| | The Daily Insider
Morning News & Headlines
Tuesday, July 23, 2002
9:00am ET | |
| • | ESPN To Unveil Its List Of 100 “Most Important” People, Places In Sports |
| • | YES-Cablevision Open Hearing To Be Held At Bronx Courthouse |
| • | Pack The House: Green Bay Invites Shareholders To Salary Cap Session |
| • | Michael Andretti To Announce Plans to Purchase CART Team, Move To IRL |
| • | Red Sox Hold Farewell For Ted Williams With His Children Frozen Out |
| • | A Lighter Buzz/In Other News/Laugh Track/Final Jeopardy!/TV Monitor |
MAKING A LIST: ESPN TO RANK THE 100 MOST IMPORTANT IN SPORTS
This afternoon, ESPN Magazine and ESPN.com will unveil "The ESPN 100" – a "single list that ranks, in order, the most important people, places, events, achievements, teams and trends of the past 12 months." The list was selected with input from more than 400 ESPN experts. Beginning today, fans also will be able to rank their own Top 25 via SportsNation, a new ESPN.com section geared towards fans (ESPN MAGAZINE, 7/22).
The first "ESPN 100" will be televised at 8:00pm ET tonight on a show hosted by ESPN anchor Stuart Scott. According to the DETROIT FREE PRESS, the list covers "the sports year," which differs from the calendar year and "starts about now – it's sort of like the fiscal year" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 7/23).
CONSUMERS GET CHANCE TO AIR VIEWS ON YES-CABLEVISION SPAT
The N.Y. DAILY NEWS reports that Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion Jr. has called a public hearing today at the Bronx County Courthouse at noon ET to discuss the YES-Cablevision dispute. YES Chair Leo Hindery and analyst David Cone are scheduled to appear. YES "deserve[s] credit" because they "are willing to meet with anyone who wants to talk about this mess. If form holds, no one from Cablevision will attend" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 7/23).
PACKERS PRESENT SHAREHOLDERS WITH LESSON IN SALARY CAP
The Green Bay PRESS-GAZETTE reported that registered Packers shareholders and their guests will meet at 10:00am CT today at the Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena for a salary cap presentation conducted by VP/Player Finance Andrew Brandt. The Packers "expect up to 4,700 stockholders who have indicated they'll attend," but if each brings a guest, "close to 10,000 could attend" (Green Bay PRESS-GAZETTE, 7/22).
ANDRETTI DEFECTION PLAN DEALS ANOTHER BLOW TO CART
ESPN.com reported that, at a press conference scheduled for noon CT today, CART driver Michael Andretti "will officially become a car owner and announce his plans to purchase" Team KOOL Green and take it to the rival IRL. Andretti's defection is "another victory for the IRL -- which picked up Team Penske this year and already has Target/Ganassi and Mo Nunn Racing competing in both open wheel series" (ESPN.com, 7/22).
FENWAY HOSTS AN EMOTIONAL FAREWELL TO TED WILLIAMS
The BOSTON GLOBE reports that there were 20,500 fans in attendance at Fenway Park for the Red Sox' tribute to Ted Williams last night. Earlier in the day, a free memorial drew an estimated 12,000 fans. The evening ceremony drew both political leaders and former teammates, who appeared in their vintage uniforms and took their positions on the field. Red Sox Owner John Henry was introduced as John W. Henry in "a transparent attempt to separate himself from the Hall of Famer's son, John Henry." Williams' children were "the most obvious omissions from [the] guest list" (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/23).
Meanwhile, the WASHINGTON POST noted that the 13,000 empty seats "were attributed largely to the backlash surrounding the family squabble" over Williams' body (WASHINGTON POST, 7/23).
The BOSTON HERALD reports that last night's tribute "was tasteful, touching, wholly appropriate, and at times deeply moving" (BOSTON HERALD, 7/23). The GLOBE adds that Red Sox fans "had reacted to the evening skeptically, wondering what would make such an affair worth attending. But the Red Sox, as they always seem to do for big events, made it memorable" (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/23).
A LIGHTER BUZZ
The HOUSTON CHRONICLE reports that "football-starved fans left heartbroken by the Oilers were formally introduced to the NFL's 32nd franchise Monday night" as the Texans held a practice session. A "standing-room-only crowd of 1,500" was in attendance (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 7/23).
Meanwhile, the SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS reports that the Texans "plan to provide media members with their own tent to combat the heat, prompting owner Bob McNair to joke … that a tent is cheaper than hauling off a reporter to a hospital" (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, 7/23).
TODAY'S EVENTS
The National Sports Marketing Network will host an 8:00-10:15am ET event called "Hitting the Hispanic Target" at the ESPN Zone in N.Y. Panelists include MLB VP/Intl Business Operations Paul Archey, NBA Latin America Managing Dir Arturo Nunez, and NFL Senior Dir of Brand & Consumer Marketing Marjorie Rodgers. The Sports Business Daily Editor-at-Large Terry Lefton will serve as the event's moderator (THE DAILY).
