Morning Buzz, October 8, 2004

The Morning Buzz will not publish Monday in observance
of Columbus Day. We will return Tuesday, October 12.

CSTV LAUNCHES TODAY ON TIME WARNER CABLE IN N.Y., NEW JERSEY

CSTV launches today on Time Warner Cable's digital package in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Mt. Vernon and the Hudson Valley region, as well as Bergen and Hudson counties in New Jersey. Coinciding with the launch, CSTV tonight will air “Friday Night Hockey,” featuring North Dakota-Maine at 8:00pm ET. The net notes it is offering the only national hockey programming this fall (CSTV).

NEW CONSORTIUM APPARENTLY COMING TO BRITISH GP’S RESCUE

The London TELEGRAPH reported that an announcement is expected today about new financing for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, which F1 Management Chair Bernie Ecclestone removed from the ’05 schedule last week because the British Racing Drivers’ Club did not meet his financial demands (London TELEGRAPH, 10/7).

The LONDON TIMES reports former race team manager Kim Cockburn “emerged yesterday as the leader of a consortium proposing to invest [US$358M] in Silverstone and safeguard the future” of the race. Cockburn said that she “is close to signing a deal with Ecclestone.” The group “proposes to upgrade the circuit and develop 350 acres of the 800-acre site with a Formula One theme park, motorsport museum, hotel and casino” (LONDON TIMES, 10/8).

“FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS” OPENS TODAY TO UNIVERSAL THUMBS UP

Universal Studios’ “Friday Night Lights,” an adaptation of H.G. Bissinger’s book on an Odessa, Texas, high school football team, opens today, and below is a round-up of reviews.

In N.Y., A.O. Scott writes that “Friday Night Lights” is “uplifting and troubling, partly because it is more honest than most sports movies about the high cost and short life span of high school football glory” (N.Y. TIMES, 10/8).

USA TODAY’s Mike Clark writes, “The movie feels authentic, though you can sympathize with studio marketers trying to sell it as far more rah-rah than it is. So clinically objective that it’s almost (but finally not) chilly and detached. … One of the best football movies ever” (USA TODAY, 10/8).

In Chicago, Roger Ebert wrote, “The movie demonstrates the power of sports to involve us; we don’t live in Odessa and are watching a game played 16 years ago, and we get all wound up” (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 10/7).

Also in Chicago, Allison Benedikt wrote, “Peter Berg’s beautifully executed film, shot partly in Odessa, takes us from preseason to the playoffs, awing us with hard-hitting, bone-cracking high school games – games you will watch as though you’ve been rooting for the Panthers your entire life. The movie is that good” (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 10/7).

In Hollywood, Kirk Honeycutt wrote, “The film seldom leaves football fields and locker rooms and only does so to take the emotional temperature of townsfolk whose very lives, hopes and dreams revolve around the fortunes of its young heroes” (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 9/27).

BALCO FOUNDER FILING MOTION TO DISMISS CHARGES TODAY IN S.F.

ESPN.com reported that BALCO attorneys today will file a motion to dismiss charges against BALCO Founder Victor Conte and VP James Valente, alleging that Conte was “held at gunpoint and not read his rights when the IRS raided his office” in September ’03. The motion also claims that a search warrant was not shown to Conte until the search was complete (ESPN.com, 10/7).

MLS UTAH EXPANSION FRANCHISE TO REVEAL NAME, LOGO, ETC.

The SALT LAKE TRIBUNE reported that the MLS Utah expansion franchise on Saturday will unveil its name, logo, colors and uniforms during an open house at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City. Those who have ordered ’05 season tickets can choose their seats during the festivities (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 10/7).

MORNING BRIEFS

Comcast has “joined forces with Time Warner Cable to discuss plans to launch” an RSN with the Mets. The net, which would begin airing Mets games in ’06, is tentatively being called the Mets Network (N.Y. POST, 10/8).

Turner Construction has been awarded the contract to build a $70M stadium for the MLS Chicago Fire in Bridgeview, Illinois. The facility will have 20,000- 25,000 seats and is scheduled to open in the spring of ‘06. Rossetti Associates is designing (THE DAILY).

New York State Supreme Court Justice Herman Cahn has “approved a class-action lawsuit against Ticketmaster and Madison Square Garden for allegedly selling seats with obstructed views of Michael Jackson’s 30^th anniversary concert three years ago.” The suit potentially covers 7,840 ticket buyers (AP, 10/8).

The Saints announced that the TV blackout has been lifted for Sunday’s game against the Buccaneers. The Chargers announced that their game Sunday against the Jaguars will be blacked out (THE DAILY).

Toronto’s economic development committee yesterday approved city backing for a college football bowl game, which would feature a team from the Big East against a team from the Mid-America Conference (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 10/8).

Supporters of a California ballot initiative to “bring slot machines to racetracks and card rooms suspended their campaign yesterday” (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 10/8).

