PGA Tour golfer Steve Jones has signed a three-year
     endorsement contract with Columbia Sportswear.  Beginning
     this month, Jones will exclusively wear Columbia sportswear
     and rainwear on the PGA Tour and in other pro golf
     tournaments through the year 2000 (Columbia).
          DEAL: MA-based Trend-Lines Inc., which operates Golf
     Day retail stores, "has agreed to buy the assets of 13
     Nevada Bob's golf stores in New England," according to Chris
     Reidy of the BOSTON GLOBE.  Trend-Lines, which will pay
     $5.5M to the investors of the Nevada Bob franchises, "plans
     to convert those stores into its Golf Day stores, though
     there may be one or two store closings" (BOSTON GLOBE, 1/8).
          NO TEE TIME FOR PEARL JAM? Ticketmaster Golf, a joint
     venture of Ticketmaster and Golden Bear Golf, announced
     agreements with the Premier Golf Group to provide advanced
     tee-time sales starting in February for 20 golf courses
     located in the Myrtle Beach, SC, area (Golden Bear).   
          

          The Rose Bowl will add a sponsor's tagline in '99,
     according to Jim Hodges of the L.A. TIMES.  Hodges: "Long a
     holdout in the commercialism game that bowls have played for
     years, Pasadena will host the 1999 'Rose Bowl, presented by
     (your company here).'"  Rose Bowl Exec Dir Jack French: "We
     will not have a title sponsor.  That was made very clear. 
     We will have a presenting sponsor with a minimal physical
     presence and minimal signage. ... We will not be changing
     the logo, and there will not be a sign inside the stadium
     for the presenting sponsor."  More French: "There was some
     talk of a presenting sponsor for this year's game.  ABC had
     talked with some people about it (MasterCard and McDonald's
     were mentioned), but they decided that they didn't want to
     do it for just one year [rather than the four year super
     alliance contract]."  Other changes to the Rose Bowl will
     include a ticket price increase and a reduction in capacity
     from 98,000 to 92,000-plus seats (L.A. TIMES, 1/8).
          AND THE "PETE" ROSE BOWL: ESPN's Dan Patrick offered
     his suggestions for the game sponsors: "Such as 'The Rose'
     Bowl presented by Bette Midler; The 'Rose Marie' Bowl
     presented by Nick at Nite; The Charlie 'Rose' Bowl presented
     by PBS, without commercial interruption; The Jalen 'Rose'
     Bowl (which means Michigan gets to play every year); and The
     Axl 'Rose' Bowl presented by MTV" ("SportsCenter," 1/7).
      

          Nike's new "I Can" ad campaign is reviewed by Denise
     Gellene of the L.A. TIMES.  In the new spots, the words "I
     Can" are superimposed over images of runners, football
     players and other athletes.  Gellene writes the "litany of
     phrases includes the inspirational, defiant and absurd." 
     They include: "I can be strong. ... I can endure pain. ... I
     can be the next Jordan. ... I can stand up to my father." 
     Gellene: "Nike says the ads are about dreams and goals.  But
     few kids watching these spots have any hope of becoming
     professional athletes, let alone the next Michael Jordan. 
     Beyond that, Nike is out of line in advising kids to stand
     up to their fathers -- the same dads that buy athletic
     shoes. ... 'Just do it' is a cultural mantra.  The new
     slogan seems destined to invite parody: I can zap this
     commercial.  I can buy hiking boots" (L.A. TIMES, 1/8).

          SUPER BOWL NOTES: M&M/Mars will break a BBDO Worldwide,
     NY, ad campaign for its new M&M's Millennium promo during
     the Super Bowl (AD AGE, 1/8)....Steelers players are upset
     over T-shirts being distributed featuring Broncos RB Terrell
     Davis that reads, "Salute This! ... Broncos, Super Bowl
     XXXII."  The shirt is stapled to the bulletin boards and
     walls in the Steelers' locker room (N.Y. POST, 1/8).
          NOTES: CNS' Breathe Right nasal stripes are profiled in
     the HARTFORD COURANT.  Breathe Right accounted for "nearly"
     $70M in wholesale sales in '97, while retail sales
     "approached" $100M.  Around 10% of the Breathe Strips
     stripes "are used in the athletic arena" (HARTFORD COURANT,
     1/8)....The WNBA's Cynthia Cooper will make an appearance on
     behalf of Buick Motor Division during the '98 North American
     Int'l Auto Show in Detroit (GM)....Woolworth Corp. assigned
     its Champs Sports account to Publicis/Bloom, NY (AD AGE,
     1/8)....Saint Francis Health System will be the title
     sponsor for the '98 Nat'l Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics
     Div. I Men's Basketball Nat'l Championship Tournament, March
     17-23 in Tulsa, OK (NAIA)....The New York Marriott Marquis
     was named official hotel sponsor of "An All Star Evening For
     Hunter's Hope," a January 15 fundraiser at NY's Official All
     Star Cafe which will benefit the Hunter's Hope Foundation,
     launched earlier this year by Jim and Jill Kelly, for their
     son, Hunter, diagnosed with Krabbe Disease (Marriott).

          USA TODAY's Money section cover story features,
     "Protecting the Investment," where Melanie Wells examines
     the relationship between sports endorsers and the corporate
     managers that companies provide.  Reebok's Henry "Que"
     Gaskins is "one in a small group of corporate managers who
     play an unusual but increasingly important role in
     professional sports and product endorsement.  Gaskins is a
     marketing MBA assigned to play full-time mentor, brand
     manager, companion and off-court coach to the young,
     trouble-prone" 76ers G Allen Iverson.  Being "both buddy and
     adviser is tricky, but it's a role that's evolving in
     companies as highly paid professional athletes get younger
     and marketers compete more fiercely for their services." 
     Nike's Dir of Athlete Relations Howard White, appointed by
     Nike to advise Michael Jordan in '84, on the athlete-manager
     relationship: "Just as if you drive a Ferrari, you need a
     good mechanic and a good garage to keep it in."  Wells adds
     that advisers such as Gaskins and White "are the glue that
     keeps the most sought after endorsers affiliated with a
     particular company.  Jordan admits White is one of the main
     reasons he stuck with Nike over the years" (USA TODAY, 1/8).
          STAR POWER: In N.Y., Paul Tharp examines how agents
     "are scrambling under new pressures to sell their stars in
     ways they never have before," and notes David Falk's brand
     extensions with Michael Jordan.  Beanstalk Group co-Chair
     Seth Siegel: "Every celebrity is potentially a brand that
     will sell broadly.  The trend is to extend them, wisely,
     into as many areas as possible" (N.Y. POST, 1/8).