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Morning Buzz

Morning Buzz, November 3, 2003

The Daily Insider
Morning News & Headlines
Monday, November 3, 2003
9:00am ET

Attendance Is A Concern As Bank Of America WTA Championships Begin Today

NFL May Decide As Early As Today On Location Of Chargers’ Next Game

College Sports TV, CBS Sports To Announce NCAA Championships Deal Today

Native American Activists Today To Announce Appeal Of Redskins Decision

Deion Sanders Reportedly Interested In Returning To Falcons … As Head Coach

Morning Briefs/In Other News/Laugh Track/Weekend Rap/Weekend Box Office


WTA CHAMPIONSHIPS BEGIN TODAY WITHOUT WILLIAMS SISTERS

The Bank of America WTA Championships begin today at StaplesCenter in L.A., and the Ft. Lauderdale SUN-SENTINEL noted that the “biggest question is not who is going towin this $3[M] championship event but how many people are going to show up tosee it. … The tournament still has the No. 1 and No. 2 players in the world in KimClijsters and Justine Henin-Hardenne, but in a city with LosAngeles’ weather and range of things to do, this tournament is a hard sell” (Ft.Lauderdale SUN-SENTINEL, 11/2).

The L.A. TIMES reports that unlike last year, “when therewas no indication there was tennis being played at Staples, there will be anumber of cosmetic changes outside the building, including the creation of aTennis Village, adjacent to Chick Hearn Court. There also will be a 200-foot banner publicizing the event on the SouthHall of the L.A. Convention Center, facing the freeway” (L.A.TIMES, 11/3).


CHARGERS GROWING MORE HOPEFUL NEXT GAME WILL NOT BE MOVED

The ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS reported that the NFL may make adecision as early as today regarding next Sunday’s Vikings-Chargers game,scheduled to be played at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. Chargers officials “are growing more hopeful their [game] will not have to berelocated because of wildfires.” Thelikely relocation spot would be Tempe (ST. PAULPIONEER PRESS, 11/1).


CSTV TO BROADCAST NINE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS UNDER CBS DEAL

College Sports Television today will announce that it hasreached an agreement with CBS Sports to provide coverage of nine NCAAchampionships. As part of the deal,CSTV will present the first-ever live national coverage of the NCAAchampionships in women’s ice hockey (Div. I), men’s lacrosse (Div. II and III),women’s lacrosse (Div. I, II and III), field hockey (Div. I), men’s water polo(Div. I) and women’s water polo (Div. I) (CSTV).


BOBBY VALENTINE RETURNING TO JAPAN WITH THREE-YEAR DEAL

The AP reports that former Mets manager and ESPN baseballanalyst Bobby Valentine will return to Japan to manage the Lotte Marinesof the Pacific League. Japan’s Sports Nippon newspaperreported today that Valentine “will make an estimated $6.4[M] on the three-yearcontract with an option for two years.” Valentine also managed the Marines in ‘95 (AP, 11/3).


NATIVE AMERICAN ACTIVISTS TO APPEAL REDSKINS TRADEMARK WIN

The WASHINGTON POST reports that a group of Native Americanactivists today will discuss the appeal of their “U.S. district court defeat inthe 11-year legal battle with the Washington Redskinsover the trademarkfor the team name.” The group is also“changing their legal team for the appeal, hiring veteran Washington trademarklawyer Norm D. St. Landau.” Landau has been “teaching the Redskins case in his law school class atCornell Universityfor six years.” The appeal was filed Thursday (WASHINGTONPOST, 11/3).


MORNING BRIEFS

MLB runs a full-page ad in USA Today with a letter fromCommissioner Bud Selig under the “I Live For This” banner, that reads inpart: “[MLB] salutes all of the fans who stuck with their teams through goodtimes and bad, who lived and died with every pitch, who never lost faith duringa postseason that was one of the most suspenseful in the history of the game” (THEDAILY).

ESPN.com reported that CBS NFL analyst Deion Sanderswants to “sit down with [Falcons Owner Arthur] Blank soon todiscuss a return to the NFL. As theFalcons next head coach.” Sandersinsists that he “has been considering for some time the possibility of coachingthe team” (ESPN.com,11/1).

