| | The Daily Insider
Morning News & Headlines
Monday, May 13, 2002
9:00am ET | |
| • | NFL Owners Arrive In Houston Today To Begin Annual May Meetings |
| • | San Antonio Hopes Hosting Sport Conference Helps Pan American Games Bid |
| • | Let's Get Ready To Logon! Heavyweight Fight Gets Its Own Website |
| • | Bye-Bye Bugs? Large Crowd Attends Possible Last NBA Game In Charlotte |
| • | Inside The CFL: League Kicks Off Program With A Look At The Renegades |
| • | A Lighter Buzz/In Other News/Laugh Track/TV Monitor/Box Office |
HOUSTON, WE HAVE A MEETING: NFL OWNERS IN TX THIS WEEK
The HOUSTON CHRONICLE reported that the NFL owners will conduct their annual May meetings this week at the Inter-Continental Hotel in Houston, and the topic of realignment, while not on the agenda, "will be a hot topic" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 5/11). NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue will speak to a group of Houston business execs today at the Coronado Club, while owners, coaches and referees also arrive today. Among the items on the owners' agenda are "updates from the finance, stadium and competition committees, presentations on Hispanic marketing, youth football and international operations" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 5/12).
SAN ANTONIO HOSTS THE SPORT CONFERENCE OF THE AMERICAS
The SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS reported that San Antonio, one of two finalists for the '07 Pan American Games, today kicks off the two-day Sport Conference of the Americas, where "officials from 36 of the 42 affiliated [Pan American] countries" will be present. SLOC Chair Robert Garff will open the meeting with a review of the Winter Games, with NCAA Exec Dir Cedric Dempsey and USOC Exec Dir Lloyd Ward also scheduled to speak today. Among tomorrow's guest speakers are Spurs VP Russ Bookbinder and Clear Channel SFX Sports Group VP Rob Urbach, who will talk about event marketing (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, 5/12).
OFFICIAL TYSON-LEWIS HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP SITE DEBUTS
The official Website for the Mike Tyson-Lennox Lewis heavyweight championship fight will premiere later today. The site will be updated daily and offer visitors a chance to win a trip to the fight. Also, visitors will be able to see the exclusive cyber-premiere of the 30-second TV commercial promoting the bout (THE DAILY).
CHARLOTTE FANS BID FAREWELL IN WHAT MIGHT BE HIVE FINALE
In a front-page story, the CHARLOTTE OBSERVER reports that an announced crowd of 13,864 gave the Hornets "a standing ovation" at the end of what "many fans suspect was the NBA's Charlotte finale" yesterday as the Hornets lost to the Nets in Game Four of their Eastern Conference Semifinal playoff series. The Nets lead the series 3-1 (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 5/13).
EXPANSION RENEGADES KICK OFF THE CFL'S “FRANCHISE” SERIES
The CFL will launch its "State of the Franchise" program today, which is a series of interactive teleconference calls that features conversations between team execs and members of the media. The first team featured will be the expansion Ottawa Renegades, and the teleconference will feature President Brad Watters and coach Joe Paopao (THE DAILY).
A LIGHTER BUZZ
The Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER reports the Hurricanes yesterday "made approximately $11,070 selling 112 standing-room only tickets at $90 apiece as an attendance of 18,853 made it the biggest hockey crowd" in Entertainment and Sports Arena history (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 5/13).
The ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH reported that MO Sports Radio "is set to sign on Monday with another station that airs nothing but jock talk." The new station, KRFT-AM, will air "nationally syndicated programming from Fox Sports Radio, plus the 'Jim Rome Show' during its broadcast day that runs from dawn to dusk" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 5/11).
The U.S. national soccer team's exhibition game versus Uruguay drew 30,413 fans at RFK Stadium on Sunday (WASHINGTON POST, 5/13).
The N.Y. POST reports, "The Mets are boycotting Lotus, swearing they will never set foot again in the West 14th Street nightspot." A source claims the boycott began when P Mark Guthrie was denied entrance to the club (N.Y. POST, 5/12).
TODAY'S EVENTS
The NFL High School Player Development Program begins today at Washington High School in S.F. The program, which runs through May 17, is sponsored by the NFL and locally by the 49ers (THE DAILY).
Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center's Women at Risk (WAR) will host a reception and luncheon beginning at 11:30am ET at the Waldorf-Astoria in N.Y. Olympic Gold Medalist Scott Hamilton and NBC Today Show anchor Ann Curry will serve as guest speakers at the 11th annual luncheon (THE DAILY).
EARNINGS ANNOUNCEMENTS
Below are this week's confirmed earnings announcements for sports-business related companies (THE DAILY).
| DATE | TICKER | COMPANY | QUARTER |
| 5/13 | CLCT | Collector's Universe | Q3 2002 |
| 5/13 | PSUN | Pacific Sunwear | Q1 2003 |
| 5/14 | BNG | Benetton Group | Q1 2002 |
| 5/14 | FOX | Fox Entertainment | Q3 2002 |
| 5/14 | NWS | News Corp. | Q3 2002 |
| 5/14 | TRK | Speedway Motorsports | Q1 2002 |
| 5/16 | LMS.TO | Assante Corp. | Q1 2002 |
| 5/16 | HED | Head NV | Q1 2002 |
| |
IN OTHER NEWS….
The cover of this week's TIME profiles Sony's runaway hit "Spider-Man." This week's cover of NEWSWEEK spends "39 Days in Bethlehem" (THE DAILY).
The L.A. TIMES reports that network television execs kick off the springtime ritual of the "advertising upfronts" today in N.Y. The six major networks – NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox, UPN and WB – will sell "about 70% of their season's commercials, worth some $7 billion, during intense negotiations between now and Independence Day" (L.A. TIMES, 5/13).
