Morning Buzz, December 5, 2002

STUDY TO RECOMMEND K.C. BUILD NEW ARENA EXPECTED TODAY

The K.C. STAR reports that the Greater K.C. Sports Commission will release a "long-awaited study" today which will recommend the city spend "as much as $200 million to build an 18,000-seat arena downtown and renovate Kemper Arena."   The commission will state that the proposed arena "is needed to stop the trend of sports events leaving town and to 'keep Kansas City competitive' with similarly sized cities" (K.C. STAR, 12/5). The study will also make "preliminary recommendations on when and where the arena should be built and how the project ought to be financed" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 12/3).

"THURSDAY NIGHT HOCKEY" DEBUTS TONIGHT ON ESPN

ESPN tonight debuts "Thursday Night Hockey" at 8:00pm ET with a split national telecast featuring Rangers-Flyers and Red Wings-Coyotes, during which Red Wings F Brendan Shanahan will wear a microphone.  The premiere is the first of ten split national telecasts.  ESPN has 14 total primetime windows this season.

Following the telecast, ESPN will present Stuart Scott's interview with Tiger Woods at approximately 10:30pm.  Woods, asked why he specifically is being asked to boycott The Masters: "Well, maybe it's just the fact that I am the number one ranked in the world, or maybe it's the fact that I have more pigmentation that most guys" (THE DAILY).

DICKERSON, PRICE AND ZARET TO "REPLACE" HARWELL IN BOOTH

The DETROIT FREE PRESS reports that the Tigers as early as today are "expected to announce their new three-man radio broadcast team," with Dan Dickerson, Jim Price and Eli Zaret set to replace Ernie Harwell.  Dickerson is expected "to claim a bigger role" in play-by-play.  Price will continue to provide color commentary, but "be more involved in play-by-play duties."  Zaret is likely to host pregame and postgame shows (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 12/5).  Meanwhile, the DETROIT NEWS notes that the Tigers "have been deliberate in their evaluation of more than 300 candidates for the combined radio and TV jobs" (DETROIT NEWS, 12/5).

NFL AND NFLPA SET TO ANNOUNCE DEVELOPMENT OF USA FOOTBALL

The NFL and NFLPA will announce today the creation of USA Football, a national advocacy organization representing all levels of amateur football.  USA Football will be based in Washington, DC, and endowed by the NFL Youth Football Fund.  A BOD will govern the newly-formed committee, and long-time sports industry exec Dave Ogrean will be announced as the group's first Exec Dir (THE DAILY).

TODAY THE DAILY GOES ONE-ON-ONE WITH…

Appeasing the notoriously fickle Hollywood set can be a challenge.  To see how one exec handles it, see today's Sports Industrialists section for "THE DAILY Goes One-On-One With..."

A LIGHTER BUZZ

The ARIZONA REPUBLIC reports that Fiesta Bowl officials, "bowing to fans' wishes, … will allow beer sales at Sun Devil Stadium" for the January 3 national championship game.  Fiesta Bowl President John Junker: "We've had requests for it over the years from fans that come in from out of town.  We thought it was worth giving it a try and see how it goes" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 12/5).

The FLORIDA TIMES UNION reports that an "anonymous fan created a 'firetomcoughlin.com' Web site this week to voice his displeasure" with Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin, whose team is 5-7.  The site's message for Jaguars Owner Wayne Weaver: "If you think your fan base eroded this year, just keep Coughlin as head coach for next season and see what happens" (FLORIDA TIMES UNION, 12/5).

The SEATTLE TIMES reports that the Sonics gave away 10,000 bobbleheads of announcer Kevin Calabro last night before the team's game against the Pacers to honor his 15 years of service.  While Calabro, who is in "the final year of his five-year contract, said he'd like to return" to the team, Sonics management "declined to discuss future contract negotiations" (SEATTLE TIMES, 12/5).

It appears as though the national media attention paid to the Dartmouth College men's and women's varsity swim programs attempt to auction team sponsorship has apparently paid off, as six bids were placed yesterday.  While the team is asking for $212,000, the current high bid is $212,099.99 (THE DAILY).

The CP reports that college standout Ginny Capicchioni is "scheduled to become the first woman to play in an NLL game" today when the Buffalo Bandits host the NJ Storm.  Capicchioni is "expected to see action in the Bandits goal during the game" (CP, 12/5).

NFL BLACKOUT WATCH:

• The Seattle POST-INTELLIGENCER reports that about 7,400 tickets remain for Sunday's Eagles-Seahawks game, and must be sold by 1:00pm PT today to avoid the second consecutive blackout within the Seattle TV market (Seattle POST-INTELLIGENCER, 12/5).

