| | The Daily Insider
Afternoon News & Headlines
Friday, Febuary 20, 2004
4:00pm ET | |
| |
| • | FIFA Today Announces ’03 Revenue Of $574.6M Results In Surplus Of $113.8M |
| • | ESPN To Premiere Original Reality Series “Dream Job” Sunday At 10:00pm ET |
| • | Pittsburgh-Based Innovative Designs Today Adds Tony Dorsett As Spokesperson |
| • | U.S. Men’s Olympic Hoops Team To Play Only U.S Exhibition In Jacksonville |
| • | Critics Weigh In: “Against The Ropes” And “Welcome To Mooseport” |
| • | Buzzer Beaters/Weekend Events/Channel Surfing/The Daily Stat |
FIFA TODAY ANNOUNCES $113.8M SURPLUS FOR FISCAL YEAR ‘03
FIFA today announced that it ended the first year of the’03-06 financial period with revenue of $574.6M and expenditures of $460.8M, resultingin a surplus of $113.8M. The ’03financial statements, which are the first to be drawn up in accordance withInt’l Financial Reporting Standards and have been audited by KPMG, will be madepublic April 6 in Zurich (FIFA).
ESPN REALITY SERIES “DREAM JOB” TO PREMIERE SUNDAY AT 10:00pm ET
ESPN will premiere its original reality series “Dream Job”Sunday at 10:00pm ET. Hosted by“SportsCenter” anchor Stuart Scott, the live one-hour show willeliminate contestants each week until a winner is determined during the March28 two-hour finale. ESPN today runs afull-page ad in USA Today promoting the premiere with the text, “SportsCenterAnchor Wanted. No Experience Necessary.” Series sponsors include Labatt Blue, Mazda,Verizon Wireless, Visa and Wendy’s (THE DAILY).
In Boston, Bill Griffith writes, “The ESPN-pire has comefull circle, calling home the viewers it’s nurtured to take prominent roles inspreading the network’s reach. … It’s a concept that shapes up as a winner ontwo fronts: 1. The Empire gets six weeks of low-cost programming, and 2. Itstands to reap the fruits of a nationwide talent search” (BOSTONGLOBE, 2/20).
BUZZER BEATERS
The AFL today announced that its two-game average Nielsenrating on NBC stands at a 1.9/4 national rating, a 19% increase from lastyear’s average of a 1.6/4 (AFL).
Pittsburgh-based Innovative Designs today announced that ithas signed Pro Football HOFer Tony Dorsett as a corporatespokesperson. Dorsett will help promotethe company’s full product line, which includes apparel and accessoriescontaining its proprietary fabric, eliotex (Innovative Designs).
The AP reports that Greece today rejected a new NATO requestto “boost its troop contribution in Afghanistan because it needs militarypersonnel at home to provide security at the upcoming Olympics.” It was the second time in four months thatGreece turned down such a request by NATO (AP, 2/20).
The DALLAS MORNING NEWS notes that Nextel reported a 22%increase in subscribers at the end of September, four months after theannouncement of its ten-year, $750M NASCAR deal. Nextel’s stock more than doubled in ’03 (DALLASMORNING NEWS, 2/20).
The FLORIDA TIMES-UNION notes that the U.S. men’s Olympicbasketball team will holdits first practices at the Univ. of North Florida in Jacksonville from July26-30 and will play its only pre-Olympic exhibition game in the U.S. at theJacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena on July 31 (FLORIDATIMES-UNION, 2/20).
The PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS reports that the Wachovia Centeris infested with mice and roaches. Health Department spokesperson Jeff Moran termed it a “criticalviolation” and said that the problem has the “potential to pose an immediate health risk” (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS,2/20).
A LIGHTER BUZZ
Democratic Presidential candidate John Edwards spokeyesterday at Columbia Univ. and said, “Mystaff tells me that the whole town is excited about the fresh new face who justarrived from the South to compete in the Big Apple. I told them I was flattered. They told me they meant A-Rod” (NewarkSTAR-LEDGER, 2/20).
WEEKEND EVENTS
FridayThe Cavaliers will distribute the book “Cavalier Dreams” tothe first 4,500 fans age 18 and under in attendance for the team’s 7:30pm ETgame against the Spurs at Gund Arena. The book, about college students who dream of playing in the NBA, isbeing distributed as part of the league’s Read To Achieve program (AKRONBEACON JOURNAL, 2/12).