Anheuser-Busch today will announce an estimated $1M sponsorship of Steve Fossett's "latest attempt to travel solo around the world in a hot air balloon." The new balloon will be called the Bud Light Spirit of Freedom (USA TODAY, 5/13).
MULTICHANNEL NEWS DAY reports that E! has canceled its nightly talk-show clip fest "Talk Soup," which ran its last episode on Friday (MULTICHANNEL NEWS DAY, 5/13).
The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER notes that one rumor circulating at the Tribeca Film Festival in N.Y., which concluded on Sunday, "put the American Express commitment [to sponsor the fest] at $10 million over three years" (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 5/13).
FINAL JEOPARDY QUESTION
Friday's "Final Jeopardy!" category was "Knowledge By The Numbers."
"Number of males who served as British PM in the 1990s plus Oscars won by Tom Hanks plus protons in a helium nucleus."
LAUGH TRACK
THE MONOLOGUES: NBC's Jay Leno: "Plastic surgeons in (L.A.) are actually offering Mother's Day breast implant specials. Let me tell you something. If you're looking at your mom and you're wondering how she'd look with implants, you got a bigger problem than what gift to get. ... A jewelry store in Beverly Hills is offering roses dipped in gold for Mother's Day. Apparently, they felt regular roses weren't expensive enough ... A Canadian agency is reporting the number of obese Canadians is rising rapidly. See, those Canadians are always trying to copy us. Hey Canada, get a life! We were fat first! ... The good news for Canadians – 280 pounds Canadian is only 180 pounds American. ... The Federal Trade Commission said they're bringing false advertising charges against the makers of Ab Energizer and the AbTronic. You know those stupid belts on TV with the wires? The ones that (electronically) stimulate your stomach? ... The machines have two settings – gullible and really gullible. ... They use electricity to give you that buff look. Did you ever see anybody hit by lightning? Do they look healthier to you? ... The FTC said they're going to fine these companies $80(M), or four easy payments of $19,999,999. ... Simon & Schuster announced it's going to pay Ozzy Osbourne $3(M) to write his memoirs. Memoirs! What is his memory, maybe the last two weeks? They say this will be the first book written entirely on rolling papers. ... Beverly Hills madam Heidi Fleiss ... said she was offered $100,000 to fight Tonya Harding on Fox's 'Celebrity Boxing,' but she declined. She turned it down. How sleazy is your network when hookers are turning you down? That doesn't say much for Fox" ("Tonight Show," NBC, 5/10).
CBS' David Letterman: "It's so nice today, Spider-Man was sunbathing on the side of a building. ... Saturday night, right here on CBS, a fantastic special for you, 'World's Greatest Commercials.' You know what it's going to be? It'll be about 20 minutes of [great] commercials, and then the rest will be just commercials. ... CBS' viewers will get to see commercials for all their products – Metamucil, Polident, Depends. It'll be a long night for all of us. ... Sunday (was) Mother's Day. That is the day that we honor the woman we blame for all our personal problems. ... Mother's Day with my mom is always the same thing. Halfway through the brunch, she starts accusing the waiter of watering down the Bloody Mary's" ("The Late Show," CBS, 5/10).
LATE NIGHT LAUGHS: Last Friday's Top Ten list was "Top Ten Pieces Of Advice I Have Given My Child." ("The Late Show," CBS, 5/10).
| 10. | "Screw law school, I want you to get into rasslin'" (read by The Rock's mother, Atta). |
| 9. | "Stop and smell the roses – then clip them and dry the petals to make a spring collage" (read by Martha Stewart's mother, Martha). |
| 8. | "Don't believe all the hype you read about yourself, honey – actually you're a short, overweight bald guy" (read by Brad Pitt's mother, Jane). |
| 7. | "Smile and nod and no one will realize how much Regis irritates you" (read by Kelly Ripa's mother, Essie). |
| 6. | "Remember, a good man is hard to find" (read by Ellen Degeneres' mother, Betty). |
| 5. | "Make sure your midriff is covered before going out on stage – I didn't say she listened to me" (read by Christina Aguilera's mother, Shelly). |
| 4. | "Speed limits are for sissies" (read by Jeff Gordon's mother, Carol). |
| 3. | "You want to impress your mom? Buy her a new house for Mother's Day" (read by Leonardo DiCaprio's mother, Irma Lynn). |
| 2. | "Always remember to put family first – that's why I'm here doing Letterman so you don't have to" (read by Ashley and Wynona Judd's mother, Naomi Judd). |
| 1. | "David, don't be a smart-ass" (read by David Letterman's mother, Dorothy). |
SUNDAY NIGHT'S TV MONITOR
ESPN's 11:00pm ET "SportsCenter" led with Spurs-Lakers.
WEEKEND BOX OFFICE
Sony's "Spider-Man" scaled box office heights this weekend, scoring an estimated $72M in its sophomore session, the biggest second weekend in box office history. The film "set another speed record at the box office this weekend, swinging past the $200 million mark Saturday" in a record nine days (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 5/13).
| Title | This Weekend | Cumulative |
| Spider-Man | $72M | $223.6M |
| Unfaithful | $14.2M | $14.2M |
| The New Guy | $9.5M | $9.5M |
| The Scorpion King | $4.3M | $80.3M |
| Changing Lanes | $3.5M | $56.9M |
| Murder By Numbers | $2.2M | $27.3M |
| The Rookie | $2.1M | $67.7M |
| Panic Room | $1.5M | $93.1M |
| Ice Age | $1.4M | $170.8M |
| Life Or Something Like It | $1.3M | $13M |
| |
FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER
"What is six?"
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