| | The Daily Insider
Morning News & Headlines
Tuesday, September 28, 2004
9:00am ET | |
| |
| • | 49ers Today To Announce Naming-Rights Deal With Monster Cable Products |
| • | Anheuser-Busch’s Budweiser Brand Named Official Beer Sponsor Of ’08 Games |
| • | MLB President & COO Bob DuPuy Today Meeting Again With Peter Angelos |
| • | Brewers Accept Nearly $200M Offer From L.A. Investor Mark Attanasio |
| • | Islanders Owner Charles Wang Today Discussing Renovation Plan With Officials |
| • | Morning Briefs/In Other News/Laugh Track/TV Monitor/Final Jeopardy! |
MONSTER CABLE PRODUCTS PUTTING THEIR NAME ON CANDLESTICK
The S.F. CHRONICLE reports that the 49ers will hold a 12:30pm PT news conference today to announce a four-year, $6M naming-rights deal with Monster Cable Products for Candlestick Park, which now will be known as Monster Park. The team and city of S.F. will split the $6M. Other companies bidding for the naming rights included Oracle, Macromedia, Virgin USA, Wells Fargo and Organic Inc. (S.F. CHRONICLE, 9/28).
A-B EXPANDS OLYMPICS RELATIONSHIP THROUGH 2008 IN BEIJING
 |
| A-B President & CEO Patrick Stokes and
BOCOG VP & General Secretary Wang Wei |
A-B today announced a sponsorship deal with the BOCOG, making its Budweiser brand the official international beer sponsor of the ’08 Olympics in Beijing. A-B will support its sponsorship by using the official marks of the Games on packaging, POP materials, sales promotions and branded merchandise. The agreement, A-B’s first sponsorship of a summer Games held outside the U.S., also extends Budweiser’s sponsorship of the Chinese Olympic Team through ’08 (Anheuser-Busch).
ANGELOS COMMENTS FOR FIRST TIME PUBLICLY ON EXPOS MOVE
The Baltimore SUN reports that MLB President & COO Bob DuPuy today will again meet with Orioles Owner Peter Angelos over the Expos' potential relocation to DC. Signaling for the “first time publicly that he might be persuaded to drop his opposition to a team in Washington,” Angelos yesterday said that he “could go along if a deal were struck to protect his franchise and, in turn, the state's investment in Oriole Park at Camden Yards.” Angelos: “If those two goals can be accomplished, and I feel the franchise would be secure and the revenue stream is protected and the asset value is secure, it might be possible to make a deal” (Baltimore SUN, 9/28).
WANG UNVEILS $200M RENOVATION PLAN FOR NASSAU COLISEUM
NEWSDAY reports that Islanders Owner Charles Wang today will meet with local legislators to discuss his $200M renovation plan for Nassau Coliseum. The plan includes “additional seating, an athletic complex adjacent to the facility and future plans for a 60-story hotel-condo tower.” Construction would begin in ’06 and be completed in ’09. The overhaul “would be done with help” from the state and county (NEWSDAY, 9/28).
DARRELL WALTRIP HELPS TOYOTA MOVE FORWARD IN NEW EFFORT
The N.Y. TIMES reports that Toyota today breaks a new ad campaign, via Saatchi & Saatchi, Torrance, CA, with the tagline “Moving Forward.” The campaign features vignettes “about important moments in people’s lives.” One of the spots shows Fox NASCAR analyst Darrell Waltrip “using his full-size Toyota Tundra pickup to pull off the door of his neighbor’s garage so he can ‘get his tools back’” (N.Y. TIMES, 9/28).
MASCOTS FOR '06 TURIN WINTER GAMES UNVEILED TODAY IN ROME
Neve and Gliz are the names of the mascots for the ’06 Turin Winter Games. The mascots, designed by Portuguese designer Pedro Albuquerque, were presented today in Rome, with exactly 500 days remaining until the opening of the Games. Neve represents a snowball, while Gliz represents an ice cube. Starting tomorrow, official products with Neve and Gliz will be on sale at authorized stores and online at www.olympicstore.it (IOC).
MORNING BRIEFS
The Brewers have accepted an offer from L.A.-based Trust Company of the West Senior Partner Mark Attanasio to purchase the franchise for nearly $200M (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 9/28).
The MLBPA yesterday filed a grievance contending the Angels’ suspension of LF Jose Guillen for the rest of the regular-season and postseason is too harsh (L.A. TIMES, 9/28).
With Stars RW Jaroslav Svoboda and Kings D Lubomir Visnovsky signing to play for European clubs, the number of NHL players who have agreed to play in Europe during the lockout now stands at 173 (AP, 9/28).
With Mariners RF Ichiro Suzuki chasing the single-season hits record, the A's distributed 140 media credentials for last night's game (SEATTLE TIMES, 9/28).
Kobe Bryant’s lawyers yesterday dropped a bid to seal evidence from his rape case, saying “details would be leaked anyway.” Attorney Pamela Mackey said that the documents “would reveal how unprofessional the prosecution was” (USA TODAY, 9/28).
USOC General Counsel Jeff Benz appeared on MSNBC’s “The Abrams Report” to discuss Paul Hamm’s hearing at the Int’l Court of Arbitration for Sport. Benz: “We’re confident that the court heard what we have to say and gave us and the other side every opportunity to present our argument” (“The Abrams Report,” MSNBC, 9/27).
ATTENDANCE WATCH
The largest crowd in FedEx Field history – 90,367 – attended last night’s Cowboys-Redskins game in Washington (WASHINGTON POST, 9/28). Freddy Adu watched the game from Redskins Owner Daniel Snyder’s luxury suite (WASHINGTON POST, 9/28).
