Quote of the Day
"To make Hillary into some type of a sex object wasn’t our intent, but that’s how people were starting to interpret it."
-- Upper Deck PR Manager Terry Melia, on why the company pulled a trading card depicting U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton as Morganna the Kissing Bandit (THE DAILY).
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Top Stories
Carpool Lane
IRL, Champ Car Nearing Deal There is promising news that there will be open-wheel peace in our time, but is it too late to make a difference? The IRL and Champ Car World Series could announce as early as tomorrow plans to become one entity, moving “several Champ Car teams" to the IRL and combining for 19 races this season. While a chance exists that the deal will still crater, the early line is that the IRL is the lone winner -- if you can call either one a winner after this 12-year split. This is clearly the move that everyone who has followed this sport has wanted for years. But how much collateral damage has been done and can one open-wheel series make a serious impact in sports business?
Tackled For A Loss
EchoStar this week to drop NFL Network to lower tier, cutting net's sub base by 4 million.
Down By The Bayou
NBA All-Star Game earns 4.3 rating, down for sixth straight year since TNT acquired rights.
Pay Pal
NFLPA compensation jumps 58% to $17M in FY '07, topping NBPA, MLBPA.
Caffeine Boost
Pepsi signs multi-year deal with California Speedway to sponsor August Sprint Cup race.
Bay Watch
Rays offer to pay $150M share for ballpark in lump sum, virtually eliminating city's fiscal responsibility.
Not Kidd-ing Around
Cuban hopes excitement created by trade ultimately will pay off initial financial burden.
Hot In Herre
Cavs G Hughes, rapper Nelly make proposal for $30M St. Louis-area indoor sports facility.
