| | The Daily Insider
Afternoon News & Headlines
Monday, July 12, 2004
4:00pm ET | |
| |
| • | Century 21 Home Run Derby Highlights Tonight’s MLB All-Star Events |
| • | MLB Today Inks Two-Year Partnership With The Cartoon Network |
| • | ESPN Promoting Citgo Bassmaster Classic In Multimedia Ad Campaign |
| • | FSN Adds Poker Superstars International Tournament Coverage To Slate |
| • | Power Restored Today In Athens Following Blackout In Midst Of Heatwave |
| • | Buzzer Beaters/Tonight’s Events/Channel Surfing/In Other News/The Daily Stat |
CENTURY 21 HOME RUN DERBY HIGHLIGHTS TONIGHT’S ALL-STAR EVENTS
ESPN will air live coverage of the Century 21 Home Run Derby at 8:00pm ET from Minute Maid Park in Houston. Chris Berman, Joe Morgan and Sam Ryan will call the derby. Preceding the derby, MLB will host a 5:00pm CT press conference featuring every living member of the 500 Home Run Club – Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds, Willie Mays, Frank Robinson, Mark McGwire, Harmon Killebrew, Reggie Jackson, Sammy Sosa, Mike Schmidt, Rafael Palmeiro, Willie McCovey, Ernie Banks, Eddie Murray and Ken Griffey Jr. Bonds, Sosa and Palmeiro will participate in the derby. Griffey was scheduled to compete in the event until injuring his leg over the weekend (THE DAILY).
MLB INKS TWO-YEAR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CARTOON NETWORK
MLBP and MLBPA today announced a two-year partnership with the Cartoon Network to develop TV spots that will air exclusively on the net through the ’05 MLB season. Cartoon Network is currently airing a 30-second spot, featuring the net’s mainstays Ed, Edd and Eddy, designed to drive interest in MLB trading cards. Some of the players participating include Josh Beckett, Nomar Garciaparra, Derek Jeter, Andruw Jones and Jim Thome (MLBP).
SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL reports that the deal is “centered on a low seven-figure media buy underwritten” by MLB, MLBPA and their trading card licensees that will “net them about 280 ads on the Cartoon Network between now through mid-October.” MLB Senior VP/Advertising & Marketing Jacqueline Parkes: “This is all about getting baseball in front of kids in different, unexpected places and in new and meaningful ways” (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 7/12 issue).
ESPN PROMOTING CITGO BASSMASTER CLASSIC IN NEW AD CAMPAIGN
ESPN this week will break a new ad campaign, via Boston-based Fort Franklin, around the July 30-August 1 Citgo Bassmaster Classic presented by Busch Beer. In three 30-second ads and three 15-second ads, anglers Kevin VanDam, Mike Iaconelli and Jay Yelas explain how exciting and unpredictable the bass can be through humorous situations. Ads will run across ESPN’s four nets, as well as ESPN The Magazine and ESPN Radio (ESPN).
FSN ADDS POKER SUPERSTARS INT’L TOURNAMENT COVERAGE
FSN today announced that it will air the “Poker Superstars International Tournament” for 12 consecutive weeks beginning August 15 at 9:00pm ET. The one-hour episodes will feature poker players Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, T.J. Cloutier, Barry Greenstein, Gus Hansen, Phil Ivey, Howard Lederer and Chip Reese. The tournament, which took place in June, culminates with a two-hour finale February 6 on NBC at 4:00pm ET (FSN).
BUZZER BEATERS
AROUND THE RINGS reports that power today “has been restored to nearly all of Athens after a blackout that struck the city in the midst of a heatwave” (AROUNDTHERINGS.com, 7/12).
The PHILADELPHIA BUSINESS JOURNAL reports that NJ-based J&J Snack Foods Corp. has signed Roger Clemens to a multiyear deal to endorse its SuperPretzels and Icee brands. Terms were not disclosed (PHILADELPHIA BUSINESS JOURNAL, 7/9 issue).
The PUGET SOUND BUSINESS JOURNAL reports that Cutter & Buck Chair & CEO Fran Conley will “give up all of her executive positions in September.” The company originally announced that Conley would remain in the positions until a successor was found, and stay on as Chair thereafter (BIZJOURNALS.com, 7/12).
In conjunction with Clear Channel Entertainment, NBC today formally announced PepsiCo’s Mountain Dew as title sponsor of its Dew Action Sports Tour (NBC).
Canterbury Int’l today extended its sponsorship of the Australian Rugby Union Wallabies through ’09. More than 200,000 Canterbury Wallaby jerseys were sold in ’03 (ARU).
The Int’l Licensing Merchandisers’ Association (LIMA) BOD elected Scholastic Entertainment VP/Consumer Products Peter Van Raalte Chair (LIMA).
The AP noted that the Japanese baseball players’ association “vowed a united front against the proposed merger of several Pacific League teams, but stopped short of calling for a strike.” Team owners are expected to decide on the mergers in September. If the mergers are approved, “more than 100 players could lose their jobs, along with front office staff and other personnel” (AP, 7/10).
ATTENDANCE WATCH
A crowd of 5,245 attended Sunday’s “The Winning Way” seminar at Arrowhead Pond, where speakers included John Wooden, Hulk Hogan, Donald Trump and Pete Rose. Mary Lou Retton, Steve Garvey, Joe Montana and Jerry Rice also attended (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 7/12).
TONIGHT’S EVENTS
Nike Golf will display its new footwear and clothing designs at 6:00pm ET at Splashlight Studios in N.Y.
