Feb. 29, 1996
Deals and Dollars
Will the torch relay go through customs in Santa Fe?
When New Mexico resident Wade Miller called to order Olympic
volleyball tickets on the phone recently, he found his task to be
more challenging than a geography bee. When Miller told the
operator his address, he was informed that tickets could not be
sold to someone who lives outside the U.S. Even after explaining
the situation to a supervisor, Miller was told he would have to
order the tickets through his nation's Olympic committee, and was
given both the Puerto Rican and Mexican Olympic Committee
numbers. All's well that ends well for Miller, as he was able to
land tickets but did have to use an Arizona address to
successfully complete his task. An Olympic official said
Miller's endeavor was a one-time thing and wouldn't happen again
(Atlanta Constitution). For more, see "Quotables."
He's a Nike man -- as long as we're just talking shoes
Michael Jordan's tight relationship with Nike is well known, but
it has its limits. When the monolithic shoe-maker comes out with
its own line of sunglasses in September, don't look for Michael
to be sporting a pair. Jordan is already an Oakley man, and even
has a seat on the company's board of directors. This isn't the
first time Nike has come out with a new product that Mike has a
competitive interest in. When Nike basketballs hit the market,
Jordan had to stay away, as he had previously signed a deal with
Wilson (Portland Oregonian).
Take a flying leap: NHL Leap Day facts
There have been 41 NHL games played on Feb. 29 since the league was
established in 1936. The four games scheduled tonight will mark
the inaugural Leap Day appearances for Calgary and Florida, while
expansion teams Anaheim, Ottawa, San Jose and Tampa Bay will have
to wait until 2000. The Maple Leafs probably wish Leap Day came
every year. Toronto is 7-1 on this day. What will be remembered
about Leap day '96 in the NHL? Tonight will be Wayne Gretzky's
debut in a Blues uniform at Vancouver (The Sports Business
Daily).
The King is a politician first, owner second
Richard Petty refuses to join scores of protesters upset with a
NASCAR non-decision allowing Dale Earnhardt to win the Goodwrench
400 last weekend, even though it was his driver who lost the
race due to Earnhardt's moves. Earnhardt bumped Petty-sponsored
Bobby Hamilton's car during Sunday's race in Rockingham, N.C., a
move some see as illegal. Skeptics say Earnhardt got away with
the bump because he, like the race, is sponsored by Goodwrench.
But Petty's taking the high road -- a position that might be
politically motivated. The King is running for Secretary of
State in North Carolina, and one reporter points out that the
King may not want to offend any voters who might happen to be
fans of Earnhardt (San Jose Mercury News).
Foreign hospitality
The Cleveland Indians have agreed to let Japanese pitcher Tomohito Ito of
the Yakult Swallows rehabilitate his arm this spring at their
training facility in Florida. Ito is also getting a lesson in
American clubhouse antics. Gene Matthews, a member of the
grounds crew at Winter Haven Chain O'Lakes Park hid a four-foot
alligator in Ito's locker, causing the foreign visitor to fall
out of his chair on to his back with fear (Cleveland Plain
Dealer).
TNN scores big with racing, Daisy Duke
The Nashville Network followed a recent telecast of
NASCAR's Goodwrench 400 with a special rerun of "The Dukes of
Hazzard." The one-hour show was meant for race fans coming off
of exciting NASCAR coverage, as the episode featured Daisy Duke
(Catherine Bach) deciding to leave the family farm to become a
stock car driver as Bo (John Schneider) and Luke (Tom Wopat) try
to convince her to return home. By the way, TNN scored a 5.4
rating for the race -- around 3.5 million households -- and kept
about half that audience for the Dukes, as 1.7 million stayed
tuned-in to see what happened to Daisy (The Sports Business
Daily).
Hillary C. beats Dickie V. -- it's a blowout, baby!
Basketball may be king in Kentucky, but it still can't beat the
closest thing America has to a Queen. Last week at a Lexington
bookstore, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Dick Vitale made signing
appearances simultaneously for their new books. It wasn't even
close baby! The First Lady was the true PTP'er in this matchup,
as approximately 2,000 lined up to have her sign "It Takes a
Village," while only 600 waited for Vitale to sign his "Holding
Court: Reflections of the Game I Love" (Sports Illustrated).
Back to his roots
Fox's James Brown will drop in and call a few Bullets games for
cable network HTS and Washington's WBDC-TV this March. Brown,
who is Fox's man of all seasons, handling studio duties for the
network's football, hockey and boxing telecasts, will fill in for
regular Bullets voice Mel Proctor. Brown is a native of D.C., and
worked on Bullets broadcasts back in the late '70s and early '80s
(The Sports Business Daily).
New Mexico, old Mexico, what's the difference?
"Sir, New Mexico, old Mexico, it doesn't matter. I understand
it's a territory, but you still have to go through your nation's
Olympic committee."
-- The response of an Olympic ticket operator to a request
for tickets to the games from a resident of New Mexico (Atlanta
Constitution).
They're not so great without Wayne
"It was a remarkable eight-year run for Wayne Gretzky in Los
Angeles. Not only did he become hockey's most important salesman
throughout the United States, he made hockey hip in a town where
it's hip to be hip."
-- ESPN's Charley Steiner ("SportsCenter").
"I used to go to Kings games before Wayne Gretzky, and the only
games I would go to was Edmonton to watch Gretzky play and the
place would be jumping. ... I've never seen a player outside of
basketball who I said, 'Man he plays like I do.' No look passes,
dropping them back. I mean he was just a beautiful hockey player
to watch. He turned this into a hockey town. He was a celebrity
among celebrities in a celebrity town. He brought celebrities
out to the hockey game. Kids in Los Angeles never played hockey
before. The ice rinks were empty. Wayne comes and now they've
got little leagues, junior leagues, everything. You can't get
ice time now."
-- Magic Johnson, on Gretzky's impact in L.A.
("SportsCenter," ESPN).
He can dish it out, but can Keith take it?
"Guess who's stretching the boundaries of journalism? Coach
Olbermann. Hide the women and children."
-- SportsCenter anchor Dan Patrick, on tag-team partner
Keith Olbermann's celebrity baseball coaching debut with Edison
College ("SportsCenter").
"Keith did earn a standing ovation for not pulling his groin."
-- More Olbermann-bashing from Patrick ("SportsCenter,
ESPN).
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Feb. 28, 1996
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