| | The Daily Insider
Morning News & Headlines
Thursday, June 12, 2003
9:00am ET | |
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| • | Nextel Negotiating With NASCAR To Title Winston Cup Series |
| • | NBC, ESPN To Air 29 Hours Of Coverage As U.S. Open Tees Off Today |
| • | Robert Iger Defends ESPN’s License Fees As NCTA Conference Concludes |
| • | Two NBDL Teams To Cease Operations; Six Teams For ’03-04 Season |
| • | Hooters To End Primary Sponsorship Of Brett Bodine Racing No. 11 Team |
| • | Morning Briefs/In Other News/Laugh Track/TV Monitor/Final Jeopardy! |
NEXTEL NEGOTIATING WITH NASCAR TO TITLE PREMIER SERIES
The CHARLOTTE OBSERVER reports that Nextel is “negotiating to become the titlesponsor” of the NASCAR Winston Cup series. Several sources confirmed the negotiations, but “also cautioned thatmajor issues must be worked out before Nextel would take over the sponsorshipdeal R.J. Reynolds Tobacco has had since 1972.” One source said that the deal “could be worth $90[M] annually, includingabout $40[M] for television advertising and other media buys.” Penske South Racing President Don Miller,for which rival Alltel sponsors a car: “I don’t think the deal is 100 percentcomplete but it’s definitely in final negotiations” (CHARLOTTEOBSERVER, 6/12).
TIGER WOODS LOOKS TO DEFEND TITLE AS U.S. OPEN BEGINSTODAY
Tiger Woods is set to defend his title as the 103rdU.S. Open begins today at Olympia Fields Country Club outside Chicago with NBCand ESPN combining to air 29 hours of coverage. NBC’s coverage begins with live, two-hour broadcasts today andtomorrow from 3:00-5:00pm ET. The net’sweekend coverage will air from 1:30-8:00pm on Saturday and Sunday. Meanwhile, ESPN will air segments today andtomorrow from 11:00am-3:00pm and 5:00-7:00pm. NBC’s final-round coverage last year was the most viewed golf telecastof ’02, earning an 8.9/22 Nielsen rating, tied for the highest rating since a9.4/32 in ’73 on ABC (THE DAILY).
The Pittsburgh TRIBUNE-REVIEW noted that the U.S. Open willbe shown in Russia “for the first time ever” as independently-owned NTV “willbroadcast three hours of coverage Thursday through Saturday and four hoursSunday.” The event will be shown inmore than 125 countries around the world (PittsburghTRIBUNE-REVIEW, 6/11).
The SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER reports that the “power of TVbrought a few groans from Open followers, who watched as maintenance workerscut three large limbs off an elegant oak tree near the 18th green.The tree, nearly 90 years old, apparently interfered with the NBC camera towerpositioned there” (SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER,6/12).
NUMBERS DOWN AS CABLE INDUSTRY CLOSES ANNUAL CONFERENCE
The National Cable & Telecommunications AssociationConference concluded yesterday at McCormick Place in Chicago, and the HOLLYWOODREPORTER notes that Walt Disney President & COO Robert Iger“defended ESPN for charging the cable industry’s most expensive licensefees.” Iger, who met with Comcast Corp.President & CEO Brian Roberts and Cox Communications President JimRobbins, told reporters, “There’s been way too much focus on the companyand not as much on the value proposition for the consumer” (HOLLYWOODREPORTER, 6/12).
MULTICHANNEL NEWS reported that 16,700 people attended theevent, “down from 17,500 at the 2002 convention in New Orleans.” Exhibitors were also down this year, from206 to 195 (MULTICHANNELNEWS, 6/11).
During a panel discussion yesterday, OMD Worldwide President& CEO Joe Uva said of the possibility of a la carte packaging: “Atthe national level, cable networks will be hurt dramatically. You’ll see money going out of the cable networksand you’ll see money going out of the television medium” (MULTICHANNELNEWS, 6/11).
MOBILE REVELERS AND GREENVILLE GROOVE TO CEASEOPERATIONS
The MOBILE REGISTER reports that NBDL President PhilEvans yesterday told the Mobile Revelers “to cease operations, ending a two-year run marked by scantattendance.” Evans: “There’s only one reason (for disbanding thefranchise): we didn’t believe the market held any long-term interest in theteam.” The Revelers averaged “less than100 walk-up tickets purchased per game, far below the desired number,”finishing last and second-to-last in attendance for the past two seasons. The Greenville Groove also “will notparticipate next season, leaving the NBDL with a six-team league” for the‘03-04 season. Greenville may returnfor the ’04-05 season (MOBILEREGISTER, 6/12).