• The ARIZONA REPUBLIC reports that the Cardinals "have distributed 28,163 tickets" for Sunday's game against the Lions.  The game "likely will be blacked out, as have the team's previous six home games.  No other NFL team has had every home game blacked out this season" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 12/5).

TODAY'S EVENTS

Champions Week continues in N.Y. today as NASCAR Winston Cup champion Tony Stewart will visit Times Square at 11:00am ET.  During a media event, N.Y. Sports Commissioner Ken Podziba will issue a proclamation from Mayor Bloomberg's office, naming Friday as "NASCAR Winston Cup Series Day."  At noon, Stewart will attend the annual press luncheon in the Waldorf-Astoria Grand Ballroom.  At 4:00pm, Stewart will ring the closing bell at the NYSE.  To close out the day, Stewart will stop by the NASCAR Touring Series Dinner in the Waldorf-Astoria Empire Room to greet the champions from NASCAR's various Touring Series (THE DAILY).

Dodgers Dir of Community Affairs & Dodgers Dream Foundation President Erikk Aldridge will announce at an 11:00am PT ceremony that Seoul Int'l Park in L.A. has been selected as the third site to be renovated as part of the Dodgers Dream Field Foundation (THE DAILY).

IN OTHER NEWS….

The N.Y. TIMES reports that investors and analysts "walked away from AOL Time Warner's four-hour meeting unconvinced that AOL's product plans were strong enough to reignite its growth anytime soon" (N.Y. TIMES, 12/5).  Meanwhile, the WALL STREET JOURNAL reports that AOL Chair Jonathan Miller "didn't spell out any future layoffs, but he hinted that job cuts would be coming in the next two months" in staff meetings yesterday (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 12/5).  Shares of AOL Time Warner closed at $13.84 yesterday, down $0.37 on the day, and $2.83 since Monday's open (THE DAILY).

The WASHINGTON POST reports that Comcast, which has 1.5 million customers in the metro DC area, "will raise monthly rates an average of about" 6% as of January 1 "for the most popular package of cable programming, which includes regular broadcast channels along with networks such as the Discovery Channel, CNN and ESPN" (WASHINGTON POST, 12/5).

Former ABC ad sales exec H. Weller "Jake" Keever died last Thursday at the age of 75.  Keever "routinely set billing records during the broadcast TV upfront selling markets, as well as for special event programming such as the Olympic Games, Super Bowls, ["MNF"] and the Academy Awards" (ADAGE.com, 12/4).

FINAL JEOPARDY QUESTION

Last night's "Final Jeopardy!" category was "The White House."

"In February 2000 the White House press briefing room was named in this man's honor."

LAUGH TRACK

THE MONOLOGUES: 

NBC's Jay Leno: "You can really tell the holiday season has come to L.A.  I saw a woman in Beverly Hills today going into her plastic surgeon and getting a pair of those snow globe beast implants.  You know when she jiggles it looks like it's snowing. ... Today there was a total eclipse of the sun in Australia, and Dick Cheney used it as an excuse to boost support for the oil companies saying, 'You see.  I told you we can't trust solar energy.  It's not dependable.' ... The Pentagon today announced a major policy change.  They said if there is a war with Iraq they will allow the media to be there.  They will give the media total access to the front lines.  They're calling this Operation Good-Bye Geraldo. ... Human rights officials in England have released a new video from Iraq.  They say prisoners in Iraq are trapped in cramped quarters.  They get these horrible diseases.  There aren't enough doctors.  People get these untreated illnesses.  They said it was like a Carnival cruise ship with sand. ... For the tenth year in a row, the Boston Catholic Archdiocese was voted best party parish in the country. ... 3,000 pages of file were released yesterday showing priests using cocaine, having sex with teenage girls, fondling young nuns and having sex with female parishioners.  You know what this means?  They've been cheating on the altar boys. ... Famed chef Wolfgang Puck and his wife of 20 years are getting a divorce.  I guess he came home early one night and … BAM!, … he found her with Emeril (Lagasse). ... Workers at the only unionized strip club in the country have gone on strike.  Dancers at the Lusty Lady in (S.F.) say a new contract by management cuts their wages and eliminates their sick days.  Let's hope they clear this up soon.  I hope nobody crosses that picket line, you know what I'm saying.  If there's one thing you don't want to see at a strip club, it's scabs" ("Tonight Show," NBC, 12/4).

WEDNESDAY NIGHT'S TV MONITOR

ESPN's 11:00pm ET "SportsCenter" led with Mavericks-Trail Blazers, followed by Pacers-Sonics and Celtics-76ers.

FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER

"Who is James Brady?"

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