Morning Buzz

ADIDAS' Q3 PROFIT UP 25% AMID HIGHER SALES NUMBERS AT REEBOK UNIT

adidas today reported Q3 net profit rose 25%, "driven by higher sales in all its regional markets and at its Reebok unit." Net profit was US$378M, up from US$303M in Q3 '09. adidas forecasts FY '10 sales to rise by about 8% "driven by strong growth at Reebok, exposure to emerging markets and the 2010 FIFA World Cup." Based on a "gradually improving consumer market," the company said that it "expects earnings per share to increase faster than sales" at a rate of 10-15% in '11
(DOW JONES NEWSWIRES, 11/4).

Revenues for the Reebok brand, which is currently "focusing on fitness," are up 14% from the year-ago period (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 11/4). 

PADRES' JEFF MOORAD COMPLETES DEAL TO BUY, RELOCATE PCL BEAVERS

Sources confirmed that Padres Vice Chair & CEO Jeff Moorad has purchased the Triple-A PCL Portland Beavers and will "station the franchise in Tucson, Ariz., for at least a year in hopes of eventually moving it" to Escondido, Calif. Sources said that Moorad's group agreed to pay $16-20M. A formal announcement of the sale and relocation to Tucson Electric Park is expected later today (NORTH COUNTY TIMES, 11/4).

KENNY CHESNEY'S SUMMER '11 TOUR INCLUDES DATES AT LAMBEAU, ARROWHEAD

Country music singer Kenny Chesney's summer '11 tour is scheduled to feature several dates at NFL stadiums. The website songkick.com is listing a June 11 concert at Lambeau Field, and the Packers said they will hold a press conference today to "announce details for a summer 2011 Lambeau Field concert" (GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE, 11/4). Meanwhile, the Chiefs today announced that Chesney will play a June 30 date at Arrowhead Stadium, the first concert at the venue since '01 (THE DAILY).

Chesney said, "There's a real sense of anticipation that our whole organization has about getting back on the road and playing some of our favorite stadiums and some new ones too like Arrowhead and Lambeau" (USA TODAY, 11/4).

NYRA TAPS LEN DELUCA & ASSOCIATES TO HELP SELL TV, MEDIA RIGHTS

By Liz Mullen, Staff Writer, SportsBusiness Journal

NYRA has hired television & media strategy firm Len DeLuca & Associates to help it sell its television and media rights to the races it owns, including the Belmont Stakes, the third leg of horse racing's Triple Crown. ESPN had the contract to broadcast the Belmont Stakes on ABC, but it expired after the race was run in June. Kentucky Derby owner Churchill Downs recently announced a new five-year deal with NBC. Len DeLuca formerly worked at ESPN as Senior VP/Programming & Acquisitions, but left in September to pursue entrepreneurial opportunities.

RAIDERS COULD END 11-GAME BLACKOUT STREAK AGAINST CHIEFS ON SUNDAY

Tickets for Sunday's Chiefs-Raiders game are reportedly "going fast with the help of a 2-for-1 promotion sponsored by Compass Media Networks." It is "possible that the Raiders will snap their blackout streak at 11 and have a full house" for the matchup, which is widely considered their "biggest regular-season game at this point of the season since 2002" (OAKLAND TRIBUNE, 11/4).

Lions President Tom Lewand announced that Sunday's game against the Jets is a sellout, the team's "third in four home games this season." Lewand said that he "can't remember when the team didn't need an extension to sell out a non-Thanksgiving game" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 11/4). 

ATP ANNOUNCES NISSAN SPONSORSHIP; HIGHLAND SPRING EXTENDS DEAL

The ATP today announced that Nissan has agreed to sponsor the '10 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, and U.K.-based water provider Highland Spring has extended its deal with the tournament through '13. Nissan's deal makes it the official car supplier of the season-ending event, and the car company will receive on-court exposure during the tourney. Highland Spring is the event's official water supplier and this year will have a branded skills area within the Fan Zone at The O2 (ATP).

"SOUTH PARK" MOCKS NIKE'S "RISE" TV AD FEATURING LEBRON JAMES

Comedy Central Airs Parody Of Nike's "Rise" Spot During Last Night's "South Park" Episode

Comedy Central's "South Park" last night parodied Nike's "Rise" TV spot featuring LeBron James. In the episode, BP is responsible for another oil spill, and a fictionalized version of former CEO Tony Hayward appears in a series of apologetic spots. The "Rise" parody includes dialogue from other characters in the super-hero themed episode – Eric Cartman, Captain Hindsight (pictured) and Mysterion.

