Morning Buzz, October 2, 2002

SPONSOR URGES CBC SPORTS TO BRING BACK ANNOUNCER

The TORONTO SUN reports that one day after announcing that "Hockey Night in Canada" host Ron MacLean would not be returning, CBC Sports President Nancy Lee and MacLean's agent, Don Meehan will "likely meet today and try to hash out an agreement to bring MacLean back into the fold." The meeting "is taking place at the strong urging of beer giant Labatt Breweries – Hockey Night in Canada's major sponsor" (TORONTO SUN, 10/2).

BLUE JAYS TO EXTEND GM RICCIARDI'S CONTRACT

ESPN.com reported that the Blue Jays could finalize today a five-year contract with GM J.P. Ricciardi. The extension contains "a considerable raise" (ESPN.com, 10/1). But when asked about the possible extension, Blue Jays President & CEO Paul Godfrey said: "I don't comment on speculative stories or rumors, but as of right now, nothing's been done" (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 10/2).

BRAVES HOPING FOR 40,000 FOR GAME ONE AT TURNER FIELD

MLB's AL and NL Division Series continue today with three games scheduled:

The ATLANTA CONSTITUTION reports that as of Tuesday afternoon, "only about 35,000 tickets" had been sold for today's Giants-Braves Game One (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 10/2). Braves Dir of PR Jim Schultz said: "With a good walk-up, we might do 40,000. Or the high 30s." The capacity of Turner Field is 50,019 (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 10/2).

The S.F. CHRONICLE notes the 1:00pm PT start "cut down the crowd, as the A's had feared. They didn't draw fewer than 41,000 in any of their five Division Series games against the Yankees the past two seasons, but Tuesday's total was 34,853" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 10/2). A's Dir of PR Jim Young said, "When we saw the schedule, we kind of figured we'd have this, maybe a little more. It's hard to see those (empty) seats, but we understand" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 10/2). The A's do not expect to sell out Game Two today (THE DAILY).

RICHMOND INT'L RACEWAY TO EXTEND ITS CAPACITY

The RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH reports that Richmond Int'l Raceway "will reveal its plans today to expand seating for the 2003 season." The track will add about 3,000 seats, which will increase its seating capacity to about 105,000 (RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH, 10/2).

A LIGHTER BUZZ

This week's cover of Sports Illustrated features athletes from Stanford and Texas facing off, with the tagline: "AMERICA'S BEST SPORTS COLLEGES … WHO'S NO. 1? STANFORD VS. TEXAS." The issue features a special report that ranks the nation's 324 Div. I athletic programs. The following are the top ten:

MLBPA Exec Dir Donald Fehr and MLB VP/Labor Relations Rob Manfred formally signed the memorandum of understanding yesterday, "signing off on a collective bargaining agreement that will provide labor peace for four more years" (N.Y. TIMES, 10/2).

Following up the team's "guarantee" to make the playoffs, the Hawks practice-court wall has the following pledge, which was signed by every team member: "We the players and coaches of the 2002-03 Atlanta Hawks make this guarantee this day Tuesday, Oct. 1. Our primary goal is to make the playoffs and to represent the city in a professional matter" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 10/2).

TODAY'S EVENTS

eBay will announce today the launch of eBay Sports, a site dedicated to memorabilia, event tickets, licensed merchandise and sporting goods (THE DAILY).

NBDL President Phil Evans discussed the state of the league at an 8:00am ET breakfast for the Ashville Downtown Business Community. Altitude President Alfred White hoped to "enhance the partnerships between the team and the city," by introducing new additions to the team's staff, highlighting corporate partners and discussing initiatives for mutual partnerships (ASHEVILLE CITIZEN-TIMES, 10/2).

Nike and the Art Technology Group, Inc. (ATG) will co-host an eCommerce/Online roundtable today from 11:30am -5:30pm PT at Nike HQs in Beaverton, OR. Technology execs from ATG customers including Nike, Neiman Marcus, J. Crew, Newell Rubbermaid and Finish Line will discuss eCommerce and online CRM strategies (THE DAILY).

UHL President Richard Brosal will host the annual "State of the UHL" media conference call today at 2:00pm CT (THE DAILY).

IN OTHER NEWS….

Several media execs discussed the state of their companies yesterday at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia conference in N.Y. Among the highlights:

• AOL Time Warner Chair Stephen Case: "The first 20 months of AOL Time Warner have been challenging. ... We haven't fired on all cylinders" (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 10/2).

