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Closing Bell

Closing Bell, March 16, 2005

Afternoon News & Headlines
Skier Bode Miller Today Signs Multi-Year Endorsement Deal With Nike
XM Satellite Radio, PGA Tour Today Ink Long-Term Broadcasting Agreement
ESPNU Town Hall Tonight Examines Whether College Athletes Should Be Paid
MLB Today Responds To Congressman’s Comments On Status Of Testing Policy
Wheaties Today Unveils New Box Featuring Heat C Shaquille O’Neal
Buzzer Beaters/Tonight’s Events/Channel Surfing/In Other News/Closing Stat

BODE MILLER INKS MULTI-YEAR ENDORSEMENT DEAL WITH NIKE

BLOOMBERG NEWS reports Nike has signed skier Bode Miller to a multi-year endorsement deal. Miller’s agent, Lowell Taub, said that Miller will be featured in marketing campaigns leading up to the ’06 Turin Olympics. Taub declined to disclose financial terms of the deal. Miller also has endorsement deals with Visa Int’l and Barilla Holding SpA, and Taub indicated that he is “in discussions with companies in the beverage, timepiece and video-game industries” (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 3/16).


XM SATELLITE RADIO TODAY INKS PGA TOUR BROADCASTING DEAL

The PGA Tour and XM Satellite Radio today announced a multi-year broadcasting and marketing agreement, which includes exclusive XM broadcasts of PGA Tour events, as well as sales and rentals of portable XM2go radios at PGA Tour courses. XM’s PGA Tour Network will also offer daily programs for golf enthusiasts. XM is partnering with PureGolf Inc. to produce the programming (XM Satellite Radio).


ESPN TONIGHT HOLDING TOWN HALL ON MONEY FOR COLLEGE ATHLETES

ESPN tonight presents the two-hour roundtable “ESPNU Town Hall: Should College Athletes Be Paid?” at 7:00pm ET. ESPN’s Bob Ley hosts the special, which was taped before a live audience Monday at Northwestern Univ. Panelists include:

Todd Boyd Univ. of Southern California professor
Myles Brand NCAA President
Tony Dixon Former Univ. of Alabama football player
Thomas Donahoo Sr. Univ. of Florida Gator Boosters President
Ramogi Huma Collegiate Athletes Coalition Founder
Mark Murphy Northwestern Univ. AD
Drew Rosenhaus Rosenhaus Sports Representation President
Sheryl Swoopes Former Texas Tech basketball player
John Thompson Former Georgetown Univ. basketball coach
Sonny Vaccaro Reebok Senior Dir of Grassroots Basketball

Below are excerpts from the discussion:

Brand: “The objective of (college) sports is to provide support for the educational mission of the institution to educate the student-athletes and to bring a certain environment to the campus.”

Vaccaro: “The kids who are playing are the entertainers. They are the reason there are 80,000 people in the football stadium, and $6[B] contracts to basketball programs. The players have to be compensated.”

Huma: “A full scholarship is not designed to cover deodorant, toilet paper. [Former UCLA football player Donnie Edwards’] jersey was being sold across the country. He was All-American, yet when he goes home at the end of the day, he doesn’t have food to eat” (ESPN).

The Illinois DAILY HERALD reports Thompson and Brand toward the end of the taping “got into a heated argument over who is responsible for upholding academic standards among athletes” (Illinois DAILY HERALD, 3/16).


MLB RESPONDS TO COMMENTS ON STATUS OF DRUG-TESTING AGREEMENT

MLB Exec VP/Labor Relations Rob Manfred today released a statement responding to comments made yesterday by U.S. House Committee on Government Reform Chair Tom Davis (R-VA) concerning the status of MLB’s drug-testing agreement with the MLBPA. Manfred: “This concern has not been raised directly with Baseball. If it had been, we would have informed the Committee that the agreement is a draft only in the sense that it has not yet been sent out for printing. More important, [MLB] and the [MLBPA] are operating under the document provided to the Committee and began testing on March 3rd” (MLB).

Meanwhile, President George W. Bush during a White House news conference today said, “I appreciate the fact that baseball is addressing this, and I appreciate that Congress is paying attention to this” (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 3/16).


BRAVES, CARTOON NETWORK TEAM UP FOR KIDS AREA AT TURNER FIELD

The Braves and Turner Broadcasting sibling Cartoon Network today announced plans for “Tooner Field,” an entertainment and dining area for kids at Turner Field’s East Pavilion. The 3,000-square-foot facility will be broken up into eight areas depicting Cartoon Network characters in life-sized baseball-themed environments. The first phase will be ready by Opening Day, with the entire facility to be completed by mid-July (Braves).


WHEATIES TODAY UNVEILS NEW SHAQUILLE O’NEAL BOX COVER

TNT’s Ernie Johnson hosted a special presentation on NBA TV today to unveil a new Wheaties box featuring Heat C Shaquille O’Neal.  Johnson asked O’Neal, “Is that a reasonable facsimile of you, are you pleased with the look on the Wheaties box?”  O’Neal: “Sexy man, sexy man.  Yes, it looks real good.”  O’Neal then autographed his new Wheaties box for children at the event (NBA TV, 3/16).   


BUZZER BEATERS

Sporting News this week features Spurs C Tim Duncan arguing with a referee, with the header “NBA Refs And Star Treatment: Perception Or Reality? We Make The Call.”

Sports Illustrated this week features its annual collage of the teams participating in the NCAA tournament, with the header “March Madness: Where’s Your Team? What Are Its Chances?”

ESPN The Magazine this week features Suns G Steve Nash, with the header “Fill It Up: High-Octane Hoops Is Back.”

