TV MONITOR: Last night's 10:00pm ET edition of FSN's
"Fox Sports News," the 11:00pm ET edition of CNN/SI's
"Sports Tonight" and the 11:00pm ET edition of ESPN's
"SportsCenter" all led with a report on the Buick
Invitational, followed by the NBA All-Star Game. "Fox Sports
News" dedicated 11:44 of its broadcast to the NBA All-Star
Game, "Sports Tonight" dedicated 4:58 and "SportsCenter"
dedicated 13:27, respectively. "FSN" and "SportsCenter" are
60 minutes, while "Sports Tonight" is 30 minutes.
THIS PAST GIVEN SUNDAY: WWF Chair Vince McMahon wrote
an op-ed in Sunday's N.Y. DAILY NEWS and called the creation
of the XFL a "smart business decision and a logical
extension of the [WWF] brand." McMahon writes the new
league will "adjust clock rules to speed up the action" and
will "insure that no game lasts over three hours" (N.Y.
DAILY NEWS, 2/13). The SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL's John
Lombardo reports that XFL execs "are plotting a speed-up
strategy to keep 58 30-second commercial spots open to
advertisers" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 2/14). XFL Production
Consultant Michael Wiesman: "We'll have full access and be
able to do anything we want" (L.A. TIMES, 2/11).
MEDIA NOTES: NHL ICE GM Tom Richardson, on the league
buying out Internet partner IBM: "I would expect most
leagues to follow suit in this area." USA TODAY's Chris
Jenkins writes that IBM "will continue to provide technical
help" for the site (USA TODAY, 2/14)....The SPORTSBUSINESS
JOURNAL's Andy Bernstein reports that Players Inc has sued
Athlete Direct in U.S. District Court for allegedly
violating Players Inc's "exclusive group licensing contract
with NFL players." Athlete Direct produces Web sites for
"several NFL players," including Troy Aikman and Kordell
Stewart (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 2/14 issue)....In
Pittsburgh, Sandra Svoboda reported that last week's defeat
of AmericaOne in the America's Cup semifinals will not
"affect ESPN's coverage plans at all," as ESPN2 will still
broadcast the Cup final (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 2/13).
