Morning Buzz, January 8, 2004

PGA TOUR SEASON OPENS TODAY WITH MERCEDES CHAMPIONSHIPS

The PGA Tour season opens today with the MercedesChampionships in Maui, and the L.A. TIMES noted that there is “about $260[M] inprize money up for grabs this year, and [the PGA Tour is] handing out $954,000this week to the winner in the 30-player field” (L.A.TIMES, 1/7). ESPN’s coveragebegins today at 7:00pm ET (THE DAILY).

The CHICAGO SUN-TIMES reports that one new addition is the USGA’s new “portable test for measuringspringlike effect in drivers,” which is available for the first time thisweek. Using the device is voluntary (CHICAGOSUN-TIMES, 1/8).

Mercedes runs a 3/4-page ad in USA Today promoting theevent, with the tagline, “The Mercedes Championships. One of our favorite driving courses” (THE DAILY).

The St. Paul, sponsor of the PGA Tour’s West Coast Swing,runs a 3/4-page ad in the Wall Street Journal promoting their sponsorship. The ad reads, “The first tee is inHawaii. The last hole is inArizona. No wonder this event takeseight weeks” (THE DAILY).

NFL NETWORK TODAY ANNOUNCES CARRIAGE DEAL WITH CHARTER

NFL Network and Charter Communications today announced acarriage agreement, under which Charter will begin a digital rollout of the netin February. Charter serves 6.4 millionhomes (NFL).

DAILY VARIETY reports that it is a five-year deal with a monthly license fee of $0.20 per subscriber (DAILYVARIETY, 1/8). The L.A. TIMES reportsthat of the 6.4 million households, 42% are equipped with digital systems. The net “will likely be placed on digitalbasic by most Charter systems” (L.A.TIMES, 1/8).

MLS EXPANSION PLANS TO BE DISCUSSED AT DELTA CENTER MEETING

MLS COO Mark Abbott and Hunt Sports Group President JohnWagner will discuss the league’s expansion plans at a Utah SportsCommission meeting at the Delta Center, and the SALT LAKE TRIBUNE reports thatSalt Lake City is “being considered as a possible expansion city for[MLS].” Utah Sports CommissionPresident Jeff Robbins: “It’s just an exploratory stage. But it’s nice to have made the cut for theexploratory stage”(SALT LAKETRIBUNE, 1/8).

JOE GIBBS TO BE INTRODUCED AS REDSKINS COACH TODAY AT 5:00pm ET

The WASHINGTON POST reports that Joe Gibbs today willbe introduced as the new Redskins coach during a 5:00pm ET newsconference. Gibbs “signed a five-yearcontract believed to be worth slightly more than $5[M] a year.” A source said that while Redskins Owner DanielSnyder and VP Vinny Cerrato “will continue to be involved, Gibbswill ‘set the complete direction of the team.’” As for Joe Gibbs Racing, Gibbs “will continue as CEO and his son,J.D., will continue to run the day-to-day operations” (WASHINGTONPOST, 1/8).

NFL CARDINALS LAUDED FOR MINORITY EFFORTS WITH GREEN HIRE

The ARIZONA REPUBLIC reports that former Vikings coach andESPN analyst Dennis Green was hired yesterday by the Cardinals as theteam’s new head coach and “will be introducedat a news conference Friday morning.” Green will receive a “four-year deal with a team option for a fifthyear” at an average of $2.5M per year. Green’s hiring makes the Cardinals “one of the most progressivefranchises in the NFL when it comes to minority hiring. It’s believed to be the first NFL team tohave African-Americans as head coach and as head of football operations [RodGraves]” (ARIZONAREPUBLIC, 1/8).

AMERICAN FOOTBALL COACHES ASSOCIATION CONVENTION CONTINUES

The American Football Coaches Association continues itsannual convention today in Orlando, and the ORLANDO SENTINEL reports that oneof the “more interesting developments was the unanimous rejection of a playoffsystem or adding a ‘plus one’ game to the bowls to resolve split nationalchampionships” (ORLANDOSENTINEL, 1/8). The AFCA is“expected to request the addition of a fifth BCS game, one that would have theoption of inviting a team that doesn’t play in one of the six BCS conferences”(AP, 1/7).