Actor Dana Carvey will make a 2:00pm ET appearance at the NBA Store in N.Y., to read to more than 50 area school children as part of the NBA's "Read to Achieve" program (THE DAILY).
MLL Founder Jake Steinfeld and Columbus Crew Stadium GM Mark McCullers will host a 12:30pm ET press conference at the Columbus Crew Stadium Club Tent to make an event announcement (THE DAILY).
IN OTHER NEWS….
Nielsen Media Research data shows that four of the six networks had older audiences last season than they did in '00-01. The median age of Fox viewers remained at 36, and ABC was the only network to get younger (USA TODAY, 7/23).
The Baltimore SUN reports that Ravens Owner Art Modell is expected to be released today from Johns Hopkins Hospital. Modell was admitted to the hospital on Sunday night for an "extremely mild stroke." David Modell said of his father, "He's in great shape" (Baltimore SUN, 7/23).
The WASHINGTON TIMES reports that NBC "has struck a deal with Baskin-Robbins to create a line of official network ice cream flavors." The promotion will begin in September. The ice cream flavors will include "Fear Factor Sundae" and "Will & Grace's Rocky Road of Romance" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 7/23).
FINAL JEOPARDY!
Last night's "Final Jeopardy!" category was "U.S. Geography."
"It's the only U.S. state that touches two oceans."
LAUGH TRACK
THE MONOLOGUES:
CBS' David Letterman: "It's so hot here recently, (76ers G) Allen Iverson kicked his way into an apartment with a loaded squirt gun. ... Al Gore sounds like he's running again. He is accusing the Bush Administration of lying about the economy. ... Pretty strong words from the guy who invented the Internet. ... On Saturday, we had a big blackout here in (N.Y.), so mom and I spent the weekend looting. ... The power failure didn't just effect (N.Y.). It was way up into the suburbs. In fact, Chappaqua, where former President Bill Clinton lives, had a power outage. In fact, it was bad. He had to use a manual intern" ("The Late Show," CBS, 7/22).
NBC's Jay Leno: "A spokesman for Al Qaeda issued a statement for the destruction of America. I got news for these people. They cannot destroy the American way of life. Only Wall Street can do that. ... I love these ads that keep saying, 'Don't worry if you lost money in the stock market. Those are just paper losses.' Yeah, unfortunately that's what money is printed on. ... Australia's largest brothel – brothels are legal in Australia – is going to sell shares of itself on the Australian stock market. See, why don't we have brothels listed on our stock market? Think about this. Republicans love money. Democrats love prostitutes. Everybody would be happy. ... And that's one stock where it's considered good if it's going down. ... The latest issue of Newsweek magazine says that President Bush is determined not to make the same mistakes his father did. You know, like letting his kids get involved in politics. ... Officials in England announced that a family doctor named Harold Shipman killed 215 of his patients between 1974 and 1998. That's about the same as your average HMO. ... According to a new survey, Germans are the best-behaved tourists in the world. See, it's only when they march into your country and want to stay forever. That's when it gets a little testy" ("Tonight Show," NBC, 7/22).
LATE NIGHT LAUGHS:
Last night's "Top Ten" was "Top Ten Tiger Woods Excuses" ("The Late Show," CBS, 7/22).
| 10) | "Whoa, whoa, wait, you're telling me the lowest score wins?" |
| 9) | "I was up late the night before celebrating my inevitable victory." |
| 8) | "When he heard winner didn't get snazzy green jacket, he said, 'Screw this.'" |
| 7) | "Frustrated by Nike's ongoing refusal to promote him." |
| 6) | "Too much haggis." |
| 5) | "Distracted by caddy's windblown kilt." |
| 4) | "Exhausted from winning Wimbledon." |
| 3) | "When a guy gets a Swedish girlfriend, suddenly golf ain't the most important thing in the world." |
| 2) | "According to metric system I lost, but by regular American scorekeeping I kicked ass." |
| 1) | "Thrown off by Ernie Els' pre-match threat, 'I'm gonna eat your children!'" |
CBS' Craig Kilborn: "A member of the Rolling Stones road crew has passed away after suffering a heart attack. At rehearsals, after he was declared dead, they immediately made him the lead guitarist. … There were a record number of layoffs in the tech industry. In fact, today I saw that kid in the Dell computer commercials holding a sign in Hollywood that said 'Will say dude for food'" ("The Late Late Show," CBS, 7/22).
Jon Stewart: "As anyone who's ever seen the movie 'Stripes' is aware, visiting a strip club is a crucial part of the military experience. Only through such communal bonding can soldiers develop the teamwork necessary to assault Czechoslovakia in a Winnebago, or whatever your mission is … in the movie. But for some reason, the (U.S.) Congress doesn't agree with that assessment. The General Accounting Office has discovered that Army personnel used government charge cards to purchase, among other things, $38,000 worth of lap dances. The Army, it's not just a job. It's three minutes with a stripper named Dakota" ("The Daily Show," Comedy Central, 7/22).
MONDAY NIGHT'S TV MONITOR
ESPN's 11:00pm ET "SportsCenter" led with Pirates-Reds.
FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER
"What is Alaska?"
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