SI's Michael Farber, on Jazz F Karl Malone becoming a
spokesperson for the NRA: "Malone may or may not be on the
side of the angels in throwing his weight around for the gun
lobby, but he at least took a side. ... After decades of
athletes' seeming indifference about any letters other than
BMW, that's a refreshing change" (SI, 11/29 issue).
RAM TOUGH: ESPN's John Clayton reported that Rams QB
Kurt Warner's new cereal "Crunch Time" is "two weeks away
from hitting the stores, but he's so focused on football
that he's turned down endorsements worth ten times his
$250,000 salary" ("SportsCenter," ESPN, 11/23).
LITTLE BOUNCE FROM STORM: In Denver, Michele Conklin
writes that despite the free advertising of a CO snow storm
during the Raiders-Broncos "MNF" game, "call volume at some"
CO ski resorts "only nudged up a bit." Aspen Central
Reservations President Bill Tomcich: "I wish I could say
phone calls went through the roof, but they didn't. Monday
Night Football was a great game, but it wasn't a great
blizzard and it didn't have the impact we were all rooting
for" (ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS, 11/24).
LITTLE AL JOINS IRL: Al Unser, Jr. formally announced
his intention to leave the CART circuit and join the IRL
next year (see THE DAILY, 10/15). Team Owner Rick Galles
said that a "primary sponsor is in place for the Unser car,"
and it is a company that "is new to racing" (K.C. STAR,
11/24). In Indianapolis, Robin Miller writes that Unser
gives the IRL a "marquee name" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 11/24).
THE LONG ARM OF THE OLYMPICS: A federal judge has
issued an injunction barring Venture West's Kevin Murphy
from marking, selling or distributing items that infringe on
the trademark rights of the USOC or SLOC. Murphy supplied
counterfeit T-shirts bearing the words "2002 Winter Games
and "Park City Winter Games USA" to the Park City Shirt Co.
SLOC Senior VP Shelley Thomas: "This is an important
decision for us" (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 11/24).
