Morning Buzz, March 10, 2004

TAGLIABUE, SELIG AMONG WITNESSES TODAY AT STEROID HEARING

U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) today will preside over a 10:00am ET Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation hearing, “Steroid Use in Professional & Amateur Sports,” where members will hear testimony on the drug-testing policies of both professional and amateur sports organizations and consider whether such policies effectively deter athletes from using performance-enhancing substances. The witness list includes MLBPA Exec Dir Donald Fehr, U.S. Anti-Doping Agency CEO Terry Madden, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue and NFLPA Exec Dir Gene Upshaw. C-SPAN3 will televise the hearing (U.S. Senate).

McCain, on what steps Congress will take if MLB owners and players do not agree to a stricter drug testing policy: “If they don’t do that, then we have to contemplate certain actions ... I don’t know exactly what they are” ("Good Morning America," ABC, 3/10).

Selig: “Baseball needs to have the same program at the major league level it has at the minor league level” (USA TODAY, 3/10).

U.S. Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE): “I would be less concerned about what professional athletes are doing to their bodies if their actions did not have such a profound effect on kids” (AP, 3/10).

BOB JOHNSON TODAY TO ANNOUNCE PLANS TO CREATE OWN RSN

Bobcats Owner Bob Johnson has scheduled a 10:00am ET press conference at the Hilton Towers Uptown in Charlotte to announce the creation of an RSN, and the CHARLOTTE BUSINESS JOURNAL reported that Time Warner Cable will carry the net in Charlotte. Johnson “hopes to enlist other cable carriers across the Carolinas.” The net will launch in time for the start of the ’04-05 NBA season (BIZJOURNALS.com, 3/9).

MAYOR BLOOMBERG TO UNVEIL FIVE OLYMPIC VILLAGE FINALISTS

The N.Y. DAILY NEWS reports that N.Y. Mayor Michael Bloomberg “plans today to unveil the five finalist designs for the $1.5[B] Olympic Village to be built in Long Island City, Queens. The finalists will be on display in Vanderbilt Hall at Grand Central Terminal through March 24. The public is requested to comment on the designs online at www.nyc2012.com. The winning design – to be located on 36 acres across the East River from the United Nations – will be announced in May” (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 3/10).

INDIVIDUAL TO PARTIALLY UNDERWRITE LAS VEGAS INVITATIONAL

The LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL reports that the Las Vegas Founders Club today will announce that the PGA Tour’s Las Vegas Invitational will take place as scheduled October 6-10. Founders Club President Gary Frey said that the tournament “will continue largely because a ‘semi-local woman’ he would not name committed to partially underwrite the event for three years. The woman’s husband, now deceased, had played in the pro-am event.” The tournament will retain the Las Vegas Invitational name (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 3/10).

BERTUZZI TO APPEAR TODAY AT TORONTO NHL OFFICE

The N.Y. TIMES notes that the NHL office in Toronto today will hold a hearing for Canucks RW Todd Bertuzzi, who has been suspended indefinitely for a “sucker punch and face-first slam” that left Avalanche F Steve Moore hospitalized with a broken neck, concussion and deep facial cuts. Additionally, the Vanoucer police are investigating the incident. Bertuzzi faces a possible assault charge (N.Y. TIMES, 3/10).

MLSE, UNIV. OF TORONTO OFFICIALS TO MEET TO TALK FINANCING

The TORONTO SUN reported that members of the Univ. of Toronto Governing Council today will meet with MLSE Chair Larry Tanenbaum, President Richard Peddie and CFO Ian Clark “to try to hammer out the final details” of how the university’s Varsity Stadium project will be structured. The university is “seeking [C$25M] in federal grants specifically designed to invest in communities across the country.” It is also “seeking annual financial support from the provincial government to service the debt for the 35-year investment period.” The deal will finance the building of two hockey facilities, a 25,000-seat outdoor stadium, an athletic complex and a shopping mall (TORONTO SUN, 3/9).

