| | The Daily Insider
Morning News & Headlines
Friday, February 4, 2005
9:00am ET | |
| |
| • | NHL And NHLPA Meeting Again Today In Last-Minute Attempt To Save Season |
| • | Heavy Influx Of Visitors Today Will Clog Up Super Bowl Host City Jacksonville |
| • | Marlins Reach Agreement With Miami-Dade County On $420M Ballpark Plan |
| • | Bucs’ Raymond James Stadium Tops NFL Players’ List Of Best Playing Surfaces |
| • | BCS Commissioners Consider Poll Of 50-60 Experts To Replace The AP Poll |
| • | Morning Briefs/In Other News/Laugh Track/TV Monitor/Final Jeopardy! |
NHL SEASON HANGS IN THE BALANCE AS SIDES MEET AGAIN IN N.Y.
Following yesterday's nine-hour-plus bargaining session, the NHL and NHLPA will reconvene today in N.Y. in a last-ditch effort to save what is left of the '04-05 season. An ESPN.com report yesterday cited a team owner who believed the league would cancel the season today (THE DAILY). But an unnamed player after speaking to a union exec last night said, “The feeling was it can’t be anything but positive if they are still involved, still talking in the same room” (TORONTO SUN, 2/4). A team GM requesting anonymity said, “I don’t know why you wouldn't look at it as anything but positive” (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 2/4).
Meanwhile, ESPN’s EJ Hradek said, “If the announcement is indeed [today], from a PR standpoint you always give the bad news on Friday and especially you give the bad news in the sporting world on a Friday before the Super Bowl. It’s a good way to keep a lot of the heat off you” (ESPNews, 2/3).
125,000 OR SO VISITORS BEGIN DESCENSION UPON SMALL-MARKET JAX
The DETROIT NEWS notes that Jacksonville’s “small amenities” will receive a “big test starting today as 125,000 visitors begin to descend upon sport’s biggest spectacle. With the crush of people heaviest in downtown, it will be difficult to find a parking spot, get a restaurant table or drive anywhere, including work.” Jacksonville Super Bowl Host Committee President & COO Michael Kelly: “It’s a major undertaking. Only 11 other cities have ever done this” (DETROIT NEWS, 2/4).
The PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS notes that a “rough count at the popular Jacksonville Landing showed a 3-to-1 edge” in Eagles jerseys (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 2/4).
ON THE GROUND IN JACKSONVILLE: NFLPA PARTIES HARD
Where’s the sun? That continued to be the million-dollar question in Jacksonville. A cold mist fell intermittently last night, and people patiently – but gradually growing more impatient – wait for the cold and rain front to move on, as has been anticipated for the last two days. When asked who they were rooting for on Sunday, one local answered simply, “The sun.”
Thursday night saw a few top-line parties, as the NFLPA held its annual bash about ten minutes from downtown at Mussallem Galleries, a fascinating 15-plus-room museum featuring oriental rugs, eclectic fine art and antiques, including a Van Gogh oil painting, James Whistler’s “Nude” and Rembrandt’s “Portrait of a Rabbi.” All the items in the collection were for sale, with a portion of the proceeds going to NFL Player Charities.
Hosted by NFLPA Exec Dir Gene Upshaw and Players Inc brass Doug and Pat Allen, among others, the event drew hundreds who listened to live music while munching on shrimp cocktail, cheese trays, prime rib, roasted turkey and large dessert bars. Among the players spotted: Peyton and Eli Manning, Jerome Bettis, Richard Seymour and Tim Brown. Also, AMG President & CEO Werner Scott had his impressive trio of Barry Sanders, Curtis Martin and Emmitt Smith on hand meeting people and posing for pictures. Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio, AFL Commissioner David Baker and PGA Tour player Jim Furyk were also seen.
Peyton Manning has been in and out of Jacksonville all week, and said he was scheduled to fly down on Wednesday, but was redirected after the plane accident at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. He did fly into Jacksonville yesterday after jetting to Indianapolis on Thursday to accept an award from the Indianapolis legislature and help promote plans for a new Colts stadium.
