ESPN has announced that it has sold out all of its gold
and associate level sponsorships for this summer's X Games
in S.F. adidas, 1-800-CALL-ATT, Mountain Dew, Pontiac Aztec
and Taco Bell all have renewed their gold level commitments,
while Motorola joins them as a first-time gold level
sponsor. Milk, Speed Stick and the U.S. Marine Corps are
all back on as associate sponsors, and Adobe, Bagel Bites,
Circuit City, ESPN The Games, Head & Shoulders Refresh, Pac
Sun and Wrigley's Winterfresh are all first-time associate
sponsors (ESPN)....Dallas-based eFANshop signed an agreement
with The Red Zone to launch an online sports store at
theredzone.org. eFANshop will manage the store, which will
sell NFL-licensed merchandise (eFANshop)....PHS Health Plans
has signed on as a signature sponsor of the N.Y. Marathon,
set to take place on November 5 (PHS Health Plans).
BAD INFLUENCE? During last night's "Last Word" on FSN,
a panel discussed the pros and cons of summer leagues and
the influence agents and shoe companies have over them.
Author Dan Wetzel: "The good still outweighs the bad. They
need to get to the source of the money. It's not the
system, it's the money. If you can get the shoe companies
and the agents to start behaving themselves, ... you might
get somewhere." Five Star Basketball Camp co-Dir Howard
Garfinkel said, "You must end the shoe war immediately [but]
it's not going to happen." FSN's Jim Rome added, "The shoe
companies are going to have to do a better job of policing
themselves" ("Last Word," FSN, 8/9).