Yesterday’s Steelers-Seahawks game marked the 4,300thNFL broadcast on CBS since 1956 (CBS).

OMD Dir of Sports Marketing Tom McGovern, on the SuperBowl: “It hasn’t been impacted by theerosion of viewership and ratings that has affected the rest oftelevision. The ability to reach halfthe population at one time is still there” (N.Y. TIMES,11/3).

AEG Soccer Senior VP & Managing Dir Kevin Paynewas fined $1,000 for a verbal exchange with a U.S. Soccer official followingDC United’s 3-2 OT loss to the Crew October 19 (MLS).

The ARIZONA REPUBLIC reported that the Coyotes “are theleaders to host” the ’06 NHL All-Star Game, but it will not “become officialuntil the NHL first awards the 2005 game” (ARIZONA REPUBLIC,11/1).

The N.Y. DAILY NEWS reported that fighting “is upin the first few weeks of the [NHL] season, which may be a reflection of theincreased intradivisional play” (N.Y.DAILY NEWS, 11/2).

The N.Y. TIMES reports that Sean P. DiddyCombs crossed the finish line of the ING NYC Marathon in 4 hours 14 minutes54 seconds. Combs reportedly raised $2Mfor the Children’s Hope Foundation (N.Y.TIMES, 11/3).

The NBA Kings extended their consecutive sellout streak to181 games with Friday night’s sellout against the 76ers at ARCO Arena (“NBAon ESPN,” ESPN, 10/31).

ATTENDANCE WATCH:

  • The L.A. TIMES reported that a “disappointing crowd of 20,201” attended Saturday’s MLS Earthquakes-Galaxy Western Conference playoff game at The Home Depot Center. The Galaxy averaged a league-best 21,983 during the regular season (L.A. TIMES, 11/2).
  • The WASHINGTON POST reported that a crowd of 15,202 attended Saturday’s MLS Fire-DC United Eastern Conference playoff game at “eerily quiet RFK Stadium” (WASHINGTON POST, 11/2).
  • The ARIZONA REPUBLIC reported that a sellout crowd attended Saturday’s Lakers-Suns game at America West Arena, where Kobe Bryant made his season debut. Bryant was “greeted by a mixture of cheers and boos” (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 11/2).
  • The Portland OREGONIAN reported that a sellout crowd of 20,610 attended Saturday’s Cavaliers-Trail Blazers game (Portland OREGONIAN, 11/2).
  • The CHARLOTTE OBSERVER reported that “more than 4,500 fans” attended Saturday’s Bobcats FrenzyFest at the Charlotte Coliseum, which the franchise used to begin selling season tickets (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 11/2).
  • The ARIZONA REPUBLIC reports that a crowd of 23,531 attended yesterday’s Bengals-Cardinals game at Sun Devil Stadium (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 11/3).
  • The ORLANDO SENTINEL reports that a crowd of 84,411 attended Saturday’s Georgia-Florida football game, the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, the “second-largest crowd in Florida-Georgia history” (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 11/2).
  • PGA Tour Chrysler Championship Tournament Dir Gerald Goodman said that about 15,000 people attended Sunday’s final round at Westin Innsbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, FL, and that nearly 60,000 attended the tournament. Goodman had “hoped for attendance of at least 75,000 for the weeklong event” (TAMPA TRIBUNE, 11/3).
  • The Rochester DEMOCRAT & CHRONICLE reports that on Saturday, the AHL expansion Toronto Roadrunners “christened the refurbished [Ricoh Coliseum] at Exhibition Place against the Rochester Americans, and a sellout crowd of 9,500 packed the stands” (Rochester DEMOCRAT & CHRONICLE, 11/3).
  • The WASHINGTON POST reports that a crowd of about 7,000 attended Tony Hawk’s Boom Boom HuckJam at the MCI Center last night (WASHINGTON POST, 11/3).

