| | The Daily Insider
Morning News & Headlines
Monday, March 24, 2003
9:00am ET | |
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| • | NFL Owners Meetings Officially Begin Today In Phoenix |
| • | Trial Between Raiders And City Of Oakland, Alameda County To Begin Today |
| • | Organizers Focusing On Security As The Players Championship Opens Today |
| • | CBS' Three-Day Overnight Nielsen Averages For NCAA Tournament Down 23% |
| • | "Chicago" Takes Six Oscars, Including Best Picture Nod |
| • | Morning Briefs/In Other News/Laugh Track/Weekend Rap/Weekend Box Office |
NFL OWNERS TO DISCUSS OT SYSTEM, EXPANDED PLAYOFF FORMAT
The NFL Owners Meetings officially begin today at the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix, and the ARIZONA REPUBLIC reported that changes to the overtime system "will be the primary agenda item" discussed during the meetings, which end Wednesday. Owners and league officials also "will discuss, among other topics, expanding coaches' challenges during games, expanding the playoffs, the new diversity committee on hiring practices and whether to extend the stadium-building loan program, also known as G-3" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 3/23).
The HOUSTON CHRONICLE reports that NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue will open the meetings with his State of the League address (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 3/24).
The MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL noted that the '07 Super Bowl site "remains open and will be addressed" at the meetings (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 3/22).
The N.Y. DAILY NEWS reports that the league will make a decision today on NFL Europe as players are scheduled to leave from Tampa tomorrow. There has been "talk of delaying the departure a week because of the war in Iraq" and suspending the season is a possibility (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 3/24).
RAIDERS TRIAL AGAINST CITY & ALAMEDA COUNTY TO BEGIN TODAY
The OAKLAND TRIBUNE reports that the $1.1B trial between the Raiders and the city of Oakland and Alameda County is scheduled to begin today in Sacramento. The trial, which "will focus on whether the Raiders were defrauded into returning to Oakland in 1995 and whether the team has been damaged financially as a result," is expected to last 10-12 weeks. Opening statements and testimony "likely will begin in early April." Among the witnesses identified by the Raiders are Owner Al Davis, Oakland City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente, Mayor Jerry Brown and state Sen. Don Perata. Others who may be called to testify include A's co-Owners Steve Schott and Ken Hofmann, former 49ers coach Bill Walsh, Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones, Orioles Owner Peter Angelos and NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue (OAKLAND TRIBUNE, 3/24).
TOURNAMENT OFFICIAL EXPECTS STRONGER SECURITY PRESENCE
Practice rounds at The Players Championship begin today at TPC at Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, and the FLORIDA TIMES-UNION reported that tournament officials "are working overtime on security." The Players Championship Exec Dir Brian Goin said that "there will be a 'stronger presence' of security personnel at all public areas of the tournament." Record crowds are expected at the event as the 15th consecutive sellout of about 36,000 tickets was announced last week (FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, 3/24).
WORLD FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS BEGINS TODAY IN DC
The World Figure Skating Championships begin today in DC with men's qualifying rounds at the MCI Center at 10:30am ET, and the N.Y. TIMES reported that the "story lines extend beyond the rink, including diplomatic and social tensions among the United States, France and Russia" (N.Y. TIMES, 3/23). The Newark STAR-LEDGER noted that a new judging system "is roundly hated" and that "attendance at ice shows has dropped and the once unbeatable TV ratings have wobbled" (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 3/23).
MORNING BRIEFS
The HOUSTON CHRONICLE reports that the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament on CBS earned a three-day overnight average Nielsen rating of 5.0, down 23% from 6.5 a year ago. The four windows of games that aired on ESPN on Thursday and Friday are not included (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 3/24).
CART team Owner Gerald Forsythe hopes that the publicly traded CART will soon go private: "There is a consensus of opinion that CART needs to be a private organization. We don't need to have Wall Street scrutinizing everything we do" (AP, 3/23).
The ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS reported that jury selection for Kirby Puckett's trial begins today. Puckett has been charged with felony false imprisonment, fifth-degree assault and misdemeanor criminal sexual conduct (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 3/23).
Martha Burk, on how long the controversy regarding the all-male membership at Augusta National Golf Club will continue: "Until it changes, and I think that will be pretty soon" (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 3/23).
The Reds drew 212,000 during a two-day open house at Great American Ball Park over the weekend (THE DAILY).
The ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS reports that the Twins today will offer the first Twins E-Saver tickets of the season as $14 seats for the April 6 game against the Blue Jays are selling for $10. The promotion discounts selected tickets "when buying online and only on the Monday posting days." (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 3/24).
NBA Commissioner David Stern, on postponing games due to war: "We're monitoring the situation. We're hopeful that our games will go off. … In this environment, you literally take things one day at a time" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 3/24).
A USA TODAY Ad Track survey shows that more than 40% of people say they like Reebok's Terry Tate ads "a lot," nearly double the Ad Track average of 21% (USA TODAY, 3/24).
