| | The Daily Insider
Afternoon News & Headlines
Friday, March 8, 2002
4:00pm ET | |
| • | US Weekly Editor Charlie Leerhsen Ready To Play Ball For SI |
| • | UK's Leeds United Reports Loss After Weighing In Costly Player Purchases |
| • | NASCAR Drives More Revenue To Atlanta Than Any Major Sport |
| • | Olympic Web Sites Combine To Register Impressive Unique Visits |
| • | Critics Weigh In: Guy Pearson's "Time Machine" and Ice Cube's "Benjamins" |
| • | Buzzer Beaters/In Other News/Daily Stat/Channel Surfing |
US WEEKLY EDITOR LEERHSEN ENTERS SI'S PLAYING FIELD
SI Managing Editor Terry McDonell announced today that US Weekly Editor Charlie Leerhsen will join the sports magazine as an exec editor effective April 1. Leerhsen has worked at US Weekly since 1998, and helped McDonell transition US from a monthly to a weekly publication (THE DAILY).
RED ROCKS: UK'S LEEDS UNITED REPORTS A LOSS
The FINANCIAL TIMES reports that Leeds United "plunged deep into the red on Friday," as the "absence of lucrative Champions League football and expensive player purchases impacted on its balance sheet." The club reported pre-tax losses of $19.7M "in the six months to December 31, compared with a profit of [$142,220.80] last year." Revenues fell 7% to $54.4M (FINANCIAL TIMES, 3/8).
PIRATES' GREENBERG CONSTRUCTS NEW CONSULTING POSITION
C.H. Johnson Consulting announced today that Pirates VP/New Ballpark Development & Communications Steven Greenberg will join the firm's sports, stadium and real estate development consulting roster. While with the Pirates, Greenberg coordinated the design and construction of the $216M PNC Park (THE DAILY).
MARITAL MARKETING: SOUTHERN ADS USE PGA GOLFERS, WIVES
Southern Company, the Official Energy Company of the PGA Tour, will launch two new 30-second television spots featuring PGA Tour players from the Southeast, including Billy Andrade and Stewart Cink, and their wives. The spots will run during the PGA Tour season from March until October (THE DAILY).
NASCAR DRIVES $455M OF REVENUE THROUGH ATLANTA
The ATLANTA BUSINESS CHRONICLE reports that Sunday's NASCAR Atlanta 500 and Atlanta Motor Speedway's Fall NASCAR race will generate "about $455 million at the city's hotels, restaurants and stores." In contrast, the Braves' 81 home games "will generate about $105 million during the baseball season," the Hawks expect to "bring in about $32.6 million during its season" and the Falcons "will add another $10 million this year" (ATLANTA BUSINESS CHRONICLE, 3/8).
BUZZER BEATERS
NBCOlympics.com and Olympics.com, the official Web sites of the '02 Winter Games, maintained 99.98% availability over the course of the Games and have become one of the largest event Web sites in sports history with 9 million unique users logging on each week during the Games (THE DAILY).
The EDMONTON SUN reports that Edge Marketing spokesperson Mike Burg is "close to being able to announce a 45-city North American tour" featuring Canadian Olympic Gold Medal winners David Pelletier and Jamie Sale, and the Russian Gold Medal pair of Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze (EDMONTON SUN, 3/8).
The MLS Dallas Burn has partnered with Fox Sports 1190 AM on a radio deal that includes the return of the weekly Burn radio show, a weekly interview with coach Mike Jeffries or President & GM Andy Swift and a regular presence in the station's sports reports (THE DAILY).
Former Mets 1B Keith Hernandez will serve as analyst for a combined 35 telecasts of Mets games on MSG Network, FOX Sports Net and WPIX-WB this season (THE DAILY).
FLORIDA TODAY reports that the Brevard County Manatees "have reached a one-year player development agreement with the Montreal Expos to serve as their affiliate in the Class A Florida State League this season" (FLORIDA TODAY, 3/8).
Jiffy Lube and Yahoo will sponsor an online contest in partnership with Walt Disney Pictures' "The Rookie" that asks high school athletes to vote for their favorite coaches. Students can log on and vote through Thursday, March 21 (THE DAILY).
IN OTHER NEWS…..
