| • | NFL, NFLPA To Hold Collective Bargaining Session Today In DC |
| • | Breakaway Soccer League Plans To Bring Back NASL Moniker |
| • | Twins To Unveil "Twins Around Town" Statues In Minneapolis |
| • | Ann Lathrop To Be Named New President Of Indianapolis' CIB |
NFL, NFLPA HOLDING COLLECTIVE BARGAINING SESSION TODAY IN DC
By Liz Mullen, Staff Writer, SportsBusiness Journal
The NFL and the NFLPA will hold their first collective bargaining session today in DC for a new labor deal since the league rolled out its full economic proposal to the union, sources said. As previously reported, the league made an economic proposal – including a rookie wage scale and credits against NFL club owners expenses – at the last formal bargaining session in N.Y. on November 4. It is not known if or how the union may respond to the league's proposal. Both sides have agreed to keep the details of the talks secret.
NEW BREAKAWAY SOCCER LEAGUE PLANS TO REVITALIZE NASL MONIKER
A breakaway group of United Soccer League (USL) team owners announced that the league will be named the North American Soccer League (NASL). The league hopes to “recreate the excitement and history of the old NASL,” which operated from ’68-84. The NASL will be comprised of nine teams in the U.S. and Canada, “most of them former USL franchises” (TAMPABAY.com, 11/23).
The new NASL, which is slated to begin its inaugural season in April, will bear “little resemblance” to the previous league, other than name. The NASL "wants to be to MLS what Class AAA minor league baseball is" to MLB (BIZJOURNALS.com, 11/24).
TWINS TO UNVEIL "TWINS AROUND TOWN" STATUES IN DOWNTOWN MINNEAPOLIS
The Twins today will unveil "Twins Around Town," a series of "as many as 50 resin statues cast in the likenesses" of current and former Twins players to be displayed in downtown Minneapolis. The effort celebrates the team's 50th season "as well as the opening" of Target Field. The statues are being made by TivoliToo. Individuals can sponsor a statue for $14,000 and later buy it for $3,000 after the '10 season (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 11/24).
INDIANAPOLIS' CIB SET FOR LEADERSHIP OVERHAUL, INCLUDING NEW PRESIDENT
Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard's office today will announce "one of the city's most significant overhauls in the leadership" of the Capital Improvement Board (CIB), which manages the city's sports venues. CIB Treasurer Ann Lathrop will be named President, replacing Bob Grand. Lathrop said that she "will focus on getting the board on stable, long-term financial footing." Also today, responses are due from private operators interested in managing the facilities (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 11/24).
JIMMIE JOHNSON RAMPS UP MEDIA BLITZ FOLLOWING FOURTH CUP TITLE IN A ROW
 |
Johnson Taking Part In Media Blitz Following
His Fourth NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship |
NASCAR driver
Jimmie Johnson today continues his whirlwind media tour in the wake of his fourth consecutive Sprint Cup championship. Johnson appeared on Fox News' "Fox & Friends." The last spot in the commercial break prior to his appearance was an ad for Chevy. When asked about his desire to spread the popularity of the sport, Johnson said, "Once somebody has a chance to go to a race … they're a fan for life" (
"Fox & Friends," Fox News, 11/24).
Johnson also appeared on ABC's “Good Morning America” this morning and donated three team jackets to the show’s Warm Coats & Warm Hearts coat drive. ABC’s Chris Cuomo said, “If Jimmie Johnson has enough time to slow down and donate coats, we all do, right?” (“GMA,” ABC, 11/24).
Johnson today in N.Y. will flip the switch to illuminate the Empire State Building blue, white and yellow – the colors of primary sponsor Lowe's. The special lights will help mark today as Jimmie Johnson Day in the city. Free agent LF Johnny Damon will introduce Johnson. Meanwhile, NASCAR.com's home page features an online video celebrating Johnson's achievement (THE DAILY).
JUDGE UPHOLDS SALE OF PONTIAC SILVERDOME TO TORONTO-BASED DEVELOPER
Oakland County (MI) Circuit Judge Edward Sosnick yesterday agreed to allow the sale of the Pontiac Silverdome to Toronto-based Triple Properties for $583,000, “lifting a restraining order that had stalled the sale for a week.” Development firm Silver Stallion Corp., which had offered $20M for the property last year, claimed that it “had a legal right to buy the 35-year-old stadium” (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 11/24).
Meanwhile, Triple Properties CEO Andreas Apostolopoulos is “not sure what he’ll ultimately do with the stadium, adjacent fieldhouse and 127 acres of land,” but said that he would like to “return it to being a place that hosts” sporting events and concerts. Apostolopoulos: “Our plan is to leave it as a stadium but one day, eventually, that could be different” (TORONTO STAR, 11/24).
