SPORTS NEWS: College football's big question: Where are the game-day fans?

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As the 2014 U.S. college football season kicks off, athletic departments face one big worry - that fans of one of the nation's most popular sports are watching it from sofas or bars, rather than filling stadiums.

Even as the value of television contracts and merchandise sales soars for top teams, university administrators sweat the empty seats, given that ticket sales are still the top revenue generator for college sports.

They are turning to cash prizes, better Internet access in stadiums, improved scoreboards and fan focus groups as they fight to cling on to their share of an increasingly saturated U.S. sports market.

"You can't just rely on, 'We are the University of X, Y and Z and our football team is playing today' and fill up" stadiums, said Haynes Hendrickson, president of Turnkey Intelligence, a sports marketing firm in Haddonfield, New Jersey.

Falling attendance among students is a special warning sign for college football since undergraduates who skip games are unlikely to become season-ticket holders after they graduate, experts said.

"You want your students to attend the games, because they become a fan for life," said Bob Vecchione, executive director of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics.

ATTENDANCE SLIDES

Figures from the National Collegiate Athletic Association, which oversees college sports, show the number of fans going to games has been sliding for several years. Per-game attendance in the NCAA's Division I, which groups the biggest schools, fell to 28,427 last season, down 3.5 percent from 2008.

For Division I's powerhouse Football Bowl Subdivision, whose 127 schools enjoy billions of dollars in long-term television contracts, attendance dropped to 45,192 per game last year, a decline of almost 3 percent over six seasons.

Fans increasingly want to be connected to the Internet to follow other games and comment on the one they are watching, experts said. That's easier done at home, in a bar or a fraternity house, than in a stadium.

"We do know that the ability to tweet, Instagram, text - those things were important to people that are attending these games," said Jeremy Sharpe, an associate athletic director at the University of Arizona in Tucson.

Attendance at Arizona games has fallen 9 percent from 2008, even as the Wildcats posted a winning record over those six seasons. The school has now upgraded cellular phone service at Arizona Stadium and enhanced its video screen display, Sharpe said.

In 2013, Arizona gave out cash prizes to students in its rooting section who stayed for entire games. This year, students who stayed to the end of the first game, a 58-13 win over University of Nevada-Los Vegas, were eligible to win a flat-screen TV, Sharpe said.

Ninety-four percent of athletic directors and other college sports professionals polled by Mortenson Construction Co of Minneapolis in 2013 said their stadiums now had WiFi access for fans, or would have it in two or three years.

Those polled estimated that 35 percent of fans at football or basketball games followed the game on their smartphones, and expected that percentage to double in three years.

RICH GET RICHER

Dwindling attendance is inevitable as winning programs get more ticket and television money, and weaker schools fall further behind, said Andrew Zimbalist, a sports economist at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts.

"It's just going to be much, much more difficult for any of the bottom-tier schools to rise up and be competitive," he said. "What's happened is that students and alums who traditionally have been the fans aren't interested in losing teams."

At the University of Maryland, game-day attendance sagged 14 percent last year from 2008 as the Terrapins posted an overall losing record. The school responded in part this year by upgrading its stadium's video displays and cellular phone coverage.

Attendance got a boost in 2014 following Maryland's switch to the Big 10 from the Atlantic Coast Conference. Season ticket sales are up by about 25 percent, and sellouts are expected for games with Ohio State and Michigan State, said Zachary Bolno, a senior associate athletics director.

But for Maryland student Francoise Douala, 20, of Baltimore, football games are take-it-or-leave-it social events.

"I don't really understand football unless someone's making a touchdown," she said. "It's like, 'Okay, we won, I could have read that online after the game.'"

(Additional reporting by Annika McGinnis in College Park, Maryland; Editing by Scott Malone and Bernadette Baum)

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ENTERTAINMENT NEWS: No-holds-barred comedian Joan Rivers dies at age 81 (MORE UPDATE)

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Joan Rivers, the pioneering comedian known for her acerbic wit, classic put-downs and for asking "Can we talk?," died on Thursday at the age of 81 in a New York hospital a week after her heart stopped during an outpatient medical procedure.

Melissa Rivers, the comedian's only child, said her mother died peacefully, surrounded by family and friends, at 1:17 p.m. EDT.

"My mother's greatest joy in life was to make people laugh. Although that is difficult to do right now, I know her final wish would be that we return to laughing soon," Melissa Rivers added in a statement.

There were no immediate details about a funeral or memorial service.

