| | The Daily Insider
Morning News & Headlines
Friday, August 1, 2003
9:00am ET | |
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| • | Magic To Unveil New Uniforms And Logo Today For 15th Anniversary Season |
| • | NBC’s “Today” Co-Host Matt Lauer Receives A Driving Lesson At The Brickyard |
| • | MLS To Host Annual All-Star Game Tomorrow At The Home Depot Center |
| • | Walt Disney Reports Q2 ’03 Earnings; Net Income And Revenue Up Over Q2 ‘02 |
| • | Over 80,000 LeBron James Jerseys Have Been Sold Since June 26 Draft |
| • | Morning Briefs/In Other News/Laugh Track/TV Monitor/Final Jeopardy! |
MAGIC TO UNVEIL NEW UNIFORMS AND LOGO TODAY AT CITY HALL
The Magic today will unveil a new uniform design and logo to coincide with the team’s 15th anniversary season at 10:30am ET at City Hall. Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer is scheduled to attend, with Magic F Drew Gooden and G Reece Gaines modeling the new home and away uniforms. The redesign marks the third uniform since the franchise’s inception in ’89 (Magic). Magic VP/Marketing Chris D’Orso, on the retro-inspired design: “The look is an adjustment to the changing merchandising market. What is old is new again” (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 7/28 issue).
LAUER REACHES 123 MPH DURING BRICKYARD RUN ON NBC’S “TODAY”
NBC’s “Today” aired a segment this morning during the 7:30am ET block, featuring reigning NASCAR Winston Cup champion Tony Stewart and co-host Matt Lauer at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, site of this weekend’s Brickyard 400. Stewart offered lessons to Lauer in his No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet, before turning the keys over to Lauer for four test laps. While Stewart’s top speed was 163 MPH, Lauer reached 123 MPH (“Today,” NBC, 8/1).
THE HOME DEPOT CENTER TO HOST MLS ALL-STAR GAME SATURDAY
The MLS will host its All-Star Game tomorrow at 12:30pm PT at The Home Depot Center’s 27,000-seat soccer facility in Carson, CA, with a new format, featuring the MLS All-Stars facing Mexican side Chivaz. The SAN GABRIEL VALLEY TRIBUNE’S Fred Robledo wrote, “The MLS All-Star show hasn’t been a sellout since the 1996 inaugural season. Only two years has there been a crowd of more than 30,000, and that’s when it abandoned the traditional East-West format. … I guarantee this: Television ratings in [L.A.] will be the best ever” (SAN GABRIEL VALLEY TRIBUNE, 7/31). ABC will broadcast the game, with coverage beginning at 3:30pm ET.
RadioShack runs a full-page ad in USA Today promoting its products and noting its official sponsorship of MLS. The official All-Star Game logo adorns the bottom of the ad (THE DAILY).
TODAY THE DAILY GOES ONE-ON-ONE WITH…
Which team exec has three sons that work in the industry and would never consider canceling one of his team’s games, no matter what the weather? To find out, see today’s “Sports Industrialists” section for “THE DAILY Goes One-On-One With…”
MORNING BRIEFS
Walt Disney yesterday released its Q2 ’03 earnings, and the HOLLYWOOD REPORTER notes that the company’s net income rose 10% to $400M, while revenue jumped 6.6% to $6.18B, prompting Chair & CEO Michael Eisner to “predict accelerated performance during the next year as Disney benefits from cost controls, a revamped approach to filmmaking and an overhaul of its primetime TV lineup.” Additionally, cable income declined as “programming costs rose at ESPN because of NBA contract costs” (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 8/1).
The AKRON BEACON JOURNAL reports that the jerseys of Cavaliers G LeBron James “are one of the top-selling items in the [NBA Store on Fifth Avenue] and across the country.” Cavaliers Owner Gordon Gund said that approximately 80,000 James jerseys have been sold since he was selected in the June 26 NBA Draft (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 8/1).
The USTA yesterday announced that the U.S. Open Women’s Championship will be broadcast live September 6 at 8:00pm ET on CBS, one hour earlier than the ’02 title match (USTA).
