| | The Daily Insider
Morning News & Headlines
Wednesday, May 14, 2003
9:00am ET | |
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| • | Roger Clemens Inks Four-Year Deal With Modell’s In Time For Win No. 300 |
| • | MLB Owners Meetings Begin Today In N.Y., Angels Sale Approval On Agenda |
| • | ESPN To Announce Details Today Of Multimedia Initiative – “ESPN25” |
| • | ACC Presidents Vote To Expand To 12-Team Conference, Miami On The Clock |
| • | Coliseum Commission To Discuss L.A. City Council’s NFL Vote Today |
| • | Morning Briefs/In Other News/Laugh Track/TV Monitor/Final Jeopardy! |
CLEMENS INKS FOUR-YEAR MODELL’S DEAL WHILE TWO SHY OF 300
By Terry Lefton, Editor-at-Large, The Sports Business Daily
Sporting-goods retailer Modell’s has inked a four-year endorsement deal with Yankees P Roger Clemens, which was completed in time to take advantage of the righthander’s anticipated 300th victory. The N.Y.-based retailer will officially announce the deal today at its new West 42nd Street store in Manhattan. Clemens is expected to appear in radio and print ads for the 100-store chain, which will be completed later this week. In store, Modell’s will have a dedicated section, tentatively called the Clemens K Zone, to include licensed apparel and hard goods. With Clemens recently shifting his apparel/footwear deal from Reebok to adidas, some co-op marketing support is also a possibility. The deal includes a $150,000 donation to The Roger Clemens Foundation. Clemens earned his 298th win May 10 against the A’s. He is scheduled to pitch Friday against the Rangers and next week in Boston, possibly in pursuit of win No. 300, which would make him the first pitcher since Nolan Ryan in ‘90 to reach the milestone. Clemens’ other endorsements are with adidas, Conagra’s Armour hot dog brand and Under Armour.
MLB OWNERS TO BEGIN TWO-DAY MEETING IN N.Y. TODAY
MLB today begins its regularly scheduled owners meetings at its N.Y. HQs, and USA TODAY reports that MLB Commissioner Bud Selig said the sale of the Angels “is really the only direct action to be taken. Other than that, we have a lot of information to share with the owners.” Other items on the agenda are a meeting of the MLB Relocation Committee and a discussion of the recently approved format change for the All-Star Game (USA TODAY, 5/14).
“ESPN25” TO EXAMINE AND CELEBRATE PAST 25 YEARS IN SPORTS
ESPN today will announce details of “ESPN25,” a multimedia examination and celebration of the last 25 years in sports. The initiative begins May 31, 2004, with “The Moments,” a daily countdown of 100 most memorable moments in the past quarter century, and culminates on September 7, the network’s 25th anniversary. “ESPN25” will feature elements in ESPN Magazine, ESPN.com and ESPN Radio, as well as more than 30 hours of TV programming. Sponsors include Bud Light, Toyota and T-Mobile (THE DAILY).
UNIV. OF MIAMI COULD BE OFFERED ACC SLOT AS EARLY AS TODAY
The ACC annual spring meeting concludes today on Amelia Island, FL, and the MIAMI HERALD reports that the Univ. of Miami is expected to be invited as early as today to leave the Big East for the ACC after ACC school presidents voted yesterday to expand to a 12-team league. The university is expected to “accept the offer, provided the terms are agreeable, forever changing the landscape of the ACC, Big East and possibly several other conferences” (MIAMI HERALD, 5/14).
The WASHINGTON POST reports that while the Miami is the league’s “top expansion target, … a final vote on any expansion plan is being held up by debate over which teams to invite along with the Hurricanes. Syracuse also likely will be invited, with Virginia Tech and Boston College angling for the third spot, with the source saying that Boston College has the inside track.” Duke and North Carolina voted against expansion (WASHINGTON POST, 5/14).
