| | The Daily Insider
Morning News & Headlines
Wednesday, September 11, 2002
9:00am ET | |
| |
| • | Heightened Security At MLB Ballparks With Nation Under High Alert |
| • | Leagues And Governing Bodies Plan Ceremonies Today To Commemorate 9/11 |
| • | One Year Later: Has The Sports World Changed Since 9/11? |
| • | WBA Officials Remember 9/11 By Holding Annual Convention In DC |
| • | Sponsors Put FLW Tour On Same Path As Golf, Tennis And Auto Racing |
| • | A Lighter Buzz/TV Monitor/Final Jeopardy! |
DESPITE ORANGE ALERT, GAMES WILL GO ON
Today's schedule of sports events, which includes 16 MLB games, will go on today despite the Bush Administration placing the nation on a "high risk" terrorism alert for the first time yesterday. ESPN.com reported that it was "unclear how stadium security will be affected in the wake of the alert," and as of late yesterday, both MLB and the NFL "had not requested the implementation, by its teams, of any new security precautions" (ESPN.com, 9/10). However, an MLB spokesperson told ESPNEWS last night that "baseball has added security provisions for major league parks around the country." An NFL spokesperson said that "the league was monitoring the situation but had not taken any additional precautions since its game are not until Sunday" (ESPNEWS, 9/10).
While some MLB players have questioned the appropriateness of playing today, Pirates P Ron Villone said, "There are mixed feelings. I look at it like it should be a day of reflection and maybe we shouldn't play. On a day when there is some sadness, maybe coming to the ballpark will make some people happy" (Pittsburgh TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 9/11).
MOMENT OF SILENCE, CANDLELIGHT VIGIL AMONG PLANNED EVENTS
Sports leagues and governing bodies have scheduled a number of events in commemoration of the one-year anniversary of the attacks of September 11. The NFL, NCAA and NASCAR conducted tributes this past weekend to commemorate the anniversary. The following highlights some of the events taking place today:
MLB
All night games will pause at exactly 9:11pm (local time) for a moment of silence, which will be followed by a video presentation honoring those lost during the attacks. The moment of silence will be observed and the video presentation will be shown during the seventh inning stretch of the six scheduled day games. A special ceremonial first pitch baseball, featuring the American flag and date, will be incorporated into pre-game ceremonies at each ballpark and fans will receive a commemorative T-shirt that they will be asked to wear specifically for the moment of silence. Additionally, a commemorative design containing the phrase "We Shall Not Forget" will be displayed on the field, the outfield walls and on each infield base.
In addition to the league-wide ceremonies, each team with a scheduled home game today has planned stadium-specific events.
Meanwhile, MLB Productions and ESPN Classic will present "9/11: Baseball Remembers," tonight at 9:00pm ET. The one-hour program chronicles the events of September 11 and the weeks following within the framework of baseball.
USOC
Beginning at 6:00am MT, the Olympic Torch will be lit for 24 hours and flags at the USOC complex will fly at half-staff. USOC staff members and training center athletes will observe two minutes of silence throughout the complex at 8:46am. Then seven white balloons will be released from the Torch Plaza atop the USOC Visitors Center to represent those who lost their lives in the attacks. Additionally, training center athletes will hold a candlelight vigil tonight.
NHL
Beginning yesterday afternoon, the NHL is hosting an auction of 23 team jerseys bearing the signatures of former N.Y. Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former N.Y. Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik and former N.Y. Fire Department Commissioner Thomas Van Essen. All proceeds from the auction of the jerseys, which ends September 20 at 9:00pm ET, will benefit the Twin Towers Fund.
Professional Golf Tours
The PGA Tour will commemorate the anniversary at the SEI Pennsylvania Classic, the Senior PGA Tour's RJR Championship and the Buy.com Tour's Oregon Classic with various events; including a charity walk, moments of silence during today's pro-ams, U.S. lapel pins being worn by participants and the American flag adorning the pin on each green. The LPGA Tour will commemorate the anniversary at the Safeway Classic in Portland, OR, at which players will wear red, white and blue ribbons. Additionally, the staff at LPGA headquarters in FL will wear flag lapel pins, observe a moment of silence at noon ET and plant a magnolia tree in honor of those who died.
ONE YEAR LATER, HOW HAS THE SPORTS WORLD CHANGED?
