Closing Bell, March 19, 2004

JACK ARUTE IN THE BOOTH FOR ABC’S IRL COVERAGE SUNDAY

ABC Sports will begin its coverage of the IRL season Sundayat 4:00pm ET with the Copper World Indy 200 from Phoenix.  Reporter Jack Arute, who hadpreviously worked in the pits, will be added as a third commentator in thebooth this season.  ABC Sports ExecProducer Mike Pearl said Arute was added to the booth “to add more of astorytelling element to our broadcast.” In terms of marketing the series, Pearl said the net is developing an“information campaign to get people to know where this is and when it’son.  You know, one of the things withthis sport, it’s not on with the regularity that NASCAR is on” (ABC).

WILD CEO SPERLING TO LAUNCH SPORTS-BASED INVESTMENT FIRM

Wild CEO Jac Sperling today announced that he islaunching an investment firm focused on acquiring sports and entertainmentbusinesses throughout the U.S.  Sperlingwill be Chair & CEO of Grit Rock Ventures, which will be based in the TwinCities.  While Sperling will retain hiscurrent titles with Wild parent Minnesota Sports & Entertainment andNaegele Sports, he will have less involvement in order to pursue his newinterests (Wild).

SAUNDERS TO CLARIFY PAST AUBURN STATEMENT SUNDAY ON ESPN

The AP reports that ESPN has agreed to clarify a statementmade by “The Sports Reporters” host John Saunders that Auburn Univ.trustees Bobby Lowder and Jack Miller “claim wrongly linked themto death threats, a fire and the Ku Klux Klan.”  Saunders will read a statement on Sunday’s 10:00am ET show toclarify the comments he made on a past edition.  The two trustees had “demanded a retraction from Saunders, whotwice during the Feb. 16 broadcast told viewers to ‘draw your own conclusions’about a fire that destroyed The Tuskegee News building and the office of civilrights attorney Fred Gray” (AP, 3/19).

NCAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT BEGINS SATURDAY

The NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament begins Saturday, andthe Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE notes that for the second consecutive year, “thecollection of all sports-networks (ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Full Court) will airall 63 games of the tournament in 31 telecast windows.”  ESPN Coordinating Producer Tina Thornton:“We believe that this year, due to a lot more parity, that we may have theopportunity to jump around a little bit more. We will make most of our decisions and judgment calls based on storylines and based on what is happening in the games” (Minneapolis STARTRIBUNE, 3/19).

Of the 64 teams in the tournament, 49 sport Nike footwear,including three No. 1 seeds: Penn State, Duke and Texas (THE DAILY).

CHAMPIONSWORLD RELEASES SCHEDULE FOR U.S. SUMMER TOUR

ChampionsWorld yesterday released the schedule for its U.S.summer soccer tour, which is listed below:

The WASHINGTON POST reports that while not part of theChampoionsWorld Series, “plans are being finalized” for RFK Stadium to hostLiverpool against a team to be determined on July 29 (WASHINGTONPOST, 3/19).

BUZZER BEATERS

The AP reports that the British Olympic Association todayexpressed that it “has no intention of withdrawing its team” from the AthensOlympics (AP, 3/19).

Ohio-based Invacare will air four 30-second TV spots duringNBC’s live coverage of Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Invitational thisweekend.  The commercials will featurePalmer, the national spokesperson for the company.  Invacare is an associate sponsor of the PGA Tour event (Invacare).

ESPN today announced that a record 1.3 million peoplesubmitted entries to ESPN.com’s free “Tournament Challenge,” up from just over1 million last year (ESPN).

The SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE cites a Marketing InformationMasters study that states last year’s Holiday Bowl “generated a record $30.3[M] in economic benefit to San DiegoCounty.  Direct visitor spending for theDec. 30 game totaled $15.7[M], and indirect economic impact was $14.6[M].”  The figure is $10M more than the ’02 figure(SANDIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 3/19).

The ST. PETERSBURG TIMES reports that minor league teamowner David Hersh “has a pending agreement to buy” the Double-A EasternLeague Harrisburg Senators from the city of Harrisburg for a reported$9.4M.  The deal “calls for Hershrelocate the Senators, … so that Harrisburg can pursue the Baltimore Orioles’Class AAA affiliate” (ST.PETERSBURG TIMES, 3/19).

