| | The Daily Insider
Morning News & Headlines
Wednesday, April 16, 2003
9:00am ET | |
| |
| • | Disney Late Yesterday Agrees In Principle To Sell Angels To Arturo Moreno |
| • | Cavaliers To Unveil New Logo And Uniforms During Press Conference Today |
| • | The Heritage To Announce Four-Year Title Sponsorship Deal Today With MCI |
| • | WNBPA To Conduct Press Conference With Members Of NOW In N.Y. Today |
| • | Here We Go Again: On-Field Incidents Mar Royals-White Sox Game At Comiskey |
| • | Morning Briefs/In Other News/Laugh Track/TV Monitor/Final Jeopardy! |
MORENO AGREES IN PRINCIPLE TO ACQUIRE ANGELS FOR $180M
The L.A. TIMES reports that Disney late yesterday agreed in principle to sell the Angels to Arturo Moreno for about $180M. If approved by MLB owners, Moreno "would become the first Latino to own a major league team and the first party from outside Southern [CA] to own the Angels." As of late yesterday, Disney execs "had not informed team employees, competing bidders or city officials of the agreement" (L.A. TIMES, 4/16).
CAVALIERS TO UNVEIL NEW LOGO AND UNIFORMS AT 12:15pm ET
Cavaliers Chair Gordon Gund and Cavaliers/Gund Arena Company CEO Mark Stornes today will present the team's new logo and uniforms for the '03 season during a 12:15pm ET press conference at Gund Arena. All fans attending tonight's 7:30pm ET game against the Raptors will receive a T-shirt with the new logo and colors, the first piece of merchandise bearing the new insignia (THE DAILY).
MCI INKS FOUR-YEAR, $22M DEAL TO TITLE THE HERITAGE
The ISLAND PACKET reports MCI VP/Strategy & Marketing Jonathan Crane yesterday confirmed that the company "has signed a four-year deal" worth $22M to title the PGA Tour event on Hilton Head Island, The Heritage (ISLAND PACKET, 4/16).
The Columbia STATE reported that tournament organizers today will announce the deal with MCI, the title sponsor of The Heritage for 14 years before being absorbed by WorldCom in '01. MCI will "not officially attach its name to the event until 2004, but it will have a presence during this week's CBS telecast." Tournament Dir Steve Wilmot: "If you're here on-site, you won't know what's going on, but you're at home watching on TV, you'll see it" (Columbia STATE, 4/15).
WNBPA, NOW MEMBERS TO HOLD PRESS CONFERENCE TODAY IN N.Y.
The WNBPA, along with members of the National Organization for Women, today will conduct a press conference at 2:30pm ET in N.Y. to discuss the current labor situation. The union will then meet with management tomorrow to resume contract talks, with the hope of finalizing a deal prior to NBA Commissioner David Stern's Friday deadline (THE DAILY).
Agent Bruce Levy, whose agency represents 32 WNBA players, on the negotiations: "I feel highly confident that the two sides will reach an agreement by the deadline, although it will most certainly be an 11th-hour deal. I don't see where the great surprise is in this, because all along the signs showed that this was not going to come to a head until mid-April" (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, 4/16).
FAN ATTACKS FIRST BASE UMPIRE AT COMISKEY PARK LAST NIGHT
Following last year's attack at Comiskey Park by a father-and-son duo on Royals first base coach Tom Gamboa, four occurrences of fans entering the field of play during last night's Royals-White Sox game culminated in the eighth inning when a fan attempted to tackle first base umpire Laz Diaz. In response to the incidents, Royals GM Allard Baird "said that unless he's satisfied that security is improved," the Royals will not take the field tonight in Chicago. Baird: "I have already voiced my opinion to the commissioner's office. I told them we have to (be) assured tomorrow that things have been upgraded where we can feel comfortable to where we can take the field. Otherwise, we won't take it" (K.C. STAR, 4/16). Diaz appeared this morning on CBS' "Early Show" in the 7:30am ET block to discuss the incident (THE DAILY).
IN MEMORIAM: FORMER EAGLES OWNER LEONARD TOSE
Former Eagles Owner Leonard Tose died yesterday at St. Agnes Hospital in Philadelphia at the age of 88. Eagles Chair Jeffrey Lurie said in a statement, "On behalf of the entire Eagles organization, I sincerely regret the passing of Leonard Tose. I respect what he did for this organization during his 16 years as owner. The city of Philadelphia and the [NFL] lost a valuable contributor to their communities today" (THE DAILY).
The PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS' Kevin Mulligan writes, "Tose is best remembered as the free-spending owner of the only Eagles team in franchise history to reach the Super Bowl" (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 4/16).
The PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER's Bill Lyon writes, "Of all the figures who have wandered across the sporting landscape of this city in the last three decades, Leonard Tose … was one of the most memorable, a man of both imposing strengths and disastrous weaknesses" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 4/16).
MORNING BRIEFS
Twins President Dave St. Peter, speaking before a local organization, said of a new stadium for the Twins: "It's time to make this project happen and close the door before we're all sick and tired of hearing about it" (Minneapolis STAR-TRIBUNE, 4/16).
Boxing promoter Gary Shaw, on a proposed June 21 fight card featuring Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis in separate bouts: "Right now, about 50% of this is in the hands of HBO, which to complete its deal with Showtime, and the other 50% is with [attorney Judd Burstein], who needs to complete his discussions with the WBC" (USA TODAY, 4/16).
The Celtics today will formally cease to be a publicly owned franchise, as Boston Basketball Partnership will purchase all publicly traded shares, which will subsequently stop trading on the NYSE and the Boston Stock Exchange. The Partnership had previously bought the 52% of the company that was not public in '02 (THE DAILY).
The AP reported that Fresno State Univ. (FSU) will eliminate the men's soccer, men's indoor track and field, men's cross country and women's swimming and diving programs "as part of a plan to get out of a seven-year operating deficit." The athletic department is "facing a $650,000 year-end loss for 2003," and FSU AD Scott Johnson said that the cuts "will save the department about $557,000" (AP, 4/15).
The DESERET NEWS reported that Brigham Young Univ. (BYU) Associate AD Duff Title has contacted Augusta National to "procure memorabilia, newspaper headlines, golf balls, shoes, shirts and just about anything possible" of BYU alumnus and The Masters champion Mike Weir for display in the school's HOF (DESERET NEWS, 4/15).
The K.C. STAR reports that KMCI-Ind and WDAF-Fox interrupted their regularly scheduled programming to carry the Roy Williams news conference Monday night, in which the UNC announced Williams as its new men's basketball coach. However, KCTV-CBS, KMBC-ABC and KSHB-NBC did not interrupt their regularly scheduled programming to broadcast the news conference (K.C. STAR, 4/16).
A LIGHTER BUZZ
The AP reported that San Paolo Stadium in Naples, Italy will be renamed after former Italian League Napoli F Diego Maradona "who helped Napoli win two Italian League titles" in the '80s (AP, 4/15).
ESPN reported that former MLBer Jose Canseco is auctioning the chance to spend an afternoon with himself on his Web site. Possible activities include a private power hitting instruction, private material arts instruction, a workout with Canseco and a cookout. The minimum bid is $2,500 and "includes one guest 17 or younger at no extra cost." The bidding opened April 9 and concludes Saturday (ESPN, 4/15).
Last night's edition of "ET" reported Angie Harmon and former Giants CB Jason Sehorn are expecting their first child and Jason Priestley has announced he will quit racing. Priestley: "I worry about hitting my head again really hard and sort of what that would do to me" ("ET," 4/15).
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
Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban and Bank of America Dallas President Doug Hutt will hold an 11:00am CT press conference at Bank of America Plaza in Dallas to announce the creation the Fallen Patriot Fund to benefit the families of soldiers lost or seriously injured during Operation Iraqi Freedom (THE DAILY).
ABC Sports/ESPN will hold a 1:00pm ET conference call to discuss coverage of the NBA Playoffs. Announcer Brad Nessler, analysts Bill Walton and Tom Tolbert and NBA on ABC/ESPN Senior Coordinating Producer Jamie Reynolds will participate (THE DAILY).
The DALLAS MORNING NEWS reports that the Cowboys will hold a 2:00pm CT news conference to announce that former Cowboys GM Tex Schramm will be inducted into the team's Ring of Honor at a game of his choosing during the '03 season (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 4/16).
Ravens S Will Demps, U.S. Women's soccer national team assistant coach Lauren Gregg, Olympic swimmer Tiffany Cohen, DC United MF Bobby Convey, USA Track & Field Olympian Andrew Walmon and paralympian skier Muffy Davis will participate in a panel discussion for the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront at 2:15pm ET (THE DAILY).
IN OTHER NEWS….
The N.Y. POST reports that Vivendi Universal Chair & CEO Barry Diller yesterday filed suit against the company to "make it pay his $620[M] tax bill on shares he owns in the entertainment group." Diller said that the "French reneged on their bill agreement after negotiations on the payments fell apart" (N.Y. POST, 4/16).
