Morning Buzz, June 25, 2004

AFL BOARD TO DISCUSS EXPANSION, NEUTRAL SITE FOR TITLE GAME

The LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL reports that the AFL BOD today will meet to discuss “playing its championship at a neutral site, possibly Las Vegas.” Other items on the agenda are expansion, next season’s schedule and the playoff format. There is “no guarantee any decisions will be made.” AFL Commissioner David Baker, on playing the title game at a neutral site: “A lot of entertainers want to come, but it’s tough to get them to come if they don’t know until five or six days ahead.” Baker “eventually would like the 19-team AFL to reach about 30” (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 6/25).

SEVEN CITIES EXPECTED TO VIE FOR ACC FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Proposals to host the ’05 and ’06 ACC football championship are due today, and the GREENSBORO NEWS & RECORD reports that seven cities – Baltimore, DC, Charlotte, Orlando, Jacksonville, Miami and Tampa – are expected to file the necessary paperwork. Jacksonville “is a lock” for the ’05 game, and “perhaps the next few thereafter” (Greensboro NEWS & RECORD, 6/25).

The ORLANDO SENTINEL reports that the bids will not include sponsorships, as the conference will “provide a title sponsor and other sponsors for the game.” The ACC also wants “control over non-permanent advertising in the stadium,” and has asked for proposals to “include signed contracts for any relevant guarantees, such as hotels and transportation” (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 6/25).

HENRY THOMAS LANDS TWO TOP-FIVE PICKS IN ’04 NBA DRAFT

Today, The Daily presents the first installment of our annual NBA Draft agent chart. The representation of the top five selections in last night’s draft is as follows:

The Bobcats run a half-page ad in the Charlotte Observer with a picture of Emeka Okafor behind a rendering of the team’s new uptown arena. The ad features the header, “Emeka Okafor is The Pick” (THE DAILY).

Please see today’s issue of The Daily for the representation of all 29 first-round picks, as well as additional draft coverage.

ST. PETERSBURG HONORING DEVIL RAYS’ SUCCESS WITH RALLY

The TAMPA TRIBUNE reports that St. Petersburg today will host a rally at BayWalk for the Devil Rays, as the team returns from a nine-game road trip during which the team concluded a 12-game winning streak. The club expects a crowd of 20,000 for tonight’s game against the Marlins. A Marlins-Devil Rays game usually draws about 11,000 (TAMPA TRIBUNE, 6/25).

The ST. PETERSBURG TIMES reports that fans bringing a can of fish to the game can buy an upper-level seat, normally $7-20, for $5. The fish will benefit Metropolitan Ministries (ST. PETE TIMES, 6/25).

TAGLIABUE TO SPEAK AT USA FOOTBALL’S HUDDLE 2004 CONFERENCE

USA Football today will kickoff “Huddle 2004: The National Conference on Youth & Amateur Football” at the Cincinnati Marriott in Covington, KY. NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, Bengals President Mike Brown and USA Football Chair Jack Kemp will make presentations prior to the panel discussion, “State of Football in America,” moderated by Bengals radio analyst Dave Lapham. Panelists include NFLPA Assistant Exec Dir Doug Allen, National Football Foundation President Bob Casciola, and NFL Youth Football Senior Dir Cedric Jones (USA Football).

MORNING BRIEFS

The INDIANAPOLIS STAR reports that IRL team owner Roger Penske “discussed a possible unification of open-wheel racing this week” with Champ Car World Series owners, but IRL President Tony George was not involved (INDY STAR, 6/25).

The Jazz last night at their draft party unveiled a new logo and new uniforms. The team “kept the purple, but replaced the green and gold in favor of two shades of blue.” The lighter of the blues will be known as Jazz blue, while the darker will be called Utah blue (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 6/25).

Nike reported Q4 ’04 net income of $305M, up 24% from earnings of $246.2M in the year-ago period.  Profits rose "amid strong sneaker sales in the U.S. and abroad" (DOW JONES NEWSWIRES, 6/24).

Former USC WR Mike Williams, who was kept out of the NFL Draft, starts summer school next week, but USC has yet to hear from the NCAA on his athletic status (Mult., 6/25).

Sirius Satellite Radio has signed a three-year extension of its title sponsorship of the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Watkins Glen Int’l. The deal keeps Sirius’ name on the race through ’07. Sirius began its title sponsorship of the event in ’01 (Watkins Glen).

ATTENDANCE WATCH:

• The TORONTO STAR reports that through 24 matches, Euro 2004 is averaging a crowd of 34,250, down from 36,336 in ’00 and 41,166 in ’96. As of Thursday, 5,600 tickets remained for quarterfinal matches, including 3,400 for Saturday’s Netherlands-Sweden match at Algarve Stadium (TORONTO STAR, 6/25).

• The FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM reports that the MLB Rangers yesterday on their 32^nd home date passed the one million mark in attendance. In ’03, they hit the mark on their 37^th date (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 6/25).

• The BOSTON GLOBE reports that yesterday’s game against the Twins at Fenway Park was the Red Sox’ 100^th consecutive sellout, the third-longest streak in MLB history. The Indians hold the record with 455 straight sellouts between ’95-01, followed by the Rockies’ streak of 203 from ’95-97. The ’00 Giants were the last team to sell out every game for an entire season (BOSTON GLOBE, 6/25).

• The AP reports that a crowd of approximately 10,000 at the Charlotte Coliseum “cheered when [Emeka] Okafor was not selected by the Magic,” meaning the expansion Bobcats could pick him with the second pick (AP, 6/25).

