| | The Daily Insider
Morning News & Headlines
Friday, May 23, 2003
9:00am ET | |
| |
| • | USA Network To Begin Today’s Colonial Coverage In Time For Annika |
| • | Cavaliers Owner Gordon Gund Offers A Nice One-Liner After Lottery Win |
| • | With Triple Crown Bid A Possibility, Funny Cide Web Site Launches Today |
| • | The Sports Authority Today Reports Q1 ’03 Financial Results |
| • | French Sports Minister Rips London’s Bid For The 2012 Olympics |
| • | Morning Briefs/In Other News/Laugh Track/TV Monitor/Final Jeopardy! |
The Morning Buzzwill not publish Monday, May 26, or Tuesday, May 27, in observance of MemorialDay. The next issue will be Wednesday,May 28.
Please have a safe,enjoyable holiday weekend.
ANNIKA SORENSTAM TODAY SHOOTS FOR THE WEEKEND CUT
Annika Sorenstam tees off at 2:43pm ET today in theBank of America Colonial following a one-over-par 71 yesterday in her openinground, and USA TODAY reports that USA Network will begin coverage of today’stelecast 90 minutes earlier than planned at 2:30pm ET to carry Sorenstam’s full round. While Sorenstam may have to shoot in the redtoday to make the weekend cut, “CBS has arranged to start Saturday’s coverageat [11:00am ET], three hours earlier.” CBS Senior VP/Programming Rob Correa: “We started to think aboutit when she was playing the second nine” (USA TODAY, 5/23).
Sorenstam’s presence caused PGA Tour player & PolicyBoard member Tom Pernice to hint earlier in the week that players mightinitiate a ban against women. Whenasked about the comment, fellow board member David Toms said, “I justdon’t think we’re going to have to take any action. I don’t know why we should and why we’re going to have to. I just don’t think it’s going to be anissue. I really don’t.” In fact, one unnamed player said, “TomPernice should be impeached” (BOSTONGLOBE, 5/23).
CAVALIERS WIN NBA DRAFT LOTTERY; LEBRON’S STAYING HOME
The Cavaliers wonlast night’s NBA Draft lottery and said they would select LeBron Jameswith the first pick of the June 26 draft. Cavaliers Owner Gordon Gund,representing the team at the lottery, quipped, “We don’t know who we are goingto pick yet,” but followed the comment with a laugh. Gundadded, “This is a great day for [the fans] and for all of that market, forAkron, for Cleveland, all of Northeastern Ohio. Tremendously excited about it. A big day in Cleveland sports” (ABC, 5/22). James met themedia last night decked out in Nike gear. At one point, James patted theNike logo on his chest and headband and said, “Make sure you get thistoo. That swoosh” (ClevelandPLAIN DEALER, 5/23).
OFFICIAL WEB SITE PLANS TO OFFER ALL THINGS FUNNY CIDE
The ST. PETERSBURG TIMES reportsthat Funny Cide’s “quick ascent from virtual obscurity to horse racing’s elitetakes another step today,” as the horse’s official Web site is launched. The main page is up, with “most of thecontent due to roll out today, including background information, fan clubregistration and a store to buy merchandise.” The site has “come together quickly, starting Monday after the Derby”when Aaron Knowlton, son of Sackatoga Stable’s Managing Partner Jack,“secured the rights” to www.funny-cide.com. Saratoga Springs-based Spa Net will design and produce the site (ST.PETERSBURG TIMES, 5/23).
FIRST-QUARTER SALES DOWN FOR THE SPORTS AUTHORITY
The Sports Authority today reported financial results for Q1’03 ending May 3. Sales were $339.1M,down from $353.5M for the year earlier period. The company attributed the 4.1% decrease to weather, the soft economyand the war in Iraq. Net income for thequarter was $0.5M, down from $1.7M a year ago. However, after various accounting charges, the company reported netincome on a comparable basis of $1.5M, up from an accounting-adjusted $1.0M inthe year prior (THE DAILY).
