This Week's Newsmakers: USGA Lauded For Buzz Around Star Pairing
THE DAILY each Friday offers our take on the performances over the past week of people and entities in sports business. Here are this week’s newsmakers.
WIN: USGA -- The organization has had a nice run of hits and is being hailed for its new-found progressive thinking. This week’s U.S. Open starts amid major media buzz around the pairing of TIGER WOODS and PHIL MICKELSON, which delivers more than 42,000 fans -- and some deep galleries -- for the first round. Also, the association is set to bring in nearly $50M in profits from the event and has both media partners, ESPN and NBC Sports, offering more coverage on more platforms.
LOSE: NYRA -- Would you want your organization being in the news for holding an event that literally ran short of water with 90,000-plus people on a 90-plus degree day? Belmont Park turns into a mess as female fans reportedly use men's restrooms and lines go more than 50 people deep. Images on the Web depict men going to the bathroom wherever they can. As a N.Y. Daily News editorial states, NYRA is “on the verge of having its franchise to run New York’s three Thoroughbred tracks extended for 25 years.” But if NYRA “can’t run a quality Belmont stakes in front of all America, what good is it?”
DRAW: NBA -- A strange week for the league. It is reaping the benefits of having a dream-team Finals and ABC’s ratings prove that viewers are engaged in the series. A few more wins by the Lakers would help, but no one can argue with these numbers. However, TIM DONAGHY plays the role of party crasher and the pale of crooked refs steals the headlines and leads to heavy criticism of DAVID STERN and his reaction to the allegations.
|
