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Morning Buzz

Morning Buzz, December 30, 2002

The Daily Insider
Morning News & Headlines
Monday, December 30, 2002
9:00am ET

USOC To Announce Today Probe Of Lloyd Ward

Celtics Prospective Owners Expected To Be Approved By BOG Tonight

Several NFL Teams Plan Dismissals As Early As Today

NJSEA Sets Today As Deadline For Meadowlands Redevelopment Proposals

Colts Get Last-Minute Sellout, Extend Streak To 32 Games

A Lighter Buzz/In Other News/Laugh Track/TV Monitor/Weekend Box Office


USOC TO INVESTIGATE CONTRACT AWARDED TO WARD'S BROTHER

The L.A. TIMES reports that the USOC will announce today that it has called a January 13 hearing, at which USOC CEO Lloyd Ward's future as CEO is "the sole item on the agenda." In question is Ward's alleged direction of "USOC staff to help his brother's company in its bid to procure a potentially lucrative deal to provide power generators to officials in the Dominican Republic, the electricity starved site of the 2003 Pan American Games" (L.A. TIMES, 12/30).


TWENTY-TWO VOTES NEEDED FOR TRANSFER EXPECTED TONIGHT

The BOSTON GLOBE reports that the NBA "will be able to announce tonight that you can remove the word 'prospective' from the new owners of the Celtics" NBA BOG members have until 7:00pm ET to vote to transfer ownership from Paul Gaston to Boston Basketball Partners, headed by Wycliffe Grousbeck, his father Irving and Steve Pagliuca (BOSTON GLOBE, 12/30). Twenty-two of the twenty-nine teams must approve the transfer. The BOSTON HERALD reported that the group "will beat the last deadline for completing the sale," December 31, without having to pay for an extension to the process (BOSTON HERALD, 12/27).


PARCELLS COULD ACCEPT COWBOYS JOB TOMORROW

With the NFL regular season coming to a close tonight, several teams are planning personnel moves this week.

In Ft. Worth, Floyd, Hill & Williams report that the Cowboys have scheduled a 12:30pm CT news conference today to announce the firing of coach Dave Campo, and Bill Parcells will "accept an expected offer to be named the sixth coach" of the team as early as Tuesday (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 12/30).

In Jacksonville, Jaguars Owner Wayne Weaver refuted a report yesterday by ESPN's Chris Mortensen that coach Tom Coughlin will be fired today. Weaver: "I don't know where that is coming from, because I haven't talked to anyone in the league about anything" (FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, 12/30).

In Cincinnati, Bengals President Mike Brown announced today that coach Dick LeBeau will not be retained for next year (THE DAILY).

In Seattle, the Seahawks last night denied a KCPQ-Fox report that Mike Holmgren "had been fired as coach and general manager and will be replaced by ex-club executive Randy Mueller" (SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, 12/30). The SEATTLE TIMES
reports that Holmgren, Seahawks Owner Paul Allen and President Bob Whitsitt are expected to meet today to "determine the future direction of the franchise" (SEATTLE TIMES, 12/30).

In Detroit, Lions Owner William Clay Ford did not attend yesterday's Vikings-Lions game, as he was "with his family in Florida, leaving the Lions and their followers to speculate on his next move" concerning the future of President & GM Matt Millen and coach Marty Mornhinweg.  The team's two-year record under Millen and Mornhinweg is 5-27 (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 12/30).


THREE COMPANIES VYING FOR DESIGNATION AS REDEVELOPER

The Bergen RECORD reported that the NJSEA "has given the three companies until [today] to file the final version of their proposals" for redevelopment of the Meadowlands. The proposals will then be "analyzed with a fine-toothed comb to determine which can best fulfill [NJ Gov. James] McGreevey's vision of creating a landmark project that will stimulate the economy of the region." The three companies vying for the designation as redeveloper are VA-based Mills Corp., NJ-based Hartz Mountain Industries and LA-based Westfield Corp. (Bergen RECORD, 12/29).


