SECRET (FOR) AGENTS: ONLINE PRESENCE MAY HELP LURE ATHLETES

          Last spring, IMG won a "bidding war" for golfer Sergio
     Garcia "by using an increasingly common bargaining chip: an
     Internet strategy to promote the rising star," according to
     Bernhard Warner of the INDUSTRY STANDARD, who wrote that "in
     the case of Garcia, IMG's ace was a software tool developed
     by the firm that allows an athlete to add commentary and
     statistics to his Web site."  IMG's Todd McCormack: "It
     almost became the centerpiece of negotiations."  Warner:
     "The top agents understand that their petulant clients need
     a portal deal for their site or an equity stake in the next
     big Net IPO."  L.A.-based Athlete Direct President Ross
     Schaufenberger, who "warns clients not to ignore" Web site
     deals: "I can't say athletes will be making millions a year
     on the Internet [though] the potential is there."  Warner
     added that most agents "agree" that the "biggest potential"
     is in Webcasting events (INDUSTRY STANDARD, 11/11).