| • | adidas Group’s Sports Licensed Division Acquires Mitchell & Ness |
| • | CSN To Air First Ever Blackhawks Home Game On Sunday |
| • | Orange Bowl To Host Its Final Univ. Of Miami Football Game On Saturday |
| • | Knicks Close To Selling Out First Three Games Of Season |
ADIDAS GROUP’S SPORTS LICENSED DIVISION ACQUIRES MITCHELL & NESS
The Sports Licensed Division, which is part of the adidas Group, today announced the acquisition of Mitchell & Ness Nostalgia Co. Mitchell & Ness currently holds licensing agreements with the NFL (via a Reebok sub-license), NBA, MLB and NHL to produce retro uniforms and other vintage athletic apparel (
Mitchell & Ness).
CSN TO AIR ITS FIRST EVER BLACKHAWKS HOME GAME ON SUNDAY
Comcast SportsNet is airing Red Wings-Blackhawks Sunday, the first Blackhawks’ home game to be broadcast under a new deal, and the net is treating it “like it’s part of the Stanley Cup playoffs.” Jim Blaney and Steve Konroyd will broadcast their pre- and postgame shows live from the United Center, while Josh Mora “will give live reports from between the benches during the game.” Kerry Sayers will interview celebs, and Blackhawks assistant coach Ryan Stewart will talk to the broadcast team during the game. One player will also wear a microphone. The goal is to “give viewers the full flavor of what it’s like to attend a Hawks’ home game” (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 11/8).
ORANGE BOWL TO HOST ITS FINAL UNIV. OF MIAMI FOOTBALL GAME
The Orange Bowl hosts Virginia-Miami tomorrow night, the last UM game to be played in the stadium. It will host three more college football games, and a high school football All-Star game on January 4 will be the final event held there (THE DAILY).
Miami City Manager Pete Hernandez said that he would “recommend the stadium be torn down” after the final event, and while the issue will go before the Miami City Commission, Hernandez “expects approval.” The demolition, which will likely occur in the spring, “is not contingent on striking a deal with the Marlins.” Meanwhile, the city “expects parts of the stadium will go on sale to the public in January or February.” The sale will help cover the $5-7M cost of the demolition (MIAMI HERALD, 11/9).
KNICKS CLOSE TO SELLING OUT FIRST THREE GAMES OF SEASON
A capacity crowd is expected tonight at MSG for Magic-Knicks, which would mark the first time the team has sold out their first three home games of a season since ’01-02. Only two of the first 13 games last year sold out. While the home opener last Saturday against the T’Wolves “counted as a sellout in name only,” with many empty seats, Tuesday’s game against the Nuggets “looked like a genuine sellout.” The club had a 91% season-ticket renewal rate this offseason, the highest since ’01 (N.Y. TIMES, 11/9).
ESPN'S “COLLEGE GAMEDAY” TO BROADCAST FROM DIVISION III GAME
ESPN’s “College GameDay” is originating tomorrow from Williamstown, Massachusetts, site of the Division III Amherst-Williams game, marking the show’s 150th episode on location. Williams SID Dick Quinn said, “There’s quite a buzz. The students are absolutely crazy.” Non-traditional location choices “can also be TV draws,” as the Harvard-Penn game in ’02 “produced one of the show’s highest ratings” (USA TODAY, 11/9).
CSTV TONIGHT TO OFFER LIVE STREAM OF UCLA MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME
Tonight’s Portland State-UCLA men’s basketball game, which will not be televised, will be streamed live for free on CSTV.com. UCLA’s two preseason games against Azusa Pacific and Chico State were also offered via streaming video on CSTV’s Web site for $9.95 each, but fans have “complained about an unwatchable choppy feed or getting totally blank screens.” CBSSports.com Dir of Communications Alex Riethmiller said that the problem “is with a firewall that UCLA has to protect its Internet service” and would be fixed for tonight’s game (L.A. TIMES, 11/7).
NATIONWIDE EXEC DISCUSSES SPONSORSHIP OF NASCAR’S SECOND SERIES
Nationwide Brand Management Officer John Aman appeared on Fox Business this morning to discuss the company’s pending sponsorship of NASCAR’s No. 2 racing series. Aman: “It gives us a chance to talk to about 70 million people that we haven’t had a strong voice with for the last few years.” Aman stated it was a seven-year deal with NASCAR, “but I’m going to decline the opportunity to tell you how much it costs.” Aman, on using the NASCAR brand in their future advertising: “When we are fairly certain we’ll be talking to the NASCAR fan, we will be including the NASCAR Nationwide Series brand as well as our own” (Fox Business, 11/9).
NASCAR TO RUN LAST CAR OF TOMORROW RACE OF SEASON
NASCAR on Sunday at the Nextel Cup Checkers Auto Part 500 at Phoenix Int’l Raceway will use the Car of Tomorrow for the 16th and final time this season. NASCAR teams have been critical of the new car, which is in the first year of a two-year phase-in. Driver Jeff Gordon: “There is just no way for me to give that car a good grade.” NASCAR Nextel Cup Dir John Darby said that NASCAR is “determined to see the second year of the phase-in through before making any major changes” (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 11/9).
TEENAGER SUING CARDINALS OVER CRUDE MESSAGE ON BALLPARK’S SCOREBOARD
An Illinois girl is suing the MLB Cardinals, claiming she was “ostracized at school after a crude comment about her” appeared on the Busch Stadium scoreboard via a program that allowed text messages to be posted. The then 16-year-old girl, who is seeking damages “‘in excess of $25,000,’ plus legal fees,” was at a May ’06 game with her high school when a classmate posted a message saying the plaintiff “has an STD! Eww!” (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 11/9).
