| | The Daily Insider
Afternoon News & Headlines
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
4:00pm ET | |
| |
| • | Paralyzed Former Jockey Sues Jockeys’ Guild Over Disabled Jockeys’ Fund |
| • | U.S. Army Today Extends Sponsorship Of The AFL Through 2005 Season |
| • | Sales Of Lance Armstrong Foundation’s LiveStrong Bracelets Top 25 Million |
| • | Swiss Cycling Team Phonak Fires U.S. Rider Tyler Hamilton Over Doping Tests |
| • | Jersey Sponsorship Revenue For English Premier League Clubs On The Decline |
| • | Buzzer Beaters/Tonight’s Events/Channel Surfing/In Other News/The Daily Stat |
PARALYZED FORMER JOCKEY GARY DONAHUE SUESJOCKEYS’ GUILD
By Liz Mullen, Staff Writer,SportsBusiness Journal
Gary Donahue,a paralyzed former jockey who serves as co-Chair of the Disabled Jockeys’ Fund,has sued the Jockeys’ Guild, demanding an accounting of what happened to morethat $1M that has disappeared from the charity. Donahue has joinedas co-plaintiff a lawsuit filed earlier this month by jockey and former GuildTreasurer Eddie King. Alan Milstein, attorney for King andDonahue, said the amended lawsuit was filed today in Burlington County, NJ,Superior Court.
Donahue, by reading apublicly available tax return, recently learned that the fund would beterminated in ‘04. The suit also asksthat the Guild be enjoined from terminating the fund. Jockeys’ Guildofficials did not immediately return a phone call for comment.
On the Guild Web site today, GuildPresident Wayne Gertmenian calledfor jockeys to show absolute solidarity and compared Churchill Downs Inc. toplantation owners and jockeys to slaves. CDI has been at the center of the insurancecontroversy.
Churchill Downs President Steve Sexton, said in a statement,"While Jockeys' Guild management has been casting untrue and unfairaspersions on the racing industry, Guild President Mr. Gertmenian has notreplaced the on-track coverage for jockeys that the Guild allowed to lapse in2002, shortly after he took over the organization” (THE DAILY).
U.S.ARMY EXTENDS SPONSORSHIP OF AFL THROUGH ’05 SEASON
The U.S. Army today extendedits sponsorship of the AFL through the ’05 season, maintaining its status asthe official military service partner of the league. New elements of the sponsorship include theArmy’s presenting sponsorship of AFL Fantasy Football and an expanded fitnessand educational initiative. The Army alsowill continue to be the presenting sponsor of the league’s Ironman program, andreceive exposure through jersey logos, on-field signage and in-game promotions,as well as other marketing considerations. The Army began its AFL sponsorship in ‘02 (THE DAILY).
SALES OFLIVESTRONG BRACELETS REACH 25 MILLION THIS WEEK
Lance Armstrong appeared this morning on“Live! With Regis & Kelly” and announced that sales of the $1 “LiveStrong”bracelets created by the Lance Armstrong Foundation and Nike, the must-haveaccessory of ‘04, reached 25 million this week. Armstrong: “When Nike came to us with the idea, they said, ‘We’re goingto make five million of them.’ I thought, ‘You guys are crazy, I’ve got liketen friends we can give them to.’ Wewent through five (million) immediately” (“Live! With Regis & Kelly,”11/30).
Meanwhile,the AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN notes that on TLC’s 9:00pm ET telecast of“Overhaulin” tonight, Armstrong’s girlfriend Sheryl Crow will trick himinto thinking his ‘70 Pontiac GTO has been stolen. The show “swipes cars and turns them intofantastic specimens. Armstrong’s car wastransformed from a $10,000 powder-blue model to a $100,000 black beauty” (AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 11/30).
BUZZER BEATERS
Swiss cycling team Phonaktoday fired U.S.rider Tyler Hamilton because offailed doping tests. Also today, theInt’l Cycling Union refused a racing license for Phonak, prohibiting it fromcompeting in the Tour de France (AP,11/30).
According to a Sport + MarktAG study, English Premier League clubs’ income from jersey sponsorships “willfall in the 2004-05 season, the only decline among Europe’s top leagues, assmaller clubs fail to attract advertisers” (BLOOMBERGNEWS, 11/30).
Philadelphia Triathlon, LLC,today announced the launch of the City of Philadelphia Triathlon, which will occur for the first time June26, 2005 (Philadelphia Triathlon).
TONIGHT’S EVENTS
The Hawks will honor formerOwner Ted Turner by raising a bannerbearing his name during a halftime ceremony at the team’s 7:30pm ET gameagainst the Knicks at Philips Arena. NBACommissioner David Stern, Hawks investor Michael Gearon and VP/Basketball Dominique Wilkins will participate in the ceremony.
