Morning Buzz, September 4, 2003

ON THE GROUND IN DC: NAMATH HIGHLIGHTS PANEL DISCUSSION

By Joe Oliver, Staff Writer, The Sports Business Daily

The NFL kicks off its 84^th season tonight in DC with Jets-Redskins, and NFL Kickoff Live 2003 presented by Pepsi Vanilla continues today, culminating in a free concert tonight on the National Mall.

The NFL last night hosted a panel discussion on the state of the league at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History. Washington Post columnist Michael Wilbon moderated a panel that included HOFer Joe Namath, Fox’ Howie Long, CBS’ Phil Simms and ESPN’s Joe Theismann. The program began with an NFL Films production recapping the ’02 season, followed by opening remarks from U.S. Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton and DC Mayor Anthony Williams.

The first topic of the free-flowing discussion was tonight’s Jets-Redskins game. Namath playfully trashed the Redskins with Daniel Snyder sitting in the front row alongside NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue and NFLPA Exec Dir Gene Upshaw. Simms interjected, “Mr. Snyder is right here. He wants to talk to you later.” Namath: “Who?” Simms: “Daniel Snyder, he is the owner of the Washington Redskins, he’s here tonight.” Namath replied to a roomful of laughter and applause, “You see, that’s something I don’t care about.” (Namath went on to say he was kidding, but it took a while). Other topics included the preseason, why the NFL is more popular than other pro sports, the NFL age limit, Maurice Clarett and previews of each division.

USA Football, an independent advocacy group created by the NFL and NFLPA to galvanize the disparate entities in youth and amateur football, yesterday launched a public awareness campaign – “Play. Learn. Excel.” The effort uses football as a vehicle to promote reading and parent involvement. Following a football skills clinic, U.S. Education Secretary Rod Paige, Football USA Exec Dir Dave Ogrean and former Redskins WR Art Monk addressed the 450 children at Amidon Elementary School in DC. Local sports anchor Rene Knott emceed the event.

Ogrean, who assumed his post in December, discussed the group’s accomplishments with The Daily following the event. Ogrean said that USA Football has met with representatives from virtually every youth and amateur football group in the past nine months and added, “Our message has not been we want to co-opt you. Our message has been how can we help you and how can we make you better and bigger.”

The NFL yesterday presented a four-year, $2M grant to Action for Healthy Kids, a national effort dedicated to improving children’s health through better education in schools. NFL VP/Youth Football Development Cedric Jones presented the grant to Action for Healthy Kids Chair Dr. David Satcher, a former U.S. Surgeon General, to benefit ongoing activities at the state and national level. Noting that children spend an average of four hours per day watching TV, playing video games or surfing the Internet, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Richard Carmona quipped, “They know more about the running style of Spongebob Squarepants than Gail Devers or Maurice Green.”

Jones told The Daily that the league, in conjunction with Action for Healthy Kids, is currently developing an in-school and after-school curriculum to assist children in programming themselves to eat more nutritiously and live a more active lifestyle. Jones added that the league and the NFLPA are arranging for both current and former NFLers to visit schools under the NFL shield to promote the program (THE DAILY).

Joe Oliver is reporting from Washington, DC.

IN OTHER NFL NEWS: NATIONAL MALL GETS MAKEOVER FOR CONCERT

The WASHINGTON POST reports that so far for the NFL Kickoff Live 2003 presented by Pepsi Vanilla, “the weather has been ugly. The media have been merciless. The crowds have been thin.” Rain forced the cancellation of some events yesterday, but NFL Dir of Corporate Communications Brian McCarthy said, “So far it’s been very Super Bowl-like. … It surpassed our expectations” (WASHINGTON POST, 9/4).

The WASHINGTON TIMES reports that today, traffic gridlock “may be inevitable because of an estimated 250,000 concertgoers, hundreds of rush-hour commuters and showers forecast by the National Weather Service” (WASHINGTON TIMES, 9/4).

The WASHINGTON POST noted that Pepsi, which paid a reported $2.5M for the presenting sponsorship of the event, will “hand out thousands of free samples of Pepsi Vanilla on the Mall, and Pepsi Vanilla signs will be within television camera angles” (WASHINGTON POST, 9/1).

The WASHINGTON TIMES also notes, “Corporate sponsorship has occurred at many other events on the Mall but never to such magnitude.” National Coalition to Save Our Mall Chair Judy Scott Feldman said, “It really sets a dangerous precedent in the use of this space” (WASHINGTON TIMES, 9/4).

