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The Daily Digest for Monday, March 31, 2008 |
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March 31, 2008 |
≡ The Daily Digest ≡
 Colosseum: too small for future NCAA regionals? |
= To Our Readers =
In addition to posting our regular daily column of news, observations and commentary, we now distribute The Sports Examiner DAILY, a .pdf-format newsletter – with bonus features – with the daily Tip Sheet that can be printed out to take with you or forwarded to your laptop to read later.
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= Tonight’s Menu =
>> Los Angeles, Ca.: The 45-28 Dallas Mavericks are in Los Angeles tonight to play the 22-51 Clippers, who broke their latest losing streak with a win over Memphis on Saturday. Dirk Nowitzki is out for Dallas, and Tim Thomas is questionable for the Clippers. The Mavericks have won five straight over the Clips, but have lost two in a row themselves and are only 5-5 in their last 10. Nevertheless, they’re a six-point favorite tonight, with an over-under of 190, so the final is supposed to be Dallas 98, Clippers 92.
>> Los Angeles, Ca.: In today’s baseball openers, both the Dodgers and Angels are favored. The Dodgers have Brad Penny going at Dodger Stadium against San Francisco and it takes $190 to try to win $100 on the Dodgers, while $100 on the Giants could return $170.
In Minnesota, the Angels have Jared Weaver on the hill and it takes $135 to try to win $100 on the Halos, while $100 on the home team could return $125.
= L.A. Stories =
>> What’s Bruin:
See our daily blog on UCLA sports at LATimes.com!
= Panorama =
The National Pastime:
>> Miami, Fl.: The most unbelievable of all baseball stats on Opening Day is the payroll of the Florida Marlins: $21 million for its 25-man active roster.
As Dave Hyde of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel puts it: “These owners get $30 million in revenue sharing from other teams, which neither [former owners] Wayne Huizenga or John Henry got in their tenures. They also get $30 million in local and national TV money. All that before selling a ticket.”
Even by baseball standards, the payroll is low. Florida’s is the lowest, but the second-lowest is Tampa Bay – the other Florida baseball team – at $42 million, or double what the Marlins are. The major-league average is $89.9 million. So why so cheap? Hyde has that answer too: “It also looks like the Marlins are keeping the decks cleared of costs to sell to a new owner as the $600 million stadium windfall nears.”
The Marlins will have a new, $600 million stadium in 2011, built on the site of the famed Orange Bowl, paid for with public funds. “[Owner Jeffrey] Loria and [team president David] Samson need to talk about why they have this curb-high payroll. If they want to answer along the lines of why dogs lick themselves – because they can – that’s fine. People understand greed. That’s their call.
But they need to say why [Miguel] Cabrera couldn’t be afforded when just two years ago, at the previous player purge, they said he was the anchor to the future.”
>> New York, N.Y.: “SportsNet New York suits quietly rolled out a segment in which Mets announcers took calls from fans during two recent exhibition games. But nothing is every quiet once you open the phones.”
That’s Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News, noting the idea of fan call-ins during a television broadcast of a game is fairly new, compared with what radio has done for many years. And there are other reasons to consider it:
Making fans part of the broadcast is not costly. There’s another financial angle to consider. There’s not much new in-game advertising inventory to sell. Everything, from the first pitch of the game to the “call” to the bullpen, is sponsored. A call-in element, no matter when it takes place, would be something new for SNY to peddle.
If some sponsor would pay a premium price if calls were taken during a game, well, money might just dictate when these phones start ringing. One advertising executive said it would be hard to determine “right now” what “level” of sponsorship dough an advertiser might pay to attach a company’s name to a “Call to the Booth” segment.
One positive: SNY told Raissman that all calls will be on a five-second delay.
College Hoopla:
>> Chapel Hill, N.C.: North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough will likely be the consensus player of the year, but Vahe Gregorian of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes that the junior just does not know whether he’ll jump to the NBA. And there are good reasons to stay.
“Whenever he leaves, Hansbrough is projected to be a middle to late first-round pick, said ESPN analyst and NBA draft expert Jay Bilas, a projection that Tar Heels coach Roy Williams agrees with.
“Conceivably, Bilas, said, Hansbrough could rise into the top 15 or 20 a year from now, a negligible difference.”
Williams thinks Hansbrough can improve his outside shot and his defense, which will help him in the draft, but Williams said the consensus was that Hansbrough should do as he pleases, “because it is not going to change.”
>> Detroit, Mi.: Always opinionated Jason Whitlock of the Kansas City Star wasn’t impressed with Kansas’ 59-57 win over Davidson in the Midwest Regional final on Sunday.
