| | The Daily Insider
Morning News & Headlines
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
9:00am ET | |
| |
| • | Washington Nationals Today Resuming Business And Promotional Operations |
| • | NJSEA, New Jersey And NFL Giants Today Continuing Stadium Negotiations |
| • | Heat Owner Micky Arison Says Team Is Losing Money Despite Shaq Effect |
| • | Former Broncos Owner Edgar Kaiser Files Suit Seeking 50% Of Franchise |
| • | AP Tells BCS To Stop Using Its Rankings In Formula To Find Two Top Teams |
| • | Morning Briefs/In Other News/Laugh Track/TV Monitor/Final Jeopardy! |
NATIONALS RESUMING BUSINESS OPERATIONS; UNVEILING UNIFORMS
MLB.com reported that the Nationals will resume business and promotional operations today, and GM Jim Bowden “can start making major player deals.” The team also will reopen its team store this morning near RFK Stadium and unveil their home and away uniforms. The home jersey is white, “piped at the collar and neck with red and blue.” The road jersey is gray, with “Washington” appearing in navy “beveled in metallic gold and outlined in red.” The Nationals also have resumed accepting season-ticket deposits (MLB.com, 12/21).
The WASHINGTON POST notes that the pursuit of a radio deal “needs to be addressed immediately.” A club source said that the team is “deciding between two conglomerates – Clear Channel Communications and Infinity Broadcasting” (WASHINGTON POST, 12/22).
NFL GIANTS STADIUM NEGOTIATIONS CONTINUING TODAY IN JERSEY
The N.Y. TIMES reports that acting New Jersey Gov. Richard Codey today will meet with NFL Giants owners and NJSEA execs as part of ongoing negotiations for a new stadium. NJSEA and New Jersey officials “were balking at the Giants’ insistence on control of all events in the stadium and their proposal to use it without paying rent,” as detailed in their latest proposal. Giants Exec VP & COO John Mara: “We are prepared to go the new stadium route, provided we reach the right agreement” (N.Y. TIMES, 12/22).
TODAY THE DAILY GOES ONE-ON-ONE…
Which industry exec’s sporting-goods company does not endorse professional athletes and boasts the strongest customer loyalty in its sector? To find out, read today’s Sports Industrialists section of The Daily.
MORNING BRIEFS
Despite the “amazing Shaq effect,” Heat Owner Micky Arison yesterday said that the team is losing money as the club does not expect any luxury tax money. Arison expects that ticket prices will be raised for next season (PALM BEACH POST, 12/22).
Former Broncos Owner Edgar Kaiser, who recently won a financially limited federal court victory involving ownership of the team, filed a breach of contract suit on Friday in Denver District Court seeking 50% ownership of the franchise (DENVER POST, 12/22).
The AP yesterday sent the BCS a letter telling the organization to cease and desist from using its rankings as part of the formula for determining which two college football teams play for the national championship (Mult., 12/22). View the letter.
Pistons coach Larry Brown, on the Pistons and Pacers playing each other on Christmas Day: “To have the league showcase that game with both teams 12-11 after what happened (the brawl in Detroit) really makes me sick” (“PTI,” ESPN, 12/21).
The PBR has inked an extension of its TV rights deal with OLN for the PBR’s Build Ford Tough Series and select U.S. Smokeless Challenger events (PBR).
PBA Tour Commissioner Fred Schreyer yesterday granted Carolyn Dorin-Ballard an exemption for the January 19-23 Dallas Open. Dorin-Ballard is the first female to receive a commissioner’s exemption (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 12/22).
THE BACK PAGES
The Morning Buzz offers today’s back page sports covers from some of the nation’s major metropolitan tabloids:
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| N.Y. Post | N.Y. Daily News |
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| Philadelphia Daily News | Newsday |
TODAY’S EVENTS
Canucks RW Todd Bertuzzi today will accept a plea bargain and plead guilty to an assault charge for his on-ice sucker punch of Avalanche C Steve Moore. In exchange, Bertuzzi will receive “a conditional discharge that will require him to do community service. But it would spare him jail time or a criminal record” (TORONTO STAR, 12/22).
5:00pm ET is the deadline for making requests for ’06 Winter Olympics tickets through CoSport, the official U.S. ticketing agency (BOSTON GLOBE, 12/21).
