifer Lopez would be appearing in the halftime show. After a long pause, interrupted by Kid Rock telling the reporter, "That's enough from you," P. Diddy said that the assembled media would have to watch to find out (THE DAILY).

TNT TO ANNOUNCE NBA ALL-STAR GAME STARTING LINEUPS TONIGHT

TNTwill announce the ‘04 NBA All-Star Game starting lineups during tonight’sdoubleheader, which features Nets-Magic at 7:00pm ET and Kings-Spurs at9:30pm.  The L.A. TIMES notes thatRockets C Yao Ming was “about 24,000 votes behind Shaquille O’Nealwhen the partial results were released two weeks ago.  And while O’Neal braced for the online impact of Yao’s massiveinternational appeal, it is the paper ballot that could ultimately earn O’Neala reserve All-Star role for the second consecutive year.”  Despite being allotted 180,000 ballots andco-hosting the All-Star Game, the Lakers “recently submitted only about 4,000punched ballots, … believed to be the least” in the league (L.A.TIMES, 1/29).

TheROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS notes that Kobe Bryant will most likely be announcedas a Western Conference starter.  Caseobservers from fields including law, sociology and victim advocacy agreedBryant’s “continued popularity, as reflected in final fan voting totals for NBAAll-Star game roster spots, might be troubling to some.  But few are surprised” (ROCKYMOUNTAIN NEWS, 1/29).

D’BACKS, GALAXY TODAY ANNOUNCE SPANISH-LANGUAGE DEALS

TheD’Backs today announced that the club will offer Spanish-language broadcasts ofall 162 regular-season games for the first time during the ’04 season onKSUN-AM.  The D’Backs become the sixthMLB team to broadcast all games in Spanish (D’Backs).

TheMLS Galaxy today announced an agreement with KWHY-Telemundo to continue as theclub’s Spanish-language TV home.  KWHYwill broadcast five Galaxy matches during the ’04 season and will continue toair its weekly half-hour show, “Galaxy Deportivo” (Galaxy).

CNBC TODAY PROFILES NFL TAILGATING AND MERCHANDISING

CNBC’s Mike Hegedusprofiled tailgating on today’s edition of “Squawk Box,” and noted the NFL sells$100M a year in branded tailgating merchandise.  The Texans claim 40% of fans – 30,000 per game – tailgate atReliant Stadium.  Hegedus: “It’s a valueadded proposition [the Texans have] invested significant revenue in.”  Texans Senior VP and Chief Sales &Marketing Officer Jamey Rootes: “If you don’t want to set up your owntailgate, we’re going to have a party here. … If you want to have your ownprivate party in a tailgate atmosphere, but you don’t want to go to all thehassle of putting that together, we’ve got our tailgate village.”  Hegedus noted Reliant Stadium tailgate areaswill be closed before Super Bowl XXXVIII due to the media village and for securitypurposes.  However, the NFL will have aspecial tailgate area ("Squawk Box," CNBC, 1/29).

TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY TODAY ANNOUNCES BEVY OF DEALS

TexasMotor Speedway announced that Clear Channel Communications has signed athree-year partnership with the speedway to become the official radio stationgroup starting with the ’04 season. Clear Channel stations KEGL-FM, KZPS-FM and KTRA-AM will share officialstation duties.  KEGL will broadcast allrace events at the speedway and KTRA will broadcast all NASCAR Nextel CupSeries events.  The speedway alsoannounced that Justin Boots has signed a deal to become the official boot ofTexas Motor Speedway.  Justin Boots’logo will appear on the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Samsung/RadioShack 500 trophy(Texas Motor Speedway).

BUZZER BEATERS

PaxsonCommunications today announced that its WPXM-Pax and WPXP-Pax will broadcast 55Marlins games during the ’04 season (Paxson Communications).

Pumatoday announced that it has signed A’s P Barry Zito to a two-year sponsorshipextension (Puma).

TheAP reports that FIBA today adopted the World Anti-Doping Code (AP, 1/29).

K2today announced that it has completed the merger of Fotoball USA to become awholly owned subsidiary of K2, changing the name of the company to K2 Licensing& Promotions.  Fotoball USAPresident & COO Scott Dickey has been named K2 Licensing &Promotions President (K2).

TheSaints today announced that their ’03 TV campaign was selected as the best TVcampaign in all of sports at the 2004 National Sports Forum ADchievmentAwards.  The team’s campaign, created inconjunction with New Orleans-based Peter A. Mayer Advertising, beat TV ad campaignsfrom the White Sox, the PGA Tour and Russell Athletic (Saints).

TheINDIANAPOLIS STAR reports that shares of Galyan’s Trading Co. “plunged to a52-week low [yesterday] after the Plainfield-based sporting goods chain warnedinvestors of a fourth-quarter slump in same-store sales and that year-endearnings will fall short of analysts’ projections.”  The company lost more than one-fifth of its value, closing at$8.61 (INDIANAPOLISSTAR, 1/29).