CINERGY FIELD IMPLOSION REMOVES 32 YEARS OF CINCY HISTORY

The CINCINNATI ENQUIRER notes that 32 years of "Cincinnati history crumbled like a sand castle in 37 seconds, … as a ring of detonations brought down Cinergy Field and two generations of sports memories" yesterday morning (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 12/30). The building was "packed with approximately 2,000 pounds of explosives" (MLB.com, 12/29). The clean-up process begins this morning as the Reds prepare to enter the Great American Ball Park next season (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 12/30).


A LIGHTER BUZZ

The Tennis Channel today will announce the establishment of a new online petition Web site - www.tennischannelpetition.com - that provides viewers a place to register their desire to receive The Tennis Channel in their city (THE DAILY).

Former President George Bush, on the Texans' inaugural season, in which the team finished 4-12: "The Texans are my team, and I thought they put on a heck of a show for an expansion team. They did better than a lot of people thought they would" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 12/30).

After initially not anticipating a sellout for Sunday's Jaguars-Colts game, the Colts did ultimately extend their regular-season sellout streak to 32 consecutive games (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 12/30).

The CHARLOTTE OBSERVER reports that despite losing to the Panthers yesterday and thus missing the playoffs, the Saints "tried to get people to stick around [the Superdome] by featuring a couple of the Harlem Globetrotters doing a basketball exhibition. They then set up a boxing ring and brought in local fighters" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 12/30).


IN OTHER NEWS….

While TIME and NEWSWEEK published year-end double issues last week, this week's cover of TIME offers "The Best Photos Of The Year," the magazine's annual special photo issue (THE DAILY).

Nielsen SoundScan reports that Eminem's "The Eminem Show" sold more than 7.4 million copies this year, making it the top-selling album of the year. Nelly's "Nellyville" sold about 4.8 million copies to finish second (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 12/30).

ShopperTrak RCT estimates that retail sales during the "holiday retail season … fell 11% from last year." Retail sales for the 26 shopping days between Thanksgiving and Christmas were $113.1B, down from $127.3B last year (USA TODAY, 12/27). The N.Y. TIMES declared this year's holiday season "the worst in many years" (N.Y. TIMES, 12/27).

The N.Y. TIMES looks ahead to the "competitors and trends in the information technology and media industries that will emerge from the haze" in '03. In technology, the "big story … is likely to be cellphones, from the use of new standards in Europe to the introduction of shiny new handsets to the growing trend of downloading pictures, music, games and text." Media "companies could face a tumultuous year as the [FCC] introduces proposals to unshackle the largest broadcasters and telecommunications conglomerates from restraints that have limited growth" (N.Y. TIMES, 12/30).

In a CNN/USA TODAY/Gallup Poll, President George W. Bush and U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) were voted the most admired living man and woman. The top five in each category are listed below:

Rank Name
% Votes
1 George W. Bush
28
2 Jimmy Carter
9
3 Colin Powell
4
4 Pope John Paul II
3
5 Bill Clinton
3
 
Rank Name
% Vote
1 Hillary Clinton
7
2 Laura Bush
6
3 Oprah Winfrey
6
4 Elizabeth Dole
2
5 Condoleezza Rice
2

Interestingly, Calenders.com's best-selling title to date is "The Very Curious Language of George W. Bush," a '03 desk calendar of "Bushisms." Finishing second was the '03 "Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Calendar" (USA TODAY, 12/30).


FINAL JEOPARDY!

Friday's "Final Jeopardy!" category was "In The Dictionary."

"This 5-letter word can refer to one type of work by a composer, or to several works of different types."


LAUGH TRACK

THE MONOLOGUES:

CBS' David Letterman: "You know what's great about this time of year? The after-Christmas sales. It's a lot of fun, isn't it? I got a fantastic deal on a DVD box set of Trent Lott apologies. ... I'm all set. Mom's in Times Square saving me a place for New Year's Eve. ... They're not allowing alcohol in Times Square. Here's what Mayor Bloomberg is asking - he's not asking, he's pleading with all tri-state area residents – if you're coming to N.Y. to be down in Times Square for New Year's Eve, please get drunk before you leave home. ... Everybody's excited about Times Square. They're getting ready. Earlier today down there, workers were assembling Dick Clark. ... President Clinton loves New Year's Eve, and earlier today he bought himself a noisemaker. I believe her name is Rhonda" ("Late Show," CBS, 12/27).

