Morning Buzz

STARS EXPECTED TO NAME TONY TAVARES INTERIM PRESIDENT & CEO

Tony Tavares "may be named" the Stars' new interim President & CEO "today, tomorrow, or sometime next week." Tavares "will provide a very solid conduit" between GM Joe Nieuwendyk and the Exec Committee formed by the group of lenders that now owns the team. Tavares also will “help polish up the team and present it to the current bidders or to a new group of bidders"
(DALLASNEWS.com, 12/16).

TCF BANK STADIUM COULD BE CLEAR OF SNOW TODAY AHEAD OF BEARS-VIKINGS

Minnesota Officials Expect To Have Snow Off TCF Bank Stadium Field By Noon Today

Univ. of Minnesota Associate AD Scott Ellison said that the "entire field could be free of snow by noon" today at TCF Bank Stadium in advance of Monday's Bears-Vikings game. As of yesterday evening, "nearly half of field had been cleared of snow." A clear field would "allow the field to be covered with heaters and a tarp." Ellison added that remaining ice spots "will be treated with salt and not chemicals."

Seating for the game "will be first-come, first-served, with lines forming three hours before game time." There are 64,000 ticket holders for the game but only 51,000 seats at the stadium, so the Vikings are "looking into off-campus sites for displaced fans to gather and watch the game" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 12/17).

TULSA AD CUNNINGHAM SIGNS NEW CONTRACT; KANSAS CONTINUES SEARCH

Tulsa AD Bubba Cunningham has accepted a new contract with the school, "ending speculation" that he would be the next AD at Kansas. A source said that Cunningham was "offered the KU athletic director's job" on Tuesday. Terms of his new deal were not disclosed (TULSA WORLD, 12/17). Kansas' search is expected to continue. A search committee "had contact with athletic directors from several schools and could resume contact with candidates"
(LAWRENCE JOURNAL WORLD, 12/17). 

FOX WILL ANNOUNCE PLANS TO ADD MUSIC TO TV COVERAGE OF NFL GAMES

Fox today will formally announce plans to add music to its coverage of NFL games, starting with its regional telecast of Sunday's Cardinals-Panthers game at 1:00pm ET. This comes after an "unannounced test" during last week's Seahawks-49ers telecast. Fox Sports President Eric Shanks said that game playlists "could include famous artists … but will also draw on original medleys." For Sunday's game, Fox has "15 new cuts" from composer James Cardoni (USA TODAY, 12/17).

BENGALS, BUCCANEERS FACE BLACKOUTS; RAMS MEET SELLOUT REQUIREMENTS

The Bengals have announced that Sunday’s game against the Browns “did not sell out in time for the local TV blackout to be lifted” (DAYTONDAILYNEWS.com, 12/16).

The Buccaneers' home game Sunday against the Lions will be blacked out locally "for the seventh time in as many regular season games at Raymond James Stadium this year"
(TAMPABAY.com, 12/16).

The Rams announced that Sunday's game against the Chiefs at Edward Jones Dome "has met NFL sellout requirements and will be televised locally." However, a limited number of tickets remain for the game (STLTODAY.com, 12/16).

BOXING DRAMA "THE FIGHTER" HITS THEATRES NATIONWIDE TO RAVE REVIEWS

Paramount Pictures' "The Fighter" hits theatres nationwide today. The film, directed by David O. Russell and starring Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale and Amy Adams, is based on the story of former junior welterweight boxing champion Micky Ward (THE DAILY).

The L.A. TIMES' Kenneth Turan writes the film "tries a number of risky maneuvers and manages to make them pay off in the end." The N.Y. TIMES' A. O. Scott writes the movie is "quick on its feet and packs a mighty punch." ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY's Owen Gleiberman writes, "There's a certain predictability to 'The Fighter,' yet that's part of the appeal of the fight genre." The DETROIT NEWS' Tom Long writes, "It’s audacious, it's fun, it's rowdy, and it's just twisted enough to always be interesting."

SPEED READS….

ESPN has reached a deal with the uDrove Humanitarian Bowl for the TV and radio rights to the game through '13 (ESPN).

Twins C Joe Mauer will be the cover athlete for the second straight season for Sony’s “MLB The Show” video game franchise. “MLB 11 The Show” is due in stores on March 8 (Sony).

The NFL said that it "plans to visit the Jets' headquarters today to gather more information about the Sal Alosi tripping incident" (N.Y. POST, 12/17).

Marquette Univ. announced that it will add both men's and women's lacrosse as varsity sports starting in spring '13, joining the Big East Conference for the '13-14 season
(MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 12/17).

QUICK HITS….

“This current ratings run with the NFL reconfirms that there is no platform that comes close to gathering and delivering tens of millions of people for an event like network television” – NBC “SNF” Producer Fred Gaudelli, on the networks seeing increased ratings for NFL games this season (BOSTON GLOBE, 12/17).

“All I can say is, I’m working hard to see whether there can be basketball next year. Until there isn’t, I remain optimistic that there will be” – NBA Commissioner David Stern, on there being little progress in CBA negotiations with the NBPA (N.Y. TIMES, 12/17).

“I like Mike Ilitch personally, but I don’t like his decision to move the team to downtown Detroit, so I’m rooting for the other bidders” – Oakland County Exec Brooks Patterson, on Ilitch’s plan to move the Pistons out of Oakland County if he acquires the team (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 12/17).

