Closing Bell, February 1, 2005

FOX’ JOE BUCK RESPONDS TO CRITICISM OF STEROIDS COMMENTS

Fox’ Joe Buck participated in a Super Bowl XXXIX conference call this afternoon with analyst Cris Collinsworth, Fox Sports TV Group Chair & CEO David Hill and Fox Sports President Ed Goren. Buck was asked about his comments on HBO’s “Real Sports,” where he indicated that as a play-by-play announcer, he would not report a player if he knew him to be using steroids.  Buck said a broadcast of a game is "not the forum for me to do it.  Am I unwilling to do it?  Absolutely not.  But in the role of the play-by-play announcer during a game, I think some of these issues are far too multi-faceted to work your way through in between ball one, strike two.”

Collinsworth: “If we had something, I certainly would go through Ed or David before I did something that would reflect on the network.  You are speaking for Fox Sports, and if you want to go to that extent and talk about something potentially criminal with a player or something that you know, I have no problem doing that at all, but I would do that through my bosses. ... If we put everything on the air that we hear around the clubhouse, we would have been burned 10,000 times over.”

Goren said, “That’s not the role of play-by-play guys; it’s not the forum for these kinds of debates.  There are proper forums, but we don’t expect our play-by-play announcers to be Mike Wallace” (THE DAILY).

CHECKERS EXTENDS BRICKYARD SPONSORSHIP THROUGH ‘09

Checkers today extended its category-exclusive sponsorship of the Indy 500 and Brickyard 400 with Indianapolis Motor Speedway through ’09. Checkers receives signage at the track, international radio exposure, hospitality, branded promotion and sweepstakes rights and restaurants at the track. The relationship between Checkers and the facility began in ’03 (Checkers).

GRIZZLIES CONTINUE HOT STREAK BY SIGNING VERIZON WIRELESS

Verizon Wireless today inked a multimillion-dollar sponsorship deal with the Grizzlies and FedExForum through the ’06-07 NBA season. As the official wireless provider of the team and facility, Verizon will receive exclusive marketing and promotional rights in the wireless category.

Verizon Wireless today also announced that NBA, ESPN and Fox Sports content is now available on the company’s new V Cast broadband consumer multimedia service (THE DAILY).

FIRST TRUST, MASTER SPAS AND EASTMAN KODAK ALIGN WITH DRIVERS

First Trust Portfolios and Master Spas today signed sponsorship deals for NASCAR driver Stanton Barrett’s Front Row Motorsports Daytona 500 entry and No. 36 Busch Series Chevy fielded by DCT Motorsports. First Trust will be the primary sponsor of the Daytona 500 car, with Master Spas serving as an associate sponsor. First Trust and Master Spas will split primary sponsorship duties on the Busch Series car (THE DAILY).

Meanwhile, Eastman Kodak today extended its primary sponsorship of the MB2 Motorsports No. 77 NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series Chevy, driven by Drive for Diversity participant Joe Henderson, through the ’05 season (Eastman Kodak).

AUSSIE OPEN FINAL MARKS HIGHEST-RATED ESPN2 TENNIS TELECAST

ESPN today announced that ESPN2’s coverage of the Serena Williams-Lindsay Davenport Australian Open women’s final on Friday night earned a 1.5 Nielsen cable rating and was viewed in an average of 1,350,000 HHs, making it ESPN2’s highest-rated and most-watched tennis telecast ever. The previous highs were a 1.1 for the ’03 and ’05 Australian Open women’s semifinals and 1,001,000 HHs for this year’s Williams-Maria Sharapova semifinal. ESPN’s coverage of the women’s final last year, featuring Justine Henin-Hardenne-Kim Clijsters, earned a 0.9 and was viewed in an average of 843,000 HHs (ESPN).

ESPN REVIEWING MEDIA PORTION OF ESTIMATED $45M AD ACCOUNT

ADWEEK.com reported that ESPN is meeting this week with “at least five agencies as the client reviews the media portion of its estimated $45[M] ad account.” Contenders include Havas’ Media Planning Group, Omnicom’s OMD, Publicis’ Starcom, MDC Partners’ The Media Kitchen and incumbent Wieden + Kennedy. W + K also handles creative duties for ESPN, which are not part of the review (ADWEEK.com, 1/31).

SALT LAKE CITY COUNCIL TO WEIGH PROPOSED SOCCER-STADIUM SITE

The SALT LAKE TRIBUNE reports that the Salt Lake City Council will meet this evening to discuss whether to “buy the proposed [Real Salt Lake] stadium block – owned mainly by hotelier Earl Holding – between 600 South and 700 South and Main Street and West Temple.” The team “wants either Salt Lake City or Murray to buy land for the stadium, and then the team will ask Salt Lake County residents to raise their property taxes to generate $30[M] to help build” the $60M facility (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 2/1).

GEORGE FOREMAN INKS LICENSING DEAL FOR CLEANING PRODUCTS

Cleaning products manufacturer Knockout Holdings today signed an eight-year exclusive licensing agreement with former boxer George Foreman to continue developing and marketing George Foreman’s Knock-Out line of cleaners. The firm pre-launched the line in August and plans to formally launch the products during Q1 ’05, followed by a line of automotive cleaning products (Knockout Holdings).

BUZZER BEATERS

The Dodgers today formally announced an exclusive ticketing partnership with Ticketmaster. The deal was first reported in yesterday’s Closing Bell (THE DAILY).

