Closing Bell, April 22, 2004

SPORTS ILLUSTRATED PRESIDENT BRUCE HALLETT TO RETIRE

By Russell Adams, Staff Writer,SportsBusiness Journal

SportsIllustrated President Bruce Hallett is retiring after just over twoyears with the magazine, according to an internal memo distributed this morningfrom Time Inc. Editor-in-Chief Norman Pearlstine and Time Inc. Chair& CEO Ann Moore.  The memocited as reasons for Hallett’s departure his desire to finish writing a noveland to end his weekly commute to SI’s N.Y. office from his Vermont home.  Time Inc. will not name a replacement,instead handing oversight of the magazine to Time Inc. Exec VP John Squires.  As part of the restructuring, MikeKlingensmith, to whom Hallett had been reporting, will now oversee fellowTime Inc. publication Entertainment Weekly. Hallett became president of SI in January ‘02 after seven years asPresident of Time magazine.

Hallett’sdecision comes in conjunction with a larger Time Inc. move to eliminate thepresident position at two of its most lucrative publications, SI and People.

SUPREME COURT TODAY REFUSES TO GRANT CLARETT DRAFT ENTRY

TheAP reports that the Supreme Court today refused to grant Maurice Clarettentry into this weekend’s NFL Draft. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said that she “saw no reason tooverturn a lower court’s stay,” citing the NFL’s “commitment promptly toconduct a supplemental draft” if Clarett eventually is determinedeligible.  The decision was announced ina brief letter to the appeals court (AP, 4/22).

REEBOK SHARES EXPERIENCE BIGGEST DROP IN 18 MONTHS TODAY

REUTERSreports that Reebok today posted Q1 ’04 earnings that were “flat and below expectationsdue to lackluster sales of its athletic shoes and apparel, sending its stockdown 5.5[%].”  The company earned$41.1M, or $0.63 a share, compared with a profit of $40.8M, or $0.63 a share, inthe same year-ago quarter.  However,Wall Street analysts, on average, had expected results of $0.68 a share.  Shares of Reebok were down $2.46, “theirbiggest drop in 18 months” (REUTERS,4/22).  As of presstime, sharesof Reebok were down $3.86, or 9.2%, to $38.11.

Meanwhile,having already singed Eli Manning of Ole Miss and Kellen Winslow II ofMiami, Reebok today announced that it has signed multiyear endorsement dealswith NFL prospects Kevin Jones of Virginia Tech and Sean Taylorof Miami (Reebok).

PARMALAT SEEKS CREDIT PROTECTION FOR SOCCER CLUB PARMA

REUTERSreports that emergency administrators at insolvent dairy group Parmalat “haveasked for protection from creditors for the Italian group’s money-losing soccerclub Parma.”  If the request is“approved by the Industry Ministry, the soccer club will reclaim assetsthat were confiscated by Italy’s tax-collecting agency.”  After the request is approved, a Parma courthas five days to declare the club insolvent (REUTERS,4/22).

ECCLESTONE SAYS BRITISH GRAND PRIX IS DOOMED WITHOUT INVESTOR

TheLONDON TIMES reports F1 Management Chair Bernie Ecclestone said that theBritish Grand Prix is “doomed unlesssomebody could be found to buy the [$21.3M]-a-year rights.”  While the future of the British Grand Prix has “long been inquestion,” the situation worsened when IPG “paid Ecclestone more than [$88.7M]to be released from the deal, which had been due to run until 2015” (LONDONTIMES, 4/22).

BUZZER BEATERS

KaganMedia Appraisals analyst John Mansell, on Comcast SportsNet’s fate ifthe Expos are relocated to DC/Northern Virginia: “There’s definitely room inthe [DC-Baltimore] corridor for another RSN. Most of your other major markets have two, and in many cases, three suchnetworks.  If Fox Sports Net didn’t stepin and get involved in such an effort, I’m sure somebody else would” (WASHINGTONTIMES, 4/22).

TheCHARLOTTE OBSERVER notes that the Continental Tire Bowl will be played closerto New Year’s Day, December 30, at Bank of America Stadium “pending approvalfrom the NCAA and ESPN.”  The game willbe televised on ESPN or ESPN2 (CHARLOTTEOBSERVER, 4/22).

Austin-basedVignette today announced that ATHOC has chosen the company’s content managementand portal solution to power www.athens2004.com(Vignette).

CBSSPORTSLINE reports that adidas is discussing a multiyear endorsement contractthat would pay high school basketball player and NBA prospect SebastianTelfair $10-20M (CBSSPORTSLINE, 4/22).

BestWestern Int’l today announced that is has entered into an agreement withMichael Waltrip Racing to serve as the primary sponsor of the No. 99 NASCARBusch Series car for the November 6 Basha’s Supermarkets 200 at Phoenix Int’lRaceway.  Best Western is the officialhotel of NASCAR (Best Western).