Rivers was the second leading American comedian to die in less than a month. Groundbreaking comedy star and actor Robin Williams, 63, hanged himself on Aug. 11 in California.

As news of her death spread, photographers, reporters and television crews gathered outside the hospital where Rivers died, and fans placed bouquets of flowers at the entrance to her apartment on Manhattan's Upper East Side.

The Brooklyn-born comedian, who once described herself as "the plastic surgery poster girl" and often joked about her numerous cosmetic enhancements, suffered cardiac arrest during a procedure on her vocal cords at a Manhattan clinic on Aug. 28. She was rushed to Mount Sinai Hospital, where she was put on life support.

A spokeswoman for the Medical Examiner's Office in New York said it is investigating the cause and manner of Rivers's death on Thursday. She did not specify when the autopsy on Rivers would take place and when results would be released.

Friends and fellow comedians on Thursday expressed their grief and sadness and praised Rivers.

"No one loved life, laughter, and a good time more than Joan. We would have dinner and laugh and gossip and I always left the table smiling," said journalist Barbara Walters.

"She was a brassy, often outrageous, and hilarious performer," she added in a statement.

Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his condolences to Rivers's family and said she would be deeply missed.

"Joan Rivers brought laughter to millions around the world and was proud of her Jewish heritage and a vocal supporter of the State of Israel," he said in a statement.

Britain's Prince Charles, whose 2005 wedding to the Duchess of Cornwall Rivers attended, said he was "deeply saddened" at her death.

"Joan Rivers was an extraordinary woman with an original and indefatigable spirit, an unstoppable sense of humor and an enormous zest for life," the heir to the throne said in a statement. "She will be hugely missed and utterly irreplaceable."

The New York State Department of Health said on Thursday it is investigating the comedian's death. A telephone message seeking comment from the clinic where Rivers was treated was not immediately returned.

Earlier this week, a representative for Rivers said media reports that her family was planning to sue the clinic were not true.

Among others praising and remembering Rivers was actress Liza Minnelli who described her as a dear friend.

"I will always remember the laughter and friendship she brought into my life," she said in a posting on Facebook.

Comedian Louis C.K. praised Rivers's talent and genius. "I never saw someone attack a stage with so much energy. She was a controlled lightning bolt," he said in a statement.

Property mogul Donald Trump, who hosted the reality TV competition show "The Apprentice," which Rivers won in 2009, described her as "an amazing woman and a great friend."

"Her energy and talent were boundless. She will be greatly missed," he added on Twitter.

Joan Alexandra Molinsky was born on June 8, 1933, in Brooklyn and grew up there and in a nearby town, the daughter of a doctor and a housewife. The Barnard College graduate began pursuing an entertainment career with the last name Rivers, which she borrowed from her agent.

Her lengthy career included stand-up comedy, television, writing and an Emmy Award-winning daytime talk show, "The Joan Rivers Show." But she originally wanted to be an actress.

She got into comedy after writing sketches for television's "The Ed Sullivan Show." A career in stand-up followed. She later worked as a regular guest host for Johnny Carson on NBC's "The Tonight Show."

When she started her own late-night talk show in 1986, on the rival Fox network, it caused a falling-out with Carson that lasted until he died in 2005. Rivers's show was canceled after seven months due to low ratings.

A few months later, her husband and manager, Edgar Rosenberg, committed suicide and Rivers fell into depression.

Later in her career, Rivers and her daughter starred in the reality TV show "Joan & Melissa: Joan Knows Best?", with Rivers living with her grown child.

Most recently, Rivers was the host of cable television channel E!'s "Fashion Police," commenting on the unfortunate red carpet choices of Hollywood celebrities.

Actress Anna Kendrick, a target of the comedian's barbed comments, said she will be truly missed.

"RIP Joan Rivers. Being publicly told that my dress is hideous will never feel quite as awesome," she tweeted.

(In this corrected version of the story, the date of Robin Williams's death has been changed to Aug. 11 from Aug. 13 in paragraph five)

(Additonal reporting by Eric Kelsey and Piya Sinha-Roy in Los Angeles; Editing by Jonathan Oatis, Ken Wills and Sonya Hepinstall)

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ENTERTAINMENT NEWS: Celebrity photographer sues Rod Stewart for $2.5 million over picture

(Reuters) - A renowned celebrity photographer is suing Rod Stewart and Caesars Entertainment for $2.5 million, accusing them of copying her famous photo of the rocker and his unmistakable spiked mullet to promote his Las Vegas show and world tour.