In a front page cover story, USA TODAY examines pregnancies among WNBA players, writing, “The problem these athletes face is that enhanced opportunities are available to them in their childbearing years, often forcing them to make faster post-pregnancy returns to the lineup than ever – or to sit out during some of their prime athletic, and moneymaking, years” (USA TODAY, 8/1).
In L.A., Larry Stewart writes, “Hype didn’t help: Considering all the publicity Lance Armstrong received, the national rating of 2.2 for the Tour de France finale was a bit disappointing” (L.A. TIMES, 8/1).
USA TODAY released the first USA Today/ESPN Top 25 coaches’ poll for the ’03 college football season (USA TODAY, 8/1). The following lists the top five:
| RK | School |
| 1) | Oklahoma |
| 2) | Ohio State |
| 3) | Miami |
| 4) | Texas |
| 5) | Kansas State |
The ST. PETERSBURG TIMES reports that NFL Int’l last night hosted a party to welcome the Bucs and Jets at the Tokyo Dome Hotel, and guests “were treated to a Kabuki performance, the traditional form of theater.” Bucs Owner Malcolm Glazer and his wife, Linda, were presented with kimonos, and the Super Bowl XXXVII trophy was “on display under a glass case protected by a guard” (ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, 8/1).
ATTENDANCE WATCH:
- The N.Y. TIMES reports that a sellout crowd of 79,005 attended last night’s ChampionsWorld Series Manchester United-Juventus exhibition match, the “largest crowd to see a soccer match at Giants Stadium.” ManU won the match, 4-1 (N.Y. TIMES, 8/1). The attendance fell just 305 short of the Vikings-Giants NFC Championship Game in January ’01, the Giants Stadium record for a sporting event (THE DAILY).
- The FLORIDA TIMES-UNION reports that a crowd of 2,515 attended last night’s Jaguars training camp session at the team’s new facility in Jacksonville, the “largest crowd since 2,667 attended the first day of camp last Saturday” (FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, 8/1). The Jaguars scheduled the night practice following the heat-related collapses of DTs Larry Smith and John Henderson (THE DAILY).
A LIGHTER BUZZ
USA TODAY notes that visitors to the 49ers training camp receive a list of rules before entering the Santa Clara complex. The “Appropriate Dress” rule states, “Shirts and shoes are required. Please refrain from wearing any type of distracting or inappropriate apparel while on the field. Raider apparel will be burned on sight” (USA TODAY, 8/1).
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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| Philadelphia Daily News | Philadelphia Daily News |
| | |
| N.Y. Post | N.Y. Post |
TODAY’S EVENTS
The U.S. Marine Corps will induct Baseball HOFers Tom Seaver and Roberto Clemente and LPGA Founder Patty Berg into the its HOF at 11:00am ET at the Clubs in Quantico, VA. Seaver is a former Marine Private First Class, while Clemente was a Marine Private. Berg is a former Marine First Lieutenant.
WNBA President Val Ackerman will be in San Antonio to assist in the promotion of various Silver Stars community events.
The XIV Pan American Games begin tonight at the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Center in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Since the Closing Bell will not publish this afternoon, a look at some weekend events…
Saturday The Pro Football HOF hosts NFL Homecoming, in celebration of the HOF’s 40th anniversary. The following represents the ’03 HOF class, the inductees’ presenters and the relationship between each:
| Inductee | Presenter | Relationship |
| Marcus Allen | Harold Allen | Father |
| Elvin Bethea | Hornsby Howell | Bethea’s NC A&T Univ. coach |
| Joe DeLamielleure | Larry Felser | Former Buffalo News columnist |
| James Lofton | David Lofton | Oldest son |
| Hank Stram | Len Dawson | HOF QB under Stram |
Additionally, CBS Sports football broadcaster Don Criqui will be 
inducted into the HOF as the recipient of the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award. Criqui and Dick Enberg will serve as co-Grand Marshals of the HOF Festival Parade.
