In Ft. Lauderdale, Sarah Talalay writes on the off-the-
field business deals of Dan Marino, who officially announced
his retirement yesterday. Marino's business manager Ralph
Stringer: "He's one of those transcending figures. He's one
of those players, [fans] may hate him on Sunday, but they
love him every other day of the week. That's what makes him
appealing with advertisers" (SUN-SENTINEL, 3/14).
NOTES: Nike and Tommy Hilfiger filed suit in U.S.
District Court in NY against AZ-based DesignersDirect.com,
claiming the site is "selling counterfeit brand-name
apparel, violating their trademarks" (WALL STREET JOURNAL,
3/14)....Brunswick Corp.'s Mongoose bicycle company has
signed a two-year deal to become the Official Bicycle
Sponsor of the Gravity Games. Mongoose joins Bolt.com,
Irish Spring, Kick Media, Mountain Dew, Speed Stick, Toyota
and UnionBay as sponsors of the Gravity Games. This year's
event will take place in July in Providence and air on NBC
in October (THE DAILY)....NY-based businessdevelopment.com
has enlisted TX-based Genesco Sports Interactive as its
sports marketing consultant and agency of record (Genesco).