The FINANCIAL TIMES reports that Kmart will "cut 22,000 jobs - some 10 per cent of the total workforce - and close 284 stores as part of its initial Chapter 11 financial review" (FINANCIAL TIMES, 3/8).
WEEKEND EVENTS
FRIDAY
The Mavericks and the Greater Dallas Asian American Chamber of Commerce, in conjunction with Johnnie Walker and Hennessy, will host an invitation-only reception from 6:30-8:00pm MT for Mavericks C Wang Zhizhi. The event will be held at The Trammell & Margaret Crow Collection of Asian Art (THE DAILY).
The af2 Hawaiian Islanders will unveil their home field and their coaching staff at a news conference from 6:00-10:00pm local time at Blaisdell Arena (HONOLULU ADVERTISER, 3/7).
SATURDAY
Artist LeRoy Neiman will take part in a ceremonial puck drop at 5:00pm MT before the Senators-Coyotes game (THE DAILY).
The Avalanche will receive the '01 Pro Team Community Award before their game against the Kings (ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS, 3/8).
The ECHL Greensboro Generals will wear replica jerseys of the '59 Eastern Hockey League Greensboro Generals -- the first pro hockey team in the city – for their game against the Greenville Grrrowl. In addition, the No. 5 jersey of ECHL Commissioner Emeritus Patrick Kelly will be retired in a first intermission ceremony. Kelly was one of the founders of the ECHL (THE DAILY).
Volunteers from the Hawks, Thrashers and Braves will help Atlanta families in a partnership with Habitat for Humanity Int'l. The teams will lend support to help build eight homes. A formal dedication will take place at 2:00pm ET (THE DAILY).
The Rams Reader Team party will be held from 1:00-3:00pm CT, as the Rams will host youth from 97 local library branches who won tickets to a party at Rams Park as part of the program (THE DAILY).
The greatest moments in the history of Buffalo sports and the stories that surround those events will be relived at the 2nd annual WNSA Sports Symposium from 10:00am-6:00pm ET (THE DAILY).
SUNDAY
As part of Women's History Month, WNBA Monarchs G Ruthie Bolton will help celebrate the influence of women on society during an event from 1:30-2:30pm PT at the Sacramento Central Library. Bolton will speak to an audience of more than 200 kids about her professional sports experience with the Monarchs as well as playing in the Olympics (THE DAILY).
Bronze Medal-winning short-track speed skater Rusty Smith will be greeting local youths and signing autographs at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim from 12:00pm-2:30pm PT (THE DAILY).
ACC Commissioner John Swofford will hold a news conference at 10:45am ET at the ACC Tournament in Charlotte (THE DAILY).
The fourth annual NTRA marketing summit will be held March 10-12 at Treasure Island at The Mirage in Las Vegas (THOROUGHBRED TIMES, 1/24).
Vikings C Matt Birk and G Corbin Lacina are hosting a free Nutrition Fair Open House from 12:00pm-4:00pm MT at their health club, The Total Athlete, in St. Paul. The players will sign autographs and speak about the importance of nutrition (THE DAILY).
TODAY'S DAILY STAT: MOST POPULAR LYCOS ATHLETE SEARCHES
Top athlete searches on Lycos for week ending March 2 (Lycos):
| RK | ATHLETE |
| 1) | | Apolo Anton Ohno |
| 2) | | Anna Kournikova |
| 3) | | Michelle Kwan |
| 4) | | Sarah Hughes |
| 5) | | Michael Jordan |
| 6) | | Anni Friesinger |
| 7) | | Allen Iverson |
| 8) | | Jamie Sale |
| 9) | | Sasha Cohen |
| 10) | | Alexei Yagudin |
This marks the first time in eight weeks that Anna Kournikova has not been ranked No. 1. Kournikova has been No. 1 48 out of the past 50 weeks (THE DAILY).
