WNBA BARBIE STRIKES OUT? In St. Paul, Laura Billings
profiles Mattel's WNBA Barbie doll under the header, "WNBA
Barbie: This Is Progress?" This Barbie has "spindly little
arms and coltishly long legs," which are not reflective of
WNBA players. But "most galling of all, perhaps, is
Barbie's box testimonial, which reads: 'I can really shoot
and pass!' It's one of those statements ... that tends to
undermine the very fact it asserts. Much like the
compliment, 'You throw pretty good for a girl.'" Billings:
"At the very least, WNBA Barbie deserves a bit more support
than Mattel has given her." As 19-year-old Jennifer Dagel
said, "We were all very impressed by the fact that she's got
a very large chest and she's not wearing a sports bra.
They might want to change that" (PIONEER PRESS, 7/27).
MAGGETTE HEAVILY RECRUITED: Magic rookie F Corey
Maggette's lawyer George Maurides is "fielding 15 calls a
week from companies wanting Maggette to endorse their
products," with Nike and AND 1 "the current front-running
shoe companies." Maurides: "He is such a well-grounded
young man, and his marketing possibilities are unlimited."
Maggette, who said that he "probably won't need an agent in
the conventual sense" due to the NBA rookie salary
structure, added he has been "talking" with David Falk,
Advantage Int'l and "a couple of the other top agents"
regarding marketing representation (SUN-TIMES, 7/26).
THE PRICE OF NUMBER 400: Goldin Sports Marketing &
Licensing's Ken Goldin said that his "guess" on a "good
opening bid" for Orioles 3B Cal Ripken Jr's 400th HR ball
would be $100,000. Ripken has 399 (Balt. SUN, 7/27).
