A Little of the Old In and Out



(image via sportsandtechnology)

In: Bob Bowman. Major League Baseball Advanced Media CEO Bob Bowman is following the lead of CBS Digital's pathbreaking Larry Kramer, piggybacking other content -- most notably, CBSNews.com -- on the cross platform success of the NCAA March Madness tourney. In the future, as we have previously noted (IMHO), the mobile market will be owned by this simple formula: "Sports, Porn, Animation and Sports." (And, although the verdict isn't in yet, quite possibly, "Live Music")

As it is early in the day in baseball season, and all eyes are focused on the strike zone, Bowman is, metaphorically speaking, looking to the rafters. Says Paidcontent:

"Major League Baseball�s online unit, MLB Advanced Media, is becoming more of a digital media services and delivery firm, from being just an extension of MLB. And as part of that, besides managing the sports presence of other leagues, it is now expanding into other forms of entertainment, this one being music.

"It is forming a new 50-50 ventures with music marketing and licensing power Signatures Network, and will offer musicians in Signatures� stable ways to use the Internet to take charge of their images and financial affairs. Signatures administers sites for Kiss, Ozzy Osbourne and Fleetwood Mac and handles e-commerce for stars such as The Beatles, Bruce Springsteen, Kanye West and Coldplay.

"Details: Rev share for all parties involved. MLB Advanced Media CEO Bob Bowman says he expects up to $40 million this year from non-baseball ventures � about half of that coming from the Signatures partnership.

"Last year the company, which broke even in 2002, generated $195 million in revenue, and Bowman says that could soar by as much as 70% this year."

The WWE has done something not dissimilar, expanding into music. More Paidcontent here.



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Out: Nicollette Sheridan's Bling Ring. It is not inconceiveable that, however incidentally, one may have come into contact with a lingering microfraction of Nicolette Sheridan's bodily juices -- soi dissant "ringsweat (Averted Gaze)" -- that torpedoed the sale of her previous engagement ring on eBay. (Exaggerated cough suggesting feigned detachment)

Nicollette, however briefly, has been involved with quite a few of contempoary Hollywood's most notorious Manwhores -- Scott Baio and the lamentable Leif Garrett immediately come to mind.

Whetever the case, bidding has been suspended, leaving "SanDiegoLady" to ask, poignantly, "I was shocked when I read the story in InTouch, but then when I came home and saw the ring was actually on ebay...I'm even more shocked!! First of all, why is he asking for $20,000 when the ring only cost $19,470??"

Indeed. Cindy Adams, our favorite ringologist, weighs in:

"NICOLLETTE Sheridan, now affianced to Michael Bolton, had a first engagement ring from first husband, her trainer Nick Soderblom. Graded at H color, it was 1.15 carats, which, of course, might be why the lady got around to getting rid of him. Anyway, she put the solitaire up for auction at eBay. She wanted $20,000. Even though it's stamped Tiffany and had 5,000 hits, at the time I write this there wasn't one bid. H color? That's close to the shade of a hash brown."

(A considerable pause) We could say something devastating comparing the 5,000 hits to Nicolette Sheridan, but that would definitely fall under the category of low-hanging comedic fruit.

More Cindy Adams here.



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In: The West Wing. There is still life on the most intelligent and best-written show on television today. If only, if only, if only ...salaries hadn't gone off into the stratosphere. If only this show could be construed as a cost-effective risk for an aggressive cable network. Wouldn't it be magnificent if "The West Wing" found another life on, say, Showtime? Wishful thinking, we know. Still, there is life, because Medialifemagazine tells us so:

"Matt Santos won the fake election last night, and he also delivered a victory of sorts for NBC�s once-mighty 'West Wing,' which over recent weeks has sagged into one of the least-watched shows on the Big Four networks among adults 18-49.

The show, which also dramatized the death of Santos vice presidential candidate Leo McGarry, played by the late John Spencer, averaged a 2.4 Nielsen overnight rating last night.

"That was up 20 percent over the 2.0 the show has averaged since the Winter Olympics ended in February. It�s the show�s highest-rated episode since November, even though it still placed fourth in its 8 p.m. timeslot and is well down from last year�s 3.3 season average.

"That signals that there still could be some life in the seventh-year show leading up to May 14�s series finale. Though NBC said in January that this would be 'Wing�s' last year, because of sinking ratings and high production costs, it was once one of the network�s highest-rated programs and was always a favorite of awards show voters such as the Emmys.

"... Writers said over the weekend that they�d originally intended to make Vinick the winner. But after Spencer�s unexpected passing, they felt it would be too sad to make Santos lose both the election and his running mate.

"Coming episodes will deal with the White House transition and Santos finding a new VP. Next week�s episode may also see a bump in ratings, as former series stars Emily Procter and Rob Lowe return for McGarry�s funeral.

"Last night�s episode grew 13 percent from its first half hour to its second, when it averaged a 2.6."

More here.



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Out: Dominique de Villepin. Too dashing by a half! (Averted Gaze) Dominique de Villepin -- a man who, we cannot fail to note, has never run for electoral office -- faced resounding defeat on the youth labor law, suggesting that he may not be able-minded enough to challenge Nicholas Sarkozy. It takes some savvy to win the Presidency as well instinct at maneuvering in the margins of the wiggle room afforded by the levers of democracy, a talent which, quite possibly, de Villepin sorely lacks. According to TheGuardian:

"Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, who devised the law, had faced down protesters for weeks, insisting that its most divisive provision - a so-called 'first job contract' - was necessary to reduce high unemployment rates among French youths by making it easier for companies to hire and fire young workers.

"But acting on advice from Villepin, his longtime protege, Chirac 'decided to replace'' the provision with one aimed at ``youths in difficulty,' the president's office said.

"Top lawmakers from Chirac's ruling conservative party presented a new plan to parliament Monday. The proposal emerged after legislative talks last week with unions and student groups to find ways to end the crisis.

"A somber Villepin, in a TV appearance, said his original legislation was designed to curb 'despair of many youths' and strike a 'better balance ... between more flexibility for the employer and more security for workers.'

"'This was not understood by everyone, I'm sorry to say,' Villepin said."

Even in defeat -- arrogance! (The Corsair pours himself a glass of Madeira) It is not that de Villepin's efforts weren't "understood" by everyone. (Withering gaze) It was that they were never proffered forth for serious debate. These existentially life-changing reforms were rammed through without internal conversation among the commonweal. Just like the fantastical, unweildy and fucking looney EU (Do farmer's in Dordogne, or pub owners in Dublin consider themselves the amorphous "European"?), incidentlly, which, similarly went down in smouldering flames. (Exaggerated cough suggesting feigned detachment)

The European elites had best get their shit together. Presidents of democracies derive their power not in the smoke filled back rooms in Brussels, or Paris, but from the people.



(image via nysocialdiary)

In: Robert Verdi Comes To Harlem. We would strongly counsel Robert Verdi not to make any citizen's arrests re: Fashion policing when he arrives in Harlemworld. Best to do that business below 97th street, if you nah mean? According to Fashionweekdaily:

"This August, Robert Verdi is moving into one of Harlem�s first luxury high rises at 129th Street and Lenox Avenue."

Still, welcome to Harlem.