| | The Daily Insider
Afternoon News & Headlines
Tuesday February 4, 2003
4:00pm ET | |
| |
| • | Andy Roddick Today Signs Representation Deal With William Morris Agency |
| • | WTA Tour Today Announces Season-Ending Event Will Pay Winner $1M |
| • | USOC Pleased With Progress Athens Has Made For '04 Games |
| • | Kings-Mavericks Game To Be Broadcast In High Definition Tonight |
| • | LeBron James' Attorney Today Files Request To Block OHSAA Ruling |
| • | Buzzer Beaters/Tonight's Events/Channel Surfing/In Other News/The Daily Stat |
WILLIAM MORRIS AGENCY TO REPRESENT RODDICK OFF COURT
ATP player Andy Roddick today signed a representation deal with the William Morris Agency (WMA), under which WMA will seek commercial, licensing, broadcasting, sponsorship, speaking, publishing, motion pictures, television and other off-court opportunities for Roddick. WMA will work in partnership with SFX Tennis Division's Ken Meyerson, Roddick's on-court representation. WMA's "Team Roddick" will consist of Jill Smoller, Dave Wirtschafter, Philip Button and Lewis Henderson (THE DAILY).
WTA TOUR TODAY ANNOUNCES CHANGES TO SEASON-ENDING EVENT
The WTA Tour today announced a new format for the season-ending WTA Tour Championships in L.A. that will pay the singles winner $1M, which the WTA Tour calls the most lucrative prize in women's sports history. The singles tournament will change from a 16-player single elimination format to an eight-player round-robin format. The doubles tournament will change from an eight-team single elimination format to a four-team single elimination format, with the winning team sharing $250,000 (THE DAILY).
UCONN-DUKE WAS MOST VIEWED WOMEN'S GAME ON ESPN OR ESPN2
ESPN today reported that ESPN2's coverage last Saturday of Univ. of CT-Duke Univ. NCAA women's basketball earned a 1.45/ (1,226,000 HHs) Nielsen cable rating, making it the most-viewed women's basketball game ever on ESPN or ESPN2 and the highest-rated since Univ. of TN-LA Tech in '82 (THE DAILY).
WHILE IN ATHENS, USOC STATES INTENTION TO BRING OWN SECURITY
The AP reports that the USOC "is pleased with preparations for the 2004 Athens Games after years of delays and bureaucratic snags." USOC Int'l Games Managing Dir Doug Ingram, who is leading a seven-member delegation on a nine-day inspection in Athens that ends Friday, today said, "Each time I come I see how much progress has been made." Ingram also said that the U.S. will "bring its own security for its team." The State Department "is asking the U.S. government for nearly $4.5[M] to provide" security for the team (AP, 2/4).
KINGS-MAVERICKS GAME MARKS FIRST HDTV TELECAST OF SEASON
KTXA-UPN in Dallas will broadcast tonight's Kings-Mavericks game in high definition on its digital channel at 7:30pm CT. Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban's HDNet will produce the HDTV version, which marks the first Mavericks game of the '02-03 season to be broadcast in high definition (THE DAILY).
BUZZER BEATERS
The AP reports that LeBron James' attorney Fred Nance today filed a request in Summit County Common Pleas Court to block the OH State High School Athletic Association's recent ineligibility ruling. If the court blocks the ruling, James "would be cleared to play pending an appeal" (AP, 2/4).
ESPN.com reports that the Lions and coach Steve Mariucci today "completed the final details of an agreement on a landmark five-year contract" that will pay Mariucci $5M per year. The Lions have scheduled a 4:00pm ET press conference tomorrow to make the official announcement (ESPN.com, 2/4).
The USHL All-Star Game will be played tonight at 7:05pm CT at the Resch Center in Green Bay, WI. Herb Brooks, coach of the '80 U.S. Olympic hockey team, speaking at the USHL All-Star banquet last night: "The USHL is really a success story, there's no question about it. It's really the premier junior league in the country" (GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE, 2/4).
Sporting News today announced that former U.S. Rep. J.C. Watts will pen a new column once every four weeks in the magazine that will look at the role sports play in today's society. Watts' column will debut in the February 10 issue (THE DAILY).
Paxson Communications today announced an agreement with Univision of Miami and FSN FL, the exclusive TV rights holder for the Marlins, under which WPXM-PAX in Miami and WPXP-PAX in West Palm Beach will broadcast 55 Marlins games during the '03 season (THE DAILY).
The AP reports that the trial for former NBAer Jayson Williams today "was called off … when an appeals court agreed to consider dismissing manslaughter charges." The trial was scheduled to begin February 14 (AP, 2/4).
TONIGHT'S EVENTS
NBC sportscaster Len Berman and N.Y. Times sports columnist Dave Anderson will receive the "Media Hero" award from the Association for the Help of Retarded Children tonight at the 23rd annual Thurman Munson Awards Dinner at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in N.Y. (THE DAILY).
The T'Wolves will distribute a numbered Bobble Mania Gift Pack to all in attendance for the team's 7:00pm CT game against the Rockets. During the game, a drawing will be held to determine who will receive the 4,000 bobbleheads of C Radoslav Nesterovic (THE DAILY).
