Morning Buzz, April 1, 2004

CELTICS EXEC VP JOHN BRODY RETURNING TO HIS ROOTS AT MLB

By Terry Lefton,Editor-at-Large, The Sports Business Daily

Former MLB corporate sponsorship exec JohnBrody has rejoined baseball’s N.Y. headquarters as Senior VP/CorporateSales & Marketing some 18 months after he left the league to become CelticsExec VP/Marketing. The appointment,rumored for at least six months, gives MLB some sorely needed senior sponsorshipsales help.

Brody’s departure, followed last October bythe departure of former MLB VP/Corporate Sales & Marketing JustinJohnson to NASCAR, left MLB with scant sales help during the recentoffseason.

Brody will start his duties on Monday and becharged with sales and marketing, selling MLB Productions inventory, managingthe relationship with MLB rightsholders ESPN and Fox, and working as a liaisonwith teams on marketing and sponsorship matters.

For more on thisstory, see today’s issue of The Daily.

BANK OF AMERICA TODAY OFFICIALLY MERGES WITH FLEETBOSTON

The BOSTON HERALD notes that Bank of America today officially merges with New England’s largest bank,FleetBoston Financial. Bank officials,“other than rolling out some products offered exclusively by Bank of America,said yesterday that it will be ‘business as usual’ for most customers andminimally disruptive.” FleetCenter will“keep its name, at least for now. Noofficial decision on a new name had been made as of yesterday afternoon, thoughmany believe one may be in place by this July’s Democratic National Convention”at the arena (BOSTONHERALD, 4/1).

AND 1 TODAY TO UNVEIL MARBURY BILLBOARD OUTSIDE MSG

AND 1 today will unveil a billboard featuring Knicks G StephonMarbury for its “I Ball” campaign and the Starbury Mid – Marbury’ssignature shoe – outside MSG. AND 1 andAKA Advertising developed the 35’ x 29’ billboard with partner FootLocker. The billboard joins a nationalTV, print, online and in-store campaign (AND 1).

STATE REGENTS TO CONSIDER MEMPHIS HOOPS LEASE AT FEDEXFORUM

The Memphis COMMERCIAL APPEAL reported that the TennesseeBoard of Regents today during its quarterly meeting will consider approving thelease agreement for the Univ. of Memphis to play men’s basketball games atFedExForum. At issue are alcohol sales,which “wouldexpose the university to legal liability and require extra insurancecoverage.” The university is negotiatingwith the Grizzlies on who will pay for the additional insurance. Grizzlies Senior VP MikeGolub saidlast week that “without alcohol sales at the arena, ‘the deal is off’” (MemphisCOMMERCIAL APPEAL, 3/31).

Meanwhile, the Memphis COMMERCIAL APPEAL also reported thatthe Memphis & Shelby County Sports Authority “approved spending $350,000 tocomplete the Tigers’ locker room in the new arena, which opens next season” (MemphisCOMMERCIAL APPEAL, 3/31).

NIKE GOLF TO AUCTION REPLICAS OF MATCH-WORN TIGER HATS

Nike Golf’s new Ignite driver hits retail nationwide today,and Nike Golf and Tiger Woods will auction autographed replicas of theIgnite hats Woods will wear during The Masters. Woods will wear hats bearing the logo of Nike’s new driver forthe first and only time during the first major of the season. The eBay auction for the hats begins Friday,April 9. All proceeds will benefit theTiger Woods Foundation (Nike Golf).

APRIL FOOL’S: ASPEN DAILY NEWS WEB SITE OBVIOUSLY HACKED

The Aspen Daily News, which in October announced that itwould stop covering the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case, this morningappears the victim of a hacker. Thehomepage of the newspaper’s Web site features a doctored image of Bryantholding a bottle of champagne, while being flanked by a “couple of high schoolgirls.” The Web site features severalsatirical articles, including the top story, “Kobe Gets Off.” The lead to the story reads, “Prosecutorshave decided to abandon their sexual assault case against NBA star Kobe Bryant,citing conflicting media reports that left them confused about what actuallyhappened on the day in question” (THE DAILY).

