Lionel Tate In The News; Steve Austin / NASCAR Video Clip; Article Looks At WWE Post - Vince Era; ABC Touts Reality Series w/ John Cena
WWE.com has video footage of Steve Austin serving as Grand Marshall at Sunday's NASCAR event.
CLICK HERE to check it out.
The Fairfield County Business Journal has posted this interesting article questioning who would suceed Vince & Linda McMahon in the future for WWE:
Vince McMahon may have had his locks shorn by The Donald, but at least he got paid for the indignity by The Bear.
The World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. chairman and his CEO wife, Linda, have begun accepting salaries once more, set at $850,000 and $500,000, respectively, for 2007.
The celebrity executives declined most compensation from Stamford-based WWE in 2006 and 2005.
The staged “Battle of the Billionaires” between Donald Trump and McMahon at Wrestlemania 23 on April 1 set a record gate for WWE, with 80,000 fans showing up to see Trump shave off McMahon’s coif.
In addition to Vince’s hair cut, the McMahons are taking a pay cut in fiscal 2004, the last full year they accepted pay, Vince McMahon received a $1.2 million salary and an equivalent bonus, and Linda McMahon received $750,000 in each compensation category.
Lowell Weicker Jr., the former Connecticut senator and governor once nicknamed “The Bear,” chairs the compensation committee of WWE’s board of directors.
Weicker and other WWE shareholders are getting a bargain under the McMahons, WWE’s stock is up 60 percent in the past 20 months to about $16 per share, valuing Vince McMahon’s holdings today at $750 million. While a publicly traded company, McMahon wields nearly total control of it.
In its most recent fiscal year ending April 30, 2006, WWE bounced back from a 2006 sales decline with a $47 million profit on $400 million in revenue. WWE is in the process of aligning its fiscal year with the calendar year, making past comparisons knotty.
Attendance at WWE events in North America increased 6 percent in fiscal 2006 to 1.7 million, or 5,000 per show, and 6.2 million people watched on pay-per-view, nearly 1 million more than the year before. Overall revenue from live events declined slightly, however, which the company blamed on a lower average ticket price.
WWE closed the year with 560 employees, excluding its “superstars” who are independent contractors. The company expects to pay $16 million this year for “talent” and employment contracts.
Vince and Linda McMahon have been compensated both for their performance running the company and in the ring, as have their children. The McMahons’ employment contracts run through October 2008, and are automatically extended in one-year increments, though the McMahons and WWE both hold opt-out clauses.
Even as McMahon continues to thrive in the limelight, mugging paroxysms of agony for the crowd at Wrestlemania 23 as Trump wielded the razor, he has yet to shed light on a succession plan for the company whether that might involve a sale to a media, sports or private equity company, or keeping the company in the family.
“Succession planning has been undertaken, and is an ongoing process,” said WWE spokesman Gary Davis, in an e-mailed statement. “However, WWE expects that Vince McMahon will be leading WWE for many years to come.”
Son Shane McMahon, 37, is one of five people to hold the title of executive vice president or unit president, not including Michael Sileck, a former Monster Worldwide executive who was elevated in February to chief operating officer. He received $470,000 during the transitional fiscal period between May and December last year.
The McMahons’ daughter Stephanie Levesque is also a WWE employee and received $350,000 in compensation between May and December. Like Shane a past WWE performer, she now does behind-the-scenes work including creative writing. Stephanie is married to Paul Levesque, one of WWE’s top draws who performs under the stage name Triple H.
“You have seen Michael Sileck come in at the (chief financial officer) level, and then get promoted to COO he is seen as a solid operating guy,” said Michael Kelman, an analyst who tracks WWE’s stock for Susquehanna International Group L.L.P. in Bala Cynwyd, Pa. “They have a lot of good managers below that level who run the day-to-day stuff, but this is a business owned by the McMahon family.”
The Associated Press posted the following update regarding the trial of Lionel Tate. Sure it has been proved this idiot tried to blame wrestling on a death to a child. But since so many nerves were struck by this idiot, I figured to share this update with you. Here's the article:
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - The robbery trial of Lionel Tate, once sentenced to life in prison for killing a girl when he was 12, was delayed several months Monday after defense attorneys said they have evidence that proves Tate did not hold up a pizza delivery man.
Tate attorney Jim Lewis said DNA taken from the mask allegedly used in the 2005 robbery belongs to another man. A new witness also claims Tate never committed the robbery and never carried the gun, Lewis said.
"There's great doubt to how and who committed this robbery," Lewis said.
The trial had been set to begin Monday, but the judge rescheduled it for Sept. 4 at the request of the defense and prosecutors.
Tate initially pleaded guilty to robbery and gun possession in the holdup in return for a sentence of between 10 and 30 years. He withdrew the plea in the robbery but was sentenced to 30 years on the gun charge.
Lewis asked the judge to overturn the gun possession charge, claiming that Tate's former attorney was incompetent.
