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Morning Buzz

Morning Buzz, May 24, 2004

The Daily Insider
Morning News & Headlines
Monday, May 24, 2004
9:00am ET

French Open Begins Today With Serena Williams Making A Fashion Statement

MLB Today Begins Final Phase Of ‘04 All-Star Game Balloting Program

Boston College Exit On The Agenda As Big East Begins Annual Meetings Today

Cowboys Ending Exclusive Component Of J.C. Penney Arrangement

Clemens Sells Out Great American Ball Park For First Time Since Opening Day

Morning Briefs/In Other News/Laugh Track/TV Monitor/Final Jeopardy!


SERENA HONORING MOULIN ROUGE AS FRENCH OPEN BEGINS TODAY

The French Open begins today at Roland Garros, and the APnoted that Serena Williams and Nike on Saturday debuted her “French OpenCollection,” featuring a “white leather motorcycle jacket with ‘Serena’ in goldacross the back, a hot pink minidress and matching sneakers.”  Williams, who called the outfit a “tributeto the Moulin Rouge,” said, “I don’t want to look mediocre” (AP,5/22).


MLB TODAY BEGINS FINAL PHASE OF ALL-STAR BALLOTINGPROGRAM

MLB today begins the Pepsi Retail All-Star BallotingProgram, the final phase of its All-Star Game balloting initiative, exclusivelyat more than 3,200 Wal-Mart stores nationwide. Pepsi and Wal-Mart will support balloting, which runs through June 21,with special signage and in-store video. Ameriquest in-stadium balloting began April 21.  The ’04 All-Star Game will be played July 13at Minute Maid Park in Houston (MLB).


BC ON THE AGENDA AS BIG EAST TODAY BEGINS ANNUALMEETINGS

The Big East today will begin its annual meetings in PonteVedra Beach, FL, and the BOSTON GLOBE reports that there is “still business todo” with Boston College, which will be a non-voting member this season as it“concludes what most people think will be the Eagles’ final year in aconference in which they were charter members. A potential lawsuit looms involving BC and the conference over the amountof the Eagles’ exit fee.  And there isthe hint that if things do not get resolved – the Big East wants at least $5[M]for a BC departure before the 2006 season – the league will keep the Eagles fortwo more seasons” (BOSTONGLOBE, 5/24).


KNIGHT COMMISSION TO DISCUSS FOOTBALL POSTSEASON TODAY

The INDIANAPOLIS STAR reports that the Knight Commissionwill gather in DC today to discuss “postseason football and the feasibility ofan antitrust exemption to allow the NCAA to cap coaches’ salaries.”  Speakers include Notre Dame football coach TyWillingham.  Though the commissiondoes not have any actual authority, it “has the ear of the NCAA and has always beencomposed mostly of college presidents” (INDIANAPOLISSTAR, 5/24).


MORNING BRIEFS

The DALLAS MORNING NEWS reports that the Cowboys and J.C.Penney are “ending an exclusive arrangement thatallowed the department store chain to sell the team’s apparel in Texas and fourneighboring states.”  While J.C. Penneyis expected to continue as the Cowboys’ official retailer, “other chains willbe able to stock Cowboy-sanctioned apparel in their states” (DALLASMORNING NEWS, 5/24).

The AP reported that a qualifying run by seven-time Indy 500starter Greg Ray “ended weeks of speculation that the 88thIndy 500 could be the first since 1947 with fewer than the traditional 33starters” (AP, 5/23).

Wheatiestoday announced that Andre Agassi will be featured on a box cover,available nationally beginning this week (Wheaties).

The Ft. Lauderdale SUN-SENTINEL reports that theNHL Panthers are expected to name WQAM-AM’s Steve Goldstein their radioplay-by-play broadcaster today.  Hereplaces Jiggs McDonald, who retired (Ft.Lauderdale SUN-SENTINEL, 5/24).

ATTENDANCE WATCH:

  • The DENVER POST reported that a “crowd of 31,441, more than doubling the Rapids’ total attendance for their other three home games of the season,” attended the MLS franchise’s Saturday night game against DC United and rookie F Freddy Adu (DENVER POST, 5/23).
  • The N.Y. POST reports that a crowd of 50,241 attended yesterday’s Yankees-Rangers game at Ameriquest Field in Arlington, where the three-game weekend series drew a franchise record 148,894.  Yesterday’s gathering was the “fifth largest in the ballpark’s history and the second biggest regular-season crowd” (N.Y. POST, 5/24).
  • The WASHINGTON TIMES notes that the Reds drew 41,890 for Astros P Roger Clemens’ start at Great American Ball Park Saturday night – their first sellout since Opening Day.  Also, Astros attendance at Minute Maid Park is “up nearly 9,000 a game from last season, and two of the club’s three sellouts this year have occurred” with Clemens on the mound (WASHINGTON TIMES, 5/24).
  • The PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER reported that close to 9,000 people attended Smarty Jones’ Saturday morning workout at Philadelphia Park, “double what the first one had drawn two weeks earlier” (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 5/23).
  • The ST. PETERSBURG TIMES reported that a “crowd of 22,117, the largest ever at the St. Pete Times Forum,” watched the Lightning advance to the Stanley Cup Finals with a 2-1 win over the Flyers (ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, 5/23).
  • The AP reported that Manchester United won the FA Cup Saturday, beating Millwall 3-0, in front of 71,350 at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales (AP, 5/23).
  • The L.A. TIMES reported that Maurice Greene ran the world’s fastest 100 meters this year, a wind-aided 9.86, in front of 11,266 at The Home Depot Invitational Saturday in Carson, CA (L.A. TIMES, 5/23).
  • The AP reported that WNBA Mercury G Diana Taurasi “drew a standing ovation during introductions from the sellout crowd of 9,341” at Mohegan Sun Arena Saturday afternoon against the Sun (AP, 5/22).
  • The BOSTON HERALD noted that a “couple hundred people – that is no exaggeration” – witnessed Red Sox CF Johnny Damon getting his beard shaved off Friday in Boston.  Gillette paid Damon $15,000, which he donated to the Boston Public Library’s Read Boston charity (BOSTON HERALD, 5/22).

A LIGHTER BUZZ

The ATLANTA CONSTITUTION reported that former Braves RF DaleMurphy, who was the guest TBS announcer for Friday night’s Dodgers-Bravesgame, “played Cupid for 23-year-old son Chad on national TV.  As the fourth inning began, [Murphy]proposed on behalf of the oldest of his eight children to girlfriend Cindy,22, as the young couple watched in Alpine, Utah.  A ring and red roses were waiting in the next room at Murphy’shouse.  A half inning later, a call cameback to mother Nancy Murphy in the TBS booth that Cindy had said yes” (ATLANTACONSTITUTION, 5/22).


WEEKEND RAP

The following are excerpts from the panelists’ “partingshots” on Sunday’s edition of ESPN’s “The Sports Reporters”:

  • Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan: "Riddick Bowe is out of jail ... and wants to fight again.  Hey, why not he figures?  Look at Evander Holyfield.  Well, Riddick, maybe you should take a look and a listen.  Is that what you want? ... He does not need to get whacked upside the head."
  • N.Y. Daily News columnist Mike Lupica: "The current NBA playoffs have been the best and most exciting in recent memory.  Once we got past the first round, which took longer than the Spanish-American War, it's been one great series after another. ... Except you won't be watching (Lakers-T'Wolves Game Two) on network television today the way you didn't watch Game Six of Lakers-Spurs series on network television last weekend.  David Stern sure got his money from enough television partners to form a conga line and you have to say he's doing better in that area than Gary Bettman. ... When you present your sport this way, don't tell me it's as big as you say it is or as big as you want it to be." 
  • Detroit Free Press columnist Mitch Albom, on D'Backs P Randy Johnson: "With his perfect game last week thrown at age 40-plus, Johnson gave all of us post-Generation X-ers a moment to feel like we're not ready for the scrap heap. ... A word here for you cocky young players:  Next time a 40-year-old shows up in spring training, you better not ask if he's there for the fantasy camp.  He might end up taking your spot in the rotation."
  • ESPN's John Saunders: "The Stanley Cup Finals start Tuesday.  It will be the best two weeks in team sports, so here are some reasons not to miss this series.  Intensity. ... Goaltending. ... Courage. ... Hand-eye coordination ... and character" ("The Sports Reporters," ESPN, 5/23). 