A WASHINGTON POST editorial stated, “The promotional activity underway on the land between the Capitol grounds and the Washington Monument is, for sheer space and length of occupancy, in a class by itself when it comes to hawking a commercial sporting event” (WASHINGTON POST, 9/3).

The league runs a special advertising supplement for the NFL Kickoff Live 2003 presented by Pepsi Vanilla in today’s USA TODAY with 989 Sports (for its NFL GameDay 2004 game), ABC (for “MNF”), Reebok (for its authentic line of NFL goods), NFL.com, Coors Light (featuring the now-famous twins) and Pepsi for Pepsi Vanilla participating as full-page advertisers. A quarter-page ad promoting the concert and the game appears in the Life Section today (THE DAILY).

The NFL also ran a three-quarter page ad in the N.Y. TIMES, promoting the kickoff event, NFL Sunday Ticket and DirecTV (THE DAILY).

THE DAILY TODAY PRESENTS OUR SPECIAL NFL ISSUE

The Daily today presents our special issue around the NFL's kickoff including: a Q&A with NFL Senior VP/Marketing & Sales John Collins regarding tonight's kickoff concert, a listing of the local radio deals of very NFL team, a roundtable of industry experts on the state of the league, an exclusive list of top-selling player jerseys on NFLShop.com from April-July and much more.

CORZINE/KUSHNER GROUP HAS TODAY TO MATCH NETS OFFERS

The Newark STAR-LEDGER reports that the group headed by U.S. Sen. Jon Corzine (D-NJ) and developer Charles Kushner has “until today to match existing offers” from N.Y. developer Bruce Ratner and Islanders Owner Charles Wang. If the group does not match the offers, the YankeeNets BOD “could vote to hire a Wall Street financial company to auction the Nets off to the highest bidder.” YankeeNets also could “vote to enter exclusive negotiations with one of the three bidders, or enter negotiations to stabilize the Nets with an infusion of cash and buy out selected team owners” (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 9/4).

SBC CENTER TODAY TO UNVEIL SEATING IMPROVEMENTS

The SBC Center today will unveil seating improvements at a 10:00am CT news conference, and the SAN ANTONIO BUSINESS JOURNAL reported that arena officials will “display an ‘improved section of seats’ with an original section. Among the complaints from a number of people who have attended SBC Center events is that architects seemed to have squeezed too many rows of seats into too narrow of a footprint – especially in the arena’s upper level” (SAN ANTONIO BUSINESS JOURNAL, 9/3).

COMMITTEE TO RECOMMEND RENOVATIONS TO ALAMODOME TODAY

The SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS reports that an "ad hoc committee commissioned by Mayor Ed Garza will tell the City Council today that major renovations must be made to the Alamodome if San Antonio wants to continue attracting lucrative NCAA events." Alamodome Advisory Committee Chair Bob Coleman "declined to put a dollar amount on the proposed project," but City Manager Terry Brechtel said that it would cost $10M (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, 9/4).

HOUSE COMMITTEE TO EXAMINE POSSIBLE BCS ANTITRUST ASPECTS

The House Judiciary Committee today will hold a hearing titled, “Competition in College Athletic Conferences and Antitrust Aspects of the Bowl Championship Series,” and the ATLANTA CONSTITUTION reports that the hearings are “expected to last three days, after which presidents from BCS and non-BCS schools will meet Tuesday in Chicago to further discuss the issue” (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 9/4). CBS SPORTSLINE reported that Tulane Univ. President Scott Cowen and former 49ers and BYU QB Steve Young “have been tabbed to testify for the have-nots,” while Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany will represent the BCS. NCAA President Myles Brand is also expected to testify (CBS SPORTSLINE, 9/3).

MORNING BRIEFS

The Coyotes unveiled new logos and uniforms yesterday, and the official team colors of brick red, desert sand and black make up the new marks. The primary logo is a coyote howling towards the moon. The club also re-launched its official Web site (Coyotes).

The N.Y. TIMES reports that for the “second consecutive day, only one match finished” at the U.S. Open, where Andy Roddick defeated Belgian Xavier Malisse. The match ended at 12:25am ET (N.Y. TIMES, 9/4).

The Bergen RECORD reports that NJ State Senate co-President Richard Codey and Meadowlands district State Sen. Paul Sarlo yesterday “attempted to play peacemaker, … conferring with Giants President Robert Tisch and [NJSEA] President George Zoffinger in separate meetings about Giants Stadium renovations.” Following the meeting, Codey said, “Mr. Tisch promised me that if we get that Super Bowl, it will be a New Jersey event, and that we would get a letter from the [NFL] confirming that particular point” (Bergen RECORD, 9/4).

