Morning Buzz, July 21, 2003

MLB TO OPEN THREE-PERSON OFFICE IN TOKYO NEXT MONTH

The SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL reports that MLB today will announce it “will open an office in Tokyo next month in an attempt to spur promotional activity among its existing television, sponsorship and licensing clients and attract new sponsors and licensees.” MLB VP/Global Market Development Jim Small: “It makes sense for us to have full time representation over there and to make sure our broadcast partners are leveraging the rights. Most of my job is to make sure our partners fully understand what they purchase and utilize the rights they have.” Small will lead the three-person office, scheduled to open August 1 (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 7/21 issue).

BCS TO CONDUCT CALL TODAY AS COWEN PREPARES FOR HIS OWN

The N.Y. TIMES reports that the BCS Presidential Oversight Committee will conduct a media conference call today in an “attempt to pre-empt” a call scheduled by Tulane Univ. President Scott Cowen for tomorrow. Cowen, who has “organized a coalition of more than 40 university presidents whose Division I-A football programs are not part of the BCS,” will lead a discussion on “scrapping the BCS for a playoff tournament, in which 117 Division I-A football programs share the huge pot of postseason money.” NCAA President Myles Brand is scheduled to participate on both conference calls. The BCS call today “will focus on Congress’s interest in the BCS and possible antitrust violations” (N.Y. TIMES, 7/21).

TICKET SALES DOWN AS RCA CHAMPIONSHIPS OPEN TODAY IN INDY

The ATP Tour’s RCA Championships open today at the Indianapolis Tennis Center with Andy Roddick as one of only three top 20 players in the draw, and the INDIANAPOLIS STAR noted that “much of the decline in ranked players has to do with the tour’s decision to switch the tournament from its August date.” RCA officials, along with officials from the Legg Mason Tennis Classic, sued the tour because of the switch, but “reached a settlement and accepted the date change.” While ticket sales are down about 8%, Tournament Dir Rob MacGill said that sponsorship sales and TV revenue have increased. MacGill: “The question is will we catch up during the week due to the quality of the competition and the excitement of the event, or will we stay [8-9%] under last year’s sales” (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 7/20).

MORNING BRIEFS

All three network morning shows – NBC’s “Today,” ABC’s “Good Morning America” and CBS’ “The Early Show” – today led their programs with reports on charges being brought against Kobe Bryant. Eagle County DA Mark Hurlbert appeared on all three programs, including a live appearance on “Today.” N.Y. Times NBA writer Mike Wise appeared on “The Early Show” (THE DAILY).

The MIAMI HERALD reported that the Dolphins sold out single-game tickets Saturday for the team’s October 19 game against the Patriots, December 15 game against the Eagles and the December 28 game against the Jets on “the first day individual game tickets went on sale.” The team “sold more than 14,000 tickets and more than 300 season tickets during Select-A-Seat Day at Pro Player Stadium” (MIAMI HERALD, 7/20).

F1 Chair Bernie Ecclestone, on a protester running on the track during yesterday’s British Grand Prix: “It was an exciting race beside that. The safety people will have a look at it. It means the security wasn’t good. But you can’t stop it when some one does this sort of thing. I don’t know what you do about it” (ANANOVA.com, 7/20).

The N.Y. POST reports that former Shea Stadium groundskeeper Christian Murphy “is suing the Mets for $20[M], claiming he suffered permanent lung damage when his ex-colleagues kept pet cats in a storage facility against team rules and despite his severe allergies.” Mets VP/Media Relations Jay Horowitz said that the lawsuit “has no merit” (N.Y. POST, 7/21).

The ECHL announced that the ECHL BOG has approved a transfer of controlling interest for the Pensacola Ice Pilots from Pensacola Professional Hockey Club to Hockey Enterprises of Pensacola, whose Majority Owner is former Flyers F Tim Kerr (ECHL).

The FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM noted that beginning today, Star-Telegram sports columnist Randy Galloway can be heard on “Gallaway & Co.” weekdays from 3:00-6:00pm CT on KESN-FM, ending the show’s 18-year run on WBAP-AM. The show was formerly known as “Sports at Six” (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 7/20).

