| | The Daily Insider
Morning News & Headlines
Thursday, Febuary 5, 2004
9:00am ET | |
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| • | adidas Today To Launch $50M Ad Campaign Featuring Muhammad Ali, Others |
| • | RealNetworks Plans To Stop Providing Back-End Technology For MLB Web Site |
| • | Gossip Column Has Disney Gauging David Stern’s Interest In Replacing Eisner |
| • | NHL, Thrashers Today To Announce ‘05 All-Star Game Will Be Played In Atlanta |
| • | FX Greenlights Production, Orders Eight Hours Of “NASCAR: Drivers Unscripted” |
| • | Morning Briefs/In Other News/Laugh Track/TV Monitor/Final Jeopardy! |
ADIDAS TODAY TO LAUNCH “IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING” AD CAMPAIGN
By Terry Lefton,Editor-at-Large, The Sports Business Daily
adidas today launches what it is calling itsbiggest ad campaign ever, a $50M global effort featuring Muhammad Aliand a new tagline “Impossible Is Nothing.” The company begins the campaign in the U.S. with three ads, two of whichfeature the former heavyweight champ. The campaign will extend to more than 50 countries over the nextthree-and-a-half weeks. Other athletesin the campaign include NBAers Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and TracyMcGrady, soccer stars Zinedine Zidane and David Beckham,swimmer Ian Thorpe and sprinter Maurice Greene. Omnicom’s TBWA\Chiat\Day and 180, Amsterdam,jointly developed the campaign.
For more, seetoday’s issue of The Daily.
REALNETWORKS TO STOP PROVIDING MLB BACK-END TECHNOLOGY
The WALL STREET JOURNAL reports that RealNetworks “plans tostop providing the back-end technology for online audio and video content from[MLB],” and MLBAM CEO Bob Bowman said that an announcement about a newpartner could come as early as today. However, talks continue “on renewing RealNetwork’s deal to market anddistribute the content” (WALLSTREET JOURNAL, 2/5).
PAGE SIX HAS DISNEY EYEING DAVID STERN AS EISNER REPLACEMENT
The N.Y. POST’s “Page Six” reports that people “acting on behalf of several members of theDisney board have reached out to [NBA] Commissioner David Stern to seeif Stern would agree to take over if and when” Disney Chair & CEO MichaelEisner gets ousted. NBA SeniorVP/Communications Tim Andree, on the rumors of overtures to Stern: “It’ssimply not true” (N.Y.POST, 2/5).
NHL TO AWARD ’05 ALL-STAR GAME TO ATLANTA, PHILIPS ARENA
The ATLANTA CONSTITUTION reports that the NHL and the Thrashers today will announceat a Philips Arena news conference that the league has awarded its ‘05 All-StarGame to Atlanta. If a labor dispute“wipes out the 2005 game, Atlanta would get the ‘08 game as a makeup” (ATLANTACONSTITUTION, 2/5).
MORNING BRIEFS
DAILY VARIETY reports that FX has “greenlit production ordering eight hours” of a series, tentativelytitled “NASCAR: Drivers Unscripted,” which will explore what it takes to be acompetitor in racing. Participatingdrivers include Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick, JeremyMayfield, Jamie McMurray, Casey Mears, Tony Raines, BrianVickers, Kenny Wallace and Rusty Wallace (DAILYVARIETY, 2/5).
The L.A. TIMES reports that the NBA and broadcast partnerTNT are “considering implementing a delay system to avoid televising anyunexpected incidents” at the NBA All-Star Game on February 15 at StaplesCenter. The NBA “oversees the pregameand halftime shows through its production arm, NBA Entertainment” (L.A.TIMES, 2/5).
TheMinneapolis STAR TRIBUNE reports that the NHL and NHLPA “will not meet duringthe All-Star weekend in St. Paul to discuss a new [CBA].” The league and union last met October1. NHL Exec VP & CLO Bill Daly:“The focus this weekend – hopefully – will be all on the game. I do believe that probably serves bothsides” (MinneapolisSTAR TRIBUNE, 2/5).
The NHLyesterday announced that the NHL GamePucks Program will be extended to theAvalanche, Oilers, Kings, Rangers, Blues, Maple Leafs and Canucks for the’03-04 regular season. The pucks areavailable at nhlgamepucks.com (NHL).
The ST.PETERSBURG TIMES reports that the Lightning “reached a three-year agreementwith the Springfield Falcons to be its AHL affiliate, beginning nextseason.” The teams have scheduled a1:00pm ET news conference in Springfield, MA, to make the announcement (ST.PETERSBURG TIMES, 2/5). The Lightning hadpreviously shared the Falcons with the Coyotes (THE DAILY).
