| | The Daily Insider
Afternoon News & Headlines
Thursday, October 14, 2004
4:00pm ET | |
| |
| • | Bucs Owner Malcolm Glazer Reportedly Abandoning Takeover Bid For ManU |
| • | NFL Taps Don Mischer Productions To Produce Super Bowl Halftime Show |
| • | Gary Bettman, Peter Karmanos Tonight Participating In Public Town Meeting |
| • | ESPN And FSN Both Airing High School Football Contests Tonight |
| • | Leeds United Sell Training Facility To Reduce Debt, But Sign 25-Year Lease |
| • | Buzzer Beaters/Tonight’s Events/Channel Surfing/In Other News/The Daily Stat |
MALCOLM GLAZER REPORTEDLY ABANDONS MANUTAKEOVER BID
The LONDON TIMES writes thatBuccaneers Owner Malcolm Glazer has reportedly“abandoned his plans” to takeover English soccer club Manchester United astalks with investors John Magnierand J.P. McManus, who own 28.9% ofthe club, have collapsed. While Magnierand McManus were “known to be seeking [US$5.57] per share,” Glazer was believedto be ready to offer US$5.39 per share (TIMESONLINE.co.uk,10/14).
NFL PUTS DON MISCHER IN CHARGE OF SUPERBOWL HALFTIME SHOW
The NFL today named DonMischer Productions the producer of the Ameriquest Mortgage Super Bowl XXXIX HalftimeShow. The lineup of performers and showdetails will be announced at a later date. The company co-produced the SuperBowl XXVII Halftime Show with Radio City Hall Production. MTV produced the latest Super Bowl halftimeshow, which featured a breast-baring performance by Janet Jackson, and resulted in the FCC levying a $550,000 fineagainst CBS’ parent, Viacom (THE DAILY).
BETTMAN, HURRICANES OWNER TO PARTICIPATEIN TOWN MEETING
As the Hurricanes would beplaying their home opener tonight if not for the NHL lockout, the Raleigh NEWS& OBSERVER reports that the team instead will host a public town meeting todiscuss the lockout at the RBC Center. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Hurricanes Owner Peter Karmanos will participate (RaleighNEWS & OBSERVER, 10/14).
BUZZER BEATERS
English soccer club LeedsUnited has “sold its Thorp Arch training facility to reduce debt and negotiateda 25-year lease of the site.” The club,which has “cut debt from more than [US$180M] to around [US$70M], expects thedeal to further reduce the figure” by US$7.2M (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 10/14).
Barring any “last-minutefinancial intervention” from a title sponsor, Blue-Gray All-Star ClassicPresident Charlie Anderson is“expected to announce the termination” of the game by the end of this week (MONTGOMERYADVERTISER, 10/14).
WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko today confirmed thathe will defend his title against DannyWilliams on December 11 at MSG. HBOPPV will carry the bout (AP, 10/14).
CHANNEL SURFING
ESPN will air NCAA football: Louisville-Miami (FL) at 7:30pm ET.
ESPN2 will re-air the firstof the NBA China Games between the Kings and Rockets at 7:30pm ET.
Fox will air Astros-CardinalsALCS Game Two at 8:00pm ET.
FSN West 2 will air Texashigh school football: Midland Lee-Odessa Permian, the rivalry depicted on therecently-released film “Friday Night Lights,” at 5:30pm PT.
ESPN2 also will air Texas high schoolfootball: Denton Ryan-Southlake Carrollat 9:30pm ET.
Patriots CB Ty Law and Baseball HOFer Rollie Fingers will appear on FSN’s“BDSSP.”
HEADLINERS
Here are tonight’s headlineguests on the following talk shows:
| “Late Show” | Billy Crystal |
| “The Tonight Show” | Robin Williams |
| “The Late Late Show” | Famke Janssen |
| “Late Night” | Rosie Perez |
| “Jimmy Kimmel Live” | Andy Dick |
TODAY’S ARTICLES OF INTEREST
In a USA TODAY Sports CoverStory, David Lynch writes of the NBA’s dealings with China, “The league saysits profitfrom China operations exceeds $10[M] annually. That’s a modest amount by NBA standards, butthe hope is for a bigger payoff in the future. Within 12 months, the league expects to have 600 outlets selling NBAproducts. Some will be Reebok stores; others will be displays within existingsporting goods outlets” (USA TODAY).
The N.Y. TIMES’ Lena Williamswrites, “The WNBA emerged from its longest season Tuesday night, with afirst-time champion, the Seattle Storm, anotherrecord year in attendance, increased viewership, an anticipated rise inteam revenues and one of its most competitive seasons.” WNBA President Val Ackerman: “We’re encouraged by the strides that our businesshas made and appears to be continuing to make. Despite the adjustments for the schedule, bypassing the month of August,where we typically draw very good crowds, and playing to much smaller crowds inRadio City, we passed the two million mark in attendance for the sixth straightseason” (N.Y. TIMES).
- Jake Plummer situation an example of how welcome politics are in the NFL.
- Former Packers GM Ron Wolf’s experience goes mostly untapped by team.
- Profile of HOK Sport + Venue + Event Senior Principal Joseph Spear.
- Some NHL referees take up full-time jobs to quell financial pain from lockout.
See The Daily Insider’s Articles ofInterest section for more sports business-related links.
TODAY’S TEASER…
Sports Business: What team had the highest average attendance in the recently concludedWNBA playoffs?
THE DAILYSTAT: BILLBOARD CHARTS
The following lists BillboardMagazine’s top-selling CDs for the week ending October 10 (BILLBOARD.com,10/14).
| RK | ALBUM | ARTIST | LABEL |
| 1) | 50 Number Ones | George Strait | MCA Nashville |
| 2) | Confessions | Usher | LaFace |
| 3) | The Chronicles Of Life & Death | Good Charlotte | Daylight/Epic |
| 4) | Greatest Hits Vol. I | Korn | Immortal/Epic |
| 5) | Suit | Nelly | Derrty/Fo’ Reel |
| 6) | Hilary Duff | Hilary Duff | Hollywood |
| 7) | American Idiot | Green Day | Reprise |
| 8) | Feels Like Today | Rascal Flatts | Lyric Street |
| 9) | Live Like You Were Dying | Tim McGraw | Curb |
| 10) | Goodies | Ciara | Sho’nuff-MusicLine/LaFace |
…TODAY’S ANSWER
The Washington Mystics, who drew a crowd of 13,263 to MCICenter in their lone playoff gameagainst the ConnecticutSun.
If you have any questions,comments or suggestions, please let us know at:
dailyinsider@sportsbusinessdaily.com
The Closing Bell providesan afternoon recap of the latest news and headlines each Monday through Fridayat approximately 4:00pm ET. If you would like to sign up for an e-mail alert tothe Closing Bell, go to MyAccount and personalize your e-mail alert options.
