| | The Daily Insider
Morning News & Headlines
Friday, March 7, 2003
9:00am ET | |
| |
| • | IPG Reports Q4 Results, Seeking Exit Strategies For Octagon Motor Sports |
| • | Augusta-Richmond County To Discuss Martha Burk’s Petition Today |
| • | Bowl Championship Series Creates Presidential Committee To Study Structure |
| • | Stadium News In San Diego: Padres Told To Stick To Original Plan |
| • | TiVo Losses Narrow As Subscription And Licensing Revenue Double In Q4 |
| • | Morning Briefs/In Other News/Laugh Track/TV Monitor/Final Jeopardy! |
IPG RESULTS HURT BY $135.8M OCTAGON MOTOR ASSET IMPAIRMENT
ADAGE.com noted that IPG “reported dismal results” for Q4 and announced $165.7M in charges and a restatement of earnings back to ’97, which are in addition to a previously announced restatement of earnings totaling $181.3M. The new charges include $135.8M in asset impairment for the Octagon Motor Sports unit, as well as $29.9M in other charges from ’97-‘02. IPG, which “has placed Octagon for sale, had previously warned the charges could reach as high as $500[M]” (ADAGE.com, 3/6). IPG Exec VP & CFO Sean Orr, on the Octagon Motor Sports unit: “We have engaged an independent consultant to advise us on exit strategies. We could have further write-offs in this business as we exit the business, depending on the exit strategy we choose to employ” (N.Y. TIMES, 3/7). Shares of IPG closed yesterday at $8.59, down $0.41, or 4.56%.
MARTHA BURK SEEKING PROTEST SPACE NEAR MAGNOLIA LANE
USA TODAY reports Augusta-Richmond County Sheriff Ronnie Strength will meet today with a county attorney to discuss a petition to protest filed yesterday by NCWO Chair Martha Burk. The request is for Saturday, April 12, the third round of The Masters, and the two sites listed are in the Magnolia Lane/Washington Road area. While Strength has indicated that he “he will not allow protests in that area because it would be unsafe for protesters because of traffic on Washington Road,” Burk said that the request for space for about 250 protesters “is reasonable in numbers and locations.” If the request is denied, the county ordinance “calls for an appeal process that takes five days” (USA TODAY, 3/7).
BCS COMMITTEE COMPRISED OF SIX UNIVERSITY PRESIDENTS
The K.C. STAR reports that college football yesterday “may have moved a step closer, albeit a small one, to a postseason playoff” as the Bowl Championship Series announced the formation of a Presidential Committee to study the BCS structure. The current BCS contract with the bowls and ABC expires after the ‘05 regular season (K.C. STAR, 3/7). The chart below details the six-member committee, which is comprised of one university president from each of the six BCS conferences:
| University President | University | Conference |
| Marye Anne Fox | NC State Univ. | ACC |
| Donna Shalala | Univ. of Miami | Big East |
| Graham Spanier | PA State Univ. | Big Ten |
| Robert Khayat | Univ. of MS | SEC |
| David Frohnmayer | Univ. of OR | Pac-10 |
| Harvey Perlman | Univ. of NE | Big 12 |
CITIZENS’ TASK FORCE DELIVERS FINAL CHARGERS REPORT
The SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE that the Citizens’ Task Force on Chargers Issues yesterday delivered its final report to the City Council, which advises the council to “talk to the team and consider leasing the Chargers the 166-acre Qualcomm Stadium site.” The 85-page report analyzes “council options for enforcing the current contract with the Chargers and says [the Chargers’] economic impact on San Diego is $150[M] annually.” The condition of Qualcomm Stadium and site development options are also presented (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 3/7).
Also in San Diego, roughly 200 attendees of a planning meeting at the Community Concourse last night told Padres officials that they “ought to stick to the ballpark deal voters approved” in ’98, and that they “opposed the high-rise buildings and the smaller, one-acre grassy park beyond the outfield the ballclub proposed this year.” Padres officials claim the original plans are “no longer viable in today’s real estate market.” The Padres also “devised a new plan allowing fans to purchase $5 tickets” for standing room access, down from the original $7 plan (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 3/7).
TIVO CEO PREDICTS “MUCH HIGHER” GROWTH FOR COMING YEAR
The L.A. TIMES reports TiVo yesterday said that its Q4 losses “narrowed by 22% as subscription and licensing revenue doubled and marketing costs plummeted.” For the quarter, the company reported a loss of $32.5M, as compared to a loss of $41.6M last year. For the full year, TiVo reported a “nearly 50% reduction in losses” as its subscriber base grew by 245,000, compared with 226,000 new customers added in the prior fiscal year. TiVo CEO Mike Ramsey “predicted a much higher growth rate for the coming year, with the customer base increasing to more than 1 million from 624,000” (L.A. TIMES, 3/7). Shares of TiVo closed yesterday at $6.29, up $0.14, or 2.23%.
MORNING BRIEFS
HBO Sports Senior VP Kery Davis, on Roy Jones Jr.: “Roy can do whatever he wants right now. The victory moved him to another level in terms of boxing marketability” (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 3/7).
Heat coach Pat Riley, on Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban: “The day Mark Cuban bought the team is the day the franchise changed. It was going nowhere. In fact, everybody was getting ready to leave there. … Mark Cuban brought an energy and an ideal and money and convinced people to stay” (MIAMI HERALD, 3/7).
FIBA Secretary General Patrick Baumann, on the construction of the Athens Olympic basketball arena: “Due to the very limited time available from now until the start of the Olympic Games it is imperative that no further delays occur and that the construction schedule presented to FIBA is fully abided by” (L.A. TIMES, 3/7).