The MIAMI HERALD reports that Marlins President DavidSamson met briefly yesterday with Miami-Dade and Miami managers to “discussfinding a permanent home for the team.” City Manager Joe Arriola indicated that the club “only touched onthe subject of playing at a refurbished Orange Bowl in Little Havana, a plan hesaid the Marlins are ‘very much interested in’” (MIAMIHERALD, 2/5).
The PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS reports that the expansion AFLPhiladelphia Soul has sold 10,323 season tickets. About 300 tickets remain for Sunday’s opener against the NewOrleans VooDoo (PHILADELPHIADAILY NEWS, 2/5).
USA TODAY reports that ESPN college basketball analyst DickVitale said that information he learned from Bobby Knight “led himto phone in a report Tuesday to ESPN that the Texas Tech coach would besuspended for five days after a verbal confrontation Monday with Chancellor DavidSmith.” The school decided toreprimand Knight, but not suspend him (USATODAY, 2/5).
ESPN.comreported that WBC Heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis is “expected toannounce his retirement” tomorrow (ESPN.com, 2/4).
ATTENDANCEWATCH:
- The K.C. STAR reports that the MISL K.C. Comets hosted a crowd of 15,198 yesterday for their afternoon game against the Baltimore Blast. The crowd for the team’s annual School Day is an MISL high this season (K.C. STAR, 2/5).
A LIGHTER BUZZ
The TORONTO SUN reports that NBC’s “Late Night” host ConanO’Brien is “sporting a small welt on his face these days after beinginvolved in a recent skit with Maple Leafs pugilist Tie Domi.” A segment featuring O’Brien, Domi and MapleLeafs G Trevor Kidd was “taped last week at Lakeshore Lions Arena andwill air next week” on the Toronto-based episodes of the show broadcastingFebruary 10-13. Domi: “He’s got alittle scrape above his eye. I left alittle mark for him” (TORONTOSUN, 2/5).
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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| N.Y. Post | N.Y. Daily News |
| | |
| Philadelphia Daily News | Philadelphia Daily News |
TODAY’S EVENTS
AFL Commissioner David Baker will host a 1:00pm ETconference call to discuss the upcoming season, which begins with tonight’s SanJose SaberCats-Detroit Fury game.
TNT will host a 2:00pm ET conference call to discuss thenet’s coverage of NBA All-Star Weekend. TNT Senior VP/Coordinating Producer Jeff Behnke and “NBA on TNT”talent Marv Albert, Charles Barkley and Doug Collins areexpected to participate.
Detroit Super Bowl XL organizers will announce in a newsconference that a “multifaceted winter event” will be held in the days beforethe ‘06 game. Super Bowl XL Host CommitteeExec Dir Susan Sherer said it would serve as “the backdrop in ’06 … away to gather critical mass downtown” (AP, 1/31).
NHL VP/Special Events Frank Supovitz and formerNHLers Phil Housley and Reed Larson and will speak at a TwinCities Dunkers civic breakfast at the Minneapolis Club (ST. PAUL PIONEERPRESS, 2/2).
East Tennessee State Univ. will begin auctioning all new andused equipment from its football program, which was eliminated following the’03 season (AP,1/23).
The Economic Summit ’04 will be held from 10:00am-2:45pm PTat The Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills.
IN OTHER NEWS….
The L.A. TIMES reports that TiVo and Nielsen Media Researchhave partnered to “give the television industry its best look to date at theeffect of personal videorecorders on TV viewing. Nielsen plans to assemble a panel of thousands of volunteers whoown TiVo recorders.” The company will“collect extensive data on what the panel members watch, what they record andhow they manipulate the programming, then combine those results withdemographic information about the panelists” (L.A.TIMES, 2/5).
The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER notes that CBS and Grammy Awardsofficials “have decided to rescind [Janet Jackson’s] invitation topresent an award at the Grammys if the singer does not voluntarily withdrawfrom the appearance. There was talk ofdisinviting [Justin Timberlake] from his scheduled performance on theshow, but sources said no final decision has been made” (HOLLYWOODREPORTER, 2/5).
REUTERS notes that Anheuser-Busch yesterday reported anearnings increase of 9% in Q4 ’03 as it “increased prices and sold moreproducts like its Michelob Ultra low-carbohydrate beer.” A-B profit totaled $294M on sales of $3.72B,up from $269.2M on sales of $3.59B in the same period a year earlier (REUTERS, 2/5).
The N.Y. DAILY NEWS reports that former Minnesota Gov. JesseVentura is “one of six residentfellows picked to lead study groups at Harvard’s Kennedy School ofGovernment.” Ventura will teach aboutthird-party politics (N.Y.DAILY NEWS, 2/5).
