| | The Daily Insider
Afternoon News & Headlines
Thursday, December 11, 2003
4:00pm ET | |
| |
| • | CBS Today Announces Several Sponsors For Super Bowl XXXVIII Broadcast |
| • | Expos Announce ’04 Schedule Today; 59 Games In Montreal, 22 In San Juan |
| • | Saints Today Begin Selling ’04 Season Tickets; All Prices Remain The Same |
| • | ESPN2 To Air High School Basketball Tonight With Lincoln-Edgewater Matchup |
| • | Buzzer Beaters/Tonight’s Events/Channel Surfing/In Other News/The Daily Stat |
CBS TODAY ANNOUNCES SPONSORS FOR SUPER BOWL XXXVIII
CBS today officially announced that Pepsi, General Motors/Cadillac, Wachovia, Pizza Hut, Sony PlayStation, H&R Block, Radio Shack, Ford, Monster.com and AOL have signed as official sponsors of the net's Super Bowl XXXVIII programming. Full details of the halftime show will be announced at a later date (CBS).
EXPOS TODAY ANNOUNCE ’04 SCHEDULE; 22 GAMES IN SAN JUAN
The Montreal Expos today released the team's ‘04 home and away schedule, which includes 59 games in Montreal, as well as 22 in Puerto Rico before the All-Star break. The Expos also announced that ticket prices for games in Montreal will be increased for the upcoming season, the first ticket increase since ‘00. VIP tickets will be $40, Box Seats $30, Terrace Seats $20, General Admission $15 and Bleacher Seats $10 (Expos).
WARRIORS TAB THE BONHAM GROUP TO SELL NAMING RIGHTS
The Warriors today announced that the club has hired The Bonham Group to secure a naming-rights partner for The Arena in Oakland. The franchise recently reached an agreement with the Joint Powers Authority, which controls the venue, giving the Warriors permission to negotiate such a deal (Warriors).
SAINTS BEGIN SELLING ’04 SEASON TIX; PRICES REMAIN THE SAME
The Saints began selling ’04 season tickets today at 9:00am CT, and announced that prices for all ticket packages remain the same as in ’03. More than 15,000 season tickets will be available at the lowest price point, $150, and more than 26,000 are on sale for $400 or less (Saints).
ESPN2 TONIGHT AIRING HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL GAME
ESPN2 tonight airs the Progressive Basketball Classic at 7:00pm ET pitting Orlando’s Edgewater High School against Brooklyn’s Lincoln High School, featuring G Sebastian Telfair, from Fordham Univ.’s Rose Hill Gym. The WASHINGTON POST reports that ESPN has not scheduled another high school game beyond tonight’s game, and ESPN Senior Publicist Mike Humes added that the net is taking a “wait-and-see attitude.” Despite solid ratings for telecasts of LeBron James’ games last year, recruiting publication Hoop Scoop Editor Clark Francis said, “I think [ESPN] is going to take a beating in the ratings, and we'll never get another high school game on television” (WASHINGTON POST, 12/11).
But, Paragon Marketing Group Partner Rashid Ghazi said that there “could soon be as many as seven regular-season high school games a year on national television” (N.Y. TIMES, 12/11).
BUZZER BEATERS
In a wide-ranging interview with the PortlandOREGONIAN's Geoffrey Arnold, Trail Blazers F Rasheed Wallace said of theNBA, "Theylook at black athletes like we're dumb-ass niggers. It's as if we're just goingto shut up, sign for the money and do what they tell us" (PortlandOREGONIAN, 12/11).
Nike today formally announced it has agreed to terms for a long-term sponsorship agreement with Serena Williams, effective January 1, 2004.
adidas today announced that it has reached a multi-year deal with Wizards G Gilbert Arenas for an endorsement contract (adidas).
BLOODHORSE.com reports that NYRA today was “indicted on fraud and conspiracy charges” under a deferred prosecution deal. The agreement includes a “payment of a $3[M] fine by NYRA.” If the terms of the deal are followed, “prosecutors said they agreed to move to dismiss the charges in 18 months” (BLOODHORSE.com, 12/11).
EA Sports today announced that Roy Jones Jr. will be the official spokesman and cover athlete for “Fight Night 2004,” which is slated for retail in the spring (EA Sports).
The BOSTON BUSINESS JOURNAL reports that Reebok has signed musician Pharrell Williams to a “long-term licensing deal” that includes a footwear line dubbed, “Ice Cream,” and a men’s clothing line, “Billionare’s Boys Club.” Both collections will be developed in collaboration with designer Nigo (BIZJOURNALS.com, 12/11).
BLOOMBERG NEWS reports that Warnaco Group, maker of Calvin Klein jeans and Olga bras, plans to “close its 44 Speedo Authentic Fitness swimwear stores in the U.S. and sell an intimate-apparel plant in Honduras to trim costs” (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 12/11).
The Int’l Tennis HOF today announced that the Campbell Soup Company is the new title sponsor of the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, which will take place July 5-11 at the Int’l Tennis HOF in Newport, RI. Additionally, Campbell’s will serve as the presenting sponsor of both the HOF’s 50th anniversary celebration and class of ’04 induction ceremony (Int’l Tennis HOF).
