WORLD CUP, DAY 18: U.S. TEAM ADVANCES TO QUARTERFINALS

The U.S. men's soccer team "shocked the planet yet again here Monday afternoon, shutting out bitter rival Mexico, 2-0, to advance to the World Cup quarterfinals and a Friday date with Germany." U.S. coach Bruce Arena: "It's a great day for US soccer" (BOSTON.com, 6/17). The AP reports that President Bush called the U.S. squad "to wish the Americans luck" before the game. Bush: "The country is really proud of the team. A lot of people that don't know anything about soccer, like me, are all excited and pulling for you" (AP, 6/17).

Recent Headlines:

• Singapore Cable Vision Wins And Loses In World Cup (DAILY VARIETY, 6/16).
• BBC Scores As Fans "Boycott" ITV Team (LONDON TIMES, 6/17).
• Korean Businesses Gearing Up For Quarterfinal Marketing (KOREA HERALD, 6/17).
• Nike On A Kick To Attract Global Audience At Cup (BOSTON GLOBE, 6/17).
• Americans Get In A Sweat Over Shirt Tradition (N.Y. TIMES, 6/17).
• MLS Hopes World Cup Can Educate The Casual U.S. Fan (L.A. TIMES, 6/17).
• Fans Flock To Snap Up Flights To Japan (London GUARDIAN, 6/16).
• FIFA: No Positive Doping Results After 52 Matches (KOREA HERALD, 6/17).
• Forty Great Things About This World Cup So Far (London GUARDIAN, 6/16).

Soccer Sites of Interest:

FIRST U.S OPEN HELD AT A PUBLIC COURSE A BIG SUCCESS

After Tiger Woods' win at the U.S. Open at Bethpage on Sunday, USGA Exec Dir David Fay said, "This Open has been a home run in every respect. The players love the course, it is a tremendous test of golf, and all the infrastructure stuff – the hospitality villages, parking, transportation, marshaling - has been fantastic. It's not 'will the Open come back here' but 'when'" (NEWSDAY, 6/17). U.S. Opens are already scheduled through '07, and the "favorite" for the '08 event is Torrey Pines in S.D. (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 6/17).

Meanwhile, the DALLAS MORNING NEWS reports that with his win yesterday at the U.S. Open, Woods "became the first player in PGA Tour history to surpass $30 million" in earnings. The next closest player to Woods on the all-time earnings list is Phil Mickelson, with more than $20M (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 6/17).

OLYMPIC HISTORY TOPS AGENDA FOR ATHENS SPONSORS GATHERING

AROUND THE RINGS reports that approximately 500 sponsor execs are expected in Athens this week for a convention, the "biggest-ever sponsors meeting so far for the 2004 Games." The event "is expected to be a far-reaching review of marketing plans for Athens," and the IOC "will fly 30 key sponsors to the birthplace of the Games in Olympia" as a prelude. IOC Marketing Dir Michael Payne says that the visit "is meant to give the sponsors a sense of the history behind their investments in the Games" (AROUNDTHERINGS.com, 6/14).

PAN AMERICAN SITE COMMITTEE DUE IN SAN ANTONIO THIS WEEK

The SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS reports that San Antonio's bid for the '07 Pan American Games "is now in its home stretch, beginning this week with the arrival of the Pan American Sports Organization's (PASO) site committee." Made up of five National Olympic Committee presidents, the group "will be instrumental come August when the PASO general assembly decides which city to award the games — Rio de Janeiro or San Antonio" (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, 6/17).

HOCKEYTOWN THROWS A PARADE FOR STANLEY CUP CHAMPS

The DETROIT FREE PRESS reports that a parade honoring the '02 Stanley Cup Champion Red Wings will he held today beginning at 11:30am ET. The city of Detroit "expects approximately 1 million fans to celebrate the Wings' victory" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 6/17). The DETROIT NEWS reported that for the Red Wings last celebration, held after the team won the '98 Stanley Cup, the victory parade drew 1.2 million fans (DETROIT NEWS, 6/14). Meanwhile, the Red Wings hosted a "Thank You" rally for season ticket holders and suite holders last night at Joe Louis Arena (THE DAILY).