The Penguins will distribute bobbleheads of coach Rick Kehoe during the team's 7:30pm ET game against the Canucks (THE DAILY).
CHANNEL SURFING
ESPN will air Winter X Games VII at 7:00pm ET.
ESPN will air NCAA men's basketball, Florida-Kentucky, at 9:00pm ET.
ESPN2 will air NCAA men's basketball, Providence-Pittsburgh, at 7:00pm ET.
ESPN Classic's "SportsCentury" will profile Jesse Owens at 8:00pm ET.
Suns G Stephon Marbury, comedian Carrot Top and pro wrestler Rowdy Roddy Piper are scheduled to appear on FSN's "BDSSP."
Univ. of GA QB D.J. Shockley will appear on FSN's "Southern Sports Report," as part of the program's Black History Month series at 10:00pm ET.
Bucs coach Jon Gruden will be on CBS' "Late Show" with David Letterman at 11:35pm ET.
Magic coach Doc Rivers will be on MSG's "Court Vision" at 11:00pm ET.
A&E's "Biography" will profile Raymond Burr at 8:00pm ET.
E!'s "True Hollywood Story" will profile Carmen Electra at 8:00pm ET.
HEADLINERS
Here are tonight's headline guests on the following talk shows:
| "Late Show" | Matthew McConaughey |
| "The Tonight Show" | Steve Irwin |
| "The Late Late Show" | Peter Facinelli |
| "Late Night" | Patton Oswalt |
TODAY'S ARTICLES OF INTEREST
The DENVER POST's Louis Aguilar writes, "As Utah prepares to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the Winter Games, many are trying to put their own spin on the Olympics' complex legacy. Salt Lake convention business and Utah's ski resorts are on their way to record years. But tourism statewide, especially in the parts of Utah not featured in the Olympics, has especially been flat" (DENVER POST).
Tomorrow is National Signing Day, and the Ft. Lauderdale SUN-SENTINEL's Josh Robbins writes of the "hundreds of Web sites that focus year-round on the recruiting" of high school athletes: "The Internet seems tailor-made for the fluid world of recruiting, in which college leanings can change daily" (Ft. Lauderdale SUN-SENTINEL).
The SAN ANTONIO BUSINESS JOURNAL's W. Scott Bailey writes that Spurs Sports & Entertainment (SS&E), which had been "created to expand the Spurs' foray into event management and arena bookings," is already "staging concerts and ice hockey games" at the SBC Center. SS&E Exec VP Russ Bookbinder: "We believe we are now in the business of marketing and selling SBC Center on a 365-day basis. Because of that, the programming is important. Our company has gone from just putting on 45 Spurs games a year to trying to create 160 to 250 events a year" (SAN ANTONIO BUSINESS JOURNAL).
See The Daily Insider's Articles of Interest section for these and more sports business-related links.
TODAY'S TEASER…
Sports & Entertainment: NFL HOFer Jim Brown spoofed his own image from earlier blaxploitation films in this '88 Keenen Ivory Wayans-directed film.
IN OTHER NEWS……
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY notes that Australian comedian John Clarke's novel "The Tournament," which has been acquired by Hyperion, is "about a tennis tournament featuring the major artists and personalities of the 19th and 20th centuries." The book hits retail in September (ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, 2/7 issue).
Television Bureau of Advertising estimates show that "local TV (national and local spot broadcast TV) ad spending rose 11% in 2002, growing at a faster rate than most national media" (MEDIA MARKETS DAILY, 2/4).
The CAPITAL DISTRICT BUSINESS REVIEW reports that Knoxville-based Regal Entertainment Group "will buy 52 of the 97 theaters owned by Boston-based Hoyts Cinemas Corp" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 2/4).
The AP reports that a MD man today "died of natural causes while driving" at the Richard Petty Driving Experience in Las Vegas, marking the first death "in 13 years at the race driving school" (AP, 2/4).
THE DAILY STAT: NBA FRANCHISE VALUATION BIGGEST MOVERS
The Back of the Book in today's issue of The Daily featured FORBES' recently released NBA franchise valuation estimates. The following details the teams that have experienced the greatest growth in value from '98 to '02 (THE DAILY).
| RK | FRANCHISE | 2002
VALUE | 1998
VALUE | % +/- |
| 1) | Mavericks | $304 | $119 | 155.5% |
| 2) | Kings | 259 | 119 | 117.6% |
| 3) | Clippers | 205 | 102 | 101.0% |
| 4) | Spurs | 242 | 122 | 98.4% |
| 5) | Nuggets | 209 | 110 | 90.0% |
| 6) | Raptors | 217 | 121 | 79.3% |
| 7) | Timberwolves | 213 | 119 | 79.0% |
| 8) | Bucks | 168 | 94 | 78.7% |
| 9) | Heat | 250 | 145 | 72.4% |
| 10) | Pacers | 246 | 152 | 61.8% |
…TODAY'S ANSWER
Brown played "Slammer" in the blaxploitation parody "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka."
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