Bonnie Schiffman, who has snapped pictures of celebrities including Michael Jackson, Muhammad Ali, Steven Spielberg and Andy Warhol, said Stewart, Caesars and several others replicated her 1981 photo without permission or paying her, according to a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles federal court on Thursday.

The photograph was used as the cover of Stewart's multi-platinum 1989 greatest hits album, "Storyteller."

"It has a powerful punch for the millions of fans that know that album," said Schiffman's attorney, William Hochberg. "We think that's why they're using it."

Representatives for the 69-year-old Stewart could not be reached for comment. A spokeswoman for Caesars said the company does not comment on pending litigation.

The Caesars image is not the exact one captured by Schiffman, but both show Stewart and his tousled spiky hair from the back. Hochberg said that could still be called infringement.

"It's a rip off of the photo my client took," he said.

Stewart and his handlers offered Schiffman $1,500 in 2013 to use her image for a billboard, but she balked at the low figure, the suit said.

Later, Schiffman claimed, a replicated version of the image was being used for the singer's Caesars Palace residency and world tour, including in the shows themselves.

"Defendants have not only turned their back on Plaintiff," the complaint said, "but also on the law."

Schiffman, who is based in Los Angeles, is also seeking punitive damages and an order to stop the defendants from using the image.

The case is Bonnie Schiffman v. Rod Stewart, Stewart Annoyances Ltd, The Stiefel Office Ltd, Anschultz Entertainment Group Inc, and Caesars Entertainment Corp, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Western Division, No. 14-cv-6901.

(Reporting By Andrew Chung; Editing by Ted Botha and Tom Brown)

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TENNIS NEWS: 'I just wasn't myself', says Djokovic after stunning loss

NEW YORK (Reuters) - World number one Novak Djokovic had no explanation for his flat performance in a stunning semi-final loss to Japan's Kei Nishikori at the U.S. Open on Saturday.

"I think he just played better in these conditions than I did," the Serb said of the 6-4 1-6 7-6(4) 6-3 setback in brutal heat and humidity on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

"I just wasn't managing to go through the ball in the court," Djokovic told reporters.

"I wasn't in balance. Unforced errors. Even when the ball gets back to his part of the court it's pretty short; he takes advantage of it. On the other side I didn't. That's it.

"Other than that second set, my game today was not even close to what I wanted it to be. A lot of unforced errors, a lot of short balls. Just wasn't myself."

Straining to make sense of his showing, reporters asked seven-times grand slam champion Djokovic whether he has been distracted by the approaching birth of his first child.

"Of course, I'm in touch with my wife. Of course, I am being part of her pregnancy. It's normal," he said. "But it's no different for me in terms of preparing for the match and for the tournament.

"I had all my dedication, everything directed to this U.S. Open. I tried to give my best and I did. Now my best today was not where I wanted it to be."

The Wimbledon champion gave full credit to the 10th-seeded Nishikori, who became the first male Asian player to reach a grand slam singles final.

"He played some great tennis. I congratulate him for the effort," the Serb said. "He was the better player today."

Djokovic said it was a great day for Japanese tennis.

"This is definitely huge for Japan," he said. "This can definitely be a great encouragement for tennis in that country.

"He's been around for last couple of years. He's been making a lot of success. But playing finals of a grand slam and now fighting for the title is definitely something different. He has gotten to another level."

As for his future plans, Djokovic sounded unsure.

Asked about whether he would play in Serbia's Davis Cup matches next week against India, he said: "I have to speak with my captain and see, see if I'm going to go in India or not. I still don't know."

He also said was it was too early to tell whether his U.S. Open exit could be the last time he plays this year.

"I don't know yet," Djokovic said. "Just got off the court. I don't know."

(Editing by Gene Cherry)

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ENTERTAINMENT NEWS: Singer Simone Battle found dead at West Hollywood home

(Reuters) - Singer Simone Battle, a member of the band G.R.L. and former contestant on the "The X-Factor" television show, has been found dead in her West Hollywood home, authorities said on Saturday. She was 25.



Battle was found on Friday morning and an autopsy could be conducted as soon as Sunday, said Lieutenant David Smith from the Los Angeles County Coroner's Department. The cause of death is officially listed as pending.



"Words cannot express the depth of our loss," G.R.L. said in a statement on its website. "Simone's incredible talent was only surpassed by the size of her heart."



News of Battle's death was first reported by celebrity website TMZ.



