| | The Daily Insider
Morning News & Headlines
Friday, July 26, 2002
9:00am ET | |
| • | Latest Round Of Labor Talks Leave MLB Execs Feeling Optimistic |
| • | Umpires Upset With Owners' Threats To Remove Union Representatives |
| • | News Organizations Continue Fight To Gain Access To Twins' Financial Records |
| • | Vivendi Universal's Cost Cutting Places French Soccer Team On The Blocks |
| • | In Case You Missed It: Letterman's Rupert Jee Drives For Show, Puts For Dough |
| • | In Other News/Today's Events/TV Monitor/Lighter Buzz/Final Jeopardy! |
MLB'S TOP NEGOTIATORS ENCOURAGED WITH LATEST TALKS
The AP reported that MLB Exec VP/Labor Relations Rob Manfred sounded "unusually optimistic" following yesterday's five-hour bargaining session with the MLBPA. The two sides are scheduled to meet today, and "probably will have sessions for five straight days starting Monday," which would be "the longest period of sustained talks since the previous contract expired Nov. 7." MLB President & COO Bob DuPuy "concurred with Manfred that the sides had made progress on revenue sharing." MLBPA Exec Dir Donald Fehr was not involved in the latest talks, but General Counsel Gene Orza called the session "informative and enlightening" (AP, 7/25).
Meanwhile, Pirates player rep Kevin Young said that the team postponed its vote on authorizing a strike date from Thursday to Friday (MLB.com, 7/25).
UMPIRES CONSIDER FILING ANOTHER LAWSUIT AGAINST MLB
The AP reported that MLB's umpires "threatened more legal action against owners over management's insistence that union representatives leave dressing rooms 30 minutes before games begin." The umpires claim that MLB "violated the umpires' labor contract by setting the time limit and by threatening to remove union representatives from ballparks and to revoke their credentials if they violate the time limit." However, Manfred said the owners "have acted within their rights" (AP, 7/25).
COURT FIGHT IN MN CONTINUES FOR ACCESS TO TWINS' RECORDS
The Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE reported that news organizations, including the Tribune and the AP, are asking Hennepin County District Judge Harry Crump "to stay his order requiring the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission to return Twins financial records to the team." Meanwhile, MLB attorney Joe Anthony has asked Crump "to deny the media request for a stay and compel the commission to return or destroy a CD-ROM disc containing 9,000 documents" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 7/25).
CANAL PLUS BREAKUP PROMPTS SALE OF PARIS ST. GERMAIN TEAM
REUTERS reports that the owners of Paris St. Germain have put the soccer club up for sale, "casting a further shadow over the new season as European soccer grapples with a growing financial crisis." French pay-TV group Canal Plus wants to sell the club "as part of a breakup imposed by parent company Vivendi Universal." Vivendi "announced the breakup of Canal Plus on Tuesday as part of plans to dig its way out of crushing debts left by rapid over expansion" (REUTERS, 7/25).
A LIGHTER BUZZ
The ECHL announced today that an agreement has been reached extending its marketing partnership with Arlington Capital Mortgage Corp. through the '03-04 season (THE DAILY).
The AP reports that a large portrait of soccer's David Beckham was unveiled on Thursday in the Pantheon, a landscaped garden in the west of England. The Barry Novis painting displays Beckham with "his arms raised in triumph," and will be on display for one month (AP, 7/26).
TENNIS WEEK reported that Anna Kournikova and Kim Clijsters "kicked off [Wednesday] night's Youth Tennis Advantage fundraising dinner at Stanford University along with NFL Hall of Famers Bill Walsh and Ronnie Lott." More than 300 people attended the event (TENNIS WEEK, 7/25).
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT….
Every Friday, the Morning Buzz will highlight a video clip, chart or piece of information that might have fallen through the cracks. This week, David Letterman follows local deli owner Rupert Jee to the links. When Dave starts firing off golf trivia questions, will Rupert birdie or slice? (THE DAILY).
TODAY'S EVENTS
Braves C Javy Lopez, CF Andruw Jones, C Henry Blanco and coach Pat Corrales will participate in the team's latest Power Lunch. The focal point of the lunch is the radio talk show that will be broadcast live from noon-1:00pm ET (THE DAILY).
