Is the bloom fading from NASCAR’s high-flying rose?
Advertising Age magazine reports the stock-car racing juggernaut’s TV ratings for the season’s final 10 races, dubbed “Chase for the Cup,” fell 10 percent. Thirty-one of 36 races drew fewer viewers than a year ago.
NASCAR, which recently signed an eight-year, $4.48 billion deal with ABC/ESPN, insists the future looks bright. It’s signed 48 drivers, at $18 million each in sponsorships, for the 2007 season, when Toyota joins the circuit. “Reports of NASCAR’s demise are greatly exaggerated,” said Roger Vandersnick, CEO of International Speedway Corp., which hosts 21 NASCAR races.
Meanwhile, Fox Sports announced it has teamed with Speed Channel to carry four Formula One road races a year through 2009.
Preps in spotlight
Let the pros play as they may – I’m over the Jay Cutler soap opera – the real excitement of sports is in the high school football playoffs.
FSN Rocky Mountain, which carried nine games in its initial season since signing a contract with the Colorado High School Activities Association, gives us eight hours of preps on Saturday.
First, Wheat Ridge (12-1) meets Loveland (10-3) in the 4A state championship at 11:30 a.m., then Mullen (13-0) takes on Columbine (12-1) at 3:30 p.m. Both games will be played at Invesco Field at Mile High.
The extravaganza gets underway at 11 a.m. with a pregame report hosted by Tim Ring.
Keith Bleyer and Joel Klatt cover the 4A game, while Drew Goodman and Alfred Williams man the booth for the 5A match. Marcia Neville is on the sidelines for both games.
Ride ’em!
If rodeo is your thing, saddle up.
ESPN2 carries 45 1/2 hours of coverage of the National Finals Rodeo from Las Vegas, beginning at 10 p.m. Friday. The finals will be televised live (7 p.m. Dec. 9). Additional coverage will be provided on ESPN360, the network’s broadband service.
Around the dial
Tight end Chad Mustard, the pride of North Dakota, guests on “Broncos Talk” (7 p.m. today, KOA 850-AM) … NBC switching this week’s “Sunday Night Football” matchup to Seattle-Denver, the debut of quarterback Jay Cutler (6:15 p.m., KUSA-Channel 9) … College game of the Week: All eyes will be on the Southern California-UCLA crosstown rivalry. USC, a 14-point favorite, returns to the BCS championship game with a win (2:30 p.m. Saturday, KMGH-Channel 7). … Nebraska meets Oklahoma in the Big 12 championship game at Kansas City (6 p.m. Saturday, Channel 7) … Quotable: “Between 1947 and the year 2000, we had racing and then something that came after it. If these guys are (stock-car) racers, then I never was.” Ex-driver Smokey Yunik
Dick Kreck’s column appears Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. He may be reached at 303-954-1456 or dkreck@denverpost.com.
This article has been corrected in this online archive. Originally, due to a reporting error, it incorrectly called Mullen High School the defending 5A state football champion. Douglas County High won the title last year.
