The Daily Insider
Morning News & Headlines
Wednesday, September 12, 2001
9:00am ET
Sports leagues and governing bodies are studying which steps to take following yesterday’s tragic attacks against the U.S. The following is a round-up of industry news from across the nation:
• MLB announced this morning that all 15 games scheduled for today have been postponed. In addition, Thursday’s White Sox-Yankees game was also postponed (MLB). MLB Commissioner Bud Selig, after postponing Tuesday night’s games, "said he would make subsequent decisions on future games." Tuesday’s cancellations marked "the third time in history that a warlike act prompted postponement of major league games" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/12). The MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL reports that Selig "didn’t blink" before canceling all 15 games scheduled for Tuesday. Selig also called off MLB’s owners meetings that were scheduled for Milwaukee. Whether the canceled games will be made up "remains to be determined" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 9/12).
• The DALLAS MORNING NEWS reports that the NFL "shut down its offices Tuesday and Wednesday and remained non-committal about plans for this weekend’s games." The league sent employees home early Tuesday after the attacks (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 9/12). Meanwhile, the HOUSTON CHRONICLE reports that the Texans have postponed a celebration scheduled for today in downtown Houston where the club was to unveil its uniforms (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 9/12).
• USA TODAY reports that "the commissioners of Division 1-A conferences held a teleconference Tuesday and today plan more conference calls and a decision on weekend games." Big 12 Commissioner Kevin Weiberg, on the discussions: "We have some very practical concerns about transportation, the ability to move teams in the event we do decide to go forward this weekend. There’s just an overriding sense of making sure you do the right thing" (USA TODAY, 9/12).
• Big East Commissioner Mike Tranghese, on the conference call: "The commissioners will be talking to their institutions on conference calls (on Wednesday), and then we will talk again and make a collective decision" (K.C. STAR, 9/12).
• The WASHINGTON TIMES reports that "this weekend’s slate of college football games could be postponed." The colleges are expected to "wait for the NFL to make its decision whether to play Sunday before making their determinations" (WASHINGTON POST, 9/12). Along with three college football games scheduled for Thursday night, "two games involving teams in the Top 25 scheduled for Saturday have already been postponed." The San Diego State-Ohio State game has been rescheduled for October 20th while the Washington-Miami game has yet to be rescheduled (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 9/12)
• The ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH reports that whether the World Golf Championships-American Express Championship "actually does take place, or in what form, remains unclear." The current plan has golfers playing 36 holes Friday with the event "continuing in normal procession, with 18-hole rounds on Saturday and Sunday" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 9/12).
• The DESERET NEWS reports that the IOC "won’t say yet how Tuesday’s terrorist acts will affect the 2002 Winter Games." SLOC President Mitt Romney, on the Games’ future: "No one person can definitely make that call today." But Romney continued, "I am very confident the Games will go forward. I also believe our public safety plans will change. How the Games will change is something that will have to be decided at our highest levels of our federal, state and local governments as well as the IOC, the USOC and SLOC" (DESERET NEWS, 9/12).
IN OTHER NEWS:
• The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER notes that CBS and The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences "moved quickly Tuesday to postpone Sunday’s Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony following the terrorist attacks" on N.Y. and Washington DC (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 9/12). Additionally, "plans for a number of movies were thrown into question as the film industry struggled to absorb the impact" of the attacks (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 9/12).
• The L.A. TIMES reports, "Web sites across the country collapsed [yesterday] under the strain of millions of visitors desperate for information." News sites including CNN, the N.Y. Times, the L.A. Times, MSNBC and Yahoo "were all but inaccessible in the hours immediately after attacks." While the problems were not due to the terrorist activity, they highlighted "the weaknesses of a medium not ready to compete with the reach and immediacy of television and radio" (L.A. TIMES, 9/12).
• USA TODAY reports that yesterday’s terrorist attacks "could be just that sort of shock powerful enough to send already fragile consumer confidence plunging and push the USA into a serious downturn." Economists worry that consumers "could sharply curtail their spending and hunker down in anticipation that times could be bad for quite a while" (USA TODAY, 9/12).
CONFERENCE CANCELLED
• Strategic Research Institute’s seventh annual Sports Marketing & Sponsorship Forum in N.Y. on September 13th & 14th, which was to feature a keynote address by Manchester United Marketing Dir Peter Drape, has been canceled (THE DAILY).
THE MOURNING AFTER:
• In Chicago, Rick Morrissey: "The death toll from Tuesday's attacks will be enormous, and a few days of silence this weekend should take the place of pro and college football games. There are too many security concerns and too heavy a load of sadness to carry" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 9/12).
• ESPN.com’s Mark Kreidler writes: "There is no precedent for determining how and when America’s games and entertainment should go on. … The question of when [MLB] shall resume, for example, is at this point almost purely hypothetical. It’s such a secondary concern that one feels almost embarrassed to raise it – and, on a practical level, much of the answer will be determined by such very ordinary factors as ability to travel, security of facilities and the like. This much is clear: Now is not the moment to be throwing 50,000 people into a stadium in a large city in the United States" (ESPN.com, 9/12).
• In Philadelphia, Claire Smith questions: "Can we sit in a ballpark with thousands of others and ever feel truly safe again?" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 9/12).
• ESPN.com’s Tom Farrey: "As much as league and team officials may want to assure fans that measures are being taken to resist terrorism in sports venues across the country, there’s almost nothing they can do to better prevent a large-scale tragedy from happening in one of those facilities. … In the coming weeks, about all that a sports team can do to protect its fans and players is install metal detectors at the entrances" (ESPN.com, 9/12).
• In Colorado Springs, Lynn Zinser: "Playing in the face of tragedy would be the height of arrogance. Nothing should kick off while fires still burn. … While the nation copes with unspeakable sadness, no one should be expected to cheer" (Colorado Springs GAZETTE, 9/12).
• In Long Beach, Bob Keisser: "At some point, the powers that be in sports will step up to the microphone and say it’s time for the healing to begin and that playing games is a good place to start. They will be right, too. But it shouldn’t be soon" (Long Beach PRESS-TELEGRAM, 9/12).
• In San Jose, Mark Purdy: "When should the modest little sports events begin again? Well, not for a while. Not for several days, at minimum" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 9/12).
• In Cincinnati, Tim Sullivan: "There is no point in filling our ballparks with potential targets or in pretending that sports can salve so deep a wound as was absorbed Tuesday" (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 9/12).
• In Arizona, Dan Bickley: "When is too soon? When do the games stop being trivial and disrespectful? And when is it proper to focus on business as usual?" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 9/12).
• In Seattle, Steve Kelley: "Restarting the baseball season Friday seems appropriate. Playing college and NFL football games this coming weekend, if possible, could be cathartic" (SEATTLE TIMES, 9/12).
• In Detroit, Drew Sharp: "It’s important the games resume as quickly as possible" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 9/12).
• In Nashville, David Climer: "By this weekend, high school, college and pro football games should be played as scheduled except in situations where travel considerations make it impossible. Consider it part of the healing process. Frankly, we need it" (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 9/12).
• In Toronto, Dave Perkins: "The games must go on, provided a respectful period passes" (TORONTO STAR, 9/12).
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