MORNING BRIEFS

The N.Y. DAILY NEWS reports that MLBPA Exec Dir Donald Fehr is “considering a three-year offer from the players worth about $2.5[M] per year.” Fehr, who currently makes over $1M per year, has served as Exec Dir since ’83 (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 3/10).

The SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER reports RealNetworks yesterday filed a lawsuit against MLB, alleging that the league “has breached its recent contract to Webcast baseball games in RealNetworks’ electronic format.” RealNetworks spokesperson Greg Chiemingo said that MLB started providing audio coverage of spring training games last Thursday, “using only the format” of Microsoft (SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, 3/10).

The WASHINGTON POST reports that DC United has been “approached about playing an exhibition game in Libya, the outcast Arab nation that has been making bold attempts to normalize relations” with the U.S. DC United Senior VP Stephen Zack: “It’s an interesting opportunity, but we need more information” (WASHINGTON POST, 3/10).

The NHL announced that its member clubs made 20 trades involving 32 players yesterday between 9:00am ET and the 3:00pm trade deadline (NHL).

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty has “postponed unveiling his plan for Twins and Vikings stadiums, which were to be announced today” (Minneapolis STAR-TRIBUNE, 3/10).

UConn men’s basketball coach Jim Calhoun appeared on last night’s edition of “The Charlie Rose Show,” where he said of recruiting, “We all sell TV. You hate to say that, but exposure is a big difference.” Calhoun, on the academic success of C Emeka Okafor: “We even say he could have gone to Duke” ("The Charlie Rose Show," 3/9).

The L.A. TIMES notes that as Viacom ran a text crawl across its telecasts over the weekend warning all customers that EchoStar Communications’ Dish Network subscribers could lose their programming. The crawl “included an EchoStar phone number viewers could call to complain. People who called the number heard a recording suggesting they call Viacom,” including the home phone of Viacom President Mel Karmazin. Sources said that Karmazin “received more than 1,000 calls before disconnecting the line. Viacom executives were furious” (L.A. TIMES, 3/10).

Viacom runs a full-page ad in USA Today with the header, “EchoStar/Dish Network Has Yanked Your Favorite Channels.” The ad features an image of Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob Squarepants” (THE DAILY).

ATTENDANCE WATCH:

• The L.A. TIMES reports that the Long Beach Jam defeated the K.C. Knights last night in the ABA championship game in front of 3,174 at The Pyramid in Long Beach. Jam F Dennis Rodman contributed 14 rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench (L.A. TIMES, 3/10).

A LIGHTER BUZZ

Texas Tech Univ. men’s basketball coach Bobby Knight was interviewed by anchor Dan Patrick on ESPN, where Knight discussed his endorsements. Knight was holding a bottle of flea and tick shampoo on camera while wearing a “Dan Patrick Show” sweatshirt. Knight, looking at the sweatshirt: “What the hell is this? How did this get on? … When has the ‘Dan Patrick Show’ gotten such great outside attention?” Patrick: “That could be guilt by association. I don’t know if I want you wearing that sweatshirt” (“SportsCenter,” ESPN, 3/9).

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

TODAY’S EVENTS

The USOC will host an 11:00am CT press conference at the ESPN Zone in Chicago to announce the return of the U.S. Olympic HOF Induction Ceremony.

Nearly 400 U.S. military and other personnel “will join 2,000 Greek officers in a security exercise – code-named ‘Hercules’ Shield’ – that will be carried out in Athens and other Greek cities hosting Olympic events” (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 3/10).

The WTA Tour Pacific Life Open main draw begins at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, CA, and the L.A. TIMES notes that the $2.1M, Tier I tournament is “without six of the top 10 ranked players in the world.” WTA Tour CEO Larry Scott said that he had not “detected any particular trend regarding the injuries and wasn’t hitting the panic button” (L.A. TIMES, 3/10).

