DID SOMEBODY SAY "AMBUSH"? In N.Y., Rodney Ho writes
that an ad for Atlanta-based Gallery Furniture featuring the
store's owner and his daughter "decked out in tennis togs
and holding rackets ... seems to be the perfect tie-in" to
the Galleryfurniture.com Tennis Challenge, which is being
played in Atlanta this week. But Atlanta's Gallery
Furniture "has nothing to do with" Galleryfurniture.com, the
Web site of Jim McIngvale's Houston-based retailer, also
called Gallery Furniture. McIngvale: "A lot of high-end
people we're targeting [with the tennis sponsorship] have
asked us if we're the one in Atlanta. When we say no,
they're kind of relieved" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 4/14).
DEALS & DOLLARS: Longs Drug Stores has signed a three-
year extension of its title sponsorship of the Raycom
Sports-owned LPGA Tour event near Sacramento, CA, being
played this week. The deal includes a purse increase from
$700,000 to $800,000 in 2001, to $900,000 in 2002 and to $1M
in 2003 and 2004 (Raycom Sports)....The WUSA is "looking
for" an ad agency for its "low- to mid-seven" figure
marketing effort around its 2001 launch (BRANDWEEK, 4/13).
LICENSING: VF Knitwear and New Era Cap Co. have
obtained exclusive worldwide rights to produce and market
official NHL Conference and Stanley Cup Championship locker
room merchandise, effective this season. VF Knitwear, under
its Lee Sport brand, will supply the locker room T-shirt for
the 2000 and 2001 Division, Conference and Stanley Cup
Champions. New Era will supply the 2000 and 2002 Stanley
Cup locker room hat and the 2001 Conference Championship hat
(NHL)....USA TODAY's Mel Antonen writes that the Astros, who
have five new uniforms this year, are "one of four teams to
start" the 2000 MLB season with a "uniform overhaul," while
sixteen teams "have made at least a change." The Astros
sold 10,000 replica caps for $27 each, which they wore for
their first exhibitions at Enron Field. The cap "isn't a
part of the regular-season gear" (USA TODAY, 4/14).
...D'Backs OF Steve Finley, on the camouflage uniforms the
Padres wore yesterday (See THE DAILY, 4/13): "Stylish. ...
I've seen a lot worse uniforms. They're probably more on
the stylish side than any of those futuristic uniforms
everybody had to wear last year." Padres 1B Ryan Klesko: "I
like it a lot better than those futuristic uniforms we had.
Those were just sorry and a lot of them were really bad."
Results to the "National Sports Report" poll question had
54.3% liking the camouflage uniforms (FSN, 4/13).