Manning talked up the prospects of the new facility, scheduled to open in ‘08. He also discussed his recent vacation to Cabo San Lucas and his popular MasterCard spot. “Everywhere I go now people are chanting something from that ad. ‘Cut that meat,’ ‘You’re my favorite accountant!’ The greatest part about shooting that ad is the director really let me make it up as I went along,” Manning said. “For that last scene, he told me, ‘Say what people say to you,’ and that’s where I came up with the lines, ‘You’re on my fantasy team, you’re my favorite quarterback!’” Asked how many takes the spot took, he said, “Well, the scene I was yelling ‘cut that meat’ took a bunch, because they kept saying, ‘Yell it louder, louder!’”
NOTES: Visa is hosting most of its exclusive hospitality in St. Augustine….Players Inc said it had 442 paid and unpaid player charity appearances here in Jacksonville, the most in its history…. Upshaw said he is scheduled to have more CBA meetings with NFL Exec VP/Labor Relations Harold Henderson next week….The best stadium turf for players in the NFLPA’s annual survey? The Buccaneers’ Raymond James Stadium. The five worst? The RCA Dome, Edward Jones Dome, Network Associates Coliseum, Metrodome and Heinz Field. See the full list.
Meanwhile, the H.E.L.P. Foundation will host "A Night of Elegance" red-carpet gala at the Jacksonville Museum of Modern Art at 6:00pm ET. See our Super Bowl parties and events calendar for more details.
TODAY FROM JACKSONVILLE: ROUND-UP OF SUPER BOWL HEADLINES
With the Eagles and Patriots in Jacksonville for this weekend’s Super Bowl XXXIX, The Daily offers a round-up of headlines from Philadelphia, Boston and the host city:
The Florida Times-Union:
The Philadelphia Inquirer:
The Philadelphia Daily News:
The Boston Globe:
The Boston Herald:
USA Today runs a special Super Bowl preview section. Full-page advertisers include IMG, Cisco, HBO, Campbell’s Soup, Radio Shack, Pepsi, MBNA, FedEx, Lincoln, Dodge and Paramount Pictures for its upcoming releases “Sahara” and “The Longest Yard." Other advertisers include Best Buy, Verizon Wireless, Quiznos, Volvo, Borders and Fox.
Have you submitted your picks in our annual Super Bowl Pick ‘Em contest yet? If not, be sure to do so today by 5:00pm ET. Defeating your fellow readers will result in an award second in prestige to the Vince Lombardi Trophy itself – recognition in The Daily and SportsBusiness Journal.
MARLINS WILL CHANGE NAME TO MIAMI MARLINS UNDER STADIUM DEAL
The MIAMI HERALD reports that the Marlins and Miami-Dade County have “reached an ‘agreement in principle’ on funding for a $420[M] ballpark next to the Orange Bowl that would give the county and city of Miami a lien on the franchise if the team can’t cover cost overruns.” Under the plan, the team would contribute $192M and eventually change its name to the Miami Marlins. While the plan still has a $30M funding gap, the team will ask the Florida legislature next month for a $60M sales tax rebate over 30 years to help finance the ballpark (MIAMI HERALD, 2/4).
BCS COMMISSIONERS DISCUSS POSSIBILITY OF ADDING EXPERT POLL
BCS conference commissioners will conclude their meetings today in Dallas, and the BOSTON GLOBE reports that the group yesterday discussed the possibility of adding a poll of 50-60 college football experts to replace the AP poll. Other topics discussed were BCS game dates and the broadcast rights fees required by the bowls. Fiesta Bowl Exec Dir John Junker: “We’re making some progress. What we have to do is make sure we’re all talking the same language. I think we are, but we’ve got a ways to go yet” (BOSTON GLOBE, 2/4).
MORNING BRIEFS
U.S. Customs agents over the last year have seized more than $5M worth of counterfeit hats, jerseys and other Super Bowl items around Jacksonville (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 2/4).
Lions Exec VP & COO Tom Lewand has “declined an offer to interview for the presidency of the [Seahawks]. Lewand cited a commitment to the Ford family ownership and a desire to help in rebuilding the Lions as his reasons for staying” (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 2/4).
The Int’l Luge Federation has called off luge test events on the ’06 Turin track after a number of accidents in the past week (AP, 2/4).