The AP reports that af2 Bakersfield Blitz LB Julian Yearwood “collapsed while sitting on the bench in the first quarter of the [team’s] game against the Wichita Stealth” Saturday and later died. af2 Media Services Manager Ron Deuter said that the league “planned to wait for autopsy results before discussing the cause of death.” The game between the “two playoff contenders with a week left in the regular season was postponed indefinitely,” and Deuter said that the league “would decide how to proceed with the game in days to come” (AP, 7/21).

The AP reports that at an auction at I.M. Chait Gallery Sunday in Beverly Hills featuring 372 lots of horse racing memorabilia, including many Seabiscuit items, a “battered kangaroo leather saddle trimmed in lizard skin worn by Seabiscuit … failed to meet its reserve price.” However, an anonymous buyer from VA purchased the saddle following the auction. Bidding on the saddle ended at $125,000, less than the $150,000-250,000 estimated by the gallery. “Seabiscuit” author Laura Hillenbrand “bought several items, including paying $13,000 in a telephone bid for a [horseshoe] worn by Seabiscuit when he defeated War Admiral” in their match race at Pimlico Race Course (AP, 7/21).

ATTENDANCE WATCH:

• The MIAMI HERALD reports that a crowd of 25,574 attended yesterday’s Cubs-Marlins game at Pro Player Stadium, featuring Marlins P Dontrelle Willis. The Cubs won, 16-2 (MIAMI HERALD, 7/21).

• The BOSTON HERALD reports that a sellout crowd of 34,321 attended yesterday’s Blue Jays-Red Sox game at Fenway Park, the “23^rd sellout of the season at Fenway and the 13^th straight” (BOSTON HERALD, 7/21).

• The BOSTON GLOBE reports that a crowd of approximately 101,000 attended yesterday’s NASCAR Winston Cup Series New England 300 at New Hampshire Int’l Speedway (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/21).

• The Nashville TENNESSEAN reported that a sellout crowd of approximately 30,000 attended Saturday’s IRL Firestone 200 at Nashville Superspeedway (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 7/20).

• The HOUSTON CHRONICLE reported that a sellout crowd of 3,500 attended Saturday’s boxing card at Reliant Center, featuring Houston boxers Juan Diaz and Rocky Juarez (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 7/20).

• The SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER reports that a crowd of approximately 3,000 attended yesterday’s ManU practice in Beaverton, OR, as the team prepares for the opening game of its U.S. Tour tomorrow night against Glasgow’s Celtic at Seahawks Stadium (SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, 7/21).

• The TAMPA TRIBUNE reports that approximately 2,500 fans attended Saturday’s morning session of the Bucs’ opening day of training camp at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, up from 2,200 in attendance at the morning and afternoon sessions combined in ’02 (TAMPA TRIBUNE, 7/21).

A LIGHTER BUZZ

Former Mets co-Owner Nelson Doubleday commented on his former team the other day in a phone interview with the Newark Star-Ledger (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 7/21):

• On the Mets’ performance: “We might fall into a minor league. We might not even make it into Triple-A. The Mets might be in Double-A next year.”

• On Mets Exec VP & COO Jeff Wilpon, “He got thrown out of [Long Island private school] Greenvale in the fifth grade and still hasn’t improved. I saw a comment in another paper after the (Roberto) Alomar trade, that it was a very good trade, but it would have been an excellent trade if they had included Jeff Wilpon.”

• More on Jeff Wilpon: “Mr. Jeff Wilpon has decided that he’s going to learn how to run a baseball team and take over at the end of the year. Run for the hills, boys. I think probably all those baseball people will bail.”

• On the way the team handled the Mike Piazza to 1B situation: “I like the skill and finesse with which they told Mike he is going to be a first baseman. That’s the like an oversized truck trying to get through the Midtown Tunnel.”

The DETROIT NEWS noted that because he does not have any equipment sponsorships, Mathias Gronberg wore a Yankees cap during his round with Tiger Woods Saturday at the British Open. Although Gronberg is from Sweden, his wife, Tara, is from Spring Lake, NJ, and he “wears the cap in her honor” (DETROIT NEWS, 7/20).