FINAL JEOPARDY!
Last night’s “Final Jeopardy!” category was “TVPersonalities.”
“In 1994 his alma mater, Sam Houston State University namedits journalism & communications building in his honor.”
LAUGH TRACK
THEMONOLOGUES:
CBS’ DavidLetterman: “On the program this evening, I’m going to have a wardrobemalfunction. … People are still talking about that Super Bowl deal, thathalftime debacle. That poor JanetJackson. This guy, they don’t evenknow who he is, he jumps up on stage and yanks her thing off. … Immediatelyafter the Super Bowl, how many of you saw ‘Survivor?’ It was very exciting. Thewhole gang is back. They got the old guy. They got the fat naked guy. Theygot the ex-bartender. They got theformer Green Beret. Oh no, wait a minute, those are the Democratic candidatesfor President. … President Bush’s approval rating is down below50%. He’s going to have to let Saddamgo and catch him again. … Because of poor results in the primaries, Senator JoeLieberman is dropping out of the presidential race. Earlier today, he broke the news to hissupporter” (“Late Show,” CBS, 2/4).
NBC’sJay Leno: “Congratulations to Senator John Kerry, the big winnerin yesterday’s primary – won five out of seven. I just hope all these victories don’t give John Kerry a bighead. We’d hate to see that happen. …You know, I think he’s in trouble for the first time since his presidency. President Bush’s approval rating hasdropped below 50%. The last time Bushwas below 50% was when he got his report card from Yale. So it has been a while. … CBS announcedtoday they will be using a five minute tape delay when they televise theGrammys next week so they can stop any artist who tries to flash. This is just a booby trap. … And Dr. Philhas launched a new project, his teen weight-loss challenge. His goal is to do more for young overweightwomen than Bill Clinton” (“The Tonight Show,” NBC, 2/4).
LATENIGHT LAUGHS:
Lastnight’s Top Ten was “Top Ten Things Never Before Said by a Presidential Candidate,” readon-stage by Democratic candidate John Edwards (“Late Show,” CBS, 2/4).
| 10) “Vote for me or I’ll slash your tires.” |
| 9) “Forget universal health care – I’m buying every American an Xbox.” |
| 8) “In a crisis I ask myself, ‘What would Tony Danza do?’” |
| 7) “I’d give you my plan for economic recovery if I wasn’t rip stinkin’ drunk.” |
| 6) “If your last name begins with ‘M’ through ‘Z,’ sorry – your taxes are doubling.” |
| 5) “We’re gonna cut the deficit by selling North Dakota to Canada.” |
| 4) “I have tons of experience from being president of the Burt Reynolds fan club.” |
| 3) “Lady, that is one ugly baby.” |
| 2) “When I’m president, I’m putting Regis on Mt. Rushmore.” |
| 1) “Read my lips: no new wardrobe malfunctions.” |
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick appeared lastnight on CBS’ “Late Show,” and said of the Super Bowl halftime show: “We didn’tsee it. We were in the locker room sowe missed that. Nobody kept us abreastof that” (“Late Show,” CBS, 2/4).
CBS’ CraigKilborn: “Ladies and gentleman, Joe Lieberman has dropped out of the racefor president. You know, if Joe had raised just ten millionmore dollars, he could have gotten his ass kicked for two more months. Well, CBS, this network, which has the Grammys on Sunday, will not ban JanetJackson from the Grammy Awards. She cango, which is good for Janet because I believe she is up for best newnipple. And CBS is not taking any chances with Janet. To make sureno one touches her boob, they’re covering it with a LaToya CD. This year, the Grammys will feature Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake, Madonna,Britney Spears; can they just pixilate the whole show? Can they just dothat? ... I think you heard about this, they had to close the Senateoffice building after they found traces of the poison ricin, theyfound traces of that. You know, if you want to attack our Congressman,shouldn’t they dump the poison inside strip clubs, brothels and liquor stores?”("The Late Late Show," CBS, 2/4).
WEDNESDAY NIGHT’S TV MONITOR
| Net | Show | Lead | Next Items |
| ESPN | “Around The Horn” | Texas Tech coach Bobby Knight | Dan Marino resigns from Dolphins; Free agent P Greg Maddux |
| ESPN | “PTI” | Bobby Knight | Pacers-Knicks; Allen Iverson |
| ESPN | 10:30pm ET “SportsCenter” | Mavericks-Hornets | T’Wolves-Hawks; Lakers-Cavaliers |
| FSN | “BDSSP” | NBA All-Star teams | UCLA football coach Karl Dorrell; Bobby Knight |
FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER
“Who is Dan Rather?”
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