DESPITE NFL’S INSISTENCE, L.A. WANTS TEAM BACK IN COLISEUM
The L.A. TIMES reports that the Coliseum Commission today will conduct its monthly meeting following last night’s vote by the L.A. City Council “to pursue bringing a professional football team back to the Memorial Coliseum – despite the NFL’s insistence that it is not interested in the site.” The council members last night endorsed a proposed $350-400M renovation of the facility, “but pledged that no public money would be spent on the plan and offered no ideas about who might pay for it” (L.A. TIMES, 5/14).
AVALANCHE TO SEEK TICKET HOLDERS’ OPINION ON NETTING
The DENVER POST reports that the Avalanche is “inviting a portion of season-ticket holders to the Pepsi Center today and Thursday to conduct a survey on possible new safety netting for next season.” The Avalanche is one of several NHL clubs to “test-market a new, clear netting for possible use at both ends of the ice.” If the season-ticket holders “show a preference for the new netting,” the club will replace the sheer, black netting used this past season (DENVER POST, 5/14).
MORNING BRIEFS
Fox Sports President Ed Goren, on the net being a part of the MLB All-Star Game negotiations: “I’m not embarrassed or ashamed that we were part of the process. We supported something we believed would be healthy for the game of baseball.” In the third year of a six-year $2.5B agreement, Goren added: “At these prices, I think we’re entitled to an opinion” (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 5/14).
The NBA and L.A.-based wireless entertainment company JAMDAT today will announce an agreement, under which JAMDAT will develop and distribute downloadable NBA-branded basketball games for wireless phones. The agreement includes the launch of wireless game “NBA One-On-One” (THE DAILY).
Vijay Singh told the AP yesterday that he was “sorry if his comments about Annika Sorenstam playing on the PGA Tour – ‘I hope she misses the cut’ – came across as a personal attack.” Singh: “If it was an attack on Annika at all, I would like to apologize to her. It was not put that way. It came out the wrong way” (AP, 5/13).
The L.A. TIMES reports that Quiksilver expects “fiscal second-quarter earnings to be at least 35% higher than last year’s and to surpass Wall Street’s expectations.” The company expects profit for the quarter ended April 30 to be $0.38-0.39 per share, an increase from the $0.28 per share profit in the year-earlier period. The earnings forecast was “adjusted for the 2-for-1 stock split that took effect last week” (L.A. TIMES, 5/14).
ATTENDANCE WATCH:
- NEWSDAY reports that a crowd of 5,689 attended last night’s independent Atlantic League Newark Bears-Long Island Ducks game at Citibank Park, featuring Bears OF Rickey Henderson's first game at the stadium (NEWSDAY, 5/14).
A LIGHTER BUZZ
Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban ran an ad in yesterday’s Dallas Morning News, which served as a “permission slip” for people to leave work early, so as to make the 6:00pm CT tip-off of last night’s Kings-Mavericks Game 5 at American Airlines Arena (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 5/14).
THE BACK PAGES
The Morning Buzz offers today’s back page sports covers from some of the nation’s major metropolitan tabloids:
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| N.Y. Post | N.Y. Daily News |
TODAY’S EVENTS
The DC chapter of the National Sports Marketing Network will host a breakfast panel discussion entitled, “Table Talk With The Pioneers of Sports Marketing in Washington DC,” at the Washington Circle Hotel from 8:00-10:30am ET. Panelists include Piper Rudnick attorney Phil Hochberg, Brotman Winter Fried Communications Founder Charlie Brotman, ProServ Founder Donald Dell and Comcast SportsNet’s Andy Ockershausen (THE DAILY).
SportsLine.com CEO Michael Levy will present at the Fifth Annual AeA Micro Cap Financial Conference, beginning at 11:30am ET (THE DAILY)
Phillies manager Larry Bowa will host a media day for the Richie Ashburn Memorial Home Runs for Heart initiative, a home run hitting contest scheduled for June that raises money for the American Heart Association, at Veterans Stadium from noon-2:00pm ET (THE DAILY).
The Winston All-Star Team Kickoff Luncheon will be held at noon ET at Founder’s Hall in Charlotte (THE DAILY).
NASCAR Winston Cup driver Jeff Burton will host the Muscle Team 2003 fundraiser to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association at the Charlotte Coliseum (THE DAILY).