With the PGA European Tour scheduled to play the Qatar Masters next weekend, European Tour player Greg Owen is “urging tour officials to reconsider playing there.” Owen: “It seems crazy that we should take a risk for one tournament” (“SportsCenter,” ESPN, 3/6).
As noted in yesterday’s Morning Buzz, the Brewers asked players to sign a document banning supplements at the ballpark. Brewers MLBPA rep & 3B Wes Helms: “Everybody signed it. Everybody agreed with what it said” (AP, 3/6).
Yankees manager Joe Torre, on MLB’s effort to speed up games: “It all comes down to so much time between innings. It’s TV driven. TV puts up the money. It’s really tough to fight that stuff.” Yankees CF Bernie Williams: “It makes sense to take some measures, as long as the focus aspect of the game is intact” (N.Y. TIMES, 3/7).
Wall Street Journal Sports Business Writer Sam Walker, on the effect of the NHL’s rule changes: “Scoring is flat, but the average time of the game has dropped by about 14 minutes, which is the lowest level in 40 years, and fighting majors are also down 22% to the lowest level since 1970” (ESPNews, 3/6).
The CFL Montreal Alouettes announced that the club’s season-ticket renewal rate for the ’03 season is over 95% (THE DAILY).
A LIGHTER BUZZ
Last night’s edition of MSG’s “Angles” aired a top ten list in response to USA Today’s list of the “Top Ten Hardest Things To Do In Sports.” The “Angles” list was “Top Ten Easiest Things To Do In NY Sports” ("Angles," MSG, 3/6).
| 10) “Save enough money to buy Rangers playoff tickets.” |
| 9) “Beat a Bob Hill-coached team (Hill is Fordham Univ. men’s basketball coach).” |
| 8) “Be on a fast break with (Nets G) Jason Kidd.” |
| 7) “Figuring out how many yards (Giants RB) Ron Dayne will get on third-and-two.” |
| 6) “Get a Mets fan to complain about the team.” |
| 5) “Gain admission to St. Bonaventure.” |
| 4) “Not buy (Yankees P) David Wells' book.” |
| 3) “Boo.” |
| 2) “Be an expert.” |
| 1) “Deciding whether to join (Yankees SS) Derek Jeter for a night on the town.” |
THE BACK PAGES
The Morning Buzz offers today’s back page sports covers from some of the nation’s major metropolitan tabloids:
| | |
| N.Y. Post | N.Y. Daily News |
| | |
| Philadelphia Daily News | Boston Herald |
TODAY’S EVENTS
Hawks F Shareef Abdur-Rahim and former Hawks F Dominique Wilkins will send off children participating in “Bert’s Big Adventure” at 8:30am ET. The program takes a group of terminally or critically ill children ages 5-11 and their families on a weekend trip to Walt Disney World. The Hawks have donated the use of the team’s plane to transport the group to and from Orlando (THE DAILY).
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT…..
Every Friday, the Morning Buzz highlights a video clip, chart or piece of information that might have fallen through the cracks. This week, MTV examines the veracity of the urban legend that wearing a baseball cap accelerates the balding process. Here, various members of the Dodgers opine on the issue. Not to ruin the suspense, but the myth is false (THE DAILY).
IN OTHER NEWS….
MULTICHANNEL NEWS reported that FCC staff will “remain neutral on potential changes to a broadcast-ownership rule at the core of a fierce debate” between CBS, NBC and Fox and the affils. While the nets want the FCC to “eliminate the rule that bars a station group from reaching more than 35[%] of TV households nationally,” the affils are “fighting just as hard to leave the 35[%] cap right where it is” (MULTICHANNEL NEWS, 3/6).
Charlotte NBA franchise Owner Robert Johnson was among the Cable Center’s inductees for the Cable Television HOF for contributing “to the growth of the cable industry” (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 3/7).
FINAL JEOPARDY QUESTION
Last night's "Final Jeopardy!" category was “Agriculture.”
“The Norse were impressed by these in North America, but they weren't grown profitably in North America until around 1850.”
LAUGH TRACK
THE MONOLOGUES:
NBC’s Jay Leno: "I made some money today on eBay. Have you made money on eBay? This is great. This morning I bought a gallon of gas, waited three hours (and) sold it for twice the price. ... President Bush is continuing to get all the advice he can on finding a staging area for our troops. I understand today he called the Turkey Hotline. ... U.S. military officials say the war plan for Iraq calls for us to drop 3,000 precision-guided bombs on the Iraqi leadership in the first 48 hours. Here’s my question. If they’re really precision-guided, why do we need 3,000 of them? ... They said 90% of these smart bombs that we drop can find Iraq on a map all by themselves. Pretty amazing when you realize only 10% of Americans can find Iraq on a map. ... In Qatar yesterday, they had the Islamic Unity Summit, which is supposed to bring all the Arab nations together. Well, it turned into just a huge fight. The (VP) of Iraq called the Kuwaiti diplomat a monkey ... and then he said, ‘I curse your mustache.’ Doesn’t that sound like something you’d say when you can’t think of anything to say. ... Actually, ‘curse your mustache’ is a very common insult in Iraq. In fact, Saddam Hussein yells that at his mistress all the time. ... In Long Island, another Catholic priest has been sentenced to two years in jail for sexual misconduct with a 13-year old boy. His name is Reverend Michael Hands. Father Hands! Who could have seen that coming? You'd think Bishop Groper or Cardinal McFeely would have stepped in" ("Tonight Show," NBC, 3/6).
THURSDAY NIGHT’S TV MONITOR
ESPN’s 10:30pm ET 90-minute edition of “SportsCenter” led with Nets-Spurs.
FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER
“What are grapes?”
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