| • | Gatorade Launching New Ad Campaign For G Series Line |
| • | Manny Pacquiao To Fight Shane Mosley In HBO PPV Bout |
| • | Engineering Report On Metrodome Repairs Expected Today |
| • | Nike Earnings Beat Expectations With 22% Increase In Q2 |
GATORADE LAUNCHING NEW AD CAMPAIGN FOR G SERIES PRODUCT LINE
 |
Tomlinson To Appear In
Gatorade Spot Breaking Today |
Gatorade today is launching a new ad campaign "seeking to cast itself as more than a sports drink" and promoting its G Series trio of products introduced earlier this year. The TV spots breaking today will feature Jets RB LaDainian Tomlinson and Magic C Dwight Howard, with a third commercial featuring sprinter Usain Bolt slated for January.
In one of the new spots, Tomlinson is shown with a "dirty, sweaty face," as a voiceover explains "how Gatorade Recover is helping his body prepare for the next one." Another depicts Howard sitting on the bench and "sipping Gatorade Perform to get a second wind, and then heading back in for a slam dunk"
(CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 12/22).
MANNY PACQUIAO TO FIGHT SHANE MOSLEY ON MAY 7 IN HBO PPV EVENT
Boxer Shane Mosley said that he will face Manny Pacquiao in an HBO PPV welterweight title bout on May 7 in the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas. Mosley yesterday said, "We came to an agreement today, in fact, just a few minutes ago. Bob Arum, James Prince and I. … The only thing that I have to do now is to sign in" (FANHOUSE.com, 12/21).
This will mark Pacquiao's third bout since efforts were started late last year to stage a "super-fight" with Floyd Mayweather Jr. There "weren't even talks with the Mayweather camp before the Mosley deal was struck, as the unbeaten fighter faces felony charges in Nevada for allegedly striking the mother of his children and threatening the youths" (L.A. TIMES, 12/22).
OFFICIALS TO GET ENGINEERING REPORT ON METRODOME REPAIR PROCESS
The Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission today will get a report from an engineer that "could provide details" about the Metrodome repair process. Also today, the fabrication of new panels is scheduled to begin at a plant in Tijuana. The "timeline for the Dome's repair and reinflation is still unknown." The "number of damaged roof panels that need replacement could go as high as nine" (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 12/22).
Meanwhile, about 20,000 Vikings ticket holders reportedly "opted for refunds for the Bears game" rather than attending Monday's contest at TCF Bank Stadium (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 12/22).
NIKE'S PROFITS AND REVENUES RISE EVEN MORE THAN EXPECTED IN Q2
Nike's Q2 earnings rose a "better-than-expected" 22% as the company "continues to see strong interest in future orders." For the period ending Nov. 30, Nike posted a profit of $457M, or $0.94 a share, up from $375M, or $0.76 a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue increased 10% to $4.84B, and Nike's sales rose "in all its regions except Western Europe and Japan." Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had predicted earnings of $0.88 per share on revenue of $4.81B (WSJ.com, 12/21).
HAMILTON CITY COUNCIL MEETING TO ADDRESS LATEST STADIUM PROBLEM
The Hamilton, Ontario, City Council today will hold an "emergency meeting" to "discuss the latest problem to confront its stadium project." The site being considered carries a price tag of C$70-90M, which "may be too costly for the city." A location for the venue, which is to be used for soccer during the '15 Pan-Am Games, must be determined by Feb. 1. The CFL Hamilton Tiger-Cats are "slated to become the long-term tenant in the building" (NATIONAL POST, 12/21).
UCONN WOMEN'S HOOPS MAKES HISTORY, GETS MAINSTREAM MEDIA COVERAGE
The UConn women’s basketball team’s 89th consecutive victory is drawing front-page coverage across the Nutmeg State this morning. The Hartford Courant features a giant 89 with the headline, “A Place Of Their Own,” while the New Haven Register shows a picture of several UConn team members in special Nike T-shirts commemorating last night’s win over Florida State with the header, “Best Ever!” The team defeated Florida State 93-62 to top the 88-game streak the UCLA men’s team had from '71-74.
The winning streak also received coverage on all three network morning shows today. ABC's "GMA" aired a 25-second segment one minute into the broadcast, while NBC's "Today" and CBS' "The Early Show" also mentioned the game prior to their first commercial break (THE DAILY).
SPEED READS….
Eagles QB Michael Vick has signed an exclusive autograph deal with J.O. Sports Co. Matt Almond, a sales manager at the Las Vegas-based memorabilia firm, said that the deal "spans 'well beyond' this year's Super Bowl" (CNBC.com, 12/21).
A crowd of 20,017 attended the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl last night at Tropicana Field, where Louisville defeated Southern Miss 31-28. The attendance was "the lowest in the three-year history" of the game, with Southern Miss using about 3,000 of its 10,000 allotted tickets (TAMPABAY.com, 12/21).
The Magic drew a crowd of 19,057 for last night's game against the Mavericks at Amway Center, making it the "largest home crowd in franchise history." The Magic lost their fourth straight game 105-99 (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 12/22).
Tag Heuer runs a full-page ad in the N.Y. Times featuring tennis player Maria Sharapova sporting an Aquaracer Diamond watch (THE DAILY).
QUICK HITS….
“Mother nature must be a fan of the game because we have had great weather” – NHL Facilities Operations Manager Dan Craig, on the weather not being an issue in building the rinks for the previous Winter Classic games (ESPN.com, 12/21).
“Maybe some people have forgotten that in football you have to learn to lose as well as to win. It was a competition. Some people won, some people lost. That’s normal” – FIFA President Sepp Blatter, on awarding the '18 and '22 World Cups to Russia and Qatar, respectively (FIFA.com, 12/21).