Skecherstoday announced its Q1 ’04 results, with net sales up 6.2% to $221.5M, comparedto $208.6M in the same period a year earlier. Net earnings for the quarter were down from $8.5M in ’03 to $7.0M (Skechers).

TheMemphis COMMERCIAL APPEAL notes that an agent representing Florida-based RipleyEntertainment has had discussions about developing The Pyramid as an aquarium (MemphisCOMMERCIAL APPEAL, 4/22).

Niketoday announced its sponsorship of The Relay, a twelve-member team charity runOctober 23 and 24 in California that benefits organ donations (Nike).

TheProfessional Hockey Players Association and Custom House Global ForeignExchange today announced that Custom House will become the official currencyexchange firm for PHPA members and alumni. PHPA represents players in the AHL and ECHL (PHPA).

TheUHL today announced the following front-office awards for the ‘03-04 season (UHL):

TONIGHT’SEVENTS

TheWhite Sox will unveil a statue of Founder CharlesComiskey on the main concourse of U.S. Cellular Field at 5:00pm CT.

TheTribeca Film Festival will host an 8:00pm ET media screening of Paul Black’s “America Brown,” a filmabout the pressures of West Texas football, at Tribeca Cinema.

ThePatriots will host a gala premier, following yesterday’s private screening andVIP party, to debut their double Super Bowl DVD, “Three Games to Glory II.”  The DVD set hits retail tomorrow (BOSTONGLOBE, 4/19).

CHANNEL SURFING

TNTwill air the NBA playoffs: Nets-Knicks at 7:00pm ET and Spurs-Grizzliesat 9:30pm.

ESPNwill air the NHL playoffs: Flames-Red Wings at 7:30pm ET.

ESPN2will air the NHL playoffs: Maple Leafs-Flyers at 7:30pm ET and Avalanche-Sharksat 10:00pm.

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

BuccaneersDT Anthony McFarland, Pistons G Richard Hamilton, WWE’s SteveGoldberg, N.Y. Post columnist Peter Vecsey are scheduled to appearon FSN’s “BDSSP.”

Mike Ditka will appear on UPN’s “The JamieKennedy Experiment” at 9:30pm ET.

ESPN’s“OTL Nightly” will examine Archie Manning’s football career, his impact on his sons’ paths and thelegacy of QBs drafted No. 1 overall at midnight ET.

FSN’sMax Kellerman will appear on NBC’s “Last Call” at 1:35am ET.

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

HEADLINERS

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

TODAY’S ARTICLES OF INTEREST

TheWASHINGTON TIMES’ Dick Heller writes, “During a yearlong genuflection to its 50^thanniversary, Sports Illustrated is featuring a different state each week.  One of the categories for each is ‘Enemy ofthe State,’ with George Steinbrennerand Steve Spurrier vying for themost jurisdictions where they are disliked. The District isn’t included, but we certainly would have no troublepicking our No. 1 bad guy. Does anybody want to hear a good word about [Orioles Owner] PeterAngelos?  Then find yourself anothercolumn” (WASHINGTON TIMES).

TheWASHINGTON POST’s Sally Jenkins writes of tennis, “Here’s how irrelevant the sporthas become: Eleven days ago a U.S. Davis Cup team led by Andy Roddick beat Sweden in the quarterfinals on American soil, andit only merited a brief mention on the nightly sportscasts. … Tennis is dead.  Ithas been dead before, but at the moment it’s dead without precedent” (WASHINGTON POST).

• NFL continues to be the gold standard in sports business
• Q&A with NFL player agent Steve Baker.
• NCAA men’s basketball 5/8 rule was a joke from the start.
• Minor league teams using catchy nicknames and logos as marketing tools.

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

TODAY’S TEASER…

SportsBusiness:The Spurs again posted the highest average rating of the NBA teams with gamestelevised locally on FSN.  For how manyconsecutive seasons have the Spurs held this distinction?

IN OTHERNEWS…

TheL.A. TIMES reports that eBay yesterday said its Q1 ’04 profit “nearly doubledas shoppers flocked to its online marketplace. And it raised its forecasts for full-year sales and profit, saying itsinternational marketplaces and transaction-fees business were growing fasterthan expected.”  More than 45 millionpeople “bid on, bought or listed an item on eBay in the 12 months that endedMarch 31, a 45% increase from a year before” (L.A.TIMES, 4/22).

TheMIAMI HERALD reports that A-B “is taking aim at the South Beach Diet with a national adcampaign that kicks off today on Miami Beach.” A-B is spending nearly $1M “taking out full-page ads on Friday in 31newspapers across the country touting its message, ‘Have a beer with your SouthBeach Diet’” (MIAMIHERALD, 4/22).

THE DAILY STAT: BILLBOARD CHARTS

Thefollowing lists Billboard Magazine’s top-selling CDs for the week ending April18 (BILLBOARD.com, 4/22):

…TODAY’S ANSWER

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