USA TODAY notes that as Lance Armstrong is expected to announce his entry into the September 3-5 Pro Cycling Tour Rocky Mountain Classic in Vail, CO, his “newly bolstered U.S. racing schedule is looking a lot like a farewell tour.” Armstrong’s additional U.S. races, the April 20-25 Tour de Georgia and the September 12 T-Mobile Int’l in S.F., give him “as many as eight days of racing in the USA, a big jump from previous years” (USA TODAY, 3/10).

NASCAR driver John Andretti, joining with Citizens Flag Alliance, will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee in support of a Constitutional amendment to ban the physical desecration of the American Flag.

The CFL Winnipeg Blue Bombers will host a 10:00am CT press conference to make a major business announcement.

The ECHL Louisiana IceGators will host a 2:00pm CT news conference at the Cajundome Convention Center in Lafayette to discuss the future of the franchise.

IN OTHER NEWS….

The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER notes that Walt Disney President & COO Robert Iger “thinks a sweetened bid from Comcast is ‘an inevitability’ and believes that combining content and distribution is a ‘model that can work.’” Iger added that the model “is not a ‘slam-dunk’ as evidenced by the struggle of conglomerates like Time Warner.” Iger, on a second Comcast bid: “Our board, just like it did the first time, will take it seriously … and respond accordingly” (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 3/10).

USA TODAY reports that PepsiCo will “introduce a ‘mid-calorie’ version” of Pepsi, Pepsi Edge, to debut in the U.S. this summer. The new drink has 50% less sugar, carbohydrates and calories than regular Pepsi. Beverage Digest Editor John Sicher said that Pepsi Edge is the “biggest soft drink news in 30 years” (USA TODAY, 3/10).

FINAL JEOPARDY!

Last night’s “Final Jeopardy!” category was “Health & Medicine.”

“Named for the region in Uganda where it was discovered in 1937, it was first detected in the U.S. in 1999.”

LAUGH TRACK

THE MONOLOGUES:

NBC’s Jay Leno: “Thanks for coming out on such a hot day. ... It was so hot over at UCLA they were selling sweat glands half price. People were sweating like Martha Stewart when she heard the word strip-search. ... Today, Martha Stewart published her recipe for disaster. Mix one part arrogance with two parts incompetence, simmer in your own juices and then serve hot in the can. ... This sends an important message. If you’re a celebrity and you obtain illegal financial information and lie about it, you’ll be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. However, if you’re a celebrity and you murder your wife or shoot your date in the head, don’t worry about it! ... A California state Senator has proposed lowering the voting age to 14. Yeah, three words for people who think this is a good idea: Governor Jessica Simpson. ... The man who runs the cadaver program over there at UCLA has been arrested for allegedly stealing and selling human body parts. ... This is the biggest scandal involving organ swapping since the University of Colorado” ("The Tonight Show," NBC, 3/9).

LATE NIGHT LAUGHS:

Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart: “I wanted to tell you a little story about the business; give you a little insight into how the show is made. We had an opportunity to have on the program, on the 16^th of this month, Bishop Desmond Tutu, who as you know, won a Nobel Peace Prize. He was gonna come on the program. We were very excited. … Unfortunately, what we found out was on the 18^th, two days later, Bishop Desmond Tutu is scheduled to go on Chris Matthews’ show. … They won’t let Bishop Desmond Tutu be on our show first. I guess they’re playing, what’s the word I’m looking for, Hardball! So they’re literally telling Nobel Peace Prize winner Bishop Desmond Tutu, who is in New York for one day, you cannot go on ‘The Daily Show’ because on the 18^th, two days later, you have to come on MSNBC’s ‘Hardball.’ And as you know, that’s gonna drive big, big tune-in to that show because if there’s one thing I think we hear on the streets more than anything else it’s, ‘What up with Tutu? When you gonna be playin’ Tutu?’” (“The Daily Show,” Comedy Central, 3/9).

TUESDAY NIGHT’S TV MONITOR

FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER

“What is the West Nile Virus?”

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dailyinsider@sportsbusinessdaily.com

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