The CHICAGO SUN-TIMES notes that more than 9,100 students atthe Univ. of Illinois “voted in favor of keeping Chief Illiniwek at the school,while about 4,000 voted against the school’s controversial mascot” (CHICAGOSUN-TIMES, 3/19).

The Nashville TENNESSEAN reports that Bank of America willbe a local presenting sponsor for the finals of this summer’s U.S. GymnasticsChampionships at the Gaylord Entertainment Center.  Bank of America’s Nashville office VP/Market Development MarkMcQueen said that the bank’s sponsorship was “a natural extension of itssponsorship of the U.S. Olympic team” (NashvilleTENNESSEAN, 3/19).

A LIGHTER BUZZ

The L.A. TIMES notes that Angels SS David Ecksteinis “resisting the urge to use his newest Topps baseball card as kindling eventhough it has a picture of [Angels 2B] Adam Kennedy on thefront.  The shortstop initially resistedfans’ pleas to autograph the card before relenting.  Topps officials apologized to Eckstein but did not offer to redothe card” (L.A. TIMES,3/19).

WEEKEND EVENTS

The EDMONTON SUN notes that because there is no local TVcoverage for Predators-Oilers, the Oilers “have arranged to have the game shown at the JubileeAuditorium, which boasts a 30-by-60-foot screen.”  Tickets to the 2,000-seat auditorium cost $10 (EDMONTONSUN, 3/19).

The Palace at Auburn Hills is sold out for the 7:00pm ETNuggets-Pistons game, at which the team will attempt to break the Guinness Bookof World Records mark for most wigs simultaneously worn in one venue.  Read about the promotion.  The DETROIT NEWS notes that the game is thePistons’ 12^th straight sellout, the second longest streak since thebuilding opened in ’88 (DETROIT NEWS, 3/19).

Dodgers VP Tommy Lasorda and All-American GirlsProfessional Baseball League player June Peppas will speak at theHistorical Society of Martin County’s third annual Baseball Day at the ElliottMuseum in Stuart, FL (PALM BEACH POST, 3/18).

The Suns will induct Charles Barkley into the team’sRing of Honor during halftime of the 7:00pm MT game against the Bucks.  NBA TV will provide coverage of theevent.  A night earlier, the Suns willdistribute 10,000 Barkley bobbleheads prior to the team’s game against theT’Wolves.

Veterans Stadium will be imploded at 7:00am ET.  Comcast SportsNet will air the implosionrepeatedly throughout the day.

VH1 cameras will be at the AFL Colorado Crush-PhiladelphiaSoul game at the Wachovia Center.  Thenet’s “Weekly Top 20 Countdown” will focus on Soul co-Owner Jon Bon Jovi andCrush co-Owner John Elway (PHILADELPHIAINQUIRER, 3/18).

The inaugural More Marathon, a marathon dedicated to women40 and older, will be held in N.Y.’s Central Park.  More than 500 women are expected to participate (WASHINGTONTIMES, 3/14).

Max Kellerman makes his FSN debut on “Sunday NightFights” at 8:00pm ET (CHICAGOSUN-TIMES, 3/19).

The Mighty Ducks will host ESPN The Truck outside ArrowheadPond from 3:00-5:00pm PT prior to the team’s game against the Red Wings.

CHANNEL SURFING

ESPN will air coverage of the ATP’s Pacific Life Open at 6:00pm ET.

ESPN will air Celtics-Mavericksat 8:00pm ET and Rockets-Warriors at10:30pm.

Pro Football HOFer EricDickerson, NASCAR drivers Kurt Buschand Ricky Craven, Marylandbasketball coach Gary Williams andFox’ Steve Lyons are scheduled toappear on FSN’s “BDSSP.”

NCAA Men’sBasketball Tournament

Saturday

ESPN will air coverage of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament at 11:00am ET.

ESPN2 will air NIT:Virginia-Villanova at 11:00am ET.

FX will air NASCAR Busch Series’ Diamond Hill Plywood Co. 200 at 12:30pm ET.

CBS will air regional coverage of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament from 1:00-10:00pm ET.

CSTV will air NCAA men’s lacrosse: Syracuse-Johns Hopkins at 1:00pm ET.

ESPN will air KristiYamaguchi’s Salute to American Music at 1:30pm ET.

ESPN2 will air coverage of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament at 1:30pm, 9:00pm and 11:00pmET.

