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Morning Buzz

Morning Buzz, August 23, 2004

The Daily Insider
Morning News & Headlines
Monday, August 23, 2004
9:00am ET

Through Nine Days Of Athens Olympics, NBC’s Primetime Average Is Up 9%

Today’s Cubs Game Expected To Be Played With Wrigley Verifications On Tap

Rose Bowl Unveils Redesign Plans For NFL Team; Seating Capacity Reduced

The Color Orange: Bobcats Unveil Inaugural Uniforms Over The Weekend

NFL Senior VP/Special Events Jim Steeg Resigns, Effective After ’05 Pro Bowl

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


THE ATHENS SUMMER GAMES, DAY 11: TODAY’S HEADLINES

The Kathimerini (Greek English-language newspaper):

More Headlines:


Quotes From Athens:

“I don’t think he would make it in Philadelphia or New York.”

Bravo’s Bill Clement, on Indonesian badminton player Taufik Hidayat
once smacking a fan for taunting him during a match (Bravo, 8/20).

“She is a fiery competitor. She wears her emotions on her ... Well,
she doesn’t have sleeves, but if she did, that’s where they’d be.”

Bravo tennis analyst Jim Courier, on Anastasia Myskina (Bravo, 8/20).

“He collects Russian vodka but doesn’t drink it. I don’t understand the enjoyment in that.”

NBC’s Al Trautwig, on BelarusDimitri Polyarush (NBC, 8/20).

“A lot of players call him ‘Shower Plug’ just ‘cause they can’t say the name right.”

CNBC’s Chris Marlowe on German volleyball player Andreas Scheuerpflug (CNBC, 8/20).

“The important thing to keep in mind is that this is a judged sport and there
are many, many problems and many, many inconsistencies that occur.”

NBC’s Tim Daggett, on the controversy around Paul Hamm’s Gold Medal for
the men’s gymnastics all-around competition (“Nightly News,” NBC, 8/21).


Athens Blog Highlight Of The Day:

Several athletes, media outlets and other people are filing blogs in Athens. The following is an excerpt from today’s featured blog:

U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps: “Sorry I haven't checked in lately, but the last few days have been pretty busy. I'm having a lot of fun here at the Athens Olympics, and having the time of my life. I'm just trying to stay focused, and stay rested. The 800 freestyle relay Wednesday night was amazing. That took a lot of emotion out of me.”

View Other Athens Blogs (May require registration).


OLYMPIC LINKS

NEWS FROM THE ATHENS SUMMER GAMES: NBC’S RATINGS SURGING

Through Saturday, Day 9 of the Athens Games, NBC’s primetime broadcast average rating stands at 15.8/28, up 9% from the 14.5/26 earned in ’00. The following presents a day-by-day Nielsen ratings trend for the Athens Games:

‘04

‘00

+/- %

Opening Ceremony

14.4/26

16.2/29

-11.1%

2nd Day

11.7/23

13.1/25

-10.7%

3rd Day

15.4/26

14.4/26

5%

4th Day

16.6/27

13.8/23

20%

5th Day

18.3/30

15.5/26

18%

6th Day

17.3/29

14.6/25

18%

7th Day

19.3/32

14.9/26

30%

8th Day

14.4/26

14.9/27

-3%

9th Day

13.6/26

13.3/25

2%

Cumulative

15.8/28

14.5/26

9%


USA Swimming has levied a $5,000 fine on Gary Hall Jr. for wearing a red, white and blue boxing robe made by Everlast to Saturday’s swimming competition. Speedo is the exclusive apparel provider for the NGB, while Hall endorses Everlast (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 8/22).

U.S. women’s gymnastics Gold Medalist Carly Patterson: “Mary Lou got a ton of endorsements after winning a Gold. I want to do that too. I’ll be a spokesperson for everyone” (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 8/21).

U.S. women’s soccer team member Abby Wambach is wearing gold soccer cleats, as Nike approached her prior to the Games about wearing the shoes (ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT & CHRONICLE, 8/21).


AROUND THE RINGS notes that crowds are “finally building in the plazas and streets of the center of Athens” as the Games begin their second week (AROUND THE RINGS, 8/23). Attendance for women’s softball is expected to reach 55,000 with today’s final between Australia and the U.S. Softball drew approximately 189,000 in Sydney and roughly 120,000 in Atlanta (L.A. TIMES, 8/23).


