| | The Daily Insider
Afternoon News & Headlines
Monday, April 29, 2002
4:00pm ET | |
| • | Tagliabue, NFL Officials Make Unprecedented Stop At CFL Offices |
| • | Nineteen MLB Teams Experience Attendance Drops To Date |
| • | FIFA Agrees To Make World Cup Highlights Available On Web Site |
| • | Everybody's A Supervisor As Bears Put Soldier Field Renovations On Internet |
| • | Two Grizzlies Lead List Of NBA's All-Rookie Team |
| • | Buzzer Beaters/ Daily Stat/In Other News/Channel Surfing |
TAGLIABUE LEADS NFL CONTINGENT ON TRIP TO CFL OFFICES
NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, NFL COO Roger Goodell, Senior VP/NFL Int'l Doug Quinn and Senior Dir of NFL Int'l Gord Smeaton made an unprecedented visit to the CFL offices in Toronto today. Tagliabue toured the offices and talked with acting CFL Commissioner David Braley and other senior CFL officials (THE DAILY).
MLB ATTENDANCE DROP CONTINUES INTO SEASON'S FOURTH WEEK
MLB's attendance drop accelerated during the fourth week of the season, leaving the sport's average 4.9% below last year. The 30 major league teams averaged 26,338 through the first 361 dates of the season, down from 27,701 through a similar period last year. After three weeks, attendance was down 3.4%. Nineteen teams have experienced declines, led by the Pirates (down 133,185), Rangers (-124,630), Brewers (-82,535), Indians (-81,811), Marlins (-70,802), Reds (-62,247), Rockies (-54,468), Royals (-49,849) and Expos (-43,284). The teams with the largest increases are the D'Backs (63,594), Twins (50,007), Mariners (49,674) and Cubs (42,855) (THE DAILY).
WORLD CUP HIGHLIGHTS TO BE MADE AVAILABLE ON FIFA'S SITE
FIFA said today it completed a deal with KirchSport to offer World Cup highlights via the official Web site, www.fifaworldcup.com. For $19.95, soccer fans will be able to "see highlights on the Internet of all the matches from the World Cup finals." KirchSport owns the Internet and TV rights to all matches at the event. The official Web site is operated by FIFA in partnership with Yahoo! (AP, 4/29).
BEARS INVITE FANS TO SUPERVISE SOLDIER FIELD RENOVATIONS
The IL DAILY HERALD reports that Bears fans interested in the stadium renovation project can "watch construction workers lay each new brick on the Internet through the new Soldier Field Webcam." The Web site, powered by EarthCam, will offer five different camera shots, and "will be paid for through part of a $200 million contribution by the Bears and the city's hotel-motel tax" (IL DAILY HERALD, 4/29).
BUZZER BEATERS
The Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE reports that former Twins P Jack Morris is "scheduled to join play-by-play announcer John Gordon for the Twins-Devil Rays broadcasts tonight and Tuesday" on WCCO-AM. Morris will sit in for Herb Carneal, who is being inducted into the VA Sports HOF (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 4/29).
Grizzlies Fs Pau Gasol and Shane Battier "topped the voting for the NBA All-Rookie team" today. They were joined by Spurs G Tony Parker, Jazz F Andrei Kirilenko and Warriors G Jason Richardson on the squad "selected by the NBA's 29 coaches, who weren't allowed to vote for their own players" (AP, 4/29).
The AP reports that Asian soccer associations are "firmly behind" FIFA President Sepp Blatter in his "tough bid to win re-election next month" (AP, 4/29). Meanwhile, Blatter "took a swipe at his detractors [today], saying their repeated allegations of corruption and financial mismanagement in soccer's world governing body were doing the game a disservice" (REUTERS, 4/29).
P.E.4LIFE has joined with SGMA and NASPE to celebrate the second annual National Physical Education Day tomorrow. Martina Navratilova, Herschel Walker and Redskins RB Stephen Davis will join over 20 athletes and celebrities in presenting awards honoring physical education programs and teachers (THE DAILY).
TODAY'S ARTICLES OF INTEREST
The DETROIT FREE PRESS features an excerpt from Tom Keegan's authorized biography, "Ernie Harwell: My 60 Years In Baseball."
The BUFFALO NEWS' Alan Pergament on blackout rules for MLB telecasts.
