Los Angeles, September 24, 2001
Volume 13, Number 3

Dear Readers:

A remarkable 93 percent of all children in the United States, ages 8 to 17, report using some form of sport media. Nearly three in 10 children use some type of sport media every day. Seventy-one percent do so weekly, according to the AAF/ESPN Children and Sports Media Study, commissioned jointly by the Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles and ESPN. The study, based on a national survey of 509 respondents conducted by Statistical Research, Inc. of Westfield, New Jersey, updates a similar one conducted in 1999. It measures how many youngsters use sport media, what kinds of media they use, frequency of media use, and what sports and media "products" were most popular among young consumers. The study is available, at no charge, at www.AAFla.org under "AAF Research Reports."

Add study ... Television and the movies are the sports media used by the highest percentage of young people (88 percent). Television is by far the most frequently used of all the media. More than half (55 percent) of the children who use any media for sports cited television as the medium they used the most to follow sports.

Add study ... Young people ages 8 to 17 identified the "Big Three" professional sports - NFL football, NBA basketball and MLB baseball - as the sports they spend the most time following through the media. Boys dominate the children's audiences for football, hockey and boxing. Girls dominate children's audiences for ice skating, gymnastics and women's basketball. The Olympic Games are watched by more children (84 percent) than any other type of sport television programming. However, because the Olympic Games are broadcast only every two years, Olympic broadcasting ranked lower than the "Big Three" in the "most-watched" category.

Last add study ... The most dramatic change in the data since 1999 involved "Extreme Sports/X-Games," which placed fifth, behind the Olympic Games and the "Big Three," on the list of "Sports Watched on TV." The percentage of children reporting that they watch "Extreme Sports/X-Games" rose from 51 percent in 1999 to 61 percent in 2001, the highest viewing increase of any sport in the study.

Add extreme sports ... The AAF/ESPN study's findings on increasing interest in extreme sports as a spectator activity is consistent with other recently reported data. With their broadcasts of this summer's X Games from Philadelphia, ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC all enjoyed ratings increases over the previous year. The average audience across the three networks, during 20.5 hours of coverage, was up 48 percent compared to last year. Among viewers ages 12 to 24 the increase was 60 percent. Live attendance at the 2001 X Games was up 17 percent from 2000.

Add extreme ... Not only are kids watching more extreme sports; they are participating more, too. The Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association reported, in August, in U.S. Trends in Team Sports that participation in inline skating grew 517 percent between 1990 and 2000. During the same period, snowboarding participation rose 243 percent and skateboarding went up 25 percent. The SGMA writes "Alternative, free-form sports" are believed to "have attracted many participants from team sports, especially those youngsters who relish independence." The association estimates that two-thirds of all inline skaters are under the age of 18.

Felix the cat ... Middleweight champ Felix Trinidad recently pulled off an impressive trifecta. He beat three U.S. Olympic gold medallists in succession: Pernell Whitaker, Oscar De La Hoya and David Reid. Said Trinidad in Sports Illustrated, "It took me one year and 11 days. It's a record." Certainly, Trinidad is the only fighter to defeat three gold medallists within that time frame, but he does not own the record for most gold medallists defeated. That belongs to Muhammad Ali, who beat Floyd Patterson, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, and Leon Spinks. Of course, it took Ali nearly 23 years to do that. More's the pity that Ali never got the chance to fight Cuba's Teofilo Stevenson.

Add SI...In February, Sports Illustrated examined the boys' basketball program at Dominguez High in Compton, California. The article, entitled "A School for Scandal," was 12 pages, or more than 6,600 words. Much of the story detailed allegations that Dominguez coach Russell Otis had been charged with sexually assaulting a former player. In May, Otis was acquitted of those charges. Sports Illustrated devoted a total of 20 words to update the story; if you squinted hard enough, you could find the blurb buried in the magazine's "Blotter" column.

With the 2008 Olympic Games awarded to Beijing and all things Chinese under scrutiny, we call your attention to China Sports magazine. In the July 1999 issue, for instance, Liu Xinting noted that medical experts investigating Florence Griffith Joyner's death have "ignored the stimulating effect of the gravitational pull of the moon and the sun." The date of her death, writes Liu, "happened to be the first day of a lunar month. On such a day, the cerebral hemangloma [sic] she was suffering from was most easily affected by the gravitation of the moon and the sun. So it was very probable that Joyner was killed by the moon."

Add China ... Still confused about China's sports scene? So is Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal. In the April 23-29 issue, the magazine trumpeted, "NBA taps into China market." Directly below that article was one with this headline: "NBA to steer clear of Chinese star for June draft." Add China ... According to Paddler magazine, dragon boat racing is the second most popular paddle sport in the world, after canoeing, thanks largely to China, where the sport was introduced around 400 B.C. According to legend, dragon boat festivals began as a way to commemorate the death of poet Qu Yuan, who drowned in the Milou River in protest of the corrupt government. Now, organizers of the 4th East Asian Games, in 2005 in Macau, are debating whether to admit dragon boat racing.

