| | The Daily Insider
Morning News & Headlines
Thursday, July 31, 2003
9:00am ET | |
| |
| • | MLB Non-Waiver Trade Deadline Today At 4:00pm ET; No Blockbusters Yet |
| • | Mario Lemieux Expected To Announce Today That He Will Return For ’03-04 |
| • | San Diego City Council To Conduct Closed Session Today On Chargers Issues |
| • | Cavaliers GM Jim Paxson Expected To Receive Contract Extension, Promotion |
| • | MLS Rapids Subject Of Sales Talks; Kroenke Sports Enterprises Interested |
| • | Morning Briefs/In Other News/Laugh Track/TV Monitor/Final Jeopardy! |
MLB NON-WAIVER TRADE DEADLINE LOOMING TODAY AT 4:00pm ET
The MLB non-waiver trade deadline is today at 4:00pm ET, and MLB.com reported that numerous deals “were being discussed [yesterday] and a few trades were made, but the session was absent anything that could be characterized as blockbuster” (MLB.com, 7/30). ESPN will air a special edition of “Baseball Tonight” to monitor and discuss trade activity from 3:00-5:00pm ET (THE DAILY).
Rangers SS Alex Rodriguez, on rumors that he has been demanding a trade: “I don’t want out, I want to make that clear. I just want us to get better. I want to see improvement” (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 7/31).
LEMIEUX EXPECTED TO ANNOUNCE RETURN FOR ’03-04 SEASON TODAY
The Pittsburgh TRIBUNE-REVIEW reports that Penguins Owner & C Mario Lemieux has scheduled an 11:00am ET press conference today in the Igloo Club at Mellon Arena to announce he will return for the ’03-04 season. Lemieux has kept Penguins fans “in suspense since the final game of last season at Mellon Arena on April 2, when he said he was uncertain about his future” (Pittsburgh TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 7/31).
SAN DIEGO CITY COUNCIL FACES DECISIONS BEFORE SUMMER RECESS
The SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE reports that the San Diego City Council has “scheduled a special closed session today concerning stadium negotiations with the Chargers” at 2:00pm PT. City and team officials “have been meeting several times a week since mid-March, when the Chargers triggered a lease provision that forced a 90-day renegotiation.” With a series of deadlines approaching and the Council set for a three-week recess, “council members are faced with several immediate options. They could schedule action on the lease next week or call a special meeting in August, ask the Chargers to agree to extend the 90-day negotiating period again, or leave the contract in place and allow the negotiations to expire” (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 7/31).
JIM PAXSON TO RECEIVE EXTENSION DESPITE 108-220 RECORD SINCE ‘99
The AP reported that Cavaliers Owner Gordon Gund has scheduled an 11:00am ET conference call today to make an “unspecified announcement.” Two NBA sources said Gund will announce that Senior VP & GM Jim Paxson “has received a contract extension and promotion.” Paxson replaced Wayne Embry as GM in ’99, and his teams have gone 108-220 during that period (AP, 7/30).
MORNING BRIEFS
The ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS reports that the AEG-owned MLS Rapids “are the subject of sales talks, and Kroenke Sports Enterprises might be among the suitors.” A source close to Kroenke Sports said that the group “has shown interest in acquiring the Rapids and also has entertained thoughts of building a soccer stadium” near Pepsi Center (ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS, 7/31).
The ORLANDO SENTINEL reports that FL Attorney General Charlie Crist yesterday filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed June 6 in CT against the Univ. of Miami and the ACC. Crist: “As we have said from the beginning, this case is about the University of Miami having the freedom to affiliate with the athletic conference of its choice” (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 7/31).
As first reported in sister publication SportsBusiness Journal, Bayer Pharmaceuticals, GlaxoSmithKline and the NFL today officially announced Mike Ditka as the spokesperson for the NFL’s national men’s health education campaign. The program will be called “Tackling Men’s Health” (NFL).
Following yesterday’s meeting of a panel appointed to advise Ontario on how to spend approximately C$120M earmarked for SARS recovery, the Toronto GLOBE & MAIL reports that a proposed August 25 golf match pitting Tiger Woods and Annika Sorenstam against Mike Weir and Lorie Kane “has settled into a stalemate.” One source said, “There’s been no movement.” The event “hinges on a decision by the Ontario government to spend” about C$1.2M (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 7/31).
USA TODAY reports that in response to a “rash of fires in recent races, NASCAR officials will begin requiring Winston Cup, Busch and Craftsman Truck Series teams to mount a fire extinguisher near their race cars’ fuel tanks.” While the regulation does not take effect until August 13, the extinguishers are “recommended immediately” (USA TODAY, 7/31).
The Memphis COMMERCIAL-APPEAL reports that construction at FedExForum, “halted since a July 22 windstorm damaged a trio of towering cranes, is set to resume Monday.” The boom of a 250-foot-high crane was removed yesterday, and the rest of the crane is to be removed today (Memphis COMMERCIAL-APPEAL, 7/31).
DAILY VARIETY reports that EA Sports’ “Madden NFL 2003” won the award for “Best Sports Game” at the first G-Phoria event last night at the Henry Fonda Theater in Hollywood. Comcast-owned G4, a digital cable channel devoted to the videogame business, sponsored the event (DAILY VARIETY, 7/31).
ATTENDANCE WATCH:
- The MIAMI HERALD reports that a sellout crowd of 37,735 attended last night’s D’Backs-Marlins game at Pro Player Stadium, featuring Randy Johnson and Dontrelle Willis as the starting pitchers. Included in the crowd, “the largest at Pro Player in two years, were more than 17,000 who bought tickets on the day of the game.” The Marlins won the game, 3-1, pushing Willis’ record to 10-2 (MIAMI HERALD, 7/31).
