Morning Buzz

IMG INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS FORUM KICKS OFF THIS MORNING IN N.Y.

The ninth annual IMG Intercollegiate Athletics Forum, hosted by SBJ/SBD, begins today at the W Hotel in N.Y. Morning sessions consist of an opening address from NCAA President Mark Emmert, a one-on-one interview with Georgia State football coach Bill Curry, and panel discussions titled "Conference Commissioners Speak Out on Expansion and Realignment" and "Assessing the State of Intercollegiate Athletics."

This year's event sponsors are IMG, Chartis, Aecom Ellerbe Becket, Heery, Seating Solutions and Mangia. Britten is the official signage provider, and the conference is presented in association with the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics.

See a full agenda, and check for updates on the SBJ/SBD Twitter page or via Twitter hashtag #sbjiaf.

NFLPA, NFL EXTEND DEADLINE FOR UNION TO FILE COLLUSION GRIEVANCE

The NFLPA and the NFL extended today’s deadline for the union to “file a collusion grievance against the league owners.” The NFLPA has been “building a case since only one of the 216 restricted free agents” was signed to an offer sheet this past offseason. The current CBA set the deadline as “within 90 days of the regular-season opener, which was Sept. 8.” A new deadline has not been announced (ESPN.com, 12/7).

MARKETERS, SPONSORSHIP EXECS ATTENDING NFL SEMINAR AT SUN LIFE STADIUM

By Terry Lefton, Editor-At-Large

The NFL is holding a sponsorship seminar today at Sun Life Stadium, with around 90 team marketers and sponsorship execs expected to attend. Presentations are scheduled from league sponsors, including Gatorade and Barclays, along with sports marketing agency execs Mike Levine from CAA Sports and Greg Luckman, CEO of WPPs GroupM Entertainment & Sports Partnerships.

NFL Senior VP/Corporate Development Neil Glat said there will also be presentations on various hot-button sponsorship issues, including measurement/ROI, activation, and a session on building marketing platforms outside of games, with help from David Saltz, a music/entertainment consultant who helped fashion many of the Dolphins’ recent entertainment partnerships with the likes of Jimmy Buffett and Gloria Estefan.

“We want to share best practices, share ideas, and give our people a chance to get a 360 view of the overall sponsorship market,” Glat said.

FORTUNE BRANDS BOARD APPROVES PLAN TO SPIN OFF OR SELL ACUSHNET

Acushnet today announced that the BOD of its parent company, Fortune Brands, has approved in principle a separation of Fortune's three businesses, resulting in the sale or tax-free spin-off of the Acushnet Company. The move is designed to maximize long-term value for Fortune Brands shareholders. Acushnet includes golf equipment/apparel brands Titleist and FootJoy (Acushnet).

LOTUS AND RENAULT PARTNER FOR F1 TEAM, BUT NAME FACES CHALLENGE

Group Lotus has partnered with Renault in a seven-season deal to create the Lotus Renault GP F1 team, "creating further uncertainty over the use" of the Lotus name. Renault said the deal "marks the complete return of the Lotus manufacturer to the sport," with the new team to race black-and-gold Lotus cars through '17. But Lotus Racing principal Tony Fernandes plans to rebrand his F1 team as Team Lotus "and is pursuing a case through London's High Court" to keep the rights to the name (AP, 12/8).

ESPN TO ANNOUNCE THAT BILL SIMMONS WILL DEBUT AS NBA GAME ANALYST

ESPN today is expected to announce that writer Bill Simmons "will make his debut as an NBA game analyst" during Friday's Heat-Warriors contest at 10:30pm ET. Simmons will work alongside play-by-play voice Dan Shulman and fellow analyst Mark Jackson (USA TODAY, 12/8). CBSSPORTS.com's Ben Golliver notes Simmons "has questioned the Heat throughout the offseason," and the "timing of Simmons' guest spot should make for some fireworks."

MICHAEL WILBON TO WRITE FOR ESPN WEB OUTLETS, APPEAR ON RADIO SHOW

By John Ourand, Staff Writer

Just a day after he wrote his goodbye column after 30 years in The Washington Post, columnist Michael Wilbon has agreed to write for ESPN.com and ESPNChicago.com. A Chicago native, Wilbon also will do a weekly segment on ESPN Radio's "Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN Radio 1000 Chicago. ESPN.com and ESPNChicago.com will post Wilbon's first column chat today. He also will host an online chat.

USA TODAY RELEASES ANNUAL STUDY OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL COACHING PAY

Saban To Earn Close To $6M This Season

USA Today offers its annual examination of college football coaching salaries in a front-page piece, finding that at least 59 FBS head coaches make $1M or more annually plus bonuses. That is "just shy of half of the 120" at that level. The national average is $1.36M, up 35% from three years ago but "essentially the same as last season." This is the first time the paper "hasn't calculated an increase since beginning its annual study" in '06.

Alabama's Nick Saban will make almost $6M this season, "including a one-time payment of more than $530,000" (USA TODAY, 12/8).

SPEED READS….

The New York Off-Track Betting Corp. is “shutting down after the state Senate rejected a plan to rescue” the bookmaking operation. OTB employs about 1,000 workers “spread among 54 locations in the five boroughs.” OTB branches in Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan will “remain open through Monday”
(AP, 12/8).

The Hyundai Sun Bowl has announced a sellout, “the quickest sellout” in the bowl game’s history. The Dec. 31 game features Miami-Notre Dame at the 50,426-seat Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso (MIAMI HERALD, 12/8).

Vodafone, as part of its Vodafone Racing Facebook campaign, today released an online video featuring F1 drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, both of whom are on the McLaren Mercedes team sponsored by Vodafone (MARKETINGMAGAZINE.co.uk, 12/8).

