| | The Daily Insider
Morning News & Headlines
Thursday, August 28, 2003
9:00am ET | |
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| • | MN Gov. Tim Pawlenty To Meet With Vikings Owner Red McCombs Today |
| • | College Football Season Kicks Into Full Gear Tonight With Three Games |
| • | Robert Morris Univ. To Purchase $10M Complex Today For Div. I Sports Use |
| • | NJSEA President Comfortable With McGreevey’s Position On Nets Subsidies |
| • | ESPN Soccer Analyst Believes David Beckham May Be Headed To MLS |
| • | Morning Briefs/In Other News/Laugh Track/TV Monitor/Final Jeopardy! |
McCOMBS EXPECTS CASUAL MEETING TODAY WITH GOV. PAWLENTY
The ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS reports that MN Gov. TimPawlenty and Vikings Owner Red McCombs will meet today afterPawlenty speaks at the team’s kickoff luncheon. The first face-to-face meeting since Pawlenty was electedlast November “is expectedto be casual. McCombs said he doesn’texpect the team’s stadium issue to be the focal point of the meeting, but itlikely will be addressed in some form” (ST.PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 8/28).
AT LEAST 22 COLLEGE FOOTBALL GAMES ON TV THROUGH MONDAY
USA TODAY notes that the college football season “reallycomes barreling out of the starting gate tonight” as college games will beplayed each of the next five days. There are 22 televised games available tonight through Monday “forviewers with most cable systems,” but take into account “all the networks andcable channels, and the number on TV jumps to 38” (USA TODAY, 8/28). Tonight’s college football schedule is asfollows (THE DAILY):
| Game | Time | Net |
| Miami-Louisiana Tech (at Shreveport) | 7:30pm ET | ESPN |
| Maryland-Northern Illinois | 7:30pm ET | 17 FSN Affils |
| Georgia Tech-BYU | 9:30pm ET | ESPN2 |
In Orlando, Jerry Greene writes that ESPN’s “CollegeGameDay” “deserves applause as one of the best things ESPN does. For one thing, it crosses networkboundaries. Last year, for example, theshow preceded six ABC games, four CBS games, just two ESPN games and one gameshown on the YES network” (ORLANDOSENTINEL, 8/28).
ROBERT MORRIS UNIV. TO MAKE $10M ATHLETIC PURCHASE TODAY
The PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE reports that Robert MorrisUniversity President Edward Nicholson and other school officials todaywill attend a 1:00pm ET news conference to announce a “roughly $10[M] purchasedeal for a recreational center on Neville Island that the school plans to useas a collegiate venue” for Div. I sports, including hockey. The deal for the 32-acre complex with currentowner The Hillman Co. “includes seven largely undeveloped acres, suitable forathletic fields” (PITTSBURGHPOST-GAZETTE, 8/28).
TODAY THE DAILY GOES ONE-ON-ONE WITH…
Which ad industry exec brought GeorgeSteinbrenner and Derek Jeter together for theirbury-the-hatchet Visa spot and is also a published author? To findout, see today’s “Sports Industrialists” section for “THE DAILY Goes One-On-OneWith…”
MORNING BRIEFS
NJSEA President George Zoffinger, on NJ Gov. JamesMcGreevey asking him to cut off negotiations with the group seeking a $100Msubsidy to purchase the Nets: “The governor is extremely comfortable with his position and so amI. I think we did the right thing. The taxpayers are in no mood to be paying formillionaire team owners who have deficits in their businesses” (PHILADELPHIAINQUIRER, 8/28).
The CP reports that Canadian Parliament Member PaulMartin, the “heir-apparent to Prime Minister Jean Chretien,”yesterday said that Canada’s anti-tobacco laws should not “be changed in orderto save the Canadian Grand Prix.” Martin: “I think theanti-tobacco law is really a very important law for Canada. But I hope, and everyone hopes, that thegovernments could find other solutions” (CP, 8/28).
The Pacers yesterday fired coach Isiah Thomas, who hadcoached the team for the previous three seasons. Thomas’ contract, which runs through the upcoming season, will behonored (Pacers). ESPN.com reported that PacersPresident of Basketball Operations Larry Bird is “immediately targeting”former Pistons coach Rick Carlisle, an assistant under Bird with thePacers (ESPN.com,8/27).
ESPN’s Tommy Smyth, on David Beckham: “I don’tthink he can hold a starting spot on the Real Madrid team. That’s why I keep saying he might be goingto the MLS” (ESPNews, 8/27).
The L.A. TIMES reports that World Anti-Doping AgencyPresident Dick Pound has called for the U.S. men’s 1600-meter relay teamat the ‘00 Olympic Games in Sydney to be “stripped of its gold medals becausesprinter Jerome Young had failed a doping test a year before the Games”(L.A.TIMES, 8/28).
The WNBA Lynx’ playoff game tonight at 6:30pm CT against theSparks will be broadcast on WMNN-AM, instead of KFAN-AM, because of thestation’s commitment to preseason Vikings games. The remaining two games of the series will return to KFAN (Lynx).
