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Spart"sElusiness WWW.SPORTSBUS.N.S JOURNAL.COM .JO U R N A LR MARCH 29-APRIL 4 . 20 10 VOLU M E 12 ISSUE 4 7 · $6 .95 ESPN to land more NFL rights Disney steps Reopened deals offer lockout protection, 'MNF' streaming BY JOHN DURAND, TERRY LEFTON AND DANIEL KAPLAN STAFFWRITERS league: Make some noise ~ I<;S PN a nd the NFLare close to an agree ment to give u the media company a much larger bundle of the leag e's broadband, mobile and in ternati onal r ights, including the ability to stream "Monday Night Football" games on broadban d and wire less platfor ms. The digital deal will certainly grab the fuUattention of the NFL's othe r network partners, who could be looking to further their digital and mobile r ights with NFL con ten t. CBS an d Fox have looked int o st rea ming at least one of their Sunday afternoon games but have no concrete plans to follow th rough with th at yet. ESPN spokesma n Mike Soltys BY DANIEL KAPLAN ST AfFWRrTER The NFL last week dropped its 21-year-oldprohibition against home teams using video boards to encourage fans tomake noise,the latest development in the league's initiative to improve the in-stadium fan experience. Teams were pro hibited from flashing on video boards phrases like "Noise," "Raisethe Root," "Pump See Noise Page 26 See NFL.ESPN Page 26 edon't ~. - believe mcurses , Tom Ricketts has no roomfor excuses in his effort to remak the storied Chicago Cubs mid the frenetic revamping of the entire Chicago Cubs organization, a process that includes restoration of Wrigley Field, a new spring training complex in Arizona, and a range of marketing plans, there is perhaps an even more sweeping change in the Windy City. New team owner Tom Ricketts has absolutely no tolerance for "Lovable Losers," for years the well- A Disneyand Major League BasebaJI are combining for a cross-licensin g deal that will mix the marks of two of the biggest nam es in sport s and entertainment mer chandising. Th e re ta il licens ing progra m is one MLB h a s purs ue d for a decad e and expands the bus iness rel ationsh ip between the two companies . giv ing MLBtics to Disney's yout h marketin g e m p ire , while global mer ch a ndise king Disney gets distributio n wit hin MLB's established cha nnels for licensed sports prod ucts. BY TRI PP MICKLE ST WRITER Aff ST Arr\NA ilER CMandSUM partner to get U.S. ManU tour goats! BY ERIC FISHER BY TERRY L N EFTO See Cisney-MLB Page 25 • ~ . to the plate with MLB known . unofficial moniker for the club, and the name that has come to define everything about the Cubs' historic ineptitude. "I don't believe in 'Lovable Losers.' Never have," said Ricketts, whose face grows visibly discomforted at the mere mention of the words. "You'll never hear us put those two words together. And we don't believe in curses or billy goats. It's just not what we're about." See Cubs Page 14 STAFF WRITER A yea r after running competing soccer tours in the U.S..CAASport s a nd Soccer United Marketi ng are partnering in an effort to bring th e world's biggest club - Man chester Un ited - to Nor t h America this su mmer: The two sports marketing companies ar e a ttem pting to bring Man chester United over for wha t would bea multi-city tourthat would be head lined by the MLS All-Star Game a t Houston' s Relia nt Stadi um. Sources familiar with th e deal say Manchester United tentatively agreed to a four-stop tour that also would include Boston, Philadelphia See ManU Page 25 With Nancy L ieberman Muhamma d Ali "gave me vision and my path to succeed," Page 30