- The WASHINGTON TIMES reports that a crowd of 45,864 attended last night’s ChampionsWorld Series FC Barcelona-AC Milan exhibition match at 56,692-seat RFK Stadium, the “largest to watch a soccer game this year in the District and the 15th largest to witness a game at RFK.” FC Barcelona won the match, 2-0 (WASHINGTON TIMES, 7/31).
- The INDIANAPOLIS STAR reports that a crowd of approximately 2,700, including Owner Jim Irsay, attended last night’s Colts practice at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, the “biggest crowd for a training-camp session in the team’s five years” at the facility (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 7/31).
THE BACK PAGES
The Morning Buzz offers today’s back page sports covers from some of the nation’s major metropolitan tabloids:
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| N.Y. Post | N.Y. Daily News |
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| Philadelphia Daily News | Philadelphia Daily News |
TODAY’S EVENTS
The K.C. STAR reports that Baseball HOFer George Brett today begins a part-time stint on WHB-AM’s “Crunch Time” with Frank Boal from 9:00-11:00am CT. Brett: “I’m not going to be controversial. I’m going to have opinions, but I’m not going to try and be controversial. We all have opinions, and it’s OK to disagree with anyone.” Brett will not “be an everyday feature” (K.C. STAR, 7/31).
IN OTHER NEWS….
The N.Y. POST reports that Viacom Chair & CEO Sumner Redstone “has lately been talking up the possibility of going after beleaguered media giant AOL Time Warner.” Earlier this year, Redstone “mused in meetings with analysts and investors about the possibility of a Viacom takeover of AOL Time Warner if his stock were higher.” Viacom stock, which closed yesterday at $43.00, is up more than 30% from its 52-week low of $32.55 (N.Y. POST, 7/31).
DAILY VARIETY reports that Arnold Schwarzenegger today or tomorrow is “expected to formally announce his decision not to run” in the upcoming October 7 recall election for the Governorship of CA (DAILY VARIETY, 7/31).
FINAL JEOPARDY!
Last night’s edition of “Jeopardy” was filmed on the Ohio State campus for the College Championship Tournament. The “Final Jeopardy!” category was “Computer History.”
“IBM engineer Dave Bradley is called the father of this multi-key combination.”
LAUGH TRACK
THE MONOLOGUES:
CBS’ David Letterman: “Now is not a good time to be in New York, and I’ll tell you why. It’s the height of the fat-ass tourist season. ... New York has been named the number one tourist destination in the United States. We’re very proud, and I have a tip for tourists. Do not feed the rats when they come up to your car window. ... New York has a rat problem: 50 million rats. There may be some here tonight. ... Fifty million rats, and that’s not counting the ones that commute. ... They’re brazen, crazy rats. Today, I saw a rat walk right up and pinch a cat on the ass. ... There’s a new audio tape from Saddam Hussein, and you can tell that it’s authentic, and you can tell that it’s current because in the audio tape he mentions the Liza Minnelli split” ("Late Show," CBS, 7/30).
NBC’s Jay Leno: “Saddam Hussein has released yet another audio tape. This guy won’t shut up. I think he’s starting to lose it. Have you heard the latest tape? It’s all about how to sand and refinish your redwood deck. ... They asked Bush about Gay Marriage Day and what he thought about it, and this is what Bush said today: ... ‘I am mindful we are all sinners and I caution those who may try to take a speck out of the neighbor’s eye when they got a log in their own.’ Even Jesse Jackson said, ‘What?’ ... Prostitution has returned to the streets of Baghdad. They’ve gone from a no-fly zone to an open-fly zone. They said it is $20 to look for your weapon of mass destruction, $50 if they find it. ... A former employee of Donald Sterling has sued him for sexual harassment after she claims he allegedly touched her breast and unbuttoned his pants. This is still not nearly as embarrassing as being known as the owner of the Clippers. ... Baseball fans at a minor league game in Charleston set a record by staying absolutely quiet for five innings. ... Is that really a record? Detroit Tigers fans have been doing that for what, 20 years? ... The newest Laker, Karl Malone, said today he joined the Lakers because he wanted to get a ring. So I guess he’s hoping Kobe cheats on him too” ("Tonight Show," NBC, 7/30).
LATE NIGHT LAUGHS:
Last night’s Top Ten list was “Top Ten Signs Your Neighbor Is Harboring Saddam Hussein” ("Late Show," CBS, 7/30).
| 10) “A lot of ‘Sorry about the deaths of your monstrous, sadistic sons’ bouquets being delivered.” |
| 9) “His garage door used to be white; now its white with a giant mural of Saddam Hussein.” |
| 8) “Mailman mistakenly puts ‘Deposed Dictator Monthly’ in your box.” |
| 7) “He asks, ‘When are we having the Ba’ath Party – I mean the block party?’” |
| 6) “You hear his television blaring ‘Queer Eye For The Fallen Dictator Guy.’” |
| 5) “The hourly deliveries of hummus.” |
| 4) “The Kurdish family across the street have really been on edge lately.” |
| 3) “He’s in the yard chopping wood to build a beret rack.” |
| 2) “His last houseguest: Haitian dictator ‘Baby Doc’ Duvalier.” |
| 1) “Floating in his swimming pool: an inflatable goat.” |
WEDNESDAY NIGHT’S TV MONITOR
ESPN’s 11:00pm ET “SportsCenter” led with D’Backs-Marlins, followed by Giants-Cubs and Astros-Braves.
FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER
“What is control-alt-delete?”
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