PETE ROSE’S “MY PRISON WITHOUT BARS” TO BE RELEASED TODAY

Rodale Press today will release Pete Rose’s “MyPrison Without Bars.” The book has beenheavily promoted, earning a Sports Illustrated cover and an ABC interview,which will air tonight on “Primetime Live.” The PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER reported that Rodale Press, which “estimatedsales last year at $500[M],” ordered a “mammoth first printing of 500,000” (PHILADELPHIAINQUIRER, 1/7).

Rodale Press CEO & President Steven Murphyappeared on last night’s edition of CNBC’s “Bullseye,” and said, “We’re goingto blow past 500,000.” Murphycontinued, “The real marketing for this book … will come in the next two orthree months. But I’d like to see thatnumber almost doubled” (“Bullseye,” CNBC, 1/7).

The L.A. TIMES reports that an informal survey of 159National Baseball HOF voters conducted by the L.A. Times and eight otherTribune Co. newspapers “indicates that Rose faces an uphill battle,” with 72saying that they would vote for Rose if he were reinstated by MLB and 76 sayingthat they would vote against him. Eleven voters were undecided (L.A.TIMES, 1/8).

MORNING BRIEFS

The WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL reports that there is a “growingdispleasure in the garage over NASCAR’s proposed new points system, with only ahandful of people supporting it” (WINSTON-SALEMJOURNAL, 1/8).

DAILY VARIETY reports that Producer Michael Weismanhas been “released from his commitments from both [NBC and Fox Sports] for theAthens Olympics and the World Series,” as he has been tapped as Exec Producerof NBC Enterprises’ “The Jane Pauley Show” (DAILYVARIETY, 1/8).

The Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE reports that St. Paul CityCouncil members yesterday “vented their frustration at Mayor Randy Kelly… for not sharing details of his proposal for a Twins ballpark, but they putoff taking a vote on a downtown stadium resolution for at least a week” (Minneapolis STARTRIBUNE, 1/8).

ESPN announced that its coverage of NCAA basketball throughJanuary 4 is averaging 875,000 HHs, a 27% increase over the 691,000 HHsaveraged during last season’s telecasts through the same date. The telecasts are averaging a 1.0 Nielsenrating, a 25% increase over the 0.8 averaged through the same date last season(ESPN).

ATTENDANCE WATCH:

• The L.A. TIMES reports that there “were some people wearing [Kobe] Bryant’s Laker jersey” among the Pepsi Center record crowd of 19,739 that attended last night’s Lakers-Nuggets game, Bryant’s first game in Denver since being charged with sexual assault on an Eagle County, CO, woman (L.A. TIMES, 1/8). The L.A. TIMES notes that Bryant “hadn’t been booed like this perhaps since” the ‘02 All-Star Game in Philadelphia (L.A. TIMES, 1/8).

• The Daytona Beach NEWS-JOURNAL reports that a crowd of 4,639 attended last night’s inaugural NASCAR Nextel Cup FanFest at Daytona Int’l Speedway (Daytona Beach NEWS-JOURNAL, 1/8).

A LIGHTER BUZZ

Actress Chloe Sevigny, after attending the EricLindros Celebrity Mini-Golf Classic at MSG, said of hockey players, “Ithought they would be bigger. It’s notlike when you go to a Knicks function” (N.Y. TIMES, 1/8).

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 International Sport Summit 2004 begins today at theMarriott Marquis in N.Y. Keynote topicsfor the two-day event include an examination of NFL marketing, the status ofsoccer in America following the Women’s World Cup and upcoming Olympics inTorino, Beijing and Vancouver. View theentire agenda.

The Meadowlands Commission will host a meeting where the BODis “expected to approve the master plan – the agency’s road map for what shouldbe built and preserved in the district – as well as accompanying regulationsand zoning changes. The [BOD] is alsoexpected to introduce a $3[B] transportation plan” (BergenRECORD, 1/7).

The AFL Georgia Force will hold an 11:00am ET newsconference to announce that outgoing Univ. of Georgia AD Vince Dooley“will create and lead an advisory board for the Force.” Dooley will begin immediately whilecontinuing to serve as UGA AD through June (ATLANTACONSTITUTION, 1/8).