Yao Ming this year received a record 2,558,278 votes for the NBA All-Star Game. Tim Duncan, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and Tracy McGrady will join him on the Western Conference starting five, while Vince Carter, Allen Iverson, LeBron James, Shaquille O’Neal and Grant Hill make up the Eastern Conference starters (NBA).
Sources confirmed that IRL team owner Adrian Fernandez, who hails from Mexico, will drive Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 5 Chevy in NASCAR’s March 6 Busch Series race in Mexico City (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 2/4).
Russell Corp. yesterday announced a five-year master licensing agreement with Itochu Fashion System to develop the Spalding brand in Japan (Russell Corp.).
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 | N.Y. Daily News |
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| Philadelphia Daily News |
IN OTHER NEWS….
The WALL STREET JOURNAL notes that PepsiCo yesterday reported a Q4 ’04 profit of $985M, a 7.8% increase over $914M in the year-ago period. Revenue climbed 9% to $8.8B. The company’s beverage unit “got a lift from the Gatorade sports drink and Propel fitness water, … which were one reason operating profit in the North American beverage business jumped 15% to $451[M] on volume growth of 2%” (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 2/4).
The L.A. TIMES reports that Comcast “has created a group to oversee its growing stable of channels under the direction” of former News Corp. exec Jeff Shell, who will join Comcast in May as President of Comcast Programming. The group includes E!, Style, G4, The Golf Channel, OLN and regional sports channels, among others. Additionally, Comcast is developing three new channels with Sony (L.A. TIMES, 2/4).
FINAL JEOPARDY!
Last night's "Final Jeopardy!" category was “Biblical Names.”
“This biblical figure’s name comes from the Hebrew word meaning ‘to be drawn’ from the water.”
LAUGH TRACK
THE MONOLOGUES:
CBS’ David Letterman: “Here’s how dumb I am. I watched the whole State of the Union Address and I have no idea what he said. Here’s what happened. Early on, my dog steps on the remote, and I had to listen to the rest of the speech in Spanish. ... It was a long, dull speech. Halfway through, Ted Kennedy sent drinks over to the Bush twins. ... This weekend is the Super Bowl, and then you know the next big event after that? Martha Stewart gets out of prison. While she’s been in the slammer, she already has a deal with NBC to host her own primetime show like ‘The Apprentice’ when she gets out. ... That’ll teach her not to break the law! ... What a tremendous thing – to watch the Super Bowl. What’s better than gathering the whole family around the television to learn about the side effects of Cialis? ... The game, of course, is on Sunday. Here’s how cocky the New England Patriots are: on Saturday, they’re going to Disneyland” (“Late Show,” CBS, 2/3).
NBC’s Jay Leno: “Last night, President Bush gave his State of the Union Address. In a related story, John Kerry rented ‘Shrek 2.’ By all accounts, it was a very good speech. The President congratulated all the brave Iraqi voters who made this last Sunday’s elections a tremendous success. Where despite being shot at, you all made it to the polls, and he was just talking about the Iraqis in Detroit. ... According to the Boston Globe today, they said in his speech, President Bush came off as a combination of Winston Churchill and Bill Clinton. Two different ways to use a cigar basically. ... Odds-makers say the Philadelphia Eagles have a 50-50 chance of winning on Sunday. No, that’s just the coin toss. ... A big coaching problem with the Lakers. They don’t have one! Rudy Tomjanovich quit. Kobe Bryant hasn’t been this upset since he called home and Karl Malone answered” (“The Tonight Show,” NBC, 2/3).
LAST NIGHT’S TV MONITOR
| Net | Show | Lead | Next Items |
| ESPN | “Around The Horn” | Super Bowl QB debate | Phil Jackson; Patriots coach Bill Belichick |
| ESPN | “PTI” | Phil Jackson | Bill Belichick; Eagles |
| ESPN | 11:00pm ET “SportsCenter” | NHL Lockout | Super Bowl preview; Emmitt Smith retiring |
| FSN | “I, Max” | Super Bowl preview | Phil Jackson; Duke-Wake Forest |
FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER
“Who was Moses?”
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