Reaction to ESPN anchor Dan Patrick's appearance in a
new Coors campaign continues, and in Milwaukee, Bob Wolfley
writes that some view Patrick "as some sort of serious
sports news journalist, but that obviously is not uppermost
in his mind or he wouldn't have considered doing the spot."
Wolfley: "How could he be compromising his integrity as a
news reporter if he doesn't define himself mainly in those
terms?" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 7/21). In Chicago, Ron
Rapoport writes on "Patrick's alibi" for the ad, which is
that he "doesn't hold the beer or mention its name": "Wonder
how he would react to such a sorry excuse from an athlete he
was interviewing" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 7/21).
SAMPRAS ON NIKE: "WE ARE FAMILY": In Portland, Dwight
Jaynes wrote that Nike has named a three-story, 81,000-sq.
ft. building on its Beaverton campus after Pete Sampras, who
was present for the ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday. Sampras
brought his most recent Wimbledon trophy "as a gift" for
Nike CEO Phil Knight, "who seemed overwhelmed by the
gesture." Sampras: "My relationship with Nike is not all
about money. They are like family to me." Sampras also
defended his personality by saying, "I'm not boring. I
wonder what Joe DiMaggio would be today?" Jaynes: "Probably
just another new building on the Nike campus" (OREGONIAN,
7/20). Andre Agassi was interviewed this morning in the
first of a two-part series on ABC's "GMA," and said of
Sampras: "We're also quite polar opposites when it comes to
personalities. ... I got a hunch we both go to sleep at
night thanking God we're not the other one" ("GMA," 7/21).