MORNING BRIEFS
The Russian Olympic Committee todayofficially entered a bid for Moscow to host the 2012 Summer Olympics, joiningN.Y., Paris, London, Madrid and Leipzig, Germany (THE DAILY).
French Sports Minister Jean-Francois Lamour, onLondon’s 2012 bid: “In London, there’s nothing, no sports, no sportingmovement, no infrastructure whose management and operation are shared by the state,local communities and the sporting movement” (AP, 5/22).
DAILY VARIETYreports that Comcast “is negotiating with Cablevision to acquire itscontrolling stake” in several FSN networks. The deal “could be worth around $130[M], payable in Cablevisionshares that Comcast already owns” (DAILYVARIETY, 5/23).
USA TODAY reports that Big East Commissioner MikeTranghese yesterday refuted the report that he “offered to hand Miami,Syracuse and Boston College “ to the ACC in ’98, “contrary to the claim” offormer NC State Univ. AD Les Robinson (USATODAY, 5/23). The BOSTON HERALDreports that Boston College AD Gene DeFilippo yesterday said that he“expects formal talks with the [ACC] to begin within two weeks” (BOSTON HERALD,5/23).
The WNBA yesterday announced that it will utilize an instantreplay system that mirrors the NBA’s to review certain last-second plays at theend of each half and overtime period, beginning this season. The replays will be conducted and processedin two minutes or less by game officials (THE DAILY).
The BOSTON GLOBE reports that the MA InterscholasticAthletic Committee yesterday voted 12-5 to reject a proposal to “force (highschool) teams to use wooden bats exclusively during regular season” beginningin ’04 (BOSTONGLOBE, 5/23).
Online wagering company Youbet.com announced that its totalhandle for Preakness day was $2,048,486, an 82% increase over last year’stotal. On race day, unique bettorsincreased 36% and the average wager increased 40%, with Youbet customersplacing $1,122,965 in wagers on the Pimlico Race Card. Youbet produced 1.45% of Pimlico’s totalhandle for the day, compared to 0.9% of the total handle in ’02 (THE DAILY).
ATTENDANCE WATCH:
- The WNBA kicked off its seventh season last night with two games. The ARIZONA REPUBLIC reports that a crowd of 9,303 attended the Monarchs-Mercury game at America West Arena (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 5/23). The SEATTLE TIMES reports that a crowd of 9,658 attended the Storm-Comets game at the Compaq Center (SEATTLE TIMES, 5/23).
A LIGHTER BUZZ
The L.A. TIMES reports that AngelsOwner Arturo Moreno yesterday said, “I see where it’s $8.50 for abeer. That’s a lot of money for abeer. I can go around the corner andget it for a buck and a half.” Whenasked if he was going to reduce prices, Moreno responded, “I’m not going to thinkabout it. I’m going to.” After a pause, Moreno asked Angels SeniorVP/Business Operations Kevin Uhlich, “I can do that, can’t I?” Uhlich responded, “You can, um, do anythingyou want” (L.A.TIMES, 5/23).
THE BACK PAGES
The Morning Buzz offers today’s back page sportscovers from some of the nation’s major metropolitan tabloids:
| | |
| N.Y. Post | N.Y. Daily News |
TODAY’S EVENTS
Sporting goods retailer Galyan’s Trading Co. will breakground on a 100,000 square foot HQ’s in Plainfield, IN (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 5/22).
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT…..
EveryFriday, the Morning Buzz highlights a video clip, chart or piece ofinformation that might have fallen through the cracks. This week, Rockets G SteveFrancis guested on NBC’s “Last Call” with Carson Daly, and discussedYao Ming’s grasp of the English language and his possibly unnecessaryuse of a translator with the media (THE DAILY).
INOTHER NEWS….
News Corp. Chair & CEO RupertMurdoch defended his company’s proposed acquisition of DirecTV whilespeaking in front of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committeeyesterday, saying: “This is not anticompetitive” (WASHINGTONTIMES, 5/23).
DAILY VARIETY reports that the TV industry “reported itsrichest upfront sales tally ever,” as Madison Avenue “pledged at least $9.2[B] tothe six webs next season” which could be a “sign that advertisers areoptimistic about the economy” (DAILYVARIETY, 5/23).
