| | The Daily Insider
Morning News & Headlines
Wednesday, November 28, 2001
9:00am ET | |
| • | Ground Rules For Arguing MLB’s CBA To Be Established Today |
| • | Last-Minute Efforts To Maintain Lions’ Silverdome Lease |
| • | Iverson, Reebok Ready To Become Marketing Partners For Life |
| • | NHL Players Occupying Olympic Roster Slots Drive Up Salary Averages |
| • | Jean Racine To Put “Today” Show Host Katie Couric On Ice |
| • | A Lighter Buzz/Today’s Events/TV Monitor/Final Jeopardy! |
LAWYERS ESTABLISH GROUND RULES FOR CONTRACTION HEARINGS
The N.Y. DAILY NEWS reports lawyers for MLB owners and players “will meet in New York today to establish the ground rules for future hearings with arbitrator Shyam Das, who will decide if contraction violates the terms of the collective bargaining agreement.” The two sides “are expected to meet again [next] Monday, Tuesday, Dec. 10-13, Dec. 17 and Dec. 21” (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 11/28).
Meanwhile, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig spoke to reporters after the league’s meeting in Chicago yesterday, stating, “I was reading the paper on the way down and you called me 'embattled,' and I have never thought of myself as embattled. ... I have been called a lot of other things in the last two or three weeks” (ESPNEWS, 11/27).
LAST-MINUTE ALTERNATIVES SOUGHT IN LIONS’ STADIUM LAWSUIT
The DETROIT FREE PRESS reports an “eleventh-hour session to seek a compromise in a lawsuit pitting the Detroit Lions against the City of Pontiac” over the team’s “intention to break a Silverdome contract four years early” is set for this afternoon. Oakland County Circuit Judge Fred Mester “ordered Lions owner William Clay Ford Jr. and Pontiac leaders, including outgoing Mayor Walter Moore, to attend.” The dispute will go to trial Tuesday, December 4, if no agreement can be reached (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 11/28).
REEBOK SET TO OFFER IVERSON LIFETIME ENDORSEMENT CONTRACT
The PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS reports that 76ers G Allen Iverson and Reebok Chair & CEO Paul Fireman “will appear at a news conference today” at 6:00pm ET at the First Union Center to announce the star’s “lifetime” endorsement and marketing contract with the company. The 76ers face the Wizards tonight at 8:00pm ET (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 11/28). The story of Reebok’s contract extension with Iverson was first reported in yesterday’s issue of The Daily.
NHL PLAYER SALARIES INFLATE OLYMPIC TEAM AVERAGES
USA TODAY reports, “When the world comes to Salt Lake City for the Olympic Games, spectators will be watching at least $600 million in NHL talent on the ice.” While the average NHL salary for the ’01-02 season is about $1.5M, the average salaries of NHL players named to Olympic rosters are much higher, ranging from $7.52M for Team Canada to $4M for Sweden (USA TODAY, 11/28).
RACINE SLIDES INTO GUEST SPOT ON NBC’S “TODAY” SHOW
The DETROIT NEWS reports U.S. Olympic women’s bobsled hopeful Jean Racine will appear on NBC’s “Today” show at 9:00am ET today before returning to Park City, UT, to resume training. Tentative plans “call for Racine to slide across the ice at Rockefeller Center in a bobsled with Katie Couric” (DETROIT NEWS, 11/28).
NEXT STOP FOR JEFF GORDON’S MEDIA TOUR? REGIS & KELLY
Winston Cup Champion Jeff Gordon’s “morning blitz” continues today when the driver appears on “Live! With Regis and Kelly” at 9:00am ET. Gordon’s week-long media tour of N.Y. started “with an appearance” on the “Today” show Tuesday morning, and will conclude Friday “with the Winston Cup awards ceremony at the Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria” (NASCAR.com, 11/27).
A LIGHTER BUZZ
The CHARLOTTE OBSERVER notes that Hornets co-Owner Ray Wooldridge “is to meet today” in St. Louis with Blues and Savvis Center Owner Bill Laurie. Laurie “has been trying to bring an NBA team to St. Louis for more than two years” (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 11/28).
