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Morning Buzz

Morning Buzz, March 18, 2002

 
The Daily Insider
Morning News & Headlines
Monday, March 18, 2002
9:00am ET

NFL Owners Meet In Orlando To Discuss League Issues This Week
CFL BOG Expected To Discuss Lysko's List Of Demands
CNN To Begin Charging Internet Users For Video Downloads This Week
Silicon Summit Picks Brains Of Top Media Execs On State Of Technology
Wrestlemania Pulls Record Crowds To Toronto's SkyDome
A Lighter Buzz/In Other News/Laugh Track/TV Monitor/Box Office

NFL OWNERS GATHER FOR ANNUAL OWNERS MEETING

NFL owners began their four-day annual owners meeting yesterday, and the DETROIT FREE PRESS writes that "for the most part, NFL owners are happy with their game. … But they still have a handful of issues to keep them occupied." Among those issues are the examination of the "tuck rule," the "reduction of artificial noise aimed at disrupting opposing offenses," and the possibility of a Super Bowl in N.Y. or Washington, DC (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 3/18).

Meanwhile, Vikings Exec VP Mike Kelly gave the owners a presentation on stadium security as part of the league's stadium security staff force yesterday (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 3/18).


LYSKO AWAITS CFL BOG REACTION TO LIST OF DEMANDS

The Toronto GLOBE & MAIL reports that the CFL BOG "is expected to have its third telephone conference call" either today or tomorrow to discuss conditions CFL Commissioner Michael Lysko made to the board on Friday, but there is "little sense of what [the BOG] will do or when it will act" on Lysko's demands, which "concern issues of power and decision making" (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 3/18).

Meanwhile, the TORONTO SUN reports that Lysko "will be on the job today, awaiting to see if his conflict with the board of governors is resolved." One source said the sides "will resolve their differences," and that former Univ. of Notre Dame AD Mike Wadsworth will be added as CFL Chair (TORONTO SUN, 3/18).


CNN TO PHASE OUT FREE VIDEO CLIPS: USERS WILL HAVE TO PAY

USA TODAY reports starting this week, CNN will "phase out free video clips on its news, sports and financial sites." Users will have to pay $4.95 a month or $39.95 a year, or sign up for RealNeworks' SuperPass, which costs $9.95 a month and which also includes multimedia from ABC News, NASCAR, Fox Sports, MLB and the NBA. Meanwhile, Jupiter Media Metrix will release at a conference today a survey of Internet users "about opening their wallets; though 70% said they can't understand why anyone would pay for content, 41% separately said they know they'll have to do so eventually" (USA TODAY, 3/18).


MEDIA EXECS CONVERGE FOR SILICON SUMMIT ON TECHNOLOGY

Last night, MSNBC aired "Silicon Summit III" with host Tom Brokaw, which examined "this transforming technology that is changing our world in every conceivable way." The panel included Microsoft President & COO Rick Belluzzo; Amazon.com Founder & CEO Jeff Bezos; Sony Corp. of America Chair & CEO Howard Stringer; Gateway Founder, Chair & CEO Ted Waitt; RealNetworks Chair & CEO Rob Glaser; Yahoo! Chair & CEO Terry Semel; AOL Chair & CEO Barry Schuler; NBC Entertainment President Jeff Zucker and Intel CEO Craig Barrett.

Belluzzo: "Over the next decade we're going to see the growth of many smart devices. It's not a single device that's going to solve everyone's problem. In fact, there will be many devices. ... At the same time, I think we will see areas that lead to some convergence." Glaser: "Over the next five years, I think we'll be at a point where the majority of households in America will be able to get broadband if they want it, and I think our challenge is to both build it out and build the products and services that make you want to want it." Barrett: "Outside of the (U.S.), there's greater understanding of the importance of the technology for the future of the country than there is in the U.S., maybe because we think we're so far ahead" (MSNBC, 3/17).


SKYDOME DRAWS RECORD CROWD FOR WWF EVENT

The Toronto GLOBE & MAIL reports a record crowd of 68,237 fans turned up Sunday night to watch Wrestlemania X8 at the SkyDome, marking the arena's largest crowd "since the Blue Jays won back-to-back World Series titles in the early nineties." Gate receipts exceeded C$6.1M, a WWF record (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 3/18).


A LIGHTER BUZZ

The AP reported that MLB's contraction grievance resumes today with the 15th day of testimony before arbitrator Shyam Das, who first began hearing the case in early December. MLBPA has "at least one more witness to call before resting its case." Management will then "start its defense" (AP, 3/17).

Athletes Edwin Moses, Boris Becker and other members of the Laureus World Sports Academy, joined by Olympic gold medallist Michael Johnson, will accompany Mercedes-Benz USA President & CEO Paul Halata in ringing the opening bell for the NYSE this morning (THE DAILY).

The AFL Desperados will begin selling individual game tickets today. Ticket prices range from $5 for seats in the upper end zone to $25 for seats between the goal lines in the lower bowl (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 3/16).

