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Leagues and Governing Bodies

ESPN EQUATES INDY CAR DISPUTE AS "500 MILES APART"

     In the aftermath of the Indianapolis 500 and U.S. 500,
ESPN's "Outside the Lines" examined the ongoing "feud" between
the IRL and CART from the perspective of fans, corporate
sponsors, circuit executives, team owners and the drivers
themselves.  An attempt was also made to predict the future of
each race and to determine whether the two organizations can co-
exist.  ESPN's Bob Ley said, at a minimum, there is hope the
dispute can be partially reconciled so at least a unified Indy
500 can be run.  But neither Indianapolis Motor Speedway/IRL
President Tony George nor CART CEO Andrew Craig were as
optimistic.  George:  "I don't think there will ever be an accord
whereby CART as a unit comes to compete at the Indianapolis 500.
But, they as individuals are going to continue to be welcome
here."  Craig:  "Now, of course, time has gone by.  They've
developed their own rules to their series.  They've got a few
races going now.  So, I think it really will be very, very
difficult to bring the two sides back together."
     CORPORATE ANGLE:  Long-time racing sponsors were forced to
make "uncomfortable" decisions on where to place their dollars,
and face similar decisions in the future.  ESPN's Mary Ann
Grabavoy focused on Valvoline (which after 29 years pulled out as
the fuel and oil sponsor of the Indy 500), Pennzoil (which took
Valvoline's place at Indy), and Mercedes-Benz and Philip Morris
(both of whom left Indy for the U.S. 500).  Valvoline Sports
Marketing Dir Mark Coughlin:  "We're definitely going to continue
with the CART series.  The question is, are we going to have an
IRL program?"  Pennzoil Products Chief Marketing Officer Tom
Floyd:  "It puts us in a real quandary in the future if they stay
apart and we have to decide how much money we can put in a
certain place."  Mercedes-Benz Marketing Manager Steve Potter:
"Tradition is important and it's worth something, but they have
to be valid traditions, traditions that have continuity. ...
[Indy's] tradition no longer has a business value and that's why
we're here [in MI]" (ESPN, 5/29).
     GRIDLOCK BUSTERS?  Prior to the running of the Indy and U.S.
500's, 20 U.S. Senators and Representatives formed the
"Congressional Automotive and Motorsports Caucus."  The caucus is
a "recognition that issues that concern motorsports manufacturers
... may be headed for Congress' radar screen" (Richard Welling,
DETROIT NEWS, 5/26).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

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