LIFT OFF: TEXANS TO DEBUT TONIGHT IN EXHIBITION HOF GAME

The HOUSTON CHRONICLE reports that “almost six years since the Oilers departed,” Houston will “again have quarterbacks to second-guess, third-down calls to debate and coaching decisions to question” at the Texans are christened at tonight’s exhibition Hall of Fame Game against the Giants in Canton, OH. The game “is the final event in a three-day weekend that began with Saturday's induction ceremonies” at the Pro Football HOF (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 8/5).

Saturday’s induction ceremony drew a record crowd of 17,700 at Fawcett Stadium in Canton. The HOUSTON CHRONICLE reported, “It was the first time since 1965 that the ceremony wasn’t conducted on the steps of the Hall of Fame. By moving into the stadium, about 7,000 more fans were able to witness the class of 2002’s induction” (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 8/4).

BOTH SIDES SENSE URGENCY AS MLB LABOR TALKS RESUME

USA TODAY reports that MLB’s labor talks resume today as baseball negotiators “begin what might be the most crucial week” of recent labor negotiations. While the union’s exec board has a conference call scheduled for tomorrow, it’s likely the group “won’t set a strike date.” Both sides “are available every day this week to continue talks” (USA TODAY, 8/5).

TEMPE CITY COUNCIL NEARS “UNDERSTANDING” ON CARDINALS DEAL

The AZ REPUBLIC reported that the Tempe city council has called a meeting today to “consider a deal with the Cardinals that would offer 98 acres” for a $350M stadium. The council will vote to approve a “memorandum of understanding,” a preliminary binding agreement that would “set out terms for final negotiations between Tempe and the state Tourism and Sports Authority.” Under the proposal, the Cardinals would contribute $25M to the bid (AZ REPUBLIC, 8/4).

HUGE CROWD TURNS OUT FOR N.Y. CYCLING CHAMPIONSHIP

The inaugural N.Y. Cycling Championship was held Sunday in downtown Manhattan and the race, which featured Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, drew an estimated 150,000 people (N.Y. POST, 8/5). The BOSTON GLOBE reports that the first-ever professional cycle race in N.Y. “was more ‘feel good’ than competitive as most spectators were unabashed Armstrong fans who came to get a look at the accomplished rider.” Armstrong finished in 28^th place, 16 seconds behind the winner (BOSTON GLOBE, 8/5).

A LIGHTER BUZZ

ATTENDANCE WATCH:

• The L.A. DAILY NEWS reports that this weekend’s Yankees-Angels matchup drew a combined attendance of 173,639 for the four-game series, as all the games at Edison Field were sold out. The attendance total was the Angels’ highest ever for a four-game set, “including the years the team played in Anaheim Stadium, which had a capacity of around 60,000” (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 8/5).

• The N.Y. TIMES reports that “an announced crowd of 45,212” attended the 35^th Haskell Invitational Handicap at Monmouth Park on Sunday. The big draw was KY Derby winner War Emblem, who appeared in the race and was given a $50,000 appearance fee. War Emblem easily won the race, which “lacked any sense of drama” (N.Y. TIMES, 8/5).

• The DETROIT NEWS reported that the Lions’ public workout Saturday at Wayne State Univ. “exceeded expectations,” with an estimated crowd of 7,500 (DETROIT NEWS, 8/4).

• The PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER reported that the Eagles drew “the largest crowd anyone could remember seeing for a practice” Friday at Lehigh Univ. The team held both a morning and afternoon practice, and the combined attendance was 6,491. Eagles Dir of Merchandising Steve Strawbridge said that “the team set a record for sales at the merchandise tent adjacent to the practice field,” with sales “roughly twice the average and about 20-percent higher than the previous record” (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 8/3).

• The CHARLOTTE OBSERVER reported that 14,126 fans showed up for the NFL Panthers Fan Fest Saturday afternoon at Ericsson Stadium. The attendance was only “about 7,000 fewer than the crowd at last season’s finale, a 38-6 loss to the New England Patriots” (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 8/4).

• The Gravity Games ended its five-day run in Cleveland yesterday with “an estimated crowd of 164,000 people.” While organizers “had hoped to draw 200,000 or more,” Exec Dir Wade Martin called the event “an across-the-board success,” but declined to say when the games would be back (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 8/5).

The INDIANAPOLIS STAR reports that NASCAR driver Tony Stewart “was involved in a physical confrontation with a free-lance photographer” for the paper after his performance in yesterday’s Brickyard 400. Star Editor & VP Terry Eberle, on the altercation: “This is a very serious matter and one that we will not tolerate. We will be filing a letter of complaint with NASCAR and Joe Gibbs Racing” (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 8/5).

