| | The Daily Insider
Morning News & Headlines
Thursday, March 18, 2004
9:00am ET | |
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| • | NCAA Men’s Basketball Tourney Tips Off Today With 16 Games At Four Sites |
| • | Oilers BOD Today To Consider Cutting Cost Of Season Tickets For ‘04-05 |
| • | Tuesday’s Bulls-Cavaliers Game Shatters Cavaliers’ Cable TV Ratings Record |
| • | ChampionsWorld Today To Announce Schedule For ‘04 Soccer Series In U.S. |
| • | Toronto Argonauts, York Univ. To Meet Today About New CFL Stadium |
| • | Morning Briefs/In Other News/Laugh Track/TV Monitor/Final Jeopardy! |
NCAA MEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNEY TIPS OFF TODAY WITH 16 GAMES
The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament tips off today with 16games played at four different sites. Of the 64 tournament teams remaining, 42 sport the Nike swoosh or BrandJordan logo, down from 49 the past two years. All four No. 1 seeds wear Nike shoes, the third consecutive year Nikecan make that claim. For the secondstraight year, 35 schools are outfitted in Nike uniforms. For the complete list of uniform and shoeproviders for each men’s team, please see today’s issue of The Daily.
The WALL STREET JOURNAL notes that the NCAA “pays for all ofthe travel by the 65 men’s teams and 64 women’s teams in its Division Itournaments. The total tab this yearwill come to about $10[M], in part because so many teams end up having to takechartered flights” (WALLSTREET JOURNAL, 3/18).
The N.Y. TIMES notes that TV ratings for the championshiphave dropped in the last decade. In‘94, 32.7 million viewers watched Arkansas defeat Duke, compared with 18.6million who tuned in last year for Syracuse’s victory over Kansas (N.Y.TIMES, 3/18).
But CBS SportsPresident Sean McManus said that the $389M the network is paying theNCAA in rights fees this year “is reachable.” McManus: “Our sales have been terrific, and if we get some breaks on theratings, we’ll meet our financial goals” (USATODAY, 3/16).
The MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL reports that the Big Ten“plans to talk to CBS about alternating the starting time” of the conference’schampionship game with that of the SEC. The starting time emerged as an issue when NCAA Tournament CommitteeChair Bob Bowlsby “acknowledged Sunday that the end of theWisconsin-Illinois game and the end of the Big 12 championship game betweenOklahoma State and Texas, both of which were played late in the afternoon, didnot factor in the final seedings” (MILWAUKEE JOURNALSENTINEL, 3/18).
OILERS BOD TODAY TO CONSIDER CUTTING COST OF SEASON TICKETS
The EDMONTON SUN reports that the Oilers BOD today willconsider cutting the cost ofseason-ticket packages for the ‘04-05 season. Pending approval, the Oilers are expected to “announce reductions inpackages that could be as high as five percent next week.” Oilers Chair Cal Nichols: “When wefirst started, we had an increase of 19[%] and another 19[%] and then a coupleof nines. You can’t keep that up.” Oilers President Patrick LaForge“confirmed cuts in ticket costs are in the works, but declined comment onspecifics” (EDMONTONSUN, 3/18).
CAVALIERS BREAK OWN CABLE RATING RECORD WITH 10.1 TUESDAY
The AKRON BEACONJOURNAL reports that Tuesday night’s Bulls-Cavaliers game “shattered the[Cavaliers’] cable television ratings record. The combination of growing interest from their winning streak, which hasnow grown to seven, plus the bad weather that kept many people indoors helpedthe game draw a 10.1 rating” on FSN Ohio. That figure “smashed the record of 6.7 set last November.” The season average on FSN Ohio is 4.7, up290% over ’02-03 (AKRONBEACON JOURNAL, 3/18).
CHAMPIONSWORLD TODAY TO ANNOUNCE SCHEDULE FOR ’04 SERIES
ChampionsWorld todaywill announce the schedule for its ‘04 series, and the N.Y. TIMES reported thatManchester United “will again have top billing for the nine-team,12-game” series. The series will begin July 24 with Chelsea-Celtic atSeahawks Stadium (N.Y.TIMES, 3/16).
In Newark, Frank Giase noted the breakdown of teams includesthree from the English Premier League, three from Italy’s Serie A and one eachfrom Portugal, Germany and Scotland (NewarkSTAR-LEDGER, 3/16).
ARGONAUTS TO MEET WITH YORK UNIV. TODAY ON NEW STADIUM
The TORONTO SUN reports that the CFL Toronto Argonauts andYork Univ. “will huddle today in ameeting that could be the first of many.” According to sources, York will “prevail as the site the Argos willchoose [for a new stadium], although the University of Toronto will factorheavily in the mix when a decision is announced within a month.” A source said that when Argonauts co-Owner DavidCynamon “explored buying the team well before he partnered with HowardSokolowski, he had done extensive research where a new stadium could workthe best and identified York” (TORONTOSUN, 3/18).
