| | The Daily Insider
Morning News & Headlines
Monday, September 16, 2002
9:00am ET | |
| |
| • | Detroit Muscle: Latest Buick Ad Has Tiger With Harley Earl |
| • | Penguins Tickets Go On Sale Today As Team Implements Variable Pricing |
| • | PGA Tour To Announce Kinko's As Title Sponsor Of Senior PGA Event Today |
| • | Tigers Unveil Statue Of Ernie Harwell During Pregame Ceremony |
| • | Yankees To Move Double-A Club To NJ In Deal To Be Announced This Week |
| • | A Lighter Buzz/In Other News/Laugh Track/TV Monitor/Box Office |
LATEST BUICK AD PAIRS TIGER WOODS WITH “GHOST”
The DETROIT NEWS reports, "In a bid to attract younger buyers, Buick launches today its most aggressive national advertising campaign in 10 years, including commercials that pair golf great Tiger Woods with the ghost of Harley Earl – the legendary General Motors design boss who died in 1969" (DETROIT NEWS, 9/16).
PENGUINS INTRODUCE VARIABLE TICKET PRICING
The PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE reports that the Penguins will put single-game tickets on sale at 10:00am ET today and have introduced variable pricing as a "new strategy." Three games have already been targeted for variable pricing: January 11 versus the Rangers, March 15 versus the Flyers and March 18 versus the Red Wings. As part of the strategy, the Penguins "are reserving the option to raise prices by $5 for those tickets to reflect the higher demand for specific games" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 9/16). According to the Ticketmaster Web site, ticket prices for those three games have already been increased by $5 across the board (THE DAILY).
KINKO'S TO MAKE FIRST FORAY INTO TITLE SPORTS SPONSORSHIP
Officials from the PGA Tour and Kinko's will host an 11:45am CT news conference in Austin, TX, today and will announce a multiyear deal naming Kinko's as the title sponsor of the new Kinko's Classic Senior PGA Tour event in the city. The SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL notes the company will also become the Official Document Services Provider of the PGA Tour and Senior PGA Tour. While terms of the deal were not disclosed, "it is Kinko's first national sports sponsorship deal" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 9/16 issue).
TIGERS HOLD CEREMONY TO HONOR BROADCASTER HARWELL
The Tigers honored longtime broadcaster Ernie Harwell with a special pregame ceremony on Sunday and the DETROIT FREE PRESS reports Harwell "seemed most blown away when the club unveiled a Harwell statue at the main entrance to Comerica Park." The statue shows Harwell standing and holding a microphone. Tigers Owner Mike Ilitch, who was instrumental in bringing Harwell back to the team, did not attend the ceremony. Tigers spokesperson Jim Anderson said, "Mr. Ilitch intended to be here, but he had an unavoidable conflict that took him out of town at the last moment. He feels very badly he couldn't be here" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 9/16). The DETROIT NEWS reports the day "was as flawless as it was emotional" (DETROIT NEWS, 9/16).
YANKEES TO BRING FARM CLUB TO NJ FOR FIRST TIME IN 50 YEARS
The Newark STAR-LEDGER reports the Yankees "have tentatively agreed to move one of their minor-league teams to Trenton for the next two seasons." The deal, which would move the Yankees Double-A club from Norwich, CT, to Trenton, "could be announced as early as today." The Yankees have not had a farm club in NJ since '49, when their Triple-A club was the Newark Bears. Meanwhile, Trenton has been an affil of the Red Sox since '95 (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 9/16).
A LIGHTER BUZZ
All 16 NFL games were sold out in advance of the local TV blackout deadline for Week Two, enabling all games to be televised in the home-team market (THE DAILY).
The USTA took out a full-page ad in Sunday's N.Y. Times, thanking the players, fans, broadcast partners, sponsors and N.Y. for a successful U.S. Open (THE DAILY).
The ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH reported that playoff tickets for the MLB Cardinals went on sale Saturday. The club made 87,000 tickets available and VP/Ticket Operations Josie Arnold said that "by late afternoon, about half of them were sold, and mostly on the Internet" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 9/15).
ATTENDANCE WATCH:
- The DALLAS MORNING NEWS reports that yesterday's Chevy 500, the IRL's season finale, drew a crowd of 86,000 at TX Motor Speedway (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 9/16).
