Morning Buzz, June 6, 2003

PRESENTATIONS FOR 2010, 2012 MEDIA RIGHTS CONCLUDE TODAY

Bidding for the U.S. media rights to the 2010 and 2012Olympics continues today in Lausanne, Switzerland, with Fox and NBC givingpresentations. The N.Y. TIMES reportsthat the nets, along with ABC/ESPN, which presented yesterday, “will submitbids at 2:30 p.m. Swiss time.” The IOCwill start considering the offers 90 minutes later. (N.Y.TIMES, 6/6). A decision “isexpected by the end of the weekend” (WASHINGTON POST, 6/6).

ABC President Alex Wallau, on yesterday’spresentation, “We think our differentiation is Disney and ESPN. We think we can do it better” (N.Y.TIMES, 6/6).

SOURCES: SOSA SUSPENSION FOR 7-10 DAYS TO COME DOWN TODAY

The CHICAGO TRIBUNE cites a “a highly placed baseballsource” as saying that the “announcement of a seven- to 10-day suspension” forCubs RF Sammy Sosa for using a corked bat in Tuesday's game “could comeFriday.” The announcement is “unlikelyto affect Sosa's availability for this weekend's Yankees-Cubs series. He hasindicated his intention to appeal” and “players are permitted to continueplaying until their appeal is heard” (CHICAGOTRIBUNE, 6/6).

In N.Y., George King writes, “If Sosa manages to playthroughout the weekend, only to start a suspension next week when the Cubs playthe Orioles, expect [Yankees Owner George] Steinbrenner to vent”(N.Y. POST, 6/6).

The CHICAGO SUN-TIMES notes this weekend’s series “is thehottest ticket in Chicago since the Bulls’ championship run” (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES,6/6).

THE HOME DEPOT CENTER GRAND OPENING GALA TO BE HELDTODAY

The U.S. Soccer Training Center at The Home Depot Centerofficially opens today, as the U.S. under-17 Men’s National Soccer Team willtake the field for a practice session at 10:00am PT, followed by a grandopening gala tonight at 7:00pm PT. “MNF” broadcaster Al Michaels will emcee the dinner, and AEGPresident & CEO Tim Leiweke, CA Gov. Gray Davis, MLSCommissioner Don Garber, USSF President Robert Contiguglia,CONCACAF President Jack Warner and Pele are scheduled to makespeeches. The Home Depot Center’sSoccer Stadium will host its first MLS game tomorrow at 1:00pm PT when the CORapids visit the L.A. Galaxy (THE DAILY).

THE FOOTBALL NETWORK ASKING FOR MORE MONEY FOR HQs

The Baton Rouge ADVOCATE reports that The Football Network(TFN) today will request $426,500 from the Louisiana Economic Development Corp.– the financing arm of the state’s economic development agency -- “forequipment and a parking-lot expansion to get” the net’s planned Baton Rouge HQ“rolling at a temporary location.” TFN“already is in line to receive incentives of more than $90[M] in the form ofstate tax breaks over a decade” (BatonRouge ADVOCATE, 6/6).

BIG 12 ANNUAL MEETINGS BEGINNING TODAY IN COLORADO SPRINGS

The Big 12’s annual meetings begin today in ColoradoSprings, and the K.C. STAR reports that Commissioner Kevin Weiberg willrecommend that the conference “determine the next three years of basketballsites and next four years of football sites” for conference tournament games byOctober (K.C. STAR,6/6).

MORNING BRIEFS

AROUND THE RINGS reports that IOCExec Board member Un Yong Kim “will not be a candidate for an IOC vicepresidency to be elected next month at the session in Prague” (AROUNDTHE RINGS, 6/5).

The N.Y. DAILY NEWS reports thatformer Deutsch Inc. Chair & CEO Donny Deutsch is “burning to spendsome of his $200[M] nest egg. Hisobject of desire? The New JerseyNets.” A source close to Deutsch: “He’sa sports fanatic. And he’s a huge Netsfan” (N.Y.DAILY NEWS, 6/6).

Bob Ryan today returnsto the Boston Globe after serving a one-month suspension. His columndoes not mention the circumstances around his penalty (THE DAILY).

