| • | NFL Today May Confirm Zygmunt Wilf As Lead Partner In Vikings Purchase |
| • | LeBron James Could Sever Ties With Agent Aaron Goodwin As Early As Today |
| • | Bucs Owner Malcolm Glazer To Make Final US$1.5B Bid This Week For ManU |
| • | NFL’s Annual Sponsor Summit Taking Place This Week In Ft. Lauderdale |
| • | ACC Today To Begin Spring Meetings With Instant Replay On The Agenda |
| • | Morning Briefs/In Other News/Laugh Track/TV Monitor/Final Jeopardy! |
NFL TODAY MAY CONFIRM WILF AS LEAD PARTNER IN VIKINGS PURCHASE
The Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE reports that “sometime this week – probably today”-- the NFL will confirm that New Jersey-based real estate exec Zygmunt Wilf will replace Reggie Fowler as general partner of the investment group looking to purchase the Vikings from Owner Red McCombs. Fowler would keep his share of the $20M down payment and become a minority owner along with New Jersey-based real estate execs David Mandelbaum and Alan Landis. It is unclear whether Twin Cities-based car dealer Denny Hecker will also be a partner (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 5/9).
LEBRON JAMES COULD ANNOUNCE A CHANGE IN AGENTS TODAY
The AKRON BEACON JOURNAL reports that an announcement about Cavaliers F LeBron James’ decision to “part ways with agent Aaron Goodwin is expected this week and could come as early as today.” It is believed that James “will turn some of his management duties over to Def Jam Records.” It is also believed James’ high school teammate and friend Maverick Carter “will take a much more active role in James’ management” (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 5/9).
BUCS OWNER GLAZER TO MAKE FINAL BID FOR MANCHESTER UNITED
The London INDEPENDENT reported that Bucs Owner Malcolm Glazer this week will make his final offer for Manchester United, “having put the final touches to the financing” over the weekend on a US$1.5B bid. Glazer is expected to declare that the offer, which works out to approximately US$5.64 a share, will be his last, and “if it is not accepted he will walk away” (London INDEPENDENT, 5/8).
NFL’S ANNUAL SPONSOR SUMMIT MEETS THIS WEEK IN FLORIDA
SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL reports that the NFL’s annual Sponsor Summit takes place this week in Ft. Lauderdale, where league officials will outline to sponsors, broadcasters and licensees significant initiatives, including the NFL’s “five-month effort to promote Super Bowl XL.” NFL VP/Partnership Marketing & Corporate Sales Peter Murray: “We’re positioning it as a seasonlong celebration of this and all Super Bowls.” Also on the agenda is the October 2 49ers-Cardinals game in Mexico City, as well as a presentation of NFL brand research and a briefing on licensing trends (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 5/9 issue).
ACC TODAY WILL DISCUSS INSTANT REPLAY AS SPRING MEETINGS BEGIN
The ATLANTA CONSTITUTION reports that the ACC spring meetings begin today in Amelia Island, Florida, where the league will discuss implementing instant replay in football beginning this fall, though there are “still some issues to be resolved.” The league will also discuss its number of automatic bowl bids, which ACC Commissioner John Swofford would like to see rise from the current five to “at least seven or eight.” Also, Boston College AD Gene DeFilippo is expected to recommend Fenway Park as “one of the future sites for the ACC baseball tournament” (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 5/9).
XOS TODAY TO ANNOUNCE COMPLETION OF $25M INTEGRATION INVESTMENT
XOS Technologies, which provides digital video editing and scouting solutions for coaches and athletic administrators, today will announce the completion of a $25M investment to integrate Lowell, Massachusetts-based Pinnacle Team Sports, acquired from Pinnacle Systems in February. The investment was led by Liberty Associated Partners, with participation from Comcast Interactive Capital, Blue Chip Venture Company and previous investors Dorchester Capital and Beechtree Capital (XOS).
MORNING BRIEFS
The NHLPA executive council today is expected to meet “to discuss the revised numbers” of the union’s April 4 proposal. The NHL and NHLPA are tentatively scheduled to meet tomorrow in N.Y. (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 5/6).
The NLL BOG today is expected to vote on whether to “place a team in the Rose Garden beginning in January.” NLL VP/Communications Doug Fritts said that if Portland is approved, “a news conference would be held Wednesday” (PORTLAND OREGONIAN, 5/7).
