Closing Bell, February 11, 2005

YANKEES GM BRIAN CASHMAN REFUTES STEROID CONTRACT ISSUE

Today on ESPN Radio’s “Mike & Mike in the Morning,” Yankees GM Brian Cashman refuted N.Y. Times columnist Murray Chass’ assertion that the Yankees agreed to take out steroid language in the seven-year, $120M contract Jason Giambi signed with the team prior to the ’02 season. Cashman: “That’s a lot of BS. It’s hogwash. ... I can honestly tell you the Yankees had no knowledge that there was steroid use with Jason Giambi whatsoever. Common sense would rule the day if we did feel that way, then clearly we would have either steered away or protected ourselves in the strongest way of the contract” (ESPN).

LORING WARD DIVESTING ITSELF FROM MAXIMUM SPORTS MANAGEMENT

By Liz Mullen, Staff Writer, SportsBusiness Journal

Loring Ward, formerly Assante Corp., announced today that it was divesting itself of Maximum Sports Management Inc., an agency owned by NFL player agent Eugene Parker, in what could signal a move towards getting out of sports entirely.

Winnipeg-based Loring Ward said in a press release that it agreed to sell certain assets of Ind.-based Maximum back to the senior management of the firm, which includes Parker and agent Roosevelt Barnes. No financial terms were disclosed, and Parker, Barnes and Loring Ward officials could not be reached for comment.

Sources said that the company is working on exiting the sports business, after trying to build a multi-sport super agency, starting with the ‘99 acquisition of the firm formerly owned by Leigh Steinberg and Jeff Moorad.

In a statement, Loring Ward Chair Martin Weinberg said that he saw the company’s financial services business, and not the sports representation business, as having the highest prospects of growth for the future.

Loring Ward said it was “in various stages of discussion with its three remaining sports representation firms and will continue to operate them until such time as further determinations may be made.” Those three other firms are an NBA player-rep firm headed by agent Dan Fegan; an NHL player-rep firm headed up by agent Mike Gillis; and a baseball- and football-rep firm headed up by agent Greg Genske.

HIGHLY-RATED QB PROSPECT AARON RODGERS SIGNS W/ OCTAGON

By Liz Mullen, Staff Writer, SportsBusiness Journal

Octagon Football Dir Mike Sullivan said that Cal QB Aaron Rodgers has verbally committed to sign with him for representation in this year’s NFL Draft. Rodgers and Utah QB Alex Smith, who is represented by IMG agent Tom Condon, are considered the two top quarterback prospects this year. Rodgers had been trying to decide between Sullivan and Athletes First CEO David Dunn for representation (THE DAILY).

NEXTEL UNVEILS MARKETING PLANS AROUND ’05 NASCAR SEASON

Nextel today unveiled its marketing plans for the ’05 NASCAR Nextel Cup season. The wireless communications provider will debut the Nextel FanZone in Daytona Int’l Speedway’s infield for the Daytona 500. The interactive area will feature a garage, racing legends area and a bistro-style restaurant. The company also will launch three TV spots to support its NASCAR sponsorship that demonstrate how Nextel products help fans, businesses and racing teams get things done (Nextel).

ESPN PLANNING HEAVIER USE OF SKYCAM DURING PRO BOWL

The AFC and NFC all-stars will square off Sunday in the Pro Bowl at Aloha Stadium in Hawaii. In an interview with USA TODAY, Fox NFL analyst Troy Aikman said, “I know Paul Tagliabue isn’t going to want to hear this. Nobody wants to play in a Pro Bowl. Everybody wants to be voted in. Everybody wants to be in Hawaii. But nobody wants to play.” Aikman thinks that a made-for-TV “battle of superstars” would draw better. But NFL VP/PR Greg Aiello said that there “are no plans to explore alternatives to the Pro Bowl game” (USA TODAY, 2/11).

ESPN’s live coverage of the game begins at 7:30pm ET, and will feature 12 players wearing microphones and an on-field camera. Additionally, as the SkyCam operator will be told in advance whether a run or pass has been called, the overhead angle will be used more extensively to capture running plays (ESPN).