"If I had to hold up a 60-pound arm, I would be tired too" – Boston Pops conductor Keith Lockhart, on Celtics C Shaquille O'Neal admitting that his arms were tired after a rehearsal for his brief stint as a guest conductor (NPR, 12/21).
“It’s like Christmas holidays don’t mean anything to them anymore. Just go out and play and entertain the TV (audience). … It is what it is. We’ve got to go to work and make the best of it” – Lakers coach Phil Jackson, on the number of NBA games on Christmas (L.A. TIMES, 12/22).
TWITTER ME THIS….
CBS Sports’ Ken Berger: “I believe the NBA conducted business all eight nights of Hannukah, Phil.”
SI’s Grant Wahl: “A friend recently snagged an interview with Phil Anschutz. May well be 1st one given by MLS's savior in 3 decades. For a book on Lamar Hunt.”
ESPN’s Dan Rafael: “With Pacquiao-Mosley being made I feel like Bob Arum has given me the finger again. … How much more do boxing fans have to take? It's like the powers that be meet and think of ways to destroy the sport instead of improving it.”
Golf World’s Ron Sirak: “I saw Annika Sorenstam win 42 of 104 LPGA events over 5 years and it was under-valued because she's a woman. Same for UConn.”
The Score’s Holly MacKenzie: “Props to Bryan Colangelo and Andrea Bargnani for each donating $125k to SickKids towards a new surgery unit. Lovely gesture.”
If you see a tweet we won’t want to miss, send it to us at editorial@sportsbusinessdaily.com.
THE BACK PAGES….
The Morning Buzz offers today’s back page sports covers from some of the nation’s major metropolitan tabloids:
| | | |
| N.Y. Post | N.Y. Daily News | Newsday |
| | |
| Philadelphia Daily News | Boston Herald |
FINAL JEOPARDY!
Last night’s “Final Jeopardy!” category was “The 19th Century.”
“Thomas Huxley and Samuel Wilberforce were among the Oxford Museum speakers debating this theory June 30, 1860.”
LAUGH TRACK….
THE MONOLOGUES:
CBS’ David Letterman: “How about the economy? Anybody got any money? I've got no money, but the stores are doing a brisk business. They're full of last-minute shoppers, also known as men. … I'll be hosting the big Letterman family annual holiday gathering at the house. I'll be hosting this year by speaker phone. I mean, on paper the holidays look fantastic, but just once could we get through the holidays without a fistfight? Honest to God, mom with her Bloody Mary moustache. I mean, I'm begging you, mom, eat the celery. And eggnog – really? It's the same stuff you drink before a colonoscopy. … You know what happened on this date in 1620? I'll tell you. The pilgrims arrived in America. … Two years at sea, cramped quarters, they only had bread and water and a bucket for their personal hygiene. The pilgrims – hey, wait a minute, that's a Carnival cruise, isn't it? … Anybody here from California? Raining like crazy – mud slides. They're worried about the mud slides. At least the mud slides will put out the wild fires. They had to sandbag a strip club on Sunset Boulevard. They had to go in and sandbag the pole. It is raining so hard in Los Angeles – to seek shelter – people are actually standing under Leno's chin” (“Late Show,” CBS, 12/21).
NBC’s Jay Leno: “Michael Vick got a new dog for Christmas. It's the New York Giants defense. And it's smart, it knows how to roll over and play dead. … According to CBS News, terrorists are planning to attack restaurants and hotels by poisoning salad bars. Well, at least I'm safe. I tell you, if they go after the endless breadsticks and bottomless pasta bowl, I'm just a dead man. … On Friday, President Obama met with the leaders of 60 American Indian tribes and he promised to help tackle the biggest challenge facing the Native American community, card counting. … On a flight from Cuba to Canada, a man threatened to shoot flight attendants after they stopped serving him drinks. He's been charged with making death threats, and if convicted he could lose his pilot's license. … Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour is being criticized for recent comments he made about growing up during the civil rights era. He said, ‘I don't remember it being that bad.’ Of course, it could be because he is a white guy. … Customs officials in Arizona have seized 144 counterfeit Barbie dolls headed into this country from Mexico. It was easy to catch them, all 144 of them were crammed into Barbie's Dream Corvette and they were coming across the border. … 7-Eleven is going to be selling their own brand of wine – 7-Eleven wine. Now you don't want to miss the official wine tasting. To kick things off it's going to take place under a bridge by the Hollywood freeway” (“The Tonight Show,” NBC, 12/21).
LATE NIGHT LAUGHS:
Last night’s Top Ten List was “Top Ten Surprises Found In The 2010 Census” (“Late Show,” CBS, 12/21).
| 10) “Census Bureau lost count halfway through and had to start over.” |
| 9) “Population has grown 9.7%; population’s waist size has grown by 42%.” |
| 8) “North Dakota is used mainly for storage.” |
| 7) “The profile of the average American is a Minnesota claims adjuster named Duane.” |
| 6) “Wealthiest neighborhood is wherever Tiger Woods’ ex-wife is staying that day.” |
| 5) “More Americans get their news from RKO newsreels than from any other source.” |
| 4) “Only one American wore a meat dress last year.” |
| 3) “Osama bin Laden owns a specialty cheese shop in Park Slope, Brooklyn.” |
| 2) “87% of professional athletes have dated Kim Kardashian.” |
| 1) “Most common name for women: Mrs. Larry King.” |
FINAL JEOPARDY….
“What is the theory of evolution?”
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please let us know at:
pbounds@sportsbusinessdaily.com.
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