NAMES & FACES: Serena Williams will wear new Puma
apparel at next month's U.S. Open, but she "wouldn't tell
what it looks like." Williams: "I can't. It's under wraps.
I'm in a rope" (LAS VEGAS SUN, 7/24)....Olympic sprinter
Marion Jones appeared on last night's "Tonight Show" and
said of her Nike commercials: "I think in the beginning it
was supposed to be totally anonymous and people were
supposed to wonder who it was. But after the first
commercial, people were coming up to me saying, 'Hey, we saw
you in the commercial.' So the whole point was out the
window, I guess" ("Tonight Show," NBC, 7/24)
DEALS & DOLLARS: ESPN2's John Kernan reported that NC-
based Winston Cup team Owner Tyler Jet Motorsports has sued
Lycos in U.S. District Court in TX, "for peculiarities in
paying for a proposed sponsorship deal with the team this
season. The suit asks for breach of contract damages in the
amount of about $15[M] and punitive damages in the amount of
$100[M]" ("RPM 2Night," ESPN2, 7/24)....MN-based Starkey
Laboratories President Jerry Ruzicka said that his company
and the NFL "have made arrangements" for the Vikings'
offensive linemen to wear digital hearing aids during
preseason games to "reduce background noise and allow
linemen to hear" the QB more clearly (Minneapolis STAR
TRIBUNE, 7/23)....Teams at the Canadian national men's
curling championship will wear "sponsors' crests for the
first time" at the 2001 Nokia Brier in Ottawa, "providing
[C]$6,000 funding per team." Event title sponsor Nokia has
paid C$75,000 for the teams to wear the crests on their
jackets. The issue of sponsors' crests has "been
contentious at different levels because teams have their own
local sponsors" (CP, 7/25)....DC Comics Super Heroes will
appear on stadium signage in pro baseball parks this summer
as part of Best Western's cross-promotion with AIM
Technologies' Fancard.net fan loyalty program. DC Comics is
also giving away comic books as part of the promo (AD AGE,
7/24)....CNNfn's Beverly Schuch reported that NY-based
memorabilia group Grey Flannel Auctions has "reached a deal
with ESPN to collaborate on four auctions over a two-year
period." Grey Flannel Auctions CEO Howard Rosenkrantz: "The
auction is a joint venture between Grey Flannel Auctions and
ESPN Auctions, who decided they wanted to go into the
auction business and ... chose us as a partner." Some of
the items include boxing gloves used by Muhammad Ali,
Dodgers P Sandy Koufax' jersey, Jets QB Joe Namath's jersey
and Babe Ruth's bat ("Business Unusual," CNNfn, 7/24).