George Bush-Dick Cheney campaign spokesperson Scott Stanzel on Friday “defended [the campaign’s] use of the Olympics in a televised political advertisement that began running this month.” Stanzel: “We are on firm legal ground to mention the Olympics to make a factual point in a political advertisement.” The campaign does not “plan to respond to the [USOC’s] request to stop the advertisement” (N.Y. TIMES, 8/21).


Russian shot put Gold Medalist Irina Korzhanenko has tested positive for stanozolol and “faces being stripped of her title but also being banned for life” (London GUARDIAN, 8/23).

Greece’s Leonidas Sampanis became the ninth weightlifter to fail a drug test in Athens, and was stripped of his bronze medal in the 137-pound class (USA TODAY, 8/23).


CUBS GAME LIKELY TO BE ON AS WRIGLEY FIELD AWAITS APPROVAL

The CHICAGO TRIBUNE noted that the verification of work done at Wrigley Field since an ’01 engineering report is expected to be completed today, in time for city officials to “decide whether to open the ballpark to fans” for tonight’s Brewers-Cubs game (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 8/21). The city hired Construction Technology Laboratories to perform the inspection and verification (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 8/21).

Alderman Tom Tunney: “I can’t speak for [Buildings Commissioner Stan] Kaderbek, but my understanding is that they will be playing” (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 8/23).


MORNING BRIEFS

NFL Senior VP/Special Events Jim Steeg will leave his position following the ’05 Pro Bowl (Mult., 8/20).

Rose Bowl officials unveiled a design Saturday that would transform the venue into an NFL venue, adding nearly one million square feet. Because of adjustments, seating would be reduced from 92,500 to about 65,000 (L.A. TIMES, 8/22).

The Bobcats unveiled their uniforms Saturday, becoming the only NBA team to wear orange jerseys for all road games (THE DAILY).

After Fox moved the premiere of “The Next Great Champ” to September 7 – one day before a hearing on a suit filed by DreamWorks and Mark Burnett, producers of NBC’s “The Contender” – L.A. Judge Lisa Cole “denied a request from ‘Contender’ attorneys to block the date change, but decided to move up the injunction hearing” to August 27 (L.A. TIMES, 8/21).

Warner Wolf “will return to the airwaves working as the morning sportscaster” for WABC-AM’s “Curtis & Kuby.” Wolf also will host a Saturday sports talk show on WEPN-AM. Wolf will debut on WABC on Labor Day, and on WEPN on September 4, two days earlier. Both stations are owned by Disney (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 8/23).

Speedo has inked a four-year sponsorship deal with the Int’l Federation of Swimming, the first-ever exclusive deal FINA has made with a swimwear brand (FINA).

Four of DC Comics’ six Justice League cars finished in the top-10 of yesterday’s NASCAR Nextel Cup GFS Marketplace 400 at Michigan Int’l Speedway (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 8/23). See last Friday’s Closing Bell for more on the promotion.


ATTENDANCE WATCH

A rally organized by Soccer Silicon Valley, a grass-roots group trying to keep the MLS Earthquakes in the Bay Area, drew 1,000-2,000 Friday at Plaza de Cesar Chavez in downtown San Jose (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 8/21).

The second-largest crowd in Saratoga Race Course history – 70,175 – attended yesterday’s Saratoga Breeders’ Cup featuring former Kentucky Derby winner Funny Cide (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 8/23). Because there was a souvenir glass giveaway, the number is likely inflated due to people re-entering (THE DAILY).

A crowd of 8,279 attended the Philadelphia Barrage-Boston Cannons MLL Championship game at Boston Univ’s Nickerson Field (BOSTON HERALD, 8/23).


A LIGHTER BUZZ

The TORONTO STAR reports that Jeremy Martin of Cleveland is “seeking a minimum bid of [US$60,000] to have the back of his bald head tattooed with the highest bidder's message and keep it in view for a year. For the price, he was also offering to place advertising on his car and personalize his license plate. At last report there were plenty of gawkers but no bidders.” Martin: "I will not take less than ($60,000), because I'm going to have a tattoo on the back of my head for the rest of my life” (TORONTO STAR, 8/22).

