Morning Buzz, November 2, 2001

The Daily Insider
Morning News & Headlines
Friday, November 2, 2001
9:00am ET

DÉJÀ VU: YANKEES LATE-GAME HEROICS CONTINUE IN GAME FIVE

Same situation, different hero. With one out to go in the bottom of the ninth, Yankees 3B Scott Brosius hit a two-run home run off of D’Backs P Byung-Hyun Kim to tie last night’s Game Five at 2-2 and send it into extra innings. The Yankees went on to win the game in the bottom of the 12th inning on 2B Alfonso Soriano's single that drove home OF Chuck Knoblauch for the final score of 3-2. The N.Y. POST refers to the game as "One More Miracle" on its front page and goes with "One To Go" on its back page, while the N.Y. DAILY NEWS simply called it "Magic" on its front page and went with “Deja Two” on its back page. The ARIZONA REPUBLIC has "D-Bacle: The Sequel."

After the game, CBS SportsLine’s Scott Miller wrote: "There is something going on here, something bigger than any of the Yankees themselves, something bigger than the Yankees together" (CBS SportsLine.com, 11/2).

Yankees manager Joe Torre: "It's ‘Groundhog Day.’ I don't know what the heck is going on" (N.Y. TIMES, 11/2).

SALON.com’s King Kaufman: "What can you say? The impossible has become usual. The incredible ordinary. The ridiculous is now routine" (SALON.com, 11/2).

The TORONTO STAR’s Richard Griffin: "The baseball gods never seem to tire of this sort of thing – rewarding the Yankees and the people of New York for all they've been through" (TORONTO STAR, 11/2).

The PROVIDENCE JOURNAL’s Sean McAdam: "If you didn't know that these games have to be won, contested on the field, earned over nine innings or more, you'd swear that someone, somewhere had pre-determined the outcome. And that, in the end, is the beauty of the New York Yankees" (PROVIDENCE JOURNAL, 11/2).

The MIAMI HERALD’s Dan LeBatard: "The unfathomable, unbelievable, unprecedented New York Yankees, grabbing hold of the kind of magic this sport has seldom seen in a World Series, picked up the bookmark they had placed in this fairy tale at midnight Wednesday and resumed reading in exactly the same noisy, stadium-shaking spot with two outs in the ninth inning 24 hours later" (MIAMI HERALD, 11/2).

ESPN.com’s Peter Gammons: "If you're a Diamondback, you just experienced baseball at its greatest. And in the next two days, you've got a couple of starting pitchers in whose games you're 58-22" (ESPN.com, 11/1).

USA TODAY’s Rudy Martzke notes that by going to a Game Six, Fox will earn an extra $20M in ad revenue (USA TODAY, 11/2).

The ARIZONA REPUBLIC’s Judd Slivka writes that the D’Backs "have put a limited number of tickets on sale" for Game Six and a possibly Game Seven, but fans have to "plunk down a $750 deposit on a season seat for 2002" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 11/2).

The ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS’ Bernie Lincicome quotes Kim, after giving up the game-tying home run in Game Four: "I’m surprised the Yankee Stadium is so small" (ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS, 11/2).

CBS’ David Letterman, on the D’Backs: "You got to feel bad for them because they’re just a bunch of farmers from the desert out there in (AZ). They don’t know. They come to the big city. They get their lights turned out" ("The Late Show," CBS, 11/1).

GRIZZLIES MAKE HOME DEBUT IN MEMPHIS

The Grizzlies made their regular-season debut in Memphis last night, dropping a 90-80 decision to the Pistons, and the Nashville TENNESSEAN reports the debut "was the second coming of Elvis, a full slab of Rendezvous ribs and some sweet soul music rolled into one." While the game was a sellout, "it took until yesterday afternoon" for all the tickets to be sold (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 11/2). NBA Commissioner David Stern, on how the league views Memphis: "We love to be where we’re wanted. It means a lot to the NBA to be in a place that renews us. It helps not only us but the team in the sense of renewal" (Memphis COMMERCIAL APPEAL, 11/2).

JORDAN REBOUNDS WITH SOLID EFFORT AND LEADS WIZARDS TO WIN

After a disappointing debut against the Knicks, Michael Jordan poured in 31 points last night in his second game and led the Wizards to a 98-88 win over the Hawks Thursday night. Jordan’s only appearance this year in Atlanta "attracted the largest sports crowd in the two-year history" of Philips Arena, as 20,072 fans packed the arena (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 11/2). Meanwhile, Jordan addressed his sub-par performance in his first game on Tuesday night, saying: "I’m entitled to have bad games, bad shooting nights and not be able to find my rhythm and we don’t win. … I know I made the right decision [to come back to play]. It may take some time, but I haven’t lost my focus" (WASHINGTON POST, 11/2).

The CHICAGO SUN-TIMES reports that Jordan "has reportedly requested" that R&B singer R. Kelly perform the national anthem and "I Believe I Can Fly" at the Wizards’ home opener Saturday night (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 11/2).

