Afternoon News & Headlines
| • | U.S. House Government Reform Committee Forms Steroid Task Force |
| • | NHL Offers Two CBA Proposals During Today’s Negotiating Session |
| • | TNT Dispatches Studio Team To Miami To Call Tonight’s Lakers-Heat Game |
| • | HOK Sport To Study Renovation For Univ. Of Washington’s Husky Stadium |
| • | Chiefs President & GM Carl Peterson Today Inks Four-Year Contract Extension |
| • | Buzzer Beaters/Tonight’s Events/Channel Surfing/In Other News/Closing Stat |
Publishing Notice: The Closing Bell will not publish Friday, March 18.
It will return Monday, March 21.
HOUSE GOVERNMENT REFORM COMMITTEE FORMS STEROID TASK FORCE
During his opening remarks of today’s hearing on steroids in MLB, U.S. House Committee on Government Reform Chair Tom Davis (R-VA) said, “We don’t know if the allegations in Jose Canseco’s book are accurate, or if they are slander, or a little of both. That’s why the truth needs to come out, however ugly the truth might be. Baseball cannot simply turn its back on recent history, pronounce that the new testing policy will solve everything, and move on.” Davis added, “We’re in the first inning of what could be an extra inning ballgame.”
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| Curt Schilling Being
Sworn In At Hearing |
Davis also announced the formation of a “Zero Tolerance” task force, and appointed Red Sox P Curt Schilling and White Sox DH Frank Thomas to co-Chair the commission.
Schilling: “I am honored to be co-Chairman on an advisory committee tasked with putting together recommendations on how to prevent steroid usage among young people.” Schilling: “I also urge the committee to not make this process not just about baseball. Steroids and supplement usage appear to be not just a baseball problem but a society problem.”
Former MLBer Mark McGwire delivered an emotional statement, saying, “I will use whatever influence and popularity that I have to discourage young athletes from taking any drug that is not recommended by a doctor. What I will not do, however, is participate in naming names and implicating my friends and teammates.”
More McGwire: “I am directing my foundation to concentrate its efforts to educate children regarding the dangers of performance-enhancing drugs. I am also offering to be a spokesman for (MLB) and the (MLBPA) to convince young athletes to avoid dangerous drugs off all sorts.”
Orioles RF Sammy Sosa said through his attorney, “Everything I have heard about steroids and human growth hormones is that they are very bad for you, even lethal. I would never put anything dangerous like that in my body. To be clear, I have never taken illegal performance-enhancing drugs. I have never injected myself or had anyone inject me with anything.”
MLB and the MLBPA released prepared statements from their execs who will appear before the Committee later today. Here is a sampling of those remarks:
MLB Commissioner Bud Selig: “Baseball’s policy on performance enhancing substances is as good as any in professional sports. Notwithstanding the quality of our new policy, baseball will not rest and will continue to be vigilant on the issue of performance enhancing substances as we move toward my stated goal of zero tolerance.”
Selig adds, “In the coming months, you will see the product of [efforts with the Partnership for a Drug Free America] on television and we can only hope that these announcements will contribute to better decision-making by young athletes.”
MLB Exec VP/Labor Relations Rob Manfred, responding to criticism from the Committee on the league’s new drug-testing policy: “In terms of the general confidentiality language in our agreement, I would point out that virtually every drug program in America contains such a general confidentiality commitment, including the programs that have been adapted by the federal government to cover its employees.”
More Manfred: “The assertion that all steroids are not banned under the baseball policy is simply untrue.”
MLB Exec VP/Baseball Operations Sandy Alderson, who was an A’s exec when Canseco and McGwire played for the team, says, “From those of us in management, certainly into the late 1980s, there was little reason to believe that players’ strength and weight gains resulted from anything other than hard work.”
Alderson adds that he did wonder about Canseco’s possible steroid use after a ’88 newspaper column, but says Canseco’s “reaction to the speculation was a vehement denial, a much different response than the recent admissions in his book.”
