Closing Bell, October 22, 2004

CARDINALS & RED SOX BEGIN WORLDSERIES SATURDAY AT FENWAY

The 2004 World Series beginsSaturday night at 7:30pm ET at Fenway Park with the Red Soxhosting the Cardinals. Joe Buck and Tim McCarver will call the action. Steven Tyler and Kelly Clarkson will sing the NationalAnthem and God Bless America,respectively, at Game One. James Taylor and Donna Summer will perform the songs at Game Two.

USA TODAY notes that Fox will“use 80 microphones for the Series along with 25 cameras, each with a recordingdevice, including three Diamond Cam cameras buried near home plate” (USA TODAY, 10/22).

With the Red Sox looking tobreak the Curse of the Bambino ratings should be strong. Ad buyer Horizon Media Senior VP/Research Brad Adgate, “I think the fact thatthey haven’t won in 86 years will make for a pretty strong number.” Adgate, on the Red Sox matching up with theCardinals: “There’s some history there. It’s not the first time these teams have met.” The Cardinals defeated the Red Sox in the1946 and 1967 World Series, both in seven games (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 10/22).

NEARLY HALF OF WORLD SERIES CONTESTANTSSURVIVE LCS

Though several questionssurround the World Series, none may be more pressing than which industry execswere wise enough to correctly pick the two league champions?

The Daily ran a one-day-onlycontest October 12 prior to the start of the ALCS asking our readers to predictthe LCS winners, World Series winner, number of World Series games andMVP. We received approximately 150responses, of which 60 readers survived. Of the contenders, 34 are backing the Red Sox, while 26 back theCardinals.

Facts & Figures:

The Red Sox were the heavyfavorites, receiving approximately 40% of the vote to win the WorldSeries. The Cardinals were next with30%, and the Yankees were third with 23%. Though the Astros eventually pushed the Cardinals to the brink ofelimination, the club garnered about 7% of the vote.

Cardinals 1B Albert Pujols was the runaway choicefor World Series MVP, receiving nearly 20% of the vote. Red Sox backers had a tough time decidingbetween David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez and Curt Schilling, as the three combined for 30% of the vote.

The most popular overallpicks were the Cardinals over the Red Sox in six games, with Pujols as the MVP,and the Red Sox defeating the Cardinals with Schilling as the MVP.

MLS FIRE, PUMA PAY HOMAGE TO CHICAGO WITH THIRD JERSEY

The MLS Chicago Fire and Pumatoday unveiled a new third uniform the team will debut in the ’05 season. The jersey pays homage to the Windy City,as it features white stripes across the chest and side panels signifying thenorth, south and west sides of the city. The powder blue color of the jersey symbolizes Lake Michigan, theChicago River and the Great Canal. Puma has been a club sponsor since ’03 (MLS Chicago Fire).

MISL SUSPENDS MONTERREY FRANCHISE FROM OPERATING IN ’04-05

The MISL today announced ithas suspended operations for the Monterrey Fury franchise for the ’04-05 season,following an emergency session of the league’s Management Committeeyesterday. The team became the league’sfirst foreign expansion team when it joined prior to the ’03-04 season (MISL).

NBA TV AIRING SNEAK PREVIEW OF ADIDAS’LATEST T-MAC SPOT

NBA TV on Sunday will beginairing sneak previews of adidas’ “Unstoppable” TV spot touting Rockets G Tracy McGrady’s T-Mac 4. The exclusive will feature the spot itself,as well as behind-the-scenes footage of the making of the ad. The ad will appear about 15 times on Sundayand Monday before adidas begins running it Tuesday (NBA).

BUZZER BEATERS

The NTRA announced today thatinsurance for Breeders’ Cup jockeys will be raised to a limit of $500,000, upfrom the existing limit of $100,000 (NTRA).

Fortune Brands todayannounced that Acushnet, which includes Cobra, FootJoy and Titleist brands,posted sales of $1B for the first nine months of ’04, a 9.4% increase over thefirst nine months of ’03. Operatingincome grew 12.6% to $151.7M during the period (Fortune Brands).