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BUZZER BEATERS….
The K.C. Area Toyota Dealers signed a multi-year deal to become a Founding Partner of Sprint Center. Toyota will serve as the arena’s official automotive partner, and it will also have signage on the interior and exterior of the building (Sprint Center).
The NBA today announced it has a record 202 global TV partners this year, including 14 airing league content for the first time. NBA games will be seen in a total of 215 countries and in 41 languages (NBA).
With slow ticket sales for Sunday’s Alouettes-Blue Bombers CFL semifinal game in Winnipeg, the crowd “might hit 21,000 or 22,000, probably the worst turnout of the year – for the biggest game of the year” (WINNIPEG SUN, 11/9).
QUICK HITS….
“To reach a conclusion that football absolutely makes a positive contribution, or even possibly makes a ‘profit,’ is one that I cannot reach under any reasonable assumptions” – San Diego State Univ. professor Nathan Oestreich, on SDSU AD Jeff Schemmel saying the school’s football team is a “profitable enterprise” (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 11/9).
“I don’t think soccer has to say we’ll be bigger than any other sport. We can’t compete with some of the other sports. But I think it can be a fabric of sports in this country” – USL Minnesota Thunder President Manny Lagos (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 11/9).
ARTICLES OF INTEREST….
FOXSPORTS.com’s Jason Whitlock writes of the media’s coverage of Eagles coach Andy Reid’s family troubles, “I do want to spell out how this would have been handled differently by the authorities and interpreted differently by the media and the public had this been your typical ghetto tale” (FOXSPORTS.com).
The BUFFALO NEWS’ Bob DiCesare writes the NHL “is right back to its pre-lockout state, just one big slumber party. … The upgraded style of play that resulted from the lockout has been victimized by strategy” (BUFFALO NEWS).
Also:
See the Articles of Interest section for more sports business-related links.
WEEKEND EVENTS….
FRIDAY
Reds RF Ken Griffey Jr. will receive the first Living Legend Award from the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory.
The Texas Baseball HOF will induct the ’07 class, which includes late broadcaster Anita Martini, late Negro Leagues player Willie Wells and former MLBers Phil Garner, Cesar Cedeno, Don Baylor and Juan Gonzalez (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 11/9).
SATURDAY
The NCAA will award the first of its redesigned championship trophies to the Division II field hockey champions. The trophies, which were a solid, rectangular block of wood, now feature etched glass that includes the sport, the division and year of the championship.
The Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum at Heinz History Center will open the “Pittsburgh Steelers 75th season celebration: Treasures from the Pro Football Hall of Fame.” The 5,000-square-foot exhibit will be on display through February 10 (Pittsburgh TRIBUNE REVIEW, 11/9).
$TREET WRAP….
The following companies reported earnings this week:
| COMPANY | HIGHLIGHTS |
| Activision | Posts Q2 profit of $698,000, versus year-ago loss of $24.3M, “as revenue jumped on sales of titles like ‘Transformers’ and ‘Guitar Hero’” (REUTERS, 11/5). |
| adidas | Q3 profit rises 22% to US$436M after the acquisition of Reebok last year “let the company negotiate cheaper prices with suppliers” (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 11/8). |
| Cablevision | Q3 loss widens to $79.3M “but operating income rose 59 [%] as more cable TV customers signed up for high-speed Internet and digital phone services” (AP, 11/8). |
| Churchill Downs | Net income falls due to comparison with year-ago period’s gains from hurricane insurance payments and sale of Ellis Park (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 11/8). |
| DirecTV Group | Reports 14% drop in net income, “but revenue rose 18 [%] from more customers and demand for high-definition and digital video recorder services” (AP, 11/7). |
| K-Swiss | Posts 39% drop in earnings and lowers ’07 full-year outlook again due to “slowing mall traffic, especially at retailers” like Foot Locker and Finish Line (REUTERS, 11/6). |
| Puma | Sales fall slightly, but earnings beat analysts’ estimates with 2.3% rise in Q3 profit to US$128.8M; maintains full-year outlook (REUTERS, 11/8). |
| Speedway Motorsports | Swings to Q3 loss of $13.6M compared to year-ago profit of $4.7M, hurt primarily by losses at Motorsports Authentics (BIZJOURNALS.com, 11/7). |
| Time Warner | Suffers 53% fall in Q3 earnings to $0.29 per share, down from $0.57 per share a year ago, as “weak results from AOL tempered an otherwise strong quarter” (AP, 11/7). |
| Youbet.com | Reports net income versus year-ago loss despite the “continuing federal investigation involving customers” of Int’l Racing Group (THOROUGHBREDTIMES.com, 11/7). |
DAILY DOWNLOAD….
The Univ. of Miami School of Communications created a 30-second TV spot surrounding the history of the school playing at the Orange Bowl. Tomorrow’s game against the Univ. of Virginia will be the final UM game at the stadium.
DAILY DIGIT….
$1M – Price to lead LSU’s “Golden Band from Tigerland” onto the field during a game at Tiger Stadium. The “Million Dollar Major” campaign is being used to help raise $5M in private donations to build a new LSU Band Hall (Baton Rouge ADVOCATE, 11/9).
NOTES & QUOTES FROM THIS DAY IN SBD HISTORY….
2006
“Unless unexpected hurdles suddenly appear ... the 49ers will be playing in Santa Clara come 2011. Or maybe even sooner” – SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS’ Mark Purdy, following 49ers co-Owner John York ending stadium talks with S.F. and announcing that he will move the team to Santa Clara.
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