TheAP reports that U.S. Olympic trials for canoe and kayak slalom will be held inSouth Bend, IN, “instead of the Ocoee River because organizers failed to raisethe money needed to stage the event in Tennessee” (AP,1/29).

ATTENDANCEWATCH:

• The HOUSTON CHRONICLE reports that 18,209 fans attended last night’s Kings-Rockets game, the “largest crowd in the first season at Toyota Center.”  With many in town for the Super Bowl, the game “drew at least as much football as basketball talent” (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 1/29).

TONIGHT’SEVENTS

OscarDe La Hoya’sGolden Boy Promotions will host its first N.Y. show, beginning at 10:00pm ET atGotham Hall.  The event kicks off his‘04 slate of HBO Latino’s “Oscar De La Hoya Presenta Boxeo De Oro” (USATODAY, 1/27).

TheRed Wings will celebrate their 20-millionth fan in the 25 seasons of hockey atJoe Louis Arena, when the team hosts the Devils at 7:30pm ET.  The lucky fan will receive a gift packagefrom the Red Wings and their corporate partners.

TheAFL Georgia Force will host a 6:00pm ET open practice, the “Black & BlueBash,” at the Arena at Gwinnett Center. Fans will have the opportunity to interact with players and coaches.

P.Diddy and AnthonyAnderson will host the EA Sports Madden Bowl from 7:30pm-1:00am CT at TheRoxy Night Club, where NFL players and celebrities will compete for the title.

CHANNEL SURFING

ESPN2will air NCAA men’s basketball: Maryland-WakeForest at 7:00pm ET and

Florida State-Duke at 9:00pm.

TNTwill air Nets-Magic at 7:00pm ET andKings-Spurs at 9:30pm.

ESPNwill air Islanders-Bruins at 7:30pmET.

ESPNClassic’s “SportsCentury” will profile the Bears46 Defense at 8:00pm ET.

FoodNetwork will air an encore presentation of “Emeril’s Tailgate Recipe Contest” at 8:00pm ET.

RedskinsLB LaVar Arrington, Giants DE Michael Strahan, Raiders DT Dana Stubblefield, Vikings QB Daunte Culpepper, Pro Football HOFer Joe Montana and The Rock are scheduled to appear on FSN’s “BDSSP.”

FSNwill air NCAA men’s basketball: California-Oregonat 10:30pm ET.

ESPN2will air the Australian Open women’sdoubles final at 11:00pm ET.

NASCARNextel Cup driver Jeff Gordon willappear on NBC’s “The Tonight Show” at 11:35pm ET.

ProFootball HOFer Lawrence Taylor willappear on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”

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

HEADLINERS

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

TODAY’S ARTICLES OF INTEREST

The WASHINGTON POST’s Lee Hockstader writes in a front-page piece,“The deep psychologicalrumbling in the nation’s fourth-largest city is unrelated to Super Bowl plans,Super Bowl parties or Super Bowl football. Rather, Houstoniansare fretting that tens of thousands of visitors and fans will sweep intotown for Sunday’s game only to find the Bayou City . . . super-ugly. … Like anungainly adolescent determined to shine at the prom, Houston is going toextravagant lengths to primp for the big event” (WASHINGTON POST).

TheL.A. TIMES’ Bill Shaikin writes, “Corporate ownership of professional sportsteams, regarded as the wave of the future not so long ago, is decidedlyunfashionable now.  Even a World Serieschampionship did not sway Disney from selling the Angels, and under Fox theDodgers alienated fans, assembledmediocre teams and reported losses of hundreds of millions ofdollars.”  MLB Commissioner Bud Selig:“I like corporate ownership.  But in theend it seems like individuals – not so much one person, because there aren’tthat many who can afford to do it by themselves, but groups – have probablybeen more effective” (L.A. TIMES).

TheWASHINGTON TIMES’ Dick Heller writes, “It’s time to give up on baseball inWashington and environs. … The final blow was struck, the final nail wasdriven this month when other [MLB] owners, meeting in sunny Arizona,elected Peter Angelos to the commissioner’s Executive Council.  I don’t know how much power the councilhas, but the simple fact of his addition reiterates the long obvious fact that[MLB] does not want a team in the Washington area” (WASHINGTON TIMES).

• Even with trial looming, Kobe Bryant remains among most popular NBAers.
• As PSL pioneers, Panthers a marketing success long before on-the-field prowess.
• One columnist thinks everyone should plan for life without hockey.

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

TODAY’S TEASER…

SportsBusiness:What was the price of a 30-second TV spot for the first NFL-AFL Championship,the ’67 Packers-Chiefs game commonly referred to as Super Bowl I?

THE DAILY STAT: BILLBOARD CHARTS

Thefollowing lists Billboard Magazine’s top-selling CDs for the week endingJanuary 25 (BILLBOARD.com, 1/29):

…TODAY’S ANSWER

Two networks carried the game: NBC charged$75,000 per 30-second TV spot, while CBS charged $85,000.

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

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