The HARTFORD COURANT concludes its chronicle of a week in Winston Cup racing today as Shawn Courchesne recaps Bobby Labonte’s 11^th-place finish in the Brickyard 400 (HARTFORD COURANT, 8/5). The Allentown MORNING CALL will follow NASCAR’s Elliott Sadler for a ten-day stint, as well. Today, Paul Reinhard writes on car problems Sadler and Wood Brothers Racing experienced between Friday’s practice and Sunday’s race (Allentown MORNING CALL, 8/5).

TODAY’S EVENTS

John McEnroe, ’89 U.S. Open champion Boris Becker and USTA CEO Arlen Kantarian will participate in a noon ET conference call to announce an exhibition match between the two players before the’02 U.S. Open women’s final (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 examines President Bush’s decision not to wage war on Al-Qaeda prior to September 11 under the headline, “The Secret History.” This week’s issue of NEWSWEEK reports on the afterlife under the headline, “Why We Need Heaven” (THE DAILY).

A-B and Miller Brewing “say they won’t run TV commercials on Sept. 11,” joining Pepsi and Dell that “have previously said they won’t advertise” (USA TODAY, 8/5).

Media merchant bank Veronis Suhler Stevenson states, “Spending by U.S. consumers on video games, cable and satellite television, boxoffice and other media showed no letup through last year’s recession” (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 8/5).

Beginning in ’04, the Academy Awards will be moved from late March to late February. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Dir of Communications John Pavlik, on the date change, said, “The basic reason for doing this is to improve the position of the Academy Awards with regard to ratings and viewership. The ratings have been dipping in recent years, and this is just one of a number of things we're trying to get those ratings up” (N.Y. TIMES, 8/5).

Former professional wrestler Ric Flair is “thinking of throwing his body into the (NC) governor’s mansion.” Flair said he “has been approached by Republicans from both ends of the state” about a potential candidacy in two years (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 8/3).

FINAL JEOPARDY!

Friday's "Final Jeopardy!" category was "First Ladies."

“First and last names of the two first ladies who each had a husband and son serve as president.”

LAUGH TRACK

THE MONOLOGUES:

CBS' David Letterman: "Here's what I had to do (last Thursday) night up at the house. It was so damn hot, to cool off, I had to sleep on my air hockey table. ... It was so hot in (N.Y. last Friday), Al Sharpton was caught on surveillance tape buying a Vanilla Coke. ... It’s so hot right now, I am sweating more than James Traficant waiting in line for a prison shower." Letterman, on the last sex shop in Times Square being closed: "No more. All that stuff's gone. They replaced the last one … with a brand new store called the 'Gap For Perverts.'" Letterman: "President Bush has agreed to be interviewed next month by '60 Minutes,' and we're all excited because that's right here on CBS and even better, Bush thinks he'll stay for the entire half-hour. ... President Bush is beginning his month-long vacation and the White House is calling it a working vacation and I'm thinking that pretty much describes the entire presidency, doesn't it? ... Bush says he's going to be very active while he's on vacation. He plans to exercise every day, and he says he exercises every day because it clears his head. Hey, mission accomplished" ("The Late Show," CBS, 8/2).

NBC’s Jay Leno: “(Last Thursday) night in Canada, Bill Clinton told a Jewish group that if Iraq attacks in the Middle East, he would personally get into a ditch, grab a rifle and fight for Israel. See, apparently the only place he won't fight is anywhere near Southeast Asia. ... Would you want Clinton fighting next to you? We know his aim is terrible. ... You know Clinton. He'll be using this line to pick up women. 'I ship out tomorrow. I don't know if I'll be back. If we don't do it tonight.' ... The FBI arrested two former WorldCon – I'm sorry WorldCom – executives. ... See, it shows you how times change. One day you're running MCI, the biggest phone company in the world. The next day, you're only allowed to make one phone call. ... Here's a good stock tip for you. Buy shares in the company that makes those orange prison jumpsuits. They're going to be making millions of them. ... Did you see ‘Wall Street Week in Review’ this week? It looks more like 'Cops' now. ... A Brown University student in biology is wanted now for allegedly stealing the herpes virus from a university lab. That's when you know you're a nerd, okay, when you have to steal the herpes virus instead of going out and catching it in the wild like everybody else" ("Tonight Show," NBC, 8/2).

LATE NIGHT LAUGHS:

Last night’s “Top Ten” was “Top Ten Worst Names For A Seafood Restaurant” (“The Late Show,” CBS, 8/2).

SUNDAY NIGHT’S TV MONITOR

ESPN’s 12:00am ET “SportsCenter” led with Red Sox-Rangers.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE

The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER notes that Buena Vista's "Signs" landed in the top spot and “reaped an unforeseen estimate of $60.3 million in its theatrical debut.” The opening proved to be Mel Gibson's largest to date, “nearly doubling” the $34.2M debut of "Ransom" (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 8/5).

FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER

“Who were Abigail Adams and Barbara Bush?”

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