At the Olympic Media Summit in Houston over the
weekend, USOC CEO Norm Blake "revealed additional details of
his restructuring plan for the organization, particularly
its relationship with NGBs," according to Paula Parrish of
the CO Springs GAZETTE. Blake: "Some of the accountability,
the performance targets we will set for the NGBs will have
nothing to do with athletes, it will be with the quality of
their staff. It could be administrative. It could be the
processes by which the NGB makes decisions, in terms of who
will be the head coach and such." Meanwhile, Blake revealed
a "minimum level" of funding -- $250,000 -- that each NGB
will receive annually from the USOC. That figure will "be
achieved gradually over years, with help from the USOC in
finding other funding resources, and can be supplemented by
the USOC, either with additional monies or through services
provided by the USOC" (GAZETTE, 5/14). In DC, Amy Shipley
noted Blake's 100 days in his new role and writes that he
"has pushed forward sweeping change." He "not only has
devised a comprehensive strategic plan, he has also
restructured the upper echelon and cut about 35 of 629 jobs
in an ongoing process of downsizing." Blake has "earned a
reputation for sometimes painful frankness," and he
"acknowledges that he has 'usurped' roles of some of the
volunteers." He plans to name a new marketing dir this week
and a new CFO within three weeks (WASHINGTON POST, 5/15).
COSTAS COAST-TO-COAST: NBC's Olympic Coordinating
Producer David Neal said that while all events "will be on
videotape," Bob Costas will anchor the net's primetime show
live from Sydney. In Houston, David Barron wrote that
Costas will have "the cushiest hours in Australia," working
from 10:00am to 5:00pm local time. Barron: "So at least
Costas will be live, which perhaps will pacify the grumbling
from some quarters about NBC's insistence to show all events
from Sydney on tape" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 5/15). CBS' David
Letterman presented his "Top Ten Ways NBC Is Planning On
Cutting Back." No. 8: "Instead of videotape, Olympic
coverage all Polaroids." No. 4: "Goodbye NBA - Hello live
coverage of old chicks playing Canasta" (CBS, 5/15).
OLYMPIC NOTES: In Salt Lake City, Mike Gorrell reported
that the SLOC is "expressing more confidence than ever in
the 2002 Winter Games budget." Budget cuts and "the
earlier-than-expected arrival of some sponsorship and
television revenue have delayed organizers' need to tap
into" the $130M line-of-credit provided by Bank of America.
Instead of borrowing $80M in July, "as anticipated last
September," the SLOC heads into the summer with $48M in the
bank and "prospects of delaying the need to borrow until
early in 2001" (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 5/14)....A DESERET NEWS
editorial criticized the SLOC for its failure to make public
the "geld memo" which detailed what "special gifts and
favors would be needed to persuade" certain IOC members to
vote in favor of Salt Lake City's Olympic bid. The move was
a "demoralizing setback. It seemed a retreat to the old
days of secrecy rather than a continuation of the oft-stated
commitment toward openness" (DESERET NEWS, 5/13)....IOC VP
Kevan Gosper "was cleared of wrongdoing" in the Salt Lake
City scandal by the IOC Ethics Commission (Mult., 5/16).
