| | The Daily Insider
Morning News & Headlines
Thursday, December 2, 2004
9:00am ET | |
| |
| • | NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman Meeting Informally Today With NHL GMs |
| • | As Early As Today, TNT NBA Analyst Mike Fratello Heading Back To Sidelines |
| • | K2 Using Rawlings And Adio Brands In Suns Sponsorship Deal Unveiled Today |
| • | CitiFinancial Expands Racing Sponsorship; NASCAR Stays On The Gas In N.Y. |
| • | $500M+ Retractable-Roof Stadium Among Saints’ Options To Be Detailed Today |
| • | Morning Briefs/In Other News/Laugh Track/TV Monitor/Final Jeopardy! |
BETTMAN, DALY HOLDING INFORMAL MEETING WITH NHL TEAM GMS
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Exec VP & CLO Bill Daly today will meet with NHL GMs in N.Y., and the Toronto GLOBE & MAIL reports that the meeting does not have a formal agenda and attendance is not mandatory. Bettman: “It’s just a dinner. We just thought it would be a good opportunity to let the guys get together and have some nice Italian food” (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 12/1).
Daly: “I imagine people will ask questions about where we are in the [CBA] process, and we will certainly provide answers. … I don’t anticipate talking about potential (collective bargaining) solutions or new ‘system’ issues. We know and the managers know the type of system we need” (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 12/2).
The ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS reports that 25 of the 30 GMs are expected to attend the meeting (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 12/2).
CITIFINANCIAL EXPANDS SPONSORSHIP OF ROBERT YATES RACING
CitiFinancial this morning announced an expanded sponsorship of Robert Yates Racing, including a primary sponsorship for 19 NASCAR Busch Series events in ‘05. Dale Jarrett and Elliott Sadler will share driving duties. CitiFinancial will continue to serve as an associate sponsor on Robert Yates Racing’s No. 88 UPS Ford, driven by Jarrett, and No. 38 M&M Ford, driven by Sadler, on the Nextel Cup Series. CitiFinancial unveiled its Busch Series car this morning at Street & Smith’s Sports Group’s Motorsports Marketing Forum at the Westin N.Y. in Times Square.
The Motorsports Marketing Forum concludes today. Prior to IRL & IMS President & CEO Tony George’s 10:15am ET keynote address, NASCAR President Mike Helton, VP/Corporate Marketing Brett Yormark and VP/Broadcasting & New Media Dick Glover, as well as Sunoco VP/Marketing & Development Cynthia Archer, Phoenix Int’l Raceway President Bryan Sperber and Fox Sports President Ed Goren will assess the ‘04 NASCAR season. View the agenda.
Meanwhile, the ten drivers who competed in the inaugural Chase for the Nextel Cup this season will make a victory lap this morning ending in front of NASCAR’s N.Y. office on 52nd Street and Park Avenue. Donald Trump will wave the green flag to start the lap, which begins outside the NASDAQ on Broadway at 9:45am ET (THE DAILY).
FRATELLO GOING FROM BOOTH TO SIDELINE, BROWN TO ABC’S BOOTH
The Memphis COMMERCIAL APPEAL reports that TNT NBA analyst Mike Fratello will be named the new Grizzlies head coach as early as today (Memphis COMMERCIAL APPEAL, 12/2). Fratello is scheduled to work tonight’s Rockets-Mavericks game for TNT. USA TODAY reports that as of Wednesday night, Fratello had not informed TNT execs he would not be available. TNT Senior VP & Coordinating Producer Jeff Behnke: “If something gets locked in between [last night and today], Mike would not be doing our Houston at Dallas game. If Mike goes back into coaching, Marv Albert and Steve Kerr will be a two-man booth for us” (USA TODAY, 12/2).
The N.Y. POST reports that Hubie Brown, who resigned as Grizzlies coach on Thanksgiving Day, will join Al Michaels on ABC’s lead NBA broadcast team this season. ABC Sports Exec Producer Mike Pearl, who “reduced Brown’s on-air role when he ran TNT’s NBA programming in 2001, made the call on this hire” (N.Y. POST, 12/2).