MSNBC runs an ad in USA Today’s sports section advertising Keith Olbermann’s show, “Countdown,” with the header, “He Does For News What He Used To Do For Sports.” In the ad, Olbermann appears holding a baseball bat with a ballpark in the background (THE DAILY).
NASCAR driver Rusty Wallace was scheduled to appear this morning on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends.” He is also scheduled to appear on “The Tony Danza Show” (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 5/9).
AOL today will Webcast the USA-Ukraine World Hockey Championships game at 10:15am ET (USA TODAY, 5/9).
 |
| Bomb Scare Clogs Lane
Before Wizards-Heat Playoff Game |
The Miami Police Department bomb squad yesterday was called to AmericanAirlines Arena at 9:30am ET to detonate a “metal briefcase sitting suspiciously alone on a concrete post near the arena entrance,” resulting in a traffic jam before the Wizards-Heat playoff game (MIAMI HERALD, 5/9).
Pinnacle Consulting Management Group, which is assisting the city of Arlington with land acquisition for the new Cowboys stadium, sent notices on Friday telling select “property owners only that their homes are in the buyout area for the stadium and that they will be contacted by Pinnacle within a few days about an offer for their land” (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 5/7).
ATTENDANCE WATCH
A crowd of 156,435 attended Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, the largest crowd since ‘75. Derby winner Giacomo returned $102.80 on a $2 bet, which was the second-largest in Derby history. The $1 superfecta and $2 trifecta returned North American records of $864,253.50 and $133,134.80, respectively (LEXINGTON HERALD-LEADER, 5/8).
A record crowd of 111,243 attended Friday’s Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 5/7).
A MetroStars season-low crowd of 8,274 attended the team’s game against the Earthquakes Saturday at Giants Stadium (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 5/8).
More than 1,000 men attended Santa Monica-based commercial producer UNCLE’s Friday casting call to re-create former MLBer Kirk Gibson’s “fabled home run to beat the Oakland A’s in the 1988 World Series as a friendly softball game” for a General Mills Wheaties spot (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 5/7).
A LIGHTER BUZZ
The Minneapolis STAR-TRIBUNE reports that a crowd of 2,253 attended yesterday’s Independent League Sioux Falls Canaries-St. Paul Saints preseason game, which began at 5:35am CT. The crowd, which was invited to camp out on the field Saturday night and was given a free breakfast, was “twice the number of fans who saw the Saints beat the Schaumburg Flyers” in September’s final league championship game that began at 1:05pm (Minneapolis STAR-TRIBUNE, 5/9).
WEEKEND RAP
The following are excerpts from the panelists “parting shots” from Sunday’s edition of ESPN’s “The Sports Reporters”:
Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan: “It was such a given that Barry Bonds will pass Babe Ruth this year, and Barry Bonds will pass Hank Aaron either this year or next. No conspiratorial thinker I, but is it possible -- I said possible -- we’ve seen the last of Barry Bonds? Is this whole knee scenario legit or is it part of an elaborate charade as he avoids the scrutiny his assault on Mr.’s Ruth and Aaron would bring?”
N.Y. Daily News columnist Mike Lupica: “The Lakers are still more of a soap opera than ‘The O.C.’ Call it ‘The L.A.,’ and you want to know the best part of all this? Both (Lakers Owner Jerry Buss) and (former Lakers C Shaquille O’Neal) are right. Buss was dumb to trade Shaq, and Shaq was bigger than that horse that won the Derby last season. But stay-tuned -- (Phil) Jackson may be on his way back to the Lakers to be reunited with Kobe.”
Detroit Free Press columnist Mitch Albom: “Imagine being so bad that the other team wants you in the game. That’s what happened to young Kendrick Perkins of the Celtics in the crazy Game Six against Indiana. Paul Pierce was ejected with a second technical and the Pacers got to pick whoever they wanted to shoot his free throws. They saw Perkins -- two years out of high school -- shooting 64% on the free throw line and they made like Uncle Sam -- we want you!”
ESPN’s John Saunders: “I’m not sure which is more ironic. The fact that (former Braves P John) Rocker is now trying to resurrect his career in New York with the Independent Long Island Ducks, or that the only reason he’s even in the news is because of his stupid remarks (about New York City) six years ago. ... Rocker can still talk. What he can’t do is still pitch” (“The Sports Reporters,” ESPN, 5/8).
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
The HOUSTON CHRONICLE reported the Texans today will announce their support for “five major nonprofit organizations over the next three years.” The Houston Texans Foundation will contribute $25,000 a year for three years to Boys and Girls Country, Child Advocates, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, The John P. McGovern Museum of Health and Medical Science and Rebuilding Together (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 5/8).