MLBPA Exec Dir Donald Fehr: “The players want to rid their game of illegal drug use. We have never suggested that baseball players be above the law; but neither should they be below it. They should be treated like anyone else. The good news is that the players and owners have put in place a tough, new testing program that we feel will eliminate steroid abuse in baseball with due regard for the rights of the players” (THE DAILY).
NHL OFFERS TWO PROPOSALS TO NHLPA IN CBA SESSION TODAY
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| Daly Says NHL
Offered Two Proposals |
NHL CBA talks resumed today in N.Y., with NHLPA Exec Dir Bob Goodenow, Senior Dir of Business Affairs Ted Saskin, Associate Counsel Ian Pulver and outside Counsel John McCambridge representing the union, and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, Exec VP & CLO Bill Daly, VP & General Counsel David Zimmerman and outside counsel Bob Batterman representing the league.
After the meeting, Daly said the league offered two proposals, the first of which was “based on the ‘de-linked’ salary cap framework that was on the table when the season was cancelled in mid-February. We indicated that to the extent this was a framework that the union remained interested in pursuing, the league would be prepared to continue negotiations -- provided an agreement could be achieved within the next several weeks. Alternatively, we proposed a negotiated relationship between total player compensation and league-wide revenues, which we made clear was our preference.”
Goodenow added,“Both proposals were very similar to ones that we previously rejected several times. We will be determining our next steps and responding at the appropriate time” (THE DAILY).
TNT DISPATCHES STUDIO TEAM TO MIAMI TO CALL LAKERS-HEAT
The Lakers visit the Heat tonight in the second matchup of former teammates Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal. TNT’s studio team of Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith will call the game, marking the first time they will leave the studio to handle game duties. TNT runs an ad in USA Today to promote the telecast. The first game between the teams was played on Christmas Day and carried nationally on ABC. Notably, tonight’s game competes against the first day of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament on CBS (THE DAILY).
HOK SPORT TO STUDY UNIV. OF WASHINGTON STADIUM RENOVATION
By Don Muret, Staff Writer, SportsBusiness Journal
The Univ. of Washington will negotiate a contract with HOK Sport and locally-based Weinstein A/U to study renovations to Husky Stadium in Seattle after the school’s architectural commission recommended the designer for the job, said Steve Tatge, Washington’s project manager. The university may add suites and club seats and replace 20,000 wooden seats in the lower bowl with wider chairback seats at the 85-year-old facility. Ellerbe Becket, Heery Int’l and HNTB with Seattle-based LMN were the other finalists.
BUZZER BEATERS
Chiefs President & GM Carl Peterson, whose contract was to expire following the ’05 season, today signed a four-year contract extension with the team (Chiefs).
Churchill Downs “shed little light on their intentions for Hollywood Park” during a teleconference this morning. While speculation has CDI possibly selling the track, CDI President Tom Meeker said the “deliberation process” on Hollywood Park “would be completed in a few months” (BLOODHORSE.com, 3/17).
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| Dunn Will Serve As
Aaron's 312 Grand Marshal |
FSN will move “FLW Outdoors” from its 11:00am ET time slot to 9:00pm starting March 21 after four weeks of ratings increases for the program (FSN).
DC United today announced that WMET-AM will continue as the team’s English flagship station for the ’05 season. In addition, live audio streaming for all MLS matches will be available at www.dcunited.com (DC United).
Falcons RB Warrick Dunn will serve as the Grand Marshal for Saturday’s NASCAR Busch Series Aaron’s 312 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Dunn and two recipients from his charity, Home for the Holidays, will give the command to drivers to start their engines (Atlanta Motor Speedway).
NOW HEAR THIS
The following are notable quotes from today’s news:
NFL VP/PR Greg Aiello, on the league’s current CBA negotiations with the NFLPA: “This is not business as usual. This is the toughest negotiation we’ve had since ‘92” (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 3/17). Read the full story.
After learning that Jets President Jay Cross’ offer to buy Giants Stadium for $120M was tongue-in-cheek, acting New Jersey Gov. Richard Codey said, “I guess the Jets want to get a jump on April Fools’ Day, but this is too serious an issue to engage in fraternity pranks” (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 3/17). Read the full story.