Add dragons ... In August, Philadelphia's Schuylkill River hosted the 4th International Dragon Boat Federation world championships - the first time the event has ever been held in the U.S. Each 57-foot-long boat consists of 20 rowers, a steerer, and a drum-beater (natch), in races of 250, 500 and 1,000 meters. Canada was the overall winner - 17 nations competed - with the U.S. taking third and China fifth.

Paging Pete Rose ... Kevin Keegan, the former coach of England's national soccer team, has two new jobs. He replaces Joe Royle as coach of Manchester City, after Royle was unable to "tackle the drinking culture among the players," according to the BBC. Keegan's other job is endorsing his own betting Web site, called "Kevin Keegan Presents randombet.com." Keegan is pictured throughout, including one page called "Kevin's Top Tips," which advises "punters" on their bets.

Add bet ... The site takes bets on everything - British soccer games, U.S. baseball, even soap operas; it differs from others by picking the horse, or competitor, at random for each bettor. According to one unlucky participant, "It's like playing the National Lottery - you may as well burn your money in front of you."

Press clips ... Every year, Esquire hands out its "Dubious Achievement Awards." The magazine may have to award itself the "Dubious Headline Award" for their April 2001 issue. The cover read: "Alex Rodriguez is Underpaid." Once you scooped your jaw off the ground, you could read the equally ridiculous sub-head: "A quarter of a billion? Seems pretty reasonable for the man who is about to save baseball." And the Texas Rangers are how far out of first place?

Add press ... In a recent travel article about Cuba, New York Times journalist David Gonzalez noted that Cuba now has one 18-hole golf course. Varadero, located about two hours from Havana, opened in April 1998. Gonzalez writes that, "In the pro shop, visitors can stock up on balls and shirts all under the gaze of a vintage photograph of Che Guevara smoking a stogie and leaning on a golf club. The course has already become an annual stop for the European professional golfer's tour." While the European PGA tour makes stops in such exotic locales as Qatar and Dubai, it does not stop in Cuba. Gonzalez probably was referring to the European Challenge Tour - the European equivalent of the American-based buy.com tour - which stopped at Varadero, Cuba in 1999 and 2000.

Exhibit A ... The term "exhibition sport" gets bandied about a lot these days, often in connection with the Olympic Games. In a recent segment of National Public Radio's "Morning Edition," reporter David Kestenbaum featured bandy, a winter sport that's been described as a cross between soccer, ice hockey and field hockey. Kestenbaum stated that, "The IOC announced that bandy would be an exhibition sport at the 2006 Winter Games." Actually, the IOC announced no such thing. While bandy may be a dandy sport to watch, the IOC decided to scrap the concept of exhibition sports years ago. The 1992 Barcelona Games were the last Olympic Games to feature "exhibition sports."

Add exhibition ... Pankration, a grueling combination of boxing and wrestling, was one of the ancient Olympic sports. Apparently, pankration competitors are so tough that they cannot take "No" for an answer. John Townsley, president of the USA Federation of Pankration Athlima, states on the team's Web site (www.teamusapankration.com): "First of all I want it perfectly clear. Pankration will participate in the Athens Olympics." If that fails, writes Townsley, "Pankration will accept the role of exhibition sport if it can't complete the IOC requirements for participation in 2004 as a full medal event. Pankration will participate in 2004 Games DEFINITELY." Of course, this is the same organization whose latest rule change reads: "All strangles are now allowed." Again, we say it: There are no Olympic exhibition sports.

Who's the most powerful Asian in sport? According to the June 8th edition of Asiaweek, which ranked the region's "50 Most Powerful People," it is China's Fu Mingxia. The diver, who has won four Olympic gold medals and now has an endorsement deal with Coke, ranks #37. South Korean golfer Se Ri Pak was the only other athlete to make the list, at #45. South Korea's Kim Un-yong, who lost in August in his bid to succeed Juan Antonio Samaranch as IOC president, failed to make the list.

Add powerful ... It is pretty obvious who is the most powerful Italian in sports. That would be Silvio Berlusconi, elected prime minister this summer. The 64-year-old billionaire owns Italy's three biggest private TV networks, its biggest publishing group and the AC Milan soccer team, which he bought in 1986. Berlusconi's center-right political party, called Forza Italia, is named after the football chant translated as "Go Italy!"

Add chant ... Ashamed that U.S. Soccer does not have its own chant? Tired of chanting Ole! Ole! Ole! Ole! because there simply is no alternative? All that will change on October 7, when the winning selection of U.S. Soccer's contest to create the first official fan-chant will be announced. Contestants looking for guidance might want to consult The Best Book of Football Songs and Chants Ever! for suggestions. (The book comes with a "Warning! Adult Content" label on the cover, so be careful.) The ever-curious SportsLetter staff searched long and hard for a ditty that was not obscene, and came up with this number sung by supporters of the Scottish national team. Feel free to join in.

