USA TODAY's Hal Bodley, on the MLB/Century 21 "Turn
Ahead The Clock" promo: "Seeing some of the uniforms teams
are wearing in .. [the] promotion reminds me of the first
time I saw the Edsel. ... Stick with the present, MLB" (USA
TODAY, 7/30). ESPN's Rich Eisen, on the futuristic
uniforms: "I've seen them, you've seen them, the American
people have seen them, and the vote is a landslide: These
new futuristic baseball uniforms have got to go!" Eisen,
during the segment: "Who dreamt up these togs, you ask?
Well, the creative design department of Major League
Baseball did, and their idea of futuristic is, well,
debatable. The Twins futuristic logo looked like the
cartoons on the back of old baseball cards. Others just
look like their logo exploded on them" (ESPN, 7/29).
TOUR DE LANCE: Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong
was the subject of last night's "SportsCenter" cover story,
and ESPN's Jeremy Schaap profiled Armstrong's media tour in
N.Y. yesterday, which included appearances on all three
network morning shows. Armstrong, when asked by Schaap if
the Alps or the morning show tour was "more grueling": "The
morning shows" (ESPN, 7/29). Armstrong toured the NYSE and
was "greeted with cheers, applause and whistles from
traders" and also visited the trading post of his sponsor
Nike ("Nightly Business Report," PBS, 7/29). In N.Y., Frank
Litsky writes that yesterday's tour "was choreographed by
Nike" (N.Y. TIMES, 7/30). The U.S. Postal Service takes out
full-page ads in some of the nation's largest dailies today
and congratulates Armstrong on his win in Paris under the
header "Vive Le Lance!" (THE DAILY).
RACING: NASCAR Winston Cup driver Kevin Lepage, on the
future of his sponsorship deal with car sponsor TV Guide:
"We're just trying to secure them for next year. They
haven't come aboard, but they have shown a lot of light at
the end of the tunnel that they will be back next year"
("RPM 2Night," 7/29)....Vegas.com, NV's "largest" Internet
Web site, has agreed to title sponsor the IRL's September 26
event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (SPEEDNET, 7/30).
A BUZZ: The Hornets and Charlotte Copy Data have signed
a three-year deal, making the company the exclusive office
solutions sponsor of the team. Charlotte Copy Data will
provide Minolta equipment to the Hornets and Sting offices,
as well as the Hornets' training facility in SC. In return,
Charlotte Copy Data receives a complete sponsorship package
inclusive of signage and other amenities (Hornets).
AXA TITLE SPONSORS BORDER WAR: ESPN and financial
services company AXA jointly announced a merchandise deal
where AXA will become the title sponsor of the "East-West
Showdown" between East Carolina Univ. and West Virginia
Univ. at Ericsson Stadium on Saturday, September 4, on
ESPN2. The deal includes title sponsorship of the game,
promotional opportunities at the regional and national level
and client entertainment opportunities (ESPN).