Cingular Wireless today continues to run a full-page ad in USA Today promoting its NCAA Text Package. Pontiac also continue its run of a full-page ad in USA Today asking readers to choose the greatest play in NCAA Tournament history as part of its NCAA Tournament campaign (THE DAILY).
The CP reported that Prince Edward Island Liberals candidate Robert Ghiz was contacted by Nike officials because "his campaign literature uses a symbol that looks a lot like Nike's swoosh logo" (CP, 3/21).
ATTENDANCE WATCH:
- A Premier League record crowd of 67,706 attended Saturday's Manchester United-Fulham soccer match at the Theatre of Dreams in Old Trafford, England (OTTAWA SUN, 3/23).
- The FT. WAYNE JOURNAL-GAZETTE reported that a crowd of 9,162 attended Saturday's Evansville Blue Cats-Ft. Wayne Freedom National Indoor Football League game, the largest crowd in NIFL history (FT. WAYNE JOURNAL-GAZETTE, 3/23).
- The Memphis COMMERCIAL APPEAL reported that a sellout crowd of about 4,000 attended Saturday's Atlanta Beat-Washington Freedom WUSA exhibition match at Mike Rose Soccer Complex in Memphis (Memphis COMMERCIAL APPEAL, 3/23).
- The AP reported that a crowd of 92,713 attended yesterday's CART Monterrey Grand Prix, and a total of 215,771 attended the three-day event (AP, 3/23).
- The GREENVILLE NEWS reports that a crowd of about 160,000 attended yesterday's NASCAR Winston Cup Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, TN (GREENVILLE NEWS, 3/24).
A LIGHTER BUZZ
Asked about his most memorable NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament moment, CBS broadcaster Jim Nantz said of the '83 NCAA Tournament Championship Game, "We're coming up on the 20th anniversary. It was NC State-Houston, the single most painful sporting event I have ever been to. I'm a Houston graduate. I rode the bus to the game with the Houston team and sat in the stands for that game" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 3/22).
Upon encountering each other yesterday in Phoenix, Redskins Owner Daniel Snyder, who has signed former Jets free agents Laveranues Coles, John Hall and Randy Thomas this offseason, said while shaking hands with Jets Owner Woody Johnson, "Oh, Woody and I are good friends. We always shake hands. He's a nice guy." To which Johnson later said, "He's trying to improve his team I guess. Everybody does it differently" (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 3/24).
WEEKEND RAP…
The following are excerpts from the panelists' "parting shots" on Sunday's edition of ESPN's "The Sports Reporters":
- Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan, on the impact of Grizzlies coach Hubie Brown: "Everyone thought Jerry West had finally lost it. … They've now won 25 games and they've been in plenty of others. As Hubie himself once said of Larry Bird, 'They're a menace.' … How did Jerry West know? I guess that's why he's Jerry West and everybody else isn't."
- Detroit Free Press columnist Mitch Albom, on CBS analyst Billy Packer criticizing college players who said they were afraid to fly during the tournament due to the war in Iraq: "This is the danger when TV sports analysts or TV entertainment, weather or fashion analysts blend the war into their commentaries. Silly things are inevitably said because war is life and death and their fields are not. I'm sure Packer, in his way, was expressing admiration for our troops' bravery, but you don't do it by calling college kids 'chicken.' After all, players in the tournament didn't enlist, they enrolled."
- ESPN's Sal Paolantonio, on NCAA President Myles Brand's decision to proceed with the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament in light of the war in Iraq: "From a strictly financial standpoint, that question has become more difficult to confront. Sports is big, big business. … The games should go on not to spite a dictator, but to honor the men and women who have been asked to fight this war."
- ESPN's John Saunders, on Canadiens fans booing the American National Anthem last week: "Political statements from Quebecers are a joke. They don't know one year to the next if they want to be Canadians. So America, don't take it personally. It wouldn't happen anywhere else in Canada, except the one place that would also boo their own anthem" ("The Sports Reporters," ESPN, 3/23). As a note, Saunders is Canadian.
Heard elsewhere over the weekend:
- Albom, on the NCAA considering the postponement of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament in light of the war in Iraq: "To even elevate this thing to the level that you have to talk about should it be canceled, is to give it some kind of significance that it doesn't deserve" ("The Sports Reporters," ESPN, 3/23).
- Spurs F David Robinson, on the Dixie Chicks' Natalie Maines saying she is embarrassed to be from George Bush's home state of TX: "If it's an embarrassment to them, maybe they should be in a different country. This is America and we're supposed to be proud of the guys we elected and put into office. This isn't like Saddam Hussein being in office, and we've got to put up with what he's doing" ("Outside The Lines," ESPN, 3/23).
- Following Saunders suggesting that Univ. of CT G Diana Taurasi is the most recognizable player in college basketball, Albom said, "I never thought I'd see the day that we're talking about a female player as the one player in college basketball" ("The Sports Reporters," ESPN, 3/23).
- Paolantonio, on proposed changes to the NFL playoff format: "It's driven by money. More playoff teams means more money for the owners from TV revenue and unshared ticket prices in the playoffs" ("The Sports Reporters," ESPN, 3/23).
