| | The Daily Insider
Morning News & Headlines
Thursday, April 24, 2003
9:00am ET | |
| |
| • | MLB Officials To Discuss SARS Precautions With Team Trainers Today |
| • | Mike Tyson Given 1:00pm PT Ultimatum To Join June 21 Fight Card In L.A. |
| • | NCAA Div. I BOD To Vote Today On Student-Athlete Opportunity Fund |
| • | Report Pegs Citizens Bank As Phillies’ Ballpark Naming Rights Partner |
| • | As Falcons Prepare To Unveil New Jerseys Today, Fan Site Offers Sneak Peek |
| • | Morning Briefs/In Other News/Laugh Track/TV Monitor/Final Jeopardy! |
MLB MEDICAL ADVISER TO RECOMMEND SARS PRECAUTIONS TODAY
The N.Y. TIMES reports that in response to the SARS outbreak, MLB officials today will begin recommending that teams traveling to Toronto “undertake various precautions.” MLB Medical Adviser Dr. Elliot Pellman, during conference calls with team trainers over the next two days, will recommend that players “wash their hands frequently, be careful in sharing food, use their own pens to sign autographs and not handle the object being signed, and stay away from health care centers.” The Royals begin a three-game series against the Blue Jays tomorrow (N.Y. TIMES, 4/24).
The AP reported that MLBPA reps will meet with reps from MLB Commissioner Bud Selig’s office tomorrow to discuss SARS (AP, 4/23).
TYSON TOLD HE MUST JOIN JUNE 21 FIGHT CARD BY 1:00pm PT TODAY
The L.A. TIMES reports that Staples Center President Tim Leiweke has told Mike Tyson that he must sign on by 1:00pm PT today for a June 21 fight card also featuring a Kirk Johnson-Lennox Lewis title fight or “risk being left at the curb.” Leiweke will host a press conference at that time to officially announce the card, but “with Lewis and Johnson in place, tickets about to go on sale, an auction set up for 300 high-priced seats and ads poised to roll off the presses, Tyson’s name is still not on a contract.” None of Tyson’s three negotiators offered a reason why he wouldn’t finalize the deal, though he is “not expected to join the other fighters at today’s news conference” (L.A. TIMES, 4/24).
NCAA BOD TO VOTE TODAY ON FUND TO OFFER CASH TO ATHLETES
The Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER reports that the NCAA Div. I BOD today “will vote on whether to establish the Student-Athlete Opportunity Fund with $17[M] a year taken from the $6[B], 11-year deal that the NCAA signed with CBS to televise” the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. NCAA PR Managing Dir Jeff Howard: “The Division I management council is in strong support of it, and the legislation is moving forward.” Howard said that how the money is “doled out would be left to the conferences. What is less clear is exactly how much a given athlete should get. Whatever it is, it wouldn’t be a paycheck” (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 4/24).
CITIZENS BANK TO ACQUIRE PHILLY BALLPARK NAMING RIGHTS
BOSTON HERALD gossip columnists Fee & Raposa dish that Citizens Bank “has made a winning $100[M] pitch to throw its name” on the Phillies new ballpark. Sources say the announcement could come as early as next month to name the $346M, 43,000-seat facility Citizens Bank Park. Citizens Bank Senior VP & Dir of Public Affairs Melodie Jackson: “All the information I have at this point is that we are the official bank of the Philadelphia Phillies and an existing partner.” Phillies Chief Communications Officer Sharon Swainson acknowledged that the field for potential naming rights partners is “down to two” and that the team expects “to have an announcement by the All-Star break in July” (BOSTON HERALD, 4/24).
USSF, SAINTS TO CO-PROMOTE U.S.-BRAZIL WOMEN’S SOCCER MATCH
In an exclusive to The Daily, the SportsBusiness Journal’s Langdon Brockinton reports that the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) and the NFL Saints will announce later today that the U.S Women’s National Soccer Team will play the Brazilian Women’s National Team on July 13 at 25,600-seat Tad Gormley Stadium in New Orleans. The USSF is staging the game in conjunction with the Saints, who are also helping promote the match. While the Saints also have some sponsorship sales rights for the event, financial arrangements between USSF and the NFL team have not been disclosed. The game against Brazil will mark the U.S. team’s first-ever match in LA. Last October, the Saints helped promote a match between the MLS Burn and Honduran club team Olimpia at Tulane. The game will be televised live on ESPN at 4:00pm ET.
