| | The Daily Insider
Morning News & Headlines
Tuesday, June 3, 2003
9:00am ET | |
| |
| • | Pro Cycling Tour To Offer $1M Bonus To Winner Of Three Premier Events |
| • | Fort Worth Bowl Officials Expected To Name Tom Starr As Exec Dir Today |
| • | MLB First-Year Player Draft Begins Today; Worldwide Draft On The Horizon? |
| • | Rose Bowl Officials To Speak With Moag Today About Meeting With NFL |
| • | Why Are Two Of The Yankees’ Three General Partners In Cincinnati Today? |
| • | Morning Briefs/In Other News/Laugh Track/TV Monitor/Final Jeopardy! |
LANCE ARMSTRONG COULD PLAY SPOILER IN $1M PCT TRIPLE CROWN
The Pro Cycling Tour (PCT) today will announce the $1M PCTTriple Crown, a cash award presented to the cyclist that wins the three premierraces on the tour – the Wachovia USPRO Championship in Philadelphia on June 8;the NYC Cycling Championship presented by BMC Software on August 3; and theT-Mobile Int’l, presented by BMC Software in S.F. on September 14. This marks the first time since ’93 that a$1M bonus will be offered in pro cycling in the U.S. The PCT is managed by Threshold Sports and sanctioned by USACycling (THE DAILY).
Threshold Sports President & CEO Dave Chauner:“We know the $1[M] will generate some excitement. This will help us define the sport in the U.S.” Lance Armstrong is only scheduled toappear in the final race of the Triple Crown, where he “could play the spoilerfor a rider who has won the first two legs” (USA TODAY, 6/3).
PITINO DISPUTES QUOTES ATTRIBUTED TO HIM IN SYRACUSE PAPER
The Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL reports that an investigationwill begin today regarding two quotes attributed to Univ. of Louisvillebasketball coach Rick Pitino in Sunday’s edition of the SyracusePost-Standard. In a column by BobSnyder, Pitino is quoted as saying, “Conference USA is God-awful,” as wellas alluding to a matchup with Syracuse Univ. in the Jimmy V Classic in twoyears. Pitino: “He made up thosequotes. He fabricated it.” Snyder: “Apparently, Rick didn’t think wewere on the record when he said what he said about C-USA” (LouisvilleCOURIER-JOURNAL, 6/3).
STARR TO MOVE FROM INDEPENDENCE BOWL TO FORT WORTH BOWL
The FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM reports that Fort Worth Bowlofficials today are expected to name Independence Bowl Associate Exec Dir TomStarr as Exec Dir of the new bowl game. Starr has served in his current position since ’99. The announcement of a title sponsor is“expected in the next few weeks” (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM,6/3).
INDEMAND TO REBRAND TWO EVENT PROGRAMMING CHANNELS
The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER notes that InDemand’s two mostdistributed PPV channels in the U.S. “will be rebranded and reservedexclusively for … live and taped event programming,” such as boxing and WWEevents. The channels will be renamedEvents InDemand 1 and Events InDemand 2, and the pair will “counterprogram eachother with different content and formats: Events 1 will showcase live eventsand same-day encores available a la carte, while Events 2 will be strictlyencores available via an all-day ticket transaction.” Movies will “reside on the other 33 PPV channels” (HOLLYWOODREPORTER, 6/3).
MLB TODAY BEGINS ITS FIRST-YEAR PLAYER DRAFT AT 1:00pmET
The ’03 MLB First-Year Player Draft begins today at 1:00pmET with the Devil Rays picking first for the second time in five years, and theWASHINGTON POST reports that next June’s draft “could look vastly different” ifthe proposed worldwide draft is adopted. MLB General Counsel/Labor Relations Frank Coonelly: “There isstill some necessary discussion and debate on some of [the] issues. I can’t tell you today that I’m confident weare going to get there, or confident we’re not.” MLB and the MLBPA “have yet to address one of the mostcontentious issues from last fall – the number of rounds” (WASHINGTONPOST, 6/3).
MORNING BRIEFS
The L.A. DAILY NEWS reports that Rose Bowl officials todaywill speak with Moag & Co. Chair John Moag, and then with NFLofficials “to set up a date for [a] meeting” after receiving a “conciliatoryletter” from NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue yesterday (L.ADAILY NEWS, 6/3).
The N.Y. TIMES reports that Belmont Park has “hired anadditional 600 law enforcement and security personnel and 200 more bettingclerks” in anticipation of a record crowd for Funny Cide’s Triple Crown bid inthe 135th Belmont Stakes on Saturday (N.Y.TIMES, 6/3).
USA TODAY reports that the NCAA will allow Div. I athletesto “accumulate frequent-flyer miles earned during travel to and fromintercollegiate competition,” effective August 1 (USATODAY, 6/3).
The N.Y. POST reports that Yankees General Partners HalSteinbrenner and Steve Swindal are in Cincinnati, and speculation isthat the two will “represent the club at an announcement, but [Yankees Owner GeorgeSteinbrenner] wouldn’t get into it and nobody else would comment.” While club officials “said they didn’t knowanything about” a 4:00pm ET press conference today, the duo’s presence “meansthere is more in the air than a coaching change or the addition of aleft-handed bat” (N.Y.POST, 6/3).
The WASHINGTON POST reports that the Wizards interviewedESPN college basketball analyst Len Elmore for their President ofBasketball Operations vacancy and “received clearance to interview” Celtics GM ChrisWallace (WASHINGTONPOST, 6/3).
The Bucs yesterday announced that the team has extended itsradio broadcasting partnership with Infinity Broadcasting, meaning that WQYK-AMwill remain the team’s flagship radio station for the 13th consecutiveseason (THE DAILY).