SPEED READS….
Diamond Foods' Pop Secret brand today announced that it will air a new commercial during CBS' Super Bowl XLIV telecast on February 7. Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, S.F., is the snack food company's ad agency of record (Diamond Foods).
 |
Kellogg's To Be Primary Sponsor Of
RFR Car For Two Races Next Year |
Kellogg's will be the primary sponsor of Roush Fenway Racing's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series No. 99 Ford driven by
Carl Edwards for two races in '10 and an "associate sponsor for the remainder of the season." Kellogg's has sponsored Hendrick Motorsports cars for the past 16 years (
FOXSPORTS.com, 11/23).
The New York Court of Appeals today may release its decision on the use of eminent domain for the Atlantic Yards project. The list of rulings yesterday did not include such a decision. After today, the next scheduled date for rulings is December 1 (Bergen RECORD, 11/23).
Official confirmation of the return of a Canada race to the '10 F1 calendar is expected this week, according to French-language newspaper La Presse. The paper said that Montreal and Quebec's government "could give the green light on Wednesday" (AUTORACING1.com, 11/24).
The Islanders and Txtstation today announced a partnership to bring fans at Nassau Coliseum mobile interactivity through the remainder of the '09-10 season. Txtstation has similar deals in the NHL with the Flyers, Coyotes, Stars, Sharks and Capitals (Txtstation).
Abu Dhabi plans to build a 65,000-seat sports stadium. The facility will feature a retractable roof and will be United Arab Emirates' "largest sport stadium," surpassing the 50,000-seat Zayed Stadium, also in Abu Dhabi (THENATIONAL.ae, 11/24).
QUICK HITS….
“You do not necessarily need to give out revenues evenly to be competitive” – EPL CEO Richard Scudamore, defending the league’s policy of unequal distribution of TV revenue among clubs (REUTERS, 11/24).
“The next few weeks are important for him. We’ve got to see if people’s goodwill generates an actual offer somewhere” – Agent Jeff Dickerson, on his client, NASCAR driver David Stremme, being one of several drivers without a full-time Sprint Cup ride next year (SCENEDAILY.com, 11/24).
“Do you think if he finished second, the price was going to come down?” – Twins GM Bill Smith, on some Twins fans being fearful that C Joe Mauer winning the MVP award will make it more difficult to retain his services after next season (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 11/24).
“It was a bit surprising. There were really very few bids” – Toronto real estate developer Andreas Apostolopoulos, on his winning bid of $583,000 for the Pontiac Silverdome (GLOBE & MAIL, 11/23).
TWITTER ME THIS….
L.A. Times’
Lisa Dillman: “Classy move: Baron Davis had all the players sign the game ball from Friday night's victory and it was presented to Ralph Lawler.”
FanHouse.com’s Kevin Blackistone: “I'm confused. Chris Berman does weight loss commercials and Applebees commercials.”
“Late Show” writer Eric Stangel: “A new streak has begun- Bud Adams has now gone 1 week without giving his opponent's fans the finger. Congrats!”
Eau Claire Leader-Telegram’s John Casper: “The Maui Invitational was always the best part of Thanksgiving Week for me. You can have your turkey, give me Hawaiian shirts on coaches.”
Slam magazine’s Marcel Mutoni: “Eric Snow and Brent Barry make Dikembe Mutombo sound like an Obama speech.”
If you see a tweet we won’t want to miss, send it to us at editorial@sportsbusinessdaily.com.
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 “Odd Titles.”
“Gilbert & Sullivan's "Mikado", not Milne, gave us this hyphenated title for a pompous functionary.”
LAUGH TRACK….