WEEKEND RAP…

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

  • Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan, on the Red Sox firing manager Grady Little: “Only in Boston or New York can such a nice, upbeat season end in a bloodbath. Hope the new manager has the people skills of Joe Torre and the computer skills of Bill Gates, and don’t forget the extremely thick skin.”
  • N.Y. Daily News columnist Mike Lupica: “Steve Spurrier was given a long-term contract by Daniel Snyder, but Redskins fans know that long-term with Snyder generally means until his coffee cools down. It’s why you have to wonder whether Spurrier is going to get tired of pro football first or Snyder is going to get tired of him.”
  • K.C. Star columnist Jason Whitlock: “The 1972 Dolphins might be waiting for some time to uncork their celebratory champagne this season. Not only are Dick Vermeil’s Kansas City Chiefs a special team this season, they also have the perfect second-half schedule to make a run at Miami’s perfect season.”
  • ESPN’s John Saunders, on NFL parity: “Of the 14 games Sunday and Monday, only two feature teams where both have winning records, and that’s why there’s still hope for or dare I say, confidence, in Cincinnati. ... A win would mark their first three-game winning streak in four years. Marvin Lewis has Cincy a game out of first place, and he’s doing it with a can’t-miss Heisman Trophy winner on the bench” ("The Sports Reporters," ESPN, 11/2).

Heard elsewhere over the weekend:

  • ESPN’s Shelley Smith, on the feud between Lakers C Shaquille O’Neal and G Kobe Bryant: “It makes them look petty. It makes them both look spoiled and whiny, and that does effect a potential jury pool” ("OTL," ESPN, 11/2).
  • Fox Sports’ Jimmy Johnson: “These owners need to realize that there is only one voice for the team and that is the head coach" ("The NFL Today," CBS, 11/2).
  • 49ers WR Terrell Owens, on whether the NBA or NFL has better athletes: “Definitely NBA players, I just happened to be a guy that can play both” ("NBA on ESPN," ESPN, 10/31).
  • ESPN’s Trey Wingo, on Redskins Owner Daniel Snyder: “He one time told me he could buy and sell everyone in the league” ("NFL Live," ESPN, 10/31).
  • CBS football analyst Randy Cross, noting Fox’ ten-year anniversary promotions, said after a “CBS At 75” promo, “That kind of puts that other network’s ‘We’ve been around for ten years thing in perspective, doesn’t it?” (Raiders-Lions, CBS, 11/2).

THE BACK PAGES

The Morning Buzz offers today’s back page sportscovers 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 London GUARDIANreports that BSkyB is expected to choose its new CEO “amid warnings fromshareholder pressure groups that selecting front runner James Murdoch,the son of chairman Rupert Murdoch, will deepen the corporate governancerow engulfing the company.” The Murdochs and three other board members “may be excluded from votingon the successor to Tony Ball because of conflicts of interest” (LondonGUARDIAN, 11/3).

Former Tigers P DennyMcLain gets “his first chance at a radio comeback this morning at [6:00amET] when he becomes the latest blast from the past to host the morning show onWDTW-FM.” McLain, who recentlycompleted his probation period after serving a federal prison sentence, will hostthe show all week. McLain hosted a morningtalk show on WXYT-AM in the ‘80s (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 11/3).


THIS WEEK IN SISTER PUBLICATION SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL…

This week’s coverstory examines the minute-by-minute decision-making that went into the shift oflast Monday night’s Dolphins-Chargers game from San Diego to Tempe. 

Also in this week’sissue:

Battle over revenue disparity growing in NFL Trust talks.

MLB moving to tighten loan rules.

MLB and Japan’s Dentsu ink record six-year, $275M deal.

PGA Tour signs four-year deal with Lilly Icos.

Legal fees top $2M in four months for Big East schools.

ESPN goes back to basics in Magazine campaign.
Houston hosts gathering of local sports heavyweights.
One-on-One with NFL Network personality Rich Eisen.

For these storiesand more, see this week’s issue of SportsBusiness Journal.


EARNINGS ANNOUNCEMENTS

Below are thisweek’s confirmed earnings announcements for sports-business related companies (THEDAILY).