FALCONS FAN SITE OFFERS SNEEK PEAK OF TEAM’S NEW JERSEYS
Falcons Owner Arthur Blank will host a 1:00pm ET press conference at the Mall of Georgia to unveil the team’s new uniforms. Also expected to attend are QB Mike Vick, LB Keith Brooking, RB Warrick Dunn, WR Peerless Price, TE Alge Crumpler and DE Patrick Kerney (THE DAILY).
Meanwhile, the ATLANTA CONSTITUTION reports that a Falcons fan Web site, Falconsroost.com, “this week posted a photo purported to be of the new home jersey.” Falconsroost.com Owner Trace Mashburn said that the image “came from an NFL apparel Web site, which had put the image up last weekend.” The image “mysteriously disappeared after a couple of days, replaced by the current jersey.” The Falcons refused to say whether the jersey was legitimate (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 4/24).
TODAY THE DAILY GOES ONE-ON-ONE WITH…
Which MLB team exec saw his alma mater – for which he played basketball – make a run to the NCAA Men’s Final Four this year? To find out, see today’s “Sports Industrialists” section for “THE DAILY Goes One-On-One With…”
MORNING BRIEFS
Former SLOC President Tom Welch, on the Salt Lake bribery scandal being revived by a federal appeals court: “I recognized from the beginning that this was going to be a walk down a long road. But this has been a heavy toll for trying to help the community and the country” (USA TODAY, 4/24).
The WASHINGTON POST reports that the tone at yesterday’s hearing of the Nike v. Kasky First Amendment case in the U.S. Supreme Court was “subdued. By the end, it was unclear whether a majority was prepared to rule broadly in favor of enhancing the constitutional status of commercial speech or to dispose of the case on a narrower legal basis.” A decision in expected by the end of June (WASHINGTON POST, 4/24).
Bowl Championship Series Chair Mike Tranghese, speaking at the BCS’ annual meetings, which close today in Phoenix: “I posed the question of whether there was any interest (in adjustments) and there was none, and I expect this will be it for the remaining years of the current agreement.” The current BCS contract runs through ‘05 (USA TODAY, 4/24).
It was announced that the Army-Navy games in ‘04-06 and ‘08 will be played at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. Baltimore was awarded the ‘07 game (THE DAILY).
NFL Senior VP/Special Events Jim Steeg suggested that the league in ’04 might begin taking the NFL Draft “out on the road, maybe to Cleveland, Charlotte, Atlanta” (USA TODAY, 4/24).
The CHARLOTTE OBSERVER reports that the city’s expansion NBA franchise will “announce three finalists for its nickname early next month and ask for public feedback before making a decision. Then in June, the name will be announced, along with a logo and color scheme.” The new team “won’t reveal what’s under consideration” (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 4/24).
The WASHINGTON POST reports that a “rift over hikes in simulcasting fees has led a cooperative of Mid-Atlantic racetracks, including Pimlico Race Course and Laurel Park, to discontinue televising and accepting bets on races from six tracks owned by Churchill Downs.” The impasse “came to light yesterday when the signal from opening day of Hollywood Park” was not carried at Mid-Atlantic tracks and off-track betting facilities (WASHINGTON POST, 4/24).
ATTENDANCE WATCH:
- The CP reports that a crowd of 6,380 attended last night’s D’Backs-Expos game at Olympic Stadium in Montreal, a “dramatic drop from the crowd of 36,879” for the home opener Tuesday (CP, 4/24).
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
The N.Y. Chapter of the National Sports Marketing Network will host a discussion entitled “New Kids on the Block: The Explosion of All-Sports TV Networks” at the Reebok Sports Club, beginning at 8:00am ET. The Daily/SBJ Editor-at-Large Terry Lefton will moderate a panel that includes CSTV co-Founder and Exec VP Chris Bevilacqua, The Football Network Senior VP/Sales & Sponsorship Terry Kassel and The Ice Channel COO Jay Rosenstein (THE DAILY).
The NYC2012 Olympic Bid Committee and N.Y. Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff will hold an Olympic Media Forum at 21 Club beginning at 12:30pm ET, at which acting USOC President Bill Martin will discuss the USOC’s reform process and support for the N.Y. bid (THE DAILY).