"Simone was an exceptional young talent and human being, and we are all devastated to learn of her passing," Reign Deer Entertainment, Robin Antin, Kemosabe Records and RCA Records said in a statement.



(Reporting by David Bailey in Minneapolis; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)

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TOP NEWS Quirky Swedish film takes top Venice award, U.S. dramas snubbed

VENICE (Reuters) - Swedish director Roy Andersson's offbeat comedy "A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence" won the Golden Lion award for best film at the 71st Venice Film Festival on Saturday, with the jury snubbing Hollywood and festival opener "Birdman".

The world's oldest film festival effectively shut out the American feature films in its main competition, also failing to give awards to the drone pilot drama "Good Kill", Al Pacino's portrayal of a grumpy old man in "Manglehorn" and the Florida house repossession drama "99 Homes".

Scott Roxborough, European film critic for The Hollywood Reporter, said that in rejecting "Birdman" the festival had stayed true to form, supporting "the grand tradition of European art house cinema".

Andersson, whose films have won a cult following in Europe, endeared himself to the Italian audience for the awards ceremony in the Palace of the Cinema by saying he had been inspired by Italian director Vittorio De Sica, particularly his "Bicycle Thieves" of 1948.

"It's so full of empathy and it's so humanistic and I think that's what movies should be, in the service of humanism," he said as he accepted the award.

"So I will go further and try to work and make as good movies as Vittorio De Sica."

Noting at a press conference later that the top prize "goes to Sweden", he praised the festival saying it had "such a kindly atmosphere, friendly atmosphere, and I know that in Italy you have very good taste".

Andersson's film, the third in a trilogy, is a series of surreal vignettes, including at the outset "three meetings with death" and later a cavalry parade by Sweden's 17th-century military King Charles XII set in a bleak modern landscape.

The award for best director went to 77-year-old Andrei Konchalovsky for his film "The Postman's White Nights", which is set in a lakeside village in the Russian countryside and follows the lives of local people, sometimes filmed through hidden cameras.

Konchalovsky, who has made films in Hollywood as well as in Russia, and whose film in Venice won raves but also lukewarm reviews, mostly for its lack of a discernible plot, said it was a "strange sensation" to receive the award.

"I will tell you I think in all of us artists who are doing some film there is still a kid hiding somewhere inside of us," he said. "Thank you very much and tomorrow we go and pretend we are adults."

He said it was not the first time he had filmed ordinary people, some of whom had said if they'd known he was shooting "I would have used makeup or I would at least be sober".

American director Joshua Oppenheimer's "The Look of Silence", a documentary about confronting the perpetrators of massacres in Indonesia in the 1960s following a failed coup, got the Jury Prize for best film.

The Italian film "Hungry Hearts", directed by Saverio Costanzo who said he made the film for under 1 million euros($1.30 million), took the best actor and best actress awards.

They went to Adam Driver, who will be in the next "Star Wars" sagas, and Alba Rohrwacher in the story of a New York wife obsessed with cleanliness when her baby is born.

The best young actor award went to Romain Paul for his performance in French director Alix Delaporte's "Le Dernier Coup de Marteau" (The Last Blow of the Hammer) as a young boy torn between remaining faithful to the dying mother who has raised him or going to live with the father he has never known.

He said working in the film had been a thrill and that winning the award was "a great honor but it's stressful".

Iranian director Rakhshan Bani-Etemad's "Ghesseha" (Tales), chronicling the hardships of life in Tehran, won the award for best screenplay while the Turkish film "Sivas", about a fighting dog and his child owner, took the Special Jury Prize.

Jay Weissberg, reviewer for the trade publication Variety, said he thought the movie by Andersson, whose quirky films have won over audiences in Europe but have not had much traction in the United States, would be "a popular choice".

"I think everyone is quite pleased with that," Weissberg said.

But Weissberg said the fact that the festival's critically acclaimed opening film "Birdman", starring Michael Keaton as a former movie superhero trying to make a comeback on Broadway, was shut out of the awards "might be a bit of a danger" for the festival's efforts to get big-budget Hollywood films in future.

British actor and jury member Tim Roth also said he had thought "Birdman" was among the best movies shown at the festival and that his opinion had not been changed by any reviews "because I never read them".

"'Birdman' stayed with us and some other films came out and kicked us in the butt. It was and is beautifully part of a very strange and quite wonderful selection" of films, he said.

(Reporting by Michael Roddy; Editing by Stephen Powell and Sonya Hepinstall)

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