| • | IOC Evaluation Commission Wraps Up N.Y. Visit, Emphasizes Need For Stadium |
| • | MLB’s Bob DuPuy Hopes To Have Orioles-Nats Deal Done “Within A Few Days” |
| • | Maryland House Of Delegates Today To Vote On Bill To Legalize Slot Machines |
| • | List Of Suitors For Mighty Ducks Down To Two; Howard Baldwin Not Involved |
| • | According To A Source, “BDSSP” Host Tom Arnold Is As Good As Gone At FSN |
| • | Morning Briefs/In Other News/Laugh Track/TV Monitor/Final Jeopardy! |
IOC EVALUATION COMMISSION WRAPS UP VISIT TO N.Y. FOR 2012 BID
The IOC Evaluation Commission yesterday concluded its visit to N.Y., and Commission Chair Nawal el-Moutawakel said, “The bid committee must be congratulated on the quality of its candidature, of the quality of its presentations and its teamwork and professionalism.” She added, “It is important to have the [West Side] stadium. All the cities are aware of this. They gave us all assurances. [N.Y. Mayor Michael Bloomberg] is a winner and his team is a winning team” (N.Y. TIMES, 2/25).
N.Y. Deputy Mayor for Economic Development & NYC2012 Founder Daniel Doctoroff: “This has been an amazing four days. I know sometimes I am accused of hyperbole, but it really has been a fabulous, fabulous visit. The visit was seamless and we managed to demonstrate the things that are really important for us” (N.Y. TIMES, 2/25).
USOC Chair Peter Ueberroth: “I've heard that this bid is not favored. I've heard all kinds of ratings of who's going to win and lose. But the New York bid is alive and well and I think you're going to be surprised by the time July comes around” (L.A. TIMES, 2/25).
Meanwhile, the N.Y. TIMES reports that N.Y. City Council Speaker Gifford Miller, who is also a Democratic mayoral candidate, yesterday vowed “to block the Bloomberg administration’s plan to finance a stadium on the Far West Side, saying that it amounted to little more than ‘an end run around this Council’” (N.Y. TIMES, 2/25).
MLB CLOSING IN ON DEAL WITH ANGELOS OVER NATS’ RELOCATION
The WASHINGTON TIMES reports that MLB and Orioles Owner Peter Angelos are “on the verge of an agreement that will allow … Nationals games to be broadcast on television and jump-start stalled efforts to sell the Nationals.” MLB President & COO Bob DuPuy, who met with Angelos on Wednesday, said, “We are down to a couple of issues. I hope to come to closure within a few days” (WASHINGTON TIMES, 2/25).
MARYLAND HOUSE OF DELEGATES STARING DOWN SLOTS BILL TODAY
The WASHINGTON POST reports that leaders of the Maryland House of Delegates “thwarted efforts last night to weaken a bill that would legalize slot machines, setting the stage for a pivotal vote today on Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.’s signature initiative.” The House bill, which would allow 9,500 slots at four locations, is “vastly different than one passed by the Senate last week. If the House bill passes, a conference committee will need to reconcile the two versions” (WASHINGTON POST, 2/25).
MORNING BRIEFS
Disney has “whittled the list of potential buyers for the Mighty Ducks to two.” H & S Ventures, which handles investments for Broadcom Chair Henry Samueli, is among the bidders. The other bidder has “so far remained unidentified,” but a source said that it is not former Penguins and Whalers Owner Howard Baldwin (L.A. TIMES, 2/25).
A source told the L.A. TIMES that “BDSSP” host Tom Arnold’s contract with FSN, which pays him $1.1M a year and expires in April, will not be renewed (L.A. TIMES, 2/25).
After the Florida Times-Union reported this week that next year’s Daytona 500 is likely to start at 5:00pm ET, NASCAR Managing Dir of Corporate Communications Ramsey Poston said that there are “no plans at the moment to make the change, ‘But we always are looking at ways to better the event’” (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 2/25).
CSTV has changed its name to CSTV Networks (THE DAILY).
The NBA is expected to contact ESPN about its false report Wednesday that Heat C Shaquille O’Neal was sidelined for the season with a knee injury. NBA Senior VP/Basketball Communications Brian McIntyre: “I’m concerned anytime there is irresponsible reporting” (MIAMI HERALD, 2/25).
IMG has signed freestyle motocross stars Jeff Tilton and Tommy Clowers to exclusive representation contracts (IMG).