Red Sox Owner John Henry,on Yankees Owner George Steinbrenner lashing out at the league forperceived inequities in the interleague schedule: ''I think if hewere involved in the making of the schedule, he would realize how littleflexibility there is. Everybody ends up with things they don't like'' (BOSTONGLOBE, 6/6).

The New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE reportsthat the Louisiana state Senate yesterday voted 31-1 in favor if an"American flag the size of a football field and the phrase `God BlessAmerica' being painted across the roof of the Superdome." The design wouldbe painted over "if the naming rights of the Superdome are sold and thesponsor wants the image removed." The measure moves to the House fordebate "(NewOrleans TIMES-PICAYUNE, 6/6).

The INDIANAPOLIS STAR reports thatNCAA President Myles Brand yesterday spoke to the Black CoachesAssociation in Indianapolis, saying that “more minority coaches would be hiredin major college sports if schools followed standard (hiring) practice.” Brand added that the process “should involvea diverse search committee giving the school president a short list ofcandidates, and that there should be enough time to do the job well” (INDIANAPOLISSTAR, 6/6).

The LONDON TELEGRAPH reports that DavidBeckham’s advisers yesterday “signaled for the first time … that they arestill uncertain about Manchester United’s plans” for Beckham. SFX Sports Group Managing Dir JonathanHolmes: “He has said that he wants to stay there with United. If the clubalters their view – and it needs all parties to change their view – then, ofcourse, everything is possible in football” (LONDON TELEGRAPH, 6/5).

The L.A. TIMES reports that theOlympic beach volleyball qualifying process “will undergo substantial changes”after the ’04 Games in Athens. Aone-page letter from the IOC to the USOC “confirmed the USOC has jurisdictionin determining which teams represent the U.S., a mandate that decreases thepower” of the Int’l Volleyball Federation (L.A.TIMES, 6/6).

ATTENDANCE WATCH:

MLB last night continued the seventh season of interleagueplay in 14 National League ballparks. The following lists attendance figuresfrom the past three nights as compared to the season averages at the homeparks:

*As last night’s Angels-Exposgame was played at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the Expos’average attendance figure represents the previous ten games the club played inPuerto Rico.

**As Tuesday's Red Sox-Piratesgame at PNC Park was postponed due to inclement weather, the Pirates hosted aturn-back-the-clock night during last night’s game.

***Wednesday’s White Sox-D’Backsgame was the smallest crowd for an interleague game at Bank One Ballpark (EASTVALLEY TRIBUNE, 6/6).

• The BOSTON GLOBE reports that a “full-house throng of 15,109” attended yesterday’s Justine Henin-Hardenne-Serena Williams French Open Semifinal at Roland-Garros ( BOSTON GLOBE, 6/6). The AP reports that when Williams, who lost in three sets, “abruptly shook hands without speaking a word to [Hardenne], … full-throated boos echoed from the upper deck” (AP, 6/6).

• The L.A. TIMES reports that a crowd of 10,219 attended last night’s WNBA Monarchs-Sparks game, the home opener for the Sparks. The Sparks received their WNBA Championship rings before the game (L.A. TIMES, 6/6).

• The Wilmington NEWS-JOURNAL reports that a crowd of 16,100 attended yesterday’s first round of the McDonald’s LPGA Championship at DuPont Country Club in Wilmington, DE. The crowd was a “first-round attendance record” (NEWS-JOURNAL, 6/6).

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

Philadelphia Daily News

TODAY’S EVENTS

The Tiger WoodsFoundation will auction a round golf with Tiger Woods on eBay. The winning bidder, along with three friendswill play 18 holes of golf with Woods at the Isleworth CC in Orlando, FL. The auction ends June 16 and last year had awinning bid of $425,000 (THE DAILY).

The inauguralPittsburgh Steelers Men’s Fantasy Camp kicked off today and will run throughSunday at the team’s training camp facility in Latrobe, PA. Steeler coaches Mike Mularkey, TimLewis, Tom Clements and Kenny Jackson will join Steeleralumni such as Louis Lipps and Robin Cole in conducting thecamp. HOF’er Franco Harris willbe the featured speaker at Saturday night’s banquet (THE DAILY).

The Braves willunveil the “Clark Howard Skyline Seats” at Turner Field at 3:30pm ET toofficially announce the renaming of the seats. Tickets for the seats will be $1 (THE DAILY).

