Sprite is holding a promotion in which two winners
"will get an all-expense paid trip" from Budapest, Hungary,
to Chicago for a Bulls game in March, according to Chris
Tomasson of the AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, who wrote that the
"problem is that Hungarian native Kornel David, the reason
for the contest," was waived by the Bulls and signed by the
Cavaliers. David's Business Manager Charles Milkovits
called his client "the Michael Jordan of Hungary. He is Mr.
Sprite. You wouldn't believe it if you went over there.
Every grocery store has an advertisement on the wall of
Kornel drinking a Sprite" (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 1/8).
GOLF NOTES: GOLFWEEK reported that PGA Tour golfer
Steve Stricker "signed a multiyear agreement" to play Ping
equipment. Terms of the deal were not released (GOLFWEEK,
1/7). In Dallas, Brad Townsend writes that fans "may
wonder" why Tiger Woods didn't wear his "traditional" red
shirt during Sunday's final round of the Mercedes
Championships. Townsend: "[Woods'] shirt, mostly black and
white, had tinges of red toward the bottom." Woods has said
that he "would continue his tradition of wearing red, but in
toned-down quantity" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 1/10).
OTHER NEWS: Nike said Saturday that soccer jerseys
"pulled from store shelves across Germany after a television
report do not contain a dangerous amount of a toxic anti-
bacterial chemical" (see THE DAILY, 1/7) and that they
"present no danger to people" (AP, 1/9).
A MUST READ? In Raleigh, Tim Stevens wrote that a new
book by Dan Wetzel and Don Yaeger, "Sole Influence:
Basketball, Corporate Greed, and the Corruption of America's
Youth," outlines "in stunning detail how the quest for the
next merchandising superstar has changed basketball."
Stevens noted that "if you enjoy college basketball and are
going to read only one book this year, make sure it is" this
one (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 1/9)....In DC, Bill Brubaker
reports in a front-page feature that an NCAA committee
"criticized the influential role of sneaker company
sponsors" on AAU teams. adidas' Sonny Vaccaro said that one
AAU team, the DC Assault, is backed by $35,000 from adidas
that includes "travel expenses, 60 pairs of sneakers and a
full range of attire" (WASHINGTON POST, 1/10).