HOOTERS CITES BODINE’S PERFORMANCE FOR ENDING SPONSORSHIP
Hooters Racing yesterday announced that it will end itssponsorship of the Brett Bodine Racing No. 11 NASCAR Winston Cup team, drivenby Brett Bodine, following Sunday’s Sirius Satellite Radio 400 atMichigan Int’l Speedway. Hooters hadbeen the primary sponsor since the beginning of last year. Hooters VP/Marketing Mike McNeil: “Weare clearly disappointed in the performance of the team both this season andlast. We respect and like Brett andreally want to see him succeed. However, it does not make business sense to continue to pour money intoa marketing venture that is not getting exposure on race days.” Bodine has not finished in the top 20 thisseason (THE DAILY).
TODAY THE DAILY GOES ONE-ON-ONE WITH...
Which league exec has had a hand in thestart-up process of three hockey franchises and calls Billy Charlebois his favorite charactrer in "Slap Shot?" To find out, see today's"Sports Industrialists" section for "THE DAILY Goes One-On-One With…"
MORNING BRIEFS
The WASHINGTON POST reports that the Wizards have contactedNBA Community Ambassador Bob Lanier “about interviewing for their vacantPresident of Basketball Operations position.” While Lanier has “never worked as an NBA [GM] or head of basketballpersonnel,” he has served as NBPA President and Warriors assistant coach andinterim head coach (WASHINGTONPOST, 6/12).
A recently released NSGA study revealed that athletic andsport footwear sales grew 1% in ’02, to $14.1B, despite an overall decline of3% in the average price. Purchasescontinued to be led by the walking shoe category, which grew to $3.4B in sales,a 4% increase from ’01 (THE DAILY).
PrinceTennis.comre-launches today with a new interface, product gallery section, product searchfeature and the opportunity for consumers to win Prince products byparticipating in surveys (THE DAILY).
The AP reported that the family of Univ. of MS QB EliManning has “agreed to let the school come up with a strategy to push”Manning for the Heisman Trophy, but Manning’s father, Archie, wants theschool to “keep it simple.” Univ. of MSSID Langston Rogers said that the school is “in the process ofdeveloping a postseason awards campaign for Manning” (AP, 6/11).
The Hockey HOF yesterday announced its ’03 class, whichincludes Red Wings Owner Mike Ilitch, former Oilers G Grant Fuhr,Islanders C Pat LaFontaine and junior hockey coach Brian Kilrea. The induction is November 3 in Toronto (THEDAILY).
The GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE reports that the Packers havenamed Mellon Investor Services as transfer agent and registrar to “manage allstock transfer activities for the organization’s 110,000 shareholders” (GREENBAY PRESS-GAZETTE, 6/12).
ATTENDANCE WATCH:
- The L.A. TIMES reports that 3,000 fans attended yesterday’s Western Conference championship celebration for the Mighty Ducks outside Arrowhead Pond (L.A. TIMES, 6/12).
- The WASHINGTON POST reports that the crowd of 28,013 at last night’s Cubs-Orioles game at Camden Yards “dwindled to a few hundred after a 104-minute rain delay prior to the top of the ninth inning” (WASHINGTON POST, 6/12).
- The Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE reports that a standing-room crowd of 6,104 attended yesterday’s Northern League Joliet Jackhammers-St. Paul Saints game at Midway Field, the first part of a Twin Cities doubleheader that also included last night’s Rockies-Twins game at the Metrodome (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 6/12). Read the Closing Bell’s Promotion of the Week for more on the event.
A LIGHTER BUZZ
During last night’s edition of CBS’ “Late Show,” DavidLetterman discussed the trend of fans running onto the field of play. The show aired “a fan warning” fromMLB. Announcer: “Major League Baseballis now issuing stiffer penalties on crazed fans who run onto the field. Under this new policy, the only shirtlessfans allowed on the field are Jennifer Aniston, Buffy the Vampire Slayerand whomever Derek Jeter is dating. Baseball fever – catch it!” ("Late Show," CBS, 6/11).
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
Toronto mayoral candidate John Tory, CFL TorontoArgonauts coach Michael Clemons and Argonauts players will hold a11:30am ET news conference to announce their support for the “Pack The House”campaign, designed by Argonauts fan Richard Muruve to encourage Torontoresidents to support the city and team (THE DAILY).
The Univ. of WA will host a 10:00am PT news conference toannounce the firing of football coach Rick Neuheisel (SEATTLETIMES, 6/12).
Raptors F Vince Carter will host a 1:20pm ET pressconference at Air Canada Centre in Toronto to provide details of his thirdannual charity basketball game (THE DAILY).