TODAY THE DAILY GOES ONE-ON-ONE WITH….
What longtime sportsjournalist says that Bill Russell was the greatest competitor he hasever seen, and would take a good, important baseball game over any othersporting event? To find out, pleasesee today’s issue of The Daily.
MORNING BRIEFS
The Toronto GLOBE & MAIL reports that Rogers Sportsnethas “emerged as the favorite to acquire” the Maple Leafs regional TV rightswhen the club’s current deal with TSN expires at the end of the season. If Sportsnet is successful, it will “ownregional TV rights to each of the six [NHL] clubs in Canada” (TorontoGLOBE & MAIL, 3/18).
NATO yesterday said that it will “respond positively toGreece’s request for help guarding the Athens Olympics, and was workingurgently on ways to provide air and sea patrols, and protection againstterrorist attacks” (REUTERS,3/17).
The AP reports that Dimitris Kalitsantzis, managingdir of the construction firm responsible for the Olympic stadium, said thatrenovations on the venue and completion of its new roof “will be finished byJuly 20.” Pre-Olympic test events andrehearsals for the opening ceremony “will take place with work crews still onthe site” (AP, 3/18).
The L.A. TIMES notes that Sibneft, the oil company“associated with Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, who wascriticized at home for buying the English Premier League club Chelsea, signed a$54[M] sponsorship deal with CSKA,” the Russian Premier League champion (L.A.TIMES, 3/18).
The DENVER POSTreports that the Champ Car World Series “bought the [Grand Prix of Denver] fromDover Motorsports in a deal that allows former prospective buyer CentrixFinancial to concentrate on serving as a title sponsor” (DENVERPOST, 3/18).
The AP reported that NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr.will compete in the July 18 American LeMans Series Infineon Grand Prix ofSonoma at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA. Earnhardt will “co-drive with veteran road racer Boris Said in aCorvette C5-R fielded by Corvette Racing” (AP, 3/17).
The DALLAS MORNING NEWS reports that seven female members ofBaylor Univ.’s crew club team Tuesday filed suit against the school in WacoDistrict Court alleging the university is “in violation of Title IX.” Specifically, the rowers “contend the schoolhas ignored their request for varsity intercollegiate status that would includeathletic scholarships and also failed to provide sufficient coaching orequipment” (DALLASMORNING NEWS, 3/18).
Pacers C Jermaine O’Neal, on one possible reason histeam shot six free throws in comparison to the Trail Blazers’ 25 during lastnight’s game: “I understand it’s on TV (ESPN) and TV needs to see a goodgame. That’s how I’ll take it.” The Pacers won the game 80-71 (INDIANAPOLISSTAR, 3/18).
Cuban baseballgoverning body INDER Deputy Dir Rodolfo Fuentes said that Cuba’snational baseball team would play the U.S. national team in a proposed WorldCup tournament, but Cuba “would demand the American pros be tested forperformance-enhancing drugs” (USA TODAY, 3/18).
ATTENDANCE WATCH:
- The N.Y. TIMES reports that Jay-Z and Spike Lee were among the celebrities in the crowd of 12,021 for last night’s PSAL championship at MSG, where high school phenom Sebastian Telfair led Lincoln High School to its third consecutive title (N.Y. TIMES, 3/18). ESPN.com reports that Telfiar, who has already met with adidas, was “sporting shiny adidas shoes for the game” with the insignia “S31T.” If Telfair should declare for the NBA Draft, agent Andy Miller “is in the lead” to represent him (ESPN.com, 3/18).
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 |
TODAY’S EVENTS
Nike will discuss its Q3 and FY ’04 earnings during a 5:00pmET conference call. The call will be Webcast.
IN OTHER NEWS….
The CHARLOTTE OBSERVER reports that shareholders yesterdayapproved Bank of America’s acquisition of FleetBoston Financial, “the last bighurdle before completing the $47[B] merger. At simultaneous meetings in Charlotte and Boston, just over two-thirdsof outstanding shares were cast in favor of the deal at each bank, exceedingthe majority required.” Withapproximately $1 trillion in assets, the merged financial services company willbe the “third largest in assets behind Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase, once it completesits Bank One acquisition” (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER,3/18).
The L.A. TIMES reports that Vivendi Universal has filed alawsuit claiming that InterActive Corp. Chair & CEO Barry Diller was“standing in the way of its plan to sell its movie studio, theme parks andcable TV channels to NBC.” Vivendi alsoclaims that Diller is “wielding his control over some of those assets to ‘gainleverage’ in a separate tax dispute with Vivendi” (L.A.TIMES, 3/18).
FINAL JEOPARDY!
Last night’s “Final Jeopardy!” category was “State Facts.”
“Among the inventions to come from this state are Bisquick,rollerblades and Post-It Notes.”
