Actually what he said was that the analysts could kiss his a$$. Ya gotta like that! In that meeting, Vince also said that "figure skating sucks!" He might be the guy, although Stone Cold, The Rock, Or Cactus Jack might make a pretty good CFO, too! Btw, WWFE stock dropped 3 points after the football announcement. I think its been nerly cut in half since it IPO'd. On second thought....... jajaja El
After Wrestling Success, WWF Tries New
Grid League
By Bernie Woodall
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The World
Wrestling Federation Entertainment
Inc. (NasdaqNM:WWFE - news)
announced on Thursday it was forming
a new ''football with attitude'' league
starting in February 2001 in eight U.S.
cities.
The new league, called the XFL, will seek television viewers in
much the same irreverent manner that has proven successful for
the multimedia WWF, said Vince McMahon, chairman of the new
league and of WWF.
Players will be urged to show individuality and to play to TV
cameras in ways that the relatively buttoned-down National Football
League frowns on, said Basil DeVito, president of new business
development for WWF.
While McMahon openly admits that WWF wrestling matches are
scripted with the winners predetermined, the XFL games will be
''100 percent sport'' with players following no script.
He also said none of the WWF stable of wrestling stars will play in
the XFL games.
Like the NFL, XFL games will be played on 100 yard fields, but
yet-to-be-finalized rule changes will be aimed at providing more
entertainment so channel-surfing viewers will stop to watch, said
Michael Keller, a former NFL player and vice president of football
operations for the XFL.
McMahon displayed the in-your-face demeanor the XFL hopes to
exude when he responded to a remark that Wall Street analysts
Thursday downgraded the WWF's share price because of the
expense of starting the new league.
''Well, they can kiss my ass,'' McMahon said.
WWF's shares lost about 25 percent of their value on Thursday, the
largest percentage loser on the NASDAQ, falling 4 3/16 to 12 5/16.
McMahon said he thinks the new league will turn a profit by its third
year and that its first-year expenses will be just shy of $100 million.
The XFL will start play in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco,
Miami, Orlando, Washington and two cities to be named later.
Play will mostly be in large outdoor stadiums including the Orange
Bowl in Miami; the Los Angeles Coliseum; 3Com Park in San
Francisco; RFK Stadium in Washington; and the Citrus Bowl in
Orlando, DeVito said.
Negotiations were under way to find a spot for the New York team,
he said.
Unlike the National Football League -- which McMahon called the
No Fun League -- which does not own its teams but offers
franchises, the eight teams that start play next year will all be
owned by WWF.
''We don't play well with others,'' McMahon said.
The new league is looking for a television contract. WWF's wresting
programming runs on the USA Network and Viacom's UPN.
Each team will have a salary cap, players will have a base salary
based on their position and determined by the television contract.
They will also be paid incentives for winning, scoring, and playing
time.
The 40-player teams will play 10-game schedules culminating in a
championship game at a neutral site in late April. The season is
timed to take advantage of football fans who want something
different than basketball, hockey and figure skating in February.
''Personally, I think that figure skating sucks,'' McMahon said.
The X in XFL stands for nothing in particular, but the new league's
officials on Thursday suggested Xciting, Xplosive, Xtreme and
Gen-X. McMahon said it can stand for whatever anyone wants.
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