CRITICS WEIGH IN: "THE TIME MACHINE" & "ALL ABOUT THE BENJAMINS"
Tough week this week, as critics deem Guy Pearce's latest a waste of "Time," and Ice Cube's "Benjamins" doesn't earn your eight George Washingtons:
| | ———— Movie ———— |
| | The Time Machine | All About The Benjamins |
| Chicago Sun-Times | 
| Not reviewed |
|
| L.A. Times | 
| 
|
|
| N.Y. Times |
|
|
|
| USA Today |
|
|
|
| Washington Post |
|
|
CHANNEL SURFING
FRIDAY
| College Basketball |
| Game | Network | Time |
| Miami-Pittsburgh | ESPN | 7:00pm ET |
| UNC-Duke | ESPN2 | 7:00pm ET |
| Notre Dame-Connecticut | ESPN | 9:30pm ET |
| GA Tech-Wake Forest | ESPN2 | 9:30pm ET |
| UNLV-Utah | ESPN | Midnight ET |
FX will air NASCAR Winston Cup qualifying from Atlanta at 8:00pm ET.
ESPN Classic's "SportsCentury" will profile Florence Griffith Joyner at 8:00pm ET.
SATURDAY
| College Basketball |
| Game | Network | Time |
| Maine-Boston Univ. | ESPN | 11:30am ET |
| Conf. USA Tour. Championship (TBA) | CBS | 11:30am ET |
| LA Monroe-McNeese St. | ESPN2 | Noon ET |
| ACC Tour. First Semifinal (TBA) | ESPN | 1:30pm ET |
| Big Ten Conf. Tour. First Semifinal (TBA) | CBS | 1:45pm ET |
| Big Sky Conf. Tour. Championship (TBA) | ESPN2 | 2:00pm ET |
| ACC Tour. First Semifinal (TBA) | ESPN | 3:30pm ET |
| MEAC Tournament (TBA) | ESPN2 | 4:00pm ET |
| Big Ten Conf. Tour. Second Semifinal (TBA) | CBS | 4:00pm ET |
| Atlantic-10 Conf. Tour. (TBA) | ESPN | 6:00pm ET |
| Pac-10 Conf. Tour. Championship (TBA) | CBS | 6:00pm ET |
| Mid-American Conf. Tour. (TBA) | ESPN2 | 7:00pm ET |
| Big East Conf. Tour. Final (TBA) | ESPN | 8:00pm ET |
| Western Athletic Conf. Tour. (TBA) | ESPN2 | 9:00pm ET |
| Mountain West Conf. Tour. Championship (TBA) | ESPN | 10:00pm ET |
| Big West Conf. Tour. (TBA) | ESPN | Midnight ET |
NBC will air the pre-taped Paralympics Opening Ceremony at 1:00pm ET.
ABC will air regional NHL coverage at 3:00pm ET: Rangers-Penguins, Kings-Avalanche and Red Wings-Blues.
NBC will air the PGA Tour's Honda Classic at 3:00pm ET.
CNBC will air the Senior PGA Tour Toshiba Classic at 5:30pm ET.
SUNDAY
| College Basketball |
| Game | Network | Time |
| ACC Tour. Championship (TBA) | ESPN | 1:00pm ET |
| SEC Tour. Championship (TBA) | CBS | 1:00pm ET |
| Big 12 Conf. Tour. Championship (TBA) | ESPN | 3:00pm ET |
| Big Ten Tour. First Semifinal (TBA) | CBS | 3:30pm ET |
NBC will air Raptors-Magic at 12:30pm ET, and Knicks-Lakers at 6:00pm ET.
FOX will air the NASCAR Atlanta 500 at 1:00pm ET.
ESPN2 will air Red Wings-Sabres at 3:00pm ET.
NBC will air the PGA Tour's Honda Classic at 3:00pm ET.
ABC will air men's soccer, U.S.-Ecuador, at 400pm ET.
ESPN will air women's college basketball NCAA Championship Selection Show at 5:00pm ET.
CNBC will air the Senior PGA Tour Toshiba Classic at 5:30pm ET.
ESPN2 will air tennis' '02 Franklin Templeton Classic at 6:00pm ET.
CBS will air men's college basketball NCAA Championship Selection Show at 6:00pm ET, while ESPN will air its own special at 7:00pm ET.
ESPN will air the unedited version of the original TV movie "A Season on the Brink" at 8:00pm ET.
ESPN2 will air the edited version of the original TV movie "A Season on the Brink" at 8:00pm ET.
ESPN will air and "OTL" special, "Bobby Knight – Beyond the Brink" at 10:00pm ET.
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please let us know at:
dailyinsider@sportsbusinessdaily.com
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