Heard elsewhere over the weekend:

  • Lupica, on Kelli White testifying about steroid use by other athletes: "The Olympics sometimes makes real professional sports look like church, but I didn't think it was going to turn into an episode of 'Law & Order,' where if you could get somebody to flip, you could take down half of the track and field team" ("The Sports Reporters," ESPN, 5/23).
  • NBC's Tom Hammond, on the steroid scandal involving U.S. track and field athletes: "The timing is now becoming crucial.  The track and field trials begin in less than seven weeks in Sacramento and if the case remains unresolved, the trials will at the very least be held under a troubling shadow of suspicion" ("Home Depot Invitational," NBC, 5/22).
  • Marion Jones: "I have always been drug-free.  I am drug-free now and will always be, and trust me if there had been a positive test of mine, the world would have already known about it" ("Home Depot Invitational," NBC, 5/22).
  • Former Giants WR and Naval Academy graduate Phil McConkey, on U.S. Navy Ensign Matt Foster trying to get out of his commitment to the U.S. Navy in order to play professional baseball: "I think his argument right now falls on some deaf ears.  I don't think he's going to get a lot of sympathy in the public" ("OTL," ESPN, 5/23).
  • Albom, on the lack of scoring in the NBA playoffs: "I don't think you're going to see nights of 120-118.  That's just not what this is, but that doesn't mean it's bad basketball.  It just means you have to adjust your expectations" ("The Sports Reporters," ESPN, 5/23).

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
Philadelphia Daily News

TODAY’S EVENTS

Representatives from nearly 100 of the countries participatingin the ’04 Olympics will gather in Athens this week for security briefings (AROUNDTHE RINGS, 5/21 issue).

Red Sox SS Nomar Garciaparra will host his annualcelebrity-bowling fundraiser, Nomar Bowl, at Town Line Ten Pin in Malden, MA,and the BOSTON HERALD notes that Ben Affleck and the Coors Light Twins,in addition to several athletes, are among those expected to attend (BOSTONHERALD, 5/24).

The Reds Community Fund will host a ladies-only luncheonentitled “Baseball 101” at 11:30am ET at Great American Ball Park.

The Phillies will begin hosting public tours of CitizensBank Park.

NYRA will place 2,500temporary seats for the June 5 Belmont Stakes on sale for $15 and $18.  A record crowd is anticipated, as undefeatedSmarty Jones will try to sweep the Triple Crown (NEWSDAY,5/24).

The NBDL will host a2:00pm ET press conference at Channel Mark Restaurant in Naples, FL, to announcethe addition of a team in TECO Arena starting this fall (Naples DAILY NEWS,5/24).

Big 12 officials begin their annual meetings in Albuquerque,and the K.C. STAR reported that two sports venue proposals – a downtown arenain K.C. and a Cowboys stadium in Dallas – may “cause the Big 12 to reduce thenumber of future sites it will award this year for its championship events inbasketball and football.”  Big 12Commissioner Kevin Weiberg: “This could lead our people down a path ofwanting to award events in a shorter time frame.”  The conference will “consider awarding sites out to the 2010-11season” (K.C. STAR,5/22).

Former WTIX-FM radio show host Gerry Vaillancourtwill return to the New Orleans airwaves as he debuts a three-hour weekday radioshow from 4:00-7:00pm CT on WODT-AM. The show is part of the Hornets’ new three-year broadcast deal withWODT.


THIS WEEK INSISTER PUBLICATION SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL…..

 This week’s cover story looks at how the NBA andNHL are hoping for increased promotion from their network partners, as sourcestalk of tension behind the scenes between ABC and the NBA, while the NHL looksto get a boost from NBC's popular primetime lineup in new broadcast deal.

Also in this week’s issue:

Profile of Ravens Owner Steve Bisciotti as he begins first NFL Owners Meetings.

Is Fox Sports looking to launch a college sports network?

In-Depth focus on Open-Wheel Racing.

One-On-One with Heinz President, Chair & CEO Bill Johnson.


EARNINGS ANNOUNCEMENTS

Below are this week’s confirmed earnings announcements forsports-business related companies (THE DAILY):

DATE TICKER COMPANY
QUARTER
5/25 TSA The Sports Authority
Q1 2005
5/26 DAKT Daktronics
Q4 2004

IN OTHER NEWS….

This week’s cover of TIME offers “D-Day … Why It Matters 60Years Later.”  Meanwhile, NEWSWEEK examines “BadIntel & Broken Trust: Ahmad Chalabi And The Road To War … Our ConMan In Iraq” (THE DAILY).

USA TODAY reports that McDonald’stoday will announce plans to “begin testing DVD rental kiosks at all 105 Denverstores.”  Smaller tests around DC andLas Vegas “had a huge response.  If thesummerlong Denver test is a hit, McDonald’s hopes to become the first fast-foodchain to rent top DVDs nationally.” The rental fee is $1 a day (USATODAY, 5/24).


FINAL JEOPARDY!

Friday's "Final Jeopardy!" category was"Exploration." 

"He wrote in his diary, 'The loss of pony transport inMarch 1911 obliged me to start later than I had intended.'" 