A LIGHTER BUZZ

ATTENDANCE WATCH:

• The DETROIT NEWS reports that an estimated crowd of 165,000 watched NASCAR's Matt Kenseth win the Sirius Satellite Radio 400 yesterday in MI (DETROIT NEWS, 6/17).

• The Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL reports that the attendance estimate for yesterday's rain-delayed Kroger 300 NASCAR Busch Series at KY Speedway "was 18,111 after Saturday night's track-record, standing-room only crowd of 71,299" (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 6/17).

• The IRL's Radisson Indy 225 was held at Pikes Peak Int'l Raceway yesterday, and while PPIR "doesn't announce attendance figures … the crowd was estimated at 22,000" (ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS. 6/17).

• The BOSTON GLOBE reports that about 20,000 fans "had the rare opportunity to play catch in the Fenway Park outfield yesterday during a Father's Day event to benefit the Red Sox Foundation." The "Fenway Magic Launch Party" ran "well beyond it's scheduled 4 p.m. close to accomodate all who wanted to get on the field" (BOSTON GLOBE, 6/17). For images, see www.boston.com.

The L.A. TIMES reports that AL business exec Donald Watkins "is expected to meet with his advisors this week to discuss how to structure" an offer for the Angels. He is "considering the subsequent submission of two bids ... a lower one in the event of a strike and a higher one if a strike is averted" (L.A. TIMES, 6/17).

TODAY'S EVENTS

Pistons F Rodney White and Bow Wow will appear at Great Lakes Crossing in Auburn Hills, MI, from 2:00-3:00pm ET to promote Bow Wow's new film "Like Mike." The two will also participate in a presentation to The Lighthouse of Oakland County, a local charity (THE DAILY).

The Timberwolves and WNBA Lynx summer basketball camps open at three MN locations: Concordia College in St. Paul, Osseo Sports Center in Osseo and McCleod County Fairgrounds in Hutchinson (THE DAILY).

Big East Commissioner Mike Tranghese will lead a meeting of the Bowl Championship Series conference commissioners in San Francisco to review college football's postseason format (THE DAILY).

Fred Jacoby, former SWC and MAC Commissioner and current LSC and ASC Commissioner, will be awarded the 21^st NACDA/NIT Athletics Directors Award during the 37^th Annual Convention of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics in Dallas (THE DAILY).

The 49^th Int'l Advertising Festival opens in Cannes, France (THE DAILY).

EARNINGS ANNOUNCEMENTS

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

IN OTHER NEWS….

This week's cover of TIME features Tom Cruise, with the tagline: "BEING TOM." This week's issue of NEWSWEEK features a special report on medicine and technology (THE DAILY).

The WALL STREET JOURNAL reports that Coca-Cola and Groupe Danone SA today "are expected to announce they are forming a joint venture to market and distribute several of Danone's U.S. bottled spring-water brands, in a move likely to shift the balance in the bottled-water wars" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 6/17).

A research study conducted at IA State Univ. shows that "watching a movie or TV program with strong sexual references interferes with people's ability to remember the commercials in such programs" (WASHINGTON POST, 6/17).

The FINANCIAL TIMES reported that England's success in this year's World Cup "has led to booming sales of big screen televisions, with fans paying as much as [US$2,920] for a state-of-the-art model" (FINANCIAL TIMES, 6/15).

The WASHINGTON POST reported, "In an effort to draw attention to their contract negotiations with The Washington Post, newsroom union leaders have asked reporters to stop writing for the paper's prize-winning Web site, Washingtonpost.com, until further notice" (WASHINGTON POST, 6/15).

FINAL JEOPARDY!

Friday's "Final Jeopardy!" category was "College Football."

"His name was immortalized in 1936; he holds the record for head coaching at the most Division I or major schools -- eight."

