| | The Daily Insider
Afternoon News & Headlines
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
4:00pm ET | |
| |
| • | Host Communications Today Announces Shakeup At The Top Of The Company |
| • | Global Spectrum Selects Manager Of The New Arizona Football Stadium |
| • | Nike And IMG Fighting Over The Future Earnings Of Michelle Wie |
| • | Eagles Cheerleaders Tonight Unveiling Their Next Lingerie Calendar |
| • | Illinois Republicans Still Looking For Sporting Name To Run For U.S. Senate |
| • | Buzzer Beaters/Tonight’s Events/Channel Surfing/The Daily Stat |
HOST WITH THE MOST: STULTZ REPLACES WHITENER AT THE TOP
Host Communications today named Gray Publishing President Thomas Stultz President & CEO. He replaces Gordon Whitener, who recently left the company to pursue other opportunities. Whitener joined the company as COO in October ’00 and later assumed the role of president. He replaced Host Founder Jim Host as CEO last July (THE DAILY).
PETER SULLIVAN SELECTED TO MANAGE NFL CARDINALS’ STADIUM
By Don Muret, Staff Writer, SportsBusiness Journal
Global Spectrum has selected Peter Sullivan to manage the NFL Cardinals’ new stadium in Glendale. Sullivan was most recently President & CEO of the Lansing Entertainment & Public Facilities Authority, overseeing the Lansing Center convention facility and Oldsmobile Park, home of the Single-A Midwest League Lugnuts. Sullivan starts his new job on August 22. The facility opens in ‘06 and will host the ‘08 Super Bowl (THE DAILY).
COACHING RIFT OPENS BATTLE FOR THE FUTURE OF MICHELLE WIE
GOLF Magazine reports that at a series of meetings that began today at Nike's HQ, Nike and the Int’l Junior Golf Academy (IJGA) will “hammer out the terms of a deal that pits them against Titleist” -- a major sponsor of the David Leadbetter Golf Academy at the IMG Academies -- and IMG. Gary Gilchrist, Michelle Wie’s coach, recently left Leadbetter for the IJGA. The “fallout from all this maneuvering could lead Wie to choose between the two coaches,” and may have implication future endorsement deals (GOLF Magazine, 7/20).
CHURCHILL DOWNS COMES UP SHORT IN LATEST EARNINGS REPORT
Churchill Downs Inc. held its Q2 ’04 earnings call today, and the LOUISVILLE BUSINESS JOURNAL reports that “marketing costs and investments in efforts to land other forms of gaming such as slot machines led to lower” profits. The company reported net income for the quarter fell to $27.4M from $28M during the same quarter last year. Revenue rose slightly to $191.1M, from $189M last year. Churchill “missed the consensus estimate of Wall Street analysts surveyed” by Thomson Financial/First Call by $0.03 a share (BIZJOURNALS.com, 7/21).
EAGLES CHEERLEADERS ROLLING OUT LATEST LINGERIE CALENDAR
The Eagles Cheerleaders ‘04-05 Lingerie Calendar will be unveiled tonight at the NovaCare Complex. The event, sponsored by radio station WYSP-FM, begins at 7:30pm ET with a VIP reception, immediately followed by a lingerie fashion show featuring the cheerleaders. While the event is not open to the public, the fashion show and announcement of this year’s cover girl will be telecast live on PhiladelphiaEagles.com at approximately 8:30pm (Eagles).
BUZZER BEATERS
Sports Illustrated this week features Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant on the cover under the header, “It’s Over: The Fall of the Lakers and The Resetting of the NBA.”
ESPN The Magazine this week features Dodgers P Eric Gagne with the headline, “Eric Gagne kindly requests that you Take Your Seat!”
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| Sports Illustrated | ESPN Magazine |
The AP reports that the U.S. today "committed 400 American special forces soldiers to the job of helping protect the Olympic Games next month." It is "not yet decided whether the armed soldiers would be in Athens, on the nearby island of Crete or remain on alert in Europe" (AP, 7/21). But REUTERS reports that Greece today insisted it "would not let foreign guards carry weapons" despite today's N.Y. Times report (REUTERS, 7/21).
A Quinnipiac Univ. poll released today shows that 57% of New Yorkers "oppose the city’s plan to build a $1.4[B] stadium on the far west side of Manhattan if taxpayers ultimately have to pick up the tab." But 54% would support construction "if the stadium was to generate enough revenue to pay off" the $600M to be contributed by the city and state (AP, 7/21).
The ECHL BOG today approved the sale of the Dayton franchise from Melrose Capital to Donco Entertainment, a local ownership group headed by Costa Papista and Don MacAdam (ECHL).
A CHICAGO SUN-TIMES gossip column reports that former Bears DB Gary Fencik and tennis’ Jimmy Connors are “names being floated in Republican circles as U.S. Senate candidates replacing Jack Ryan” now that Mike Ditka has decided not to run (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 7/21).
A LIGHTER BUZZ
The AP reports that Nike salesperson Ray Staiger yesterday reported 312 shoes he used as sales samples went missing from his pickup truck, which had been broken in to. He values the shoes at $10,789. They were all left shoes. A “salesperson in Missouri has the right mates.” Staiger was forced to cancel his appointments and return to Wichita for replacements, paying a $500 deductible (AP, 7/21).
