| | The Daily Insider
Morning News & Headlines
Wenesday, February 2, 2005
9:00am ET | |
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| • | NHL Today To Make Formal CBA Proposal With Salary Cap To NHLPA |
| • | Disney, NFL Execs Meeting Today To Discuss TV Rights Deals For ABC, ESPN |
| • | NFL Announcing Five-Year Super Bowl Broadcasting Deal With Chinese Firm |
| • | Jets Today Responding To Critics With Altered West Side Stadium Design |
| • | Orange, Sugar And Fiesta Bowls Seeking Rose Bowl-Type Deal With The BCS |
| • | Morning Briefs/In Other News/Laugh Track/TV Monitor/Final Jeopardy! |
GOODENOW, BETTMAN NOT ATTENDING FORMAL MEETING TODAY
The N.Y. TIMES reports that the NHL today will present the NHLPA with a formal written CBA proposal in N.Y. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA Exec Dir Bob Goodenow are not expected to participate in the meeting. According to an NHL team owner, the offer “will include a salary cap that the union has rejected throughout the negotiations.” The owner said that each team’s payroll “would be a minimum of $32[M] and a maximum of $42[M], and no player could make more than $6[M] a season” (N.Y. TIMES, 2/2).
ESPN EXPECTED TO PAY 50% MORE IN POSSIBLE SIX-YEAR NFL DEAL
USA TODAY reports that Disney and NFL execs will meet today in N.Y. “in an attempt to advance negotiations” for TV rights deals with ABC and ESPN. The discussions “might cover moving ‘Monday Night Football’ from ABC to ESPN and the league’s Sunday-night games from ESPN to ABC.” ESPN is expected to pay about $900M annually – 50% more than its current deal – in a six-year deal from ’06 to 2011. While ABC currently pays $550M annually, the net has “kept its offer for a new contract in the $400[M]-a-year range. The NFL is unlikely to accept an offer so far below the current rights fee” (USA TODAY, 2/2).
TODAY FROM JACKSONVILLE: ROUND-UP OF SUPER BOWL HEADLINES
With the Eagles and Patriots in Jacksonville for this weekend’s Super Bowl XXXIX, The Daily offers a round-up of headlines from Philadelphia, Boston and the host city:
The Florida Times-Union:
The Philadelphia Daily News:
The Philadelphia Inquirer:
The Boston Globe:
The Boston Herald:
The NFL has credentialed roughly 3,800 members of the media for the Super Bowl, and NFC Information Manager Michael Signora said of yesterday’s media day, “Judging by what we saw here today, it looks like most of them made it” (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 2/2).
Also at media day, Eagles QB Donovan McNabb was busy plugging his sponsors when questioned by Giants DE and fellow Campbell’s Soup endorser Michael Strahan, who was acting as a guest reporter for FSN’s “BDSSP.” McNabb, when asked what his mom feeds him: “It all starts with the soup and ends with the soup. In the middle is the soup. That is why my diet has really been intact. Eating the soup, savory beef pot roast, chunky chicken corn chowder, the list goes on. All of those wonderful, wonderful soups.” McNabb later said that he was helping Terrell Owens "recover in time for Sunday’s game by giving him Campbell’s Soup and Sierra Mist soft drink, and putting him in Reebok footwear and clothing” (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 2/2).
The NFL today will host its “Leaders of Tomorrow” Minority Business Forum at the NFL Corporate Hospitality Village from 6:00-9:30pm ET. View our Super Bowl parties and events calendar.
Have you submitted your pick in our annual Super Bowl Pick ‘Em contest yet? If not, be sure to do so by Friday, February 4 at 5:00pm ET. Defeating your fellow readers will result in an award second in prestige to the Vince Lombardi Trophy itself – recognition in The Daily and SportsBusiness Journal.
CHINESE FIRM TO BROADCAST SUPER BOWLS TO 300 MILLION HHS
The WALL STREET JOURNAL reports that the NFL today will announce that it has “signed a five-year deal with Shanghai Media Group to air live broadcasts of the Super Bowl on China’s Dragon TV and 12 provincial networks,” bringing the Super Bowl to an estimated 300 million households in the country. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Additionally, Cadillac will be the exclusive sponsor of the Super Bowl XXXIX broadcast this weekend in China (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 2/2).
