MASTERS OF THEIR DOMAIN: In Portland, Jason Quick
reported that entries for the '98 Nike World Masters Games
"are fewer than half of the projection," and the non-profit
group running the event "is not the only organization
figuring to take a financial loss." As of Saturday, 11,000
participants had registered and paid the $200 entry fee."
Several Portland, OR, hotels "already are conceding major
losses" after most of the rooms reserved for the expected
25,000 athletes have not been booked (OREGONIAN, 7/11).
CELEBRITY GOLF: In Toronto, Chris Zelkovich writes that
NBC's Isuzu Celebrity Challenge golf tournament "is one of
those bogus events that appeal to those who want to watch
football and hockey stars golf," and that NBC's use of its
regular golf crew, "who treated the tournament as if it were
the U.S. Open, doesn't do much for NBC's credibility"
(TORONTO STAR, 7/14). In L.A., T.J. Simers panned the
event: "Support NASA and a one-way space shuttle capable of
jettisoning the get-a-life-challenged people here, who
willingly spent $15 a day to be demeaned and disappointed at
the Isuzu Celebrity Golf Championship. ... Based on
observation, the best place to watch these guys is from
home, because when the TV camera goes on, that's when many
of them suddenly become engaging" (L.A. TIMES, 7/12).
