Morning Buzz, May 4, 2004

BROOKLYN CITY COUNCIL TODAY TO CONDUCT NETS ARENA HEARING

The N.Y. POST reports that the Brooklyn City Council today will conduct a hearing on prospective Nets Owner Bruce Ratner’s $2.5B arena complex. The hearing comes a day after a Ratner-commissioned report by sports economist Andrew Zimbalist stated that the arena “would pump more than $800[M] into city and state coffers over the next 30 years.” While Zimbalist is “critical of using public money for arenas,” he said that this proposal is different because the “city and state will put up relatively little money, and moving the Nets to Brooklyn will capture millions of dollars in tax revenue collected by New Jersey” (N.Y. POST, 5/4).

TWINS-VIKINGS STADIUM BILL TO FACE CRITICAL VOTE TODAY

The Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE reports that the “complicated Twins-Vikings stadium bill, now pegged at a cost of up to $1.2[B], will face a critical vote today in the House Taxes Committee. The outcome in the 28-person committee is uncertain, but one experienced vote-counter on the committee predicted difficulty for the bill.” Even if the bill passes today, it “must stop at the equally rugged House Ways and Means Committee before it gets to the floor. It will get its first Senate hearing” tomorrow (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 5/4).

FORMULA ONE TO CONSIDER RULE CHANGES TODAY IN MONACO

The London TELEGRAPH reports that the “most powerful figures in Formula One assemble in Monaco today.” Topping the agenda is a “list of radical rule changes designed to cut the cost of competing in F1 and improve the spectacle by returning the drivers to the center of the enterprise, at the expense of technology.” There will also be changes made to the way the sport is regulated. The rules and their implementation “will be a matter only for F1’s governing body, the FIA. Should the FIA get their way, as expected, the changes will be ratified at the meeting of the World Council in June and imposed in 2006” (London TELEGRAPH, 5/4).

AFTER INKING ADIDAS DEAL, TELFAIR TO DECLARE FOR NBA DRAFT

ESPN.com reported that high school basketball player Sebastian Telfair today will announce his intention to enter the NBA Draft. Telfair, who signed with agent Andy Miller, has inked a multiyear deal with adidas “worth [$1-2M] annually, depending on his reaching incentives in his contract” (ESPN.com, 5/3).

MORNING BRIEFS

NFL Network will televise 54 games during the four-week preseason this year – all games other than the 11 televised nationally by ABC, CBS, ESPN and Fox (NFL Network).

MEDIAWEEK reports that NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman recently approached Fox Sports TV Group Chair David Hill to “gauge that network’s interest in bidding” for the league’s TV rights, but “Hill said he was not interested” (MEDIAWEEK, 5/3 issue).

The Bobcats officially joined the NBA upon final payment of their franchise fee yesterday (Bobcats).

The contract of Canucks President & GM Brian Burke will not be renewed. Burke, who first joined the Canucks in ’87 as VP & Dir of Hockey Operations, spent five years in the NHL front office (Mult., 5/3).

The ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH reports that Blues F Mike Danton will be arraigned today in East. St. Louis Federal Court before Judge Gerald Cohn at 1:00pm CT. Danton is charged with conspiring and using a telephone in interstate commerce to set up a murder for hire (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 5/4).

The DALLAS MORNING NEWS reports that Cotton Bowl officials believe the proposed Cowboys stadium in Fair Park “must be on the November ballot for the chance to hold” the BCS championship game. Cotton Bowl Stadium Committee Chair John Scovell: “We want to vote on this, we want to get this done” (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 5/4).

USA TODAY reports that former USOC Dir of Drug Control Wade Exum is “asking the 10^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reinstate his lawsuit” against the organization. Exum argues he was “denied promotions by a USOC hierarchy or white males because he is black” (USA TODAY, 5/4).

The Newark STAR-LEDGER reported that the second of “two crucial votes on the proposed” Devils arena in Newark will be held today (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 5/3).

ESPN.com notes that New South Wales (Australia) Premier Bob Carr is in negotiations with Athens officials over their “insistence on using Greek security staff throughout the [Olympic] torch’s world tour,” which is scheduled to make its first trip out of Greece when it arrives in Sydney June 4. Local laws prevent “non-Australians from working as police or security personnel” (ESPN.com, 5/4).

A record 8,726 golfers have entered the U.S. Open, besting the previous record of 8,468 set in ’02. Local qualifying begins May 12 (AP, 5/3).

The S.F. CHRONICLE notes that about 3,500 people gathered yesterday for the memorial service of Pat Tillman in San Jose’s Municipal Rose Garden (S.F. CHRONICLE, 5/4).

RadioShack has unveiled the “RadioShaq All-Star Getaway” sweepstakes, giving fans a chance to win a trip to the ’05 NBA All-Star Game in Denver, as well as the opportunity to meet Lakers C and RadioShack spokesperson Shaquille O’Neal. Customers who purchase $40 or more at RadioShack can enter the sweeps by mailing in their receipt with an entry form (RadioShack).

A LIGHTER BUZZ

The Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE notes that “marcfour444” posted a winning bid of $5,601.01 for one at-bat with the independent Northern League St. Paul Saints during a May 14 exhibition against the Sioux Falls Canaries at Midway Stadium. The ten-day eBay auction drew 73 bids (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 5/4).