THE MONOLOGUES:
CBS’ David Letterman: “Khalid Sheikh Mohammed – he’s going on trial here in New York City. ... This guy is pure evil. Listen to this – one time, this guy called CNN and told them that his son was floating away in a balloon. Khalid is expected to get a tough reception here in New York City because everybody hates him. Why not? Here is a guy you can hate. And on top of that, he’s a Red Sox fan. … Have you ever had buyer’s remorse? I woke up this morning and I thought, ‘What am I going to do with a rhinestone glove?’ … Anybody go see the big blockbuster vampire movie over the weekend? This movie opens up – $140(M) first weekend. It’s about teenage vampires, and I thought to myself, ‘I’m not going to see the teenage vampire movie. If I want to see guys who suck, I’ll go watch the Jets.’ … Everybody traveling this week and people are stranded in airports for the holidays. Boy, didn’t see that coming. All of the flights are delayed. I don’t care where you’re going. I’m a half-full kind of guy and so I look at the bright side. I think, ‘Well, the flights are delayed. Great, it gives the pilots a little more time to sober up.’ … Every couple of years, we have this story. They arrested a guy, pulled him off of a flight because he had exotic lizards in his clothing. He is smuggling exotic lizards in his pants, in his shirt. At first on the flight, one of the male flight attendants noticed something squirming in the guy’s pants. For a second, he thought he had found Mr. Right. The trouble started when passengers noticed a long tongue shot out of the guy’s fly and grabbed an olive off the beverage cart. Then later, he was dropping live crickets down his pants. … There is a great promotion at Barnes & Noble. You buy the Sarah Palin book now and they’ll throw in a free Mayan calendar. John McCain, Sarah Palin’s former running mate, read the Sarah Palin memoir. After 23 years of military service, five years as a prison of war, 22 years as a U.S.senator, I’m sure that John found Sarah’s story very inspirational. … A lot of people are saying that it’s too soon for Sarah Palin to write a memoir and they say she should wait until she had at least ten more years of inexperience” (“Late Show,” CBS, 11/23).
NBC’s Conan O’Brien: “Last night on the American Music Awards, Jennifer Lopez fell while performing a song and she landed on her rear end. There were no survivors. … Also at the American Music Awards, Adam Lambert caused a controversy by having a dancer on a leash simulating oral sex with another dancer and making out with a male band member. And that was just in the men’s room. ... After Adam Lambert’s performance at the AMAs, ABC says it received more than 1,500 angry calls from viewers. When they heard about all those viewers, NBC announced the premiere of ‘Adam Lambert’s Nightly Gayorama.’ … Earlier tonight, the TLC network aired the final episode of ‘Jon & Kate Plus 8.’ Apparently this is what President Obama meant by ‘yes, we can.’ … The ratings just came in for Sarah Palin’s appearance on ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’ and it earned Oprah her highest ratings since the episode where she reunited the Osmond family. Viewers who saw both episodes say Palin is more likeable but that Donny and Marie are more qualified to be President. … Yesterday, a U.S. astronaut currently in space became a father when his wife gave birth to a baby girl back on Earth. The astronaut said, ‘I can’t wait to get home, especially because I’ve been gone for ten months.’ … Two of the contestants from this season of ‘The Biggest Loser’ are now dating each other. They said it all started when he asked her out to dinner and a movie and dinner. … The prime minister of Italy is being accused of hosting an orgy where two lesbians massaged his feet. He is also being accused of not knowing how to do an orgy. … ‘Today Show’ weatherman Al Roker has published his first novel, a murder mystery set at a TV morning show. Even more exciting, the person who gets murdered is a female host named Smathy Lee Gifford. … The new ‘Twilight’ vampire movie – this thing is a phenomenon. It took in a whopping $142(M) over the weekend and 80% of those tickets were bought by women, proving that the ultimate fantasy of today’s women is a guy who penetrates your flesh, then disappears in the morning” (“The Tonight Show,” NBC, 11/23).
LATE NIGHT LAUGHS:
Last night’s Top Ten list was “Top Ten Signs Oprah Doesn’t Care Anymore” (“Late Show,” CBS, 11/23).
| 10) “Greets guests with, ‘What do you want?’” |
| 9) “When Dr. Phil’s name comes up, Oprah mutters, ‘Quack.’” |
| 8) “Instead of ‘woo hoo,’ can only muster a ‘woo.’” |
| 7) “Dumped Stedman for that ‘Jon and Kate’ dude.” |
| 6) “Yesterday’s show was Oprah watching an episode of ‘Tyra.’” |
| 5) “Hosts program in sweatpants and Tweety bird t-shirt.” |
| 4) “Friday show now entirely devoted to her college and pro football picks.” |
| 3) “‘Oprah’s Book Club’ now ‘Oprah’s Bookie Club’ (That’s barely a joke. We promise to do better in the new year).” |
| 2) “Today’s topic: ‘Oprah Takes A Nap.’” |
| 1) “Last three guests were Johnnie Walker, Jim Beam and Jose Cuervo.” |
FINAL JEOPARDY….
"What is a pooh-bah?"
Pooh-Bah is a haughty character in the comedic opera “The Mikado” that held several titles, including Lord Chief Justice, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Master of the Buckhounds, Lord High Auditor, Coroner, Archbishop of Titipu, Groom of the Back Stairs, and Lord High Everything Else (THE DAILY).
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please let us know at:
pbounds@sportsbusinessdaily.com.
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