The Astros, along with Banco Popular and the Miracle Baseball Academy, are hosting a bilingual baseball clinic for members of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Houston. The event, which features Ps Octavio Dotel and Pedro Borbon, begins at 10:00am CT at the Holthouse Boys & Girls Clubs location in Houston (THE DAILY).
IN OTHER NEWS….
Viacom posted a "sharply higher second-quarter profit" on Thursday that exceeded Wall Street expectations as "improved revenue in most businesses and new goodwill accounting standards boosted the bottom line" (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 7/26).
Comcast Corp. announced on Thursday that President of Cable Operations Steve Burke "will also lead the cable business of the combined AT&T Comcast" (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 7/26).
The N.Y. POST reports that the board of the Jacob Javits Convention Center in N.Y. has "quietly moved to hire a consultant to help with a possible major expansion of the facility." The center's BOD "recently sent out a request for proposals to potential consultants, who would help advise it as the city develops a plan for the West Side" (N.Y. POST, 7/26).
DAILY VARIETY reports that Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) will host an episode of NBC's "Saturday Night Live" on October 12, the second episode of the show's 28th season. Faith Hill is the scheduled musical guest (DAILY VARIETY, 7/26).
FINAL JEOPARDY QUESTION
Last night's "Final Jeopardy!" category was "Famous Buildings."
"Unlike today, 75 years ago you could walk unannounced into this now 132-room home and shake its occupant's hand."
LAUGH TRACK
THE MONOLOGUES:
CBS' David Letterman: "The last time I flew on America West, I was really impressed by the pilot. A very distinguished looking fellow. (He) had a kind of gray mustache, and then I realized, 'Oh no, that's margarita salt.' ... Bush is so confident now about economic recovery that he added another month to his vacation. ... Before (Bush) left Washington, he put Tom Ridge in charge of tee-ball" ("The Late Show," CBS, 7/25).
NBC's Jay Leno: "It was so hot (yesterday) I saw a mirage. A Dodger win. ... I was sweating like Martha Stewart watching those other CEOs being led away in handcuffs. ... (Wednesday), five executives of the Adelphia Cable TV company were arrested on charges of stealing from their own company. Oh, good luck getting a conviction. Stealing from the cable company. Who isn't in favor of that? ... They stole billions. In fact, this is being called the biggest cable rip off since the last Tyson fight. ... In fact, to teach them a lesson, when the police arrested them, they made them wait at the station house between nine and five. ... (Wednesday) night, by a vote of 420-1, the House voted to expel Congressman James Traficant. Traficant was convicted of bribery, extortion and tax evasion – or as Congress calls that, the Triple Crown. ... According to the Chicago Sun-Times, President Clinton may be seeing a counselor. In fact, he's also seeing a cocktail waitress, a nightclub singer (and) two flight attendants. ... I got a great tip from my stockbroker. ... He told me that for $0.39 more, he could super size my fries. ... (S.F.) is now considering a law allowing people to grow their own small amounts of marijuana. You think they eat a lot of Rice-A-Roni now?" ("Tonight Show," NBC, 7/25).
LATE NIGHT LAUGHS:
Last night's "Top Ten" was "Top Ten Things Dumb Guys Think We Should Do About The Asteroid" ("The Late Show," CBS, 7/25).
| 10. | "Have NASA tow the Earth a mile to the left." |
| 9. | "Special helmets." |
| 8. | "Doesn't the pharmacy sell cream for that sort of thing?" |
| 7. | "Has anyone phoned Superman?" |
| 6. | "Stay calm – it's just as scared of us as we are of it." |
| 5. | "Bubble wrap." |
| 4. | "We should start testing them baseball players for asteroids." |
| 3. | "Stop, drop and roll." |
| 2. | "Can we talk about this after wrestling?" |
| 1. | "Use my full power as President to mobilize the nation." |
THURSDAY NIGHT'S TV MONITOR
ESPN's 11:00pm ET "SportsCenter" led with Devil Rays-Red Sox.
FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER
"What is the White House?"
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