REUTERS reported that tickets for next year’s U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club June 17-20 have sold out for the 18^th consecutive year (REUTERS, 9/3).

The AP reported that the Big East “hopes to decide by November whether its football-playing schools will split from the non-football programs.” Representatives from both groups “met Wednesday with Commissioner Mike Tranghese to discuss the conference’s future makeup” (AP, 9/3).

The WASHINGTON TIMES reports that MD Democratic leaders yesterday said that they will “reconsider Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.’s proposal to make money by putting slot machines at racetracks but would not compromise unless the governor’s new budget includes tax increases and spending cuts” (WASHINGTON TIMES, 9/4).

The L.A. TIMES reports that Eagle County Judge Frederick Gannett “denied a request by the Vail Daily newspaper to release dispatch records pertaining to two non-criminal emergency response calls to the home of [Kobe] Bryant’s accuser in the past year” (L.A. TIMES, 9/4).

Cox Communications yesterday announced that it will carry Providence College men’s basketball games on Cox3, as part of an agreement with ESPN Syndication. Cox will produce and televise up to eight of the school’s games (Cox).

ATTENDANCE WATCH:

• The Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE reports that a crowd of 11,434 attended yesterday’s Angels-Twins game at the Metrodome, the “Twins’ smallest crowd since April 30, 2002” (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 9/4).

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. Daily News
Philadelphia Daily News	Philadelphia Daily News

TODAY’S EVENTS

The Coyotes’ “APS Power Play Tour 2003” will make stops at two Albertsons stores in Glendale at noon and 5:00pm MT to promote the club’s new uniforms and logo. Each stop includes fan-interactive games, prizes and player appearances.

The Flames will host a 3:00pm ET news conference to discuss season-ticket sales and re-launch a ticket initiative. Flames President & CEO Ken King, Calgary Co-op Public Relations Dir Donna Burn and Coca-Cola, Alberta Marketing Manager Karen Connellan.

The Rockets will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Toyota Center (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 9/2).

IN OTHER NEWS….

The WASHINGTON POST reports that the U.S. Senate today is expected to “overturn a key part” of FCC regulations that “would have loosened restrictions on media consolidation beginning today.” The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3^rd Circuit in Philadelphia yesterday blocked the rules, “granting at least a temporary victory to those who argue that the new regulations would give [TV] networks too much power and reduce local programming” (WASHINGTON POST, 9/4).

FINAL JEOPARDY!

Last night's "Final Jeopardy!" category was "Knowledge By The Numbers."

“Number of males who served as British Prime Minister in the 1990s plus Oscars won by Tom Hanks plus protons in a helium nucleus.”

LAUGH TRACK

THE MONOLOGUES:

CBS' David Letterman: "Last night's audience, and I hate talking about people when they're not here; what a rough crowd that was. It turned out they had just gotten off an infected cruise ship. ... Earlier tonight right here on CBS, the 'Latin Grammy Awards' show took place because when you think of hot Latin music, by God, you think CBS. It was fantastic, and for me the highlight of the 'Latin Grammy Awards' was when they presented a lifetime achievement award to J Lo's ass. ... Ben Affleck, the luckiest man alive, and Jennifer Lopez are to be married next month in Santa Barbara. Originally they were going to be married in Hawaii, but Jennifer said she wanted her next wedding to be in Hawaii. ... According to reports, Osama Bin Laden has been holding a terrorism convention in the mountains of Afghanistan. ... Five thousand terrorists attended with name tags: 'Hello, my name is Mohammed.' The highlight of the convention was the demonstration of the new suicide turban. Convention goers had their picture taken with Uday and Qusay impersonators" ("Late Show," CBS, 9/3).

NBC's Jay Leno: "It was so hot today, I saw Madonna kissing Mrs. Paul and an Eskimo chick. ... We have had a lot more shark sightings off the coast of California the last two weeks. These sharks are smart. Apparently, they can even smell Gray Davis' blood in the water. ... Saddam Hussein has released yet another tape and this one is really different. Apparently, it's a bluegrass album. I think he's getting away from his core. ... In Detroit, police arrested two men who stole a Krispy Kreme donut truck and held 1,800 donuts hostage. They demanded a ransom. What were they going to do, kill the donuts? ... They were arrested by 10,000 police. ... A 21-year-old inmate is suing New York for $5[M] because he said he got hurt playing basketball while in jail. ... Isn't that backwards? Don't you first play basketball in the NBA, then you go to jail. ... Kobe Bryant spent another $4[M] today on his wife. Filled her car up with gas" ("Tonight Show," NBC, 9/3).

TUESDAY NIGHT’S TV MONITOR

FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER

“What is six?”

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

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