IN OTHER NEWS….
The N.Y. TIMES reports that mortgage financing company Fannie Mae yesterday “forced out” Chair & CEO Franklin Raines after the company was found to have violated accounting regulations. Earlier yesterday, Fannie Mae announced the departure of CFO J. Timothy Howard and its auditor, KPMG (N.Y. TIMES, 12/22). Raines has been tied to the Washington Baseball Club, which is bidding for the Nationals (THE DAILY).
FINAL JEOPARDY!
Last night’s “Final Jeopardy!” category was “Dante’s ‘Inferno.’”
“At the center of hell, Satan is devouring Brutus, Cassius and this biblical figure.”
LAUGH TRACK
THE MONOLOGUES:
CBS’ David Letterman: “Yesterday was the busiest mailing day of the season. I went to the post office and it was crazy. People were shoving, people were pushing, people were fighting. It was like Arafat’s funeral. ... There’s more bad news for Bernard Kerik. Today, he was officially placed on Santa’s naughty list. ... Today, President Bush said that he was standing by Rumsfeld, and you know want that means. He’ll be gone in a week. ... President Bush began making federal cuts in the government budget; big, big cuts and I thought this was a good idea. To help out, the Bush twins are switching to Rite Aid Vodka. ... Robert Blake is standing trial and prosecutors say that at one point, Blake hired a stuntman to kill his wife. Say what you will about O.J., but that guy did his own stunts” (“Late Show,” CBS, 12/21).
NBC’s Jay Leno: “Welcome to NBC or as we call it, ‘A Series of Unfortunate Programs.’ ... It’s freezing back East. There’s snow everywhere. In fact in New York City, it was five below Hillary. It was so cold in New York, Bernard Kerik got into bed with his own wife. It was so cold in San Francisco, Barry Bonds got into a snowball fight and killed three people. ... As you know, this is truly the season of miracles but enough about the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins beat the world champion New England Patriots, 29-28. Apparently, the Miami Dolphins’ steroids finally kicked in. ... Today, baseball took some action against dangerous drugs: they’ve outlawed Celebrex and Aleve” (“The Tonight Show,” NBC, 12/21).
LATE NIGHT LAUGHS:
Last night’s Top Ten list was “Top Ten Signs You’re Not The Most Popular Guy In Your High School.” The list was read on-stage by actor Jon Heder who portrays ‘Napoleon Dynamite’ in the movie of the same name (“Late Show,” CBS, 12/21).
| 10) “Your yearbook photo caption reads, ‘Unidentified sophomore.’” |
| 9) “Your only friend is the one you built in shop class.” |
| 8) “School song includes phrase about how much you suck.” |
| 7) “Every time you talk to a girl, the conversation inevitably drifts to your frequent nosebleeds.” |
| 6) “The stupid kid who gets his tater tots stolen every day? He steals your tater tots.” |
| 5) “Everyone’s jealous of your Tetherball skills.” |
| 4) “Not only did you take your mom to the prom, you had to pay her $20.” |
| 3) “You can’t dance like this” (Dynamite performed a short, silly dance). |
| 2) “‘Lord of the Rings’ figurines – 50, friends – 0.” |
| 1) “How the heck would I know? I’m like the coolest kid in school.” |
Last night’s edition of NBC’s “The Tonight Show” featured a segment called “Holiday Products To Avoid,” with Leno saying, “I think this is pretty sleazy. A major sports personality is trying to jump on (the SpongeBob SquarePants) bandwagon with his own cuddly toy. This is SpongeBob Costas” (“The Tonight Show,” NBC, 12/21).
LAST NIGHT’S TV MONITOR
| Net | Show | Lead | Next Items |
| ESPN | “Around The Horn” | Patriots-Dolphins | Can the Eagles reach the Super Bowl without Terrell Owens? Heat-Lakers Christmas Day game |
| ESPN | “PTI” | Patriots-Dolphins | Jets QB Chad Pennington’s comments to the N.Y. media; Rams coach Mike Martz |
| ESPN | 11:15pm ET “SportsCenter” | Randy Johnson trade to Yankees falls through | T’Wolves-Cavaliers; Jaguars SS Donovin Darius fined $75,000 for hit on Packers WR Robert Ferguson |
FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER
“Who is Judas?”
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