The Triple-A All-Star Gala begins with a celebrity home-run derby at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, RI, and the Portland OREGONIAN notes that the PCL Portland Beavers are “heading into their All-Star break without an owner.” The league’s BOD, who collectively own the club, will meet during the All-Star break and the Beavers’ ownership “almost certainly will be on the agenda” (Portland OREGONIAN, 7/12).
WNBA Connecticut Sun G Lindsay Whalen will sign autographs at the Mall of America at 5:00pm ET.
The Dodgers will host their annual 5K Run/Walk charity event at 6:00pm PT. Proceeds will benefit the Dodgers Dream Foundation.
The Pistons will debut their championship DVD on the The Palace at Auburn Hills center-court videoboards following the WNBA Monarchs-Shock game. The DVD hits retail tomorrow for $24.98 (DETROIT NEWS, 7/1).
CHANNEL SURFING
NESN begins its countdown of the 16 best Red Sox games of the season, “16 in 60,” at 7:00pm ET.
Meanwhile, with tonight being the 25th anniversary of the famed Disco Demolition promotion, PBS will air “Disco Demolition 25th Anniversary: The Real Story” in Chicago.
Speed Channel will debut a televised version of the radio show “SpeedFreaks” tonight at 8:30pm ET.
Travel & Leisure Golf Editor Jonathan Lesser will appear on CNBC’s “Bullseye” at 6:00pm ET.
NBA TV will air WNBA Monarchs-Shock at 7:30pm ET and Silver Stars-Storm at 10:00pm.
ESPN will air the Century 21 Home Run Derby at 8:00pm ET, followed by the Taco Bell Legends & Celebrities Softball Game at 10:00pm.
MLB Commissioner Bud Selig, Astros P Roger Clemens, Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez, SS Derek Jeter and Marlins manager Jack McKeonwill appear on FSN’s “BDSSP.”
ESPN Classic’s “SportsCentury” will profile Mark McGwire at 9:00pm ET.
HEADLINERS
Here are tonight’s headline guests on the following talk shows:
| “The Late Show” | Kristin Davis |
| “The Tonight Show” | Matt Damon |
| “The Late Late Show” | Nicole Richie |
| “Late Night” | Tim Robbins (r) |
| “Jimmy Kimmel Live” | Tony Danza |
TODAY’S ARTICLES OF INTEREST
The HOUSTON CHRONICLE’s Jose de Jesus Ortiz writes Astros Owner Drayton McLane “is a major reason downtown Houston thrives these days. … Downtown Houston has grown significantly since Minute Maid Park opened in 2000. In the last year, 51 new restaurants and clubs have opened downtown. There were only four hotels downtown in 1998. Now there are 14, including the six built in the last year. Since 1995, more than $4[B] has been spent in revitalization projects inside the 1,178 acres that comprise downtown” (HOUSTON CHRONICLE).
NEWSDAY began a five-part series entitled “Sports in Prison,” which examines the role sports play in prisons, as well as the praise and criticism the concept has received. In part-one of the series, Michael Dobie writes, “Interviews with more than 150 inmates, prison officials and experts in corrections reveal that organized sports are an essential part of the fabric of prison life, and a vital component of both security and rehabilitation” (NEWSDAY). View Additional features from the series.
See The Daily Insider’s Articles of Interest section for more sports business-related links.
TODAY’S TEASER…
Sports: Who is the only member of MLB’s 500 Home Run Club to have hit his 500th career home run against one of his former teams?
IN OTHER NEWS……
DAILY VARIETY reports that throughout the week of June 28, CBS’ “Late Show” beat NBC’s “The Tonight Show” for the “first time in two years across key categories.” “The Tonight Show,” which ran reruns all week, was delayed 15 minutes because of a nightly Wimbledon recap, giving CBS "a crucial advantage.” CBS also won the adults 18-49 demo, averaging a 1.7, compared to NBC’s 1.3. NBC did post a higher average in the 18-34 demo, beating CBS 1.3 to 1.2 (DAILY VARIETY, 7/12).
According to the Publishers Information Bureau, magazine ad pages rose 3.1% in June, compared to the year earlier period, “continuing a rebound that began in May after nearly a year of declines.” For the first half of ’04, ad pages grew 0.5% compared to '03. The largest growth was in financial, insurance and real estate ads, which were up 30.2% (N.Y. TIMES, 7/12).
THE DAILY STAT: N.Y. TIMES BESTSELLING NONFICTION
The following presents best selling nonfiction books for the week ending July 11 (NYTIMES.com, 7/12):
| THIS WEEK |
HARDCOVER NONFICTION
|
| 1) | MY LIFE, Bill Clinton (Knopf) |
| 2) | DRESS YOUR FAMILY IN CORDUROY AND DENIM, David Sedaris (Little, Brown) |
| 3) | EATS, SHOOTS & LEAVES, Lynne Truss (Gotham) |
| 4) | SHADOW DIVERS, Robert Kurson (Random House) |
| 5) | FATHER JOE, Tonya Hendra (Random House) |
| 6) | BIG RUSS AND ME, Tim Russert (Miramax) |
| 7) | OBVIOUSLY ON HE SAILS, Calvin Trillin (Random House) |
| 8) | PLAN OF ATTACK, Bob Woodward (Simon & Schuster) |
| 9) | MICHAEL MOORE IS A BIG FAT STUPID WHITE MAN, David Hardy & Jason Clarke (ReganBooks/HarperCollins) |
| 10) | ON THE DOWN LOW, J.L. King with Karen Hunter (Broadway) |
…TODAY’S ANSWER
Jimmie Foxx, who hit No. 500 in 1940 against the Philadelphia A’s. Foxx played for the A’s from 1925-1935.
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