Tate, 20, refused a plea deal that would have given him a 30-year total sentence for both charges in the holdup. A conviction on the robbery charges could add a life sentence to his existing sentence.
Prosecutor Chuck Morton declined to comment on the case.
Tate was convicted in the 1999 murder of 6-year-old Tiffany Eunick, and became the youngest person in modern U.S. history to get a life prison term before an appeals court intervened. Lawyers initially claimed that Tiffany, who suffered skull fractures and a lacerated liver, was accidentally killed when Tate, then 12, imitated pro wrestling moves he'd seen on television.
Tate said little in Monday's brief hearing except to answer the judge's questions.
A 12-year-old neighbor said that he allowed Tate, then 18, to use the telephone in his apartment to call for a pizza delivery. Tate then left, but later returned, forcing his way inside, authorities said.
The Domino's delivery man, Walter E. Gallardo, told police the door was open when he arrived at the apartment with four pizzas. As he entered, he saw someone with a gun that appeared to be a .38-caliber revolver.
Gallardo told detectives he "threw the pizzas and fled out the door," was chased by the gunman and fell. The delivery man returned to the apartment complex with sheriff's deputies, saw Tate in the area and identified him as the suspect, police said. No gun was recovered.
The neighbor also identified the suspect as Tate, but later said a man identified only as "Willie" did it.
ABC sent out the following press release on their new reality show, Fast Cars and Superstars, which includes WWE Champion John Cena:
CELEBRITIES START THEIR ENGINES FOR A NEW ABC TELEVISION REALITY SERIES, "FAST CARS & SUPERSTARS -- THE GILLETTE YOUNG GUNS CELEBRITY RACE"
Celebrities Learn from Pro Stock Car Drivers and Compete for the Checkered Flag
Celebrities including Jewel, Tony Hawk, Serena Williams and William Shatner are dreaming of life in the fast lane, as they race to the finish in the new reality show, "Fast Cars & Superstars -- The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race," a seven-episode series to air on ABC primetime beginning THURSDAY, JUNE 7 (8:00-8:30 p.m., ET). Twelve celebrity drivers will partner with the Gillette Young Guns six of stock car racing's most talented and popular drivers to learn what it takes to win on the race track.
The show will explore the interaction of top young stock car drivers with stars from the world of sports, music and entertainment, featuring drama and competition on and off the race track. In each episode, viewers will watch celebrities train with a Gillette Young Guns driver. The show will culminate in a one-hour finale where the celebrities will be coached from the pits by their Gillette Young Guns instructors and compete against each other during a time-trial race.
"I jumped at the chance to be involved in the Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race," said actor William Shatner. "It's every American boy's dream to get behind the wheel of a stock car."
"Fast Cars & Superstars The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race" will include six half-hour episodes with an hour-long finale. The series will be hosted by ESPN anchor Kenny Mayne and co-hosted by former Cleveland Cavaliers center and current ESPN NASCAR analyst Brad Daugherty, and was co-created by BBDO and Gillette and produced by Radical Media.
"I hope these celebrities are ready to feel the real power of a stock car," said Jimmie Johnson, the reigning NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series champion and member of the Gillette Young Guns. "We're all really excited to share our knowledge of competitive racing to coach these stars. We'll see who has what it takes to be the Champion."
"The thing that really excites me about competing in the race is that it brings together some of the best talent in their fields and gives them the opportunity to meet on a common ground," said Grammy Award nominee Jewel. "And I love the chance to compete against guys!"
Celebrity Drivers will be singer Jewel, actor William Shatner, skateboarding legend Tony Hawk, actress Krista Allen, seven-time World All-Around Rodeo Champion Ty Murray, former NBA Champion John Salley, former NFL Super Bowl Champion John Elway, World Wrestling Entertainment Champion John Cena, tennis star Serena Williams, volleyball great and model Gabrielle Reece, legendary surfer Laird Hamilton and former NFL Super Bowl-winning Head Coach Bill Cowher. Gillette Young Guns are Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Newman, Carl Edwards, Kasey Kahne, Kurt Busch and Jamie McMurray.
About the Gillette Young Guns:
The Gillette Young Guns are six of NASCAR's top young drivers who have emerged as a dominant force in the sport. They define excellence and performance. Their cutting edge attitude toward their sport and life in general, combined with their track record as proven winners, cement them as NASCAR NEXTEL Cup's premiere talent. The Gillette Young Guns program started in 2004 to help drive awareness, appeal, trial and usage of Gillette products among NASCAR fans. Please visit www.gilletteyoungguns.com for the latest news and information about the Gillette Young Guns.
About Procter & Gamble:
Three billion times a day P&G brands touch the lives of people around the world. The company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Pampers, Tide, Ariel, Always, Whisper, Pantene, Mach3, Bounty, Dawn, Pringles, Folgers, Charmin, Downy, Lenor, Iams, Crest, Oral-B, Actonel, Duracell, Olay, Head & Shoulders, Wella, Gillette and Braun. The P&G community consists of over 135,000 employees working in more than 80 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.
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