On the one-year anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, writers, analysts and sports figures reflect on how the events of that morning have changed the sports world:
CBS SPORTSLINE's Scott Miller wrote, "Sports in the aftermath of 9/11 – one year later – is pretty much like sports was in the days before 9/11. There is passion. There is drama. There is escape. Which probably puts sports exactly where sports should be, exactly where sports always has been" (CBS SPORTSLINE, 9/10).
USA TODAY's Erik Brady writes, "Perhaps sports don't mean less in the aftermath of unspeakable horror. Maybe they mean more" (USA TODAY, 9/11).
The CINCINNATI ENQUIRER's Neil Schmidt notes that most sports leagues and governing bodies have wondered how to observe the anniversary and "though the sports world drew praise for its communal role in the healing process last fall, what remains is uncertainty about what place athletics have in society" (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 9/11).
The CHICAGO SUN-TIMES' Jay Mariotti writes that after September 11, "Sport finally was humbled. But somehow on this awkward date in time, the sports world is a better place" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 9/11).
Study for Sports & Society Dir Emeritus Richard Lapchick: "Anything we see happen on a playing field now is put in a context that didn't exist before. Athlete culture changed forever Sept. 11. Our athletes feel a sense of humility now. They know if they want to be a hero, they have to do more" (MIAMI HERALD, 9/11).
Yankees manager Joe Torre: "I think we realized what a big part of people's lives we play. We didn't know that at the time, because baseball was just a game and so unimportant compared to with what life was dealing everybody. To know that we were responsible for trying to distract people from the misery and the sadness it was a responsibility we felt and we continue to feel. And now I think we take the field with a little different meaning every day" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 9/11).
WBA HOLDS ANNUAL CONVENTION IN DC TO HONOR 9/11 VICTIMS
The WASHINGTON TIMES reported that the World Boxing Association (WBA) will begin its 81st annual convention in Washington, DC today. The three-day meeting will include "more than 500 officials, judges, referees, promoters and others involved in the business of boxing." WBA VP Van Nixon, on why the organization chose DC: "President [Gilberto] Mendoza thought that because of what happened here in Washington on September 11, it would be appropriate for the convention to come to Washington" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 9/10).
View the agenda for day one of the WBA convention (THE DAILY).
FLW TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP BEGINS TODAY IN SHREVEPORT
USA TODAY reports the Wal-Mart FLW Tour Championship, the season-ending four-day tournament, begins today in Shreveport. The event awards $800,000 in prizes, including $260,000 to the winner. FLW Tour Communications Dir Dave Washburn, on the tour's goals: "We are trying to expand the sport to the same level as professional golf, tennis and auto racing. With the entry of several major non-industry sponsors, we've been able to do that" (USA TODAY, 9/11).
A LIGHTER BUZZ
This week's cover of Sports Illustrated features an aerial photo of the American flag during the opening game of the NFL season at Giants Stadium, with the tagline, "FOOTBALL ODYSSEY … A Five-Game, Five-Day, 5,520-Mile Trip to Bring the Game Home" (THE DAILY).
The AP reported that MLB Commissioner Bud Selig "was in a minor car accident but did not appear to be hurt." Brewers VP/Marketing Laurel Prieb, Selig's son-in-law, said that "the accident occurred during a lunchtime trip Monday to his favorite fast-food spot, a custard stand in suburban Wauwatosa" (AP, 9/10).
The Keeneland September Yearling Sale continues today and the Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL reports that the auction's first catalog ended last night with 377 horses sold for a combined $100.6M, an average of $266,780. This represents a "31 percent drop in the average sales price from the first two sessions of 2001, when 353 horses grossed $136.3 million for an average of $386,170" (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 9/11).
The HOUSTON CHRONICLE reported that Redskins Owner Dan Snyder and his wife, Tanya, sent Texans Owner Bob McNair "congratulatory flowers" for beating the Cowboys in the season opener. McNair also received gifts from Chiefs Owner Lamar Hunt and Browns President Carmen Policy (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 9/11).
FINAL JEOPARDY QUESTION
Last night's "Final Jeopardy!" category was "By The Numbers."
"In the 1800s, Carl Wunderlich got this number by averaging over a million readings from armpits of 25,000 patients."
WEDNESDAY NIGHT'S TV MONITOR
ESPN's 11:00pm ET "SportsCenter" led with updates on the NL and AL West division races, followed by Mets-Braves.
FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER
"What is 98.6??"
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