TV MONITOR: Last night's 10:00pm ET 60-minute edition
of FSN's "National Sports Report" led with Yankees-Red Sox,
followed by Orioles-A's and an AP report that MLB has
offered to re-employ some of the 22 umpires whose
resignations were accepted last year. The first non-MLB
report, at 10:09 into the broadcast, was on the riots in
L.A. following the Lakers winning the NBA Championship
Monday night. Last night's 11:00pm ET 30-minute edition of
CNN/SI's "Sports Tonight" led with Yankees-Red Sox, followed
by Tigers-Blue Jays and the L.A. riots. Last night's
11:00pm ET 60-minute edition of ESPN's "SportsCenter" led
with Yankees-Red Sox, followed by Indians-White Sox and
Rockies-Reds. The first non-MLB report, at 10:46, was
speculation that Isiah Thomas will be named the Pacers' new
coach (THE DAILY).
ATHLETESDIRECT MADE RUN AT PAPANEK? AD AGE reports that
the promotion of ESPN Magazine's Senior VP John Papanek (see
THE DAILY, 6/20) came after Papanek "received a job offer"
from Athletes Direct. Papanek "wouldn't confirm or deny
that he had been in talks with the site" (AD AGE, 6/21).
RIVALS MANAGEMENT CHANGES: Rivals.com named Mark Shuken
as new company President yesterday after its Founder & CEO
J.C. Heckman left the company. See (#23) for more.
RAMADAN NOT GOING HEAD TO HEAD: Quokka CEO Alan Ramadan
said despite the company's purchase of golf.com, he "isn't
looking for a showdown with PGATour.com." Ramadan: "We're
going into this with an open mind. Our goal is to provide
the kind of coverage that wins the hearts and minds of golf
enthusiasts" (GOLFWEEK, 6/19 issue).
NOTES: FSN's "Regional Sports Report" debuts in the
Detroit market tonight, and in Detroit, Steve Crowe reports
that the show "shares the Seattle hub" with Fox Sports Net
Northwest, and for tonight's premiere, reporter Mickey York
has landed an interview with Mike and Marian Ilitch's
children, Chris and Denise, who were tabbed Monday to run
the sports holding group (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 6/21)....In
Toronto, William Houston writes that Headline Sports will
announce today that "it is, for the first time, in the
business of live-event programming." The channel has
acquired the TV rights to more than 120 MLB games, including
postseason and the All-Star Game (GLOBE & MAIL, 6/21).