SUPERDOME COMMISSION TO PRESENT OPTIONS FOR SAINTS STADIUM
The New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE reports that a detailed analysis of stadium options for the Saints, paid for by the Superdome Commission, “will be presented today to political and business leaders during a meeting” at the Superdome. Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco has been “waiting on the report before making any proposal to the Saints.” Among the options are a $168M Superdome renovation and a new, $500M+ retractable-roof stadium (New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE, 12/2).
K2 JOINS SUNS’ SPONSOR ROSTER WITH VARIOUS ACTIVATION POINTS
The Suns and Mercury this morning announced a sponsorship deal with sporting goods manufacturer K2. K2 will have a presence on Suns and Mercury radio and TV broadcasts and at America West Arena. K2’s Rawlings brand will sponsor an interactive fan wall that allows fans to measure up to Suns and Mercury players at an arena entrance. Additionally, K2’s Adio footwear brand will become the title sponsor of the Suns’ entertainment team, now called the Adio Sol Patrol. K2 Chair & CEO Dick Heckmann is an investor in the Suns (THE DAILY).
SUNDAY’S PANTHERS-SAINTS GAME LIKELY TO BE BLACKED OUT
The NFL’s blackout deadline looms at 1:00pm local time today, and the New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE reports that as of Wednesday evening, the Saints needed to sell 8,600 tickets to Sunday’s game against the Panthers at the Superdome to avoid a blackout (New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE, 12/2).
The MIAMI HERALD reports that the Dolphins need to sell fewer than 500 tickets to avoid a blackout of Sunday’s game against the Bills (MIAMI HERALD, 12/2).
THE DAILY UNVEILS FIFTH ANNUAL TURNSTILE TRACKER TODAY
Today, The Daily unveils our fifth annual Turnstile Tracker, the most comprehensive study of attendance at sporting events in the U.S. and Canada. Over 476 million fans attended sporting events of all types during the ‘03-04 sports year. The figure marks a 2.0% increase from last year’s revised total of 466.7 million. See today’s issue of The Daily for a sport-by-sport breakdown. We will provide details within each sport over the next three weeks.
TODAY THE DAILY GOES ONE-ON-ONE WITH…
Which NBA team exec won a pair of titles as a player and one in his current role, and counts trading players as the toughest adjustment from the court to the front office? To find out, read today’s Sports Industrialists section of The Daily.
MORNING BRIEFS
The USOC projects revenue over the next four years of more than $575M, up nearly $100M from $487M in the current four-year plan (L.A. TIMES, 12/2).
In reaction to a report released by N.Y.’s Regional Plan Association (RPA) that stated “a mixed-use development would produce seven times as much money” as the proposed West Side stadium, the Hudson Yards Coalition claimed the RPA “has studied, restudied, thought about and stood in the way of all efforts to develop the far West Side. RPA is at it again” (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 12/2).
With KCAL-Ind “out of the mix, the Angels’ main options” for a local over-the-air broadcaster after the ‘05 season are KCOP-Fox, KTLA-WB and KDOC-Ind (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 12/2).
The Angels yesterday signed Cuban prospect Kendry Morales to a six-year contract. The large contingent of Latin players and the presence of a Latin owner, Arte Moreno, “helped sway Morales toward Anaheim.” Angels Dir of Scouting Eddie Bane: “He knew who was on our club. He knew about Vladimir [Guerrero], Mr. Moreno. … It was important to him” (L.A. TIMES, 12/2).
Yankees 1B Jason Giambi said in his BALCO testimony last December that he “injected himself with human growth hormone during the 2003 baseball season and had started using steroids at least two years earlier” (S.F. CHRONICLE, 12/2).
The 76ers yesterday announced an agreement with FanBuzz to manage all aspects of its online store at Shop.sixers.com (76ers).
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
MLB Commissioner Bud Selig will deliver the keynote address at the Greater Washington Board of Trade’s annual meeting at the Hilton Washington at 11:00am ET.
ESPN will host an 11:30am ET conference call to discuss the release of its latest movie, “3.” ESPN Exec VP/Programming & Production Mark Shapiro, Exec Producer Orly Adelson and Barry Pepper, who plays Dale Earnhardt in the film, will participate.
The U.S. Open Swimming Championships begin at the Palo Alto College Natatorium in San Antonio. The San Antonio Sports Foundation, which is assisting the Open with promotion, publicity and volunteers, “sees the event as something of an audition for its bid to host the 2008 Olympic swimming trials” (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, 12/2).
