ESPN, WNBA helped spread
advice at sports symposium
■A day of activities Friday
involved many prominent
women in the sports industry
By Mindi Rice
for the Emerald
In terms of women’s opportunities
in sports, Clare Hamill may have said
it best at Friday’s Women in Sports
Business Symposium.
“There’s never been a better time to
get into the sports industry,” said
-i Hamill, the vice
president or
Global Women’s
Business for
Nike.
Hamill was
one of eight top
female execu
tives from the
sports industry
who were pan
elists for the
symposium,
DALY
held in the EMU ballroom. The sym
posium, in its sixth year, is hosted by
the James H. Warsaw Sports Market
ing Center and produced by students
of the center.
Honored during the evening were
four Community Sports Awards win
ners. A Sports Girl, High School
Sports Woman, Sports Woman and
Leader in Youth Sports were chosen
from nominations in the community
and awards were presented before the
keynote address.
Lee Ann Daly, ESPN’s Senior Vice
President for Marketing, was the
evening’s keynote speaker and also
one of the panelists. She talked about
the changes in sports marketing and
in ESPN over the years.
“The first and most important thing
is to serve the fans,” Daly said in her
keynote address.
Daly said that ESPN, which wa&cre
ated by Connecticut fans in 1979, is un
like other large media corporations.
“We think of ourselves first as the
world’s biggest sports fans,” Daly
said.
During her address, Daly spoke
about the steps ESPN is taking towards
adding entertainment approaches to
sports. She also showed a few adver
tising campaigns, some of which have
not been released yet, including a few
spots of the new “Basketball is Beauti
ful” WNBA campaign.
She mentioned many of the ways
that ESPN programming continues to
evolve, adding that the station is
working on a new game show where
fans can banter about sports topics.
Daly and the other panelists stressed
many things about working in the
sports marketing field. Knowledge of
technology and the ability to think cre
atively were two recurring themes.
Sandi Bittler, vice president of busi
ness operations for the WNBA’s Port
land Fire, said one of the things she
does is create dreams for other people
to work towards, later adding that if
you work hard and prove yourself,
you will earn respect.
Kris Rone, the Los Angeles
Dodgers’ Executive Vice President
and Chief Marketing Officer, stressed
that sports is a difficult area to be in
marketing because the fans are often
times very emotionally connected.
Citing an example from the
Dodgers’ last season. Rone advised
friat while it’s good to try new tech
niques and bring in new audiences,
one needs to be careful not to alienate
dedicated fans. She also mentioned
that sports and sports marketing are
becoming much more grassroots than
in the past.
Daly said that one has to make peo
ple care about the sport one wants
them to watch. She made the point
that ESPN strives to be a part of sports
fans’ lives, showing not only games
but giving fans the ability to be inter
active with the network.
She ended her keynote address by
giving the sports marketing students
some advice she has learned through
the years.
“Never underestimate how hip and
knowledgeable your fans are going to
be,” Daly said.
Bryant keys LA. sweep over Kings
By Greg Beacham
The Associated Press
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Kobe
Bryant emerged triumphant from a
hectic weekend that was more than
most 22-year-olds could handle.
In a 48-hour span, Bryant played a
phenomenal game, rushed home to
Los Angeles to check on his wife’s
health, then hurried back to Sacra
mento for another amazing perform
ance that put the Lakers in the confer-'
ence finals.
Bryant set career playoff bests with
48 points and 16 rebounds Sunday as
the Lakers advanced to their second
straight Western Conference finals
with a 119-113 victory over the Sacra
mento Kings, sweeping the best-of
seven series.
When he finally was able to relax,
Bryant could only praise the Kings
and deflect the praise heaped on him
for his poise under pressure from
many fronts.
“We needed to be challenged like
this,” Bryant said. “We needed to go
into (the conference finals) feeling
like we’re playing our best basketball.
... I just wanted to run and push my
self to the point of exhaustion. ”
Bryant, who married Vanessa
Laine last month after an engagement
that began during last season’s play
offs, found out hours before tipoff of
Friday’s Game 3 that she had been
taken to an emergency room with a
severe pain in her left side.
After being assured by doctors that
his wife’s life wasnlf in danger, Bryant
scored 36 points in the Lakers’ victory
and rushed home, only to find his
wife sleeping off her undisclosed
malady. After a relaxing day, Bryant
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returned to Sacramento and finished
his two-game virtuoso performance.
Bryant scored 15 points in the
fourth quarter as the Lakers weath
ered a strong effort from the Kings
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