- Ryan, on whether or not Sixers G Allen Iverson will be selected for the Olympic team: "If Larry Brown wants him to be on the team, I am told, he will be on the team. So, that's where the ball is. It's in Larry Brown's court" ("The Sports Reporters," ESPN, 3/23).
- TNT basketball analyst Jeff Van Gundy, on Lakers coach Phil Jackson being the national spokesperson for the Positive Coaching Alliance: "It's a lot easier to be positive when you have Shaq and Kobe and Michael Jordan. I think any coach would be positive on that" ("Outside The Lines," ESPN, 3/23).
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 |
TODAY'S EVENTS
NHL Diversity Dir Willie O'Ree will conduct a hockey clinic at Matthews Arena on Northeastern Univ.'s campus in Boston at 4:00pm ET (THE DAILY).
The T'Wolves will install the first KG4MVP billboard at 10:00am CT, promoting F Kevin Garnett for NBA MVP. The billboard will be installed on the First Avenue side of Block E (THE DAILY).
The CFL will launch its "State of the Franchise" interactive information program with a news conference at 1:00pm ET. The program offers the media a chance to look inside the operations of CFL teams (THE DAILY).
Vancouver 2010 Bid President John Furlong and Olympians Georgina Wheatcroft and Tami Bradley will host a news conference to discuss the Vancouver bid at 11:00am PT (THE DAILY).
EARNINGS ANNOUNCEMENTS
Below are this week's confirmed earnings announcements for sports-business related companies (THE DAILY).
| DATE | TICKER | COMPANY | QUARTER |
| 3/27 | FINL | Finish Line | Q4 2003 |
| 3/28 | BNG | Benetton Group | Q4 2002 |
IN OTHER NEWS….
This week's cover of TIME offers "Gulf War II." Meanwhile, NEWSWEEK examines "Shock And Awe" (THE DAILY).
The L.A. TIMES reports that in an evening "filled with raw emotion, stunning surprises and even a little '60s-style peace protests thrown in for good measure, 'Chicago,' the Roaring '20s musical morality tale, won the Oscar for best picture Sunday evening at the 75th Academy Awards" (L.A. TIMES, 3/24). Among the winners:
| Category | Winner |
| Best Picture | "Chicago" |
| Best Director | Roman Polanski for "The Pianist" |
| Best Actress | Nicole Kidman for "The Hours" |
| Best Actor | Adrien Brody for "The Pianist" |
| Best Supporting Actress | Catherine Zeta-Jones for "Chicago" |
| Best Supporting Actor | Chris Cooper for "Adaptation" |
View a list of all Oscar winners.
USA TODAY notes that though the show "ran a fairly standard 3 1/2 hours, it seemed to move more quickly than usual" (USA TODAY, 3/24). The WASHINGTON POST notes that the telecast "was one of the best, and certainly most stimulating, Oscar shows in years" (WASHINGTON POST, 3/24). The N.Y. TIMES notes that most winners "kept politics out of their acceptance speeches, although a few made oblique references to peace" (N.Y. TIMES, 3/24).
The N.Y. TIMES reports that Rupert Murdoch's Star Group is "about to start a 24-hour news channel in India" called Star News. The channel, set to launch in mid-April, "will be aimed at the 41 million households in India with cable television" (N.Y. TIMES, 3/24).
The N.Y. TIMES reports that editors and publishers at Newsweek, Time and U.S. News & World Report "would not specify how many ads they had to postpone because of the war, but they said that such requests were fewer than in days" after September 11 (N.Y. TIMES, 3/24).
THE DAILY QUESTION
Jeopardy! was pre-empted Friday night for news coverage on the war in Iraq. So, The Daily's category this morning is "Baseball."
Which player has the longest streak of 30-homer seasons?
SUNDAY NIGHT'S TV MONITOR
ESPN's 11:00pm ET "SportsCenter," late due to NCAA Women's Tournament coverage, led with Butler's upset of Louisville in the NCAA Men's Tournament, followed by Auburn-Wake Forest, Maryland-Xavier, OK State-Syracuse, MI State-FL, Purdue-Texas, UT-Kentucky and Pittsburgh-Indiana.
WEEKEND BOX OFFICE
The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER notes that it was a "somewhat disappointing weekend at the box office" as the estimated total for the top 12 films was $84M, down 29% from last year's $135.6M (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 3/24).
| Title | This Weekend | Cumulative |
| "Bringing Down the House" | $16.2M | $83.4M |
| "Dreamcatcher" | $15.3M | $15.3M |
| "Agent Cody Banks" | $9.3M | $26.6M |
| "View from the Top" | $7.6M | $7.6M |
| "The Hunted" | $6.6M | $23.4M |
| "Chicago" | $6.2M | $134.1M |
| "Piglet's Big Movie" | $6.1M | $6.1M |
| "Tears of the Sun" | $4.5M | $38.0M |
| "Old School" | $4.0M | $67.1M |
| "Boat Trip" | $3.7M | $3.7M |
THE DAILY ANSWER
Giants LF Barry Bonds with 11.
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