USA TODAY’s Rudy Martzke writes, “With Sunday’s Pro Bowl now on cable (ESPN), Saturday night’s Budweiser Shootout figures to be this weekend’s ratings king. … ESPN received a 3.9 broadcast network rating for last year’s Pro Bowl. The Bud Shootout got a 5.5 in 2003 when Fox moved the race to Saturday night. Fox alternates showing the race with TNT, which got a 3.6 last year” (USA TODAY, 2/11).

USA TODAY also reports that fans can vote from Friday until halftime in NFL.com’s Pro Bowl Pick-a-Play from “any four plays from the playbook, and each team will run one during the game.” In the first Pick-a-Play last year, fans cast 60,000 votes (USA TODAY, 2/11).

CANSECO APPEARING ON “60 MINUTES” AS TELL-ALL BOOK HITS SHELVES

Mike Wallace will interview Jose Canseco on Sunday’s edition of CBS’ “60 Minutes” at 7:00pm ET. In the interview, Canseco reaffirms that he injected Mark McGwire with steroids while they were Bash Brothers on the A’s and that he introduced the performance enhancers to Rafael Palmeiro, Juan Gonzalez and Ivan Rodriguez when they played together on the Rangers. Canseco: “The first time injecting them in [McGwire’s] buttocks it wasn’t like you gave it a lot of thought. It was something so common.” Canseco’s book, “Juiced,” hits retail on Monday (THE DAILY).

BUZZER BEATERS

F1 Management Chair Bernie Ecclestone has “offered the rebellious teams in the sport the chance to double their income if they shelve plans to form” the GPWC. FIA President Max Mosley: “That represents a substantial rise over what they get now, but in addition to that there will be a backdated payment from 2004 to 2007 which will be paid, with interest, for the following five years” (LONDON TIMES, 2/11).

The Univ. of Oregon has reached a deal with United States Bakery to acquire the company’s Williams’ Bakery on the edge of the school’s campus for $22.2M. The purchase creates a “home for a new basketball arena if the university decides to build one” (Eugene REGISTER-GUARD, 2/10).

The Office Depot Center and the Orange Bowl Committee have reached a deal to play the MetroPCS Orange Bowl Basketball Classic, which features two NCAA men’s hoops games, at the Office Depot Center through ’09. The games most recently were held at AmericanAirlines Arena (Office Depot Center).

U.S. Figure Skating today began an eBay auction of a Tiffany & Co. computer-generated rendering of the State Farm U.S. Figure Skating Trophy autographed by the four ’05 U.S. champions: Michelle Kwan, Johnny Weir, Katie Orscher and Garrett Lucash, and Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto. Proceeds will benefit tsunami relief (USFS).

NOW HEAR THIS

The following are notable quotes from today’s news:

• The NHL and NHLPA met yesterday to discuss a new CBA, but the meeting did not result in a solution. Afterwards, NHL Exec VP & CLO Bill Daly said, “It was a pointless meeting” (TORONTO STAR, 2/11). Read the full story.

• In advance of next weekend’s NBA All-Star Game, Commissioner David Stern said, “The biggest concern facing the NBA is the fact that relatively few incidents involving a relatively few number of players somehow have cast a negative pall on the reputation of all NBA players. And we have to find a way to deal with it” (ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS, 2/11). Read the full story.

• During ESPN’s examination of “The Curse of Jordan?,” SI Assistant Managing Editor Roy Johnson said LeBron James is the “first player that I’ve seen come along in a decade who just might be able to allow us, not to forget about Michael, but to put him on the shelf, admire him, but be able to look on the court and think of LeBron in the same way.” Read the full story.

WEEKEND EVENTS

Friday

The Jets and the Association of Minority Enterprises of New York will hold a 6:00-8:00pm ET rally at the York College Performing Arts Center “spotlighting opportunities the proposed Jets stadium could offer to female- and minority-owned businesses” (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 2/11).

Saturday

Angels Owner Arte Moreno will “spend several hours Saturday mingling with fans and players” during the club’s FanFest at Angel Stadium (L.A. TIMES, 2/9).