JETS HOPE ALTERATIONS TO STADIUM DESIGN WILL SATISFY CRITICS
The N.Y. POST reports that the Jets will “unveil a new-look stadium today when team officials roll out a dramatically different design for the West Side sports complex that will be one-third the original height and feature a new retail center and broadcast studios.” The Jets hope the changes “satisfy some critics who said the stadium was far too tall for its site overlooking the Hudson River.” The project also “faced criticism for not being integrated into the surrounding community, prompting the team to incorporate a 35,000-square-foot retail complex” and a TV studio (N.Y. POST, 2/2).
ORANGE, SUGAR AND FIESTA BOWLS SEEKING ROSE BOWL-TYPE DEAL
USA TODAY reports that Orange, Sugar and Fiesta Bowl execs today in Dallas “will seek some kind of commitment from [the BCS] through the 2013 season – four years beyond current plans.” The Rose Bowl already has a long-term deal with the BCS. Directors of the three bowls “also hope to negotiate more favorable financial terms as the BCS prepares to enter a new contractual stage in 2006.” The discussions are scheduled to run through Thursday or Friday (USA TODAY, 2/2).
BLUE JAYS PLAN TO EXPAND PAYROLL AND DROP SKYDOME NAME
The Toronto GLOBE & MAIL notes that Blue Jays Owner Ted Rogers, President & CEO Paul Godfrey and Rogers Media President & CEO Tony Viner today at the SkyDome will “announce a series of initiatives that club sources think will result in a significantly increased payroll” for the ’06 season. Rogers SportsNet last night reported that the club “will reveal details of its planned refurbishing of the SkyDome at the news conference, including dropping the name SkyDome” (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 2/2).
The TORONTO STAR reports that planned renovations include "several new video scoreboards, ... including one that replaces the old JumboTron and two smaller versions built into the outfield fence." A ribbon board also will "run along the middle rim of the stadium between the upper and lower decks." The team is also expected to confirm that it has reached a deal to replace its artificial playing surface with a new one designed by FieldTurf (TORONTO STAR, 2/2).
MORNING BRIEFS
Baseball HOFer Yogi Berra is suing TBS for $10M, “claiming his moniker was tainted when it was used in a racy ad for ‘Sex and the City’” (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 2/2).
Speedo yesterday extended its endorsement deal with U.S Olympic Bronze Medal-winning volleyball player Holly McPeak through ’06 (Speedo).
While the recently-uncovered designer steroid DMT has not been linked to any athletes in competition, the man who “attempted to carry the substance into Canada was former Canadian sprinter Derek Dueck” (WASHINGTON POST, 2/2).
Infinity Film’s “Race of the Century: Ben Johnson, Drugs and the Quest for Gold” won a gold medal in the documentary category at the New York Festivals Int’l Film and Video Awards (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 2/2).
ATTENDANCE WATCH
ESPN's Winter X Games IX drew an event record crowd of 69,750 over its five days at Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen (Colorado Springs GAZETTE, 2/2).
A LIGHTER BUZZ
Colts QB Peyton Manning appeared on CBS’ “Late Show” last night. David Letterman asked Manning, “If (the Colts) came to you and said, ‘We’re going to need an extra 500 bucks a week, will you kick that in for us (to help pay potential free agents)?'” Manning: “I would do that. I’d be a team player.” Manning, on playing home games indoors on artificial turf: “I’d rather play outdoors if I had my choice. It’s kind of where football is supposed to be played. We’ll have a new stadium in about four years in Indianapolis ... with a retractable roof. We’re looking for naming rights. Are you interested?” Letterman: “Somebody get my checkbook” (“Late Show,” CBS, 2/1).
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
The 49ers will name Seahawks Dir of College Scouting Scot McCloughan VP/Player Personnel. McCloughan is the third person to leave the Seahawks' front office in the past month (SEATTLE TIMES, 2/2).