THIS WEEK IN SISTER PUBLICATION SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL…..
This week’s In-Depth examines the creation of NBC’s Dew Action Sports Tour.
- Jets plan to borrow over $1B to pay for proposed West Side stadium.
- NJSEA eyeing DUI checkpoints in wake of $105M verdict after drunk driving tragedy.
- Burger King agrees to terms on NFL sponsorship deal.
- Fox Sports, Sporting News end online partnership.
IN OTHER NEWS….
The N.Y. TIMES reports that ABC today is expected to announce that Robin Roberts “is being made a co-host of [‘Good Morning America’], which gives her a rank (and duties) equal to that of Charles Gibson and Diane Sawyer.” The introduction of Roberts as a morning host could make it easier to move either Gibson or Sawyer “to the evening news on a permanent basis in the event” that Peter Jennings does not return after treatment for lung cancer (N.Y. TIMES, 5/9).
FINAL JEOPARDY!
Friday night's “Final Jeopardy!” category was “Fictional Animals.”
“The name of this character, introduced in 1894, is from the Hindi for ‘bear.’”
LAUGH TRACK
THE MONOLOGUES:
CBS’ David Letterman: “Sunday is Mother’s Day. I love Mother’s Day. It’s the day we honor the woman we blame for all our personal problems. I’m taking mom out for lunch on Mother’s Day. I’m a little nervous. I just hope she doesn’t find a finger in her chili. I don’t know about you, but for me Mother’s Day is the same every year. About halfway through the meal, mom starts accusing the waiter of watering down her Bloody Marys. ... Central Park has been invaded by an Asian long-horned beetle. This is serious. They say that this Asian long-horned beetle is the most notorious pest to invade Central Park since Christo. ... Over the weekend, Pope Benedict XVI moved into the Papal apartment, and today, as a matter of fact, spent the entire day waiting for the cable guy. ... I don’t have to tell you folks that tomorrow is the most exciting two minutes in sports; well, if you don’t count Jason Giambi’s urine test. It’s the Kentucky Derby. It’s great. You’ve got everything. You’ve got animals, of course, you’ve got short people, you have Mint Juleps. It’s like a weekend at Neverland Ranch” (“Late Show,” CBS, 5/6).
NBC’s Jay Leno: “Did you all have a nice Cinco de Mayo yesterday? Today is the bigger holiday, Cinco de Hangover. I went to the dullest Cinco de Mayo party last night. It was held by the Minutemen down by the border. Not one Mariachi band. Last night, in honor of Cinco de Mayo, Robert Blake left his gun in a Mexican restaurant. ... Congress is now considering legislation that would require four different forms of identification when you apply for a driver’s license. That should speed up the line at the DMV. ... A woman who let her son sleep with Michael Jackson testified today that when you’re at Neverland Ranch, you forget all your problems, like the fact that your son is sleeping with Michael Jackson! ... Charges of disorderly conduct against two Boston Red Sox fans who got in a fight with Yankees [RF] Gary Sheffield were dismissed yesterday for lack of probable cause. How about that? The Yankees can’t even beat the Red Sox in court. ... The favorite horse [in the Kentucky Derby] is owned by George Steinbrenner, Bellamy Road. How scary is that? What’s going to happen to that horse if he doesn’t win? ‘Hey, free steaks!’” (“The Tonight Show,” NBC, 5/6).
WEEKEND BOX OFFICE
The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER notes that the estimated total for the top 12 films was $76.8M, a 24% drop from the comparable frame last year. The total for all films is forecast to be in the low- to mid-$80M range, down considerably from last year’s $111.3M (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 5/9).
| Title | Weekend | Cumulative |
| Kingdom of Heaven | $20.0M | $20.0M |
| House of Wax | $12.2M | $12.2M |
| The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy | $9.1M | $35.1M |
| Crash | $9.1M | $9.1M |
| The Interpreter | $7.5M | $54.1M |
| XXX: State of the Union | $5.4M | $20.8M |
| The Amityville Horror | $3.2M | $60.1M |
| Sahara | $3.1M | $61.3M |
| A Lot Like Love | $3.0M | $18.8M |
| Fever Pitch | $2.0M | $39.0M |
FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER
“Who is Baloo?” Baloo was the bear that befriended Mowgli in the “Jungle Book.”
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