“You want to fine guys $75,000, but are we going to play on this frozen field? I don’t know, it really doesn’t make much sense to me” – Bears CB Charles Tillman, on players having concerns about playing Monday’s game against the Vikings at TCF Bank Stadium amid the league's increased emphasis on player safety (ESPNCHICAGO.com, 12/16).

“My guess is it has to happen this session” – Minnesota Chamber of Commerce VP/Government Affairs Tom Hesse, who feels a new Vikings stadium needs to move forward in the state’s Legislature next year (STARTRIBUNE.com, 12/16).

TWITTER ME THIS….

London Telegraph’s Paul Kelso: “Blatter's endorsement of winter world cup in 2022 makes mockery (even more) of bid process. Why not have it in 2021 instead? Or on the moon.”

National Post’s Bruce Arthur: “Wait, the prize for a Leafs TV contest is tickets to a game in Boston? Do you get autographs from Tuukka Rask and Tyler Seguin, too?”

Daily Variety’s Stuart Levine: “HBO's 24/7 docuseries on the Capitals and Penguins was terrific. Reminds me of my sportswriting days and how nice hockey players are.”

ESPN’s Michael Wallace: “With 607K-plus votes on first all-star ballot returns, how much national so-called hate is really out there for LeBron James?”

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

TODAY'S EVENTS….

NFL Cardinals Owner Bill Bidwill is one of three keynote speakers and honorary doctorate recipients at commencement ceremonies at Northern Arizona Univ.

Univ. of Georgia TE Aron White will be the lone student speaker during the fall-semester commencement ceremony.

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 "Skyscrapers."

"After a construction boom fueled by oil and gas money, this capital city now has Europe's tallest building."

Last night's edition of "Jeopardy" featured the category "Soccer To Us!"

For $200: "In 2002 Germany's Oliver Kahn was named World Cup MVP, the first from this position that may hand-le the ball."

For $400: "In 1987, at age 15, she joined the U.S. women's team and later won the World Cup and two Olympic Gold Medals."

For $600: "In July 2010 this country won its first ever World Cup by defeating the Netherlands, 1-0."

For $800: "This name of Chicago's MLS team refers to an 1871 event."

For $1000: "About 80% of the world's soccer balls are made in this country, most of them in Sialkot, north of Lahore."

LAUGH TRACK….

THE MONOLOGUES:

CBS' David Letterman: "How about that Julian Assange? Do you know who I am talking about? The WikiLeaks guy. Creepy. Today he was released from custody, which is a great thing because the guy is behind in his holiday leaking. A lot of classified government documents have been leaked all over the world. I tried to read through them and I came to the conclusion that I don't care. Here's the kind of thing I care about. How did 'Burlesque' get a Golden Globe nomination? You folks care about baseball right now? I think the big story so far in the offseason is the fantastic pitcher, Cliff Lee, and the Yankees, they offer the guy $200 million to come to New York City. And he said no, and I thought, 'Are you kidding me? $200 million? That is Mrs. Tiger Woods money.' … The Yankees saved $200 million. So you know what that means? Yankee tickets are still at a fan-friendly 1,500 bucks. … Too bad about that Cliff Lee thing, and the Yankees were desperate. They wanted the guy. At the end they were even willing to throw in Kate Hudson. … By the way, congratulations to the founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg. He was named Time magazine's 'Man of the Year.' The guy is a multi-billionaire and in addition to the honor of being Time's magazine 'Man of the Year' they threw in a free one-year subscription. I was named 'Man of the Year' by Waste of Time magazine" ("Late Show," CBS, 12/16).

NBC's Jay Leno: "I was visited by the ghost of Christmas future. Took me 20 years into the future. You know what? Clippers still suck. Are you sick of this cold weather already? It is so cold back east, instead of sending out more secret documents, the guys at WikiLeaks are burning them now just for the heat. It was so cold, Charlie Sheen paid $12,000 for a snow blower. It was so cold in Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called hell, asked for an early check-in. Here's something kind of frightening. I don't want to ruin anybody's holiday, but captured insurgents have told Iraqi authorities that al-Qaeda is planning Christmas attacks in the U.S. and Europe. Well of course, the U.S. government sprung into action. They told al-Qaeda, 'Hey, you cannot call them Christmas attacks. You have to call them holiday attacks, Okay?' … Justin Bieber will not face criminal charges for punching a kid in the face at a laser tag park in October. Remember that? Allegedly, he punched a kid in the face. Well, they're not going to bring charges. Police said the trouble was finding anyone who would testify on the record that they got beat up by Justin Bieber. … McDonald's is now being sued for supposedly trying to lure children into the restaurants with Happy Meals with toys in them. You know, didn't we have a better way to stop kids from eating too much junk food? I think they were called parents" ("Late Show," NBC, 12/16).

LATE NIGHT LAUGHS:

Last night's Top Ten List was "Top Ten Things Overheard During Larry King's Final Show" ("Late Show," CBS, 12/16).

FINAL JEOPARDY….

"What is Moscow?"

Correct responses to the "Soccer To Us!" category:

For $200: "What is goalie?"

For $400: "Who is Mia Hamm?"

For $600: "What is Spain?"

For $800: "Who are the Fire?"

For $1000: "What is Pakistan?"

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

The Morning Buzz provides an early update of the news and headlines each Monday through Friday at approximately 9:00am ET. If you would like to sign up for an e-mail alert to the Morning Buzz, go to My Account and personalize your e-mail alert options.