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	Calgary Sun

TODAY’S EVENTS

Magna Entertainment Corp. will host its annual shareholder meeting at 4:00pm ET at the Design Exchange in Toronto, where the company will also announce its Q1 ’04 earnings.

The L.A. TIMES notes that the technical reports evaluating the five bids for the 2010 World Cup will be published on FIFA’s Web site at 10:00am PT, the “first time world soccer’s ruling body has released such details before the vote” is taken. FIFA’s Exec Committee will select the host May 15 from the following candidates: Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Africa and Tunisia (L.A. TIMES, 5/4).

ESPN is expected to announce the hiring of Rick Majerus as a college basketball analyst. It is anticipated that Majerus, on leave as Univ. of Utah men’s basketball coach, will be “involved in both studio work and game commentating” (L.A. TIMES, 5/4).

The Ft. Lauderdale City Commission will meet, and the MIAMI HERALD reports that the Orioles and Ft. Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle are “optimistic they can map out a deal today that would allow the team to continue spring training next year at Ft. Lauderdale Stadium, although it’s possible the stadium will close temporarily”(MIAMI HERALD, 5/4).

The INDIANAPOLIS STAR reports that a tryout for four female drivers will be held at Anderson Speedway in Anderson, SC. U.S. Auto Club car builder Bob East will “evaluate them and if he is convinced one shows promise, she’ll be given a second look the next week at Indianapolis Raceway Park” (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 4/23).

MLB.com will debut “The Show To Be Named Later” at 1:00pm ET, which will be “simulcast in video for broadband users and on MLB.com Radio for those with dialup or who just want to listen in.” The show, hosted by Billy Sample, will air Tuesdays and Thursdays (MLB.com, 5/3).

The Ft. Lauderdale SUN-SENTINEL reports that a contingent from Lauderhill, FL, will be one of 12 groups in Barbados bidding to become one of eight venues to host ’07 World Cup of Cricket qualifying matches (Ft. Lauderdale SUN-SENTINEL, 5/4).

IN OTHER NEWS….

The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER notes that a report issued yesterday by the Broadcast Cable Financial Management Association shows combined advertising for ABC, CBS and NBC was up 10.6% year-over-year in Q1, “driven by increases in a.m., primetime and late-night dollars.” Revenue for the three nets reached roughly $2.95B, up about $283M compared with the year ago period (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 5/4).

The PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER reports that at the National Cable & Telecommunications Association’s National Show yesterday, Comcast Chair & CEO Brian Roberts, Charter Communications Chair Paul Allen and Time Warner CEO Richard Parsons indicated that the government would be “overstepping its bounds if it interfered with the industry on issues such as pricing and decency in programming” (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 5/4).

FINAL JEOPARDY!

Last night’s “Final Jeopardy!” category was “The Western U.S.”

“Two popular places for swimming in this national park are in Firehole Canyon and at Boiling River.”

LAUGH TRACK

THE MONOLOGUES:

CBS’ David Letterman: “I got a little spring fever, and when you get the spring fever, you get loopy and you know what else? It’s prom season, and here’s the problem for me with prom season. It always brings back horrible memories of my prom. I had to take my cousin to the prom and I don’t know who was more embarrassed, me or him? ... The cab fares in New York City have gone up 26% today. There are good reasons for the taxicab increase. Number one, they’re going to have those GPS systems, so this will allow the cab driver to be sure to take the longest route from JFK. The other reason the cab fares went up, the cab drivers need a pay hike to cover their al Qaeda dues. ... (NBC’s ‘10.5’) depicts a massive earthquake – God forbid – in Los Angeles, and in one ugly scene, Saks Fifth Avenue is being looted by Winona Ryder” ("Late Show," CBS, 5/3).

NBC’s Jay Leno: “It was so hot yesterday, people were going to go see the Lakers just for the cold shooting. ... It was so hot, even Republicans were talking about global warming. ... It was so hot, Billy Joel missed the house and drove directly into the pool. ... Senator John Kerry was out riding his bicycle and fell off. Luckily, he landed on his wallet, so he was fine. ... John Kerry met at a Cleveland hotel with Al Gore. There’s an exciting weekend. Kerry and Gore in Cleveland! ... The porn shutdown continues here in California because of a health scare. In fact, the only people getting work in porn now are Iraqi prisoners of war. ... Tonight was the big finale of the NBC earthquake movie ‘10.5.’ Do you know why it’s called ‘10.5?’ Nobody with an IQ over 11 could watch this thing” ("The Tonight Show," NBC, 5/3).

LATE NIGHT LAUGHS:

The Maloof brothers, Gavin, Joe, George and Phil, appeared on CBS’ “The Late Late Show” with Craig Kilborn last night. Kilborn made light of the fact that during the Mavericks-Kings playoff series, Joe was caught taking Tums by TNT’s cameras. To which Joe responded, “They ought to give me an endorsement or something.” Kilborn: “Are they going to do something like that? Has someone called?” Joe: “No, they haven’t called, unfortunately. It was lucky. I started to get a little heartburn because the games were so close. They were really great for the NBA; very, very close games. Every time I took a Tums, we won. So I figured, ‘Well, I better just stay at it.’ So I bought the big bottle, then I bought a bigger bottle and it worked, so I’m going to keep taking them” ("The Late Late Show," CBS, 5/3).

MONDAY NIGHT’S TV MONITOR

FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER

“What is Yellowstone?”

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