QUICK HITS….

“My plate is full right now. My only focus is on the Saints, doing all I can to help them win another Super Bowl” – Saints Owner Tom Benson, on whether he is interested in acquiring the Hornets (New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE, 12/8).

“Frank is certainly open to settlement talks, as he has been all along, but he has no interest in selling the team. The Dodgers are not for sale” – Attorney Marc Seltzer, on the uncertainty surrounding the ownership of the Dodgers in the McCourt divorce case (USA TODAY, 12/8).

“I am a budget guy, but we got money to spend. We have money coming off and we always put most all of it back and that’s what the fans expect” – Yankees co-Chair & Managing General Partner Hal Steinbrenner, on the team’s interest in free agent P Cliff Lee (N.Y. POST, 12/8).

“I don’t think anybody’s in favor of having a setup where you have 16 teams make the playoffs or 14 teams make the playoffs. But there seems to be balance there that hopefully would be explored” – Angels manager Mike Scioscia, who is a member of a special committee that is discussing expanded playoffs (AP, 12/7).

“I’m a little nervous and on edge. I really don’t want to go into free agency, but at the end of the day if I have to experience it I’ve just got to deal with it. But I don’t want to be sitting at home with no job, no team” – Dolphins DE Tony McDaniel, on facing free agency this offseason with a possible lockout looming  in ’11 (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 12/8).

TWITTER ME THIS….

ESPN’s Rob Neyer: "The outrage regarding Marvin Miller reminds me of the outrage regarding Buck O'Neil. Lots of name-calling, not much rational discussion."

Globe & Mail’s David Shoalts: "Bettman said Hulsizer has to commit to keeping Coyotes in Phoenix 'for certain term.' NHL usually demands 7-yr committment."

Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald: "My grandma just called me & left a voicemail & said call me on my house phone when u get this.And u can call 'Collect'!? Ru serious?LOL."

Former NFLer Kurt Warner: "By the way @LarryFitzgerald, I know ur a little cheap, so if it would get u to call me more, hit redial after granny & call me collect too!"

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

TODAY'S EVENTS….

The MLS will hold its inaugural re-entry draft, which was put in place with the new CBA to give league veterans greater flexibility to move within the league. DC United has the first pick.

Local officials from Raleigh and Wake County, N.C., will announce plans for a public celebration around the NHL All-Star Game at RBC Center on Jan. 30.

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 "Flags of the World."

"In use from 1844 to 1905, a flag representing the union of these two countries was nicknamed the 'Herring Salad.'"

LAUGH TRACK….

THE MONOLOGUES:

CBS' David Letterman: "Here's how cold it is in New York City: The security guys out at the airports, LaGuardia and Kennedy and Newark, it's so cold they put their hands in their own pants. It's so cold over at Flash Dancers just down the street, three girls froze to the pole. … Let me tell you a couple of things about New York City. First of all, the murder rate is up. Maybe you heard about this. Last night a bunch of guys, a whole bunch of guys, got murdered. Did you hear about this? The Jets. … Earlier this year on ABC, I think, was 'Charlie Brown’s Christmas.' Great isn’t it? According to a recent poll most Americans still believe Charlie Brown is a Muslim. … Anybody gone down to Macy's? It's crazy down there. I was bumped. I was shoved. I was touched. I was groped. I was fondled. Hell, I'm going back tomorrow. Anyway, they had to fire a Santa Claus because he was making inappropriate jokes. Well, I can identify with that. But honestly in his defense, we've got to give the guy a break, because it's a tough job being a department store Santa. In his defense, he was drunk. News from Washington: President Obama has agreed to an extension of the Bush-era tax cuts. If there's anything we need it's an extension of the Bush era. This deal, as I understand it, will cost billions of dollars and leave both sides unsatisfied. It's like a Larry King divorce is what it is" ("Late Show," CBS, 12/7).

NBC's Jay Leno: "Are you from back east? The freezing cold weather continues. The snow – let me tell you, it is no picnic here in Los Angeles. Last night, my wind chimes were making so much noise, I got up, I closed the bedroom window. I'll tell you how bad it was back east. Last night, in my home state of Massachusetts, 45 jets were grounded. Okay, they were New York Jets, but that's okay. Last night, the New England Patriots beat the New York Jets 45-3. I haven't seen jets beaten up that bad since the last time I flew Southwest. In other football news, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will need surgery for a broken nose he sustained in his win over the Baltimore Ravens. He said the break was so bad, in a bar after the game, he couldn't even smell the mace sprayed in his face by a terrified co-ed. That WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange turned himself in to police in England today. When the judge asked him where he lived, he said he didn't want to give out that information. You can understand that. Everybody has the right to privacy, don't they? Maybe 'WikiHypocrite' is a better name for the site. … According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for college graduates is now the highest it's been in 40 years. In fact, do you know what they call a B.S. degree now: B.S." ("The Tonight Show," NBC, 12/7).

LATE NIGHT LAUGHS:

Last night's Top Ten List was "Top Ten Signs You're Having A Bad Holiday Season" ("Late Show," CBS, 12/7).

ABC's Jimmy Kimmel: "Something amazing happened last night on 'Monday Night Football.' I don't know if you saw this. The Jets played the Patriots. It was a blowout, and not just on the field. It was windy in Foxborough and that is Robert Kraft. Next to him is Donald Trump and Donald's hair appears to be trying to escape from his head. Have to say, when I saw it, I said, 'I feel like I've been waiting my whole life to see this video.' … His hair is more into the game than he is. Anyone who thought Donald Trump's hair was fake, not only isn't it fake, it's alive" ("Jimmy Kimmel Live," ABC, 12/7).

FINAL JEOPARDY….

"What are Norway and Sweden?"

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

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