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SBD/Morning Buzz
Morning Buzz, May 23, 2007
Published May 23, 2007
| • | Trail Blazers, Sonics Get Top Two Picks In NBA Draft Lottery |
| • | NASCAR To Use Car Of Tomorrow Full-Time For ’08 Nextel Cup Season |
| • | USADA Attorneys Cross-Examine Floyd Landis On Wardrobe, Firing |
| • | Street & Smith’s Sports Facilities & Franchises Conference Continues |
TEAMS WITH WORST RECORDS FINISH OUT OF TOP THREE IN NBA LOTTERY
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|
Trail Blazers Come Out Of NBA
Draft Lottery With Top Pick |
The Trail Blazers and Sonics, respectively, received the rights to the No. 1 and No. 2 picks in last night’s NBA Draft lottery, marking the first time since ’93 that the three teams with the worst record were all pushed out of the top three (ESPN.com, 5/22). The teams with the three worst records this season – the Grizzlies, Celtics and Bucks -- ended up at Nos. 4-6 (THE DAILY).
Outgoing Grizzlies President of Basketball Operations Jerry West said, “I don’t like the draft lottery, never liked it. It’s not sour grapes. I just think it’s a terrible system and it needs to be addressed” (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 5/23).
Celtics broadcaster Tom Heinsohn, who represented the team at the announcement, said, “It’s tough for some teams to have to deal with this. One guy told me tonight that if his team didn’t get one of those top two picks, his team had a serious chance of going out of business” (BOSTON HERALD, 5/23).
Before the lottery announcement, NBA Commissioner David Stern said that he “likes the system but wasn't happy with the way some teams played down the stretch.” Stern: “On the end of the season and what teams do competitively, I think we should look at the lottery system and see whether it can be improved” (AP, 5/23).
With C Greg Oden and F Kevin Durant expected to be the first
two picks, ESPN’s Jay Bilas said, “There have been issues about character
with some [Trail Blazers] players. They got an incredibly high character
guy in Greg Oden, if they decide to take him number one” (ESPN, 5/22).
Sonics broadcaster Kevin Calabro: “I think it’s going to regenerate fans’
interest in professional basketball in
NASCAR TO USE CAR OF TOMORROW FULL-TIME FOR ’08 SEASON
NASCAR announced it will implement full usage of the Car of Tomorrow (COT) for the ’08 Nextel Cup season, a year earlier than previously planned. The COT originally was scheduled to run 16 races this season and “be phased into competition during the next two years.” NASCAR VP/Competition Robin Pemberton said, “The majority of car owners actually came to us and said ‘Now that we are up and running the car, it doesn’t make sense to have two parallel programs moving forward’” (AP, 5/22).
USADA ATTORNEYS CROSS EXAMINE FLOYD LANDIS ON WARDROBE, FIRING
USADA attorneys yesterday at Floyd Landis’ arbitration hearing cross-examined him on “his wardrobe choices and why he waited overnight to fire” Will Geoghegan, his manager, after learning Geoghegan threatened witness Greg LeMond last week. Landis said that he “wanted to consult” with his attorneys before the firing. USADA attorney Matthew Barnett “made no effort to pressure Landis into recanting testimony on Saturday that he had never taken a performance-enhancing substance.” Closing arguments in the hearing are scheduled for today (L.A. TIMES, 5/23).
Meanwhile, the three-member arbitration panel “denied Landis’ motion to strike the testimony of LeMond from the record” (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 5/23).
APOLO ANTON OHNO WINS ON ABC’S “DANCING WITH THE STARS”
Speedskater Apolo Anton Ohno won this season’s “Dancing With The Stars” on ABC last night, defeating Joey Fatone and boxer Laila Ali in the finals. The broadcast also featured interviews with celebrities from previous seasons, including last year’s winner, former NFLer Emmitt Smith, who said, “People have forgotten all about my football career. I walk by somebody and they do a double-take and they’ll say, ‘Are you that guy that danced?’” (“Dancing With the Stars,” ABC, 5/22).
Ohno and dance partner Julianne Hough appear with milk mustaches in a full-page Got Milk? ad in USA Today that celebrates their win on “Dancing with the Stars” (THE DAILY).