Orca Bay President & CEO Stan McCammon, on potentially leasing GM Place to the WHA for a hockey tournament: “I don’t know that I would see it as us giving [WHA] legs. We’ll do a deal with them if they have legs” (VANCOUVER SUN, 3/16). Read the full story.
CHANNEL SURFING
| NCAA Games On CBS | Time | Broadcasters |
| Indianapolis | | |
|
| Texas-Nevada | 7:10pm ET | Dick Enberg-Jay Bilas |
| Illinois-Fairleigh Dickinson | | |
| Cleveland | | |
|
| Wake Forest-Chattanooga | 7:10pm ET | Ian Eagle-Jim Spanarkel |
| West Virginia-Creighton | | |
| Boise | | |
|
| Arizona-Utah State | 7:20pm ET | Tim Brando-Mike Gminski |
| LSU-UAB | | |
| Tucson | | |
|
| Gonzaga-Winthrop | 7:25pm ET | Kevin Harlan-Dan Bonner |
| Texas Tech-UCLA | | |
ESPN2 will air Pacific Life Open: Tim Henman-Guillermo Canas at 5:00pm ET and Maria Sharapova-Mary Pierce at 10:00pm.
N.Y. Times baseball writer Dave Anderson will appear on CNN’s “Lou Dobbs Tonight” at 6:00pm ET.
Dodgers Senior VP Tommy Lasorda will appear on MSNBC's "Hardball" at 7:00pm ET.
ESPN will air figure skating: ISU World Championships at 7:30pm ET.
TNT will air Lakers-Heat at 8:00pm ET and Kings-Warriors at 10:30pm.
Skateboarder Paul Rodriguez Jr. will appear on CNBC’s “Dennis Miller” at 9:00pm ET.
Lasorda will appear on Fox News' "Hannity & Colmes" at 9:00pm ET.
E! will premiere “Hollywood Hold’ Em” at 10:00pm ET.
Jose Canseco will appear on CNBC’s “The Big Idea With Donny Deutsch” at 10:00pm ET.
ESPN2 will air NIT Basketball: Arizona State-UNLV at midnight ET.
HEADLINERS
Here are tonight’s headline guests on the following talk shows:
| “Late Show” | Debra Messing (r) |
| “The Tonight Show” | Cate Blanchett (r) |
| “The Late Late Show” | Andy Dick (r) |
| “Late Night” | Carson Daly (r) |
| “Jimmy Kimmel Live” | Kelsey Grammer (r) |
TODAY’S ARTICLES OF INTEREST
The N.Y. TIMES’ Michael Cooper writes of former Jets QB Joe Namath’s autograph increasing the value of Jets minihelmets given out at a pro-West Side stadium luncheon, “Internet sites sell minihelmets signed by Mr. Namath for $119 to more than $300. … City officials are not allowed to receive gifts worth more than $50 from firms that do business or plan to do business with the city. The state prohibits lobbyists from giving or even offering gifts worth more than $75 and prohibits officials from taking gifts worth more than $75. … So did the gift of the autographed minihelmets violate ethics laws?” (N.Y. TIMES).
See The Daily Insider’s Articles of Interest section for more sports business-related links.
CLOSING STAT: TOP GRADUATION RATES AMONG MEN’S TOURNEY TEAMS
The following presents the top ten schools in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament in terms of the graduation rates of its men’s basketball players, according to a study released by the Institute of Diversity and Ethics in Sport at the University of Central Florida (University of Central Florida).
| RK | SCHOOL | GRADUATION RATE |
| 1t) | Bucknell | 100% |
| 1t) | Utah State | 100% |
| 3) | Stanford | 92% |
| 4) | Mississippi State | 75% |
| 5) | Wisconsin | 73% |
| 6) | St. Mary's | 71% |
| 7t) | Villanova | 67% |
| 7t) | North Carolina | 67% |
| 9) | Michigan State | 64% |
| 10) | Kansas | 60% |
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please let us know at:
editorial@sportsbusinessdaily.com
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