| | The Daily Insider
Afternoon News & Headlines
Monday, Febuary 23, 2004
4:00pm ET | |
| |
| • | NBA Today Launches Swimwear, High-End Wristwatch Lines |
| • | Constellation Today Extends Title Sponsorship Of Champions Tour Event |
| • | ESPN Today Announces That Colin Cowherd Will Fill Kornheiser’s Radio Slot |
| • | Andre Agassi Discusses 24 Hour Fitness Partnership On CNBC’s “Power Lunch” |
| • | Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon To Appear Tonight On CNN’s “Larry King Live” |
| • | Buzzer Beaters/Tonight’s Events/Channel Surfing/In Other News/The Daily Stat |
NBA LAUNCHES SWIMWEAR, HIGH-END WRISTWATCH LINES
TheNBA today launched a new collection of swimwear and beach accessories, G-III,which will include an assortment of NBA league and team swimwear for men andwomen. The line will debut thisspring. The league today also announceda partnership with Jacobs & Co. – the company of famed celebrity jeweler“Jacob the Jeweler” – to launch a new line of luxury watches that will range inprice from $6,000-13,000 (NBA).
NBASenior VP/Global Merchandising Sal LaRocca, on the Jacobs & Co.deal: “We continue to look at how we can stay relevant to the entertainment andathlete community and this deal is clearly focused on those high-profilerelationships” (ESPN.com,2/23).
CONSTELLATION EXTENDS CHAMPIONS TOUR EVENT TITLE SPONSORSHIP
ConstellationEnergy Group today announced the extension of its title sponsorship of theChampions Tour Constellation Energy Classic through ’07, which will be playedSeptember 27-October 3 at Hayfields Country Club in Hunt Valley, MD. Constellation began its title sponsorship ofthe event last year with a two-year deal through ’05 (Constellation EnergyGroup).
COLIN COWHERD TO FILL TONY KORNHEISER’S ESPN RADIO SLOT
ESPNtoday officially announced that Colin Cowherd will join ESPN Radio ashost of “The Herd,” which will air from 10:00am-1:00pm ET, beginning March29. Cowherd also will host a WestCoast-only hour from 9:00-10:00am ET. Cowherd, who comes from KFXX-AM in Portland, replaces Tony Kornheiser’s“The Tony Kornheiser Show.” Updatereporter Dan Davis will continue his newscasts (ESPN).
AGASSI DISCUSSES 24 HOUR FITNESS DEAL AS FIRST CLUB OPENS TODAY
Andre Agassi appeared on CNBC’s “PowerLunch” to discuss hispartnership with 24 Hour Fitness, which today debuted the first AgassiSuper-Sport Club in his native Las Vegas. Agassi said of aligning with the company, “For me, [it is] the messagethat people need to get out there and get more fit. … This is a vision, a message that I think 24 Hour Fitness allowsme the platform to help bring that into, specifically in my community, butultimately even to across the country” (“Power Lunch,” CNBC, 2/23).
SIMON PROPERTY GROUP TO OFFER SPURS AND PACERS GIFT CARDS
Indianapolis-basedreal estate investment firm Simon Property Group today announced the launch ofSpurs and Pacers co-branded affinity gift cards to be sold at Simon’s SanAntonio-area malls beginning March 5, and the company’s Indianapolis-area mallsbeginning March 19. The gift card is aVisa prepaid card that can be used at Simon shopping centers nationwide andanywhere Visa debit cards are accepted (Simon Property Group).
BUZZER BEATERS
N.Y.-basedViewpoint and SportsLine.com today announced an agreement to launch Viewpoint’svideo ad deployment technology called AirTimeTM for the NCAA Division I Men’sBasketball Championship. AirTimetechnology allows publishers and advertisers to place high-quality video adswithin existing Web page inventory (Viewpoint).
TheAP reports that Iraq Olympic officials “hope to have their organization’ssuspension lifted and rejoin the IOC before the Athens Games” (AP, 2/23).
St.Louis-based building products manufacturing company CertainTeed today announcedan expansion of its sponsorship of NASCAR driver Ward Burton, who willappear on the company’s behalf at 12 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series races atCertainTeed-sponsored hospitality venues as well as the company’s Little Rock,AR, roofing plant in April (CertainTeed).
TheNEW MEXICO BUSINESS WEEKLY reports that the Triple-A PCL Albuquerque Isotopessold “close to 10,000 tickets within 45 minutes on Saturday” for the club’sApril 4 exhibition game against the Marlins. The team “expects close to 13,000 for the game.” Isotopes Media Relations Coordinator DavidBearman: “We’re virtually sold out but we still have standing room onlytickets” (BIZJOURNALS.com,2/23).
ATTENDANCEWATCH:
- The AHL today announced that the Hershey Bears set a franchise record with 10,812 fans in attendance for Saturday’s game against the Philadelphia Phantoms at Giant Center (AHL).
