This Week's Newsmakers: O'Neil Hire Signals MSG Culture Change
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.
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| O'Neil To Lead MSG Sports Division |
WIN: MSG -- In what marks a major change for the often embattled organization, MSG makes an aggressive move to alter the culture at the Garden. Naming well-respected NBA exec Scott O’Neil as MSG Sports President is a surprising decision considering MSG's corporate history, but O’Neil brings in a fresh set of eyes and strong sales, marketing and organization skills to a sports entity that most would agree has enormous upside.
LOSE: NASCAR -- Headed to the Brickyard for ESPN's first Cup broadcast of the season, NASCAR puts on an embarrassing race, running a record number of laps under caution. In a season in which many sponsors and manufacturers have started tightening their wallets, NASCAR could ill afford the bad publicity from its second-biggest race, which is described as a "joke," an "embarrassment" and a "ridiculous sideshow of survival." To its credit, NASCAR comes out and apologizes to fans, but with attendance struggles at several tracks this season, the organization must work to make sure the scene in Indy is not repeated.
DRAW: TOUR DE FRANCE -- The race ended with some of its lowest television ratings in recent history. It also is not nearly the story in the States it has been over the past five years. There is no question the property is facing a tipping point. But the good news seems to be that cycling has turned a corner on the drug issue, which is paramount to securing its future as a viable sports entity for fans, sponsors and media partners.
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