The Arizona Sports & Tourism Authority yesterday completed a deal with the City of Glendale “to finance $59.3[M] in improvements around the new Cardinals Stadium” (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 10/8).

Orlando Professional Hockey, which owns the Southern Professional Hockey League Orlando Seals, has filed a lawsuit against the WHA over “who has the right to play out of the Orlando Centroplex for the 2004-05 season” (TORONTO SUN, 10/8).

Soccer United Marketing late yesterday announced that Reliant Stadium will host the ’05 InterLiga finals on January 12 (Soccer United Marketing).

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

WEEKEND EVENTS

AND 1 will host a warehouse sale at 9:00am ET this morning in Philadelphia. All proceeds will benefit charities (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 10/8).

The Singha Beer USTA $50,000 Tennis Tournament and Thai Festival begins Saturday at the Ashburn Village Sports Pavilion in Ashburn, Virginia. The event will feature “more than 35 vendors, the largest Singha beer garden in the nation, a world-class kick-boxing demonstration” and an appearance by USTA President Alan Schwartz (TENNISWEEK.com, 10/7).

Posters of Ravens LB Ray Lewis promoting Mountain Dew’s Pitch Black beverage will be available at participating Royal Farms stores in Maryland and Delaware beginning Sunday. The team partnered with Pepsi to promote the beverage in conjunction with their November 7 game against the Browns.

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, MTV’s “Real World Philadelphia” cast meets with AFL Philadelphia Soul co-Owner Jon Bon Jovi to learn what they are going to be doing for the team. While most of the cast is able to function, one particular roommate is struggling with his face-to-face encounter with stardom.

Click Here To View Clip

IN OTHER NEWS….

The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER notes that the Broadcast Decency Act “was stripped Thursday from a bill authorizing Defense Department operation after Democrats insisted that it include media ownership restrictions and First Amendment concerns were raised” (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 10/8).

MULTICHANNEL NEWS reported that DirecTV and EchoStar Communications “pounded cable operators in [Q2], with subscriber losses dropping basic-cable penetration” to 54.9%. Most of the lost subscribers are “older ones who spent little on cable, often subscribing to basic-only packages” (MULTICHANNEL.com, 10/7).

The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER notes that Sirius Satellite Radio, after Wednesday’s announcement that it would spend $500M to get Howard Stern, will raise $290M by offering “25 million shares of common stock and $200[M] in convertible notes” (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 10/8).

FINAL JEOPARDY!

Last night’s “Final Jeopardy!” category was “Famous Names.”

“The last thing visitors see in the exhibit area of the Salem Witch Museum is a huge photo of this politician.”

LAUGH TRACK

THE MONOLOGUES:

CBS’ David Letterman: “Monday of course is Columbus Day, and whenever we have a holiday like this in New York City, everybody gets into the spirit. For example, the hookers down in Times Square are having their annual Columbus Day special. It’s a half an hour for $14.92. … Our old friend Donald Trump is on the program tonight. I guess CBS finally figured out how to fire me. … On Saturday, it’s their first free election in Afghanistan. This is a big thing. However, they are expecting voter fraud, they’re expecting disruption at the polls and intimidation of voters. So I guess the American-style of democracy is really catching on over there. … The debates are interesting and insightful, if not deadly dull, and tomorrow night is the second presidential debate, and here’s what George Bush has to do. … George Bush’s challenge now will be to stretch four-and-a-half minutes of meaningless platitudes into an hour-and-a-half. … Congratulations to Bill and Hillary Clinton on their 29^th wedding anniversary this weekend. They’ll be celebrating with a romantic dinner, and I understand Bill is bringing a date” (“Late Show,” CBS, 10/7).

NBC’s Jay Leno: “Scientists are very busy trying to predict when Mount St. Helens is going to erupt. We can’t even predict the next time Elton John is going to erupt. There are still thousands of people camped out there in view of Mount St. Helens waiting for this thing to go. So far, there’s been some steam, a little quaking but there’s no eruption. But scientists say not to worry. This is a condition called eruptile dysfunction. It happens to all volcanoes. It doesn’t mean you’re any less a force of nature. … A group of porn stars has made a DVD called ‘Porn Stars for Kerry.’ They’re supporters of John Kerry, and they’ve made a porno movie to raise money for him. Let’s just hope this one doesn’t feature Michael Moore. There’s another one, a less popular DVD, called, ‘Some Guy Touching Himself for Ralph Nader.’ … I turned on that show ‘Lost,’ last night and then I realized it was the Angels game. … According to ESPN, former Dolphins running back Ricky Williams – remember him, he quit the NFL this past summer because he wanted to find himself and smoke dope – wants back in. I guess he found himself. He found himself an out of work pothead. He wrote a letter to the NFL asking how soon he could come back. He wrote the letter on Zig Zag papers” (“The Tonight Show,” NBC, 10/7).

LAST NIGHT’S TV MONITOR

FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER

“Who was Joseph McCarthy?”

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

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