The recently-formed Gridiron Stadium Network today welcomed Qwest Field as the 11^th NFL facility to join the organization. The network formed to attract concerts and other non-football events in the spring and summer months (THE DAILY).

A group of attorneys are drafting a measure that would permit the Cubs to host two Jimmy Buffett concerts at Wrigley Field on Labor Day weekend, and the bill “could be ready for introduction at a City Council meeting next week” (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 2/1).

The WADA today “uncovered a potentially dangerous new designer drug known as DMT, short for Desoxy-Methyltestosterone.” No athletes as of yet “are associated with use of the new drug” (AROUNDTHERINGS.com, 2/1).

The Lions are “considering a bid to play host to the Frozen Four – the NCAA hockey championships – in 2010 or 2011” (DETROIT NEWS, 2/1).

Reebok today launched the Web site for Rbk Hockey at www.rbkhockey.com (Reebok).

NOW HEAR THIS

The following are notable quotes from today’s news:

• As the team is launching a kids TV show next season, Eagles Senior VP/Marketing Mark Donovan said, “We see this as a marketing investment that will start out with a negative financial return, but we believe over time it will show a financial profit, as well as a branding profit” (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 1/31 issue). Read the full story.

• MTV Networks Group President Van Toffler, on the net’s plans to air a promo for MTV2 as counter-programming to Fox’ halftime show: “Our audience is looking for an alternative to the Super Bowl halftime show and we felt that the new MTV2 fit the bill perfectly” (AP, 1/31). Read the full story.

TONIGHT’S EVENTS

MLB President & COO Bob DuPuy will deliver the Northwestern Univ. School of Law 2005 Pope & John Lecture on Professionalism at 6:00pm CT at the NU School of Law. The lecture is titled “Good Sports Make Bad Law” (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 2/1).

CHANNEL SURFING

ESPN will air NCAA basketball: Illinois-Michigan State at 7:00pm ET.

ESPN2 will air NCAA basketball: Florida-Mississippi State at 8:00pm ET.

Actors Jason Alexander, Nick Gonzalez, Allison Janney, Chris Kattan and Mary McCormack will appear on Bravo’s “Celebrity Poker Showdown” at 8:00pm ET.

NBA TV will air Heat-Mavericks at 8:30pm ET.

ESPN will air coverage of Winter X Games IX at 9:00pm ET.

Colts QB Peyton Manning will appear on CBS’ “Late Show” at 11:35pm ET.

Steelers RB Jerome Bettis and Patriots WR Deion Branch will appear on “BDSSP.”

ESPN’s “OTL Nightly” will examine why so many NFL players end their careers on a team different than the one they are most closely associated with at midnight ET.

HEADLINERS

Here are tonight’s headline guests on the following talk shows:

TODAY’S ARTICLES OF INTEREST

ESPN.com’s Darren Rovell writes, “Some industry observers think that the Patriots run proves that the perception of balance in the NFL is often overstated; that teams don’t have as much of a chance to win it all as their fans think they do. Aside from the [salary] cap, an unparalleled revenue-sharing plan ensures no team is in such dire straits that it can’t possibly compete. Plus, like all major sports leagues, there’s a draft where the previous year’s champion picks last and, oh by the way, there’s a tougher schedule to boot." But, non-guaranteed contracts "allow for teams to dump salaries relatively quickly, which enables good teams to rebuild with potentially little long-term penalty” (ESPN.com).

In a N.Y. TIMES op-ed, Mets GM Omar Minaya writes, “There is buzz surrounding the Mets these days, and it's not just among fans. Players across the league and in the amateur ranks now see that the team is serious about building toward a championship, and are eager to be a part of the process. … The plan is to build a championship team based on pitching and defense, with youth, speed and athleticism, while re-emphasizing our scouting and player-development efforts. As for timing, we have a dual focus: on an immediate impact in 2005, but also on a sustained period of success. The plan involves not only changes on the field but also a change in the organization's overall mind-set and culture” (N.Y. TIMES).

• Jaguars brought recognition to Jacksonville, but bottom line is hard to read.
• Q&As with the five writers who have covered every Super Bowl:
  Jerry Green | Jerry Izenberg | Dave Klein | Bob Oates | Edwin Pope
  
• Little economic pressure is on NHL players to resolve lockout.
  
• Columnist speculates on a possible trade conspiracy in the Sammy Sosa deal.

See The Daily Insider’s Articles of Interest section for more sports business-related links.

IN OTHER NEWS…

The AP reports that TiVo President Marty Yudkovitz has resigned, “marking the second major change in as many weeks in the executive ranks at the embattled digital video recording company.” TiVo CEO Mike Ramsay announced plans to resign last week. Yudkovitz, who is “leaving for personal reasons, will remain on for a period of time as a consultant for certain matters” (AP, 2/1).

The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER notes that EchoStar has surpassed 11 million subscribers, and “in the process likely has become the country’s third-largest distribution player behind Comcast Corp. and DirecTV” (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 2/1).

THE DAILY STAT: EISNER’S ANNUAL SUPER BOWL AD SURVEY

Eisner Communications today released its 12^th annual Super Bowl Ad Survey, which reports that 7% of U.S. adults will watch Super Bowl XXXIX just to watch the commercials, down 2% from last year. The survey was conducted among 1,000 random U.S. households. The following details more results from the survey (Eisner Communications):

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