| | The Daily Insider
Morning News & Headlines
Thursday, July 15, 2004
9:00am ET | |
| |
| • | Ben Curtis Today Begins Defense Of His British Open Crown At Royal Troon |
| • | NHL Today Using Van Hellemond’s Input In Firing Of On-Ice Officials |
| • | Strength Of Schedule, Losses & Quality Wins Out As BCS Unveils Formula Today |
| • | Fox Today To Unveil Plans For Post- Super Bowl XXXIX “Simpsons” Episode |
| • | Mike Ditka Pulls Out Of Consideration To Run On Republican Ticket In Illinois |
| • | Morning Briefs/In Other News/Laugh Track/TV Monitor/Final Jeopardy! |
133rd BRITISH OPEN TEES OFF FROM ROYAL TROON GOLF CLUB
TNT this morning at 6:30am ET began airing coverage of the 133rd British Open in the second of its seven-year deal. The net’s coverage stretches to 7:00pm ET today, and from 7:00am-7:00pm tomorrow. TNT will split weekend coverage with ABC.
TNT’s deal also provides Turner Sports with full interactive rights on PGA.com, where AOL subscribers have live 18-hole video coverage of two groups during the first two rounds. Additionally, Turner Sports will distribute video highlights, live scoring and online radio coverage in an on-demand format (Turner Sports).
Meanwhile, USA TODAY reported that Tiger Woods will be using Nike’s Ignite driver, which has a shaft “tweaked in its flex to suit him. Larger and more high tech than any he has used, it will be the first major championship Woods employs the club, having switched to it before the Cialis Western Open two weeks ago” (USA TODAY, 7/13).
SCHEDULE, LOSSES & QUALITY WINS ALL OUT OF NEW BCS FORMULA
The ATLANTA CONSTITUTION reports that the BCS will hold a noon ET conference call to announce the new formula it will use to determine the participants in its national title game. The formula will give equal weight to the AP poll, the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll, and an average of six computer polls – down from last year’s seven as the N.Y. Times has withdrawn its poll from the formula. Gone are strength of schedule, losses and quality wins (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 7/15).
ESPN.com noted that if the media and coaches “agree on the identity of the top two teams in the nation, only an extremely wide variation” from the computers will change the decision of the voters (ESPN.com, 7/14).
ATHLETES STARRING IN FOX’ POST-SUPER BOWL “THE SIMPSONS” EPISODE
DAILY VARIETY reports that Fox today will announce details of the “The Simpsons” episode to air directly after Super Bowl XXXIX. The program will feature the voices of Michelle Kwan, LeBron James, Yao Ming and Warren Sapp. In the episode, Homer Simpson gets a “crack at choreographing the Super Bowl halftime show. The big guy ends up asking Ned Flanders to help – and the result is a ‘nonviolent, deeply meaningful halftime show that America chastises for its blatant display of decency’” (DAILY VARIETY, 7/15).
VAN HELLEMOND’S INPUT USED AS NHL BEGINS AXING OFFICIALS
The TORONTO STAR reports that the NHL will be firing on-ice officials today, and NHL VP/Hockey Operations Jim Gregory said that former Dir of Officiating Andy Van Hellemond “had input into which ones are fired” because “most of the decisions were made in April or May.” Van Hellemond stepped down from his position last week “amid reports that he had often borrowed money from the officials working for him” (TORONTO STAR, 7/15).
ESPN DISTRIBUTES 12TH ANNUAL ESPY AWARDS LAST NIGHT
ESPN last night distributed its 12th annual ESPY Awards at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood. Lance Armstrong repeated as male athlete of the year, over Barry Bonds, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Kevin Garnett. The Pistons won best team over the Patriots, Marlins, Lightning and UConn’s men’s and women’s basketball teams. View a complete list of winners. For more on ESPN’s Sunday-night ESPY broadcast, see tomorrow’s Closing Bell.
TODAY THE DAILY GOES ONE-ON-ONE WITH…
Which industry exec believes a la carte pricing for cable networks is a bad idea, and though living in Stamford, CT, refuses to pick between the Yankees and Red Sox? To find out, read today’s Sports Industrialists section of The Daily.
MORNING BRIEFS
The CHICAGO TRIBUNE reports that U.S. sprinter Torri Edwards, runner up in the women’s 100 meters at the Olympic track & field trials, tested positive for banned stimulant nikethamide earlier this season. If confirmed by a second test of her sample, Edwards could be disqualified from the Athens Games (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 7/15).
The AP reported that Raiders linemen Chris Cooper, Barret Robbins and Dana Stubblefield have each “been fined three game checks by the NFL for testing positive” for THG (AP, 7/14).
