Closing Bell, February 25, 2005

LIVE TELECASTS, “DREAM JOB” AUDITIONS SET FOR ESPN THE WEEKEND

ESPN and Walt Disney World Resort this morning began the second annual ESPN The Weekend at Disney-MGM Studios in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. With the theme “It’s A Sports World After All,” ESPN will present at least two live telecasts a day from the studios on Hollywood Blvd., beginning with this morning’s broadcast of “Cold Pizza” on ESPN2. On-site telecasts are also planned for “SportsCenter,” “Baseball Tonight” and select ESPN Radio shows.

The ORLANDO SENTINEL notes that fans “can also take their shot at going through a ‘Dream Job’ audition. Mike Hall, who won the original show last year, returns to host the half-hour stage show several times this weekend” (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 2/25).

NLL ALL-STAR GAME READY FOR BIG STAGE SATURDAY ON NBC

NBC will broadcast the NLL All-Star Game Saturday at 2:00pm ET, and the CALGARY SUN noted that the league “paid NBC to broadcast its all-star game and the championship final in May … and the league will sell ad time during the games. Even though they bought the air time, the fact NBC was interested in airing the games is seen as a major boon for the NLL. It’s the first step by any up-and-coming sports league that wants to secure a longer-term national deal” (CALGARY SUN, 2/24).

NLL Commissioner Jim Jennings: “We hope to enter into a relationship with [NBC] by getting a good rating. This is where we need to be at this stage of our game. We feel this sport is good enough for a game of the week. That’s our goal right now. … We think we’re a good product for their network to go along with what they’ve done with arena football” (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 2/25).

FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION TO CONSIDER NEW TECHNOLOGY IN SOCCER

The Football Association will hold its annual meeting Saturday in Cardiff, Wales, and the LONDON TIMES notes that the FA will be “told of a breakthrough in electronic aids to help referees to judge when the ball has crossed the [goalline]. The latest development has a microchip inside the ball and when it crosses the goalline the referee is alerted directly by a beeper-type system” (LONDON TIMES, 2/25).

The London INDEPENDENT notes that the presentation by adidas “will also need to persuade FIFA’s President, Sepp Blatter, who has resisted bringing technology into the game. What may change his mind in this case is the fact there is no involvement of video replays” (London INDEPENDENT, 2/25).

WILL SPORTS RULE THE DAY AT 77^th ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS?

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences on Sunday will distribute the 77^th annual Academy Awards at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, where Clint Eastwood’s boxing film “Million Dollar Baby” is regarded as the favorite to win the award for Best Picture. Other pictures nominated in the category are “The Aviator,” “Finding Neverland,” “Ray” and “Sideways.” View a full list of Oscar nominees.

Only two sports movies have won in the Best Picture category – “Rocky” in ’76 and “Chariots of Fire” in ’81 – but ten prior to “Million Dollar Baby” have been nominated in the category, with “Seabiscuit” and “Jerry Maguire” the most recent (THE DAILY).

MICHAEL WESTRBOOK TAKES FIGHTING WAYS TO KING OF THE CAGE

The WASHINGTON POST notes that former NFLers Michael Westbrook and Jarrod Bunch tonight will square off in a King of the Cage mixed martial arts fight in Cleveland. The Westbrook-Bunch match, along with other bouts on tonight’s card, will be carried March 6 on PPV. The promoter, Terry Trebilcock, believes “as many as 50,000 people will pay $29.95 to watch the replay.” Westbrook has been guaranteed $100,000, and Trebilcock “will receive a cut of the pay-TV proceeds that could bring him between $500,000 and $1[M]” (WASHINGTON POST, 2/25).

BUZZER BEATERS

Real Madrid and several of its players, including David Beckham, are suing Ladbrokes, William Hill, Sportingbet, MrBookmaker.com, Sporting Exchange and BAW Int’l over what the team alleges is “unauthorized use of its name and players’ images” (REUTERS, 2/25).

Casio today signed a licensing agreement with FIFA to sell timepieces bearing the official marks of the ’06 World Cup and FIFA. Casio is planning to release watches with the World Cup logo, FIFA brand licensee emblem and images of the World Cup trophy (Casio).

NBA.com set the all-time daily traffic record to the site on Thursday, the day of the league's trade deadline, with nearly3.5 million visits, eclipsing the previous record by more than25% (NBA).

Daktronics today announced contracts to install display systems at Dodger Stadium, PNC Park, Tropicana Field, Petco Park and Miller Park before the ’05 MLB season begins. The combined value of the projects totals more than $4M (Daktronics).

Jose Canseco’s tell-all book, “Juiced,” will debut at No. 1 on the N.Y. Times’ bestseller list to be published on March 6 (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 2/25).

NOW HEAR THIS

The following are notable quotes from today’s news:

• NBA Commissioner David Stern said of CBS’ Billy Packer’s criticism of the NBA All-Star Game entertainment, “I don’t know if Billy knows rap from hip-hop. He must be upset because his ratings are down” (USA TODAY, 2/25). Read the full story.

• Following a report this morning that FSN will not renew "BDSSP" host Tom Arnold’s contract in April, Fox Sports Senior VP/Media Relations Lou D’Ermilio said, “We like Tom and think he’s been a tremendous asset to the show. We plan to talk to his representatives about continuing on with ‘BDSSP’” (THE DAILY). Read the full story.

• At the conclusion of the IOC Evaluation Commission’s visit to N.Y. yesterday, Commission Chair Nawal el-Moutawakel said of approval for the West Side stadium, “We trust that between now and March, end of March, or even July, this project hopefully will come to an end” (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 2/25). Read the full story.