• Viacom President & COO Mel Karmazin: "If I were not at this company, it would continue to do well" (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 10/2).

• Disney Chair & CEO Michael Eisner: "Our recent performance has been unacceptable … I take responsibility for this fact" (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 10/2). Commenting on the $5.3B purchase of ABC Family, Eisner said that Disney "probably paid more for the network than it would pay today, but … since the purchase, ABC Family has showed substantial growth" (MULTICHANNEL NEWS DAY, 10/2).

The N.Y. POST reports that AOL Time Warner execs "are starting to explore, in internal discussions only, the possibility of merging their operations with Disney." But AOL Time Warner Chief Spokesperson Ed Adler said, "We are focusing on running our business and there are absolutely no discussions about merging with Disney, either internal or external" (N.Y. POST, 10/2).

The WALL STREET JOURNAL reports that "networks are selling commercial airtime for 25% to 40% more than they could in May" as ad space on primetime shows "is nearly sold out" for Q4 '02. Industry execs say that the increase has created "a broad and diverse base" of advertisers (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 10/2).

The N.Y. TIMES reports the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation last night that would "prohibit Internet casinos from taking payments from Americans" and would "require banks to prevent the use of their credit cards for such gambling." Even so, "it was far from clear whether the Senate would have the will or time to undertake similar legislation" (N.Y. TIMES, 10/2).

FINAL JEOPARDY QUESTION

Last night's "Final Jeopardy!" category was "Comic Strips."

"He's Willi Wakker in Germany, Angelo Capello in Italy, and Andre Chapeau in France."

LAUGH TRACK

THE MONOLOGUES:

CBS' David Letterman: "Postseason at Yankee Stadium: playoff tickets, $80; beer and a hot dog, $16; taking a leak on the Angels bullpen, priceless. Little cold earlier tonight at the Stadium, even the shirtless father and son team were wearing windbreakers. … Hey listen to this, it's kind of a sad thing. The founder of TV Guide, Walter Annenberg, passed away this week at age 96. And next week, his death will receive a 'jeer' in the magazine's 'Cheers & Jeers' section. … You probably heard about this, (NJ) Senator Robert Torricelli has dropped out of the race for the senate. Torricelli said he couldn't run in (NJ), so he was going to step aside. I'm thinking, why don't the Jets do that? But you have to feel sorry for Torricelli, because for the campaign he used millions and millions of his own bribe money. He really put his heart into it. Torricelli said he's dropping out because he is running a distant second, but jeez, you don't see me doing that" ("Late Show," CBS, 10/1).

NBC's Jay Leno: "Well, the big story today, according to this week's 'Time,' a Pakistani businessman claims he was the gay lover of American Taliban fighter John Walker Lindh. You think Lindh was gay? You see the picture of Lindh when he was arrested, he's all filthy, living in a cave? You know any gay guys like that? Actually there was one clue that he might be gay. Apparently, when he was questioned by the FBI, he said the three people he most admired were Osama Bin-Laden, Mullah Omar and Cher. So Lindh might be a terrorist and a gay man. Wow, that has to be John Ashcroft's worst nightmare. … The stock market skyrocketed 300 points today. Experts say that investors' fears are being calmed about a possible war with Iraq now that Barbra Streisand is in charge. That's my favorite story of the week: Barbra Streisand sent Richard Gephardt a memo saying she does not think we should invade Iraq. Don't you love the way our government works? Barbra Streisand sends a message to a high-ranking government official, he gets it, no problem, he deals with it, talks to people, Boom! For months, the FBI sends dozens of memos on terrorism to Bush. He doesn't know where they are, he lost them, we can't find them. … Last night on Fox, a new show premiered called 'Celebrity Boot Camp.' People said it's not even a real boot camp. Not a real boot camp? They aren't real celebrities. You know why they send them to 'Celebrity Boot Camp?' To get them in shape for 'Celebrity Boxing' ("Tonight Show", NBC, 10/1).

LATE NIGHT LAUGHS:

Last night's "Top Ten" was "Top Ten N.Y. Mets Promises For Next Season," as read by Mets P Al Leiter ("Late Show," CBS, 10/1).

TUESDAY NIGHT'S TV MONITOR

ESPN's 11:00pm ET "SportsCenter" led with Twins-A's.

FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER

"Who is Andy Capp?"

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.