Celtics F WalterMcCarty will have his first in-store appearance at 3:00pmET at the Virgin Megastore on Newbury Street in Boston to promote his newCD, ''Moment of Love'' (BOSTON GLOBE, 6/6).

Dodgers Senior VP Tommy Lasorda will begin anine-ballpark, nine-day tour as part of MLB and CaP CURE’s effort to raisefunds for prostate cancer research (THE DAILY).

The Seahawks willhost their 15^th annual Charity Golf Classic at The Golf Club atNewcastle in Newcastle, WA. As many as40 Seahawks coaches and players are expected to participate (SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, 6/6).

Seahawks FS Damien Robinson is hosting a celebrity golftournament in Dallas to benefit his 4^th and 1 Foundation. CBS NFL analyst Deion Sanders andEagles QB Donovan McNabb are expected to participate (SEATTLEPOST-INTELLIGENCER, 6/6).

INOTHER NEWS….

DAILYVARIETY reports that former Fox Family Productions President and SabanAnimation Exec VP Eric Rollman is “leading a team of entertainments vets starting up a planned GlobalGaming League, a venture that would run pro and amateur videogame tournamentsand ranking systems.” Rollman is CEO ofthe league, “which plans to partner with one of several extreme sports andmusic tours this summer and later in the year” (DAILYVARIETY, 6/6).

The N.Y.POST reports that AOL Time Warner has pulled its publishing division, includingLittle, Brown & Co. and Warner Imprints, “off the block after determiningthe bids submitted were too low” (N.Y. POST, 6/6).

FINAL JEOPARDY!

Last night's "Final Jeopardy!" category was"First Names."

"This name of a character in a 1904 play was inspiredby a real little girl's way of saying the word 'friend.'"

LAUGH TRACK

THEMONOLOGUES:

CBS' DavidLetterman: "It's graduation time and it's exciting because you spend$100,000 on your kids for four years of college and then they get a speech fromRegis Philbin. ... According to a survey, New York schools are full ofhonor students. ... Yes your honor, no your honor, guilty your honor. ... NewYork police are cracking down on ticketing. You can get a ticket for anything. For littering you get a ticket, for loitering you get a ticket, fordouble parking you get a ticket, for parking on the wrong side of the streetyour get a ticket. But by the way, it'sstill okay to take a leak. ... Tomorrow night, 'Baby Bob' is back. Remember the show 'Baby Bob?' It was all about the adventures of a talkingbaby. By the way, he is the only CBSstar in diapers who's not on '60 Minutes.' ... (Hillary Clinton) haswritten her memoir about eight years in the White House. It's a 600-page memoir. 600-pages! That's amazing. Not bad for awoman who when she was there had no idea what was going on" ("LateShow," CBS, 6/5).

NBC's JayLeno: "Yesterday, the government caught up with Martha (Stewart). I believe her card was the queen ofdiamonds. As she was being charged onnine counts yesterday, with all that was going on in the courtroom, she took ahot plate out of her purse and made eggs benedict for everyone in thecourtroom. ... It seems our guest tonight, Terry Bradshaw, may lose hisjob at Fox Sports. It turns out hishead was corked. ... Last night, Sammy Sosa struck out three times. Apparently, those corkless bats are a littleharder to swing. Sammy is not the onlyplayer doing this corked bat thing. OnSunday, one of the Detroit Tigers corked his bat. Got a single. ... A Nevada brothel is offering free sex toAmerican troops returning from the war in Iraq. They're calling it the shock and whore campaign" ("TonightShow," NBC, 6/5).

LATENIGHT LAUGHS:

Last night's Top Ten list was "Top TenSurprises In The Barbara Walters-Hillary Clinton Interview" ("LateShow," CBS, 6/5).

THURSDAY NIGHT’S TV MONITOR

Last night's 11:00pm ET 60-minute edition of ESPN's"SportsCenter" led with Mighty Ducks-Devils Game Five,followed by Cubs OF Sammy Sosa's corked bat controversy and DevilRays-Cubs.

FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER

“Who is Wendy?”

If you haveany questions, comments or suggestions, please let us know at:
dailyinsider@sportsbusinessdaily.com

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