The Daily Insider
Morning News & Headlines
Thursday, September 13, 2001
9:00am ET
NFL DECISION DUE AFTER 9:30AM ET CONFERENCE CALL
CBS SportsLine reports that NFL officials and team owners "will hold a 9:30am conference call" this morning to decide whether to proceed with this weekend’s games. League officials "will consider one possibility … that would change the times of some games, possibly even moving some to Monday." Also under consideration is the elimination of Wild Card teams, eliminating one round of the playoffs. But one league source says, "That’s one that not a lot of people are excited about" (CBS SportsLine, 9/13).
The Newark STAR-LEDGER reports that Giants co-Owner Wellington Mara "said he and about nine other owners spent 90 minutes on a conference call with [NFL Commissioner Paul] Tagliabue late yesterday in an attempt ‘to be in possession of all of the facts’ before making a decision." Mara said there was no resolution and that he was "unaware" of outside pressure on the league to play this weekend (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 9/13).
The WALL STREET JOURNAL reports that people with knowledge of the conference calls said "owners are divided" about playing this weekend (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 9/13).
The N.Y. TIMES quotes one owner as saying, "The main concern is safety. If we cannot guarantee the safety of our players and fans, then I do not believe we will play football this weekend." Additionally, NFL Players Association Exec Dir Gene Upshaw told Tagliabue, "I don’t think we should play because our players don’t want to play" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/13).
Vikings Owner Red McCombs, who did not participate in the conference call, said, "I'm in favor of playing Sunday. If there's a compelling reason as to why we should not, then that's OK. There may be a compelling reason, but I'm not aware of it. To me, it's not a question of football. It's a question of getting on with our lives. I just don't believe it's good for our country to acknowledge this evil event in such a way as to give up our normal daily activities" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 9/13).
ESPN.com reports "the overriding opinion among NFL teams Wednesday night was that commissioner Paul Tagliabue would give the go-ahead to play games this weekend." While the NFL has won praise for waiting to make its decision, "the president has advised most sports organizations to return to the field as soon as it is reasonably safe" (ESPN.com, 9/13).
NCAA CONFERENCES SPLIT ON WHETHER TO PLAY SATURDAY
The ATLANTA CONSTITUTION reports that college football’s six major conferences "split Wednesday on whether to play in the aftermath of Tuesday terrorist attack." The ACC elected not to play its games, while the SEC "will play its games as scheduled." The Pac-10 and Big East "decided earlier that they will not play on Saturday." The Big 12 "decided to let schools play, providing they could get teams where they needed to be in time for kickoff." And the Southern Conference "said it would play its games" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 9/13).
The ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS reports that "nearly three dozen of the 116 scheduled games in Division I-A and I-AA this weekend have been postponed or canceled" (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 9/13).
MLB GAMES POSTPONED TONIGHT, BUT PLAY TO RESUME FRIDAY?
The DALLAS MORNING NEWS notes MLB’s postponement of its 30 games scheduled for last night and tonight, and writes the move raises the total MLB games postponed thus far to 45. League officials are expected to announce today "when they will allow the season to resume. Several club officials presume games will be played again starting Friday, assuming team flights have been allowed to depart by then" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 9/13).
The Baltimore SUN reports that MLB Commissioner Bud Selig "and high-ranking officials in other sports must tread carefully in their attempt to return to normal operations, because of the terrible human toll from Tuesday’s tragedy. There also are security concerns inherent in luring thousands of fans back to America’s stadiums and arenas with so many questions about the terrorist attack still unanswered" (Baltimore SUN, 9/12).
The CHICAGO SUN-TIMES reports that the White Sox, who had been in Manhattan since Tuesday for a series against the Yankees, elected to return home to Chicago on Wednesday, resulting in a 14- to 15-hour bus trip for the team. White Sox spokesperson Scott Reifert: "Just from talking to different guys on cell phones, there is a lot of relief to get away from the chaos. It was a long bus ride, but I don’t think anybody minded it" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 9/13).
PGA TOUR POINTS TO AMEX’ LOSS IN CANCELLING TOURNAMENT
The AP reports that four PGA Tour events have been called off this weekend, "the first time in 52 years players were sent home without hitting a shot." The AmEx World Campionships in St. Louis was canceled, as AmEx’ "headquarters are about four blocks away from the bottom of the World Trade Center." While AmEx has not reported its losses, its location "played a large roll in the tour’s decision to cancel a championship that brought together Tiger Woods and top players from all the tours around the globe" (AP, 9/13).
IN OTHER NEWS
The BOSTON GLOBE reports that the NYSE and NASDAQ Stock Market, along with government officials, "said they won’t be able to resume trading until tomorrow at the earliest. But they suggested Monday was a more realistic target" (BOSTON GLOBE, 9/13)….AD AGE reports that "all networks have canceled their regularly scheduled prime-time programming until further notice." Most networks have been airing news with no commercials. An NBC spokesman "said the network is making its decision in 24-hour increments" (AD AGE, 9/13)….The Toronto GLOBE & MAIL reports that "the television advertising industry has ground to a virtual standstill" in both the U.S. and Canada, "depriving the networks of millions of dollars in ad revenue" (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 9/13)….Sportsradio.com is organizing a statement of tribute and solidarity on Tuesday, September 18th, encouraging radio stations across the country to play the National Anthem. The tribute is scheduled at exactly 8:42am ET, the one-week anniversary of the first attack on the World Trade Center. Radio stations are asked to go to www.sportsradio.com to pledge their participation. At presstime, seven stations along with the Sporting News Radio network had pledged their support (THE DAILY).
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