| | The Daily Insider
Morning News & Headlines
Monday, November 26, 2001
9:00am ET | |
| • | Tagliabue Memo Warns Teams Against Commenting On Collegiate Athletes |
| • | Kirch Media Sells Rights To ’02 World Cup To TF1 In $148M Deal |
| • | NFL Able To Avoid Television Blackout For Fifth Time In History |
| • | Lewis-Rahman Fight A Knockout For HBO Sports’ PPV Business |
| • | Ray Bourque’s No. 77 Jersey Climbs The Rafters At Pepsi Center |
| • | A Lighter Buzz/Laugh Track/Box Office/Final Jeopardy! |
TAGLIABUE WARNS AGAINST COMMENTING ON COLLEGIATE STARS
CBS SportsLine’s Jay Glazer “has obtained a letter sent by [NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue] this week to every general manager, head coach and personnel director in the National Football League warning them that any comments they make about underclassmen college players before Jan. 12 are subject to disciplinary action” from Tagliabue himself. In the memo, which was sent out Wednesday, Tagliabue writes that he “has already received numerous complaints by college officials regarding such comments” (CBS SportsLine, 11/25).
WORLD CUP ’02 RIGHTS SOLD TO FRENCH CHANNEL TF1 IN $148M DEAL
DAILY VARIETY reports that Kirch Media “has sold rights to the 2002 World Cup soccer championships” to French television network TF1 for U.S. $148M after “months of wrangling.” So far, Kirch has sold rights to the ’02 World Cup in 20 European countries (DAILY VARIETY, 11/26).
NFL BLACKOUT LIFTED FOR FIFTH TIME AS ALL TEAMS SELL OUT
ESPN.com reported that the NFL sold out all its games in advance of the blackout deadline Sunday, “enabling the 15 games in Week 11 to be televised in the home-team market.” It marks only the fifth time since the NFL’s blackout policy took affect in ’73. Games in Buffalo, Carolina, Indianapolis, Jacksonville and Philadelphia “became sellouts Friday after receiving one-day extensions due to the Thanksgiving holiday” (ESPN.com, 11/23).
LEWIS-RAHMAN FIGHT COULD PUNCH UP $23M IN PPV REVENUE
The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER notes HBO Sports “could pull in an estimated $23 million in pay-per-view revenue for its latest Lennox Lewis-Hasim Rahman boxing match, based on preliminary PPV buy results culled from cable operators.” Cable industry sources estimate the buy rate for HBO's November 17 heavyweight championship bout at 0.1%, which “translates into an estimated 460,000 buys.” Final PPV numbers will be released today (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 11/26).
BOURQUE BECOMES FIRST AVALANCHE WITH NUMBERS IN RAFTERS
The ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS reported that every member of the Avalanche wore Ray Bourque’s No. 77 jersey during the warmup to Saturday night’s game against the Oilers, “after which the now-retired defenseman's digits” were retired during a pregame ceremony. Bourque was honored “after playing only 94 regular-season games for the Avalanche during his 22 seasons in the NHL,” which only “serves to underscore the impact he had on the team in such a brief time.” (ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS, 11/24).
The DENVER POST reported Avalanche GM Pierre Lacroix “presented the Bourque family - which still lives in the Boston area - a painting of the Colorado mountains and countryside.” Lacroix added to Bourque, “You always will be part of the Colorado Avalanche family” (DENVER POST, 11/25).
ONLINE SHOPPING UP AS SEASON KICKED OFF WITH MODERATE STATS
The N.Y. TIMES reports, “While plenty of Americans rose at dawn on the Friday after Thanksgiving to snap up hot items like electronics and Harry Potter products, the number of visitors to shopping malls was down 8.1 percent compared with the figure on that day a year earlier, according to the RCT National Retail Traffic Index.” Traffic on Saturday “was down 6.8 percent compared with the day a year earlier,” while sales in stores “open at least a year rose 2.4 percent on Friday.” RCT Systems VP Jim Martin notes, “Put in perspective, these numbers look relatively strong” (N.Y. TIMES, 11/26).
The WALL STREET JOURNAL adds that shoppers “didn’t show up in overwhelming numbers, and their purchases were sensible and selective” (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 11/26).
The BOSTON GLOBE reports that consumers who visited the comparison shopping Web site, BizRate.com, “spent $127.2 million, up 19 percent from a year ago, the company said, and Yahoo! Shopping reported that Friday sales were up 70 percent over the same day a year ago” (BOSTON GLOBE, 11/26).
A LIGHTER BUZZ
Hawks F Shareef Abdur-Rahim will ring the Opening Bell at the NYSE today (THE DAILY).
The Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE reports that the “largest crowd to watch a hockey game at any level in the state of Minnesota witnessed” Sunday's game, as 19,042 watched the Stars beat the Wild 4-3 at Xcel Energy Center. That broke the record of 19,014 set November 2. The “building's official capacity for hockey is 18,064, meaning the Wild sold nearly 1,000 standing-room-only tickets” (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 11/26).
The L.A. TIMES reports a “special tour of the World Trade Center site was arranged for the Mighty Ducks Sunday morning,” as the team was in town to play the Rangers. Once at Ground Zero, the Ducks “gave workers at the site the team’s 30 allotted tickets for Sunday’s game” (L.A. TIMES, 11/26).