The SACRAMENTO BEE reports that the Longs Drugs Challenge “will not return to Lincoln Hills Club next year.” Tournament and LPGA Tour officials noted “player complaints about too many shuttle rides – 11 on the spread-out retirement community course” – in explaining the decision. (SACRAMENTO BEE, 12/11).
RC2 today announced an extension of its licensing agreement with JG Motorsports for NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson and the Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Chevy. RC2 retains its exclusive distribution rights for die-cast replicas sold a mass retail, and also for No. 48 team products (RC2).
K-Swiss today announced that its BOD has declared a two-for-one split of the company’s Class A and Class B common stock for stockholders of record on December 22. The BOD also approved a 100% increase in the company’s cash dividend effective Q4 ’03, from $0.04 per share to $0.08 (K-Swiss).
The Albany TIMES UNION reports that officials from the MAAC “will submit a bid to acquire an East Regional of the 2007 or 2008 NCAA Basketball Tournament for Pepsi Arena” (Albany TIMES UNION, 12/11).
The NBA today announced that Kobe Bryant is leading the Western Conference in votes for the NBA All-Star Game with 577,505. Raptors F Vince Carter leads the Eastern Conference with 696,652 (NBA).
AudienceView Software today announced that it has been chosen by the Triple-A Int’l League Durham Bulls to manage the team’s ticket sales (AudienceView).
TONIGHT’S EVENTS
The newest NBA “I Love This Game” spot debuts tonight on TNT’s Pistons-Cavaliers 7:30pm ET telecast. The ad features the cast of Sesame Street alongside celebrities, NBA players and legends, explaining why they “love this game” (NBA).
CHANNEL SURFING
ESPN will air The Home Depot ‘03 College Football Awards at 7:00pm ET.
ESPN2 will air high school basketball: Edgewater (FL)-Lincoln (NY) at 7:00pm ET.
TNT will air Pistons-Cavaliers at 7:30pm ET and Hornets-Suns at 10:00pm ET.
ESPN Classic’s “SportsCentury” will profile Jacques Plante at 8:00pm ET.
ESPN will air Red Wings-Blackhawks at 9:00pm ET
ESPN2 will air NCAA Basketball: Purdue-Oklahoma at 9:00pm ET.
Former NFLer Brian Bosworth, boxer Bernard Hopkins, Lakers G Gary Payton, actress Teri Polo and rappers 'Lil Romeo and Master P are scheduled to appear on FSN’s “BDSSP.”
Kings F Chris Webber will be on ESPN’s “Rome is Burning” at midnight ET.
A&E will air“Biography Countdown: Top 10 Survivors”at 8:00pm ET.
E! will air “101 Biggest Celebrity Oops!” 20-1 at 10:00pm ET.
HEADLINERS
Here are tonight’s headline guests on the following talk shows:
| “Late Show” | Julia Roberts |
| “The Tonight Show” | Keanu Reeves |
| “The Late Late Show” | Shelby Lynne |
| “Late Night” | Greg Kinnear |
| “Jimmy Kimmel Live” | Steve Shirripa |
TODAY’S ARTICLES OF INTEREST
The Riverside PRESS-ENTERPRISE’s Gregg Patton writes of Angels Owner Arte Moreno, “The first-year owner may never one-up the late Gene Autry with his checkbook, but he looks to Angels fans like a man in a white hat right now. Along with the signing of free-agent pitcher Kelvim Escobar, the [Bartolo] Colon deal re-establishes the Angels as a market force in baseball” (Riverside PRESS-ENTERPRISE).
See The Daily Insider’s Articles of Interest section for more sports business-related links.
TODAY’S TEASER…
Sports Business: Which college football program had the highest % capacity attendance during the ’03 regular season?
A) Nebraska
B) Oregon
C) Texas
D) Michigan
E) Ohio State
F) Georgia
THE DAILY STAT: BILLBOARD CHARTS
The following lists Billboard Magazine’s top-selling CDs for the week ending December 7 (BILLBOARD.com, 12/11):
| RK | ALBUM | ARTIST | LABEL |
| 1) | The Diary of Alicia Keys | Alicia Keys | J |
| 2) | Shock'n Y'all | Toby Keith | DreamWorks |
| 3) | Closer | Josh Groban | 143/Reprise |
| 4) | Now 14 | Various Artists | Columbia/Universal/EMI/Zomba |
| 5) | Speakerboxxx/The Love Below | OutKast | Arista |
| 6) | Metamorphosis | Hillary Duff | Buena Vista |
| 7) | In The Zone | Britney Spears | Jive |
| 8) | The Singles 1992-2003 | No Doubt | Interscope |
| 9) | The Very Best Of Sheryl Crow | Sheryl Crow | A&M |
| 10) | The Black Album | Jay-Z | Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam |
…TODAY’S ANSWER
Oregon packed in 106.9% capacity at 54,000-seat Autzen Stadium.
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please let us know at:
dailyinsider@sportsbusinessdaily.com
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