The USOC will conduct a 3:30pm ET conference call to previewthe ‘03 U.S. Gymnastics Championships, which will be held June 19-22 inMilwaukee. Scheduled to participate areUSA Gymnastics President Bob Colarossi, as well as U.S. gymnasts JasonGatson, Paul Hamm, Terin Humphrey and Tasha Schwikert(THE DAILY).
NYC2012 officials will begin the “Summer of Championships”series with the Fencing World Cup at Columbia University and Grand CentralStation. The series is designed tooffer New Yorkers Olympic events that they are not normally exposed to. Other scheduled events include the WorldArchery Championships, a Triathlon World Cup and the World Freestyle WrestlingChampionships (NEWSDAY, 5/28).
INOTHER NEWS….
The L.A. TIMES reports that TiVo today is expected toannounce it has “licensed its technology to Pioneer Electronics,” which isexpected to “begin selling a video recorder with TiVo’s [TV] recordingtechnology by the end of the year” (L.A.TIMES, 6/12).
The CHICAGO SUN-TIMES reports that “I’m Lovin’ It,” acreative campaign designed by Germany-based Heye & Partner, will be the“new global theme for McDonald’s advertising.” The campaign replaces DDB/Chicago’s “Smile” effort that has been “phasedout over the last several months” in the U.S. (CHICAGOSUN-TIMES, 6/12).
FINAL JEOPARDY!
Last night’s “Final Jeopardy!” category was “ScientificTheories.”
“Edward Lorenz’s idea of linking this creature tochanges in the weather became the basis of chaos theory.”
LAUGH TRACK
THEMONOLOGUES:
CBS’ DavidLetterman: “I don’t want to talk about people when they’re not here but boyoh boy, last night’s audience was rude. During the show, they were listening to Hillary’s book on tape.... Bloomberg is cracking on everything. You can now not smoke in New York parks. Fine, but what are you supposed to do aftersex? ... Crime is down, and it’s true. It has been weeks since I’ve walked through Central Park screaming, ‘I’mhit, I’m hit!’ ... The crime rate in New York is so low that the New Yorkmorgue is now a Starbucks. ... Seriously, the only people getting ripped offnow are the folks buying Hillary’s book. ... Hillary’s book being so successfulis a win-win for Bill. She’smaking a lot of money and she’s out on tour doing book signings” ("LateShow," CBS, 6/11).
NBC’sJay Leno: “This Sunday of course is Father’s Day. A little hint for President Bush’stwin daughters: If you haven’t gotten your dad a present yet, I know he’d loveit if you could find some weapons of mass destruction. He has lowered his expectations a bit. They’re not so much looking for weapons ofmass destruction. Now he says he’swilling to settle for Tylenol that’s been tampered with. ... Today, to help SamWaksal get ready for prison, Sammy Sosa lent him some of his cork.... A&E is making a movie about Hillary Clinton. It’s called ‘Ice Age II.’ ... CNN is reporting that Gray Davishas the worst approval rating of every governor in 55 years. He is now five points below monkeypox” ("TonightShow," NBC, 6/11).
LATENIGHT LAUGHS:
Last night’s Top Ten list was “Top Ten Things Heard In LineTo Buy Hillary Clinton’s Book” ("Late Show," CBS, 6/11).
| 10) “At last we’ll cut through the lies and get to the embellished, politically motivated truth.” |
| 9) “Do we get a discount if we’ve had sex with Bubba?” |
| 8) “Hey, the Whitewater chapter is all shredded.” |
| 7) “Why ain’t your husband king no more?” |
| 6) “Hillary Clinton? Crap, I thought it was the new Harry Potter book.” |
| 5) “That Barnes and Noble cashier looks a lot like Al Gore.” |
| 4) “I hear the section about Bill is a pop-up book.” |
| 3) “The last time I was at one of these, Rosalyn Carter showed up drunk.” |
| 2) “Twenty-eight bucks for a book? That Lewinskys.” |
| 1) “I feel weird doing this with your wife right there, Mr. Clinton.” |
CBS’Craig Kilborn: “Scientists are now working on ways to reduce cowflatulence. The number one way: Ignorethe cow when it says pull my hoof. … Doctors will attempt to separate twoconjoined Iranian women. Doctors saythey’ll go on to lead normal lives, getting stoned to death for wearing makeup.… There’s a proposal here in Los Angeles to modify strip clubs so there’s aseparation of 6 feet and a guardrail between strippers and clients. Can’t we just lock Burt Reynolds inhis car?” (“The Late Late Show,” CBS, 6/11)
WEDNESDAY NIGHT’S TV MONITOR
ESPN’s 11:00pm ET “SportsCenter” led with Astros-Yankees,followed by Cardinals-Red Sox and Cubs RF Sammy Sosa’s suspensionbeing reduced to seven games.
FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER
“What is a butterfly?”
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