A LIGHTER BUZZ

The CP reports that CFL Commissioner Tom Wright and his 13-year-old daughter, Emily, last night “received a loud ovation from the crowd” at the Toronto Argonauts-Ottawa Renegades game at Frank Clair Stadium after singing the Canadian national anthem containing both English and French verses (CP, 6/25).

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	Newsday

TODAY’S EVENTS

USA TODAY noted that NHL GMs will gather in Raleigh to discuss potential rule changes. The idea of prohibiting goalkeepers from handling the puck behind the net “appears to have lost support in recent months, but there will be discussion on the tag-up off-side rule and no-touch icing” (USA TODAY, 6/24).

Phoenix’ Manzanita Speedway will reopen under new management, ending a “two-week closure due to legal entanglements involving Owners Joe and Millicent Kimbro and former promoter Keith Hall.” Former Phoenix Int’l Raceway Owner Dennis Wood is the track’s new GM, while Phil Hertel will serve as Competition Dir (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 6/20).

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT…

Every Friday, the Morning Buzz highlights a video clip, chart or piece of information that might have fallen through the cracks.  This week, on Nickelodeon’s “Danny Phantom,” Jack Fenton takes his family to his 20-year college reunion in Wisconsin. As part of the reunion, the Fentons visit with Jack’s old pal, Vlad, who has an insatiable desire for a certain NFL team (THE DAILY).

Click Here To View Clip

IN OTHER NEWS…

The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER notes that the 3^rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia yesterday “rejected the relaxed media ownership concentration rules the FCC adopted last year and sent them back for a rewrite.” The court ruled that the FCC had the “authority to change the rules, but that it did not do a good enough job explaining its rationale for doing so, and failed to justify that loosening the 35% ownership cap would be in the public interest” (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 6/25).

DAILY VARIETY reports that Time Warner yesterday purchased interactive marketing company Advertising.com for $435M in cash “in a bid to increase AOL’s ad business.” The acquisition gives AOL a “pay-for-performance method of selling its own ad inventory in which advertisers pay according to the number of customers an ad generates, not by the number of eyeballs potentially seeing the ad.” AOL Vice Chair Ted Leonsis described the technique as “the Holy Grail of what marketers are looking for” (DAILY VARIETY, 6/25).

The PHILADELPHIA BUSINESS JOURNAL reported that Campbell Soup Co. will cut 400 jobs worldwide, including 165 in its Camden, NJ, HQs, in an effort to “thin its management ranks” (BIZJOURNALS.com, 6/24).

FINAL JEOPARDY!

Last night's "Final Jeopardy!" category was "Films of the '70s."

"This 1973 thriller was re-released in 2000 with extra footage, including a scene in which Ritalin is prescribed."

LAUGH TRACK

THE MONOLOGUES:

CBS' David Letterman: "The show last night, I have to admit, was not very good. I tell you how bad the show was last night. Halfway through the show, the Jose Contreras family went back to Cuba. ... The family of Yankees pitcher Jose Contreras defected to the United States, and during the trip, they cried, they threw up and they wondered if they would make it alive. No, that was their first New York City cab ride. ... It's the big gay parade this weekend, and of course the highlight of the week will be when they force a queer makeover on Michael Moore. I'll be celebrating gay pride week by taking my dog groomer to the Cole Porter movie. ... Low carbs are sweeping the country. You can get low carb beer if you're on a diet, low carb pizza, low carb ice cream, and then I heard about something today that makes absolutely no sense. Low carb condoms. ... Bill Clinton says in his autobiography that he never pays attention to a poll. Never pays attention to a poll unless there's a stripper attached to it" ("Late Show," CBS, 6/24).

NBC's Jay Leno: "The wife and daughter of Yankees pitcher Jose Contreras escaped from Cuba by boat yesterday, and were reunited with him here in America. Isn't that a great story? Luckily, Contreras meets the three requirements needed for his family to stay in America: fastball, curveball, slider. ... Shaquille O'Neal may be going to the Dallas Mavericks. You thought Shaq's rap album was bad, what's his country western music going to be like? ... More bad news for Lakers fans. Derek Fisher now a free agent. Coach Phil Jackson gone. Shaq wants out. Kobe opted out of his contract. Today, worst news of all for the Lakers: Gary Payton's coming back. ... Bill Clinton's autobiography is huge. Did you know it actually folds out to a bed? The New York Post reported today that President Clinton feels he now has two more autobiographies left to write. That's what I love about Clinton. He's the only guy in the world who has three different versions of his life story" ("The Tonight Show," NBC, 6/24).

LATE NIGHT LAUGHS:

CBS’ Craig Kilborn: “This is wild people. Over on Capitol Hill, Dick Cheney got in a big argument with Senator Leahy, and Cheney used the ‘f word,’ he actually used the ‘f word.’ And Leahy shoots back, ‘At least I can do it without having a heart attack.’ The argument kept going, he used the ‘f word’ again, then someone else used the ‘f word,’ another ‘f word.’ I’m sorry that’s Bill Clinton’s book. … Seventeen-year-old boy, fifteen-year-old girl, caught having the sex act, doing the sex act, making the love, during the movie ‘Dodgeball.’ They were doing it while watching the movie. Why didn’t they go somewhere secluded, like a theater showing ‘The Terminal?’ … Interesting survey, 94% of men say they are happier married than when they were single. And 6% answered the poll without their wife watching” (“The Late, Late Show,” CBS, 6/25).

LAST NIGHT’S TV MONITOR

FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER

"What was 'The Exorcist?'"

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