LAUGH TRACK

THEMONOLOGUES:

CBS' DavidLetterman: "I take mom with me to see 'Shrek 2,' and she's getting alittle dizzy, and we're watching 'Shrek 2,' and halfway through the movie, momturns to me and she says, 'David, where's Yoda?' ... On Wednesday, CBSannounced their brand new primetime fall schedule, and talk about being excitedand proud.  There's a new Friday nightshow on CBS called 'Dr. Vegas,' and it's about a house doctor at a hotelcasino, and in the first episode, he treats a gunshot wound and a burningsensation. ... It turns out that a half or a third of Americans when they'redriving in their cars stuck in traffic, fantasize about sex, and I was drivingto work this morning, and I'll be honest with you, the same thing happened tome.  I'm stuck in traffic, and I startedto think about sex, and the funny thing is out of habit, I then gave fiftybucks to the tollbooth guy" ("Late Show," CBS, 5/21).

NBC'sJay Leno: "This weekend is the official kick-off of promseason.  You know what that means?  So by next Valentine's Day, a lot of youpeople watching are going to become grandparents, so congratulations. ... PresidentBush once worked at Sears in the sporting goods department.  I believe he worked there for one four-yearterm. ... John Kerry met with Ralph Nader Wednesday in aclosed-door meeting.  It wasn't a secretmeeting, it was just so boring the press closed the door. ... John Kerry andRalph Nader together.  If they justcould have gotten Al Gore to show up, they would have had the lifelesswhite guy trifecta. ... The assistant coach on the University of Coloradofootball team reportedly arranged for hookers to have sex with players theywere trying to recruit.  What happenedto our values in this country?  In myday, you didn't pay hookers to have sex with football players.  That's what the cheerleaders are for" ("TheTonight Show," NBC, 5/21).

LATENIGHT LAUGHS:

Friday's Top Ten list was "Top Ten Thoughts That GoThrough My Mind At The Daytime Emmy Awards," read on-stage by Dr. Phil("Late Show," CBS, 5/21).

10) "It's an honor to be surrounded by so many talented people I've never heard of before." 

9) "If I play my cards right, I really think I have a shot with that Ellen Degeneres."

8) "Alex Trebek's always good about sneaking in booze." 

7) "On each ticket, there's a coupon for 50 cents off Taco Bell Nachos Grande." 

6) "Because deep down, I crave validation from others as a substitute for the affection that was denied me as a child – or some psycho babble like that." 

5) "Just can't get enough of Bob Barker's hilarious neutering stories." 

4) "Getting dressed up makes me feel...pretty." 

3) "As someone who studies bizarre behavior, hanging around soap opera actors is like being in a candy store." 

2) "I just love being on TV, dammit." 

1) "Me: three Emmy nominations.  Freud: zero Emmy nominations, know what I'm saying?"


SUNDAY NIGHT’S TV MONITOR

ESPN’s10:40pm ET 90-minuteedition of “SportsCenter” led with D'Backs-Marlins, highlighted byD'Backs P Randy Johnson's first start since his perfect game, followedby Rockies-Mets and Yankees-Rangers.  The first non-MLB report, at 17:01 into the broadcast, was a Pistons-PacersGame One recap and Game Two preview.


WEEKEND BOX OFFICE

The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER notes that DreamWorks’ “Shrek 2”earned a “stunningestimate of $104.3[M] in three days and a record shattering $125.3[M] since itsrelease Wednesday.”  The estimated totalfor the top 12 films this weekend was $158.7M, “up nearly 3% from thecomparable session a year ago, which was the weekend before the four-dayMemorial Day holiday, when it fell a week earlier than this year” (HOLLYWOODREPORTER, 5/24).

Title

Weekend

Cumulative

“Shrek 2”

$104.3M

$125.3M

“Troy”

$23.8M

$85.8M

“Van Helsing”

$10.1M

$100.2M

“Mean Girls”

$6.9M

$64.7M

“Man on Fire”

$3.5M

$69.3M

“Breakin’ All The Rules”

$2.8M

$9.0M

“13 Going on 30”

$2.5M

$52.1M

“New York Minute”

$1.2M

$12.5M

“Kill Bill Vol. 2”

$1.1M

$62.7M

“Super Size Me”

$953,455

$2.9M


FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER

"Who was Robert Scott?"


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

TheMorning Buzz provides an early update of the news and headlines each Mondaythrough Friday at approximately 9:00am ET. If you would like to sign up for ane-mail alert to the Morning Buzz, go to My Account and personalize your e-mail alert options.

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