| | The Daily Insider
Morning News & Headlines
Thursday, October 2, 2003
9:00am ET | |
| |
| • | Rush Limbaugh Resigns From “Sunday NFL Countdown” Amid Controversy |
| • | Sirius Satellite Radio Today To Announce Exclusive Three-Year Deal With NHL |
| • | NHL, NHLPA Conduct First Negotiating Meeting Yesterday In Toronto |
| • | F1 Team Bosses To Meet In London Today, Will Discuss Montreal Grand Prix |
| • | Fehr Says Discussion On Expanding Division Series Will Come After ’04 Season |
| • | Morning Briefs/In Other News/Laugh Track/TV Monitor/Final Jeopardy! |
RUSH LIMBAUGH SUBMITS RESIGNATION TO ESPN LATE LAST NIGHT
ESPN “Sunday NFL Countdown” commentator Rush Limbaughresigned late last night amid a firestorm of controversy following comments hemade Sunday that Eagles QB Donovan McNabb is overrated because of the league's and media’s desire for black QBs and coaches to succeed. Limbaugh released a statement that read inpart: “I love ‘Sunday NFL Countdown’ and do not want to be a distraction to thegreat work done by all who work on it. Therefore, I have decided to resign” (THE DAILY).
ESPN & ABC Sports President George Bodenheimerresponded, “We accept his resignation and regret the circumstances surroundingthis. We believe that he took theappropriate action to resolve this matter expeditiously” (ESPN).
NFL ExecVP/Communications & Public Affairs Joe Browne: “ESPN knew what itwas getting when they hired Rush Limbaugh. ESPN selects its on-airtalent, not the NFL” (Mult.,10/2).
For more onLimbaugh, see today’s issue of The Daily.
SIRIUS SATELLITE RADIO TO CARRY ABOUT 40 NHL GAMES PER WEEK
The WALL STREET JOURNAL reports that Sirius Satellite Radiotoday will announce an exclusive three-year deal to carry NHL games, “part of abroader effort to attract subscribers to its fledgling service using sports asthe lure.” Each week, Sirius “willcarry about 40 NHL games, and its coverage will continue throughout the league’sStanley Cup playoffs. Sirius and the NHLalso will produce a live daily talk show.” The deal also involves various cross-marketing efforts (WALLSTREET JOURNAL, 10/2).
NHL.com today beginshighlighting five NHL broadcasts daily from the archive of the Top 50 all-timegames that the league has donated to The Museum of Radio & Television (NHL).
F1 BOSSES TO DISCUSS MONTREAL GRAND PRIX TODAY INLONDON
The TORONTO SUN reports that Canada’s “last best hope of retaining its Formula One race in Montrealcomes today” when F1 team bosses meet in London “to discuss any changes on the2004 calendar as well as” look at rule changes for the racing circuit. However, Minardi team Owner Paul Stoddartsaid that his discussions with fellow team execs have led “him to the opinionthat the Montreal date won’t be re-instated” (TORONTOSUN, 10/2).
K.C. COUNCIL TO VOTE TODAY ON KEMPER ARENA MANAGEMENT
The K.C. STAR reports that the K.C. Council today will voteon an agreement “to placeKemper Arena and the rest of the American Royal complex under privatemanagement” of Global Spectrum. Councilmembers have “spent years debating the merits of private management.” Global Spectrum Senior VP Frank Russo:“We certainly hope the council approves this so we can get started.” The contract “would be for three years, withtwo one-year renewal options” (K.C.STAR, 10/2).
AMERICAN EXPRESS CHAMPIONSHIP BEGINS TODAY IN WOODSTOCK
The WGC American Express Championship begins today at theCapital City Club Crabapple in Woodstock, GA, and the ATLANTA CONSTITUTIONnotes that the event has a total purse of $6M with the winner receiving$1.08M. The venue “is only 15 months old and unknown to most people who will watchit on television this week” (ATLANTACONSTITUTION, 10/2). ESPNbegins coverage today at 2:00pm ET.
The WGC runs a full-page ad in USA Today featuring pastAmerican Express Championship winners Tiger Woods and Mike Weir,as well as ’03 WGC NEC Invitational winner Darren Clarke (THE DAILY).