Some of Hayward's lines include, "What should I do? Should I admit we've made mistakes? Should I remind you we've done this before? ... Should I find newer and better ways to say 'I'm sorry'? … Or should I tell you, 'I am not a role model'? … Should I accept my role as the villain? … Should I not have listened to my technicians, who said a spill wouldn't happen? They’re my technicians." Cartman chimes in at the end, "Should I admit I was wrong, ask for everyone's forgiveness and go back to my original team? No, screw that. I'm just going to keep being a f***ing d***" ("South Park," Comedy Central, 11/3).

SPEED READS….

Chris Dudley Narrowly Loses Oregon Gubernatorial Race

John Kitzhaber (D) has been declared the winner of Oregon's gubernatorial race with 97.7% of precincts reporting. Kitzhaber defeated former NBAer Chris Dudley (R) (POLITICO.com, 11/3).

Hundreds of Rangers fans last night turned out for a rally next to Rangers Ballpark in Arlington “to celebrate the team’s successful season.” The rally included the airing of season highlights on a jumbotron and an address from Rangers President Nolan Ryan (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 11/4).

The Action Sports Retailer trade show, which had been scheduled for Jan. 13-15 at the San Diego Convention Center, has ceased operations. The show, “the biggest in the action sports industry,” has taken place every January and August since ’81 (ESPN.com, 11/3).

QUICK HITS….

“This one, I think, will go over 60,000” – Top Rank Chair Bob Arum, on the ticket sales for the Nov. 13 Manny Pacquiao-Antonio Margarito bout at Cowboys Stadium (ESPNDALLAS.com, 11/3).

“I spoke my mind; they said what they had to say. We had a semi-productive meeting, I guess” – Steelers LB James Harrison, on his meeting with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to discuss rules that relate to illegal hits (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 11/4).

”We're in the gambling business, make no mistake about it. When you add another variable that is so definitive about the outcome of the race, you really, really get yourself in trouble” – Trainer D. Wayne Lukas, on expecting the handle for this year’s Breeders’ Cup to increase because it is being run on dirt instead of a synthetic surface (USA TODAY, 11/4).

"This is a sport and the best should win. Power, politics, manipulation and so on should be kept as far away as possible" – F1 Red Bull Racing team owner Dietrich Mateschitz, to German magazine Der Spiegel, on the team not ordering driver Sebastian Vettel to help teammate Mark Webber, who is second in the points standings (SPEEDTV.com, 11/4).

“Baseball is a business, and Derek's impact on the sport's most valuable franchise cannot be overstated” – CAA’s Casey Close, responding to Yankees co-Chair & Managing General Partner Hal Steinbrenner saying that the team will not overpay to keep SS Derek Jeter during free agency (FANHOUSE.com, 11/3).

TWITTER ME THIS….

ESPN’s Buster Olney: “The timing of Hal Steinbrenner deciding to speak publicly is telling: It's as if he's preparing the NYY fans for an ugly Jeter negotiation.”

Gameplan Creative President & CEO Tom O’Grady: “Blackhawks new game presentation seems to have sucked the life out of NHL's loudest building. Keep fixing things that ain't broke geniuses.”

IndyCar driver Tomas Scheckter: “Note to designers of next indycar play Iracing with Williams f1 and copy it.”

FanHouse’s Scott Howard-Cooper: “Great energy in Arco – throwback atmosphere. And also a lot of Forum Blue and Gold in the stands.”

If you see a tweet we won’t want to miss, send it to us at editorial@sportsbusinessdaily.com.

A LIGHTER BUZZ….

Texas Motor Speedway this weekend will have “two trained capuchin monkeys … selling souvenir programs” for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500. The promotion comes after SMI Chair & CEO Bruton Smith in a meeting earlier this year said, “A trained monkey could sell souvenir programs.” The monkeys will make their first appearance on Friday in the track’s infield from 2:30-4:00pm CT (ESPN.com, 11/3).

IN OTHER NEWS….

News Corp.’s Q1 profit rose 36% to $775M, or $0.30 per share, from $571M, or $0.22 per share, in the year-ago period. Revenue increased 3% to $7.4B. Cable channels, “which now account for 25 percent of revenues, continued to drive results for the media company” (N.Y. POST, 11/4).

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	Newsday

Philadelphia Daily News	Boston Herald

FINAL JEOPARDY!