Miami City Manager Joe Arriola will make apresentation on a proposal to the Marlins and Miami-Dade County officials abouta plan to “revamp the Orange Bowl for professional baseball” at the Stephen P.Clark Government Center in Miami (MIAMIHERALD, 12/25).

Rainbow/Push Coalition’s Rainbow Sports will host a 3:00pmET call to discuss its January conference, which is scheduled to be a taskforce meeting consisting of updates on diversity efforts from the major sportsleagues.

The HOUSTON CHRONICLE reported that Fairfax, VA-based KenBarlow Cleaning Systems today will begin to clean Minute Maid Park’s whiteplastic roof, where mold has been spotted (HOUSTONCHRONICLE, 1/7).

IN OTHER NEWS….

The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER notes that Viacom and DirecTVyesterday announced a “comprehensive agreement … for the continued carriage ofViacom broadcast and cable channels,” including MTV, MTV 2, Nickelodeon, SpikeTV and Comedy Central. The deal also“provides for CBS and UPN analog broadcasts, high-definition broadcasts of CBS’coverage of the Super Bowl and broadcasts of the network’s lineup ofhigh-definition TV offerings in owned-and-operated markets” (HOLLYWOODREPORTER, 1/8).

BLOOMBERG NEWS reports that XM Satellite Radio ended ’03with 1.36 million subscribers, while Sirius Satellite Radio “added more than100,000 subscribers in the December quarter” to end the year with 261,061. Sirius’ number is “well short of the 2million it has said it will need by next year to generate enough revenue to payfor its operations” (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 1/8).

The WASHINGTON POST reports that USA Today correspondent JackKelley yesterday resigned “after the paper’s top editors questioned whethersome of his stories were fabricated.” Kelley has been “under scrutiny since June, when an anonymous letteraccused him of falsifying stories.” Despite resigning, Kelley “insistedyesterday that he had done nothing wrong” (WASHINGTONPOST, 1/8).

FINAL JEOPARDY!

Last night’s “Final Jeopardy!” category was “Sports &Business.”

“The watch Timex introduced in 1986 for this event in Hawaiiquickly became the best-selling watch in America.”

LAUGH TRACK

THEMONOLOGUES:

CBS' DavidLetterman: "Britney Spears goes to Las Vegas and she's marriedfor like a half an hour. It'sunbelievable. On Sunday, they gotmarried and on Monday it was annulled. Listen to this, the marriage was so brief, they didn't even have time tofinish editing the sex video. ... They say Britney Spears is drinking too muchand making a lot of bad choices and I'm thinking, 'Well, maybe I got a shot atgetting her pregnant.' ... As you know, Pete Rose was banned frombaseball for life. In fact, he's noteven allowed to have himself frozen. ... Yesterday in California, Governor ArnoldSchwarzenegger gave his first state of the state speech and earlier todayit was rebroadcast in English. It was avery successful speech. It wasinterrupted 27 times by applause and three times to apply body oil. ... TheMars Rover landed on Mars and it's up there now working and the big questionis, 'How can Halliburton make money out of this?'" ("LateShow," CBS, 1/7).

LATENIGHT LAUGHS:

Last night's Top Ten list was "Top Ten Things I'd LikeTo Get Off My Chest Now That I'm In The Hall Of Fame." The list was read on-stage by ‘04 NationalBaseball HOF inductees Paul Molitor and Dennis Eckersley ("LateShow," CBS, 1/7).

Last night's edition of CBS' "Late Show" featured"Dave's Mailbag" where a letter asked whether CBS' David Lettermanhad "read any good books lately?" Letterman said he was listening to Pete Rose's new book, "MyPrison Without Bars," on tape and he played a portion of the tape. Voice on tape portraying Pete Rose:"I'm very sorry I bet on baseball and I'm even more sorry I bet 50,000(expletive) dollars on the Mets. TheMets are piss poor. Kids, if you'relistening, take it from Pete, stay away from those bastards" ("LateShow," CBS, 1/7).

WEDNESDAY NIGHT’S TV MONITOR

FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER

“What is the Ironman Triathalon?”

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

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