MLB will host an open casting call from 12:00-8:00pm PT at Dodger Stadium for its “I Live for This” ad campaign. The winners will be flown to Miami in mid-February to shoot a new spot.
The Philadelphia School District will host the first “Eagles Day,” for which it encourages students to wear Eagles paraphernalia instead of their school uniforms (PHILDADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 1/31).
Deion Sanders will fill in for James Brown on Sporting News Radio’s “James Brown Show” until February 4.
IN OTHER NEWS….
MULTICHANNEL NEWS reported that two groups bid for all of Adelphia Communications and four others offered bids for separate pieces before Monday’s deadline. According to sources, Time Warner and Comcast "made a joint offer of about $17[B],” while Providence Equity Partners and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts’ group offered $15-16B (MULTICHANNEL NEWS, 2/1).
The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER notes that Take-Two President Paul Eibeler “has taken on the CEO title, replacing Richard Roedel, who will remain chairman. Eibeler will be the fourth person to serve as CEO of Take-Two” in the past two years (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 2/2).
The WALL STREET JOURNAL reports that alcohol-industry watchdog group Marin Institute “has launched on its Web site a service it calls Talk Back, with which viewers can enter information about an offending ad for automatic crafting into a complaint letter to the advertiser, the relevant industry trade group and the Federal Trade Commission” (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 2/2).
FINAL JEOPARDY!
Last night’s “Final Jeopardy!’ category was “19th Century Literature.”
“‘The Pastor and His Parishioner’ is chapter 17 of this classic novel.”
LAUGH TRACK
THE MONOLOGUES:
CBS’ David Letterman: “This week here in New York City it’s tax-free shopping week. As a matter of fact, right now, I’m wearing tax-free underwear. With no tax in New York City this weekend, everything is such a bargain. It’s incredible, and people are going crazy. Earlier today – I think it was in Saks – I actually saw Winona Ryder paying for her merchandise. ... For all Iraqis watching, the crooked voting machines are due back in Florida by Friday. ... There was a bounty on Osama Bin Laden for $25[M], and they’ve now doubled it to $50[M]. That’s amazing, isn’t it: $50[M]. That makes sense because if you’re a goat farmer in Tora Bora, $25[M] is just not going to get your attention. ... Over in Iraq, authorities have admitted that $9[B] is missing. They’ve misplaced $9[B] in Iraq. I’m fairly confident they’ll probably find it. I’m sure it’s somewhere with the weapons of mass destruction” (“Late Show,” CBS, 2/1).
NBC’s Jay Leno: “Today on the news they talked about the racial composition of the jury pool for the Michael Jackson trial. They said it was 25% African-American, 75% white. No, I’m sorry. That’s Michael Jackson. ... President Bush today said that he was very happy with the results of the election in Iraq. He was even more pleased that Proposition 26 – legalizing gay marriage in Mosul – was defeated. ... Hillary Clinton collapsed yesterday. Apparently, even she couldn’t believe how well the elections in Iraq went. There was one embarrassing moment when she collapsed. Although she was only out for a few minutes, when she came to, Bill was halfway through her eulogy. ... The United Airlines pilots ratified a new contract that would reduce their hourly wages by 11.8%. The pilots are now saying the deal shouldn’t count because they were drunk when they signed it. ... Terrell Owens told reporters he is going to play on Sunday. The Patriots are very gracious about it. They said, ‘Hey, break a leg’” (“The Tonight Show,” NBC, 2/1).
LAST NIGHT’S TV MONITOR
| Net | Show | Lead | Next Items |
| ESPN | “Around The Horn” | Eagles | Emmitt Smith retiring?; Packers QB Brett Favre will retire |
| ESPN | “PTI” | Lakers coach Rudy Tomjanovich | Brett Favre; Emmitt Smith |
| ESPN | 11:00pm ET “SportsCenter” | Rudy Tomjanovich resigning? | Super Bowl Media Day; Emmitt Smith retiring |
| FSN | “I, Max” | Eagles WR Terrell Owens | Eagles QB Donovan McNabb; Yankees |
FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER
“What is ‘The Scarlet Letter?’”
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