Last night’s Bucks-Lakers contest, the “biggest game of the season so far at Staples Center, drew Tiger Woods, tennis player Lindsay Davenport, Pamela Anderson, Garry Shandling, Sly Stallone, Andy Garcia and Jack Nicholson” (AP, 11/28).
The AP notes that Lakers C Shaquille O’Neal “squeezed – barely – into a pair of Utah Jazz shorts Tuesday night in a pre-game gag.” O’Neal “smiled while tugging the size 32 purple shorts onto his size 54 waist,” and asked aloud, “Are these better, Stern?” (AP, 11/28).
The AKRON BEACON JOURNAL’s Chris Tomasson writes of Wizards G Michael Jordan’s performance after last night’s loss to the Cavaliers: “No, this is not your father's Michael Jordan. Jordan looked like a fat Elvis making his final concert tour. Or Marlon Brando in ‘Apocalypse Now’” (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 11/28).
SI’s Cover Story this week profiles the Redskins under the headline, “Skins Game: How To Go 0-5, Then 5-0."
TODAY’S EVENTS
PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem and several Senior Tour players will participate in a media teleconference beginning at 1:30pm ET (THE DAILY).
Pistons G Jerry Stackhouse announced yesterday that he will donate $10,000 to The Salvation Army Bed & Bread Club and the Old Newsboys Goodfellow Fund of Detroit. Stackhouse and NBA HOFer Bob Lanier will present the checks to each charity during halftime of tonight’s Hornets-Pistons game (THE DAILY).
NASCAR.com will broadcast the construction of the stage for its 2001 Winston Cup Awards (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 11/28).
IN OTHER NEWS…..
The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER notes Comcast Corp. will unveil G4, a “gaming network slated to launch next year,” at the Western Show conference in Anaheim. The new net will “air previews and review videos,” but is not an interactive channel (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 11/28).
The BOSTON GLOBE’s Steve Bailey offers his outlook for the 140-year-old John Hancock Financial Services company: “Predicting the future is always risky, but I give Hancock no more than three years before it is swallowed up by a much bigger fish. It could happen in a year” (BOSTON GLOBE, 11/28).
The N.Y. DAILY NEWS reports Canadian publisher Conrad Black “will launch a New York daily newspaper next year, more than two years after he tried to buy the weekly New York Observer and turn it into a Monday-through-Friday publication” (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 11/28).
The WALL STREET JOURNAL reports October’s ad-revenue decline “has been sharper than the ad-revenue falloffs during September.” The news “is startling to some because it signals that the advertising business may not have reached a bottom” (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 11/28).
The ATLANTA CONSTITUTION reports that Coca-Cola board member Herb Allen “has sold 17.4 million worth of stock in the company.” Allen “is one of Coke’s largest shareholders when his personal holdings are combined with those of his family and his privately held business, Allen & Co.” (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 11/28).
The Baltimore SUN reports Univ. of MD officials “are pressuring a popular student Web site, TerpIdiots.com, to drop its name, saying its use is a trademark infringement.” The school owns a trademark on the word “terps.” Univ. of MD spokesperson George Cathcart, on the school’s position: “We regard ‘terps’ as part of our brand. It is a trademark, just like Pepsi-Cola or Burger King” (Baltimore SUN, 11/28).
LAUGH TRACK
Jay Leno, on the Redskins’ five-game winning streak: "[The team is] closing in on first place. It's the most amazing turnaround since Anne Heche" ("Tonight Show," NBC, 11/27).
FINAL JEOPARDY QUESTION
Last night's "Final Jeopardy!" category was "Signs & Symbols."
"To boost morale between two merging insurance companies, it was designed and put on a pin in 1963 by Harvey Ball."
TUESDAY NIGHT’S TV MONITOR
FSN’s 10:30pm ET “National Sports Report” led with MLB contraction.
ESPN’s 11:00pm ET “SportsCenter” led with Illinois-Maryland men’s college basketball.
FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER
"What is the smiley face?"
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