| | The Daily Insider
Afternoon News & Headlines
Monday, August 2, 2004
4:00pm ET | |
| |
| • | NBA, Network Partners Today Release ’04-05 Regular-Season Schedules |
| • | Checkers Today Inks Multiyear Sponsorship Agreement With The Dolphins |
| • | Long Drives Are The Theme As “Battle At The Bridges” Airs Tonight On ABC |
| • | Smarty Jones Retired Today With $48M Syndication Deal On Tap |
| • | No. 3 Pick Larry Fitzgerald Fetches $20M Signing Bonus From NFL Cardinals |
| • | Buzzer Beaters/Tonight’s Events/Channel Surfing/In Other News/The Daily Stat |
HEAT, LAKERS & PISTONS LEAD WITH 24 NATIONAL TV APPEARANCES
The NBA today announced its ’04-05 schedule, as did the league’s network partners. ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 will broadcast a total of 90 regular-season games, while TNT will broadcast 52 regular-season contests. The season begins November 2, Election Day.
The Heat, who finished 42-40 last year but acquired Shaquille O’Neal in the offseason, will appear on 24 national broadcasts, as ESPN will air ten Heat games, while TNT will air nine and ABC five. The Hawks, Raptors and Wizards are the only teams not scheduled to appear on any broadcasts by the league’s TV partners (THE DAILY).
| NATIONAL TV APPEARANCES |
| TEAM | TOTAL | ABC | ESPN/ESPN2 | TNT |
| Heat | 24 | 5 | 10 | 9 |
| Lakers | 24 | 5 | 10 | 9 |
| Rockets | 24 | 5 | 10 | 9 |
| Pistons | 23 | 4 | 10 | 9 |
| Spurs | 22 | 5 | 10 | 7 |
ABC kicks off its 18-game schedule, the same as last year, with Heat-Lakers on Christmas Day. ESPN will air 65 games during the regular season, while ESPN2 is scheduled to air seven games. ESPN kicks off its schedule November 3 with a doubleheader featuring Heat-Nets and Lakers-Jazz, while ESPN2 begins its coverage December 22 with Grizzlies-Warriors.
TNT begins its schedule November 2 with a doubleheader featuring Rockets-Pistons and Nuggets-Lakers. Of the 52 telecasts, the same as the past two years, 46 will be broadcast as part of Thursday night doubleheaders.
For the first time, the league will feature a weeklong series of games that highlight regional contests, divisional games and historic playoff matchups as part of Rivalry Week from February 22-March 2. During the week, ESPN will air five games, while TNT airs two.
CHECKERS INKS MULTIYEAR SPONSORSHIP DEAL WITH DOLPHINS
 |
Checkers & Dolphins Execs At
Sponsorship Announcement |
The Dolphins today inked a multiyear sponsorship deal with Checkers Drive-In Restaurants, which becomes the official burger of the team. Checkers will have a presence on Jumbotron spots and game replays at Pro Player Stadium. Additionally, Checkers will offer a Dolphins combo including a collector’s cup at its South Florida stores. The restaurant also will title sponsor the August 21 Redskins-Dolphins preseason game and distribute Checkers/Dolphins thermal cups to the first 50,000 fans in attendance (Checkers).
LONG DRIVES THE THEME OF THIS YEAR’S “BATTLE AT THE BRIDGES”
ABC tonight will air the Lincoln Financial “Battle at The Bridges,” a two-player best-ball match featuring Tiger Woods and Hank Kuehne against Phil Mickelson and John Daly, at 8:00pm ET. ESPN2 begins live coverage at 7:00pm. ABC and IMG are co-producing the event.
| "Battle at The Bridges"
Nielsen ratings trend | | YEAR | RATING | | 1999 | 6.9 | | 2000 | 7.6 | | 2001 | 6.1 | | 2002 | 5.1 | | 2003 | 4.6 | |
MEDIA LIFE notes that for ABC, a 4.0 rating “is an improvement for summer Monday nights. Second, boasting Tiger Woods on your network is a good thing, even when it’s a losing Tiger instead of a winning one. Advertisers love him” (MEDIALIFE.com, 8/2).
The SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE notes that the winning team will receive $1M, and “mini long-drive contests will be held on four holes, with an additional $300,000 for charity on the line.” IMG VP & Battle at The Bridges Dir Michael Sterns: “You can’t come back with the same thing. Otherwise, it will be ‘been there, done that.’ We’re all trying to figure out how to do it better” (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 8/2).
ABC runs a quarter-page ad in USA Today promoting the event, under the header “Golf’s Biggest Hitters Live in Primetime” (THE DAILY).
SMARTY JONES RETIRED; WILL STAND AT STUD AT THREE CHIMNEYS
Roy and Pat Chapman, owners of Smarty Jones, today announced that the horse has been retired after chronic bruising on the horse’s feet. Smarty won eight of his nine starts for career earnings of $7,613,155, making it the fourth richest racehorse in North American history. ESPN.com reports that Smarty was recently “syndicated in a deal totaling about $48[M], and will stand at stud at Three Chimneys Farm” (ESPN.com, 8/2).
ACTION SPORTS ATHLETES DISCUSS X GAMES X ON NBC’s “TODAY”
In anticipation of X Games X this weekend, action sports performers Dave Mirra, Chad Kagy and Ryan Sheckler appeared on NBC’s “Today” this morning. Mirra, on the X Games: “The last ten years of the X Games has brought so many people in the stands and even out there doing it. It’s a great thing. ... I’ve been competing in the X Games for 10 years, and if you watch the tape from ’95 and the tape from last year it’s amazing.” Mirra, on extreme sports becoming part of the Olympics: “They’re talking about BMX vert, and skateboarding vert is part of the Olympics right now. I think in the years to come, you’re going to see a lot of changes” (“Today,” NBC, 8/2).
