| | The Daily Insider
Morning News & Headlines
Tuesday, May 21, 2002
9:00am ET | |
| • | Nicklaus' Career Documented With Museum On OH State Campus |
| • | Are You Proposing? Pontiac To Solicit Suggestions For Silverdome Site |
| • | Original Checkers Owners Scheer & Sabates Ready To Reassume Control |
| • | Octopus Toss Scores One Tigers Fan Hockey Tickets, Scares One Fan Away |
| • | Game, Set And Match At TV Awards For BBC's Wimbledon Coverage |
| • | A Lighter Buzz/In Other News/Laugh Track/Final Jeopardy!/TV Monitor |
NICKLAUS MUSEUM OPENS TODAY ON OH STATE CAMPUS
After a ribbon-cutting ceremony last night that was televised by The Golf Channel, the Jack Nicklaus Museum officially opens today at 9:00am ET in Columbus, OH. The AKRON BEACON JOURNAL reports the museum is located on the campus of OH State Univ., adjacent to the Schottenstein Center, and contains "thousands of photos and memorabilia from Nicklaus' storied career," including "baby photos and never-before-seen pictures of his childhood years" (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 5/21). The museum was built "at a cost of more than $12 million, all paid by donors" (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 5/20). The DAYTON DAILY NEWS reported the museum features "the latest multimedia technology [which] allows visitors to interact with digital audio and video" (DAYTON DAILY NEWS, 5/20).
PONTIAC OPENS SUGGESTION BOX FOR SILVERDOME SITE PROPOSALS
The DETROIT NEWS reports that Pontiac Mayor Willie Payne, Silverdome Exec Dir Eric Walker, (Pontiac) City Council members and members of the stadium building authority "will ask developers nationwide to present proposals and suggestions for the Silverdome" at an 11:00am ET news conference that will "include a discussion of other development projects in the city." The facility's main tennant, the Lions, will move into Ford Field this season (DETROIT NEWS, 5/21).
FAMILIAR FACES PREPARE TO PURCHASE ECHL CHECKERS
The ECHL Charlotte Checkers will formally announce today at a 12:30pm ET press conference at Cricket Arena that ScheerSports Chair & CEO Carl Scheer, NASCAR team Owner Felix Sabates and Charlotte business exec Steve Luquire have purchased the franchise from Big Play Entertainment principals Ray Wooldridge and George Shinn. Scheer & Sabates were the Checkers' original co-Owners from '93-96 (THE DAILY).
SOMETHING FISHY LURES TIGERS FANS AWAY FROM COMERICA
The AKRON BEACON JOURNAL reports that there "appeared to be no more than 4,000 on hand for last night's game" between the Indians and Tigers at Comerica Park. The temperature "was 45 degrees when the first pitch was thrown," and to make matters worse, a Tigers promotion "encouraged at least one spectator to leave." Before the game, fans were "invited to throw a cooked octopus at a target," with the winner receiving free tickets and a limo ride to watch last night's Avalanche-Red Wings Western Conference Final at Joe Louis Arena (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 5/21).
The DETROIT NEWS' Terry Foster writes, "It was the first of many odd ideas that are sure to come from the brain of Tigers marketing whiz Mike Veeck. … By the way, the octopuses were imported from Portugal, and the Tigers and [WXYT-AM] did receive phone calls of protest from animal rights groups" (DETROIT NEWS, 5/21).
BBC'S WIMBLEDON COVERAGE NETS THREE TELEVISION AWARDS
The London GUARDIAN reports that the BBC's coverage of Wimbledon "triumphed in three categories at the Royal Television Society Television Sports Awards 2001" last evening including best sports presenter for Sue Barker, best sports pundit for John McEnroe and live outside broadcast of the year for the men's finals (London GUARDIAN, 5/21).
A LIGHTER BUZZ
The N.Y. TIMES reports a settlement has been reached between Penthouse magazine and Judith Soltesz-Benneton, the woman whose pictures appeared in the magazine and were identified as being those of Anna Kournikova. While Soltesz-Benetton was seeking $10M in damages, neither side "would disclose how much money was paid in the settlement" (N.Y. TIMES, 5/21).
USA TODAY reports that FIFA President Sepp Blatter "is expected to address delegates at the Oceania soccer conference on the South Pacific island of Tonga" today before heading to the World Cup in Japan and South Korea (USA TODAY, 5/21).
Last night's edition of "Wheel of Fortune" was the first in a week-long series called "Sports Fan Week" broadcasted from Chicago. The wheel included a prize package to attend a Blackhawks game in a luxury suite, receive an autographed jersey and view a team photo session (THE DAILY).
TODAY'S EVENTS
The SportsBusiness Journal's inaugural Open Wheel Racing Summit opens today in Indianapolis with a keynote presentation by IRL team Owner & driver Eddie Cheever Jr. at 9:00am CT (THE DAILY).
President Bush will honor the '02 NCAA national champion Univ. of CT women's basketball team with a 2:00pm ET reception at the White House. The team also won the title in '00 but had their trip to Washington, DC, canceled when President Clinton had to attend a summit meeting (THE DAILY).
The WNBA Monarchs will host media day from 10:00am – 12:00pm PT at Arco Arena. The entire team and coaching staff will be available for interviews (THE DAILY).
WNBA President Val Ackerman will hold her preseason conference call with the media from 1:00–2:00pm ET (THE DAILY).