WEEKEND RAP…

The following are excerpts from the panelists’ “parting shots” on Sunday’s edition of ESPN’s “The Sports Reporters”:

• Detroit Free Press columnist Mitch Albom: “The Detroit Red Wings are the Yankees of hockey, and as such, are not used to hearing players say, ‘It’s been nice, but I want to go elsewhere.’ They heard that yesterday from Sergei Fedorov, their most talented player. ... He signed with Anaheim for five-years, for around $40[M], which is far less than his original Detroit offer. ... My guess is (he signed elsewhere for less because) he was tired of being a star on a team full of stars and he wanted the glamour of a coast city.”

• N.Y. Daily News columnist Mike Lupica, on Kobe Bryant: “On a lot of levels, Bryant is fighting for his old life here. At the very least, he’s fighting for his good name. His accuser will soon be fighting for her privacy and her own good name, even if we don’t know her name yet. But there really is no more weird reality TV than we get every time we get another big guy in trouble.”

• ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap: “(Tex) Schramm was the most important figure in modern pro football. ... Fourteen years ago, (Cowboys Owner) Jerry Jones forced Schramm and Tom Landry out of the jobs they held for almost 30 years. ... Jones made the right move. ... Sadly, all good things must come to an end, and of course, Tex Schramm was the one of the best things that ever happened to the NFL.”

• ESPN’s John Saunders, on Rickey Henderson signing with the Dodgers: “I have two words to say about (Henderson signing): thank you. Ricky’s been many things throughout the years, but one thing he has never been is boring” ("The Sports Reporters," ESPN, 7/20).

Heard elsewhere over the weekend:

• ABC’s Ian Baker-Finch, upon hearing that a large group of supporters for eventual British Open champion Ben Curtis were gathered at the golf course Curtis’ grandfather built to watch the final round: “I think that is one of the things that is always lost in the ratings, is the number of people who watch in the clubhouses.” ABC’s Curtis Strange followed, “And bars” ("The Open Championship," ABC, 7/20).

• Lupica, on Bryant: “Whatever happened in that hotel room that night and whatever we think of Kobe Bryant’s image, he’s now saying the same thing that Mike Tyson said a long time ago” ("The Sports Reporters," ESPN, 7/20).

• Schaap: “I think a lot of our colleagues, ... watching them incessantly on TV for the last few weeks, have been really irresponsible, suggesting, ‘Oh, I know Kobe Bryant so well’” ("The Sports Reporters," ESPN, 7/20).

• Albom: “In the court of public opinion, ... Kobe Bryant has already been tried and to a certain degree convicted because the one thing that the American public really can’t stand is thinking one thing about somebody then having to choke on that image” ("The Sports Reporters," ESPN, 7/20).

• Former Univ. of AL football coach Mike Price, on the accuracy of Sports Illustrated’s report on him visiting a strip club and soliciting prostitutes: “They got my name right. That’s about the only thing that they got right in that story” ("OTL," ESPN, 7/20).

THE BACK PAGES

The Morning Buzz offers today’s back page sports covers from some of the nation’s major metropolitan tabloids:

N.Y. Post	N.Y. Post
N.Y. Daily News	Philadelphia Daily News

TODAY’S EVENTS

CO-based accounting firm Biggs, Kofford & Co. CEO Jerry Biggs will speak at the Colorado Economic Development Commission meeting in Denver on keeping the USOC HQs in Colorado Springs (Colorado Springs GAZETTE, 7/18).

THIS WEEK IN SISTER PUBLICATION SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL…

This week’s cover story includes a report that NBC is dialing down hospitality plans for the Athens Olympics and planning split viewing parties. Meanwhile, ESPN has sold seven $3.5M sponsorships around its 25^th anniversary next year.

EARNINGS ANNOUNCEMENTS

Below are this week’s confirmed earnings announcements for sports-business related companies (THE DAILY).

IN OTHER NEWS….

This week’s cover of TIME offers “Overcoming Dyslexia.” Meanwhile, NEWSWEEK examines “California In Crisis” (THE DAILY).