Sporting News
Sports Illustrated
ESPN

A federal judge today is expected to schedule the BALCO trial to start September 6, giving both sides six months to negotiate a plea bargain (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 3/16).

Videogame publisher Ubisoft today signed an exclusive licensing agreement with AND 1 to make AND 1-inspired videogames (Ubisoft).

MLS Commissioner Don Garber, on the league possibly merging with the Mexican League’s first division, “I would argue that a merger between [MLS] and the Mexican first division would be one of the most powerful and popular sports in North America, bar none” (SAN GABRIEL VALLEY TRIBUNE, 3/15)

Former French national soccer team captain and manager Michel Platini plans to run for the presidency of UEFA, Europe’s soccer governing body (London INDEPENDENT, 3/16).

FSN announced that heavyweight boxer Riddick Bowe will fight Billy Zumbrun as part of its “Best Damn Heavyweight Fight Period” at the Pechanga Hotel & Casino in Temecula, California.  The show’s card, which airs April 7, also features Olympic Gold Medalist Andre Ware (FSN).

The Univ. of Massachusetts-Amherst Sport Management program today announced the finalists for the ’05 PRISM Awards.  Below are the finalists for the Major League and Minor League categories:

Major League Minor League
Team League Team League
Chicago Fire MLS Aberdeen IronBirds Single-A NY-Penn League
DC United MLS Altoona Curve Double-A Eastern League
Memphis Grizzlies NBA Manchester Monarchs AHL
St. Louis Rams NFL Memphis Redbirds Triple-A PCL
    Round Rock Express Double-A Texas League

NOW HEAR THIS

The following are notable quotes from today’s news:

With the Nationals in a holding pattern on a TV-rights deal while MLB finishes compensation negotiations with Orioles Owner Peter Angelos, Galatioto Sports Partners President Sal Galatioto, said of the deal’s impact on the Nationals’ sale price, “Until you know what the television deal is, it is impossible to value the team because the media rights are the bedrock of the value of the franchise” (WASHINGTON POST, 3/16). Read the full story.

With the NFL owners set to vote on awarding the 2010 Super Bowl to the Jets’ proposed stadium on Manhattan’s West Side, Patriots Owner Robert Kraft said, “A number of us feel that if this meant the stadium could be there, it would be wonderful to have a Super Bowl in New York” (N.Y. TIMES, 3/16). Read the full story.

As the U.S. House Committee on Government Reform prepares to hold its hearing on steroid use in MLB tomorrow, Committee member Paul Kanjorski (D-PA), who disagrees with the hearing, said, “You just don’t use the subpoena power to hype a book or embarrass people” (“Crossfire,” CNN, 3/15). Read the full story.


TONIGHT’S EVENTS

NHL.com begins its online coaching series, “Inside the Game,” with Bruins coach Mike Sullivan providing the first tutorial in a series of monthly sessions that will focus on educating coaches, players, parents and fans.


CHANNEL SURFING

ESPN2 will air Pacific Life Open: Andy Roddick-Fernando Gonzalez at 5:00pm ET and Andre Agassi-Guillermo Coria at 10:00pm.

ESPN will air “ESPNU Town Hall: Should College Athletes Be Paid?” at 7:00pm ET.

ESPN2 will air NIT Basketball: Vanderbilt-Indiana at 8:00pm ET.

ESPN will air T’Wolves-Spurs at 9:00pm ET.

The Travel Channel will air WPT: Borgata Poker Open at 9:00pm ET.

Ultra marathoner Dean Karnazes will appear on CBS’ “Late Show” at 11:35pm ET.


HEADLINERS

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

“Late Show” Amanda Peet
“The Tonight Show” Jamie Foxx (r)
“The Late Late Show” Kevin Pollack
“Late Night” Donald Trump (r)
“Jimmy Kimmel Live” John Stamos

TODAY’S ARTICLES OF INTEREST

The N.Y. TIMES’ Abby Goodnough writes of Florida towns letting MLB teams move spring training camps to Arizona, “Florida without spring training used to be unthinkable, but the unsentimental fact is that it costs a lot, and places like Winter Haven [the Indians’ spring training home] have turned cynical about the benefits. It took $1.2[M] to run Chain of Lakes Park last year, but revenues totaled only $525,000. … The difference came out of Winter Haven’s general fund, a subsidy for baseball that Mayor Mike Easterling said could not continue” (N.Y. TIMES).

See the Articles of Interest section for more sports business-related links.


IN OTHER NEWS…

The DENVER POST reports Qwest Founder Philip Anschutz is “not a defendant in the long-awaited civil case against the regime of former Qwest [CEO] Joe Nacchio” and “doesn’t even merit a mention in the 50-page complaint” (DENVER POST, 3/16).


CLOSING STAT: PRIMETIME NIELSEN RATINGS

The following lists the final Nielsen ratings for the top ten primetime broadcast shows for the week of March 7-13 (Nielsen Media Research).

RK SHOW
NET
DAY
RAT/SHR
HHs (IN MILLIONS)
1) "CSI"
CBS
Thurs
18.0/27
19,775
2) "American Idol"
FOX
Tues
15.8/24
17,313
3) "American Idol"
FOX
Wed
15.8/24
17,293
4) "Without a Trace"
CBS
Thurs
15.0/25
16,486
5) "American Idol"
FOX
Mon
14.0/21
15,334
6) "CSI:Miami"
CBS
Mon
14.0/22
15,331
7) "Survivor: Palau"
CBS
Thurs
12.4/20
13,609
8) "Two and a Half Men"
CBS
Mon
11.4/17
12,507
9) "Everybody Loves Raymond"
CBS
Mon
10.7/16
11,757
10) "Cold Case"
CBS
Sun
10.5/16
11,521

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

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