“Kansas won because it has so much talent it can bring an NBA center [Sasha Kaun] off the bench. Kansas won because Stephen Curry ran out of has and missed a series of second-half shots that he’s made throughout the tournament.
“Kansas won because it’s Kansas and has superior relationships with AAU coaches and more resources than Davidson.”
And in case anyone had doubts, he stated flatly: “It would be dishonest to paint some lovely picture of Kansas’ 35th victory. Besides Sasha Kaun (13 points, six rebounds in 20 minutes), there were no heroic efforts on Sunday.”
>> Indianapolis, In.: Forget about the Final Four, even the NCAA Men’s Tournament Regionals are too big for basketball arenas any more, judging by the sensational attendance over the weekend.
While Saturday’s West Region final was played in front of 18,103 at U.S. Airways Center in Phoenix and 19,092 filled the Bobcats Arena in Charlotte for the final, the Sunday crowds at two football stadiums showed what the future of the regionals will be:
In the South, Memphis and Texas played in front of 32,798 at Reliant Stadium, normally the home of the Houston Texans, and
At Ford Field in Detroit, a staggering 57,563 came to see Kansas outlast Davidson, 59-57.
In 2009, two of the four regionals will be in domed football stadiums: University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Az. and the new Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, In. By 2010, it will be three out of four, with regionals in Reliant Stadium again, the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis and the Carrier Dome in Syracuse.
What about the first and second-round games? The HHH Metrodome will host tournament games next season.
NBA Hoopla:
>> Portland, Or.: “In a couple of years, he will understand how stupid that was. I understand it, because I’ve done it.”
That was Portland Trailblazers coach Nate McMillan on recovering rookie center Greg Oden, who is in his sixth month of rehabilitation after microfracture surgery on his right knee. He is supposed to be preparing for training camp in October, but played in a couple of pick-up games last Wednesday night at a fitness center near Portland. One of the participants in the games wrote an account of Oden’s play on the Internet and the story quickly reached the Blazers, who were in Oakland to play Golden State.
“I let him know he can’t do that,” said McMillan in a report in The Oregonian. “We let him know that he doesn’t need to be there. We have plenty of workout equipment and gym space at our facility.”
Oden has a contract with the Blazers for two years at a total of $8.06 million, with team options for the third and fourth seasons.
Rings & Things:
>> Colorado Springs, Co.: Reports from both Colorado Springs and Chicago indicate that the U.S. Olympic Committee will keep its headquarters high in the Rocky Mountain city of 388,000.
A special meeting of the Colorado Springs City Council is scheduled for today to finalize the offer to the USOC. The offer reportedly includes about $53 million in incentives, including a new headquarters building in the downtown business district to be available by July 30, 2009, a temporary headquarters site downtown that would be available in August, renovation of the visitor’s center and new housing for up to 158 athletes at the Olympic Training Center.
In addition, several of the U.S. national governing bodies for Olympic sports would be relocated to another building in the downtown area as part of the deal.
Will the USOC take up the offer? It has scheduled a news conference for this afternoon, so it looks like the answer will be yes. Is this the right things for the USOC to do? No, but it’s apparently a better deal on the table than that offered by Chicago, giving that city its first defeat in its campaign for the 2016 Games.
Rassle Maniacs:
>> Orlando, Fl.: The show is what the audience came to the Citrus Bowl for, but the live audience of 74,635 that sat through a light rain helped to make Wrestlemania 24 one of the more compelling shows in the history of the franchise. Highlights:
More than 40 people were injured when some of the fireworks and supporting cables fell into the crowd. The Orlando Fire Department reported that three people requested transport to a local hospital.
The Undertaker captured the WWE World Heavyweight Championship from Edge in a long match lasting more than 24 minutes. The crowd liked that.
In the “Triple Threat” championship match, Randy Orton held on to his belt by defeating Triple H and John Cena in a little over 14 minutes.
Ric Flair, “the Nature Boy,” lost what may be his last match (then again, maybe not) to Shawn Michaels in 20:34. The 59-year-old Flair, one of the best villains in wrestling history, had the crowd in tears . . . or was it the rain?
Boxer Floyd Mayweather, weighing all of 147 pounds, naturally was able to defeat The Big Show, who measures seven feet tall and 457 pounds. Mayweather wore boxing gloves, took a break after three minues, and then used a combination of low blows, a pair of brass knuckles and some steel chairs conveniently near his corner to take out his opponent in 11:40. More than one person in the audience felt the results might have been pre-arranged.
~ Rich Perelman
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