The "longest talent strike in Hollywood history
appeared over after negotiators announced late Sunday that
actors and the advertising industry had reached tentative
agreement on a new three-year contract," according to James
Bates of the L.A. TIMES. A deal aimed at ending the six-
month strike was reached last night, and details of the
settlement between advertisers and the SAG and the AFTRA
unions "are expected to be announced today" at a news
conference in N.Y. A SAG spokesperson said actors "could
return to work as early as" October 30 (L.A. TIMES, 10/23).
REEBOK: In Milwaukee, Tom Enlund reported that Rockets
G Steve Francis will have a new Reebok basketball shoe on
the market in February called the "SS Wink 1 DMX." Francis
said of the nickname Wink, "It was given to me as a
youngster. They always thought I was fast as a wink. That
name has stuck with me ever since I was 7 or 8 years old.
It's still true now" (JOURNAL SENTINEL 10/22)....In Boston,
Will McDonough noted that Reebok will begin airing a new ad
featuring 76ers G Allen Iverson this week and wrote, "Great
timing. ... If Reebok thinks he's so great, maybe [Chair &
CEO] Paul Fireman should invite him to be the entertainment
at his golf tourney on Cape Cod next summer. I'm sure the
guests would be impressed with the lyrics from his new rap
CD" (BOSTON GLOBE, 10/21).
MORE HOOPS: In N.Y., Peter Vecsey: "Wonder how
[T'Wolves F] Kevin Garnett feels about Nike mounting a
voluptuous advertising campaign around new kid on the swoosh
[Raptors F] Vince Carter? For a while there, K.G. was its
NBA commercial showcase" (N.Y. POST, 10/22)....Bulls F and
Converse endorser Ron Artest said that he is "hoping an
ESPN.com report" that Converse "may go bankrupt doesn't
prove true" (see THE DAILY, 10/18). Artest: "They've
treated me great and I love their shoes. I heard another
company may buy them and keep making their shoes" (CHICAGO
TRIBUNE, 10/23)....Lakers F Slava Medvedenko has joined
former Hawks G Alexander Volkov as a spokesperson for
flowersussr.com, the "former Soviet Union's largest Internet
flower delivery business" (L.A. TIMES, 10/22).
MORE NAMES: In Cincinnati, Andy Furman reported that
Reds CF Ken Griffey Jr. filmed an ad for Nabisco with his
father last week as part of the company's "father-son
campaign." Segments featuring Colts QB Peyton Manning and
his father, former NFL QB Archie Manning, as well as NASCAR
drivers Dale Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are "also
planned" (CINCINNATI POST, 10/20)....CNN's Beverly Schuch
profiled Assante Sports Management Group CEO Leigh Steinberg
and his 25 years as a sports agent. Steinberg said he talks
to potential clients "about their values in the very first
discussion that we have" because, according to Schuch, his
"client roster" has donated more than $80M to charity.
Schuch: "[Steinberg] refuses to work with athletes who give
sports a bad name." Schuch, on Steinberg selling his firm
to Assante: "The deal married his two passions - sports and
show business. ... It also means Steinberg will be able to
negotiate entertainment work for his athletes and expand his
sports empire" ("Pinnacle," CNN, 10/22).