BUZZER BEATERS
The NFL Cardinals today inked No. 3 overall draft pick Larry Fitzgerald to six-year deal that “appears to be the most lucrative ever for an NFL rookie.” The contract, which includes a $20M signing bonus, could be worth as much as $60M (ESPN.com, 8/2).
An SI collector’s issue commemorating the careers of John Elway, Barry Sanders, Carl Eller and Bob Brown, who will be enshrined this weekend in the Pro Football HOF, hit newsstands today for $6.95. The 85-page magazine features two different covers – one with Elway and the other with Sanders (ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS, 8/2).
A LIGHTER BUZZ
After being featured in the August issue of Playboy, WNBA Sparks Dir of Tactical Marketing Heather La Bella apparently has been receiving many phone calls, as she says on her voicemail greeting, “If this is about my appearance in Playboy, please call the magazine” (ADWEEK, 8/2 issue).
The AP notes that Astros P Roger Clemens was ejected from his son Kacy’s 10-and-under Triple Crown Sports championship game Saturday for arguing a call at second base. Clemens reportedly spit sunflower seeds at an umpire’s leg (AP, 8/2).
TONIGHT’S EVENTS
The New York-Penn League Lowell Spinners will distribute Peter Gammons bobbleheads to the first 1,500 fans in attendance at the team’s 7:05pm ET game.
Voting ends for fans to determine the Red Wings’ five greatest games of all time for a DVD box set to be released November 2. The set will also include the team’s three Stanley Cup Championship videos from ’97, ’98 and ’02.
CHANNEL SURFING
ESPN will air Red Sox-D’Raysat 7:00pm ET.
ESPN2 will air “Battle at The Bridges” at 7:00pm ET, with ABC taking over coverage at 8:00pm.
ESPN Classic’s “SportsCentury” will profile the Yankees in a two-part series beginning at 7:00pm ET.
ESPN2 will air early round coverage of the ATP Western & Southern Financial Group Masters at 8:00pm ET.
Giants DE Michael Strahan, Red Sox RF Kevin Millar, singer Brandy and Playmate Nikki Ziering will appear on FSN’s “BDSSP.”
Travel Channel will air “Ultimate Guide to Greece” at 9:00pm ET.
Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban will appear on CNBC’s “McEnroe” at 10:00pm ET.
ESPN will air “Monday Night Countdown” at 10:00pm ET.
The Discovery Channel’s “American Chopper” will feature a bike built specifically for PGA Tour player Davis Love III at 10:00pm ET.
ESPN’s “OTL Nightly” will examine Thurman Munson on the 25th anniversary of his death in a plane crash at midnight ET.
HEADLINERS
Here are tonight’s headline guests on the following talk shows:
| “The Late Show” | Pamela Anderson |
| “The Tonight Show” | Brittany Murphy |
| “The Late Late Show” | Mandy Patinkin |
| “Late Night” | Andy Richter (r) |
| “Jimmy Kimmel Live” | Jay Mohr (r) |
TODAY’S ARTICLES OF INTEREST
In a Q&A with the INDIANAPOLIS STAR, Reebok Dir of Grassroots Basketball Sonny Vaccaro says, “In order to win in this business, you have to have grassroots. Nike still outspends everyone five to one on this level – millions and millions of dollars. They know the value in it. This is really the selling portion of basketball. You get these kids in these kind of events … they will be your messengers. Now, you have to follow up with a great athlete, eventually. Then you have to follow up with marketing and sales of that shoe” (INDIANAPOLIS STAR).
The Ft. Lauderdale SUN-SENTINEL’s Ethan Skolnick writes of the NBA and the U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team, “Even critics can’t ignore that the league is in a good place right now. One look around the practice facility in Jacksonville revealed that. This was America's ‘B’ squad, supposedly, other than co-captains [Allen] Iverson and Tim Duncan, and yet still included plenty of players with promise and poise. And, obviously, it didn't even include all the foreigners flourishing all over the NBA” (Ft. Lauderdale SUN-SENTINEL).
See The Daily Insider’s Articles of Interest section for more sports business-related links.
TODAY’S TEASER…
Sports: Of all the 300-game winners, which one has the least amount of losses?
THE DAILY STAT: N.Y. TIMES BESTSELLING NONFICTION
The following presents best selling nonfiction books for the week ending August 1 (NYTIMES.com, 8/2):
| RK | HARDCOVER NONFICTION |
| 1) | MY LIFE, Bill Clinton (Knopf) |
| 2) | SHADOW DIVERS, Robert Kurson (Random House) |
| 3) | DRESS YOUR FAMILY IN CURDOROY AND DENIM, David Sedaris (Little, Brown) |
| 4) | EATS, SHOOTS & LEAVES, Lynne Truss (Gotham) |
| 5) | IMPERIAL HUBRIS, Anonymous (Brassey’s) |
| 6) | TO BE THE MAN, Ric Flair w/ Keith Greenberg (WWE/Pocket Books) |
| 7) | INSIDE THE KINGDOM, Carmen bin Laden (Warner) |
| 8) | FATHER JOE, Tony Hendra (Random House) |
| 9) | LOSING AMERICA, Robert Byrd (Norton) |
| 10) | WHAT’S THE MATTER WITH KANSAS?, Thomas Frank (Metropolitan/Holt) |
…TODAY’S ANSWER
Lefty Grove, who lost only 141 games. Grove also had the least amount of wins – 300 – in the prestigious club.
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please let us know at:
dailyinsider@sportsbusinessdaily.com
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