The Nashville TENNESSEAN's Paul Kuharsky on Jon Moyer and Chad Lamberth, co-founders of maple wood bat manufacturer the Old Hickory Bat Company.
The Nashville TENNESSEAN's Kuharsky on the five-step process the company uses to make their bats.
The N.Y. TIMES' Robert Lipsyte on extra costs sports fans must pay to follow their favorite sports and teams.
The N.Y. TIMES' Leah Beth Ward profiles Nike's new Global Creative Dir of Footwear Design John Hoke and his emphasis on function over fashion.
The Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE runs an editorial from Andrews Univ. architecture professor Philip Bess on how costs of a new ballpark for the Twins are related to design.
The TAMPA TRIBUNE's Gary Haber profiles Dr. Richard Lapchick, the program director of the Univ. of Central FL's new DeVos Sport Business Management Program.
The Richmond TIMES-DISPATCH's Mike Harris on the athletic department payrolls for VA's state-supported schools.
The ARIZONA REPUBLIC's Jim Gintonio on off-field gimmicks used at sporting events to keep fans entertained during games.
See The Daily Insider's Articles Of Interest section for more sports business-related links.
IN OTHER NEWS…
General Motors will "gain the Asian production base it long has coveted" with the expected signing Tuesday of a deal to buy South Korean automaker Daewoo Motor Co. (AP, 4/29).
Paul McCartney today won a last-minute court order "preventing the auction house Christie's from selling his handwritten lyrics" to "Hey Jude." The sheet of note paper with the lyrics had been expected to fetch up to $116,000 at an auction scheduled for tomorrow, but McCartney "took the matter to the High Court, claiming the valuable piece had disappeared from his home" (AP, 4/29).
REUTERS reports that previews of Madonna's London stage debut "have been put back three days because of technical difficulties" (REUTERS, 4/29).
THE DAILY STAT: N.Y. TIMES BEST SELLING NONFICTION
The following presents best selling nonfiction books from the N.Y. Times the week ending April 20. NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s "Driver #8" fell to 16th this week (N.Y. TIMES).
| THIS WEEK | HARDCOVER NONFICTION |
| 1) | LUCKY MAN, Michael J. Fox (Hyperion) |
| 2) | FIND ME, Rosie O'Donnell (Warner) |
| 3) | A MIND AT A TIME, Mel Levine (Simon & Schuster) |
| 4) | STUPID WHITE MEN, Michael Moore (ReganBooks/HarperCollins) |
| 5) | KNIGHT: MY STORY, Bob Knight with Bob Hammel (Thomas Dunne/
St. Martin's) |
| 6) | REPORT FROM GROUND ZERO, Dennis Smith (Viking) |
| 7) | BLINDED BY THE RIGHT, David Brock (Crown) |
| 8) | MARTHA INC., Christopher M. Byron |
| 9) | A SONG FLUNG UP TO HEAVEN, Maya Angelou (ReganBooks/HarperCollins) |
| 10) | ODD GIRL OUT, Rachel Simmons (Harcourt) |
CHANNEL SURFING
ESPN will air NHL Conference Quarterfinals, Bruins-Canadiens, at 7:00pm ET.
TNT will air NBA Conference Quarterfinals: Pistons-Raptors at 8:00pm ET and Kings-Jazz at 10:30pm ET.
ESPN will air Phillies-Giants at 10:00pm ET.
ESPN Classic's "SportsCentury" will profile thoroughbred champion Seattle Slew at 8:00pm ET.
NASCAR's Tony Stewart and Falcons RB Warrick Dunn will be on ESPN's "Unscripted."
Stewart, skateboarder Tony Hawk and actor John Henton will be on FSN's "Best Damn Sports Show Period."
Red Sox P Derek Lowe will be on FSN's "The Last Word."
A&E's "Biography" will profile Secretary of State Colin Powell at 8:00pm ET.
Sugar Ray Leonard will be on ESPN's "Mohr Sports" at 12:30am ET.
Skateboarders from the Sony/Vans movie "Dogtown and Z-Boys" will appear on "Live! With Regis & Kelly" tomorrow morning.
HEADLINERS
Here are tonight's headline guests on the following talk shows:
| "The Late Show" | Charlie Sheen |
| "The Tonight Show" | David Duchovny |
| "The Late Late Show" | Ted Danson |
| "Late Night" | Halle Berry (r) |
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please let us know at:
dailyinsider@sportsbusinessdaily.com
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