NAMES & FACES: In Chicago, Bonnie DeSimone wrote on the
U.S. women soccer players' "window" of opportunity to
leverage the team's WWC victory. Intersport's Michelle
Burnett, whose agency represents Tiffeny Milbrett: "A lot of
companies are probably leery of how long this high is going
to last, so they're willing to pay a good bit of money for a
one- or two-day appearance, but not so much for a longer-
term arrangement." DeSimone reports that "post-World Cup
bonuses" and the Toys 'R' Us Victory Tour will amount to
"$100,000 payday for each of the 22 national team members"
(CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 10/29)....Wheaties will unveil a new box
featuring Arnold Palmer and launch an accompanying TV spot
on January 1 as part of a campaign promoting cancer
research. General Mills will donate $.50 from each box sold
to the effort (GOLF WORLD, 10/29 issue)....Saints Media
Relations Dir Greg Bensel, on rookie RB Ricky Williams'
reluctance to conduct interviews and be featured in team
marketing: "Our marketing department did do a 'Run, Ricky,
Run' campaign, and a local radio station came up with a
jingle. But his picture only was on one billboard, and
that's since come down" (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 10/29).
DEALS: Progressive Motorsports Owner Greg Pollex was
interviewed by ESPN2's John Kernan about the team's new
sponsorship deal with Bristol-Myers Squibb's Excedrin brand
for the Busch Series car driven by Jason Keller. Pollex: "I
know there's a lot of people that have headaches in NASCAR,
and now they got a way to fix them" ("RPM 2Night," 10/27).
...Nike ended its sponsorship of the Houston summer
basketball program, which had to forfeit 28 wins last season
and was put on probation due to a player ineligibility.
Nike Corporate Communications Manager Dean Stoyer: "They
were just not living up to the standards we set for our
programs at the grass roots level" (HOU. CHRONICLE, 10/29).