TODAY THE DAILY GOES ONE-ON-ONE WITH…
Which sponsorship exec on occasion bikes from his suburbanNJ home to his Manhattan office, and this year witnessed an endorser win afirst major title at an event sponsored by his company? To find out, see today’s “SportsIndustrialists” section for “THE DAILY Goes One-On-One With…”
MORNING BRIEFS
The Toronto GLOBE & MAIL reports that the NHL and NHLPAyesterday met at the league’s Toronto office “for the first time since itbecame apparent there would be a labor-management showdown nextSeptember.” It is “evident thenegotiations have one gigantic hurdle to clear and that is the new [CBA’s]salary structure” (TorontoGLOBE & MAIL, 10/2).
MLBPA Exec Dir Donald Fehr said that a discussion onthe possibility of expanding the Division Series to a best-of-seven format“will be upcoming after next season” (PALMBEACH POST, 10/2).
USA TODAY reports that Eagle County Judge FrederickGannett will decide today on whether to keep Kobe Bryant’s October 9preliminary hearing open. The hearingis “largely a formality in which prosecutors present a simplified version oftheir case to try to prove that probable cause exists for a trial” (USATODAY, 10/2).
The WASHINGTON POST reports that the ACC yesterday agreed toa “two-year schedule plan for football,” as ACC athletic directors concludedtheir meetings at the Univ. of VA. ACCCommissioner John Swofford said that the meetings did not “address theprospects of adding a 12th team” (WASHINGTONPOST, 10/2).
The PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE reports that a subcommittee ofBig East officials and member school reps met yesterday and “finalized thedecision to stay together.” Theconference can now “focus on how many and which schools it will invite” to join(PITTSBURGHPOST-GAZETTE, 10/2).
CBS MARKETWATCH reported that Speedway Motorsports declareda cash dividend of $0.305 per share of common stock, “the second consecutiveyear that [the company] has paid a cash dividend to shareholders” (CBSMARKETWATCH, 10/1).
ATTENDANCE WATCH:
- The ATLANTA CONSTITUTION reports that a crowd of 52,743 attended last night’s Cubs-Braves NLDS Game Two, “the largest crowd ever for a postseason game at Turner Field” (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 10/2).
- The L.A. TIMES reports that a crowd of 50,606 attended last night’s Red Sox-A’s ALDS Game One at Network Associates Coliseum, which lasted 4 hours and 37 minutes (L.A. TIMES, 10/2).
- The S.F. CHRONICLE reports that a crowd of 43,766 attended yesterday’s Marlins-Giants NLDS Game Two at Pac Bell Park (S.F. CHRONICLE, 10/2).
- USA TODAY reports that a crowd of 25,103 attended last night’s Women’s World Cup quarterfinals doubleheader, featuring Sweden-Brazil and Norway-U.S., at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA (USA TODAY, 10/2).
A LIGHTER BUZZ
The L.A. TIMES reports that President Bush “showedthat he has a little knowledge of hockey when the Stanley Cup champion NewJersey Devils visited the White House on Tuesday. The president, up to speed on the name of the trophy,congratulated the Devils’ Pat Burns for winning the Jack Adams Award ascoach of the year. One problem,though. That award went to JacquesLemaire of the Minnesota Wild” (L.A.TIMES, 10/2).
THE BACK PAGES
The Morning Buzz offers today’s back page sportscovers from some of the nation’s major metropolitan tabloids:
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| Philadelphia Daily News | Philadelphia Daily News |
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| N.Y. Daily News | N.Y. Daily News |
TODAY’S EVENTS
The Packers will announce a sponsor for Lambeau Field’ssouthwest gate during a 10:00am CT news conference.
The NHL will conduct two media conference calls to previewthe upcoming season. The first at1:00pm ET with Penguins C & Owner Mario Lemieux, and the second at3:00pm ET with Commissioner Gary Bettman, Exec VP & Dir of HockeyOperations Colin Campbell and Dir of Officiating Andy Van Hellemond.
President Bush will host Royals CF Carlos Beltran andP Jose Lima at an afternoon White House reception as part of HispanicHeritage Month (K.C. STAR, 9/28). Rangers manager Buck Showalter, 1B Rafael Palmeiro and RF JuanGonzlaez will also be in attendance (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 9/27).
INOTHER NEWS….