TONIGHT’S EVENTS
Chivas is making its third stop in Denver tonight when it takes on Argentina club Boca Juniors at Invesco Field at Mile High (DENVER POST, 7/21).
Red Sox broadcaster Jerry Remy will open his new Fenway Park concession stand, RemDawg’s, at 5:05pm ET. The stand, located on Yawkey Way across from Gate D, will sell an array of barbecued food, as well as RemDawg hats and shirts (BOSTON HERALD, 7/21).
The ADT Event Center, the only indoor velodrome in the U.S., opens today at The Home Depot Center. Cuba Gooding Jr. and the USA Cycling Team will attend. The 100,000 square foot, $15M project is the fourth major facility added to the complex (AEG).
The first 18,000 fans age 21 and over at the Blue Jays-Yankees game will receive a special Canon and Yankees logo photo frame with an inserted PSA containing tips in how photography can be used to protect children. Canon is an official partner of the Yankees (Canon).
CHANNEL SURFING
Tony Hawk will be on the Hot Seat during ESPN’s “SportsCenter” at 6:00pm ET.
Brewers LF Geoff Jenkins will appear on FSN’s “I, Max” at 6:00pm local time.
ESPN will air Angels-Rangers at 7:00pm ET.
ESPN2 will air women’s soccer: U.S. National Team-Australia at 7:00pm ET.
Univision will air the Copa America semifinals: Uruguay-Brazil at 8:30pm ET.
The Double-A Texas League Round Rock Express will be featured on Fox’ “The Simple Life 2” at 9:00pm ET.
Dodgers Senior VP Tommy Lasorda will appear on CNBC’s “Dennis Miller” at 9:00pm ET.
Surfer Laird Hamilton will appear on CNBC’s “McEnroe” at 10:00pm ET.
ESPN2 will air Padres-Giants at 10:00pm ET.
Twins CF Torii Hunter, former NBAer Darryl Dawkins, FSN’s Max Kellerman and actor Andy Dick will appear on FSN’s “BDSSP.”
U.S. shot putter John Godina will appear on “The Tonight Show” at 11:35pm ET.
HEADLINERS
Here are tonight’s headline guests on the following talk shows:
| “Late Show” | Sharon Stone |
| “The Tonight Show” | Christina Applegate |
| “The Late Late Show” | Lesley Stahl |
| “Late Night” | Benjamin Bratt |
| “Jimmy Kimmel Live” | Sarah Wynter |
TODAY’S ARTICLES OF INTEREST
The London GUARDIAN’s Dave Hannigan writes of soccer, “Contrary to popular belief, the U.S. is a country where the people involved in the game have a sophisticated enough appreciation of it to know exactly where they stand on the bigger stage. They are under no illusions about the quality of their own domestic league (steadily improving midway through its ninth season), are justifiably proud of the national team (currently seventh, a place ahead of England, in the FIFA rankings) and fully appreciate that the arrival of some of Europe's leading clubs for the ChampionsWorld tournament this week is all about them cashing in on the game's increasing popularity here” (London GUARDIAN).
ESPN.com’s Darren Rovell writes that while “some Californians might be surprised by the Angels' audacity to challenge the Dodgers in an off-the-field revenue duel, it's really just about” Owner Arte Moreno, who “knows that the only way he can continue to be a free spender (without draining a large chunk of his $940 million net worth) is to work hard to make some of that money back.” The Sports Business Group Principal David Carter said, “In the past, the Angels haven’t proven to be a formidable opponent, but they certainly are now” (ESPN.com).
Also:
See The Daily Insider’s Articles of Interest section for more sports business-related links.
TODAY’S TEASER…
Mindbenders: A magician walked into a room and claimed he could stop a light bulb from shining with his bare hand. How did he do this?
THE DAILY STAT: PRIMETIME NIELSEN RATINGS
The following lists the final Nielsen ratings for the top ten primetime shows for the week of July 12-18 (TV.YAHOO.com, 7/21).
| RK | SHOW | NET | DAY | RAT/SHR | HHs (IN MILLIONS) |
| 1) | “CSI” | CBS | Thur | 9.7/17 | 10.55 |
| 2) | “CSI: Miami” | CBS | Mon | 9.1/15 | 9.827 |
| 3) | “MLB All-Star Game” | Fox | Tue | 8.8/15 | 9.573 |
| 4) | “Without A Trace” | CBS | Thur | 8.3/15 | 8.978 |
| 5) | “Cold Case” | CBS | Sun | 7.9/14 | 8.601 |
| 6) | “60 Minutes” | CBS | Sun | 7.8/15 | 8.426 |
| 7) | “Law and Order” | NBC | Wed | 7.7/14 | 8.383 |
| 8) | “60 Minutes II” | CBS | Wed | 7.5/14 | 8.085 |
| 9) | “Law and Order: SVU” | NBC | Tue | 7.2/12 | 7.763 |
| 10) | All-Star Game Pregame | Fox | Tue | 7.1/13 | 7.697 |
…TODAY’S ANSWER
Answer: He flipped the light switch
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