Everywhere we go
People want to know
Who we are
So we're gonna tell them
We're mental and we're barmy
We're the famous Tartan Army
Ooooooooh
Ooooooooh
Ooooooooh Scotland
Scotland

On the other hand, given the recent performance of the national men's team, maybe U.S. Soccer should skip the song search and find a back line with some foot speed.

Add song ... Singer Macy Gray's bungling of the national anthem at this summer's Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Canton, Ohio, drew comparisons with comedian Roseanne Barr, who screeched the song (and demonstrated vulgar antics) before a 1990 San Diego Padres game. We beg to differ. Gray simply blew it. If anything, Gray should be compared to track star Carl Lewis, who famously bungled the song at a Chicago Bulls-New Jersey Nets game in 1993, or perhaps to Robert Goulet, who messed up the lyrics before the second Muhammad Ali-Sonny Liston fight.

Add song ... The best versions of the anthem? A three-way tie: Jose Feliciano's bluesy rendition before the 1968 St. Louis Cardinals-Detroit Tigers World Series; Marvin Gaye's sultry version at the 1983 NBA All-Star Game; and Whitney Houston's celebratory version at the 1991 Super Bowl. Of course, there is Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock, but we digress...

Go for broke ... Three times this season, pole vaulter Stacy Dragila broke her own world record twice in the same meet. At a June meet in Stanford, California, she broke her own record of 15-5 with a leap of 15-5 1/2, then proceeded to shatter that record by nearly four inches, with a leap of 15-9 1/4. (She made three attempts at 16-0, but fell short.) For all her efforts, Dragila may well be sacrificing serious money because meet organizers pay bonuses for world-record performances.

Add pole ... Dragila could take a lesson from male counterpart Sergei Bubka, who was famous for breaking his own record 1/2 inch (or less) at a time. From 1984 to 1994, Bubka broke his own mark 17 times, nudging the mark from 19-2 1/2 to 20-1 1/4, and got paid handsomely for it.

Supplemental Games ... Earlier this year, Utah-based Pharmanex signed an agreement to supply supplements to the U.S. Skiing and Snowboarding teams. The company is also an official sponsor of the Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games and a sponsor of the U.S. Olympic team in 2002 and 2004. Pharmanex's multi-vitamin product, Vitox, is the only multi-vitamin/mineral product distributed at the United States Olympic Committee's training center in Colorado Springs. According to the company's Web site, Vitox has "tested negative, in independent testing, for the presence of contaminants and substances found on the IOC's 'banned' lists. So now athletes have outside verification - they can use the products without fear of a positive drug test."

Where's the beef? ... Nobody ever said soccer players are food scientists. According to Dutch defender Bert Konterman, his national teammates Edgar Davids and Frank de Boer tested positive for drugs because of the beef they ate. "In Holland a lot of farmers inject cows with [the anabolic steroid] nandrolone to enhance beef and make more money for themselves," wrote Konterman on his team's Web site. "I think that the Dutch players ... probably had beef with a lot of nandrolone." When not playing international matches, Konterman plays in Scotland, where he writes that "players are safe because cows are not injected with nandrolone - there's no need to inject them with anything because there is plenty of fresh air here."

Ad busters ... In April, New York University's department of culture and communication presented the fifth annual "Schmio Awards," which they awarded to the worst advertising campaigns. Their "Rudyard Kipling Prize for the Year's Most Racist TV Spot" went to Fox Sports for its "Hometown News" campaign that depicted fake Indian, Russian and Turkish sports reports. In the Turkish spot, for instance, a diver walks out on a high platform at the edge of a cliff. He dives, and lands on the ground. A group of peasants applaud as judges' ratings appear on the screen. As Rob Walker wrote on www.slate.com, "The joke, such as it is, turns on the idea of a bunch of backward savages in a far-off and thoroughly uncivilized land." Sounds like a good premise for "The Simpsons."

Man Utd update ... On the heels of Manchester United's deal with the New York Yankees (SportsLetter, March 2001) and New Zealand's All Blacks rugby team (SportsLetter, May 2001) comes word that Man Utd "is forming a marketing alliance" with the World Wrestling Federation. According to The Sunday Times of London, the two businesses will have relationships in pay-per-view broadcasting and advertising, and they'll form distribution partnerships for branded merchandise."

This nameless potato-like being was the mascot of last summer's Eurofestival 2001 in Riga, Latvia.

Sincerely, SportsLetter staff.

SportsLetter is published bimonthly. Reproduction is encouraged with credit to the Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles.

Copyright 2001, Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles. All rights reserved.

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