JERSEY SNAFU FOR RODNEY ROGERS ON HARDWOOD CLASSICS NIGHT
Last night’s 76ers-Knicks game on TNT featured both teams wearing retro uniforms. Early in the first quarter, TNT’s Craig Sager reported 76ers F Rodney Rogers "found out his name was misspelled: R-O-D-G-E-R-S.” Near the end of the first quarter, Sager added, “I talked to the 76ers as to why the name was misspelled in the first place. They said, ‘Hey, these are Hardwood Retro jerseys. We had to go out in New York here to get it printed. They’re the ones that made the mistake.’ Once they found out that Rodney was very upset that his name was misspelled they called the company (who) came over and put a new patch on the back” (TNT, 2/24).
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 |
TODAY’S EVENTS
Kobe Bryant will testify under oath in the federal civil suit against him for allegedly raping a woman in Colorado. The deposition “had been postponed while both sides wrangled over the questions Bryant would be allowed to be asked” (L.A. TIMES, 2/23).
Braves P Tim Hudson and Nationals 1B/LF Brad Wilkerson will film PSAs for MLB’s partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of America at Cracker Jack Stadium at Disney’s Wide World of Sports in Kissimmee, Florida.
IN OTHER NEWS….
USA TODAY reports that Qwest Communications yesterday “resubmitted a slightly modified offer” to buy MCI, “setting the stage for a potential face-off with Verizon,” which announced plans last week to acquire MCI for $6.7B in stock and cash. Qwest’s new bid is the “same as it was two weeks ago: about $8[B] in stock and cash. But this go-round, the Denver-based carrier included a ‘collar’ to protect MCI’s shareholders against downward fluctuations in its stock” (USA TODAY, 2/25).
The L.A. TIMES reports that billionaire Ron Burkle yesterday filed suit in L.A. Superior Court against former Hollywood power broker Michael Ovitz, alleging that Ovitz “reneged on a promise to share the financial risks in two ill-fated Internet companies” – CheckOut.com and TalkCity.com (L.A. TIMES, 2/25).
FINAL JEOPARDY!
Last night’s “Final Jeopardy!” category was “The U.S. Census of 1790.”
“It was the only state in the 1790 census to claim a slave population of zero.”
LAUGH TRACK
THE MONOLOGUES:
CBS’ David Letterman: “It’s cold here in New York City. It’s so cold, earlier today I saw a rat wearing a North Face jacket. It’s so cold today, I actually enjoyed the hot breath of a mugger on the back of my neck. It’s so cold today, Bill was happy to get the third-degree from Hillary. ... President George Bush is traveling [in Europe], and he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Bush was very forceful with the guy. He wanted him to show signs now of democracy in Russia, and Putin asked Bush to show him his yo-yo tricks. Bush says that the idea that the United States is going to attack Iran is ridiculous, and you know what that means – we’ll be attacking Iran. ... They have picked the jury for the Michael Jackson trial. Here now in percentages and fractions is the breakdown of that jury: two-thirds of the jury is female and 60% of the jury is white. Coincidently, so is Michael Jackson” (“Late Show,” CBS, 2/24).
NBC’s Jay Leno: “It is official. We have set an all-time record for rain here in California. A new record and we did it without steroids. Meteorologists say this is the worst rain we’ve had since 1883, and today Joan Collins said, ‘No, no, 1883 was much worse. I remember.’ … President Bush just got back from Europe. He brought along a team of interpreters with him. It’s the same guys he uses when he travels around America. ... President Bush said he had a great trip to Europe. He said he would have stayed longer but with the falling U.S. dollar he just couldn’t afford it. ... Spring training has begun in Arizona, the so-called Cactus League. You know why they call it the Cactus League: because of all the needles. ... Sports idiot Jose Canseco is still out there promoting his book about steroids. He admits to putting steroids in his body for most of his career. You know, we know what he was putting in his body. What the hell was he putting in his hair? Did he somehow gain access to Al Sharpton’s hair care products?” (“The Tonight Show,” NBC, 2/24).
LATE NIGHT LAUGHS:
ESPN’s Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon appeared on CBS’ “Late Show” last night where Letterman told them, “What I know about ('PTI') from seeing it is you both have differing points of view on almost everything, you’re good friends and you both work at the Washington Post. Is that right?” Wilbon: “We argued with each other for about 20 years and somebody finally decided to put it on television.” Kornheiser: “Well, somebody finally decided to pay us for it. That was the critical factor. ... We don’t actually disagree about all that many things. We just yell all the time and people like that” (“Late Show,” CBS, 2/24).
LAST NIGHT’S TV MONITOR
Last night’s 11:00pm ET edition of ESPN’s “SportsCenter” led with Kings-Mavericks, followed by 76ers-Knicks, and a discussion of the recent trades in the NBA.
FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER
“What is Massachusetts?”
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