The CHICAGO TRIBUNE reports CBS “NFL Today” analyst Mike Ditka took “an early exit from his regular duties Sunday” due to a nerve problem in his back. The pain caused Ditka to go to a hospital for tests, although he was discharged Sunday evening. Ditka is expected back on the show next week (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 11/26).
The ORLANDO SENTINEL’s Brian Schmitz writes on the competition level of the NFL after 11 weeks and notes, “The NFL has pulled enough wool over our eyes to make sheep an endangered species. What a sham. One man's parity -- that man being Paul Tagliabue -- is another man's parody” (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 11/26).
Moroccan middle-distance runner Hicham El Guerrouj and U.S pole-vaulter Stacy Dragila won the men's and women's Athlete of the Year awards at the Int’l Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) annual gala dinner on Sunday (ESPN.com, 11/25).
DAILY VARIETY reports that the WWF will produce “WWF Divas,” a “one-hour primetime entertainment special for UPN in March that'll be similar to the annual TV edition of the ‘Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.’” Meanwhile, WWF Entertainment CEO Linda McMahon told investors she will “soon hire a full-time Hollywood-based programming exec whose job will be to coordinate the deluge of ideas flowing into the federation for theatricals, TV movies and series” (DAILY VARIETY, 11/26).
The Akron Beacon Journal is introducing a new comic strip today called Cleats, which is the “brainchild of cartoonist Bill Hinds, who also draws the characters in Tank McNamara.” Hinds' Cleats strip “features soccer as played by kids and observed by everyone else” (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 11/26).
IN OTHER NEWS…..
This week’s cover stories feature NEWSWEEK’s exclusive interview with President Bush and his wife, Laura, under the header, “Where We Get Our Strength,” while TIME looks at a post-war Afghanistan.
USA TODAY notes that “in a somewhat curious consequence of the attacks on America, blue-collar cops and firefighters, tradesmen and soldiers across the USA have been transformed into heartthrobs and hunks” (USA TODAY, 11/26).
The CHICAGO SUN-TIMES reports that “businesses throughout the Chicago area are nixing their [holiday] festivities in observance of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.” Thomas Demetrio, a partner at local law firm Corboy and Demetrio, which is known for its elaborate holiday parties, said, “On Sept. 25, I sat down and wrote a memo to the staff letting them know that due to the tragedy we would not be having our annual Christmas parties. We wanted to use that money to make donations to those who were affected” (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 11/26).
EARNINGS ANNOUNCEMENTS
Below are this week’s confirmed earnings announcements for sports-business related companies (THE DAILY).
| DATE | TICKER | COMPANY | QUARTER |
| 11/27 | TSA | The Sports Authority | Q3 2002 |
| 11/28 | GRTS | Gart Sports | Q3 2002 |
| 11/29 | GLYN | G-III Apparel Group | Q3 2002 |
LAUGH TRACK
Friday night's "Top Ten" list was "Top Ten Ways To Get Osama Out Of His Cave" ("Late Show," CBS, 11/23).
| 10) "Disconnect his cable." |
| 9) "Send phony recall notice from his turban manufacturer.” |
| 8) "One of our special forces guys sneaks in and pulls the fire alarm.” |
| 7) "Announce ‘Mr. Beard’ pageant being held down the street.” |
| 6) "CIA puts growth hormone in his food so after a couple days the cave is too small.” |
| 5) "Offer free trial prescription for social anxiety disorder medication Paxil.” |
| 4) "Fake postcard from Mullah Omar in Las Vegas reading, ‘This place is awesome, dude!’” |
| 3) "Free pie -- I don't care who you are, you're not gonna turn down free pie.” |
| 2) "In local paper, advertise weapons of mass destruction sale at Kabul Wal-Mart.” |
| 1) "Send sexy bearded woman to cave asking directions.” |
FINAL JEOPARDY QUESTION
Friday night's edition of "Jeopardy!" featured the Final Jeopardy category of "Ancient Romans."
"According to tradition, he was descended from the clan of the Pontii & killed himself in 39 A.D."
SUNDAY NIGHT’S TV MONITOR
Sunday night’s 11:00pm ET (late due to “Sunday Night Football”) edition of ESPN’s “SportsCenter” led with Ravens-Jaguars.
Sunday night’s 11:00pm ET edition of FSN’s “National Sports Report” led with Ravens-Jaguars.
FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER
"Who is Pontius Pilot?"
WEEKEND BOX OFFICE
The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER notes “Harry Potter” topped “the $150 million mark Friday in a record eight days – two days faster than Fox’s ‘Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace’” (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 11/26).
| Rank/Movie | This Week | Cumulative |
| 1. "Harry Potter" | $83.5M | $188M |
| 2. "Monsters, Inc." | $33.1M | $192M |
| 3. "Spy Game" | $30.5M | $30.5M |
| 4. "Black Knight" | $16.1M | $16.1M |
| 5. "Shallow Hal" | $12.5M | $55.4M |
| 6. "Out Cold" | $6.9M | $6.9M |
| 7. "Domestic Disturbance" | $5.5M | $40M |
| 8. "Heist" | $4.3M | $20.2M |
| 9. "The One" | $3M | $42M |
| 10. "Life as a House" | $2.8M | $12.3M |
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