The WALL STREET JOURNAL reports that Microsoft “plans to announce today that AOL Time Warner’s cable unit will try out” Microsoft’s interactive program guide, or Foundation Edition software, which “enables operators to add interactive advertisements, snazzier program-guide graphics and other features” (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 7/21).

The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER notes that News Corp. Chair & CEO Rupert Murdoch’s wife, Wendi Deng, gave birth to the couple’s second child Saturday – a girl named Chloe. The child is Murdoch’s sixth (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 7/19).

FINAL JEOPARDY!

Friday’s “Final Jeopardy!” category was “People In Government.”

“Her first name comes from an Italian musical term meaning to play ‘with sweetness.’”

LAUGH TRACK

THE MONOLOGUES:

CBS’ David Letterman: “Happy birthday to my mother in Indianapolis. Today, my mother is 82-years-old, and that means she is nearly old enough to watch CBS. ... I phoned mom and asked her what she wanted for her birthday and she said a shot at Ashton Kutcher. ... Did you ever have one of those days, like a tough day, a hard day, a frustrating day? I’m at my wits end. Do you have any idea how hard it is to buy uranium from Africa? I was on eBay all day. ... There was a guy 19 years ago who goes into a coma, but he stays alive. A couple of weeks ago he wakes up, and he’s okay, but he’s got like in his memory a 19-year blank spot. You know what I’m saying? The first thing he wanted to know when he woke up was, ‘Is it still Hammer Time?’ ... Mars, the angry red planet, and Earth are going to be the closest they have been in 50,000 years. In fact, Mars is so close to Earth that Hillary Clinton is there on a book tour. ... Bill Clinton is donating all of his old clothing to a thrift store in Chappaqua. But here’s one piece of information. If you buy used clothing that was worn by Bill Clinton, just be prepared for your dry cleaner to say, ‘I’m sorry, we tried everything’” ("Late Show," CBS, 7/18).

NBC’s Jay Leno: “Word of advice to Kobe Bryant. Cash that Nike check fast. ... Remember when the Lakers biggest discipline problem was Dennis Rodman forgetting his shoes and socks. ... Kobe went from being on the Dream Team to needing the Dream Team. ... This is such a high-profile case. Now they’re talking about having the trial moved to somewhere where they think Kobe will be treated more fairly, like the Staples Center. ... The Emmy Awards nominations were out yesterday. Demi Moore was nominated for ‘Best Children’s Entertainer’ or as Ashton Kutcher calls her, my after-school special. ... President Bush got a nomination for ‘Best Creative Writing’ for his State of the Union address. ... A Catholic priest in New Mexico is being sued by the family of a dead man after he gave the eulogy for their 80-year-old father by saying the man ‘lived in sin.’ He said the ‘Lord vomited people like him out of his mouth and into hell.’ They say the priest may face the Catholic Church’s ultimate punishment, transfer to another parish” ("Tonight Show," NBC, 7/18).

LATE NIGHT LAUGHS:

Friday’s Top Ten list was “Top Ten Things Said To Me, Dave, On A Typical Weekend” ("Late Show," CBS, 7/18).

Dennis Rodman appeared on NBC’s “Tonight Show” where he discussed his attempt to come back to the NBA. Rodman said he “didn’t like the way my career ended with the Lakers and with the Mavericks. I’m getting a bad rap.” Rodman said he has known Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban for 20 years, and “now look at him. He’s just big, $2[B], right? Still can’t get laid.” Rodman autographed a Reebok hat and gave it to an audience member ("Tonight Show," NBC, 7/18).

SUNDAY NIGHT’S TV MONITOR

ESPN’s 11:00pm ET 90-minute edition of “SportsCenter” (late due to Cardinals-Dodgers) led with the latest on the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case, followed by the final round of the British Open, and D’Backs-Padres.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE

The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER notes that the box office returns from “Bad Boys II” and “Pirates of the Caribbean” helped lift the weekend box office overall “a considerable 34% higher than the comparable frame last year. The aggregate for the top 12 films was $137.7[M], which will give the summer season a much-needed boost” (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 7/21).

FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER

Who is Condoleezza Rice?”

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

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