TODAY THE DAILY GOES ONE-ON-ONE WITH….

Which industry exechas worked in the front office of four NBA teams, and has taken a turn behindthe plate in the Phillies organization? To find out, see today’s issue of The Daily.

MORNING BRIEFS

The MLB Cardinals late yesterday announced that PresidentBush will throw out the ceremonial first pitch at the club’s season-openeragainst the Brewers April 5 at Busch Stadium (Cardinals).

NFL Network’s Rich Eisen,speaking to NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue about his contractextension: “You’re going to take your salary in a pro-rated signing bonus,correct?” Tagliabue: “More or less,like Peyton Manning” (NFL Network, 3/31).

The WASHINGTON POST notes the Senate yesterday approvedlegislation that would “create a federal agency to oversee professionalboxing.” U.S. Sen. Harry Reid(D-NV): “This is a multimillion-dollar industry and it needs federal oversight”(WASHINGTONPOST, 4/1).

The AP reported that the House Judiciary Committee yesterdayapproved legislation banning over-the-counter sales of steroid precursors suchas andro. Similar legislation,sponsored by U.S. Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE), is pending in the Senate (AP, 3/31).

Fox Sports MLB play-by-play announcer Joe Buck, onthe start of the season: “Even with the whole steroid situation, I think we are beginning this seasonfrom a very positive jumping-off point. I’m very optimistic about the kind of viewership we’ll get thisyear. The more, the merrier. The star factor has certainly appeared to havegotten a bit brighter” (WASHINGTONTIMES, 4/1).

ATTENDANCE WATCH:

• The N.Y. DAILY NEWS reports that 14,040 people attended last night’s McDonald’s All-American Game at Ford Center in Oklahoma City (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 4/1).

• The L.A. TIMES reports that a sellout crowd of 27,000 attended last night’s Costa Rica-Mexico int’l soccer friendly at The Home Depot Center (L.A. TIMES, 4/1).

• The ST. PETERSBURG TIMES reports that nearly 2,000 people watched the Yankees-Devil Rays game yesterday morning at Tropicana Field, where they paid $10 for “a seat in front of a TV not so different from the sets they have at home” (ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, 4/1).

A LIGHTER BUZZ

NBC Sports’ Bob Costas, on the Athens Games beingbehind schedule on construction of several venues: “I’m going over in a coupleof weeks just to make sure that my broadcast location isn’t a bench next to asouvlaki stand” ("Dennis Miller," CNBC, 3/31).

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. Post

N.Y. Daily News

TODAY’S EVENTS

CBS Sports will host an 11:00am ET conference call todiscuss its coverage of this weekend’s Final Four. CBS Sports President Sean McManus and CBS Sports talent JimNantz, Billy Packer, Greg Gumbel, Clark Kellogg and SethDavis will participate.

Texas Motor Speedway will host Fandango as part of NASCARNextel Cup Series Samsung/RadioShack 500 race week. Fandango is a private event for season-ticket holders featuringNextel Cup drivers Michael Waltrip and Ken Schrader along withtheir “surprise guests” in a talk show format.

The Food LionAutoFair, which celebrates Hendrick Motorsports’ 20 years of racing, begins atLowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, NC.

IN OTHER NEWS….

The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER notes at yesterday’s NationalAssociation of Broadcasters Summit on Responsible Programming, FCC officialssaid that TV and radio broadcasters “should come up with their own set of newguidelines to avoid crossing the indecency line.” FCC Chair Michael Powell said that without some guidelinesit is an “arms race to attract viewers and, in some cases, by pushing theenvelope” (HOLLYWOODREPORTER, 4/1).