SaturdayThe ECHL Johnstown Chiefs will display the No. 8 Chevroletof Dale Earnhardt Jr. inside War Memorial Arena during the team’s 7:05pmET game against the Trenton Titans. Von’s United Beverage is the event sponsor.
SundayThe T’Wolves will distribute Babooshkahs of F WallySzczerbiak to the first 5,000 fans in attendance for the team’s 2:30pm CTgame against the Spurs, courtesy of Pepsi.
The Pistons will distribute talking bobbleheads of G ChaunceyBillups to the first 10,000 fans in attendance for the team’s 6:00pm ETgame against the Magic, courtesy of Cingular Wireless and the Detroit News.
CHANNEL SURFING
FridayESPN will air T’Wolves-Pistonsat 8:00pm ET and 76ers-Lakers at10:30pm.
Astros P RogerClemens, Yankees bench coach WillieRandolph and former broadcaster OrenStevens and will guest star on ABC’s “Hope & Faith” at 9:00pm ET.
Raiders S Rod Woodson, PGA Tour player Mike Weir, NASCAR driver MichaelWaltrip, N.Y. Post columnist PeterVecsey and Sharon and Jack Osbourne are scheduled to appearon FSN’s “BDSSP.”
NFL Network will begin its six-day coverage of the ‘04 NFL Scouting Combine at 10:00pm ET.
SaturdayFX will air the NASCAR Busch Series Goody’s Headache Powder 200 at 12:30pm ET.
The Golf Channel will air second-round coverage of theChampions Tour’s Outback SteakhousePro-Am at 1:30pm ET.
ABC will air third-round coverage of the PGA Tour’s Nissan Open at 3:00pm ET.
NBC will air skiing: USSAFreestyle Grand National at 4:00pm ET.
NBC will air snowboarding: U.S. Grand Prix at 5:00pm ET.
ESPN Classic will air “ClassicBig Ticket: The Milan Miracle” at 6:00pm ET and high school boy’sbasketball: Milan-Muncie Central at7:30pm.
Speed Channel will premier the weekly series “Pit Bull” at 6:30pm ET.
NBA TV will air Rockets-Mavericksat 8:30pm ET.
Christina Aguilerawill host NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” with musical guest Maroon 5 at 11:35pm ET.
| NCAA Basketball Schedule | Network | Time |
| Syracuse-Georgetown | ESPN | noon ET |
| Creighton-Kent State | ESPN2 | noon ET |
| Florida State-UNC or Louisville-Cincinnati | ABC | 1:00pm ET |
| Notre Dame-Connecticut | CBS | 2:00pm ET |
| Dayton-Xavier | ESPN | 2:00pm ET |
| Manhattan-UW-Milwaukee | ESPN2 | 2:00pm ET |
| Nebraska-Iowa State (women’s) | FSN | 2:00pm ET |
| Stanford-UCLA, Alabama-Mississippi State or Virginia-Clemson | CBS | 4:00pm ET |
| Illinois-Penn State | ESPN | 4:00pm ET |
| College of Charleston-Western Michigan | ESPN2 | 4:00pm ET |
| Oklahoma State-Colorado (women’s) | FSN | 4:00pm ET |
| Gonzaga-Tulsa | ESPN2 | 6:00pm ET |
| UAB-Memphis | ESPN | 7:00pm ET |
| Florida-Mississippi | ESPN2 | 8:00pm ET |
| Arizona State-Oregon | FSN | 8:00pm ET |
| Texas-Oklahoma | ESPN | 9:00pm ET |
| Hawaii-Southern Illinois | ESPN | midnight ET |
Sunday
ESPN will air coverage of the PBA Days Inn Open at 12:30pm ET.
ABC will air Cavaliers-Knicksat 1:00pm ET.
Fox will air the NASCAR Nextel Cup Subway 400 at 1:00pm ET.
NBC will air coverage of the PBR St. Louis Open at 1:30pm ET.
The Golf Channel will air final-round coverage of theChampions Tour’s Outback SteakhousePro-Am at 2:00pm ET.
