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Tuesday 4:00pm ET....Latest News....October Sky

  • TBS Announces Broadcast Teams For Its MLB Postseason Coverage
  • Dodgers Respond To MLB's Bid To Strip Franchise From McCourt
  • MillerCoors Files Lawsuit Over Exclusive Sponsorship With Patriots
  • Calif. Gov. Signs Bills To Streamline Environmental Challenges

TBS Announces Broadcast Teams For Its MLB Postseason Coverage

TBS today announced details of its MLB postseason coverage, which will begin Friday with exclusive coverage of the AL and NL Division Series. Lead play-by-play announcer Ernie Johnson will not be part of the net's postseason coverage and will be replaced by Brian Anderson for the LDS and NLCS. Johnson is absent from the broadcasts due to the illness of his son. Anderson has called postseason games on TBS for the past three years and has been a part of the net's "Sunday MLB on TBS" coverage the past two years (TBS).

TBS POSTSEASON ANNOUNCING TEAMS
PLAY-BY-PLAY ANALYST(S)
Brian Anderson* Ron Darling, John Smoltz*
Dick Stockton Bob Brenly
Don Orsillo Buck Martinez
Victor Rojas Joe Simpson
TBS POSTSEASON REPORTERS
Tom Verducci, Craig Sager, Jaime Maggio, Sam Ryan
TBS POSTSEASON PREGAME, POSTGAME TEAM
Matt Winer (host), Dennis Eckersley, Cal Ripken, David Wells
 

NOTE: * = Will call LDS as well as NLCS.

Dodgers Respond To MLB's Bid To Strip Franchise From McCourt

By Eric Fisher

The Dodgers today made their initial response to MLB's bid to strip the franchise from Owner Frank McCourt, pushing for more time for the court to fully hear the dispute. The club asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware to first hear a separate MLB motion to remove the Dodgers' current bankruptcy counsel amid claims of conflict of interest, and then hear no earlier than Dec. 12 MLB's motion to order the club sold. Beyond settling who will be representing the team, the additional time would allow the Dodgers to pursue discovery on a wide variety of MLB claims that McCourt has significantly mismanaged the franchise.

"The termination motion would, if granted, significantly affect the course of these Chapter 11 cases," the club's filing today reads in part. "It is unthinkable that such a motion should be briefed and argued by the [Dodgers'] counsel while laboring under allegations of conflict and the threat of disqualification."

A hearing has been scheduled for Oct. 12 to hear the attorney conflict of interest dispute, the league bid to order the club sold, as well as a Dodgers motion to establish a quick, two-stage process to sell the club's cable TV rights. That latter effort helped prompt the league's most recent salvo, with MLB saying it would approve no deal that involved McCourt staying as owner. But the Dodgers today also asked the court to hold an emergency hearing tomorrow, before the onset of the Jewish holidays, to establish a new schedule for this series of disputes.

Read the full story.

MillerCoors Files Lawsuit Over Exclusive Sponsorship With Patriots

MillerCoors LLC has filed a lawsuit claiming the Patriots "reneged on an exclusive sponsorship contract to 'pursue a more lucrative exclusive agreement'" with Anheuser-Busch InBev. MillerCoors spokesperson Pete Marino said in a statement: "We negotiated in good faith with the New England Patriots for several months, at their invitation, to become their exclusive and official beer partner after several years of a shared deal. Regrettably the team has now reneged on the deal that was reached, and we are left with no choice but to take legal action." MillerCoors has been an official beer sponsor of the Patriots for almost 10 years and the current sponsorship deal expires at season's end. Patriots attorney Dan Goldberg said via e-mail: "I have not seen any complaint or official filing yet, so I wouldn't be comfortable offering my comment" (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 9/27).

CNBC’s Darren Rovell said MillerCoors and the Patriots had “this deal all signed and ready to go and now they believe that they will sign an exclusive deal with Anheuser-Busch.” Rovell: “The Patriots are tremendously valuable in this war between America's No. 1 and No. 2 brewers” (“Fast Money,” CNBC, 9/26).

Calif. Gov. Signs Bills To Streamline Environmental Challenges

California Gov. Jerry Brown today signed two bills to "streamline environmental challenges to large projects," including the Farmers Field development in downtown L.A. and a potential NFL stadium in San Diego. The bills ensure that "environmental lawsuits would be settled within seven months" and keeps the Farmers Field project "on pace for a 2016 opening." Brown: "Projects like Farmers Field can create thousands of jobs during a tough economic time, so it is imperative for the state to cut the red tape that could delay projects like this for years." Brown's signature "could be a boon for plans to expand the San Diego Convention Center and build the Chargers a new football stadium in East Village" (SIGNONSANDIEGO.com, 9/27). 

EA Sports Sees Best Presale Figures In Its History For "FIFA Soccer 12"

By Eric Fisher

EA Sports said today global presales of its "FIFA 12" soccer video game, released to retail today, was in excess of 800,000 units. The total is 108% above the same figure for "FIFA 11," and the best presale of any title in EA Sports history. EA Sports also set another company record with 3.49 million downloads of a "FIFA 12" demo released prior to the retail launch.

Documentary About Steve Bartman Debuts Tonight On ESPN

A new slate of ESPN documentaries sponsored by Buick kicks off tonight at 8:00pm ET with "Catching Hell," which tells the story of Cubs fan Steve Bartman and relates it to the pattern of sports scapegoating exemplified by former Red Sox 1B Bill Buckner (THE DAILY). 