LAUGH TRACK

THE MONOLOGUES: CBS' David Letterman: "I have to apologize for the weather here in (N.Y.). I mean we were going along, and everything was nice. And now all of sudden, it's just got muggy and nasty. I tell you, the only breeze we had [Friday] was from the (NJ) Nets blowing the NBA championship. … We always get excited because this weekend, thanks to inter-league play, there's another one of those Subway Series. The (NY) Yankees and the (NY) Mets are playing. And you know, there's been bad blood between the (NY) Mets and the (NY) Yankees and (Mets C) Mike Piazza and (Yankees P) Roger Clemens. Well the (NY) Mets have now said that they will not be throwing at Roger Clemens. Although Mike Pizza said he might make bitchy remarks from behind home plate. He said he might. But he's not sure. … You know with this Woody Allen court case, have you been following that? I don't fully understand it, but Woody Allen was in court and he was suing somebody. So it's all wrapped up and there's a settlement, and at the end of the court proceeding, he apologized to the jury for having to sit through a dull trial. And I thought, well that's a start. What about the folks who sat through his last movie? … Father's Day, are you excited about Father's Day? It's the day that we honor the man who raised us, who worked hard, who toiled long into the night, making money, putting food on the table, sending us to school, getting clothes for us. We honor this guy by giving him a Black & Decker nose hair trimmer. That's how we say, 'Thank you Dad. God bless ya.' Dad don't want no tie, don't want no cologne, don't want no rake. Hell, get him a hooker. Something he can use. … And it's funny, I don't know what Mom is thinking here, but I get the same call this time of year. Always get this same call from Mom. She says, 'David, did you remember to send a Father's Day card to Larry King.' What? What? … You're going to have to tell me. I don't know if this is good news or bad news, but McDonald's is now, on their breakfast menu, you can now get Spam. … You can get Spam and eggs and it's like in a sandwich and they're calling it the Egg McYuck. … Did you folks see the new issue of People magazine? It's very exciting because it's the Top Most 50 Eligible Bachelors in the (U.S.). The 50 most eligible bachelors. Kind of a surprise that three of them were Catholic priests" ("The Late Show," CBS, 6/14).

NBC's Jay Leno: "You sound like people who didn't get caught by their boss at the Lakers parade. Did you see that parade [Friday]? Over a million people, or as we call it, the world's largest outdoor unemployment office. ... Who gets Friday off to go a parade? Even LAX has a big sign saying, 'Please frisk yourselves, be back at 4:00'. ... You probably saw this on the news today. The Lakers drove through the crowd on top of fire trucks ... Meanwhile, 75,000 acres continue burning out of control right outside of town. The parade went through downtown L.A. at about four miles an hour. See, I love that. The only city in the world where parades actually move faster than normal traffic. … You know what I'm very proud of? There wasn't any looting after the victory party. Actually, one person was looting, but that was Winona Ryder. … This week, hundreds of Catholic bishops arrived in Dallas for the annual convention being held at the Fairmont Hotel. They wanted to hold it at the Ramada because, you know, Ramada, kids stay free. Yeah, I'm way out of line. How'd you like to be a bellboy in that hotel? I don't think so. Anyway, [Friday] they voted in what they said was a new code of conduct. ... Don't we have one already? Didn't it used to be called the Ten Commandments? Wasn't that OK? That worked for the last 2,000 years. Is there a problem? … Another bad week for the stock market. About the only one who made any money this week was Martha Stewart. How did she do it? It's like she knows when to sell. It's amazing. … It looks like Martha Stewart may be in a little trouble. There are now accusations that she's been connected to insider trading. It seems she was friendly with the former CEO of a company called ImClone, and she sold a few thousand shares a day or two before the stock crashed. But Martha said today she didn't sell because of inside information. She said she sold the stock certificates because they were a warm nut-brown color. You see, they clashed with her mahogany desk. … The bad news? According to experts, your chance of being bitten by a shark is way up this summer, way up. The good news? After last week's fight, the chances of being bitten by Mike Tyson is way down, way down. … Jack Osbourne, he's in the paper [Friday] denying he is gay. ... I didn't even know he played for the (NY) Mets. First I've heard of it" ("Tonight Show," NBC, 6/14).

SUNDAY NIGHT'S TV MONITOR

ESPN's 12:00am ET "SportsCenter" led with the U.S. Open.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE

The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER notes that the estimated total for the top 12 films this weekend was $159.9M, "up a strong 25% from the comparable frame last year." The weekend total "pushed the national boxoffice past the $4 billion mark in record time -- close to four weeks faster than last year's pace" (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 6/17).

FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER

"Who was John Heisman?"

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.