Monday
October 12, 2009
Nine pages © 2009 The New York Times Visit The Times on the Web: www.nytimes.com
Debating Whether Leno’s Show Is Good for NBC in a statement on its Web site.
“However, the likelihood of a
successful outcome is extreme-
Two weeks into a new season, Wednesdays. ing to advertisers, but in the past ly low.” (NYT)
the talk of television is the Leno Late newscasts on local stations NBC’s late-night hours were dom-
effect — and whether it is hazard- affiliated with NBC are reporting inant across the board.
ous to NBC’s health. significant ratings declines, at The rationale for the move of Pincus, 78, Dies
It is not just a question of how least partly because of a ratings Leno was simple: the network Lionel Irwin Pincus, who built
the new “Jay Leno Show” itself drop-off in the 10:30 half-hour that could not endure his likely move Warburg Pincus into a leading
is faring in the ratings, but also precedes them. And the late-night to ABC. But NBC is justifying the Wall Street firm and played a
what the show’s occupation of the programs, led by “The Tonight move by citing both the savings role in changing federal regu-
10 p.m. hour on NBC means to the Show,” that have been a perennial Leno’s show represents over ex- lations on investing, died at his
network as a whole. source of strength for NBC are pensive 10 p.m. scripted dramas home in Manhattan on Satur-
Shows seem to have suffered no longer the automatic winners and the apparent disintegration of day. He was 78.
because they have been displaced against their CBS competition. the 10 p.m. hour across the board. Pincus’s death was confirmed
to new time periods, like “Law & NBC rightly points out that both “Jay is doing fine,” said Jeff by his son Matthew, who said
Order SVU,” which was the lead- its late-night stars Conan O’Brien Gaspin, the chairman of NBC Uni- his father had been suffering
ing drama when it played at 10 and Jimmy Fallon, remain more versal Entertainment. “We’re go- from cancer and its aftereffects
p.m. on Tuesdays, but now is fin- popular with younger viewers ing to look at our average over the for the last three years. (NYT)
ishing last after moving to 9 on who are more valuable in sell- full year.” BILL CARTER
The Big Tests for Letterman Are Still Ahead Music of ‘Glee’
David Letterman walked onto there was no Gawker, the tabloids Then again, there is nothing
Is a Hit With Fans
the stage to a swell of welcome were tamer and TMZ were just more show biz than sleeping with When Fox Broadcasting an-
Friday night, just as he has for three letters of the alphabet. underlings. Hypocrisy and infi- nounced this spring that it was
more than 27 years. He sheep- None of Carson’s foibles led delity, primary colors in the co- adding to its prime-time television
ishly basked in the adoration, but to criminal courts, or more ger- medic palette, will now require a schedule a musical comedy about
then asked: “Are you sure you mane, to a lawyer named Gerald different skill from Letterman’s. a high school glee club, there was
want to be seen with me?” Shargel. Shargel is representing Even seemingly innocuous jokes plenty of reason to doubt it would
They do. Since he acknowl- Robert Joel Halderman, the man must be filtered through what succeed. One can go back to “The
edged more than a week ago that accused of trying to extort $2 mil- the audience now knows about Monkees” and “The Partridge
he had had sexual relationships lion from Letterman. Letterman and what he knows Family” before finding a hit show
with women who worked for him Shargel said last week, “to they know about him. in that format.
and had been the target of an think that David Letterman Peter W. Kaplan, who wrote “Glee” might be changing that,
extortion attempt, his ratings gave the entire story and there’s a profile of Letterman for New drawing an average audience of
are up, his advertisers have re- nothing more to be said is simply York magazine in September, about 7.8 million viewers, accord-
mained stalwart, and the court of wrong.” says Letterman will prevail, but ing to the Nielsen Co.