A Television Bureau of Advertising report released yesterday shows that the war in Iraq "will not adversely affect U.S. consumer spending." Significant portions of the people surveyed reported being "very engaged in televised war coverage yet still receptive to marketing messages" (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 4/16).
The L.A. TIMES reports that the American Apparel and Footwear Association has "called on the U.S. government to end imports of apparel, textiles and footwear from [Myanmar], saying the 'repressive nature' of its military government should be met with 'condemnation from not only the international public community but from private industry as well'" (L.A. TIMES, 4/16).
TNN announced that it will change its name to Spike TV, reflecting its new brand positioning as the first network for men, and the WALL STREET JOURNAL reports that the change "comes replete with a new logo, a set of content partnerships and a cartoon featuring actress and pin-up Pamela Anderson as an animated exotic-dancer-slash-superheroine" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 4/16).
FINAL JEOPARDY QUESTION
Last night's "Final Jeopardy!" category was "World Leaders."
"On June 18, 1940, the day of Churchill's 'Finest Hour' speech, this leader made his first broadcast from London."
LAUGH TRACK
THE MONOLOGUES:
CBS' David Letterman: "I hate to talk about people when they're not here, but last night what a nasty audience we had. Rough crowd. Right after the show, they toppled my statue. ... They found one of Saddam Hussein's family palaces. By the way, how many of you have a family palace? ... This is what the U.S. troops found: a private zoo, Prozac, pictures of naked women. It was just like Michael Jackson's place, except for the naked women. ... The troops did not find any nerve gas. However, they did find large drums of Aqua Velva. ... They found tequila, Viagra and Prozac. Coincidently, that's how I got through the shingles. ... The war is pretty much over and the problem is we can't just rebuild Iraq. ... What you have to do now is teach these people how to behave. The Iraqis need to be taught how to behave. For example, you can't just go out rioting and looting. You can't do that, you know, unless your team wins the championship. ... Once again, the hookers in Times Square are offering their annual tax deadline special. For an extra $50, they'll handle your extension" ("Late Show," CBS, 4/15).
NBC's Jay Leno: "Today was tax day. Of course the one day when every American wishes he was an illegal alien. ... Technically, you're not paying taxes. According to the Bush administration, your bank account is being liberated. ... This is the day Americans get to deal with their two favorite government agencies, the IRS and the Post Office. You know what I do to make it a full day? I just drop by the DMV. ... With 90% of the bombs in, MSNBC is now calling the war for the (U.S.). It looks like it's over. ... Let's see what's happening in Iraq or as the Pentagon calls it, 'Gateway to Syria.' ... Besides indoor pools and its own zoo and tons of pornography, they also discovered (Saddam Hussein's son) Uday had his own brothel. He had a whorehouse built into his house. This is what happens when single guys decorate their own place. They go overboard. ... Next week, the soap opera 'All My Children' will show TV's first daytime lesbian kiss. Maybe I'm naive, but what is a daytime lesbian, and what do they do when the sun goes down? ... Next week is 'Take Your Daughter To Work Day,' unless of course your dad works for Augusta National" ("Tonight Show," NBC, 4/15).
LATE NIGHT LAUGHS:
Last night's "Top Ten" list was "Top Ten Signs Your Accountant Is Nuts." The list was read by ten N.Y.-area accountants ("Late Show," CBS, 4/15).
| 10) "Arranged it so you get your refund in cashews." |
| 9) "Before doing paperwork fixes a cocktail of gin and White-out." |
| 8) "Brags that 17% of clients have never been convicted of tax evasion." |
| 7) "Named the adding machine 'Linda.'" |
| 6) "Claims to be the bastard child of H&R Block." |
| 5) "Uses a number 3 pencil." |
| 4) "He claims the credit allowable under subsection (A) for any taxable year shall exceed the excess of the regular tax liability of the taxpayer for such taxable year reduced by the sum of the credits allowable under subparts A, B, D, E and F of this part, over the tentative minimum tax for the taxable year...I mean, come on!" |
| 3) "Last week, inexplicably fled to Syria." |
| 2) "Been known to dangle dependents from balconies." |
| 1) "Has a tattoo of I.R.S. Commissioner Charles O. Rossotti on his ass." |
TUESDAY NIGHT'S TV MONITOR
ESPN's 11:00pm ET "SportsCenter" led with the first base umpire being attacked on the field by a fan during the Royals-White Sox game, followed by Royals-White Sox and Braves-Expos.
FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER
"Who was Charles de Gaulle?"
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