The Toronto GLOBE & MAIL reports that the televised NHLawards show, scheduled for June 12, “is still a go in Toronto” despite concernover SARS. NHL VP/Media Relations FrankBrown: “The NHL is monitoring the situation closely. We have several options that could beconsidered if necessary” (TorontoGLOBE & MAIL, 6/3).
The IIHF continues its Annual & General CongressMeetings today in Marbella, Spain, and the L.A. TIMES reports that thefederation yesterday canceled the ’03 Women’s World Hockey Championships,originally scheduled for China and first postponed in April because of SARS (L.A.TIMES, 6/3).
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
The L.A. Sports Council and the L.A. Area Chamber ofCommerce will host a kick-off luncheon for the defending MLS Cup ChampionGalaxy beginning at 11:30am PT at the team’s new stadium, The Home DepotCenter. Galaxy VP/GM Doug Hamilton,coach Sigi Schmid and all players are expected to attend. Tickets are $65 (THE DAILY).
Paramount Home Entertainment, CBS Video and CBS Sports todaywill release “Finally Orange – The Official 2003 NCAA Championship DVD,”narrated by CBS Sports’ Jim Nantz (THE DAILY).
INOTHER NEWS….
The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER notes that shares of Cablevision“jumped 12.6% [yesterday] as investors cheered the company’s surprise plan tospin off a much-questioned and expensive satellite venture along with itsClearview Cinemas exhibition operation into a separate entity by year’send.” The stock closed yesterday at$21.79, “close to its 52-week high of $22.75, which it established a month ago”(HOLLYWOODREPORTER, 6/3).
FINAL JEOPARDY!
Last night’s “Final Jeopardy!” category was “Actresses.”
“She was fined 20,000 francs for ‘inciting racial hatred’ bydenouncing a religious practice of killing sheep.”
LAUGH TRACK
THEMONOLOGUES:
CBS’ DavidLetterman: “Congratulations to Bob Hope celebrating his 100thbirthday. Bob spent the day relaxingand watching CBS. ... New York is cracking down and they’re giving out a lot oftraffic tickets. They’re giving outridiculous traffic tickets, and I don’t know why, but it’s just crazy. The cops have gone nuts. ... Listen tothis. I can no longer double-park tonegotiate with a hooker. ... Yesterday, they handed out 10,000 tickets for littering. The result: 10,000 tickets wadded up andthrown into the street. ... According to reports, Osama bin Laden isbroke. He has no more money. Tough luck for the guy, eh? Apparently, he’s had to move to a cave in acheaper neighborhood. ... Whitney Houston and her husband Bobby Brownhave gone to Israel to meet with Ariel Sharon. I know you’re thinking, ‘Dave’s been reading the New York Timesagain.’ ... President Clinton wants a law that would allow formerpresidents to run again for president, and I think that’s a great idea. Talk about a return to the golden age ofcomedy” ("Late Show," CBS, 6/2).
NBC’sJay Leno: “President Bush was in France for the big G8Summit. Actually, one kind ofembarrassing moment. President Clintonshowed up. He thought it was the G SpotSummit. ... According to USA Today, French President Jacques Chiracloves Native-American culture, and President Bush gave the French Presidentthree books on Indian culture – ‘Beat the Dealer,’ ‘Winning At Casino Craps’and ‘A Guide To Gambling.’ ... President Bush left the summit a day early aftergiving economic advice to the other world leaders. Bush giving economic advice! What, was MC Hammer not available? ... There’s a new start-upairline in Santiago, Chile, which provides male passengers with twoprostitutes. That’s first class. In coach, you get a bottle of hand lotionand a copy of National Geographic. ... Mike Tyson said in an interviewthat he didn’t rape that beauty contestant ten years ago, but she makes him somad he’d like to rape her now and rape her mother, too. Nice to see his medication working out. I bet the Zoloft people are thrilled withthese results” ("Tonight Show," NBC, 6/2).
LATENIGHT LAUGHS:
Lastnight’s Top Ten list was “Top Ten Signs Elizabeth II Is Tired Of BeingQueen” ("Late Show," CBS, 6/2).
| 10) “Has scaled back her grueling two-day-a-year work schedule.” |
| 9) “Uses scepter to snake her clogged sink drain.” |
| 8) “Was spotted in Soho hotspot making out with Colin Farrell.” |
| 7) “Been granting several private audiences to Sir Jack Daniels.” |
| 6) “Refers to Prince Charles as that ‘jug-eared tight-ass.’” |
| 5) “Knighted dude at 7-Eleven to get out of paying for Slurpee.” |
| 4) “She’s destroyed dozens of priceless palace artifacts with her radio-controlled model trucks.” |
| 3) “Very little attending to matters of state – a whole lot of watching ‘The Young and the Restless.’” |
| 2) “Changed her name from ‘Elizabeth II’ to ‘Matrix II.’” |
| 1) “Took off her top at a Coldplay concert.” |
CBS’ CraigKilborn: “On Sunday, French president Jacques Chirac tried unsuccessfullyto improve relations with President Bush. The French must realize that not every president can be swayed withwhores and cheese. … Tomorrow night, the Miss Universe Pageant takesplace. The winner will be the girl whocan run her fingers through Donald Trump’s comb-over without laughing” (“TheLate Late Show,” CBS, 6/2).
MONDAY NIGHT’S TV MONITOR
ESPN2’s 11:00pm ET “SportsCenter” led with Devils-MightyDucks Game 4, followed by White Sox-Indians and the Pistons naming LarryBrown as coach.
FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER
“Who was Brigitte Bardot?”
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