public opinion has been kind. And the media are on call. not before some nervous nights in What is more, the show’s musi-
So it would appear that Letter- Already, there have been stories the CBS corporate suites. cal performances are as much —
man and his network, CBS, have about Letterman’s in-studio “A gelded Dave isn’t going if not more — of a hit as the televi-
built a ledge above a pit of roiling “bunker” where he allegedly had to work. He knows that,” said sion episodes. Last week, “Glee”
accusations and embarrass- sexual encounters. Kaplan, adding, “The one thing cast recordings accounted for 10
ing revelations that could have Even if the news remains man- Letterman didn’t do here is spots on the iTunes list of top 200
threatened “The Late Show.” ageable, the ultimate effects of compromise that — which is downloaded songs and four plac-
Or have they? the revelations on his abilities as consistent with everything good es on the Billboard Hot 100 for the
Letterman’s hero Johnny Car- an entertainer are tough to know. he’s done. week.
son thrived at the same time that Letterman’s self-loathing is part “I thought Steve Martin’s line The music on “Glee” this season
he worked his way through three of the act: hisregular-guy, Mid- was good: ‘It shows you are hu- has included almost all genres,
divorces. But Carson lived in a western affect has always been a man. We weren’t sure before.’ ” including country (Carrie Under-
very different media epoch, when kind of weapon. DAVID CARR wood’s “Last Name”), hip-hop
(Kanye West’s “Gold Digger”),
contemporary pop (Rihanna’s
Closing the Deal at the Virtual Checkout Counter “Take a Bow”), show tunes
(“Maybe This Time” from “Cab-
Shoppers rarely drive to the Neiman Marcus runs two-hour, international shoppers were un- aret”) and rock oldies (Queen’s
mall, load up their carts and then online-only sales. able to check out. Using Tealeaf’s “Somebody to Love”).
abandon them in the store. On the Customer reviews can also software, Bluefly discovered Ryan Murphy, the creator of the
Web, it happens all the time. nudge would-be shoppers. A com- that the glitch had been there for series, said in May that the search
Many shoppers fill their carts pany called Bazaarvoice helps a year. for music has been an integral
just to keep track of things they e-commerce customers publish Matt Raines, Bluefly’s vice part of the script development.
like or to check shipping rates and user reviews on their sites. president for technology, esti- Clearing the rights to the music
taxes, with little intention to buy. Sites have lost billions in sales mated that the fix would result in for the series has not been a prob-
Zappos.com and Overstock. because customers run into prob- $1.1 million in additional revenue lem, he added. “I can’t think of one
com inject urgency by alerting lems while checking out, accord- this year. artist we’ve gone after or a song I
customers when an item they ing to Tealeaf, a company that “When customers are trying wanted that has been denied.”
have put it in their shopping cart makes software for e-commerce to purchase something, we need On Nov. 3, Columbia Records
is almost sold out. sites. to do everything in our power to and 20th Century Fox Television
Other sites have developed a A month ago, the clothing re- make sure they can do it,” Raines will release “Glee: The Music,
new version of limited-time sales. tailer Bluefly realized that some said. CLAIRE CAIN MILLER Volume 1.” EDWARD WYATT
WEATHER Houston
Kansas City
64/ 61
41/ 35
0.04
0
74/ 61 Sh
53/ 41 C
85/ 69 Sh
53/ 38 C
Cape Town
Dublin
74/ 59 0
58/ 52 0.02
63/ 57 PC
57/ 46 PC
82/ 59 PC
61/ 46 C
High/low temperatures for the 20 hours ended at 4 p.m.