- The BOSTON GLOBE reports a "crowd of about 101,000" witnessed the rain-shortened NH 300 at the NH Int'l Speedway (BOSTON GLOBE, 9/16).
- Saturday's Univ. of NE-Penn State Univ. game drew a record crowd of 110,753 to State College, PA (Mult., 9/15).
- The L.A. TIMES reported that "all 11,245 tickets were sold" for Saturday's Vargas-De La Hoya bout at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, with ringside seats going for as much as $1,200 (L.A. TIMES, 9/15).
- The OTTAWA SUN reports the Senators drew an estimated crowd of 2,500 to an open house and scrimmage at the Corel Centre yesterday (OTTAWA SUN, 9/16).
- The Marlins held Julian Tavarez bobblehead day, "which attracted 7,844, the smallest crowd to see the Braves play in South Florida", meaning "7,156 bobblehead dolls went unclaimed" (PALM BEACH POST, 9/16).
At Saturday's White Sox-Yankees game, members of the cast of HBO's "The Sopranos," promoting the show's season premiere, threw out simultaneous first pitches, while Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who plays Tony Soprano's daughter, sang the national anthem (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 9/15).
TODAY'S EVENTS
ESPN will broadcast "Holmgren's Heroes," a discussion between Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren and six of his former assistants who are currently head coaches in the NFL: 49ers coach Steve Mariucci, Eagles coach Andy Reid, Bucs coach Jon Gruden, Bears coach Dick Jauron, Lions coach Marty Mornhinweg and Packers coach Mike Sherman. The show will air in two parts, the first at 3:00pm on ESPN and will be rebroadcast at 6:00pm on ESPN2. The second segment airs next Monday at 6:00pm ET (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 9/16).
The Bulls will host a back-to-school assembly from 1:00-2:30pm CT today for 400 students at Herbert Elementary School in Chicago as part of the "Read to Achieve" program (THE DAILY).
The Predators will hold their fourth annual "Slap Shots and Tee Shots" golf tournament today at The Hermitage Golf Course in Old Hickory, TN (THE DAILY).
More than 20 Devil Rays will participate in the "Rays of Hope" Golf Tournament today at noon ET at the Renaissance Vinoy Resort and Golf Club in St. Petersburg (ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, 9/16).
EARNINGS ANNOUNCEMENTS
Below are this week's confirmed earnings announcements for sports-business related companies (THE DAILY).
| DATE | TICKER | COMPANY | QUARTER |
| 9/18 | NKE | Nike | Q1 2003 |
| |
IN OTHER NEWS….
This week's cover of TIME offers "Confessions of an Al-Qaeda Terrorist." Meanwhile, NEWSWEEK examines U.S. concerns in Iraq, under the header, "How We Helped Create Saddam" (THE DAILY).
The N.Y. TIMES reports that CBS' news division will announce today that "The Early Show" co-host Jane Clayson "has accepted a reassignment as a correspondent with the network's evening newscast and will leave the program at the end of the month." NBC Sports' Hannah Storm and Deborah Norville are the "chief contenders" to replace Clayson (N.Y. TIMES, 9/16).
MULTICHANNEL NEWS reports that when the '01-02 TV season ends later this month, "viewers will have spent an average of 26.5 hours per week watching basic cable (up 8.8%) versus 24.5 hours for broadcast [programming] (down 6.4%)" (MULTICHANNEL NEWS, 9/16).
The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER notes that "Whale Rider" received the people's choice award and "Spider" received the best Canadian feature film award Saturday at the Toronto Int'l Film Festival (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 9/16).
Chicago Tribune Editor Ann Marie Lipinski wrote in Sunday's edition that columnist Bob Greene "has resigned and will no longer appear in the pages of the newspaper. The resignation is effective immediately. Greene's resignation was sought after he acknowledged engaging in inappropriate sexual conduct some years ago with a girl in her late teens whom he met in connection with his newspaper column" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 9/15).
The ORLANDO SENTINEL reported that Disney Chair Michael Eisner and CFO Thomas Staggs met with Wall Street investors and analysts last Friday and while they "unveiled no significant news … they did try to counter the growing belief that ABC's upcoming fall season is a make-or-break moment for the company" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 9/14). Meanwhile, the N.Y. POST reports that "according to a source close to the board," Eisner has "roughly a year to get the company on track before the board would seek his ouster" (N.Y. POST, 9/16).