The CHICAGO SUN-TIMES reports that Mike Ditka yesterday told Illinois Republicans that he will not run for one of the state’s U.S. Senate seats. Ditka: “I don’t know how I would react on the Senate floor if I got in a confrontation with somebody I really didn’t appreciate” (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 7/15).
Siemens Corporation will title sponsor New Hampshire Int’l Speedway’s four July 23-25 NASCAR races. The July 25 Nextel Cup race will be called the Siemens 300 (NHIS).
Cavaliers Owner Gordon Gund wrote an open letter to fans taking the blame for the Carlos Boozer situation and explaining that the team will not match the Jazz’ $68M offer. The letter was sent to season-ticket holders, the media and posted on the team’s Web site (THE DAILY).
Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage yesterday reiterated that the “only way TMS’ second IRL date will appear on the [’05 schedule] is if it remains as the season-ender” (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 7/15).
ESPN’s David Aldridge, on free agent Nets F Kenyon Martin’s future: “I think he’s going to wind up in Denver because I just don’t think New Jersey right now with their ownership situation can afford to write a check for $25-30 [M] to one guy” (“PTI,” 7/14).
The NFL Cardinals will honor late S Pat Tillman with a halftime tribute during their first home game, September 19 against the Patriots (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 7/15).
ATTENDANCE WATCH
A franchise-record crowd of 16,227 attended yesterday’s WNBA Sun-Lynx game at Target Center, where Sun G & former Univ. of Minnesota star Lindsay Whalen played her first professional game in Minneapolis. The previous attendance record for the club was 14,171, set in ’99 (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 7/15).
A crowd of nearly 2,000 attended last night’s England’s Nottingham Forrest-WUSA Washington Freedom exhibition at RFK Stadium in DC (WASHINGTON POST, 7/15).
A LIGHTER BUZZ
On behalf of NBC’s “The Tonight Show,” comedian Mitch Fatel went to the MLB All-Star Game Media Day and the game in Houston. Fatel asked Yankees SS Derek Jeter, “What would you rather be in: the All-Star Game or Mariah Carey?” Fatel asked Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez, “How has moving to third base affected your sex life?” Another reporter got visibly upset and told Fatel, “We’re working. You’re a (expletive) embarrassment.” Fatel told the reporter, “Dude, you’re asking the most boring questions I ever heard.” After that, the reporter swore at Fatel and violently grabbed his microphone (“The Tonight Show,” NBC, 7/14).
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
Jets President Jay Cross will hold an 11:00am ET press conference at Manhattan City Hall to announce a partnership with WADO-AM to broadcast games in Spanish.
“Touching The Game”, a DVD following MLBers Sean Casey, Todd Helton and Barry Zito during their Cape Cod Baseball League stints, hits retail today (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/15).
Clarksville, TN, will host a ceremony to mark Wilma Rudolph’s appearance on a $0.23 stamp, issued yesterday at the U.S. Olympic track & field trials (Nashville TENNESEAN, 7/15).
Starting today, HorseRacing TV will be available to DISH Network’s subscribers at no extra charge.
A Nashville task force will meet with the Triple-A PCL Nashville Sounds and developer Pappas Properties over separate proposals for the abandoned Thermal site downtown. The team would like to use the site to build a new stadium, while Pappas is eyeing riverfront shops and residences. By the end of the month, the task force “will make a recommendation to the Metro Council on how to develop” the site (Nasvhille TENNESSEAN, 7/9).
Tony Hawk and actress/singer Hilary Duff will unveil Hasbro’s VideoNow Color video player at 1:00pm ET at Toys “R” Us in Times Square.
ESPN’s “College GameDay” crew – Chris Fowler, Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit – will shoot a commercial for the upcoming season with rapper Bubba Sparxx.
IN OTHER NEWS….
The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER notes that during a House telecommunications subcommittee hearing yesterday, “members on both sides of the aisle bought cable industry arguments that offering channels [a la carte] would lead to higher prices and fewer choices” (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 7/15).
The National Cable & Telecommunications Association today will file a study with the FCC reporting that the cost of a basic cable package “would rise as much as 15% if consumers could order channels a la carte” (USA TODAY, 7/15).
DAILY VARIETY reports that Sirius Satellite Radio has passed the 500,000-subscriber mark and “is on track to reach 1 million by the end of the year.” While Sirius has seen a 42% subscriber increase since Q1, it is “staying constant with about 25% as many subscribers as its larger rival, XM” (DAILY VARIETY, 7/15).
FINAL JEOPARDY!
Last night’s “Final Jeopardy!” category was “Historic Americans.”
