The Daily Insider
Morning News & Headlines
Tuesday, August 14, 2001
9:00am ET
| • | New CART TV Deal Has Racing Series Leaving ABC/ESPN |
| • | Edmonton Considers World Championships A Super Success |
| • | An Ephedrine Headache – NCAA Study Shows Supplement Use On The Rise |
| • | You Can’t Go Home Again- Bid To Return Aloha Bowl To HI Fails |
| • | President Bush To Visit Rockies; Walker Unimpressed |
| • | A Lighter Buzz |
CART TO DROP LONGTIME FRIENDS ABC/ESPN IN NEW TV DEAL
ESPN.com reports that CART’s new TV deal "no longer contains longtime partners ABC or ESPN." CART has instead signed "a three-year deal with CBS, SpeedVision, FX and Fox Sports Net." CBS will "reportedly carry eight races live in 2002, nine in 2003 and 10 in 2004, with cable outlets SpeedVision and FX airing the remaining races, in addition to practice, qualifying and special shows" (ESPN.com, 8/14).
EDMONTON OFFICIALS BEAMING AFTER IAAF CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Toronto GLOBE & MAIL reports that organizers of the World Track & Field Championships in Edmonton "said yesterday they exceeded their ticket sales goal by about" C$100,000. In addition, "the cost of holding the meet was lower than anticipated." Although "several bills remain outstanding, extra money will likely go to a ‘legacy’ fund to enhance sport across the country." The fund was originally expected to get C$5M from the meet, but it is now estimated to be about $7.5M (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 8/14).
The EDMONTON SUN reports the "event attracted a total attendance of 400,886 for a daily average of 40,089." Edmonton ’01 Dir Jack Agrios: "The lowest daily attendance we had was 29,000. Those figures are genuine. There has never been paid attendance figures of this nature" (EDMONTON SUN, 8/14).
NCAA REPORT FINDS ALMOST 60% OF ATHLETES USE SUPPLEMENTS
The L.A. TIMES cites a report released by the NCAA Monday that shows "almost 60% of student-athletes surveyed by the NCAA have used nutritional supplements." Additionally, the report found that "use of ephedrine, a stimulant with potentially dangerous side effects, is rising." The report was based on responses from 21,000 women and men from NCAA member schools and was "the largest and most comprehensive NCAA survey of student-athletes’ substance-abuse habits" ever (L.A. TIMES, 8/14).
ALOHA MEANS GOOD-BYE: BOWL NOT RETURNING TO HI
The HONOLULU ADVERTISER reports that "an offer that would have returned the Aloha Bowl to Honolulu has fallen through, and in the diminishing chances the game survives, it apparently will not be played in [HI]." The Motor City Bowl operators, who were trying to return the game to HI, where it had been played the previous 18 years, "were unable to secure the rights to the game from Aloha Sports Inc." Bowl officials say that if the game is not held this year, it will lose its certification (HONOLULU ADVERTISER, 8/14).
BUSH HEADS FOR THE ROCKPILE IN VISIT TO COORS FIELD TONIGHT
The DENVER POST reports that President Bush will attend tonight’s Braves-Rockies game at Coors Field. Bush "is scheduled to arrive at Coors Field sometime after the first inning." Rockies RF Larry Walker, who grew up in Vancouver, did not sound all that impressed with Bush’s visit, but was asked if he would be more impressed if the Canadian prime minister showed up tonight. Walker: "I have no idea who the Canadian prime minister is. I know George Bush is the president of the U.S. After that, I don't know who the vice president is or any of that stuff. No idea" (DENVER POST, 8/14).
ENDORSEMENTS & PROMOTIONS
The SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER reports that Mariners P Freddy Garcia was in Miami yesterday filming a new TV spot for Pepsi-Cola. Garcia is a spokesperson for Pepsi in his native Venezuela. Garcia, on filming ads for the company: "I did it the first time in 1999, then last year and this year. I do it maybe two times a season" (SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, 8/14).
Additionally, the DETROIT FREE PRESS reports that Little Caesars Pizza restaurants in MI will feature bobblehead dolls of Red Wing players as the hockey season nears. Available now is RW Darren McCarty, with dolls of C Kris Draper and RW Kirk Maltby to follow (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 8/14).
A LIGHTER BUZZ
UK-based Video Networks will announce today it has acquired exclusive rights to video-on-demand highlights of the English Premier League for the next three years (FINANCIAL TIMES, 8/14)….The Vikings will plant a tree today in front of Gage Hall at Minnesota State, home of their training camp, in honor of OT Korey Stringer (ESPN.com, 8/14)….After completing this year’s event, organizers of the Tennis Masters Series Cincinnati will continue to look for a title sponsor. Tournament Dir Bruce Flory, on the search: "Obviously the earlier we do it, it’s one thing less we need to worry about it. And it gives the company we’re working with more time to take advantage of it" (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 8/14)….The ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS' Charley Walters writes, "People who know say Red McCombs, 73, is still having fun owning the Vikings, but if the team falters on the field and the enjoyment wanes, a threat to move to Los Angeles could become legitimate" (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 8/14).
EXHIBITION NFL RATINGS: Friday night’s Patriots-Giants exhibition game drew a 12.3 Nielsen rating in the Boston area, topping Sunday’s 12.1 for the Red Sox-Orioles game as the top-rated sports event for the weekend in the city (BOSTON GLOBE, 8/14)….The Cowboys-Broncos game on Saturday earned an 11.3 Nielsen rating in Dallas, down from a 12.1 for the Cowboys-Raiders exhibition opener on August 4th (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 8/14).
IN OTHER NEWS
Media consultant Jack Myers predicts that the current ad slump "is likely to be more painful" than originally thought because "major advertisers are far more powerful today than in the past." Myers predicts that total media spending will be down 4% from last year’s $205B (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 8/14).
The N.Y. DAILY NEWS reports that the soft economy has affected newsstand sales of financial magazines. Time Inc.’s Money Magazine saw newsstand circulation drop 25%, while newsstand sales plunged for SmartMoney (down 30%), Worth Magazine (40%) and Business Week (11%) (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 8/14).
AOL Time Warner plans to layoff nearly 7% of its online division, with cutbacks of 1,000 people in the 16,000-employee workforce of AOL (WASHINGTON POST, 8/14).
FINAL JEOPARDY QUESTION
Last night's edition of "Jeopardy" was part of "College Week" and the "Final Jeopardy!" category was "Royal Residences."
"The only palaces on U.S. soil that were built for monarchs are found in this state."
MONDAY NIGHT’S TV MONITOR
FSN’s 10:30pm ET "National Sports Report" led with the cancellation of the Ravens-Eagles pre-season game because of the poor field conditions at Veterans Stadium.
ESPN’s 11:00pm ET "SportsCenter" led with Ravens-Eagles.
CNN/SI’s 11:00pm ET "Sports Tonight" led with Reds-Cardinals.
FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER
"What is Hawaii?"
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please let us know at:
dailyinsider@sportsbusinessdaily.com
The Morning Buzz provides an early update of the news and headlines each Monday through Friday at approximately 9:00am ET. If you would like to sign up for an e-mail alert to the Morning Buzz, go to My Account and personalize your e-mail alert options.