yesterday, Eastern time, and precipitation (in inches) Los Angeles 70/ 62 0 69/ 58 C 69/ 58 Sh Geneva 66/ 50 0.24 55/ 46 Sh 52/ 41 PC
for the 18 hours ended at 2 p.m. yesterday. Expected Miami 91/ 79 0 90/ 81 S 91/ 80 PC Hong Kong 87/ 81 0 86/ 77 R 86/ 79 T
conditions for today and tomorrow. Mpls.-St. Paul 39/ 30 0 38/ 29 Sn 43/ 27 PC Kingston 91/ 79 0 88/ 79 T 90/ 79 S
New York City 64/ 46 0 58/ 46 PC 64/ 49 PC Lima 69/ 60 0 66/ 59 C 66/ 59 C
Weather conditions: C-clouds, F-fog, H-haze, I-ice, PC- Orlando 91/ 73 2.68 92/ 73 PC 93/ 72 PC London 60/ 52 0.01 63/ 46 PC 63/ 45 PC
partly cloudy,R-rain, S-sun, Sh-showers, Sn-snow, SS- Philadelphia 65/ 45 0 59/ 44 PC 68/ 50 PC Madrid 82/ 57 0 73/ 57 S 70/ 54 S
snow showers, T-thunderstorms, Tr-trace, W-windy. Phoenix 88/ 63 0 86/ 68 PC 85/ 67 PC Mexico City 78/ 57 0 77/ 54 Sh 77/ 55 Sh
Salt Lake City 61/ 42 0 68/ 41 PC 68/ 46 C Montreal 50/ 39 Tr 50/ 30 PC 45/ 30 R
U.S. CITIES San Francisco 61/ 52 0 63/ 53 C 63/ 57 R Moscow 44/ 27 0 48/ 37 R 54/ 41 Sh
Yesterday Today Tomorrow Seattle 57/ 44 0 53/ 40 C 56/ 43 R Nassau 92/ 81 0 93/ 79 S 93/ 79 S
Atlanta 75/ 55 0 67/ 62 R 78/ 57 PC St. Louis 54/ 37 0 59/ 40 C 56/ 45 C Paris 62/ 48 0.02 61/ 48 C 63/ 46 PC
Albuquerque 69/ 43 0 73/ 48 S 74/ 51 PC Washington 67/ 49 0 61/ 48 PC 71/ 52 PC Prague 56/ 50 0.13 50/ 45 R 43/ 37 C
Boise 48/ 30 0 59/ 33 PC 65/ 46 PC Rio de Janeiro 80/ 64 0.24 95/ 68 PC 82/ 70 C
Boston 61/ 41 0 56/ 41 PC 54/ 44 Sh FOREIGN CITIES Rome 75/ 59 2.80 70/ 55 Sh 63/ 50 S
Buffalo 50/ 37 0 50/ 33 C 46/ 39 C Yesterday Today Tomorrow Santiago 63/ 46 0.03 68/ 41 S 66/ 41 C
Charlotte 68/ 60 0 59/ 53 R 74/ 50 PC Acapulco 93/ 75 0 88/ 77 R 90/ 77 PC Stockholm 47/ 25 – 46/ 37 R 43/ 36 C
Chicago 43/ 28 0 51/ 34 C 49/ 37 PC Athens 79/ 59 0 84/ 63 S 81/ 55 PC Sydney 68/ 54 0.08 79/ 54 PC 75/ 57 PC
Cleveland 49/ 39 0 54/ 35 C 53/ 44 PC Beijing 66/ 55 0 68/ 52 PC 66/ 55 S Tokyo 75/ 57 Tr 72/ 57 PC 73/ 59 PC
Dallas-Ft. Worth 59/ 52 0.01 66/ 52 C 75/ 64 T Berlin 50/ 46 0.24 50/ 43 R 46/ 41 C Toronto 50/ 32 0 51/ 32 C 46/ 32 PC
Denver 39/ 24 0 45/ 29 C 52/ 28 C Buenos Aires 66/ 54 2.68 66/ 46 S 75/ 54 PC Vancouver 51/ 37 0 52/ 39 PC 48/ 39 R
Detroit 49/ 33 0 53/ 33 C 57/ 41 PC Cairo 89/ 70 0 91/ 73 S 93/ 75 S Warsaw 50/ 45 0.08 52/ 37 Sh 39/ 34 R
sports journal Monday, October 12, 2009 9
East W L T Pct PF PA
Florida Coach Urban Meyer is Bowl Subdivision in total defense, and its defensive line. Joe Haden
Jets 3 1 0 .750 74 57
often credited for the proliferation scoring defense and pass efficien- intercepted a pass against L.S.U. N. England 3 2 0 .600 104 91
of the spread offense in college cy defense. Florida’s offense has and is half of what could be consid- Miami 1 3 0 .250 81 79
football. He is perhaps the most sputtered in spots, but the defen- ered the most intimidating cover Buffalo 1 4 0 .200 77 116
influential offensive coach of the sive coordinator Charlie Strong’s tandem in college football. Meyer South W L T Pct PF PA
past decade, as his innovations unit has lived up to every iota of its said Haden and the sophomore Ja- Indianapolis 4 0 0 1.000 106 62
have helped level the playing field preseason hype. Florida returned noris Jenkins are among the more Jacksonville 2 3 0 .400 97 127