MLB, the MLBPA and the American Library Association will launch the second year of “Join the Major Leagues @ Your Library” during a 12:30pm ET ceremony at the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore. MLB VP/Educational Programming Sharon Robinson and Orioles 2B Jerry Hairston will host the event. A separate ceremony will take place at Camden Yards prior to the Orioles 7:05pm game against the White Sox (THE DAILY).
Ravens coach Brian Billick, K Matt Stover and OT Orlando Brown will attend a news conference to introduce a new playing surface for Ravens Stadium at 1:00pm ET (THE DAILY).
IN OTHER NEWS….
AOL Time Warner yesterday reported Q1 ’03 earnings, including net income of $396M, compared with a loss of $54.2B from the same period a year earlier. Additionally, revenue grew 6%, from $9.4B to $10B. The WASHINGTON POST notes that the company’s stock rose $0.69 to $14.00 per share (WASHINGTON POST, 4/24). DAILY VARIETY reports the company said that it “wants to unload its music manufacturing biz. But execs didn’t mention a sale of the Atlanta sports teams or the book publishing unit, which are also on the block” (DAILY VARIETY, 4/24).
DAILY VARIETY reports that William Morris Agency President & co-CEO Jim Wiatt will become the sole CEO as “longtime CEO Walt Zifkin will scale back his duties to become CEO emeritus” (DAILY VARIETY, 4/24).
FINAL JEOPARDY!
Last night's “Final Jeopardy!” category was “Characters.”
“Person missing from: Rossweisse, Ortlinde, Siegrune, Grimgerde, Helmwige, Gerhilde, Waltraute and Schwertleite.”
LAUGH TRACK
THE MONOLOGUES:
NBC's Jay Leno: “It’s been cold the last couple of nights. ... Last night, I went to the big Earth Day rally. It was so cold I had to sit in my Humvee with the engine running just to keep warm. ... Did you see those Iraqis making that pilgrimage, slashing their foreheads with knives and whipping their backs with chains? See, when Saddam Hussein was around, they weren’t allowed to make that pilgrimage. If they tried that with Saddam Hussein, he would have cut their foreheads with knives and whipped them with chains. ... At an airport back east, the FBI spotted a couple of ancient artifacts they thought were taken from the Baghdad Museum. It turns out it was just Dan Rather and Ted Koppel coming home. ... Gay rights groups are calling for (U.S. Sen. Rick) Santorum’s resignation because he compared homosexuality to bigamy, polygamy, adultery and incest … and it’s not just the gay groups who are insulted. The Mormons are insulted because he included polygamy, Congress was insulted because he included adultery and Arkansas was insulted because he included incest. ... According to the tabloids, they say former President Bill Clinton is going deaf. Really? See all those women he dated? I thought he was going blind. ... The NFL Draft is coming up this weekend. The Cincinnati Bengals have the first pick again and if you watched them play last year you know, hey, they earned it. ... Mike Tyson has been granted a license to fight here in the state of (CA). ... Fair is fair. If we can give Nick Nolte and Rodney King a license to drive, we can give Tyson a license to fight” ("Tonight Show," NBC, 4/23).
LATE NIGHT LAUGHS:
CBS’ Craig Kilborn: “Big Story: There has been no electricity in Baghdad for a week, and the people are angry. And you’d be angry too, if you couldn’t watch your brand new stolen TV. … American Idol star Kelly Clarkson’s new album debuted at No.1. And good news for her runner-up Justin: He was promoted to Sneeze Guard Manager at Red Lobster. … A man has been seized at an airport attempting to smuggle marijuana inside a bible. It is the only bible where Jesus walks on water after he wipes out on his surfboard. … According to a new book, Melanie Griffith has a bronze replica of her husband, Antonio Banderas’ manhood on her dresser. Man, Ikea has everything” (“The Late Late Show, CBS, 4/23).
WEDNESDAY NIGHT’S TV MONITOR
ESPN’s 11:00pm ET “SportsCenter” led with Magic-Pistons, followed by Hornets-76ers.
FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER
“Who is Brunnhilde?”
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please let us know at:
dailyinsider@sportsbusinessdaily.com
The Morning Buzz provides an early update of the news and headlines each Monday through Friday at approximately 9:00am ET. If you would like to sign up for an e-mail alert to the Morning Buzz, go to My Account and personalize your e-mail alert options.
