The Daily Insider
Afternoon News & Headlines
Monday, September 17, 2001
4:00pm ET
| • | Could NFL Refs Return In Time For This Week’s Games? |
| • | SEC Announces Schedule Changes Due To Postponed Games |
| • | ‘02 World Cup Tickets Available In South Korea |
| • | SportsLine.com & Churchill To Buy Back Shares |
| • | Reds Announce Plans For Team’s Return Tuesday Night |
| • | Buzzer Beaters/Daily Stats/Channel Surfing |
REPORT HAS NFL & REFEREES ASSOCIATION RESUMING TALKS
The AP reports "there were signs" today the NFL and its locked-out officials were "trying again to reach a deal that would get the regular officials back on the field in time for this weekend's games." Several unnamed sources familiar with the situation said that the NFL had "discussions during the weekend with representatives of the officials." NFL VP/Communications Greg Aiello: "We will not have any further comment until a deal is reached." NFLPA Exec Dir Gene Upshaw said, "I'd like to see this ended as quickly as possible" (AP/YAHOO, 9/17).
SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE RESCHEDULES CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) announced today that it is rescheduling its championship game for December 8th at the Georgia Dome. The game was originally scheduled for December 1st. Last week’s postponed intra-conference games will be made up on December 1st, while non-conference games will be rescheduled by the participating institutions. The SEC also announced that all games scheduled for this coming weekend will take place as planned (THE DAILY).
WORLD CUP TICKET SALES RESUME IN SOUTH KOREA
The AP reports that "more than 52,000 tickets" were sold Monday for the ’02 World Cup games in South Korea and Japan, as the second round of sales began. Nearly all of the 230,000 tickets up for sale in the first round sold. During the second round of sales, which lasts until the end of October and includes nearly 400,000 tickets, South Koreans are able to buy tickets at post offices, banks and on the Internet (AP/BOSTON GLOBE, 9/17).
COMPANIES ANNOUNCE STOCK REPURCHASE PLANS
SportsLine.com announced today that its BOD has authorized the company to repurchase up to six million shares of the company’s outstanding common stock. SportsLine.com Founder & CEO Michael Levy: "We believe SportsLine.com’s stock is currently undervalued, and we have an opportunity to buy back our shares at what we believe are attractive levels given current market conditions" (THE DAILY).
The THOROUGHBRED TIMES reports in a effort to "support potentially unstable markets" caused by last Tuesday’s attacks, Churchill Downs Inc. "intends to repurchase as many as 55,000 shares" of the company’s common stock (THOROUGHBRED TIMES, 9/17).
REDS PLAN PATRIOTIC TOUCHES FOR TEAM’S RETURN
The CINCINNATI ENQUIRER reports that tomorrow’s Cubs-Reds game "will have the flavor of a rally for patriotism." The Reds will hand out placards with the American flag and there will be a singing of "God Bless America" during the seventh-inning stretch, while the players’ uniforms will feature the American flag. COO John Allen: "We started calling around for flags Thursday. Everyone was out of them. Someone donated the placards" (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 9/17).
BUZZER BEATERS
MLB has issued a directive calling for members of the media to have their belongings searched as they enter the Press Gate. Additionally, media must display their credentials at all times, with no exceptions (THE DAILY)….With the city of San Diego "still not ready to issue $225 million in bonds to pay for its share" of the team’s new $452M ballpark, the City Council will be asked to extend its "memorandum of understanding" between the Padres and the city today. This would be the fourth extension since voters approved a $1B redevelopment of the downtown area in ’98 (SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE, 9/17)….BigStar Entertainment signed a letter of intent to acquire 100% of the outstanding shares of youth sports information network Athlete.com Inc. Under the stock merger, BigStar will own 40% of the outstanding shares of the merged company, which will be known as Athlete TV (THE DAILY).
THE DAILY STATS
| SPORTS-RELATED STOCKS |
| The following examines sports-related stocks and their performances today as of presstime compared to last Monday's close. |
| |
| SYMBOL | COMPANY | PRICE | CLOSE
SEPT. 10 | CHANGE |
| NKE | Nike | 44.80 | 48.65 | -3.85 | -7.91% |
| RBK | Reebok | 21.82 | 23.73 | -1.91 | -8.05% |
| GE | General Electric | 35.08 | 39.35 | -4.27 | -10.85% |
| VIA | Viacom | 34.04 | 37.90 | -3.86 | -10.18% |
| NWS | News Corp. | 27.12 | 30.75 | -3.63 | -11.80% |
| DIS | Disney | 19.47 | 23.58 | -4.11 | -17.43% |
| AOL | AOL Time Warner | 30.70 | 34.41 | -3.71 | -10.78% |
| KO | Coca-Cola | 49.25 | 49.95 | -0.52 | -1.04% |
| PBG | Pepsi | 43.91 | 45.20 | -1.29 | -2.85% |
| CVC | Cablevision | 41.05 | 42.00 | -0.95 | -2.26% |
| CMCSK | Comcast | 34.30 | 34.48 | -0.18 | -0.52% |
| TRB | Tribune Co. | 37.12 | 38.99 | -1.87 | -4.80% |
| FLH | Fila | 4.44 | 5.05 | -0.61 | -12.08% |
| ELY | Callaway Golf | 13.92 | 16.01 | -2.09 | -13.05% |
| CHDN | Churchill Downs | 29.65 | 29.75 | -0.10 | -0.34% |
| SPLN | Sportsline | 0.87 | 0.93 | -0.06 | -6.45% |
| MPH | CART | 14.67 | 15.11 | -0.44 | -2.91% |
| ISCA | ISC | 38.11 | 41.54 | -3.43 | -8.26% |
| TRK | SMI | 22.78 | 25.45 | -2.67 | -10.49% |
| DJI | DJ Industrial Avg. | 8,889.63 | 9,605.51 | -715.88 | -7.45% |
| IXIC | NASDAQ Comp. | 1,587.15 | 1,695.37 | -108.22 | -6.38% |
| |
CHANNEL SURFING
TBS will air Braves-Phillies at 7:00pm ET.
ESPN will air Brewers-Cardinals at 8:00pm ET.
NASCAR Senior VP/Marketing Brian France, Fox announcer Joe Buck, Chargers LB Junior Seau and Fox Sports radio’s Tony Bruno will be on "The Last Word."
Dan Reeves and Emmitt Smith will be on "Up Close."
ABC’s "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" features sports celebrities at 8:00pm ET.
ESPN Classic’s "SportsCentury" will profile Seattle Slew.
PBS celebrates the 200th anniversary of the president’s residence with the documentary "Echoes From the White House" at 9:00pm ET.
A&E’s "Biography" will profile Marlon Brando.
HEADLINERS
Here are tonight’s headline guests on the following talk shows:
| "The Late Show" | Regis Philbin |
| "The Tonight Show" | Jessica Alba (r) |
| "The Late Late Show" | Patricia Heaton |
| "Late Night" | Tom Brokaw (r) |
| "Larry King Live" | John Ashcroft |
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please let us know at:
dailyinsider@sportsbusinessdaily.com
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