NEWSDAY's Neil Best writes in director Alex Gibney's film, Bartman "goes from one of the most hapless goats in sports history to a symbol of quiet dignity." CRAIN'S CHICAGO BUSINESS' Ed Sherman writes, "As the film plays out, the Buckner element makes sense since the theme is about sports and scapegoats." NPR.org's Linda Holmes writes the film is "a story about false narratives, the speed with which they develop, and the utter impossibility of turning them around once they've taken hold."

Speed Reads....

Nike Golf today announced that it has signed a multiyear endorsement deal with golfer Patrick Reed, who will use Nike Golf clubs, balls, footwear, gloves, bag, apparel, headwear and accessories (Nike Golf).

C Spire, formerly Cellular South, has opted to drop its title sponsorship of the February WTA event held at The Racquet Club of Memphis. The wireless provider had been the event's sponsor since '02, "but is changing its approach to sports sponsorships" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 9/27).

Sportsnet magazine Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Steve Maich today announced that Bob McCown, Stephen Brunt, Scott Feschuk, Greg Brady and Jim Lang as the publication's official team of columnists. The magazine debuts Thursday and will publish bi-weekly with 26 issues per year (Sportsnet magazine).

SI.com announced that its production of Sunday's “The Battle of I-95,” an exhibition game featuring several NBA players including LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul, resulted in more than 235,000 video streams. This was the first live basketball game ever produced and streamed by SI.com (SI).

Sunrise Sports & Entertainment (SSE) and Fox Sports have agreed to a multiyear extension of their TV rights partnership that keeps NHL Panthers games on FS Florida. The extension takes effect starting with the '12-13 season (SSE).

Quick Hits....

"That type of comment has no place in the game. ... That should be treated on the same level as a racially charged incident. It's the same level of offensiveness and inappropriateness" -- Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke, whose son came out as openly gay in '07, on Flyers RW Wayne Simmonds calling Rangers LW Sean Avery a homophobic slur during yesterday's preseason game (ESPNNY.com, 9/27).

“I never have ever felt there was a culture built-in to men’s team sports other than our inability to talk about the subject. We don’t know how to talk about it. We’re afraid of it” – Newly introduced Warriors President & COO Rick Welts, on the homophobic culture in pro sports (Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, 9/27).

Twitter Me This....

MSG President Scott O'Neil: "#bysunited using a 'perception analyzer' what? A dial that the audience grades and votes and results come in real time on screen, #jetsons"

Pocono Raceway President Brandon Igdalsky: "Michael Porter just gave @poconoraceway some love in front of several 100 sports teams, leagues and venues for our solar project. #bysunited"

NFL Network's Albert Breer: "Germany, by the way, is probably the European country where football is most popular. Patriots RT Sebastian Vollmer is Exhibit A."

Stanford AD Bob Bowlsby: "Enjoying a great presentation from @Janet Judge on social media among college athletes. Scary amazing stuff. Be careful what you tweet."

ESPNNY.com's Jane McManus: "NFL rep said 93 million watched an NFL game last season. Growth of NFL female viewership outpaced men in same time frame. #EspnWSummit"

If you see a tweet we will not want to miss, send it to us at editorial@sportsbusinessdaily.com

Tonight's Events....

Golfer Annika Sorenstam will host an evening event at Yatin Patel’s new fine art photography collection, Sutra, in downtown Orlando to benefit the Annika Foundation.

ESPN Founder Bill Rasmussen will speak at the Auburn Univ. Student Center. 

The Starting Five....

The most-read stories today on SportsBusinessDaily.com:

1) NCAA's Emmert: Conference Realignment "Has Not Been A Healthy Thing"
2) Warriors Hire Former Suns Exec Rick Welts As President & COO
3) New Pistons President Dennis Mannion Seeks "Aggressive Changes" To Arena
4) Jay-Z Working With adidas, Nets On New Team Jerseys For '12
5) FC Barcelona Players Say Nike Jersey Absorbs Sweat, Gets Heavy

The Daily's Hot Reads....

In his latest piece for GRANTLAND.com, Malcolm Gladwell writes NBA Commissioner David Stern's stance on the league's economic troubles is based on the "hilarious assumption that owning a basketball franchise is a business." But "beyond that is a second, equally ridiculous assumption, which is that the economics of basketball teams are principally about basketball" (GRANTLAND.com).

In part two of his extensive story on an investigation of the BCS, the ARIZONA REPUBLIC's Craig Harris writes, "Going in the red has become more common for universities participating in the Bowl Championship Series." Aggregate figures show that "average expenses exceeded average allowances" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC).

Also:

See the Hot Reads section for more sports business-related links.

Daily Download....

MLS Dynamo President Chris Canetti discusses his career path and the road forward for his franchise in this video, which is part of the league's "Soccer Jobs" series.

Daily Digit....

669 – Number of minutes of Marlins baseball delayed by rain this season at Sun Life Stadium over a total of nine delays, the most recent being a 57-minute pause during last night's game against the Nationals (MIAMI HERALD, 9/27).

Notes & Quotes From This Day In SBD History….

2002
Wizards G Michael Jordan formally announces his intention to fulfill the second year of his contract with the team and play the '02-03 season. A team exec said that "sales of Wizards season tickets were at an all-time high and lately, as word got out that Jordan's return was imminent, the phones in the team's sales office began to ring a little more frequently."