across the sport. its entire two-deep defensive ros- dominant cover cornerbacks he Houston 2 3 0 .400 115 120
But as Meyer’s top-ranked Ga- ter from last season’s title team, has been around. Tennessee 0 4 0 .000 75 108
tors approach the halfway point which considerably slowed down L.S.U. Coach Les Miles said of North W L T Pct PF PA
of their 2009 season, the identity Oklahoma’s pinball offense in the the secondary, “They came out of Cincinnati 4 1 0 .800 101 90
of this Florida team is radically B.C.S. title game. the sky.” Baltimore 3 2 0 .600 138 97
different from the one on which But heading into this season, the Miles also marveled at how Pittsburgh 3 2 0 .600 113 98
Meyer and the Gators built their focus on the Gators naturally ze- Florida’s defensive front pres- Cleveland 1 4 0 .200 55 121
West W L T Pct PF PA
recent reputations. roed in on Tebow and his place in sured the Tigers, as Carlos Dun-
Denver 5 0 0 1.000 99 43
As the Gators showed in their college football history. lap and Jermaine Cunningham
San Diego 2 2 0 .500 101 102
13-3 victory over No. 4 Louisiana “We’ve got a Heisman winner could be considered the country’s Oakland 1 4 0 .200 49 130
State on Saturday night, the of- on the team and all those great top tandem at end. Dunlap and Kansas City 0 5 0 .000 84 138
fensive flash and fireworks typi- athletes on offense, so it’s easy Cunningham are the prototype
cally entwined in Florida football to overlook the defense,” Florida ends to defend modern offenses,
have given way to a new reality. safety Will Hill said. as they are fast, versatile and can NATIONAL CONFERENCE
If Florida is to win back-to-back That should change after Flor- pressure the quarterback as eas- East W L T Pct PF PA
Bowl Championship Series titles, ida suffocated L.S.U.’s already ily as they drop into coverage. Giants 5 0 0 1.000 151 71
the backbone of the team will be languid offense, which entered the All that adds up to a defense Phila. 3 1 0 .750 127 86
its stingy defense, which has given game ranked No. 99 in the country. that has given up only 6.4 points Dallas 3 2 0 .600 122 98
up only two touchdowns through The Tigers seemingly never had a a game, well below the 11.4 points Washington 2 3 0 .400 73 82
five games. chance moving the ball. They fin- the Gators’ solid defense gave up South W L T Pct PF PA
“I think that’s what we are right ished 1 for 9 on third-down conver- last season. “We could go down as New Orleans 4 0 0 1.000 144 66
now,” Meyer said in a conference sions and gained 162 total yards. one of the greatest defenses and Atlanta 3 1 0 .750 102 63
call Sunday. “I’m an offensive Their only points came on a drive greatest teams in college foot- Carolina 1 3 0 .250 57 104
coach, and this is not my first ro- in which Florida gave away 25 ball,” Hill said. Tampa Bay 0 5 0 .000 68 140
deo, this is not the first year that yards on penalties. All of this bodes well for Strong, North W L T Pct PF PA
the defense keeps you in games.” Florida’s most dynamic de- whose inability to get a head Minnesota 5 0 0 1.000 156 90
The star quarterback Tim fensive player was the senior coaching job remains one of col- Chicago 3 1 0 .750 105 78
Green Bay 2 2 0 .500 104 93
Tebow just returned from a con- linebacker Brandon Spikes, who lege football’s great mysteries.