UT's "month-plus of welcoming the world came to a dazzling, fireworks-punctuated conclusion" Saturday night in downtown Salt Lake City with the closing ceremonies of the '02 Paralympic Winter Games. IPC President Phil Craven said, "What a blast we've had here in Salt Lake City" (DESERET NEWS, 3/17).

The BOSTON HERALD's Fee & Raposa write that a "hot new trend" in baby boy names is Brady, as "all over Patriot Nation, football fanatics are naming their new little bundles of joy" after Patriots QB Tom Brady. Brady, when told of the trend: "I don't know what to say about that. As long as it's not mine – and it's not!" (BOSTON HERALD, 3/18).

Each day this week, Bills QB and noted film buff Alex Van Pelt will break down on www.buffalobills.com a different category of Oscar nominees for Sunday's upcoming awards show. The specific categories in order will be Best Supporting Actress (Monday), Best Supporting Actor (Tuesday), Best Actress (Wednesday), Best Actor (Thursday), and Best Picture (Friday) (THE DAILY).


IN OTHER NEWS….

The cover of this week's TIME examines the U.S. involvement in the Holy Wars in the Middle East under the headline, "Why Bush Entered The Fray." This week's cover of NEWSWEEK profiles CA-based Silicon Valley in the wake of the dot.com bust (THE DAILY).

The N.Y. TIMES reports that two Wall street analysts "have published reports that discuss an upturn" in U.S. ad spending (N.Y. TIMES, 3/18).

USA TODAY reports that Broadway "is back in the black" as recent figures on theater grosses "reflect Broadway's continued recovery since the drastic dip that followed the Sept. 11 attacks." League of American Theaters and Producers President Jed Bernstein: "From a drop of 75%, we're now running a little ahead on a week-to-week basis. We're only off about 8.5% for the year so far. And since last year was a record year, that's pretty encouraging" (USA TODAY, 3/18).

Sylvester “Pat” Weaver, who created NBC's "Today" and "Tonight" shows, brought opera to TV and shaped the way Americans watched the "infant medium," has died. He was 93 (AP, 3/17).

The N.Y. TIMES reports that The Atlantic Monthly "plans to run the longest piece of journalism it has ever published, and one of the longest in magazine history." The article, "American Ground: Unbuilding the World Trade Center," by a staff correspondent, William Langewiesche, will stretch over three consecutive issues, starting with July/August, and amount to 60,000 words (N.Y. TIMES, 3/18).


EARNINGS ANNOUNCEMENTS

Below are this week's confirmed earnings announcements for sports-business related companies (THE DAILY).

DATE
TICKER COMPANY
PERIOD ENDING
3/20
GIII G-III Apparel Group
Q4 2002
3/20
VANS Vans
Q3 2002
3/21
FINL Finish Line
Q4 2002
3/21
GLYN Galyan's Trading Co.
Q4 2002
3/21
NKE Nike
Q3 2002
 

FINAL JEOPARDY QUESTION

Friday's "Final Jeopardy!" category was "Familiar Phrases."

"The phrase 'To turn a blind eye' is said to have been inspired by a 19th century naval incident involving this man."


LAUGH TRACK

Detroit Free Press' Mitch Albom said "some critics say" Fox' "Celebrity Boxing" was an "insult to real boxing." Albom: "The problem wasn't that this fiasco insulted real boxing. The problem was you couldn't tell the difference" ("The Sports Reporters," ESPN, 3/17).

During NBC's "SNL" news segment, cast member Rachel Dratch portrayed Paula Jones, and cast member Amy Poehler portrayed Tonya Harding, discussing their fight on Fox. Dratch, as Jones: "I thought it was going to be a lot classier than it was. I thought it was going to be more celebrity and less boxing." Poehler, as Harding, said she "trained really hard" for the fight. "I ate a lot of chicken, I fought some Mexican girls in a parking lot and I threw a keg through my boyfriend's window." Dratch said she trained by having "my nail tips shortened" ("SNL," NBC, 3/16).


SUNDAY NIGHT'S TV MONITOR

ESPN's 11:00pm ET "SportsCenter" led with UCLA-Univ. of Cincinnati NCAA men's college basketball.


WEEKEND BOX OFFICE

20th Century Fox' "Ice Age" enjoyed a "sensational opening … the biggest ever in March," which broke the record previously held by Jim Carrey's "Liar Liar" ($31.4M). The film's $47.8M opening "also marked the third-largest animated opening in box office history," after Buena Vista's "Monsters, Inc." ($62.6M) and "Toy Story 2" ($57.4M) (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 3/18).

Title

This Weekend

Cumulative

Ice Age

$47.8M

$47.8M

Resident Evil

$18.2M

$18.2M

Showtime

$15.3M

$15.3M

The Time Machine

$10.9M

$40.1M

We Were Soldiers

$8.8M

$53.6M

All About the Benjamins

$4.8M

$17.4M

40 Days and 40 Nights

$4.6M

$30.1M

John Q

$3.7M

$64.4M

A Beautiful Mind

$3.4M

$149.2M

Return to Neverland

$2.3M

$45.3M

 

FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER

"Who was Admiral Lord Nelson?"


If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please let us know at:
dailyinsider@sportsbusinessdaily.com

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