As Atlanta hosts the All-Star Game, MLB "is enjoying
strong fan appreciation and corporate support," according to
Maria Saporta of the ATLANTA CONSTITUTION. MLB Exec
VP/Business Tim Brosnan: "On the level of maturity, I would
say we are a fairly young business. Our property rights are
pretty well dispersed to the individual teams. We are more
of a state's right league than the others, and we've been
that way traditionally." Saporta notes that is how Coca-
Cola can be a sponsor of the Braves and Turner Field, while
Pepsi is the league's corporate partner (ATLANTA
CONSTITUTION, 7/12). USA TODAY's Zeff Zillgit notes the
sponsorship conflict between Pepsi and Coca-Cola. Pepsi
"displayed ads at Turner Field, but there was not a drop of
Pepsi to be found inside the stadium" (USA TODAY, 7/12).
GIVE HIM HEAD OF HAIR, LONG BEAUTIFUL HAIR: Also in
Atlanta, Jeffry Scott reports that Merck & Co.'s Propecia
announced that Braves SS Walt Weiss had won its "Charity
Challenge With Propecia" promo, which had seven MLB players
take the drug for a year to see who grew the most hair.
During yesterday's event, Propecia showed "the before and
after photographs of Weiss, and yes, his noggin showed more
hair this year than last" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 7/12).
On the "Panasonic Replay of the Day" for CNN/SI's "Sports
Tonight," Mike Galanos noted that Weiss won the Propecia
contest, as the hair formula is "covering that dome with a
few locks, anyway" ("Sports Tonight," CNN/SI, 7/11).
BIFURCATION OF FAN BASE? CNNfn's Beverly Schuch
reported that if fans want a seat at the All-Star Game
"behind the dugout, good luck. As the prestige of the game
has risen, so have the ticket prices, squeezing out the
average fan." CNNfn's Dan Ronan reported on the $100-$150
cost per ticket for the All-Star Game, but "some scalpers
claim they're getting between $700-$1,000 per ticket."
Ronan: "Baseball and the other leagues acknowledge they've
set up a two-tiered economic system, where only wealthy fans
can attend the biggest events. To counter that, the leagues
are pushing the concept of FanFest" (CNNfn, 7/11).