SPORTS FACILITIES & FRANCHISES CONFERENCE CONTINUES
IN NEW ORLEANS
The Street & Smith’s Sports Facilities & Franchises conference
continues today at The Wyndham New Orleans at
SBD, SBJ OFFER SPORTS AND POP CULTURE READER SURVEY....
PICKING SIDES … Nick Faldo OR Johnny Miller … SportsBusiness Journal and SportsBusiness Daily want you to weigh in on current SPORTS and POP CULTURE issues.
Please take a minute and GIVE US YOUR SPIN! To access the quick, four-question survey, please click HERE. Then, look for the results in coming issues of THE DAILY and SBJ.
SPEED READS….
ESPN today will premiere a “SportsCenter” in
The AFL Brigade tomorrow will announce that the team will play its home games
at the
The L.A. Times Web site today will begin posting “Day in L.A.,” a daily column by Christine Daniels, formerly Mike Penner, on the events, personalities and themes that surround Southern California sports (L.A. TIMES, 5/23).
Former jockey Steve Cauthen, who rode Affirmed to the Triple Crown in
’78, has joined Capital Play Inc. in its bid to take over the rights to thoroughbred
racing in
Aegon and Transamerica run a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal congratulating PGA Tour player Zach Johnson for winning the AT&T Classic with the header, “The Power of Determination” (THE DAILY).
QUICK HITS….
“I could probably break dance on the side of the street, make a couple of bucks here and there” –Expected No. 1 NBA Draft pick Greg Oden, after ESPN’s Dan Patrick jokingly asked him if he has “another job you can fall back on” (“Kia NBA Shootaround,” ESPN, 5/22).“We’re talking to Clay. … But let’s be honest, here. If that franchise does
move, the odds-on favorite is
“I will never reconsider my decision. … I won’t be there” – Baseball HOFer Hank Aaron, on whether he would be present when Giants LF Barry Bonds breaks his all-time home run record (AP, 5/23).
“I would like to own a team. That would be kind of cool to get an opportunity to call some of the shots” – Yankees SS Derek Jeter, on plans to buy an MLB franchise after he retires (1050 ESPN Radio, 5/22).
“Yes. Go, Raiders!” - Robert Charles Comer, who was executed by lethal
injection yesterday in
TODAY’S EVENTS….
Seton Hall Univ. will hold a press conference to officially announce that the
school’s men’s basketball team will play its home games at the
The Gold Group will host an online seminar entitled “The Impact of Social Media and Mobile on Sports Sponsorship and Marketing” at noon ET. NASCAR CMO Steve Phelps and PGA Tour Senior VP/New Media Paul Johnson will participate.
A two-day
A national educational initiative, “Live Outside The Bottle: The Story of Alcoholism in America,” will begin a five-day visit to Indianapolis Motor Speedway. IRL driver Al Unser Jr., a recovering alcoholic, will be at the exhibit today from 1:00-3:00pm.
IN OTHER NEWS….
Payless ShoeSource has agreed to acquire Stride Rite for $800M in cash. Payless
CEO Matt Rubell said that there are “no plans to pump Stride Rite’s brands
into Payless Stores.” Payless will change its corporate name to Collective
Branding Inc. once the deal closes and will “operate Payless and Stride Rite
shoe stores under their existing name.” Stride Rite will retain its HQs in
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
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N.Y.
Daily News
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Newsday
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Philadelphia Daily News
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Boston
Herald
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FINAL JEOPARDY!
Last night’s “Final Jeopardy!” category was “Sports Legends.”
“Between 1977 and 1980, he won a state high school championship, an NCAA championship and an NBA championship.”
LAUGH TRACK….
THE MONOLOGUES
CBS’ David Letterman: “All week long it’s Fleet Week here in
NBC’s Jay Leno: “Earlier today, President Bush unveiled his tough
new immigration policy. He wants to deport Jimmy Carter. ... Over the
weekend, Jimmy Carter called President Bush and his administration the ‘worst
in history.’ Well, President Bush’s approval numbers have dropped as low as
28%. That’s the lowest for any president since Jimmy Carter. ... (Bush) was
caught driving by reporters not wearing his seatbelt. He was down at the ranch
and he was driving around without his seatbelt, and his aide says he just refuses
to buckle up. You know, Bill Clinton had the exact same problem. ...