Detroit 1 4 0 .200 103 162
cussion, and the Gators are thin at has been hobbled by an Achilles’ Strong is often a candidate for
West W L T Pct PF PA
wide receiver and still searching injury and been inconsistent at top jobs, but he has never been San Fran. 3 2 0 .600 112 98
for a playmaker to replace Percy times. He put up the night’s most able to break through. This may Arizona 2 2 0 .500 85 89
Harvin. At least by reputation, dominant defensive line, finish- be the season that changes. Seattle 2 3 0 .400 115 82
the Gators have undergone an ex- ing with 11 tackles, 2 of Florida’s 5 “That’s one that will be asked St. Louis 0 5 0 .000 34 146
treme makeover in how they win. sacks and a forced fumble. over and over,” Meyer said of why
Florida is No. 1 in the country,
in large part because of a defense
Spikes anchors a solid line-
backer corps, but Florida’s most
Strong has not been able to land a
head coaching job.
Chicago Marathon
that ranks No. 1 in the Football dominant units are its secondary PETE THAMEL CHICAGO — Sammy Wan-
jiru of Kenya, the 2008 Olym-
pic champion, won the Chicago
With Elway-Like Drive, Broncos Defeat Patriots Marathon on Sunday. He set an-
other course record.
Kyle Orton moved Denver from Towels, Pittsburgh had four of visiting Buccaneers. With one second to spare,
its 2 to the end zone to tie the score its seven sacks on Detroit’s final ¶ Matt Hasselbeck returned Wanjiru ran the fastest mara-
Sunday, and Matt Prater kicked drive and the Steelers held off the from broken ribs to throw four thon on American soil — 2 hours
a 41-yard field goal in overtime to Lions, 28-20. touchdown passes, and the Sea- 5 minutes 41 seconds, breaking
give the Broncos a 20-17 victory ¶ Miles Austin’s tackle-break- hawks routed the visiting Jag- Khalid Khannouchi’s 1999 Chi-
over the New England Patriots ing 59-yard catch-and-run from uars, 41-0. He completed 18 of 30 cago record.
and make the rookie coach Josh Tony Romo gave Dallas a short- passes for 241 yards before rest- Wanjiru, who turns 23 next
McDaniels a winner over his for- lived lead in the fourth quarter, ing in the fourth quarter. month, has won four of the five
mer boss Bill Belichick. and he later got free on a 60-yard Falcons and Vikings Coast marathons he has run since
Narrow Escapes on Road scoring play in overtime to give Roddy White caught two moving from the half-marathon
Carson Palmer threw a the Cowboys a 26-20 win over the touchdown passes — including a in 2007. And he has set course
20-yard touchdown pass to An- Chiefs. Kansas City, which had 90-yard catch-and-run — and Mi- records in all of them: his de-
dre Caldwell with 22 seconds left tied the score on Dwayne Bowe’s chael Turner ran for three scores but in Fukuoka, Japan; the Bei-
to cap an 80-yard drive fueled by 16-yard catch with 24 second left, as the Falcons flattened the 49ers, jing Olympics, a record by al-
three Baltimore penalties, and dropped to 0-5. Dallas is 3-2. 45-10. most three minutes; the London
the Bengals escaped with a 17-14 McNabb Sharp in Return ¶ A day after turning 40, Brett race in April, a personal-best
victory over the Ravens. It did not take long for Dono- Favre improved to 5-0 for the first 2:05:10; and Chicago.
¶ With thousands of black-and- van McNabb to show he was re- time in his career as the Vikings All that is left is the world re-
gold-clad fans chanting “De- covered from a rib injury in the beat the winless Rams, 38-10. cord, 2:03:59, set by Haile Ge-
fense!” and twirling Terrible Eagles’ 33-14 victory over the (AP) brselassie of Ethiopia. (NYT)