The WASHINGTON POST reports that Jason Alexander willplay Washington Post columnist Tony Kornheiser in a CBS sitcom pilottitled “Shut Up and Listen,” which is“based on the columns he penned for The Post’s Style section about his homelife” (WASHINGTONPOST, 10/2).
The L.A. TIMES reports that overall video game sales“dropped 3.4% during the first eight months of this year compared with 2002,largely because of aggressive price cuts on consoles and games.” However, sales of individual games “were up5.7% in dollar terms and 18.5% in unit terms” (L.A.TIMES, 10/2).
The AP reports that Vulcan Ventures President WilliamSavoy, “the financial deal maker who helped build Paul Allen’s‘Wired World’ strategy, has left [the company] after 15 years.” Savoy will continue to work with the companyas a consultant, and will remain on Charter Communications’ BOD (AP, 10/2).
FINAL JEOPARDY!
Last night’s “Final Jeopardy!” category was “PhraseOrigins.”
“The sinking of the HMS Birkenhead in February 1852 gaverise to this gallant four-word naval tradition.”
LAUGH TRACK
THEMONOLOGUES:
CBS’ DavidLetterman: “Before we begin, Happy Humpday. ... You’re here on a greatnight. The entire balcony is filledwith exposed CIA agents. ... A guy goes into Popeyes Chicken, and he orders thedamn tasty chicken dinner and coming back with the dinner, all fried up withthe chicken is a mouse. But Popeyes isvery clever. They told the customer itwas part of a Disney promotion, and obviously the customer was not very brightbecause he then says, ‘Could I supersize this for a rat?’ ... Dick Cheneyis building a bomb shelter, and I was thinking to myself, ‘Well gosh, if theguy is serious about surviving, how about having a salad every now and then?’”("Late Show," CBS, 10/1).
NBC’sJay Leno: “I love the changing of the seasons in Los Angeles. You know, when the wildfires slowly turn tofloods, the dried brush turns to mud. ... President Bush wants $87[B] for Iraq,$20[B] of which he’s going to use to rebuild their roads, their railroadbridges and their public buildings. Isthere any way we can get California to declare war on the United States? ... AriannaHuffington has pulled out of the California gubernatorial race. That’s what California needs, anotherunemployed alien. ... After Lockheed Martin named its new ship the Seablade,the U.S. Navy complained because it said the name sounded too gay. ... Youknow, if this is a new trend in the military, getting rid of names that soundgay, I think the next one should be Fort Dix” ("Tonight Show,"NBC, 10/1).
LATENIGHT LAUGHS:
Last night’s Top Ten list was “Top Ten Questions Received ByThe Schwarzenegger For Governor Hotline” ("Late Show," CBS,10/1).
| 10) “What’s Arnold's poorly-worded plan to fix the economy?” |
| 9) “Why is Arnold campaigning in St. Louis?” |
| 8) “Will he govern shirtless?” |
| 7) “Is he going to take a leave of absence if he becomes pregnant again?” |
| 6) “Just to clarify – will he be back?” |
| 5) “When is this governor movie coming out?” |
| 4) “Did Arnold get the egg I tossed to him?” |
| 3) “Is this the Tom Arnold for Governor Hotline?” |
| 2) “Can you tell Mr. Schwarzenegger his steroid shipment has arrived?” |
| 1) “What time is tonight’s group sex fundraiser?” |
WEDNESDAY NIGHT’S TV MONITOR
| Net | Show | Lead | Next Items |
| ESPN2 | 11:00pm ET “SportsCenter” | Cubs-Braves | Marlins-Giants; Rush Limbaugh |
| FSN | “BDSSP” | Shaquille O’Neal | T’Wolves, Charities for Central Park |
| FSN | “Detroit Sports Report” | Red Wings G Curtis Joseph | Red Wings G Dominik Hasek; Lions-49ers |
| FSN | “Southwest Sports Report” | Cardinals-Cowboys | Texas A&M-Texas Tech; Marlins-Giants |
ESPN’s “Around The Horn” and “PTI” were pre-empted due toMLB playoffs coverage.
FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER
“What is ‘women and children first?’”
If you haveany questions, comments or suggestions, please let us know at:
dailyinsider@sportsbusinessdaily.com
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