ILITCH COULD TURN TO DOMBROWSKI TO RESTORE TIGER PRIDE

The DETROIT FREE PRESS reports that Tigers Owner Mike Ilitch "wants one of baseball's most respected executives to revive his downtrodden ballclub," as it was "learned Thursday that Ilitch is strongly courting" Marlins President Dave Dombrowski "to become the president of the Tigers" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 11/2).

TODAY’S EVENTS

The Devils and Fox Sports Net present the School Assembly Program today. Devils broadcaster Randy Velischek will visit 350 students at Spotswood, NJ, M.S. at 10:00am ET, while broadcaster Mike Miller will visit 320 students at Belmar, NJ, Elementary School (THE DAILY).

Washington Sports & Entertainment Chair Abe Pollin and Capitals Chair Ted Leonsis will attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony today at 11:00am ET for the New Acela Club restaurant, located in the MCI Center. The restaurant is named for Amtrak’s new high-speed rail service between D.C., N.Y. and Boston (THE DAILY).

A LIGHTER BUZZ

The N.Y. POST’s Phil Mushnick, on President Bush throwing out the first pitch at Game Three of the World Series: "From the moment he walked to the mound, alone, my heart was in my throat. And you? Were you grinding inside, thinking the worst, too? … And President Bush stood on the mound alone, taking, it seemed, forever. Throw the ball, Mr. President, please, then get the hell out of there. Don’t shake off the catcher. Just throw it and go. It’s crazy world vs. the free world and it’s live TV. … Finally, it was over. As a display of resolve and freedom, magnificent stuff. The game began and everything was OK. Sort of. Thinking the worst while tuned to live TV has become a reconditioned reflex, American as baseball and apple pie" (N.Y. POST, 11/2).

The ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER reports that the Lakers’ championship rings "have about .60 carats of yellow diamonds of background on the face, with 1.07 carats of white diamonds within the design of two NBA championship trophies." Shoppers can purchase commemorative copies of the ring, ranging from $395 to $2,600, at NBA.com (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 11/2).

Tiger Woods’ "How I Play Golf" is No. 5 on THE WALL STREET JOURNAL’s Nonfiction bestseller list.

ARTICLES OF INTEREST

The N.Y. TIMES’ Richard Sandomir on the troubles facing the Downtown Athletic Club.

ESPN.com’s Jerry Bonkowski on retiring Dale Earnhardt’s number.

The L.A. TIMES’ Martin Henderson on sponsor troubles in open-wheel racing.

The TORONTO STAR’s Mary Ormsby on basketball’s growth in Toronto.

USA TODAY’s Gene Sloan on falling prices at the nation’s ski resorts.

IN OTHER NEWS

R.J. Milano, Senior VP of U.S. Marketing-Kid Innovation of McDonald’s, has resigned, along with Kim Poston, who was a "senior member" of the company’s U.S. Marketing Calendar team (AD AGE, 11/2).

The BOSTON GLOBE reports U.S. consumer spending fell 1.8% in September, "its biggest drop in nearly 15 years," as the September 11 terrorist attacks, "coupled with fears about layoffs, hurt retail and restaurant sales. Not since a blizzard in early 1987 had the Commerce Department reported such a big monthly decline" (BOSTON GLOBE, 11/2).

The WALL STREET JOURNAL reports Fox News has signed CNBC talk show host Geraldo Rivera to "be its newest war correspondent." Rivera had two years remaining on his contract with CNBC. That contract is said by industry execs to have been valued at $30M over six years (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 11/2).

REUTERS reported that Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway has agreed to buy "troubled" clothing maker Fruit of the Loom for $835M in cash (REUTERS, 11/1).

DAILY VARIETY reports that ABC, CBS and NBC "collectively suffered a record loss" of $860M in ad revenue for the third quarter, "a downslide of 28.6% from the same period in 2000." BCFM President & CEO Buz Buzogany attributed the record decline "not only to the lousy advertising market," but to the fact that the 2000 Olympic Games "helped inflate the numbers in some dayparts a year ago" (DAILY VARIETY, 11/2).

LAUGH TRACK

TNT's Charles Barkley, on the Jazz playing well on the road: "Because you can't have fun in Utah. You got to go on the road to have fun in that old boring-ass – whoops! Sorry, Utah is a great place" ("Inside The NBA," TNT, 11/1).

Last night's "Top Ten" list was "Top Ten Calls Received By The Fig Newton's Complaint Line" ("Late Show," CBS, 11/1).

FINAL JEOPARDY QUESTION

Last night's "Final Jeopardy!" category was "American Literature."

"'The Mute' was the working title of this 1940 novel by a female author."

THURSDAY NIGHT’S TV MONITOR

FSN’s 10:30pm ET "National Sports Report" did not air due to "The Best Damn Sports Show Period."

ESPN’s 11:30pm ET "SportsCenter" led with Wizards-Hawks.

FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER

"What is 'A Heart Is A Lonely Hunter'?"

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