The bat Babe Ruth used to hit the first home run in Yankee Stadium is expected to fetch at least $1M in an auction at Sotheby’s in N.Y. The bat is one of roughly 300 pieces of baseball memorabilia that will be up for grabs (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 12/1).
IN OTHER NEWS….
The Great Chicago Fire Sale, which will auction more than 350 uniquely Chicago items and packages on eBay, begins today at 5:30pm CT. The CHICAGO TRIBUNE noted that proceeds from the auction “go toward the City Arts Grant, which funds more than 700 theater groups, music education and other cultural organizations.” Among the items up for bid are an autographed Moises Alou Cubs jersey and the chance to bring the lineup card to the umpire during a White Sox game (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 12/1).
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES reports that Walt Disney yesterday raised its cash dividend to $0.24 per share, a 14% increase from $0.21, and announced that former Estee Lauder CEO Fred Langhammer will join its BOD. Shares of Disney rose $0.80, or 3%, to $27.68 yesterday (DOW JONES NEWSWIRES, 12/1).
FINAL JEOPARDY!
Last night’s “Final Jeopardy!” category was “The 18th Century.”
“In 1790 the HMS Pandora sailed thousands of miles specifically to bring back this man, but failed.”
LAUGH TRACK
THE MONOLOGUES:
CBS’ David Letterman: “It’s just exciting to be in New York City now. Don’t you love it right now? Earlier today on my lunch hour, I go over to Rockefeller Plaza to see the big, giant tree, and it’s beautiful with like thousands and thousands of colorful lights, and the artificial snow, and I get closer to it, and it turns out the artificial snow is pigeon crap. … I bought my Christmas tree and I’ll tell you, if there’s one thing I love it’s stringing hot lights and faulty wiring on dried out timber. … Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge is leaving. How are we going to fill those shoes? Hopefully, he took that ridiculous color chart with him. I will give Tom Ridge credit for one thing. The only bomb during his tenure was ‘Alexander.’ … Earlier tonight, Tom Brokaw – our dear friend and anchorman for the last 21 years of the NBC ‘Nightly News’ – retired. We’re going to miss Tom. Tom worked at NBC, and of course Paul and I used to work at NBC, and I was thinking about this. Tom left NBC with honors. I left with a restraining order” (“Late Show,” CBS, 12/1).
NBC’s Jay Leno: “It’s a freezing day for California. It was so cold in the Valley, porn stars’ tongues were getting stuck to each other. It was 15 degrees in parts of L.A. Even people who don’t use Botox had frozen smiles. It was so cold, Scott Peterson was telling everybody he was ice fishing. … Yesterday, the Director of Homeland Security Tom Ridge resigned. He’s taking an even more important job. He’s going to be protecting NBA fans from the Indiana Pacers. Tom Ridge told friends he’s resigning because he wants to go into the private sector where he can make more money. Finally, a Republican acting like a Republican. … Writing in the New York Times this week, a noted historian was talking about Bill Clinton. He said Bill Clinton’s legacy and the best thing about Bill Clinton was that he was at his best when his back was to the wall. Well, Monica could have told us that. … Basketball is 113-years-old today. James Naismith invented basketball. Do you know why he invented basketball? He invented basketball because he wanted to come up with a game that would keep young men away from women and out of trouble. Well, that worked out well!” (“The Tonight Show,” NBC, 12/1).
LAST NIGHT’S TV MONITOR
| Net | Show | Lead | Next Items |
| ESPN | “Around The Horn” | Notre Dame fires Ty Willingham | D’Backs P Randy Johnson; ACC best men’s hoops conference |
| ESPN | “PTI” | Notre Dame fires Ty Willingham | Can Notre Dame return to a powerhouse?; NBA fan code |
| ESPN | 11:00pm ET “SportsCenter” | Ty Willingham’s comments on firing | Wake Forest-Illinois; Cavs-Suns |
| FSN | “I, Max” | Notre Dame fires Ty Willingham | Randy Johnson; Rockets’ poor play |
| FSN | “BDSSP” | Jeopardy champion Ken Jennings losing | NCAA transfer rules; Prosecutions in the Pacers-Pistons fight |
FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER
“Who was Fletcher Christian?”
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.