ABC will air regional coverage of Rangers-Flyers or Blues-Starsat 3:00pm ET.

NBC will air third-round coverage of the PGA Tour’s Bay Hill Invitational at

3:00pm ET.

ESPN will air coverage of the ATP’s Pacific Life Open at 3:00pm ET.

ESPN will air horseracing: Land’s End Stakes and GothamStakes at 3:30pm ET.

ESPN2 will air third-round coverage of the LPGA’s Safeway Int’l at 4:30pm ET.

ESPN will air ATP’s PacificLife Open at 6:00pm ET.

The Golf Channel will air second-round coverage of theChampions Tour’s Toshiba

Senior Classic at5:00pm ET.

Speed Channel will air American Le Mans Series’ 12 Hours of Sebring at 6:00pm ET.

ESPN will air the ’04NCAA Div. I Wrestling Championships at 6:30pm ET.

ESPN will air figure skating’s European Championships at 7:00pm ET.

OLN will air coverage of PBR’s Tacoma Classic at 8:00pm ET.

Travel Channel’s “World’s Best” will profile sports venue concessions at 8:00pm ET.

Travel Channel will air PatSajak’s American League Ballpark Tour at 9:00pm ET and PatSajak’s National League Ballpark Tour at 10:00pm .

NBA TV will air Magic-TrailBlazers at 10:00pm ET.

NCAA Women’sBasketball Tournament

Sunday

CBS will air regional coverage of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament from noon-7:00pm ET.

NBC will air AFL regional coverage of Predators-Rush or Crush-Soulat noon ET.

ESPN will air the PBA’sWorld Championship at 12:30pm ET.

Fox will air NASCAR Nextel Cup series’ Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 at 1:00pm ET.

ABC will air Mavericks-Netsat 1:30pm ET.

NBC will air final-round coverage of the PGA Tour’s Bay Hill Invitational at

2:30pm ET.

CSTV will air the NCAAWomen’s Hockey Frozen Four Selection Show at 2:30pm ET.

ESPN2 will air the NCAAMen’s Hockey Tournament Selection Show at 2:30pm ET.

ESPN will air the WTAfinal of the Pacific Life Open at3:00pm ET.

ABC will air the Indy200 Copper World Classic at 4:00pm ET.

FSN will air NLL: Ravens-Stealthat 4:00pm ET.

NBA TV will air Nuggets-T’Wolvesat 4:00pm ET.

ESPN will air final-round coverage of the LPGA’s Safeway Int’l at 5:00pm ET.

ESPN2 will air the ATPfinal of the Pacific Life Open at5:00pm ET.

The Golf Channel will air second-round coverage of theChampions Tour’s Toshiba

Senior Classic at5:00pm ET.

ESPN will air Rockets-Kingsat 7:30pm ET.

FSN’s “Beyond the Glory” will premiere the profile of Chris Chelios at 8:00pm ET.

OLN will air coverage of PBR’s Tacoma Classic at 8:00pm ET.

NCAA Women’sBasketball Tournament

TODAY’S TEASER…

General: Namethe five schools that have been invited to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournamentand played in a college bowl game each of the past three seasons.

THE DAILY STAT: DUKE TOPS POLL AS FAVORITE MEN’S HOOPS TEAM

Harris Interactive surveyed online 2,204 adults February16-20, 2004, asking respondents to name their favorite men’s college basketballteam.  Duke has topped the survey forthe past two years.  Five of the top tenmen’s teams were not in last year’s listing – Indiana, St. Joseph’s, Stanford,Connecticut and Notre Dame.  Followingare the results of this year’s Harris Poll, with last year’s rankings foroverall favorite men’s teams listed parenthetically (Harris Interactive).

CRITICS WEIGH IN: “DAWN OF THE DEAD” & “ETERNAL SUNSHINE”

A remake of ’78horror-comedy, “Dawn of the Dead” tells the tale of a small group of survivorsseeking shelter in a shopping mall while millions of corpses walk the earth asblood-thirsty zombies:.  Meanwhile, Jim Carrey stars in“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” a romantic drama about a man whochanges his mind about a procedure designed to erase memories of hisex-girlfriend, played by Kate Winslet.

…TODAY’S ANSWER

Florida, Maryland, NC State, Pittsburgh and Texas

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

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