| | The Daily Insider
Morning News & Headlines
Monday, March 25, 2002
9:00am ET | |
| • | The Swoosh Extends To Electronics As Nike Partners With Philips |
| • | MN Legislature Expected To Give Twins Ballpark Approval Today |
| • | Fallout Continues For Ovitz's AMG As Vivendi Pulls Support |
| • | LA Lawmakers Hold Special Sports Session Beginning Today |
| • | A Friend In Memphis: Lewis-Tyson Bout Expected To Finally Get Home |
| • | A Lighter Buzz/In Other News/Laugh Track/TV Monitor |
PHILIPS AND NIKE TO DEVELOP ELECTRONIC ATHLETIC PRODUCTS
Philips Electronics and Nike today announced they would work together to develop and sell co-branded electronic products geared for athletes. The product offerings will initially take the form of portable audio products, specifically MP3 and CD players, which will be introduced this September. The partnership will eventually include athletic apparel and equipment (THE DAILY).
MN HOUSE LIKELY TO APPROVE BALLPARK MEASURE TODAY
The Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE reports that if the MN House passes a Twins ballpark bill "as expected today, the baseball spotlight in Minnesota immediately will shift to the battle for host-city status between Minneapolis and St. Paul" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 3/25). House Speaker Steve Sviggum (R) predicted that the state reps "would pass a revamped" ballpark proposal, which involves the Twins providing $165M as a nonreturnable "gift that would be invested to help finance" a $330M ballpark (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 3/25).
MORE TURMOIL FOR OVITZ'S AMG AFTER VIVENDI PULLS SUPPORT
The N.Y. TIMES reports that Michael Ovitz's Artists Management Group "is in financial turmoil," as over the weekend Vivendi Universal, the "major investor in the film unit, withdrew from their joint venture, leaving Mr. Ovitz in the unenviable position of having to seek new money in an economy still trying to recover from the recession." Meanwhile, AMG's sports unit has "seen an exodus of executives and clients," as Pete Sampras, Pam Shriver, and Lakers F Rick Fox "have moved with their manager, Jill Smoller, to the William Morris Agency" (N.Y. TIMES, 3/25).
NEW ORLEANS LEGISLATURE SET TO TACKLE SPORTS PROJECTS
The New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE reports that "football, basketball and economic development top a 199-item agenda" as LA lawmakers convene today to begin a special session. Part of Republican Gov. Mike Foster's agenda "outlines plans to rework the New Orleans hotel-motel taxes to attract" the Hornets to the New Orleans Arena and keep the Saints in the Superdome (New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE, 3/25).
MEMPHIS TO FINALIZE PLANS TO HOST TYSON-LEWIS MATCH
The WASHINGTON TIMES reports that facing a deadline for an agreement for the Lennox Lewis-Mike Tyson heavyweight fight, "an announcement will be made today declaring that a deal is in place" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 3/25). USA TODAY reports that representatives from HBO, Showtime and Main Events "are planning to meet today in Memphis" regarding the June 8 bout (USA TODAY, 3/25).
A LIGHTER BUZZ
The NASCAR Winston Cup Food City 500 drew a capacity crowd of 150,000 fans yesterday at the Bristol Motor Speedway (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 3/25).
The WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL reports that Pamela Anderson and Kid Rock were at the Bristol race as "guests of [Tony] Stewart, who is a Kid Rock fan" (WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL, 3/25).
The L.A. DAILY NEWS reports that the IRL's inaugural Yamaha Indy 400 drew "a sparse crowd of little more than 10,000 Sunday" at CA Speedway, a track capable of holding 96,000 fans (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 3/25). In San Diego, Bill Carter writes, "If there's a great finish to an exciting car race and no one sees it, is it a great finish … or an exciting race?" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 3/25).
Dolphins QB Jay Fiedler, Broncos G Lennie Friedman, former Chargers coach Sid Gillman, former Bills coach Marv Levy, Steelers P Josh Miller, Redskins QB Sage Rosenfels, Giants G Mike Rosenthel and Raiders DE Josh Taves were inducted into the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame Sunday night in Commack, NY, last night (Pittsburgh TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 3/25).
The WASHINGTON POST reports that "a field of nearly 6,000" runners competed in the inaugural Washington, DC Marathon on Sunday. The event was put on by H2O Entertainment Group, and despite the race running on Palm Sunday, "there were no significant protests" (WASHINGTON POST, 3/25).