Last night's "Final Jeopardy!" category was "Billboard No. 1 Hitmakers."

"In May 1964 this New Orleans native was 62 years old when he bumped the Beatles' 'Can't Buy Me Love' from the No. 1 spot."

Last night's edition of "Jeopardy" featured the category "Golf."

For $200: "The right to hit first goes to the person who's this four-letter word, meaning his ball is farthest from the hole."

For $400: "A courteous golfer replaces and repairs this loose piece of turf dug out of a fairway by a swing."

For $600: "Exhibiting Bernoulli's Principle, these indentations on a golf ball cause it to lift and stabilize it in flight."

For $800: "In golfing slang, to use a 'Texas wedge' is to use this club when not on the green."

For $1000: "For 2009-10 this Georgia golf course was rated No. 1 by Golf Digest."

LAUGH TRACK….

THE MONOLOGUES:

CBS' David Letterman: "You can sure tell it's winter. The Democrats have gone into hibernation. By the way, while you were applauding, three more states turned red. Down in Washington, D.C., today, here's what was going on: Volunteers were washing the mud off Democrats and releasing them back into the wild. Republicans are in charge now, ladies and gentlemen, and we all remember how well that worked last time. Voters didn't like the way President Obama was handling the economy. Wait a minute, he was handling the economy? What? Now, Ohio Representative John Boehner succeeds Nancy Pelosi as the Speaker of the House. He will be our first orange Speaker of the House. You know who had a big night – as a matter of fact she’s on the show tonight – Tina Fey had a big night last night. 36 candidates that she endorsed won. … Down in Delaware, Christine O'Donnell, the witch, she lost the election. She conceded, congratulated her opponent and then vanished in a cloud of smoke. She did say our voices were heard. That's what Christine O'Donnell said last night, our voices were heard. That's right, in your head, in your head, lady. People are saying that Christine O'Donnell's career in politics may be over. I think, however, she still has about six months left as a punchline. How about that Rand Paul guy? He was elected and wasting no time, went right to Washington and started stomping Nancy Pelosi" ("Late Show," CBS, 11/3).

NBC's Jay Leno: "What do the Democrats have in common with Charlie Sheen? They both woke up this morning going, 'What happened last night?' … Here in California, Meg Whitman – oh my God – spent $160 million of her own money on her campaign and lost, to which the Yankees said, 'Hey, join the club.' … Prop 19, the ballot measure to legalize marijuana, was defeated. You know how you get around it? Look, medical marijuana is legal. You go to the doctor. You tell them you're really depressed over the fact that Prop 19 lost. He writes you a prescription, you're back in business. … Congratulations to the San Francisco Giants, won the World Series. People in San Francisco haven't been this excited since Lady Gaga's last album came out. Have you ever seen where the Giants play? What is it called? AT&T Park, up there in San Francisco. Beautiful, beautiful ballpark. I'd say it's as beautiful as Chicago's Wrigley Field in late October, but nobody's ever seen Wrigley Field in late October. Did you see the new camouflage uniforms the Army football team unveiled Saturday? You see those? It's kind of cool. Football uniforms in camouflage. In fact, I understand the Buffalo Bills asked if they could borrow them. You know, not to play football, but to sneak out of the stadium afterwards. Buffalo Bills lost again: 0-7. In fact, their quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, he's a Harvard graduate. In this economy, even with an Ivy League education, you can still wind up in a dead-end job" ("The Tonight Show," NBC, 11/3).

LATE NIGHT LAUGHS:

AT&T Customer Service Rep Justin Bieber appeared in-studio to present the Top Ten list on CBS' "Late Show" last night. The list was "Top Ten Reasons Why I'm Glad To Be Named Justin Bieber." Letterman: "In the United States – we checked the census – there are 486,000 Justins, 5,000 Biebers and eight Justin Biebers" ("Late Show," CBS, 11/3).

FINAL JEOPARDY….

"Who was Louis Armstrong?" The No. 1 song was Armstrong's recording of "Hello Dolly."

Correct responses to the "Golf" category:

For $200: "What is away?"

For $400: "What is a divot?"

For $600: "What are dimples?"

For $800: "What is a putter?"

For $1000: "What is Augusta National?"

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please let us know at:
pbounds@sportsbusinessdaily.com.

The Morning Buzz provides an early update of the news and headlines each Monday through Friday at approximately 9:00am ET. If you would like to sign up for an e-mail alert to the Morning Buzz, go to My Account and personalize your e-mail alert options.