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JORDAN WON'T SAVE THE WORLD, BUT HE'LL STILL HELP NIKE

          At his press conference yesterday, where he called his
     decision to retire from the NBA "99.9 percent" final,
     Michael Jordan was asked whether he will "go into seclusion"
     or "try to maybe solve some of the world's problems." 
     Jordan: "Two big no's. ... I still have obligation with
     endorsements that will require me to be in the public's
     forefront for a little while. ... I will still be doing some
     commercials, that's simple, but I can't save the world, by
     no means" (THE DAILY).  The AP's Stephen Wade writes that
     from "Warsaw to Rome, Sydney to Santiago, Jordan was given
     the kind of page one coverage ... that American sports
     seldom receive outside North America" (AP, 1/14).  
          NO BOOGIE KNIGHTS IN BEAVERTON: Nike denied an ESPN
     report that Nike Chair Phil Knight had flown to meet Jordan
     in Chicago in an effort to talk him out of retirement (THE
     DAILY).  Knight: "First of all, I know it wouldn't do any
     good if I did try.  Secondly, there is part of me, probably
     more than half, that is really kind of pleased that for him
     to go out the way he went out."  The AP's William McCall
     writes that Nike has been preparing for Jordan's retirement
     "for years," and that the company is "positioning [him] as
     an icon like Babe Ruth or Muhammad Ali, whose attraction
     goes beyond the game."  Nike Manager of Corporate
     Communications Vizhier Mooney: "It's really time to stop
     marketing the basketball player and start marketing the
     person."  Plans are "in the works to keep expanding"
     Jordan's Nike line.  Knight: "Jordan has become a bona fide
     brand and not just an endorsement.  I don't think you're
     going to see anything like this for quite a while" (AP,
     1/14).  Since news of Jordan's retirement broke Tuesday,
     Nike shares have dropped 4.6% (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 1/14).
     Nike rushed a new Jordan ad on-air, highlighting his life in
     sports, from his days as a youth through his NBA playing
     career.  The spot ends with Jordan's elementary school
     photo, the "Just Do It" tag and the swoosh (THE DAILY). 
          NOT QUITE ALI STATUS: In Montreal, Jack Todd writes
     that Jordan's "legacy will forever be tainted by the
     marketing connection that marks the chasm between him and a
     truly great athlete like Muhammad Ali. ... A decade after
     the end of the Vietnam war, Jordan willingly became a
     worldwide spokesman for a U.S. corporation that exploited
     the children of the Asian boys Ali refused to fight.  In the
     global context, that is far more significant than anything
     he achieved on a basketball court" (Montreal GAZETTE, 1/14).
          REAX: Jordan's post-NBA career was examined by NBC's
     Anne Thompson on the "In Depth" segment of "NBC Nightly
     News."  Burns Sports Celebrity President Bob Williams:
     "Michael Jordan is going to be the first athlete to retire
     and maintain his endorsement portfolio over five, ten, I
     believe twenty and even thirty years" (NBC, 1/12).  "CBS
     Evening News" examined the impact of "The Jordan Legacy." 
     Dan Rather: "Jordan is the ultimate crossover talent.  Able
     to leap every kind of barrier and appeal to just about
     everyone" (CBS, 1/13). Advantage Int'l Senior VP/Athlete
     Marketing Tom George: "His name as a brand will not only go
     well beyond his playing career but beyond his life span" (AD
     AGE, 1/13).  In Detroit, business writer Doron Levin writes,
     "The [NBA] owners might find solace in the retirement of
     Michael Jordan, the brand.  No owner could have predicted
     that the Jordan brand would overshadow the NBA's own, as
     well as the individual brands of the league's 29 teams"
     (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 1/14).  David Letterman: "Michael
     Jordan had to retire, ladies and gentlemen. ... There was
     nothing left for him to endorse" ("Late Show," CBS, 1/13).
          ON THE LINKS: Earl Woods told the CHICAGO TRIBUNE's
     Fred Mitchell that his son, Tiger, knew of Jordan's
     decision.  He said the two "talk almost everyday.  It's not
     uncommon that Tiger will land from his airplane and be on
     the (cell) phone talking to MJ then.  They know where each
     other are at all times" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 1/14).  Jordan
     will play with Woods during next month's AT&T Pebble Beach
     National Pro-Am.  He will also team with Charles Barkley on
     a pro-am team in next week's Bob Hope Chrysler Classic in CA
     (N.Y. TIMES, 1/14). In San Jose, Craig Bestrom writes that
     AT&T Pro-Am execs "gasped" when Jordan said he would have
     surgery on his injured finger, but a "few hours later,"
     Jordan told Bob Hope Chrysler Classic officials that he is
     "healthy enough to play."  Pebble Beach Golf Division VP
     Paul Spengler: "I think he's coming (to the AT&T).  I've had
     some people pretty high in the television business and
     pretty close to him tell me that he's planning to play in
     both the Hope and the AT&T" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS,
     1/14)....Fox's Family Channel will premiere "Michael Jordan:
     An American Hero," an unauthorized biographical film, on
     April 18 (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 1/14)....USA TODAY's Debbie
     Howlett reports that Jordan and 14 friends celebrated his
     retirement at "a private room at the swanky Hudson Club" in
     Chicago on Tuesday.  Jordan ate chicken, drank Bud Light and
     picked up the $1,400 tab for the evening (USA TODAY, 1/14).

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