| | The Daily Insider
Afternoon News & Headlines
Thursday, November 18, 2004
4:00pm ET | |
| |
| • | Nike's Phil Knight Resigns President & CEO Posts Today, To Remain As Chair |
| • | U.S. Senators John McCain, Bill Nelson Comment On ABC’s “MNF” Intro |
| • | ESPN Today Announces Five-Year Extension Of TV Rights Deal With LPGA |
| • | Coyotes Debut “99 Hours Of Hockey” Today To Fill Dates At Glendale Arena |
| • | AHL Teaming With The Hockey Company To Offer CCM Promotional Nights |
| • | Buzzer Beaters/Tonight’s Events/Channel Surfing/In Other News/The Daily Stat |
PHIL KNIGHT RESIGNS AS PRESIDENT & CEO, EFFECTIVE DEC. 28
Nike just before the market closed today announced that
Phil Knight is stepping down as President & CEO, effective December 28, but will remain Chair. Knight will be replaced by S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc. President & CEO
William Perez. Perez' appointment as President, CEO and a member of the BOD was unanimously approved by Nike's full BOD today. Knight in a statement said, “This begins an exciting new chapter in Nike's ongoing business evolution. ... In the near term, I will focus my efforts on ensuring an effective transition and on evolving into my role as an active Chairman. I also plan to maintain my status as the world's number one sports fan.” Perez will receive an initial annual salary of $1.35M, and an initial stock option for 200,000 shares (
Nike).
U.S. SENATORS McCAIN, NELSON COMMENT ON ABC’S “MNF” INTRO
MEDIAWEEK reports that during an FCC confirmation hearing today, U.S. Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Bill Nelson (D-FL) “contrasted ABC’s airing of the [‘MNF’ intro] with some ABC affiliates’ refusal to air ‘Saving Private Ryan’ for fear of indecency complaints over the movie’s harsh language.” McCain: “What’s going on here? … What in the world is going on?” Nelson: “We have this thing completely upside down, what has happened in the last week” (MEDIAWEEK.com, 11/18).
Eagles WR Terrell Owens today said of the promo, “I felt like it was clean, the organization felt like it was a clean skit and I think it just really got taken out of context with a lot of people and I apologize for that. Personally I didn’t think it would have offended anyone and, if it did, I apologize” (AP, 11/18).
“Entertainment Tonight” will air deleted scenes from the controversial “MNF” skit at 7:30pm ET.
ESPN2 EXTENDS TV RIGHTS AGREEMENT WITH LPGA THROUGH ‘09
ESPN today announced a five-year extension through ’09 of its rights agreement with the LPGA, under which ESPN2 will televise as many as ten events annually. All of the telecasts will be produced by ESPN Regional Television. The five-year deal marks the longest between the two since ESPN first televised the LPGA in ’79 (ESPN).
COYOTES USING “99 HOURS OF HOCKEY” AS ONE NHL SUBSTITUTE
The Coyotes today at Glendale Arena began “99 Hours of Hockey,” a weeklong event comprised of hockey games for players from the Arizona High School Hockey League, Arizona Youth Hockey Associations, Luke Air Force Base, Arizona State Univ., police and fire department teams and local adult hockey teams. There will also be skating sessions for sponsors and season-ticket holders (Coyotes).
Prior to the NHL lockout, the team was scheduled to host three games during the days the event is scheduled. Coyotes President Doug Moss: “We’re always trying to fill the calendar as much as possible, so it’s business as usual for us. But there are more dates to fill than usual. … (The lockout) hasn’t changed our philosophy. We’ll continue to be creative, with or without hockey” (USA TODAY, 11/17).
MARV TO BROADCAST FIRST KNICKS GAME SINCE MSG DEPARTURE
TNT tonight will air Spurs-76ers at 7:00pm ET, followed by Knicks-Rockets at 9:30pm. TNT’s Marv Albert will provide play-by-play for the Knicks-Rockets game, marking the first time Albert will call a Knicks game since quitting his post at MSG over the team’s request that he be less critical of the club. Albert said he will approach tonight’s game “as I would any other game, and just call it the way I see it” (N.Y. TIMES, 11/18).
AHL TEAMING WITH REEBOK’S THC FOR CCM PROMOTIONAL NIGHTS
The AHL and Reebok’s The Hockey Company (THC) today unveiled plans for 27 CCM Promotional Nights in January, for which THC will purchase 13,500 tickets to be donated to charitable organizations and retailers on behalf of CCM and each team. THC also will make available a limited number of tickets for fans who register on CCM’s Web site. The promotional nights include in-arena CCM signage and PA announcements (AHL).
BUZZER BEATERS
The National Guard today extended its primary sponsorship of Roush Racing’s No. 16 Nextel Cup Ford, driven by Greg Biffle, through the ’05 season (Roush Racing).