Nike Golf endorsers Trevor Immelman, Paul Azinger, Stewart Cink,Carl Pettersson, Franklin Langham and John Cook will work the register,recommend shoes to customers, give swing tips and hand out prizes from7:00-8:30pm PT at the Nike Golf store at Mandalay Place in Las Vegas.
Past and present U.S.Olympians will assist NBC’s Al Rokerand “Access Hollywood’s” Nancy O’Dellin lighting the Christmas tree on NBC’s “Christmas in Rockefeller Center”from 8:00-9:00pm ET.
CHANNEL SURFING
ESPN will air the ACC-Big TenChallenge: Michigan-Georgia Tech at 7:00pm ET and Michigan State-Dukeat 9:00pm.
ESPN2 will air the ACC-BigTen Challenge: Florida State-Minnesota at 7:30pm ET and Maryland-Wisconsinat 9:30pm.
NBA TV will air Spurs-Mavericksat 8:30pm ET.
Buccaneers DE Simeon Ricewill appear on CNBC’s “Dennis Miller” at 9:00pm ET.
Nextel Cup Champion KurtBusch and Chargers TE Antonio Gates and WR Keenan McCardellwill appear on “BDSSP.”
HEADLINERS
Here are tonight’s headlineguests on the following talk shows:
| “Late Show” | Alec Baldwin |
| “The Tonight Show” | Tina Fey & Amy Poehler |
| “The Late Late Show” | Natasha Henstridge |
| “Late Night” | Peter Gallagher |
| “Jimmy Kimmel Live” | Robin Williams |
TODAY’S ARTICLES OF INTEREST
The DETROIT NEWS’ LynnHenning writes, “Look deeply at the Tigers and you see a mingling of eventsthat suggest this team could be sold within ayear or two: Mike Ilitch turned 75 last summer and now has son Chris Ilitch poised as the nextcommander-in-chief of Ilitch Holdings. Because he is camera- and interview-shy,Chris Ilitch has thoughts that are difficult to read, but he is known to havelittle (as in zero) interest in baseball, which can make the Tigers anunattractive business proposition as Little Caesars and the Red Wings' ownersplot business strategy. Comerica Park’s debt isn’t going away. … TheTigers are still spending” (DETROIT NEWS).
USA TODAY’s Sharon Jayson writes, “Psychologists,professors and manners experts say the brawl this month at the [Pacers-Pistons]game and another nationally televised confrontation between college playersfrom Clemson and South Carolinaare symptoms of a larger problem that goes beyond sports or evenathletes' egos.” Michigan psychologist Carl Semmelroth: “We for years have been taught that the problemwith anger is that people don't express it. Now the problem of anger is that it's expressed too much. We see iteverywhere, and we go overboard with sports” (USA TODAY).
See The Daily Insider’s Articles ofInterest section for more sports business-related links.
TODAY’S TEASER…
The ACC this week tied arecord with seven schools ranked in the Associated Press' men's collegebasketball Top 25 poll. Name theschools.
IN OTHER NEWS…
Center for Science in thePublic Interest’s Alcohol Policies Project Dir George Hacker yesterday in a letter to the Beer Institute said thatA-B’s spots, created by Cannonball, St. Louis, that show referees confiscating A-Bproducts and replacing them with Miller products so they can drink the A-Bproducts for themselves “violated beer-industry guidelines against portrayingor implying illegal activity.” A-BVP/Consumer Affairs John Kaestner:“To suggest that it implies or condones illegal behavior is ridiculous” (N.Y. TIMES,11/30).
THE DAILYSTAT: CASINO GAMBLING REVENUE BY STATE IN ‘03
The following details thestates that had the highest casino gambling revenue in ’03, according to theAmerican Gaming Association. TheEffective Tax Rate is all casino-related taxes compared to total gamingrevenue. Figures do not include revenueat Native American-operated casinos (INDIANAPOLISSTAR, 11/30):
| STATE | CASINO REVENUE | EFFECTIVE TAX RATE |
| Nevada | $9,600,000,000 | 8% |
| New Jersey | $4,500,000,000 | 9% |
| Mississippi | $2,700,000,000 | 12% |
| Indiana | $2,200,000,000 | 32% |
| Louisiana | $2,000,000,000 | 22% |
| Illinois | $1,700,000,000 | 42% |
| Missouri | $1,300,000,000 | 28% |
| Michigan | $1,100,000,000 | 22% |
| Iowa | $1,000,000,000 | 20% |
| Colorado | $698,000,000 | 14% |
…TODAY’S ANSWER
Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, Duke, North Carolina, NC State, Maryland and Virginia
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