Northwind Racing has“initiated foreclosure proceedings against Rosecroft Raceway,” charging thatthe track’s assets have fallen from $456,931 in February to a negative$2,183,214 in August (Baltimore SUN, 10/22).

Sam’s Town Hotel &Gambling Hall has extended its title sponsorship of the annual NASCAR BuschSeries race at Memphis Motorsports Parkthrough ’07. This year’s race isSaturday (MemphisCOMMERCIAL APPEAL, 10/22).

WEEKEND EVENTS

Friday

The MLS Playoffs begin Fridaynight with Galaxy-Rapids at Invesco Field. ESPN2 begins its coverage of the playoffs Sunday withWizards-Earthquakes at 5:00pm ET.

Northeastern Univ.’sCenter for the Study of Sport in Society will host the True Heroes of SportAwards Gala at 6:30pm ET at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. Sport in Society Founder RichardLapchick will be inducted into the center’s Hall of Fame, while BostonMayor Thomas Menino will receive theLenny Zakim New EnglandHero Award. ESPN’s Bob Ley will serve as master of ceremonies.

John Elway,in conjunction with ColoradoRestaurant Management Owner Tim Schmidt,will officially open his new restaurant, Elway’s, in Denver.

Saturday

Ripken Baseball and NikeBaseball will co-host a coaches’ clinic at Nike HQs in Beaverton, Oregon. The clinic will feature instruction from Cal Ripken Jr., Billy Ripken and John Habyan.

CHANNEL SURFING

Friday

ESPN will air second-roundcoverage of the PGA Tour Funai Classic at 3:00pm ET.

Sirius NFL commentator CarlBanks will appear on CNBC’s “Kudlow & Cramer” at 5:00pm ET.

ESPN will air NCAA football: SouthFlorida-Louisville at 8:00pm ET.

ESPN2 will air NCAA football:Wyoming-Colorado State at 9:30pm ET.

TNT will air preseason NBAbasketball: Heat-Hawks at 8:00pm ET and Clippers-Lakers at 10:30pm.

OLN will air the PBR 2004World Finals at 9:00pm ET.

Former NBA coach PhilJackson will appear on NBC’s “Tonight Show” at 11:30pm ET.

Jim Rome will guest host CBS’ “Late Late Show” at 12:30am ET.

Seahawks WR Jerry Ricewill appear on FSN’s “BDSSP.”

Saturday

ESPN will air “CollegeGameDay” from North Carolina State Univ. at 10:30am ET.

ESPN will air third-roundcoverage of the PGA Tour Funai Classic at 3:00pm ET.

TNT will air the NASCAR BuschSeries Sam’s Town 250 at 3:30pm ET.

Fox will air World SeriesGame One: Cardinals-Red Sox at 7:30pm ET.

OLN will air PBR: 2004World Finals at 9:00pm ET.

Sunday

The Speed Channel will airthe F1 Brazilian Grand Prix at 12:30pm ET.

NBC will air the NASCARNextel Cup Series Subway 500 at 1:00pm ET.

ABC will air final-roundcoverage of the PGA Tour Funai Classic at 3:00pm ET.

Spike TV will air the ChampCar World Series Lexmark Indy 300 at 4:00pm ET.

ESPN2 will air MLS ConferenceSemifinals: Wizards-Earthquakes at 5:00pm ET.

Fox will air Cardinals-RedSox World Series Game Two at7:30pm ET.

OLN will air PBR: 2004World Finals at 8:00pm ET.

TODAY’S TEASER…

General:What song topped VH1’s 2003 list of the top 100 One-Hit Wonders of All-Time?

THE DAILYSTAT: CONSUMER GOODS SOLD UNDER PROMOTION

The following details thepercentage of U.S.volumes sold under promotion for select consumer products, according to Bain& Co. (WALLSTREET JOURNAL, 10/22):

CRITICS WEIGH IN: “THE GRUDGE” & “SURVIVINGCHRISTMAS”

Sarah Michelle Gellar stars in “The Grudge” as an American working in aJapanese house where a murderous curse is killing its inhabitants. In “Surviving Christmas,” Ben Affleck plays an executive whohires the family living in his childhood home to relive the happy holidays ofhis past.

…TODAY’S ANSWER

“Macarena” by Los Del Rio

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.