NBC's Jay Leno: "This 31-year old American woman claims she has given birth to the first cloned human baby. At least that's what she told her husband who had a vasectomy. ... The company that has done the cloning is called Clonaid. What is that, some kind of Willie Nelson benefit? ... According to the latest survey, most retailers had their worst Christmas sales in over 30 years. In fact at Wal-Mart, they were so desperate to get people in the store if you didn't have a kid they'd give you one to beat in the aisle. ... How about this? A West Virginia building contractor was the winner of the $315[M] PowerBall lottery. Imagine that. Building contractor … now he's got $315[M]. You know whom I feel sorry for? The poor homeowner waiting for this guy to finish his family room. How long is that going to take? ... The other day Iraq shot down one of our unmanned drone spy planes. See, I was really shocked when I first heard about this. When I heard they shot down one of our robot drones, I thought, 'Oh my God, they've gotten Al Gore.' ... Actress Kim Cattrall from 'Sex and the City' kicked her husband out, even though they wrote that book together called 'The Art of the Female Orgasm.' Apparently, he was doing some outside research. ... Even though this is the holiday season, and everybody's happy this is the time of year more people are depressed than ever, especially this week. In fact, do you know what the medical term, the scientific term for depression is – Lakers fans. ... Shaquille O'Neal got married yesterday in Beverly Hills. ... Nice to know at least one of the Lakers scored last night. ... Shaq kept the wedding a secret. You know, they should have had it the other way around. Make the wedding public. Keep those Lakers games secret" ("Tonight Show," NBC, 12/27).

LATE NIGHT LAUGHS:

Last Friday's Top Ten list was "Top Ten Ways To Make Your New Year's Eve Party More Exciting" ("Late Show," CBS, 12/27).

10) "Anthrax canapés."

9) "Hire a Hans Blix impersonator."

8) "Get a Times Square hotel room within heckling distance of Dick Clark."

7) "Hookers, hookers, hookers."

6) "Instead of friends, family and neighbors invite hitchhikers, drifters and runaways."

5) "Invest in a jigsaw puzzle and thank me later."

4) "Announce to guests, 'One of you won't live to see the New Year.'"

3) "Every male guest automatically entered in a drawing to become Jennifer Lopez' next husband."

2) "Club soda plus nail polish remover equals homemade champagne!"

1) "Don't invite me."


SUNDAY NIGHT'S TV MONITOR

ESPN's 11:00pm ET "SportsCenter" led with the four games impacting the NFL playoffs: Dolphins-Patriots, Falcons-Browns, Panthers-Saints and Packers-Jets.


WEEKEND BOX OFFICE

The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER notes, "During a record-breaking post-Christmas weekend in North America, New Line's 'The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers' stood tall in the top spot," as the estimate for the top 12 films "landed at a record $157.8 million, up 7% from the comparable frame a year ago" (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 12/30).

The N.Y. TIMES notes that more than $9B worth of tickets were sold in North America in '02, up about 10% over last year's record, and "actual attendance was up at least 5[%], reaching levels not seen since Eisenhower was in the White House" (N.Y. TIMES, 12/30).

Title This Weekend Cumulative

"The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers"

$48.9M

$200.1M

"Catch Me If You Can"

$30M

$48.6M

"Two Weeks Notice"

$16.1M

$43.6M

"Maid in Manhattan"

$13M

$57.4M

"Gangs of New York"

$11.2M

$30.1M

"Drumline"

$8.4M

$36.9M

"The Wild Thornberrys Movie"

$7.4M

$18.4M

"Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"

$6.5M

$240.3M

"The Hot Chick"

$4.8M

$22.2M

"Die Another Day"

$4.5M

$146.8M


FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER

"What is an opera?"


If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please let us know at:
dailyinsider@sportsbusinessdaily.com

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