IN OTHER NEWS….
The DENVER POST reports that AEG Chair Philip Anschutz yesterday agreed to pay $4.4M to NY charities and law schools for his involvement in IPO spinning, “clinching a long-awaited settlement of a lawsuit brought last year” by NY Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. Anschutz “admitted no wrongdoing in the settlement” (DENVER POST, 5/14).
The L.A. TIMES reports that the FAA passed legislation that will prohibit flights over Disneyland in Anaheim and Disney World in Orlando. Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, flights under 3,000 feet have been prohibited over power plants, dams, MLB, NFL and college football games and NASCAR races (L.A. TIMES, 5/14).
The AP reports that TV Guide has named Unilab Exec VP & CFO Brian Urban CFO, succeeding Paul Haggerty, who has been the company’s acting CFO since Elsie Leung resigned in November (AP, 5/14).
The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER noted that CBS will unveil its new lineup today at the media upfront in N.Y. (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 5/13).
The N.Y. DAILY NEWS reported that Monday night’s “Tonight Show” on NBC, featuring guest host Katie Couric, “drew 42% more viewers than [Jay] Leno usually gets.” Meanwhile, Monday’s “Today” ratings “barely budged as Leno sat in for Couric,” increasing the ratings by 9% (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 5/13).
FINAL JEOPARDY!
Last night’s “Final Jeopardy!” category was “World Cities.”
“According to U.N. data, it's the world's most populous city named for a person.”
LAUGH TRACK
THE MONOLOGUES:
CBS’ David Letterman: “I’m happy to announce I have been cleared of all charges of using an illegal electrical device to stimulate the audience. ... How many of you saw me in last night’s ‘Three’s Company’ movie over there on NBC? I played Norman Fell. ... I loved the part where Suzanne Summers stayed up all night in her lab inventing the ThighMaster. ... Here’s good news for travelers. You can now bring cats aboard commercial airplanes. Pretty good, huh? There is a dream come true. Sitting in coach next to a woman cleaning the litter box. ... If I want hissing and scratching on an airplane, I’ll call the male flight attendants. ... Tomorrow night, Monica Lewinsky will be co-hosting the ‘Jimmy Kimmel Show.’ It’ll be nice to see here next to a desk” ("Late Show," CBS, 5/13).
NBC’s Jay Leno: “I’m Jay Leno. Katie Couric is off tonight. ... We have a lot in common, Katie and I. We both work for NBC. We’re both on TV everyday. We both work with a guy with a really bad haircut. ... I had a scary moment in Manhattan. You know, I went in at like five in the morning (to ‘Today’ and) ... I’m in the cab and you know on the dashboard, where the driver has the card with his ID, it had the seven of clubs where his photo should have been. ... Over the weekend, Lakers coach Phil Jackson traded places with Dick Cheney. He’s okay now, but he had angioplasty for a blockage of his arteries. Listen to this. They actually called in the coach of the Clippers. Not to coach the team, but as a heart donor. ... Phil actually called the Lakers’ locker room at halftime during the game Sunday. ... Then immediately after the game, he called again right after the game. In fact, you know what he said when he called right after the game: ‘Don’t tell me who won. I’m taping it’” ("Tonight Show," NBC, 5/13).
LATE NIGHT LAUGHS:
CBS’ Craig Kilborn: “I like talking on the cell phone in my car. I was talking to Diana Ross on her car phone, but I always lose her when she goes through a Kinko’s. … Satellite dish in New Mexico has picked up signals that may be from another planet. Today President Bush released a statement, ‘That’s one small step for man. Is there oil there?’ … Airlines are increasing the weight estimates of passengers by 10 pounds. To figure out if your plane is filled with obese passengers, ask this question: ‘When the plane takes off, are there sparks?’” (“The Late Late Show,” CBS, 5/13)
TUESDAY NIGHT’S TV MONITOR
ESPN’s 10:30pm ET 90-miunte edition of “SportsCenter” led with Kings-Mavericks Game 5, followed by Devils-Senators Game 2 and Angels-Yankees.
FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER
“What is Sao Paulo, Brazil?”
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