After the ethics panel released its report on the 2002
bidding process, John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance said it
was "canceling negotiations" for $20M worth of TV
advertising on NBC, according to Amy Shipley of the
WASHINGTON POST. John Hancock President David D'Alessandro
told the AP that he stopped talks with NBC "in order to
pressure the IOC into taking a harsher stance against
internal corruption." D'Alessandro: "We're not going to buy
a nickel of advertising on NBC until we are confident the
IOC is going in the right direction. Each day, the IOC
loses a bit more credibility. It's clear the leaders of the
IOC want to wake up and this is all gone away and they have
their club back." D'Alessandro, on IOC President Juan
Antonio Samaranch's tenure: "I still think Kenny Rogers said
it best: 'Know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know
when to walk away, know when to run.' I think Samaranch is
getting close to the end of his 'fold 'em' stage"
(WASHINGTON POST, 2/10). D'Alessandro has dropped the
Olympic rings from the company's billboards at Fenway Park
and in other stadiums and arenas. D'Alessandro: "I don't
want to go to the expense of putting them back on." While
the company's Olympic deal has no escape clause,
D'Alessandro said, "You don't have to promote it" (AP,
2/10). NBC Sports VP/Information Ed Markey, asked to
comment on D'Alessandro's remarks, told THE DAILY this
morning, "At this point, John Hancock has canceled a meeting
with NBC." Markey added that there has been no erosion of
advertiser support or interest in the Games (THE DAILY).
A DEAL IN US WEST/USOC PAYMENT? In DC, Mike Mills
examines questions regarding US West's $5M payment to the
USOC during the early stages of the SLOC bid scandal (See
THE DAILY, 1/19), which came "two days" before UT Gov. Mike
Leavitt said in his State of the State speech that he would
lead "a major effort" to deregulate the state's telecom
industry, which is "dominated" by US West. Mills: "Now
consumer groups and rivals of US West are asking if this was
a deal: deregulation for US West in exchange for the company
throwing its money behind the Games at a time crucial to
restoring their credibility." US West CEO Solomon Trujillo:
"There was no deal." Leavitt: "Nobody has ever discussed
[the issues] in the same context" (WASHINGTON POST, 2/10).
SAMARANCH DEAL? In Chicago, Philip Hersh reports that
an IOC source "said informal discussions have begun among
influential members on ways to push" Samaranch aside before
his term expires in 2001. One idea calls for him to become
"honorary president" after the special IOC session in March
(CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 2/10)....In a front-page feature in the
ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, Melissa Turner reports that former bid
leader for the '96 Atlanta Games Billy Payne "considered a
college scholarship, medical treatment and free plane
tickets" for IOC members. This is the "first evidence Payne
even considered gifts for IOC members that he acknowledges
today were 'out-of-bounds'" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 2/10)