DATE

TICKER

COMPANY

QUARTER

11/4

GET

Gaylord Entertainment

Q3 2003

11/5

500340

adidas-Salomon

Q3 2003

11/5

FOX

Fox Entertainment Group

Q1 2004

11/6

CLI

Mack-Cali Realty Corporation

Q3 2003


IN OTHER NEWS….

This week’s cover of TIME offers “Crowe In Command,” a profileof Russell Crowe and the new film, “Master and Commanders.” Meanwhile, NEWSWEEK examines “God& Health … Is Religion Good Medicine?” (THEDAILY).

The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER notes that former 76ers President PatCroce will star in a new syndicated TV show called “Pat Croce: MovingIn.” Sony Pictures Television isdeveloping the show with producers Barry Josephson and Arthur Smith. In the show, Croce will be “helping familiesdeal with life issues and problems in a dynamic and inspiring manner” (HOLLYWOODREPORTER, 11/3).

REUTERS reports that Amazon.com is “enlisting the help of BruceSpringsteen, Michael J. Fox and R.E.M to promote its entertainmentproducts over the holiday shopping season,” marking the company’s “firstextensive promotion since January.” Over the next two months, “some 60 celebrities will promote exclusivecontent” at Amazon.com (REUTERS, 11/3).


FINAL JEOPARDY!

Friday’s “Final Jeopardy!” category was “19th CenturyNovels.”

“In Chapter 1 of this novel, we find ‘a vast ruined castle,from whose tall black windows came no ray of light.’”


LAUGH TRACK

THEMONOLOGUES:

NBC’sJay Leno: “Let me tell you something about Halloween. After the car tax, the recall, the quakesand the fires, Halloween is like the least scary day of the year in California.... I thought I saw two skeletons trick-or-treating. It turns out it was just Joan Rivers and her daughter, Melissa.... We had kids stopping by the office all day long and that was fun. This one kid kept fumbling his bag of candy,and I said, ‘Hey, who are you supposed to be,’ and he said, ‘The San DiegoChargers running back.’ ... You know why Michael Jackson lovesHalloween? Free delivery. Bring the kids right to the door. ... Lastnight was the start of sweeps, the big ratings period, and you can see thedifference. Did you watch local newslast night anywhere here in L.A.? Didyou notice they’re only covering fires that effected strip clubs and massageparlors?” ("Tonight Show," NBC, 10/31).


SUNDAY NIGHT’S TV MONITOR

ESPN’s 11:30pm ET 90-minute edition of“SportsCenter” led with Saints-Buccaneers, followed by Panthers-Texansand Redskins-Cowboys. The firstnon-NFL report, at 17:04 into the broadcast, was Warriors-Lakers. The first report on the ING NYC Marathonwas at 1:01:24.


WEEKEND BOX OFFICE

The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER notes that box office receipts onFriday “were down by some40%-plus, compared with the Friday a year earlier, when Halloween fell on aThursday. But even so, film grossesrecovered on Saturday for the most part, with the weekend total for the top 12films being down 9% from the comparable frame a year ago.” The projected total for all films thisweekend is “in the low- to mid-$100[M] area, down from last year’s $118.3[M]” (HOLLYWOODREPORTER, 11/3).

Title

Weekend

Cumulative

“Scary Movie 3”

$21.1M

$78.6M

“Brother Bear”

$18.5M

$18.9M

“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”

$10.9M

$66.1M

“Radio”

$10.2M

$26.8M

“Runaway Jury”

$6.9M

$33.7M

“Mystic River”

$6.3M

$33.6M

“Kill Bill Volume 1”

$4.7M

$61.0M

“School of Rock”

$4.4M

$69.2M

“Intolerable Cruelty”

$2.7M

$32.1M

“In The Cut”

$2.3M

$2.5M

The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER also notes that the national box office in October“crossed the $700[M] mark for the first time, reaching $719.2[M] – up 4% fromlast year’s $693.2[M], which was the record for the period” (HOLLYWOODREPORTER, 11/3).


FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER

“What is ‘Dracula?’”


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

The Morning Buzz provides an earlyupdate of the news and headlines each Monday through Friday at approximately9:00am ET. If you would like to sign up for an e-mail alert to the MorningBuzz, go to My Accountand personalize your e-mail alert options.

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