Comcast-Spectacor will sell ad space on the steps of
     every staircase inside the lower bowl of the CoreStates
     Center, according to Edward Moran of the PHILADELPHIA DAILY
     NEWS.  CoreStates Complex President Peter Luukko said the
     new sponsor, who he would not identify, will have its logo
     on the steps by mid-March.  Luukko added that advertising
     "has sold so well" at the CoreStates Center that all of the
     concourse ad areas, "and all but a few spots inside the
     arena, have sold out" (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 2/24).

          Gatorade will introduce "its splashiest promo ever," an
     under-the-cap, NBA instant win promo which includes a chance
     to play H-O-R-S-E with Michael Jordan, according to Lefton & 
     Khermouch of BRANDWEEK.  Backed by $12M in TV, radio and
     print media, the promo may also include "unannounced
     appearances by NBA pros on high-traffic playground courts in
     six to eight NBA markets, with Jordan included."  Aimed for
     a mid-April launch, before the NBA Playoffs, the promo will
     offer other prizes including autographed Jordan merchandise,
     getting signed by an NBA team for a day, season tickets to
     your favorite NBA team or a private-jet flight with five
     friends to the '99 NBA All-Star Game (BRANDWEEK, 2/23).
          NOTES: IMG has signed Kawasaki, Air Jamaica, Jamaica
     Tourism, Raymond Weil watches, Naya, Met-Rx and Gold's Gym
     as corporate sponsors for the revival of "The Superstars"
     competition, according to Terry Lefton of BRANDWEEK.  Still
     unsold is the $500,000 title sponsorship.  The made-for-TV,
     two hour event, airs April 19 on ABC....Logo Athletic sold
     out its official Broncos Super Bowl locker room hats.  Logo
     sold "more than" 480,000 caps, "which didn't quite match
     last year's total"....adidas signed Raiders RB Napoleon
     Kaufman to an endorsement deal.  Kaufman, who had been with
     Nike since being drafted in '95, will "initially be used for
     regional marketing efforts" (BRANDWEEK, 2/23 issue).

          NOTES: BUSINESS WEEK reports that spending on sports
     sponsorship is projected to reach over $4.5B in '98
     (BUSINESS WEEK, 3/2)....Ryan Leaf signed NJ-based ISI to
     become his exclusive marketing rep.  ISI Exec VP Steve
     Rosner: "From matching Ryan with the top companies to
     fulfilling some of his civic and charitable goals, our
     objective is to build relationships that will continue long
     after his playing days are over" (ISI)....Former Giants WR
     Phil McConkey signed with MGP Crisis Sports PR, a division
     of NY-based MGP & Associates, for PR counseling (MGP).
          MORE NEWS: FORBES' Daniel Roth "sizes up" the shoe/
     sunglasses dispute between Nike's Phil Knight and Oakley's
     Jim Jannard.  Roth: "Nike had defined the sports shoe market
     and has bloodied its big competitors.  Ego aside, Jannard
     might be better off hunting elsewhere" (FORBES, 3/9 issue).
     ...TIME's "Tech Watch" features Reebok's new, $100 Lightning
     sneaker, calling it "one smart shoe."  The DMX-enhanced
     sneaker adapts to pressure by distributing it through six
     chambers, creating "extra cushioning" (TIME, 3/2 issue).
     ...Nike will feature a 16-page insert -- "Life Above the
     Ankles/Evolution of Skin" -- in the March and April issues
     of GQ, Details, SI, ESPN, Rolling Stone, Vibe and Men's
     Journal, while its 12-page insert will appear in Glamour,
     Conde Nast Sports For Women and Sharpe (THE DAILY).
          