“For his role in writing this 1861 document, Thomas Cobb of Georgia has been compared to James Madison.”
LAUGH TRACK
THE MONOLOGUES:
CBS’ David Letterman: “Tough first inning for Roger Clemens at the All-Star Game, wasn’t it? I haven’t seen a guy take a beating like that since the Liza Minnelli marriage. … The All-Star Game was over there on Fox, and here on CBS, we did not have the All-Star Game. Here on CBS ,we showed highlights from the Tony’s. … They’re now getting ready for the Olympics in Athens, Greece, and they’re making every possible preparation. As a matter of fact, in Athens they’re poisoning 15,000 stray dogs before the Olympics begin, because really nothing says welcome like 15,000 dead dogs. … Tony Danza has his own talk show now. It’s my fault. I lowered the standards. … Jenna Bush is moving to New York City. She’ll be searching for margaritas of mass destruction. … New York City is getting ready for the Republican Convention, and New Yorkers are being asked to stay home and not go anywhere near Madison Square Garden during the convention. … I wish we could get the Knicks to do that” (“Late Show,” CBS, 7/14).
NBC’s Jay Leno: “You all sound like you’re in a good mood. You sound like Kobe Bryant when he heard they traded Shaq. Kobe was so happy, he had sex with his own wife. … Are you sad Shaq is leaving? Look at it this way. Don’t think of Miami as gaining one of the greatest basketball players of all-time. Think of it as L.A. losing one of the worst rappers of all-time. … I’m sure you saw this. Another horrible video of a beating was shown on television last night. Nine men beat up Roger Clemens with baseball bats. … A new world record has been set in the 100 meter dash. It was very exciting. It was set by Filipino troops fleeing Iraq. … Burger King announced they have hired the former President of Continental Airlines to be their new CEO. Here’s my question. How bad is your food when you have to bring in someone from the airlines to make it taste better? The head of Continental said his first job as CEO of Burger King will be to make the bathrooms smaller, the lines longer and the chairs a little more uncomfortable” (“The Tonight Show,” NBC, 7/14).
LATE NIGHT LAUGHS:
Last night’s Top Ten list was “Top Ten Ways To Make The All-Star Game More Exciting” (“Late Show,” CBS, 7/14).
| 10) “Replace ‘Take Me Out To The Ballgame’ with 50 Cent’s ‘What up Gangsta.’” |
| 9) “Just a thought, but when Saddam’s soccer team lost, he’d execute ‘em.” |
| 8) “Two words: monkey umpires.” |
| 7) “Losing players spend remainder of the year making seven bucks an hour.” |
| 6) “Nine starters, eight uniforms.” |
| 5) “Seventh inning players’ wife-swap.” |
| 4) “One lucky ticket-holder gets to manage the Expos in 2005!” |
| 3) “Between innings, Pete Rose plays Keno.” |
| 2) “Allow top hitters to use performance-enhancing supplements…oh wait, they’ve already done that.” |
| 1) “Losing pitcher has to give rubdown to a naked Bud Selig.” |
LAST NIGHT’S TV MONITOR
| Net | Show | Lead | Next Items |
| ESPN | “Around The Horn” | MLB All-Star Game | Lakers-Heat trade; Astros fire manager Jimy Williams |
| ESPN | “PTI” | MLB All-Star Game | Astros fire Jimy Williams; Possible Nomar Garciaparra trade |
| ESPN | 11:00pm ET “SportsCenter” | Lakers-Heat trade | Exclusive interview w/ Shaquille O’Neal; G Kobe Bryant’s future |
HOT TOPIC: Last night’s edition of ESPN’s “SportsCenter” led with a 9:24 report on the O’Neal trade and the future of Kobe Bryant. The broadcast had 29:03 of total coverage on O’Neal and Bryant.
FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER
“What was the Constitution of the Confederate States of America?”
Ken Jennings yesterday won his 31st consecutive episode of “Jeopardy,” bringing his total earnings from the show to $1,022,460. The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER notes that Tuesday’s episode drew an 11.1/21 overnight Nielsen rating in the 56 metered markets, 25% higher than the 8.9/17 average the show earned during the week of June 28, when Jennings was already into his streak. The show “managed to tie with ‘Wheel of Fortune’ for the first time this season, with both shows sitting in the No. 1 spot in the overall syndication rankings for the week” (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 7/15).
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please let us know at:
dailyinsider@sportsbusinessdaily.com
The Morning Buzz provides an early update of the news and headlines each Monday through Friday at approximately 9:00am ET. If you would like to sign up for an e-mail alert to the Morning Buzz, go to My Account and personalize your e-mail alert options.