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
After seven high school students were killed in Athens yesterday during a bus crash, today’s Paralympics Closing Ceremony will not feature a party atmosphere as previously planned. Int’l Paralympic Committee President Phil Craven “will make a speech, athletes will enter the stadium and the Games’ flag will be handed over to Beijing officials.” Then the flame will be extinguished (Baltimore SUN, 9/28).
The Riverside City Council will “consider whether to support a proposal to bring” a West Coast Baseball League team to the city. The upstart league is “expected to field eight teams throughout California, Arizona and Nevada, although [Founder Jerry] Schoenfeld has not signed any contracts” (L.A. TIMES, 9/28).
The NCAA today will announce that it has awarded Indianapolis the 2011 women’s Final Four, to be played April 3-5 at the RCA Dome (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 9/28).
Mia Hamm will appear on “Live! With Regis &Kelly” at 9:00am ET.
The DVD of “This Old Cub,” the documentary of former Cubs 3B Ron Santo that played in Chicago theaters during the spring and summer, hits retail at Wrigley Field, Bernie’s and online at www.thisoldcub.com (DAILY SOUTHTOWN, 9/25).
IN OTHER NEWS…
The N.Y. TIMES reports that Time Warner and Comcast are in talks to “make a joint bid for Adelphia Communications, which has been operating under bankruptcy protection.” The deal “would make it possible for Comcast to exchange its stake in Time Warner Cable for parts of Adelphia's networks without incurring the tax liability that a sale of that stake would create” (N.Y. TIMES, 9/28).
AD AGE reports that Fox’ “American Idol” is the most expensive series on broadcast networks for advertisers, with an average cost of $658,333 for a 30-second spot. ABC's "Monday Night Football" "continues to be the network's most expensive show, with a 30-second spot in its second hour at $323,000" (AD AGE, 9/27 issue).
TRIVIA TIME
“Jeopardy” did not air last night in Charlotte, NC. Instead, try this teaser: Who made up the first broadcast team for ABC's "Monday Night Football?"
LAUGH TRACK
THE MONOLOGUES:
CBS’ David Letterman: “Welcome to the ‘Late Show’ or as CBS calls it, ‘CSI: Letterman.’ … If you’re visiting New York and you want a one of a kind souvenir from your trip to New York City, take home the police sketch of your assailant. … Don’t kid yourself, New York City is a tough town. The Statue of Liberty use to have a purse. … Martha Stewart had a big weekend, very busy over the weekend. An agent from Century 21 took her cell hunting. … Did you hear that story where Homeland Security arrests Cat Stevens and has him deported, and today I heard that they’re closing in on Dan Fogelberg. … The first Kerry-Bush debate takes place Thursday in Miami, and today thousands of local residents began evacuating. … The ground rules are the candidates must remain at least ten feet apart, and they cannot talk directly to one another. It’s actually based on the John Kerry-Teresa Heinz Kerry pre-nup agreement” (“Late Show,” CBS, 9/27).
NBC’s Jay Leno: “‘The Tonight Show’ is 50 years old tonight. You know what that means: everybody in the audience gets a free prostate exam. Things have really changed in television. Fifty years ago, the cast of ’60 Minutes’ was just middle-aged and all their facts were correct. … Ralph Nader said yes, he will participate in the Presidential debates. Okay, it’ll be at home yelling at the screen. … Kerry’s advisors are now working hard to try and prepare him for the debates. They told him he has to try and connect with regular people, connect with average folks. Like they told him, if you need a glass of water, don’t yell, ‘Jeeves!’ … They say dogs now have the ability to smell prostate cancer in people. That means if a dog is sniffing you, he either likes you or you’re going to die! That’s when you know you have a bad HMO” (“The Tonight Show,” NBC, 9/27).
LATE NIGHT LAUGHS:
Last night’s Top Ten list was “Top Ten George W. Bush Debate Strategies” (“Late Show,” CBS, 9/27).
| 10) “Ask the question, ‘We’ve never had a horseface president so why start now?’” |
| 9) “Instead of witty retorts, have Secret Service wrestle Senator Kerry to the ground.” |
| 8) “Use Kerry’s long-winded answers to take much needed bathroom breaks.” |
| 7) “Hope one of them hurricanes cancels the debate.” |
| 6) “Instead of water, fill Kerry’s mug with Red Bull and vodka.” |
| 5) “Find time to work in joke prop giant waffle.” |
| 4) “Moving his lips to pretend microphone isn’t working.” |
| 3) “Handle it the same way he handled National Guard duty – don’t show up.” |
| 2) “If Kerry makes a good point, distract him with some chaw spit in the eye.” |
| 1) “Point out Senator Kerry’s mispronunciation of the word ‘nucular.’” |
LAST NIGHT’S TV MONITOR
| Net | Show | Lead | Next Items |
| ESPN | “Around The Horn” | Most impressive NFL team this past weekend | Chiefs; Yankees-Red Sox |
| ESPN | “PTI” | Packers-Colts | Jaguars; Eagles |
| ESPN | 12:00am ET “SportsCenter” | Red Sox-Devil Rays | Angels suspending LF Jose Guillen; Angels-Rangers |
| FSN | “I, Max” | Peyton Manning and Donovan McNabb | Chiefs and Buccaneers; Giants LF Barry Bonds taking a drug test |
| FSN | “BDSSP” | Roy Jones Jr. knocked out by Glen Johnson | Giants DE Michael Strahan; Tony Hawk |
TRIVIA ANSWER
Keith Jackson, Howard Cosell and Don Meredith
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.