The Democrats announced they’re going to have six debates in six different cities
all around the country, and the good news is Hillary Clinton will use
a different accent for each city. ... In
LATE NIGHT LAUGHS
Last night’s Top Ten list was “Top Ten Surprises In Al Gore's New Book.” The list was read on-stage by Charles Barkley, who was a guest on last night’s show. After sitting down for the interview, Barkley said, “You know, one time when I come here I want to do a Top Ten list. I’ve seen a couple of them this year. They’re always good ... and I want Biff to rub me down.” Barkley was referencing when the show’s Biff Henderson rubbed Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez with sun tan lotion during his report from spring training. When told the Top Ten list was about Al Gore, Barkley said, “It ain’t going to be boring like him, is it?” (“Late Show,” CBS, 5/22).
| 10) “Dedicated to his ‘soul mate’ Lindsay Lohan.” |
| 9) “52 chapters...to match his waist size.” |
| 8) “Chastises Bill Clinton for not sharing the hot intern action.” |
| 7) “After the 2000 election, shaved his head and checked into rehab.” |
| 6) “All proceeds go to Paris Hilton's legal defense fund.” |
| 5) “The threat that keeps him up at night? A massive Fritos shortage.” |
| 4) “In his opinion there's no species more endangered than the Yankees pitching staff.” |
| 3) “Besides the Internet, also claims to have invented Keno.” |
| 2) “If Blake loses ‘American Idol,’ plans to appeal to the Supreme Court.” |
| 1) “Brags that he has now written more books than President Bush has read.” |
Barkley was asked about Michael Jordan’s comeback seven years ago and how Barkley was training with him and thinking about returning to basketball as well. Barkley: “That was a good decision I made not to come back ... because he was the greatest basketball player ever, and he wasn’t any good when he came back. Imagine how bad I would have been.” CBS’ David Letterman asked whether a possible Pistons-Spurs finals match-up is a “glamorous pairing?” Barkley: “It always annoys me when people say that. I wish that we could have Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Shaquille [O’Neal] and everybody, but I want to see the best teams” (“Late Show,” CBS, 5/22).
Former NBAer John Amaechi appeared on Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report” last night, where host Stephen Colbert introduced him by saying, “My guest tonight is a former NBA player who wrote a book about coming out of the closet. ‘Top of the key,’ ‘in the paint,’ ‘out of the closet’: I don’t understand these basketball terms.” Colbert: “Your journey ... to the NBA was different from other athletes because you are English. Was it hard being in a locker room with other men who don’t know how to play cricket?” Amaechi: “I don’t think that was my major concern.” Colbert asked, “When did you choose to be gay?” Amaechi: “That’s not how it works. It’s genetic, it’s biological, lots of different reasons.” Colbert: “But did you choose to be a basketball player?” Amaechi: “That I chose.” Colbert: “You chose to be this tall ... because it’s more likely to be biologically a basketball player than biologically a gay person. God wouldn’t make gay people ... but God would make basketball players because there’s nothing in the Bible about bringing the rock to the hole.” Amaechi: “It depends how you look at that, I suppose” (“The Colbert Report,” Comedy Central, 5/22).
LAST NIGHT’S TV MONITOR….
| Net | Show | Lead | Next Items |
|---|---|---|---|
| ESPN | “Around The Horn” | Cavaliers F LeBron James passing up possible game-tying shot | NBA Draft Lottery; Jazz-Spurs |
| ESPN | “PTI” | LeBron James | NBA Draft Lottery; Which NBA team needs number one pick the most? |
| ESPN | “SportsCenter” | NBA Draft Lottery | Jazz-Spurs; Red Sox-Yankees |
| FSN | “BDSSP” | Redskins RB Clinton Portis’ comments on dog fighting | Falcons QB Michael Vick’s off-field problems; Heat G Gary Payton interview |
| FSN | “FSN Final Score” | NBA Draft Lottery | Jazz-Spurs; Red Sox Yankees |
FINAL JEOPARDY….
“Who is Magic Johnson?”
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