WEEKEND EVENTS

Saturday

The Butterfly Ball, a $1,000-a-ticket gala to support the Muhammad Ali Center’s opening, will be held in Atlanta, where Lennox Lewis, Evander Holyfield, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Hank Aaron, Jesse Jackson and Coretta Scott King, among others, will pay tribute to “The Greatest.” The Muhammad Ali Center is scheduled to open November 19 in Ali’s hometown of Louisville, Kentucky.

The World Poker Tour will hold the first WPT Boot Camp at The Mirage in Las Vegas. The two-day session, which the WPT bills as “fantasy camp for poker enthusiasts,” costs $1,495 per person and includes instruction from WPT commentator Mike Sexton, among others. The WPT will host 11 more Boot Camps around the country this year, with the top participants receiving entry into WPT satellite events.

During halftime of the T’Wolves-Sonics game, fans who make a $10 donation to the Sonics & Storm TEAM Foundation will receive a copy of this year’s Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue autographed by Storm F Lauren Jackson, who appears in the magazine.

CHANNEL SURFING

Friday

USA will air second-round coverage of the PGA Tour Chrysler Classic at 6:00pm ET.

The Golf Channel will air second-round coverage of the LPGA Tour SBS Open at 6:30pm ET.

ESPN will air Cavaliers-Pacers at 8:00pm ET and Pistons-Lakers at 10:30pm.

ESPN2 will air Friday Night Fights: Terry Smith-Fernely Feliz at 9:00pm ET.

Lakers F Lamar Odom will appear on CNBC’s “Dennis Miller” at 9:00pm ET

Jose Canseco will appear on HBO’s “Real Time With Bill Maher” at 11:00pm ET.

Basketball HOFer Rick Barry, Raiders WR Jerry Porter and Cardinals CF Jim Edmonds will appear on “BDSSP.”

Saturday

ESPN2 will air “College GameDay” from the Univ. of Memphis.

ESPN will air coverage of the Accenture Match Play Championship at 10:30am ET.

NBC will air lacrosse: NLL All-Star Game at 2:00pm ET.

ABC will air coverage of the Accenture Match Play Championship at 3:00pm ET.

NBC will air gymnastics: American Cup at 4:00pm ET.

The Golf Channel will air third-round coverage of the SBS Open at 6:30pm ET.

Buccaneers GM Bruce Allen will appear on NFL Network’s “NFL Total Access” at 7:00pm ET.

NBA TV will air Pacers-Knicks at 7:30pm ET.

OLN will air PBR: Enterprise Rent-A-Car Classic at 8:00pm ET.

ESPN2 will air NHRA: Checker Schuck’s Kragen NHRA Nationals Qualifying at 9:00pm ET.

HBO will air World Championship Boxing: Miguel Cotto-DeMarcus Corley at 10:30pm ET.

USA will air third-round coverage of the Chrysler Classic at 11:00pm ET.

Sunday

ESPN2 will air coverage of the Accenture Match Play Championship at 10:00am ET.

ESPN will air PBA: Cambridge Credit Classic at 12:30pm ET.

ABC will air the final match of the Accenture Match Play Championship at 2:00pm ET.

Fox will air the NASCAR Nextel Cup Auto Club 500 at 2:00pm ET.

NBC will air regional coverage of AFL: Dallas Desperados-Philadelphia Soul; Arizona Rattlers-N.Y. Dragons or L.A. Avengers-Colorado Crush at 3:00pm ET.  Steelers QB Tommy Maddox will serve as a guest studio analyst.

ESPN will air track & field: U.S. Indoor Championships at 3:00pm ET.

The Golf Channel will air final-round coverage of the SBS Open at 6:30pm ET.

NBA TV will air Jazz-Rockets at 4:00pm ET.

ESPN2 will air NHRA: Checker Schuck’s Kragen NHRA Nationals at 7:00pm ET.

ESPN will air Heat-Magic at 7:30pm ET.

USA will air final-round coverage of the Chrysler Classic at 11:00pm ET.

THE DAILY STAT: OSCAR RATINGS AND BOX OFFICE COMPARISON

Mandalay Entertainment Group Chair Peter Guber, on Sunday's Academy Awards broadcast on ABC: “Generally I think you'll find the ratings go down this year. It doesn't have those kind of big, visible icon films. It's just the nature of the thing. Why are people watching? Because of the noise of the film, the stars of the film, the media attention, what they're wearing. We in the academy like to think it's a cultural experience, but it's really a collection of stars and what they're wearing that gets the viewing audience” (N.Y. TIMES, 2/25).

The following details an Oscar ratings trend coupled with the combined final box office results for the movies nominated in the Best Picture category for that year’s awards. For this year’s movies, box office numbers are as of February 22. ABC broadcast each of the awards ceremonies (THE DAILY):

USA TODAY notes that L’Oreal will return as an advertiser to Sunday’s broadcast on ABC. The “so-called Super Bowl for Women – an estimated six in 10 viewers are women – has been missing a big beauty advertiser since longtime major sponsor Revlon’s farewell ad in 2000. That’s like a Super Bowl with no beer or soft-drink commercials.” Ad prices rose to a record $1.6M per 30-second spot this year (USA TODAY, 2/25).

REVIEWS: “DIARY OF A MAD BLACK WOMAN” & “IMAGINARY HEROES”

Tyler Perry wrote and plays several characters in “Diary of a Mad Black Woman,” the story of a woman whose husband wants to leave her and marry her friend. In “Imaginary Heroes,” which previously was subject to a limited release, Sigourney Weaver plays the pot-smoking mother of a family trying to deal with the suicide of its youngest son.

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please let us know at:
dailyinsider@sportsbusinessdaily.com

The Closing Bell provides an afternoon recap of the latest news and headlines each Monday through Friday at approximately 4:00pm ET. If you would like to sign up for an e-mail alert to the Closing Bell, go to My Account and personalize your e-mail alert options.