Three days before its start, the ATP's Arizona Men's Tennis
Championships found a title sponsor in San Mateo, CA-based mutual
fund broker Franklin Templeton Group, according to the ARIZONA
REPUBLIC.  Tournament officials said the Scottsdale event will
now be called the Franklin Templeton Tennis Classic (ARIZONA
REPUBLIC, 2/29).

     Volume Services, Inc. has signed a deal to manage all
aspects of food, custom catering and team merchandise services
for the Yankees' new spring training stadium, Legends Field,
which is also the home of the Florida State League Tampa Yankees.
Legends Field's permanent foodservice areas will be served by
such national brands as TCBY and Little Caesar's (Volume
Services)....Beneficial National Bank, USA, a subsidiary of the
Beneficial Corp., has started issuing a Lightning credit card.
Fans can apply for the card during Lightning games and at
Beneficial locations throughout the Tampa area.  The Lightning
will get compensation for each eligible application, but
Beneficial declined to say how much (TAMPA TRIBUNE,
2/29)....CNBC's Sue Herera reported that Mariners slugger Jay
Buhner received a "surprise gift" from a "prominent cereal maker"
-- 162 boxes of Cheerios in his locker -- after telling a Seattle
paper the brand was his favorite.  One box even had his picture
on it.  Herera:  "No word yet if an endorsement deal is in the
works" ("Sports View," 2/28)....Padres official Tom House on
Dodgers pitcher Chan Ho Park:  "Even if Chan Ho Park doesn't win
a game this year, it was a smart move by the Dodgers to sign him.
When you go to Korea, all you see is Dodgers merchandise" (SAN
DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 2/28)....BBDO New York Creative Dir Ted Sann
is profiled in USA TODAY.  He created 10 of the 15 best Super
Bowl spots as ranked by USA Today's Ad Meter survey (USA TODAY,
2/29)....Yogi Berra and his sons will market an apparel line
featuring t-shirts with Berra's "words of wisdom," and cartoonist
Bill Gallo's art.  The apparel line will also include caps and
golf shirts (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 2/29).....The Univ. of
Tennessee has launched a TV ad "blitz" to sell season tickets at
the expanded Neyland Stadium.  UT fund-raiser Mitch Barnhart
notes next season is the stadium's 75th anniversary and there
will be 10,000 new seats (TENNESSEAN, 2/27).

     Neither Michael Jordan nor Gabrielle Reece will wear Nike's
new sunglasses when they are unveiled in September, according to
the Portland OREGONIAN.  Jeff Manning reports CA-based Oakley has
"taken a page" from Nike's marketing playbook and signed high-
profile athletes to endorse its product.  Jordan's relationship
with Oakley includes a seat on their board of directors.
Representatives for Reece and Jordan say they plan on staying
with Oakley, at least for now.  Reece's agent, Jane Kachmer, says
Nike has been "aggressive" in trying to convince Reece to endorse
Nike's shades, but Reece will honor her Oakley deal.  Jordan's
agent, David Falk, said his client has "exhibited great
deference" to Nike in the past, but added Jordan is an
"independent person."  Nike spokesperson Keith Peters said the
company will deal with these types of situations as they arise:
"We'd love to have all of our athletes wearing our eyewear.  We'd
love it if some of them didn't have apparel relationships with
Starter or Logo Athletic.  But some of them do.  Life is full of
choices."  Peters pointed out one other Jordan conflict.  Nike
entered the ball market last year, but Jordan still endorses
Wilson basketballs.  Nike eyewear will be available in retail
outlets in September or October, with the first public exposure
coming when members of the U.S. Track & Field team wear them
during the Atlanta Games (Portland OREGONIAN, 2/28).

     Leveraging its sponsorship of the "Smoking Joe" NASCAR team,
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco recently broke new print ads for Camel
cigarettes, according to ADWEEK.  The ads feature a pit crew
tending to a live camel, which is "tatooed" with colorful decals,
like a stock car.  The Winston Salem, NC-based Long Haymes Carr
created the campaign.  An agency client rep said the ads are "a
reminder of our 20-plus-year commitment to motor sports -- a
favorite activity among many adult smokers."  The rep added the
live camel will not replace the "cartoonish" Joe Camel, and three
executions of the ads will run throughout the year in magazines
like Playboy, Motor Trend and SI (ADWEEK, 2/26 issue).

     While the Univ. of Wisconsin's athletic department is in
final negotiations to have Reebok outfit all 22 teams and pay
$6.5M over five years in exchange for exclusive marketing rights
to UW apparel, the deal may be "unraveling" according to the
MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL.  Earlier this week, three UW track
and cross country coaches claimed their runners would be at a
competitive disadvantage if forced to wear Reebok shoes, and a
student government representative on the UW athletic board has
complained to Dane County DA Bill Foust that the board violated
the state's open-meeting law in discussing the Reebok deal in
December.  Vince Sweeney, Dir of Marketing and Licensing at UW's
Athletic Dept., said the school is still in a negotiating process
with Reebok and hopes recent events are not "deal breakers."
Sweeney expects a deal as early as April.  He said recent
comments by the track coaches that Nike makes a better shoe made
Reebok "very upset," but Sweeney said he thinks the problems with
Reebok can be worked out because "they're good people" (Michael
Hunt, MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 2/29).