WEEKEND RAP

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

  • Miami Herald columnist Dan LeBatard: “Fueled by hot air alone, Terrell Owens has somehow become the most controversial athlete in America’s most popular game. … T.O.’s resume doesn’t include an arrest, domestic abuse, a bar fight or any kind of bad public moment away from football, just a lot of talk and a Sharpie to underline it all.”
  • N.Y. Daily News columnist Mike Lupica, on Paul Hamm winning the Gold Medal in the men’s all-around despite a scoring mistake that would have allowed a South Korean to win it: “How would we have reacted if it had been Paul Hamm who ended up with a Bronze Medal instead of a gold, and how much more outrage would there have been from people like NBC, which always wants the Olympics to be a highlight show for the USA? Believe me, it would have been a lot different.”
  • NFL Network’s Adam Schefter, on the NCAA not allowing Univ. of Colorado WR Jeremy Bloom to play football while receiving endorsement money: “Miami freshman Willie Williams is arrested eleven times and can keep playing football, but Colorado returner/receiver Jeremy Bloom is handcuffed. … The NCAA worried about setting a precedent, but it did that anyway. It set a horrible one. The next generation of X Games athletes is going to be forced to pick one sport over another. … Once again the NCAA flunks basic philosophy.”
  • ESPN’s John Saunders, on the possible comeback of Deion Sanders: “My first thought was maybe he and CBS had kissed and made up and he’d be back on their pre-game show, or maybe a return to this network and his old job as host of ‘American Sportsman.’ It never occurred to me the comeback would be on the playing field. … I doubt he needs the money. Then it hit me – Deion is back to show these wannabes how to play the game. Not the game of football but the game of showmanship” (“The Sports Reporters,” ESPN, 8/22).

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

The BOD of English Premier League club Everton will approve Fortress Sports Fund co-Founder Anton Zingarevich’s $36.4M bid to acquire 40% of the club (MOSCOW TIMES, 8/23).

The expansion Des Moines AHL franchise will unveil its NHL affiliation, ownership group and team name during an 11:30am CT news conference at The Plex.

ESPN will host a 1:00pm ET conference call to discuss its 25th anniversary with anchors Chris Berman and Bob Ley.

U.S. Ryder Cup captain Hal Sutton will host a 12:30pm ET media lunch roundtable at the Waldorf Astoria in N.Y.


THIS WEEK IN SISTER PUBLICATION SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL…..

This week’s cover story features coverage from Athens, including behind-the-scenes reports on sponsor hospitality.

Also in this week’s issue:

WTA Tour’s season-ending title stop bounces back to L.A.

Teams and arena operators would take some hits if NHL lockout arrives.

Sponsors will get the star treatment at White Sox “VIP Fantasy Game.”

One-On-One with retired tennis player Jim Courier.

For these stories and more, please visit the SportsBusiness Journal.


IN OTHER NEWS….

This week’s cover of TIME offers “How to Live to Be 100,” while NEWSWEEK examines “The Race to Unearth the Bible.”

The N.Y. TIMES reports Naviguage will unveil a new service today that will “measure radio audiences in cars, combining global positioning technology and continuous tracking of the radio dial.” Experts forecast that advertisers may spend $20B or more on radio advertising in ’04, up from $19.6B last year (N.Y. TIMES, 8/23).


FINAL JEOPARDY!

Friday’s “Final Jeopardy!” category was “Italian Towns.”

“This small town in Tuscany was the birthplace of the man who painted the Mona Lisa.”


SUNDAY NIGHT’S TV MONITOR

Last night’s 11:00pm ET 90-minute edition of ESPN’s “SportsCenter” (late due to Red Sox-White Sox) led with Angels-Yankees, followed by A’s-Devil Rays, and Rangers-Royals.  The first non-MLB report, at 14:33 into the broadcast, was U.S. sprinter Justin Gatlin winning the 100m Gold Medal.


WEEKEND BOX OFFICE

The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER notes that Warner Bros.’ “The Exorcist: The Beginning” earned an estimated $18.2M over the weekend, the largest debut for any of the four films in the franchise. The estimated total for the weekend’s top 12 films was $103M, down 22% from the comparable weekend a year ago. The total for all films is forecast to be in the low- to mid-$110M range, down from last year’s $146.5M (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 8/23).

Title

Weekend

Cumulative

“Exorcist: The Beginning”

$18.2M

$18.2M

“Without a Paddle”

$13.7M

$13.7M

“Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement”

$13.2M

$61.4M

“Alien vs Predator”

$12.5M

$63.1M

“Open Water”

$11.8M

$14.8M

“Collateral”

$10.5M

$70.1M

“The Bourne Supremacy”

$6.6M

$150.6M

“The Manchurian Candidate”

$4.2M

$54.7M

“The Village”

$3.7M

$107M

Garden State

$3.2M

$6.7M


FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER

“What is Vinci?”


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

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