The L.A. TIMES reports that Disney plans to “close more than100 of its Disney Store outlets during the next six months and sell theremaining stores to one or more buyers that would operate them under alicensing agreement.” Additionally,Disney Store President Peter Whitford resigned yesterday, and will betemporarily replaced by Disney Consumer Products President Andy Mooney (L.A.TIMES, 5/23).
FINAL JEOPARDY!
Last night’s “Final Jeopardy!” category was “EconomicHistory.”
“Before the first income tax was levied, the U.S. Governmentgot 90% of its revenue in the form of these.”
LAUGH TRACK
THEMONOLOGUES:
CBS’ David Letterman: “You’re looking at a veryunlucky man. I sure picked the wrongtime to join the ‘Canadian Steak of the Month’ club. ... A cab driver, I guessfrom Queens or something, was arrested for trying to buy explosives. Everybody’s a little nervous about this andthis morning, I’m driving to work and I was a little suspicious of my cab driverbecause you know the photo ID that they have on the dashboard, this guy’spicture was on the eight of clubs. ... This weekend Annika Sorenstam is playinggolf down in a men’s tournament down in Fort Worth, Texas. It’s exciting. This is a big event. First time a woman has played in the PGA (Tour) in like 57 years orsomething like that and it’s so important, the New York Times is pretending tosend three reporters down there to cover it. ... The former Governor of NewJersey and the head of the Environmental Protection Agency Christine Todd Whitmanhas resigned. ... Two reasons: Bush felt she was too soft on decimatingpristine wilderness and she was too hung up on that breathable air issue” ("LateShow," CBS, 5/22).
NBC’s Jay Leno: “Welcome to the ‘Tonight Show’ or asit’s also called, ‘Everybody Loves Ruben.’ ... He looked good. You know, he lost 140 pounds. Got rid of Clay! ... After he lost, AlGore called Clay and said, ‘You got screwed.’ ... Ruben only won by amargin of 130,000 votes out of 24 million. ‘American Idol?’ Sounds more like‘American President,’ doesn’t it? ... Saudi Arabia said today they have foileda major al Qaeda operation. So,apparently they cancelled the check. ... A bomb went off at Yale Universityyesterday. Pretty scary. Luckily, no one was injured. In fact, when they asked today for comment, PresidentBush said, ‘Oh, that’s nothing. Iused to get bombed at Yale all the time.’ ... Yet to play a game in the NBA, LeBronJames signed a $90(M) shoe deal with Nike. In fact, right after he signed the deal, he announced his retirementfrom pro basketball. He’s now lookingfor a $45(M) sock deal ("Tonight Show," NBC, 5/22).
LATENIGHT LAUGHS:
Last night's Top Ten list was “Top Ten Things People YelledAt Their Television While Watching The ‘American Idol’ Finale” ("LateShow," CBS, 5/22).
| 10) “Hey, it’s that Clay kid whose ass I kicked in grade school.” |
| 9) “Awesome! Another over-produced power ballad!” |
| 8) “This is great...but that could be the Canadian beef talking.” |
| 7) “Has anyone seen the damn remote?” |
| 6) “The show isn’t even over and I have already forgotten half these people’s names.” |
| 5) “Where’s the remote?! For the love of God, where’s the remote?” |
| 4) “Honey, we got any more Cheez Whiz?” |
| 3) “We’re screwed! (CBS, NBC, ABC executives only).” |
| 2) “My tax cut plan can wait. Clay is singing.” |
| 1) “I was wrong. Booze doesn’t make this show better.” |
THURSDAY NIGHT’S TV MONITOR
ESPN’s 11:00pm ET “SportsCenter” led with AnnikaSorenstam’s first round at the Bank of America Colonial, followed by an injuryupdate on Yankees CF Bernie Williams and Blue Jays-Yankees.
FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER
“What are tariffs?”
If you haveany questions, comments or suggestions, please let us know at:
dailyinsider@sportsbusinessdaily.com
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