NBC will air regional AFL coverage: SaberCats-Avengers, Crush-Rush,Storm-Wranglers, VooDoo-Force or Desperados-Dragons at 3:00pm ET.
ABC will air final-round coverage of the PGA Tour’s Nissan Open at 3:30pm ET.
ESPN will air MightyDucks-Stars at 4:00pm ET.
ESPN2 will air THQWorld Supercross Grand Prix: 125cc at 4:00pm ET and THQ World Supercross Grand Prix: 250cc at 5:00pm.
FSN will air the NLLAll-Star Game at 6:00pm ET.
ESPN will air Lakers-Sunsat 7:00pm ET.
ESPN2 will air Avalanche-Wildat 7:00pm ET.
NBA TV’s “Screening Room” will air the ’68 black& white film “Bill Bradley: Old ManYoung” at 8:00pm ET.
TNT will air the ScreenActors Guild Awards at 8:00pm ET.
NBA TV will air Celtics-Sonicsat 9:00pm ET.
Former NBAer MuggsyBogues will appear on HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm” at 9:45pm ET.
ESPN will premiere “DreamJob” at 10:00pm ET.
| NCAA Basketball Schedule | Network | Time |
| Duke-Maryland (women’s) | ESPN2 | noon ET |
| Charlotte-Cincinnati (women’s) | CSTV | 1:00pm ET |
| Wisconsin-Michigan | CBS | 2:00pm ET |
| Texas-Texas Tech (women’s) | ESPN2 | 2:00pm ET |
| DePaul-TCU (women’s) | CSTV | 3:00pm ET |
| Maryland-Duke | CBS | 4:00pm ET |
| Washington-NC State | FSN | 5:30pm ET |
| Wake Forest-Georgia Tech | FSN | 8:00pm ET |
TODAY’S TEASER…
General: The letters “Q” and “Z” are each worth tenpoints in Scrabble. Which two lettersare worth the second-most points?
THE DAILY STAT: PRIMETIME NIELSEN RATINGS
The following lists the final Nielsen ratings for the topten primetime shows for the week of February 9-15 (TV.YAHOO.com, 2/20).
| RK | PROGRAM | NET | DAY | RAT/SHR | HOUSEHOLDS (IN MILLIONS) |
| 1) | CSI | CBS | Thu | 18.3/27 | 19.8 |
| 2) | Friends | NBC | Thu | 16.3/25 | 17.6 |
| 3) | American Idol | Fox | Tue | 14.8/22 | 16.0 |
| 4) | ER | NBC | Thu | 14.5/23 | 15.7 |
| 5) | CSI: Miami | CBS | Mon | 14.0/22 | 15.1 |
| 6) | American Idol | Fox | Wed | 13.8/21 | 14.9 |
| 7) | Survivor: All Stars | CBS | Tue | 13.0/19 | 14.0 |
| 8) | Without A Trace | CBS | Thu | 12.7/20 | 13.7 |
| 9) | The Apprentice | NBC | Thu | 11.8/17 | 12.8 |
| 10) | Everybody Loves Raymond | CBS | Mon | 11.7/17 | 12.7 |
CRITICS WEIGH IN: “AGAINST THE ROPES” & “WELCOME TO MOOSEPORT”
Meg Ryan stars in “Against The Ropes,” a true storyabout a female boxing promoter who challenges the sport’s traditionalhierarchy. Meanwhile, Gene Hackmanand Ray Romano star in the political comedy “Welcome to Mooseport” abouta mayoral race in a small town in which one of the candidates is the formerU.S. President.:
| | —————Movie————— |
|
| “Against The Ropes” | “Welcome To Mooseport” |
| Chicago Sun-Times | 
|
|
|
| Hollywood Reporter | 
|
|
|
| N.Y. Times | 
|
|
|
| USA Today |
|
|
…TODAY’S ANSWER
The letters “J” and “X” are each worth eightpoints.
If you haveany questions, comments or suggestions, please let us know at:
dailyinsider@sportsbusinessdaily.com
The ClosingBell provides an afternoon recap of the latest news and headlines each Mondaythrough Friday at approximately 4:00pm ET. If you would like to sign up for ane-mail alert to the Closing Bell, go to MyAccount and personalize your e-mail alert options.
