Congressional Country Club of Bethesda, MD, the site of the
'97 U.S. Open Golf Championship, and Philips-Van Heusen have
signed a "trend setting" agreement which gives the sportswear
manufacturing company management responsibility for all
merchandise and marketing activities associated with the
tournament.  Prior tournaments' merchandise sales have been
managed by the Clubs' golf pros, tournament staff, volunteer
merchandise committees, or the USGA.  Several manufacturers will
have the opportunity to sell their apparel and accessory products
in connection with the tournament.  Izod Club products will be
prominently displayed with 30% of the tournament apparel display
space devoted to Izod (Congressional Country Club).
     ASIAN PGA INKS CLOTHING SUPPLIER:  Alfred Dunhill, the
English luxury goods company for men, has been named the
"Official Supplier of Clothing" for the Asian PGA.  The
merchandise to be provided to the Tour will include polo shirts,
trousers and blousons from the soon-to-be-launched Alfred Dunhill
Golf Collection (APGA).

     The developers of the proposed four-story "Nike Town" on
Newbury Street in Boston is considering only one architect --
Childs Bertman Tseckares, because the firm has several principals
who serve or have served on the Back Bay Architectural Commission
-- the ultimate authority on what gets built on Newbury Street
(BOSTON GLOBE, 6/3)....The Cadillac NFL Golf Classic is profiled
in the N.Y. POST.  In its fourth year, the tournament has already
raised $750,000 for various charities (N.Y. POST, 6/3)....In his
column in the ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS, Andres Galarraga writes about
the  marketing of his Big Cat clothing line (ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS,
6/1)....Disney is looking to Harlem as the site for its next New
York store (N.Y. POST, 6/3)....An arbitration panel has ruled
that The Upper Deck Co. must pay $4.9M to the estate of Mickey
Mantle in a dispute over Mantle's contract with the company.
Upper Deck will appeal (WASHINGTON POST, 6/1).

     NHL officials are on the lookout for counterfeit merchandise
in the wake of the Avalanche's Western Conference championship,
according to the ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS.  Fans started "snapping up"
Championship and Cup Crazy merchandise early Thursday from
legitimate retailers, but it will also give business to vendors
selling non-licensed merchandise.  NHL attorney Mary Sotis said
the league already has team officials searching for
counterfeiters, and that effort will increase during the Finals
with help from local law enforcement.  The Avalanche ranked No.
12 in team sales before the playoffs, and have since moved into
the top five (Michele Conklin, ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS, 5/31).
     ON A ROLL:  The DENVER POST's Emily Narvaes notes the brisk
Avalanche merchandise sales following the team's NHL Western
Conference championship.  Nuggets Locker Room Manager Tino
Romero, on the sales of championship t-shirts: "Our store's a
disaster.  We haven't been able to hang the shirts up.  We
weren't able to get them out of the box."  Lorinda Teter,
spokesperson for Gart Bros.:  "We put them on the floor, and
probably within 20 minutes to half an hour we were sold out"
(DENVER POST, 5/31).
     OTHER PLAYOFF SUCCESSES:  In Miami, Frances Robles notes
that t-shirt makers such as The Cromer Co. have been producing
Panthers Eastern Conference Championship shirts at the rate of
1,000 an hour to keep up with demand (MIAMI HERALD).  Mary Ellen
Podmolik profiles the retail success of the Bulls in the CHICAGO
SUN-TIMES.  She notes the team's "stellar performance" this
season has "tightened" its hold as the best-selling license in
the NBA's $3B worldwide merchandising market (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES,
6/3).

     After three years of research, development, testing, and
engineering, the NHL will begin marketing the NHL COOLAir
Inflatable Arena System -- a portable rink system ideal for
street hockey and in-line hockey.  To allow swift entrance into
the market, the NHL has enlisted Border Patrol Rink Systems as
the product's exclusive marketing agent.  NHL COOLAir is made of
a durable vinyl material and is fully inflatable in less than ten
minutes by electric-powered blowers.  Pricing of the rinks ranges
from approximately $27,000 to $33,000, depending upon size.
Border Patrol President Bob Naegele said, thus far, everyone from
league operators and event promoters to municipalities and theme
park owners have shown interest (NHL Enterprises).

     In an effort to separate its brand name from other shoe-
makers, Reebok Int'l is looking to make Asian retailers conform
with a regionwide in-store strategy, according to the WALL STREET
JOURNAL.  Reebok is pushing for reserved designated spaces in
each retail outlet and launching an ad campaign under the "This
Is My Planet" motto.  Reebok Asian Dir of Marketing and Ops Bill
Bettencourt:  "We had to clean up our house.  Now we work from
the center on marketing and retailing to make certain the entire
region looks the same."  While "This Is My Planet" sticks more
closely with themes of the company's global goals, Bettencourt
says it is "critical" the brand maintain an Asian face with the
use of athletes such as Michael Chang, New Zealand rugby player
Jonah Lomu and Indian cricketer Mohammed Az Haruddin.  Another
element of Reebok's Asian strategy is outfitting the Chinese
Olympic track and field team.  Another campaign is also being
tested in Asia for possible worldwide use that employs veejays
wearing Reebok Classics on Star TV's Channel V music channel
(Fara Warner, WALL STREET JOURNAL, 6/3).

     The latest slogan from Wilson Sporting Goods -- "Wanna Win
or What?" -- debuted over the weekend during the French Open in
TV spots for Wilson rackets, according to the CHICAGO TRIBUNE.
The slogan appears in two 15-second spots created by DDB Needham,
Chicago, which last week succeeded Ogilvy & Mather, Chicago on
the $15M Wilson account.  Wilson Racquet Sports VP/GM Jim Baugh:
"We think our new advertising presents our products in a fun,
aggressive and humorous way."  DDB Needham Vice Chair & CCO Bob
Scarpelli: "We're trying to provide a new attitude for Wilson in
its ad messages."  DDB Needham has also created a new 15-second
spot for Wilson footwear which will debut during Wimbledon
coverage in late June.  George Lazarus notes The Wilson team
sports and golf equipment slogan -- "The Right Equipment Makes
the Difference" -- will be retained "for a while" until another
is "brainstormed" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 6/3).