NEWSDAY reports that Cablevision "has started laying off hundreds of employees, many of them in computer services and employee relations, as part of its plan to slash staff by 7 percent" (NEWSDAY, 9/16).
FINAL JEOPARDY!
Friday's "Final Jeopardy!" category was "Presidential Elections."
"The last winning Presidential ticket of two sitting U.S. Senators was the ticket of these two men."
LAUGH TRACK
THE MONOLOGUES:
CBS' David Letterman: "It's kind of the end of summer…and it's starting to feel like autumn…You know those street vendors with the hot dog carts. (Last Friday) I saw one of them putting anti-freeze in the hot dog water. …Here's another sign that it's autumn in (N.Y.). The drag queens start wearing pant suits. …I'm just killing time here. I got to stay out of the house until 11:00 p.m. tonight. Mom's hosting a botox party." Letterman, on the first ever Palestinian Film Festival: "The thing was apparently a raving success and they had one brand new big, big Muslim action hero that everybody's talking about, Osama Bin Diesel" ("The Late Show," CBS, 9/13).
NBC's Jay Leno: "That terrorist threat in (FL) turned out to be nothing more than a big joke just like (last) week's (FL) elections. …Now it looks like Janet Reno could be disqualified. It turns out some topless photos have surfaced. She was dating the same guy Miss (NC) dated, apparently. …Ordinary Americans are picking up on this high alert (for the country). Coming to work (last Friday), I saw a woman on Sunset (Blvd.) holding a sign that said 'Iraqi crisis special. I will inspect your weapon for $20.' … (Saddam Hussein's mistress) said that he raises gazelles as pets, he sleeps in a mask because he's petrified of germs, he has sexual problems and he always wears a military outfit. I think she's sleeping with Michael Jackson. …The price of chocolate is heading towards a 15 year high. …They said if the price of chocolate goes up just one more dollar per pound it would add almost $100,000 to the cost of the 'Anna Nicole Smith Show.' …A scientist in India said he has discovered a termite that can eat plastic. You know what that means? This could wipe out half the population of L.A." ("Tonight Show," NBC, 9/13).
LATE NIGHT LAUGHS:
Friday night's "Top Ten" was "Top Ten Good Things About Being Named Pepe." ("The Late Show," CBS, 9/13).
| 10. | "Gift shops rarely run out of 'Pepe' mini-license plates." |
| 9. | "When typing your name, only have to press two keys." |
| 8. | "Calling your father 'Pappy' yields hilarious family misunderstandings." |
| 7. | "Who could bring themselves to say 'Pepe, you're fired.'" |
| 6. | "Meet a guy named 'Roni' and you can open a pizzeria." |
| 5. | "Discount from Baskin Robbins when your cake reads 'Happy Birthday, Pete.'" |
| 4. | "Know what the original title for 'Rocky' was? 'Pepe.'" |
| 3. | "Learning the secret Pepe handshake." |
| 2. | "Scratch off letters and it looks like you're drinking a can of Dr. Pepe." |
| 1. | "To pursue a music career, can change name to 'Pepe Daddy.'" |
SUNDAY NIGHT'S TV MONITOR
ESPN's 12:00am ET "SportsCenter" led with Giants–Rams.
WEEKEND BOX OFFICE
The estimated total for this weekend's top 12 films was $72.1M – "up a robust 38% from the comparable weekend last year" (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 9/16).
| Title | This Weekend | Cumulative |
| Barbershop | $21M | $21M |
| My Big Fat Greek Wedding | $11M | $110.7M |
| One Hour Photo | $7.7M | $14.2M |
| Stealing Harvard | $6.3M | $6.3M |
| Swimfan | $6M | $19.7M |
| Signs | $5.3M | $212.9M |
| City by the Sea | $4.8M | $16.6M |
| XXX | $3.3M | $135.4M |
| Spy Kids 2 | $2.4M | $77M |
| Austin Powers in Goldmember | $1.8M | $209.6M |
| |
FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER
"Who were John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson?"
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please let us know at:
dailyinsider@sportsbusinessdaily.com
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.