ATTENDANCE WATCH:
- The HOUSTON CHRONICLE reports that a crowd of 16,054 attended last night’s Copa de Tejas, a matchup of Mexican clubs Cruz Azul and Club Tigres, at Reliant Stadium. While a crowd of 20,000 was expected, “drawing [16,054] during the school year on the same Wednesday night the division-contending Astros [against the Dodgers] drew just 23,094 says quite a lot” (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 8/28).
- The Toronto GLOBE & MAIL reports that a crowd of 20,102 attended last night’s Phillies-Expos game at Olympic Stadium (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL). Prior to last night’s game, the Expos were averaging 12,184, which includes 16 dates at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan (THE DAILY).
A LIGHTER BUZZ
The ATLANTACONSTITUTION reports that it was the “middle of the [Mets-Braves] game Tuesdaynight when the more than 20,000 fans turned to watch a TV news update on thescoreboard video screen at Turner Field. The anchor delivered the local news of the day: Georgia was again thelowest-scoring state on the SATs. Thecrowd let out a loud cheer” (ATLANTACONSTITUTION, 8/28).
THE BACK PAGES
The Morning Buzz offers today’s back page sportscovers from some of the nation’s major metropolitan tabloids:
| | |
| N.Y. Post | N.Y. Daily News |
TODAY’S EVENTS
St. Paul Mayor Randy Kelly and other communityleaders will host an 11:00am CT press conference outside the Xcel Energy Centerto announce the city’s plans to honor Herb Brooks with a permanentmemorial (MinneapolisSTAR TRIBUNE, 8/28).
CBS Sports will conduct a 2:00pm ET conference call topreview the net’s “SEC on CBS” college football season. Coordinating Producer Craig Silver,lead analyst Todd Blackledge and play-by-play announcer VerneLundquist will participate.
The Maple Leafs will officially introduce former Blues VP& Dir of Hockey Operations John Ferguson Jr. as the team’s new GMtoday or tomorrow (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 8/27).
The Pistons will utilize 75 previously selected fans toparticipate in a commercial shoot today and tomorrow for the team’s ‘03-04 adcampaign. Fans selected to participatewill receive two free tickets to a Pistons home game.
The Padres will hostan 11:00am PT photo opportunity for media at Petco Park, as 13 palm trees willbe planted in Palm Court Plaza.
INOTHER NEWS….
DAILY VARIETYreports that FX’ “Nip/Tuck” and ESPN’s “Playmakers” have been “generating solidsummer ratings and headlines,” but do not “expect TNT, the No. 1 rated networkin basic cable, to jump on the bandwagon.” Turner Cable Networks Chief Research Officer Jack Wakshlag: “Theodds are against building a successful original series for the long term” (DAILYVARIETY, 8/28).
FINAL JEOPARDY!
Last night’s “Final Jeopardy!” category was “Famous Ships.”
“In 1999 the wreck of this ship known for its historic 1912rescue effort was discovered 120 miles off England.”
LAUGH TRACK
THEMONOLOGUES:
CBS’ DavidLetterman: “They finally found out what triggered the blackout: A fat guy in Canada is cooking bologna onhis George Foreman Grill. ... I had my hands full today. My mom chained herself to that TenCommandments monument. That big TenCommandments monument has been removed from the courthouse in Alabama. It’s been replaced, I believe by ‘EightSimple Rules For Dating My Daughter.’ ... Mars is the closest it’s been toEarth in 60,000 years. It’s 34 millionmiles away. That’s amazingly close andby the way, for you tourists the dollar is remarkably strong there. ... In NewYork, it’s tax-free week, so that means anything you purchase in a store under$110 is tax-free. This doesn’t meanyou, Winona” ("Late Show," CBS, 8/27).
LATENIGHT LAUGHS:
Last night’s Top Ten list was “Top Ten Real Reasons We’reNot Playing In The U.S. Open,” read on-stage by Venus and SerenaWilliams ("Late Show," CBS, 8/27).
| 10) “Due to the bad economy, this year’s winner only gets thirty bucks.” |
| 9) “Last year, a dozen players were carried off by giant West Nile mosquitoes.” |
| 8) “We can’t give you any details, but we’re very close to catching Saddam.” |
| 7) “You can only hit a ball over the net so many times without getting bored silly.” |
| 6) “I heard the Jets need a quarterback.” |
| 5) “We’re spending our time in the lab developing a third, even more powerful Williams sister.” |
| 4) “What? The U.S. Open is this week?” |
| 3) “Can’t concentrate on game with Mars so close to Earth.” |
| 2) “For once, we thought we’d give the other players a chance.” |
| 1) “Surprise! We’re running for governor of California.” |
WEDNESDAY NIGHT’S TV MONITOR
ESPN’s 11:00pm ET “SportsCenter” led with Cubs-Cardinals,followed by Phillies-Expos and Dodgers-Astros.
FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER
“What was the Carpathia?”
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