TODAY'S EVENTS
The Board of Editors of Int'l Figure Skating magazine will convene via teleconference to select "The 25 Most Influential Names in Figure Skating" for the '01-02 season (THE DAILY).
Fox analyst James Brown officially joins Sporting News Radio and debuts "The James Brown Show," which runs from 10:00am-noon ET (THE DAILY).
IN OTHER NEWS….
This week's NEWSWEEK looks at "The Future Of Israel," while TIME asks, "Can The Catholic Church Be Saved? (THE DAILY).
The L.A. TIMES reports that it "was a beautiful night for 'A Beautiful Mind,' but a groundbreaking night for African American performers. Denzel Washington and Halle Berry made Oscar history Sunday by winning best actor and best actress at the 74th Academy Awards at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood—the event's new home." The acting "victories virtually eclipsed the winner for best picture" during the "record length four-hour-23 minute telecast on ABC" (L.A. TIMES, 3/25).
Read the complete list of last night's winners.
DAILY VARIETY reports that NBC "has nearly quadrupled the stake it owns in digital video recorder maker TiVo." NBC becomes the "third largest shareholder in TiVo, behind AOL Time Warner and DirecTV" (DAILY VARIETY, 3/25).
NBC Entertainment President Jeff Zucker, on the declining ratings for the network's "Watching Ellie" series starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, ""We fully expected a falloff because the show got so much promotion during the Olympics and that's what helped that first week's number. We just want the floor to be where it was in the third week, not last week" (N.Y. TIMES, 3/25).
The ATLANTA CONSTITUTION reports that AOL Time Warner "is backing off plans to sell paid sponsorships for a commercial-free, educational CNN news show used in 18,000 U.S. schools." Critics had "slammed the plans as an example of increased commercialism in classrooms" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 3/25).
USA TODAY reports that Kmart "will announce today that it is extending its new 'Stuff of Life' theme with a $25 million broadcast campaign for Hispanics and African-Americans" (USA TODAY, 3/25).
The N.Y. TIMES reports that N.Y.-based sales group Screenvision, which acts as a broker for companies controlling about 12,000 movie screens nationwide, "has decided to try to sell its inventory of screens on a competitive, advance-purchase basis," and it is "calling its efforts in this so-called upfront market the first in motion picture advertising" (N.Y. TIMES, 3/25).
EARNINGS ANNOUNCEMENTS
Below are this week's confirmed earnings announcements for sports-business related companies (THE DAILY).
| DATE | TICKER | COMPANY | QUARTER |
| 3/28 | BNG | Benetton Group | Q4 2001 |
LAUGH TRACK
Olympian Picabo Street, on the first time she met Tiger Woods: "Tiger told me a dirty joke and made me laugh in front of an entire group of media while (Nike CEO) Phil Knight was speaking to this group and we were opening a Niketown in (N.Y.)." ESPN's Chris Connelly: "So the head of Nike, who pays Tiger $40(M), doesn't even get listened to? Tiger's telling you a dirty joke" ("Unscripted," ESPN, 3/22).
FINAL JEOPARDY QUESTION
Friday night's "Final Jeopardy!" category was "From The Latin."
"Derived from the Latin for 'to walk,' this word is often printed backwards to be seen in rear-view mirrors."
SUNDAY NIGHT'S TV MONITOR
ESPN's 11:00pm ET "SportsCenter" led with the Univ. of CT-Univ. of MD men's basketball game.
FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER
"What is ambulance?"
WEEKEND BOX OFFICE
The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER notes that North American box office "maintained its torrid pace during Oscar weekend as the top two films grossed more than $30 million each and the estimated total for the top 12 pictures was a staggering 79% higher than during the comparable frame a year earlier" (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 3/25).
| Title | This Week | Cumulative |
| Blade II | $33.1M | $33.1M |
| Ice Age | $31.1M | $88.3M |
| E.T. | $15.1M | $15.1M |
| Showtime | $8.2M | $26.9M |
| Resident Evil | $6.6M | $28.8M |
| We Were Soldiers | $5.8M | $61.7M |
| The Time Machine | $5.2M | $48M |
| A Beautiful Mind | $4.3M | $154.9M |
| Sorority Boys | $4.2M | $4.2M |
| 40 Days and 40 Nights | $2.7M | $35.2M |
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please let us know at:
dailyinsider@sportsbusinessdaily.com
The Morning Buzz provides an early update of the news and headlines each Monday through Friday at approximately 9:00am ET. If you would like to sign up for an e-mail alert to the Morning Buzz, go to My Account and personalize your e-mail alert options.