Sunday

The Magic will distribute Steve Francis figurines via McFarlane Toys to the first 5,000 fans through the gates for the team’s 6:00pm ET game against the Hornets. The doll will be adorned in the Hardwood Classics retro Magic jersey the team will be wearing during the game. The giveaway is sponsored by Discount Mattress Barn.

Fox Sports Radio Network will debut “Fox MoneyBall...the Cost of Winning,” hosted by Rick Horrow and Mike Goldberg, who hosts two other Fox Sports Radio shows.

CHANNEL SURFING

Friday

USA will air second-round coverage of the PGA Tour AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am at 3:00pm ET.

ESPN’s “SportsCenter” will air the final installment of “The Curse of Jordan?” at 6:00pm ET. Tonight’s piece consists of Michael Jordan talking about his adjustment to life without basketball.

ESPN2 will air high school basketball: Oak Hill Academy (VA)-St. Patrick’s (NJ) at 7:30pm ET.

ESPN will air Nuggets-Cavaliers at 8:00pm ET and Mavericks-Kings at 10:30pm.

ESPN2 will air Friday Night Fights: Laila Ali-Cassandra Geigger at 9:00pm ET.

Spike TV will air “Untold,” which details Knicks President of Basketball Operations Isiah Thomas’adolescence, at 9:00pm ET.

Univ. of Illinois basketball coach Bruce Weber and Jets LB Jonathan Vilma will appear on “BDSSP.”

Former NHLers Mike Murphy, Mike Kitchen, Greg Millen and Greg Gilbert will debate potential rule changes during Leafs TV’s “Changes On Ice” at 10:00pm ET.

Saturday

ESPN will air “College GameDay” from the Univ. of Maryland.

NBC will air the Snowboarding World Championships at 2:00pm ET.

CBS will air third-round coverage of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am at 3:00pm ET.

NBC will air skiing: World Alpine Championship at 3:00pm ET.

ESPN will air the NFL Pro Bowl Skills Competition at 6:00pm ET.

NBA TV will air Magic-76ers at 7:00pm ET.

Fox will air coverage of the NASCAR Nextel Cup Budweiser Shootout at 8:00pm ET.

ESPN2 will air track & field: Tyson Invitational at 9:00pm ET.

OLN will air PBR: Anaheim Open at 9:00pm ET.

Sunday

ESPN will air PBA: Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Open at 12:30pm ET.

NBC will air skiing: World Alpine Championships at 1:00pm ET.

ABC will air Spurs-Heat at 1:00pm ET and Lakers-Cavaliers at 3:30pm.

Fox will air Daytona 500 Qualifying at 1:00pm ET.

ESPN will air “Roadtrip to the L.A. Auto Show” at 2:00pm ET.

NBC will air regional coverage of the AFL: Chicago Rush-Colorado Crush; San Jose SaberCats-New Orleans VooDoo; Nashville Kats-Philadelphia Soul;or Columbus Destroyers-Dallas Desperados at 3:00pm ET.

CBS will air final-round coverage of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am at 3:00pm ET.

NBA TV will air Nuggets-Nets at 6:00pm ET.

Jose Canseco will appear on CBS’ “60 Minutes” at 7:00pm ET.

ESPN2 will air NHRA Winternationals at 7:00pm ET.

ESPN will air the NFL Pro Bowl at 7:30pm ET.

Lance Armstrong will present an award at the Grammy Awards on CBS at 8:00pm ET.

THE DAILY STAT: GRAMMY AWARDS RATINGS TREND

With CBS broadcasting Sunday’s 47^th annual Grammy Awards at 8:00pm ET, The Daily presents a ratings trend for music’s biggest awards show:

CRITICS WEIGH IN: “HITCH” AND “BRIDE & PREJUDICE”

Will Smith stars in “Hitch” as a ladies’ man who teaches hopeless guys the rules of dating until an undercover reporter throws him off his game. In “Bride & Prejudice,” Jane Austen's classic gets a Bollywood twist when a headstrong Indian woman declares that she'll only marry for love.

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please let us know at:
dailyinsider@sportsbusinessdaily.com

The Closing Bell provides an afternoon recap of the latest news and headlines each Monday through Friday at approximately 4:00pm ET. If you would like to sign up for an e-mail alert to the Closing Bell, go to My Account and personalize your e-mail alert options.