Wilson has inked a three-year extension of its ITF sponsorship, maintaining its status as the official ball of Davis Cup and other ITF events (TENNISWEEK.com, 11/16).
A court hearing today in the not-for-profit group The Valley’s $10M suit against the NBPA for trying to oust the group from the union’s Harlem building “spurred talks aimed at ending the dispute.” A court appearance is scheduled for tomorrow (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 11/18).
Dick’s Sporting Goods today reported a Q3 ’04 loss of $1.8M, a 138% decrease from the $4.7M profit in the same period a year ago. While overall sales jumped 60% to $541M, same-store sales increased 1.5% in the quarter (Dick’s Sporting Goods).
Global Entertainment today introduced Herb Washington as the owner of the CHL expansion franchise in Youngstown, Ohio, which will begin play in the ‘05-06 season at the Youngstown Convocation Center (Global Entertainment).
The National Indoor Football League Sioux Falls Storm is joining 11 other franchises in launching United Indoor Football, which will consist of nine NIFL teams, two af2 teams and one expansion franchise (Sioux Falls ARGUS LEADER, 11/18).
CHANNEL SURFING
PBS will air the second installment of “Business of NASCAR” on “Nightly Business Report” at 6:30pm ET. Tonight’s segment focuses on track and geographic expansion.
ESPN2 will air Coaches vs. Cancer Classic: Memphis-St. Mary’s at 7:00pm ET and Mississippi State-Syracuse at 9:00pm.
TNT will air Spurs-76ers at 7:00pm ET and Knicks-Rockets at 9:30pm.
ESPN will air NCAA football: Maryland-Virginia Tech at 7:30pm ET.
Champ Car World Series investor Kevin Kalkhoven and NASCAR driver Tony Stewart will appear on Speed Channel’s “Wind Tunnel” at 10:00pm ET.
ESPN2 will air coverage of the ATP Tennis Masters Cup at 11:30pm ET.
Patriots WR Troy Brown and LB Willie McGinest will appear on “BDSSP.”
ESPN’s “OTL Nightly” will examine athletes endorsing direct-to-consumer pharmaceuticals at 12:30am ET.
HEADLINERS
Here are tonight’s headline guests on the following talk shows:
| “Late Show” | Howard Stern |
| “The Tonight Show” | Jamie Lee Curtis |
| “The Late Late Show” | Frankie Muniz |
| “Late Night” | Woody Harrelson |
| “Jimmy Kimmel Live” | Nas |
TODAY’S ARTICLES OF INTEREST
The N.Y. TIMES’ Selena Roberts writes in the battle over the proposed West Side stadium, Cablevision CEO James Dolan “has yelled ‘Food Fight!’ at the Le Cirque crowd and entered this Mercedes-Benz class warfare with the same failed approach that has run the Knicks and Rangers into the abyss: use money as a strategy. Dolan has yet to throw cash at the competition and win. He has outspent owners in the N.H.L. and N.B.A. in recent years, only to see the league-high payrolls of the Knicks and Rangers fall below the lines of mediocrity. … As the son of the original Cable Guy, Charles Dolan, and as a protégé inside a monopoly environment, Jim doesn't know how to confront competition. So, he resorts to his purchase power over the power of a plan, falsely equating money to intellect” (N.Y. TIMES).
See The Daily Insider’s Articles of Interest section for more sports business-related links.
TODAY’S TEASER…
Sports & Entertainment: In “Driven,” Sylvester Stallone plays a former CART driver brought in by a team owner to mentor Kip Pardue’s character, Jimmy Bly. What actor plays the owner of the team?
IN OTHER NEWS…
The AP reports that shares of Google fell 0.5% to $171.60 today after the company “warned for the second time in a week that its fourth-quarter revenue growth rate is likely to slow from previous quarters.” Google also “warned that its advertising revenues could be hurt by its decision to remove online ads that generate low levels of interest — a move Google says should improve the overall Internet experience of its users” (AP, 11/18).
THE DAILY STAT: LAST FOUR NHL TEAM SALES
The following details the four most-recent NHL team sales prior to Francesco Aquilini acquiring 50% of the Canucks yesterday (SportsBusiness Journal Research):
| TEAM | DATE | PRICE | BUYER |
| Thrashers | March 2004 | $250M (85%) | Atlanta Spirit LLC |
| Senators | August 2003 | $130M | Eugene Melnyk |
| Sabres | April 2003 | $92M | R. Thomas Golisano |
| Maple Leafs | February 2003 | C$70M | Bell Globemedia |
NOTES: The Thrashers sale included the Hawks and operating rights to Philips Arena. The Sabres sale included operating rights to HSBC Arena and the NLL Buffalo Bandits. The Maple Leafs sale included the Raptors and Air Canada Centre. In exchange for its share of Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment, Bell Globemedia agreed to forgive loans.
…TODAY’S ANSWER
Burt Reynolds
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dailyinsider@sportsbusinessdaily.com
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