NEWSDAY reported that the Cablevision Chair Charles Dolanand CEO James Dolan “recently asked the [BOD] to ‘opt out’ of certainstandards that the [NYSE] adopted for its listed companies in the wake ofscandals in the corporate world. Theboard approved the request.” By optingout, Cablevision “does not have to obey NYSE standards that, among otherthings, require the majority of directors on a listed company’s board to be‘independent’ and all of the members of the compensation and nominatingcommittees to be independent” (NEWSDAY.com,3/31).

The N.Y. TIMES reports that French advertising conglomerateHavas today plans to announce a marketing services network called Euro RSCG4D. Havas hopes the network “willsimplify its business for clients by linking a wide array of agencies andservices that fall outside the realm of traditional advertising. Such activities, which generate more than 40percent of the revenue at Euro RSCG Worldwide, include digital marketing,database marketing, consulting, direct marketing, sales promotions, field marketing,measurement analysis and viral marketing” (N.Y.TIMES, 4/1).

FINAL JEOPARDY!

Last night’s “Final Jeopardy!” category was “HistoricNames.”

“As a teenager in 1653, he played the sun in a courtperformance of the ‘Ballet De La Nuit.’”

LAUGH TRACK

THEMONOLOGUES:

CBS’ DavidLetterman: “New York City cabs will soon be accepting credit cards. That’s great. Trip from the airport: $40. Tip: $8. Trapped in an airlesscontainer with a deranged lunatic: priceless. ... If you’re in a cab and youstart using your credit card, please be careful, and I’ll tell you what I’mtalking about. I received my MasterCardstatement earlier today, and apparently I made a $6,000 donation to theTaliban. ... People are absolutely insane about the price of gas. I was driving by a gas station earlier todayand I saw the attendant being bitch-slapped by Richard Simmons. ...Former Vice President Al Gore has purchased his own cable televisionchannel. He’s going to have the Al GoreTV network and he says it will be a lot like C-SPAN, but less exciting. ... TheStatue of Liberty, by the way, was closed for the last three years forstructural renovation. It will bereopened in the summer, finally, and that’s great because you probably knowthis, for the last three years tourists have had to climb Rosie O’Donnell”("Late Show," CBS, 3/31).

NBC’sJay Leno: “Price of gas in California is going crazy. In fact today, I did something smart. I bought a gallon as an investment. Give you an idea how expensive gasoline isout here, coming to work this morning there were actually people driving in thecarpool lane with more than one person in the car. ... Today, Senator JohnKerry had surgery on his shoulder. In fact, when he showed up, out of force of habit the doctor gave himanother Botox shot. ... Happy birthday to Al Gore. Al Gore is 57 years old today. Actually, he thought he was 57. After the recount, 56. ... A 92-year-old Massachusetts man is up for aheroism award after wrestling a suicidal man from the edge of a bridge. The guy was going to jump and he saved theman’s life. Of course, the bad news isnow the man is even more depressed because he was overpowered by a 92-year oldguy” ("The Tonight Show," NBC, 3/31).

LATENIGHT LAUGHS:

CBS’ Craig Kilborn: “Boy was it hot in L.A.today! So hot, I asked Richard Simmonsto bitch slap me for the breeze. … John Kerry is campaigning in Hollywood andhe’s waffling again. First he’s forsilicone, then he’s for saline, then silicone, then saline. It’s odd. … There are rumors that JohnKerry’s pick for the Vice President is Hillary Clinton. After all these years, Hillary may finallysee the inside of the Oval Office” (“The Late Late Show,” CBS, 3/31).

Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart: “I’m watching CNN todaybecause I don’t like to work. I like towatch the TV. And in Wisconsin therewas a missing woman and they found her. It’s a wonderful thing that they found this woman. Everybody may applaud. Now that’s news, baby. They found her, but then they didn’t moveon. They stayed there and just watchedthe police walking around and the police had a dog, I guess looking forsmells. So literally, I watched CNN foran hour – a dog just walked around. … You know the show ‘Cops?’ They edit that!” (“The Daily Show,”Comedy Central, 3/31).

WEDNESDAY NIGHT’S TV MONITOR

FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER

“Who was Louis XIV?”

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

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