          Casey Martin is "fielding an avalanche of offers that
     are extraordinary for a golfer who has not reached the top
     level" of the PGA Tour, according to Thomas Heath of the
     WASHINGTON POST.  In addition to his Nike apparel deal,
     worth between $50,000-$75,000 a year with additional income
     if he earns his PGA Tour card, Martin has deals pending with
     a national insurance group and a golf equipment 
     manufacturer.  The two new sponsor deals will be announced
     March 3, with a third new deal "imminent."  Martin has also
     received more than 20 requests to appear in corporate-
     sponsored golf outings and PGA Tour tournaments across the
     country.  Martin: "If someone's willing to pay me to
     represent them, I'm not going to turn them down.  I'm a
     little uncomfortable with the fact that it's done ...
     because of my leg."  NBC's "Dateline" will also feature
     Martin shortly (WASHINGTON POST, 2/24).  In GA, Witsil &
     Cline reported that officials at E-Z-GO Textron, the
     nation's largest golf cart maker, have held discussions with
     Signature Sports Group, Martin's agency, about a possible
     golf cart endorsement deal.  An agreement could be "rendered
     moot," however, if the PGA Tour decides Martin should ride
     in a single person scooter (Augusta CHRONICLE, 2/22).
          EXEMPTIONS: Martin writes in GOLF WORLD: "I have no
     intention of pursuing any sponsors' exemptions on the PGA
     Tour, at least not now" (GOLF WORLD, 2/2O).  CNN/SI's Jaime
     Diaz: "Until he knows his game can handle the pressure, it's
     probably not worth the risk" ("Pro Golf Weekly," CNN, 2/21).
          MORE CASEY: Jack Nicklaus, on the Martin ruling: "I'm
     really worried about the long-term effects on the game of
     golf. ... When you really get down to playing serious
     tournament golf it's a whole different ballgame, and I know
     the average person just doesn't understand it" ("Up Close,"
     ESPN, 2/20).  AD AGE's Rance Crain credits the PGA Tour for
     "ignoring the obvious bonanza for itself and its corporate
     sponsors that will come its way now that" Martin is allowed
     to use a cart.  The Tour, in "protecting the integrity of
     the game, is determined to keep the likable" Martin out of
     events "even though his presence will draw huge support for
     golf."  Crain: "Instead of deriding the PGA Tour for trying
     to de-ride Mr. Martin, let's be thankful that there is one
     group willing to spurn all the good feeling -- not to
     mention corporate opportunity -- that will flow to golf
     because of Mr. Martin's brave determination" (AD AGE, 2/23).

          The marketing of Dale Earnhardt after his Daytona 500
     win was examined by Gerald Martin of the Raleigh NEWS &
     OBSERVER.  Earnhardt's company now has 109 Earnhardt
     registered trademarks in 19 countries and the U.S.  Dale
     Earnhardt Inc. President Don Hawk said Earnhardt's deals are
     moving into the "millions": "That's where we're headed, and
     the question is whether it goes from single-digit millions
     to doubles, and how far beyond that."  Sporting Goods
     Business Editor Andy Bernstein said, however, that Earnhardt
     probably left "millions of dollars on the table" following
     his Daytona 500 victory.  Bernstein: "The hot-market
     business (the day or two after the event), is gone. ... 
     That's where NASCAR has struggled."  Hawk said that no
     merchandise was ready following Earnhardt's Daytona win
     because "he's superstitious, and he doesn't want anything
     done in advance" (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 2/22).  In
     Charlotte, Clifford Glickman reported that Hawk had 30-40
     offers for Earnhardt the day he won at Daytona, including a
     Burger King commemorative cup and possible commercial, and
     "some ideas" from Coca-Cola (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 2/23).  
          LICENSE TO DRIVE: Martin also reported that NASCAR is
     in the process of streamlining its licensing, and although
     it does not coordinate or have control of the marketing or
     licensing of its teams, "it is working closer with them to
     make what's good for one ... good for all."  Team marketing
     execs are working with NASCAR, especially to wipe out
     counterfeits. NASCAR VP Brian France: "Our look at licensing
     is a lot different than how we looked at it a few years ago. 
     We really weren't complementing our core business."  France
     added that because of fragmentation, NASCAR is still "way
     short of where we need to be" (NEWS & OBSERVER, 2/22).

          "Shock waves are reverberating" in Australia following
     last week's launch of Mojo Partners' TV, print and billboard
     spots for the '98 Australian Ladies Masters championship,
     which uses a "mini-skirted dominatrix wielding a golf club"
     while driving a ball off of a man's nose, according to AD
     AGE.  Mojo Art & Creative Dir Lachlan McPherson: "We wanted
     to change the way the sport is seen by most women and that
     requires provocation" (AD AGE, 2/24).