TONIGHT’S EVENTS
The Stars will host their seventh annual Casino Nightfrom 7:00pm-10:30pm CT at Park Place Lexus Plano. All proceeds from the $250 per person event benefit the DallasStars Foundation.
CHANNEL SURFING
ESPNwill air NCAA men’s basketball: Villanova-Syracuseat 7:00pm ET, Texas-Kansas at 9:00pmand Wyoming-UNLV at midnight.
ProFootball HOFer Eric Dickerson, St.Joseph’s men’s basketball coach PhilMartelli, NBA Kings C Brad Miller,Bills LB Takeo Spikes and SteelersLB Joey Porter are scheduled toappear on FSN’s “BDSSP.”
ESPNClassic’s “SportsCentury” will profile Disciplesof Jackie Robinson at 8:00pm ET.
LakersC Shaquille O’Neal will appear onUPN’s “The Parkers” at 8:00pm ET.
ESPN2will air NHL regional coverage: MightyDucks-Coyotes or Red Wings-Oilersat 9:00pm ET.
NASCARdrivers Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon will appear on CNN’s “LarryKing Live” at 9:00pm ET.
IMS & IRL President & CEO Tony George will appear on Speed Channel's "WindTunnel" at 10:00pm ET.
FormerSt. John’s men’s basketball coach MikeJarvis will appear on MSNBC’s “Scarborough Country” at 10:00pm ET.
ESPN’s“OTL Nightly” will examine the boundaries of free speech and how those rulesapply to college basketball arenas at 12:30am ET on ESPN2.
A&E’s“Biography” will profile Alec Baldwin at8:00pm ET.
E!’s“True Hollywood Story” will profile DemiMoore at 8:00pm ET.
HEADLINERS
Here are tonight’s headline guests on thefollowing talk shows:
| “Late Show” | Jeff Goldblum |
| “The Tonight Show” | Owen Wilson |
| “The Late Late Show” | Patrick Swayze |
| “Late Night” | Billy Bob Thornton (r) |
| “Jimmy Kimmel Live” | Jim Belushi |
TODAY’S ARTICLES OF INTEREST
TheL.A. TIMES’ Mike Penner writes of the growing popularity of NASCAR, “In therace to become America’s second-favorite spectator sport, stock cars going inloops continue to hold the lead over multimillionaires playing hoops. It is rally time for the NBA, has been for awhile, and yet, thecomeback isn’t coming. A nation hasturned its eyes from Jordan to Gordon, its ears from hip-hop tocountry, its sensibilities from posses to pit crews, and there might not be anyturning back” (L.A. TIMES).
TheWASHINGTON POST’s Thomas Heath writes of FBR’s title sponsorship of the PGATour event formerly known as the Phoenix Open, “FBR’s missionof turning last month’s FBR Open into a vehicle for advancing its businesswas choreographed with precision targeting of business and financial executivesand offers a tutorial on how corporate America extracts value from PGA Tour sponsorships”(WASHINGTON POST).
SeeThe Daily Insider’s Articles ofInterest section for more sports business-related links.
TODAY’S TEASER…
Sports:How many ofthe teams currently ranked in the top ten of the AP men’s basketball poll werealso ranked in the top ten in this season’s inaugural AP poll?
IN OTHER NEWS…
REUTERSreports that AT&T and MCI today “settled claims that MCI improperly routedcalls, with MCI agreeing to forgive about $120[M] in charges againstAT&T.” As part of the deal, MCI“dropped its contempt of court motion against AT&T; the company had claimedAT&T’s lawsuit violated bankruptcy court rules” (REUTERS,2/23).
THE DAILY STAT: N.Y. TIMES BESTSELLING NONFICTION
Thefollowing presents best selling nonfiction books for the week ending February22 (NYTIMES.com, 2/23):
| THIS WEEK | HARDCOVER NONFICTION |
| 1) | THE PRICE OF LOYALTY, Ron Suskind (Simon & Schuster) |
| 2) | AMERICAN DYNASTY, Kevin Phillips (Viking) |
| 3) | GIVE ME A BREAK, John Stossel (HarperCollins) |
| 4) | MY PRISON WITHOUT BARS, Pete Rose with Rick Hill (Rodale) |
| 5) | THE FABRIC OF THE COSMOS, Brian Greene (Knopf) |
| 6) | LIES (AND THE LYING LIARS WHO TELL THEM), Al Franken (Dutton) |
| 7) | BLINDSIDED, Richard Cohen (HarperCollins) |
| 8) | WHO'S LOOKING OUT FOR YOU?, Bill O'Reilly (Broadway) |
| 9) | DUDE, WHERE'S MY COUNTRY?, Michael Moore (Warner) |
| 10) | GOOD TO GREAT, Jim Collins (HarperBusiness) |
…TODAY’S ANSWER
Three– Duke,Kentucky and UConn.
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