LAUGH TRACK
THEMONOLOGUES:
CBS’ DavidLetterman: “Happy St. Patrick's Day! ... I got up this morning and I saidthis year I’m going to go nuts, and I’m going to be like everybody else on St.Patrick’s Day. So I grabbed a bottle ofgreen beer and I just chugged it right down and then I realized, oh damn, it’sScope. Everybody in New York City is inthe St. Patrick’s Day spirit. Today asa matter of fact, Puff Daddy changed his name from P. Diddy toO’Diddy. Everybody is Irish. I saw a hooker in Times Square holding asign that read ‘Kiss me I’m $50.’ ... According to the legend of St. Patrick,he drove all the snakes out of Ireland and into law schools. ... Earlier today,baseball finally banned the steroid THG. No more. I just hope mom canstill get it for her special margaritas. ... Earlier in the month – JohnKerry is running for President – and he’s speaking somewhere and he’s got amicrophone on, and he doesn’t realize that the microphone has been turned on,so he says something embarrassing and he’s been trying to backpedal andexplain. As a result of that, hiscampaign has hired a guy whose sole job is to make sure John Kerry’s microphoneis turned off. It’s the same guy whoused to watch Clinton’s fly” ("Late Show," CBS, 3/17).
NBC’sJay Leno: “Today of course we celebrate St. Patrick’s. Tomorrow we celebrate Betty Ford’s. Today, President Bush celebrated St.Patrick’s Day by declaring war on Ireland. ... St. Patrick drove all the snakesout of Ireland and as you know, they all came here and passed the bar exam. ...John Kerry stands by his claim that certain foreign leaders have told him theyhope he wins and Bush fired back, ‘Oh yeah, well certain Supreme Court Justiceshave told me I’m gonna win.’ ... A man in France was arrested today for usinghis car to run down a pedestrian he thought was Osama Bin Laden. Even though it was a mistake, it still ranksas France’s biggest military victory ever. ... Mel Gibson is going to bestarring in ‘Lethal Weapon V.’ Thistime his partner: Jesus. ... Britney Spears is coming out with her ownline of cosmetics. She has somethingcalled the 55-hour mascara. It’s goodfor an entire marriage” ("The Tonight Show," NBC, 3/17).
LATENIGHT LAUGHS:
Last night’s Top Ten list was “Top Ten Questions To Ask YourselfBefore Buying A Shillelagh.” Ashillelagh is a traditional Irish walking stick that could have at one timebeen used as a weapon ("Late Show," CBS, 3/17).
| 10) “Do I need another shillelagh?” |
| 9) “Should I pay the extra ten dollars and get the Mach 3 Shillelagh?” |
| 8) “In case I need assistance, is there a shillelagh customer service hotline?” |
| 7) “Used shillelagh: unsanitary?” |
| 6) “What does the size of my shillelagh say about me?” |
| 5) “Where does John Kerry stand on shillelaghs?” |
| 4) “Should I hold off until the 2005 shillelaghs arrive?” |
| 3) “Should I just go to the yard and get a stick?” |
| 2) “Will I get a discount if my name is Shelly?” |
| 1) “Am I comfortable being known as ‘that jackass with the shillelagh?’” |
Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart: “St. Patrick’sDay! St. Patrick, of course, the patronsaint of fermented beverages. The city,as always, is celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with the St. Patrick’s Day parade,which for those of you who are uninitiated in the tradition, is basically asobriety test. What it is, it is alarge crowd of people and the St. Patrick’s Day parade says, ‘Let’s see if theycan walk a straight line down Fifth Avenue without hitting any of the curbs’”(“The Daily Show,” Comedy Central, 3/17).
CBS’ Craig Kilborn: “Happy St. Patrick’s Dayeverybody! Here’s a valuable St.Patty’s Day tip: If you’re going to make out with a girl, wait at least 30minutes after vomiting. … Speaking of St. Patty’s Day, maybe I’m paranoid, butI swear my girlfriend if sleeping with a leprechaun. I found a green hair on the toilet. … Well, John Kerry announcedhe’s taking a break from campaigning to spend five days unwinding at a SunValley mansion. I knew this guy hadwhat it takes to be President” (“The Late Late Show,” CBS, 3/17).
WEDNESDAY NIGHT’S TV MONITOR
| Net | Show | Lead | Next Items |
| ESPN | “Around The Horn” | Final Four predictions | Eagles; Possible Packer-Martelli interview |
| ESPN | “PTI” | NCAA Tournament – St. Louis region | East Rutherford region; Atlanta region |
| ESPN | 11:30pm ET “SportsCenter” | Hawks-Mavericks | Kings-Wizards; Lakers-Clippers |
| FSN | “BDSSP” | Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban fined $10,000 | Teams putting a “bounty” on a player; Univ. of Memphis |
| FSN | “Detroit Sports Report” | Nevada-Michigan State | Western Michigan-Vanderbilt; Michigan St. Univ. basketball |
| MSG | “SportsDesk” | Seton Hall-Arizona | Islanders-Panthers; Penguins-Devils |
FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER
“What is Minnesota?”
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