As part of the "Read to Achieve" program, the Hawks will join representatives from IBM and the NBA to dedicate a new Reading and Learning Center at the Joseph B. Whitehead Boys & Girls Club. The event will begin at 3:30pm ET and will be attended by C Theo Ratliff, G Jason Terry and F Leon Smith. Former Hawks G Dominique Wilkins and NBA Special Asst. to the Commissioner Bob Lanier will also be in attendance (THE DAILY).
The CFL Alouettes will host a media teleconference call at 1:00pm ET to discuss the upcoming season. President & CEO Ellis “Skip” Prince and coach Don Matthews will be available to answer question (THE DAILY).
IN OTHER NEWS….
The N.Y. TIMES reports that "despite mounting pressure" aimed at forcing the Rigas family to resign from the board of Adelphia Communications, "the family is strongly resisting giving up its five (of nine total) seats" (N.Y. TIMES, 5/21).
The SALT LAKE TRIBUNE reports that former SLOC President & CEO Mitt Romney "is scheduled to hold a pair of fund-raising events Wednesday in Salt Lake City" for his MA gubernatorial campaign (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 5/21).
The L.A. DAILY NEWS reports that the family foundation of Disney Chair Michael Eisner "will give $7 million to launch a teacher training program" at California State Univ., Northridge. The donation is "the largest gift ever" given to the school (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 5/21).
FINAL JEOPARDY QUESTION
Last night's "Final Jeopardy!" category was "Rulers."
"Mikhail Sperasnsky and Aleksey Arakcheyev were advisors to this opponent of Napoleon."
LAUGH TRACK
THE MONOLOGUES: NBC's Jay Leno: "There's yet another Osama bin Laden videotape out. This proves that this Osama guy is really starting to lose it. What kind of idiot puts out a new video the same week as 'Star Wars?' ... They are now saying that President Bush knew as far back as January that 'Ally McBeal' would be canceled. ... Senator Joe Lieberman said as far as these hijacking threats are concerned, somebody at the White House should have put two and two together. Put two and two together? Well, that eliminates Bush right there. He's not a numbers guy. ... Some controversy at the Miss Universe pageant. It seems Miss Lebanon has dropped out because she doesn't want to be in the same room as Miss Israel, and Miss Israel is refusing to wear her sash. But the good news is they both say the most important thing is world peace. ... Speaking in Miami (Monday), President Bush said Cuban elections are a fraud and a sham. I bet everybody in (FL) had a good laugh over that one. ... A 27-year-old woman in ... (CA) has been arrested for performing jumping jacks while naked during her 13-year-old daughter's birthday party. I got embarrassed when my mom came into the room in front of my friends wearing a housecoat. I hated that. ... According to a new study, the median price of a home in the U.S. is now $147,500, or as they call that in L.A., a deposit. ... An inventor has come out with a product called a Safety Turtle. Have you heard about this thing? It's the size of a wristwatch and you attach it to a child and it sends out a signal if the child falls into the pool. See when I was a kid we had something similar to that. It was called a parent. 'Yeah, just give the kid a beeper. We'll be at the mall.' ... An ordinary plain cheese pizza packs more than half a day's worth of saturated fat. ... In fact, here's a good way to tell if you're been eating too much pizza. They said if they open your casket and you stick to the lid, you've been eating too much pizza" ("Tonight Show," NBC, 5/20).
CBS' David Letterman: "I was in Rupert G's Hello Deli and I think the drought (in NY) is over because he's gone back to watering the chili. ... Here in (N.Y.) we're having one of the worst allergy seasons on record. I'm walking through Central Park (yesterday and) I see an old lady throwing antihistamines to pigeons. ... The allergies (were) so bad earlier (yesterday), a disgraced priest asked to be transferred to (AZ). ... (The Pope) celebrated (his birthday) the same way that he does every year. He and a bunch of Cardinals had lunch at the Vatican Hooters. ... Cher (was) 56 years old (yesterday). Not all of her is 56. ... She celebrated with 56 shots of Botox." Letterman, on the new Osama bin Laden video tape: "You see Osama bin Laden ... (and) all of his buddies – it's Osama, it's Mullah Omar, it's Jango Fett, it's Count Dooku" ("The Late Show," CBS, 5/20).
LATE NIGHT LAUGHS: Last night's "Top Ten" list was "Top Ten Surprises In The New 'Star Wars' Film" ("The Late Show," CBS, 5/20).
| 10. | "Most of the action takes place on Planet Hollywood." |
| 9. | "Jedis interrupting light saber battle to change 'AA' batteries." |
| 8. | "Jar Jar Binks is shot by enraged Robert Blake." |
| 7. | "Obi-Wan wins the big dirty dancing contest." |
| 6. | "A confused William Shatner keeps showing up looking for Spock." |
| 5. | "Supreme Chancellor passes out after choking on a pretzel." |
| 4. | "'The Force?' – Just a sinus headache." |
| 3. | "All the time C3PO spends bitching about Spider-Man." |
| 2. | "Usual 'Star Wars' opening theme replaced with George Straits' 'All My Ex'sLive In Texas.'" |
| 1. | "Yoda has sex with a pie." |
MONDAY NIGHT'S TV MONITOR
ESPN's 11:00pm ET "SportsCenter" led with Lakers-Kings.
FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER
"Who was Czar Alexander I?"
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