Sunday Organizers of the Beijing ’08 Olympics will officially unveil the logo for the XXIX Olympic Games. IOC Coordination Commission Chair Hein Verbruggen, IOC Marketing Commission Head Gerhard Heiberg and IOC Marketing Dir Michael Payne are expected to attend (AROUND THE RINGS, 7/18).
IN OTHER NEWS….
REUTERS reports that Philadelphia-based auto parts retailer Pep Boys will “close 33 stores, cut 700 store jobs and eliminate 160 management positions to try to bolster profits.” The moves are “aimed at saving about $11[M] annually” (REUTERS, 8/1).
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 “Literary Inspirations.”
“In 2002, at age 104, Gregorio Fuentes, an inspiration for this tale, died in the Cuban fishing village of Cojimar.”
LAUGH TRACK
THE MONOLOGUES:
CBS’ David Letterman: “Thank God you people are here tonight. What a great, wonderful audience we have this evening because ... last night’s audience … what a rough crowd. Halfway through the show, they started a recall petition. ... I love summertime here. Today, the UPS guy asked me to put suntan lotion on his legs. ... This is how tough a place New York is. I go to the bank this morning. The next thing I know, I’m handcuffed to a ticking suitcase. ... Tourist season in New York. Cab ride to the city: $55. Dinner and a show: $400. Catching ecoli from a tainted falafel: priceless. ... It’s good we have a lot of out-of-towners here in town because New York is saying while you’re here out-of-towners, could you please adopt a rat? ... 50 million rats in New York, or as the street vendors call them, the other white meat” (“Late Show,” CBS, 7/31).
NBC’s Jay Leno: “The heat is back. In fact, it was so hot, Kobe Bryant bought his wife a $4[M] air conditioner. ... It was so hot, Saddam Hussein offered to turn himself in for a Klondike Bar. ... Although many Iraqi citizens have seen the videos of the dead bodies of Uday and Qusay, they still do not believe they’re really dead. You know we have the same problem here in L.A. with Dodger fans. They see it. They just can’t accept it. ... There’s talk that Al Gore may run again in 2004. He’s a lot less popular now, so he can win. In fact, have you heard Gore’s new campaign slogan? ‘Gore: Rise of the Machine.’ ... Paula Jones is pregnant, and they say it could be a risky pregnancy for Jones. Not because of her age or any medical thing. It’s just that as she keeps putting on more and more weight, she runs the risk of Clinton hitting on her again” ("Tonight Show," NBC, 7/31).
LATE NIGHT LAUGHS:
Last night’s Top Ten list was “Top Ten Reasons Arnold Schwarzenegger Is Not Running For Governor of California” ("Late Show," CBS, 7/31).
| 10) "Name wouldn't fit on campaign button." |
| 9) "Robot from the future killed his campaign manager." |
| 8) "After you're 'Mr. Universe,' 'Governor of California' seems kind of lame." |
| 7) "Week-long budget talks would leave no time to work on his pecs." |
| 6) "Can't spell governor." |
| 5) "Has decided to run for Hulk instead." |
| 4) "Rumor that they test gubernatorial candidates for steroids." |
| 3) "Decided he only wants jobs where it's appropriate to be 'oiled up.'" |
| 2) "Realized his questionable background and dumb-guy reputation would better qualify him to be president." |
| 1) "Didn't want to take a $29[M] pay cut." |
For the past few nights, CBS’ “Late Show” had an overweight guy on a bike ride through the studio after being introduced as “Winner of the 2003 Tour de France Lance Armstrong.” Letterman: “I don’t think that was him. That’s three nights in a row we’ve been duped.” Paul Shaffer: “The guy’s gained a little weight since last year” ("Late Show," CBS, 7/31).
THURSDAY NIGHT’S TV MONITOR
ESPN’s 11:00pm ET “SportsCenter” led with Rockies-Reds, followed by the Reds trading 3B Aaron Boone to the Yankees for prospects, and the Yankees trading 3B Robin Ventura to the Dodgers for prospects.
FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER
“What is ‘The Old Man and the Sea?’”
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