ESPN.com's J.A. Adande cited sources as saying that the Kia Optima over which Clippers F Blake Griffin dunked in Saturday's Sprite Slam Dunk Contest "will be given to the Clippers, who will then donate it or sell it in a manner they see fit." But that "won't be the end of the connection between the car and Griffin," as you will be "seeing the two together in Kia advertisements." Griffin "let the NBA know he was going to dunk over a car, and the league made sure that car would belong to a league partner, which Kia has been for four years." The contracts "weren't signed until Saturday morning." Later, the "realization that the way the dunk would be executed required" Clippers G Baron Davis "to agree to the use of his image, as well, generated a flurry of even more paperwork that wasn't finished until shortly before the contest" (ESPN.com, 2/21). Meanwhile, ESPN.com's Adena Andrews reported Griffin "will donate $100 to the Dunking for Dollars campaign to fight childhood obesity" for each dunk this season, and the Nestlé Foundation "has partnered with Griffin to match what he raises dollar for dollar." Griffin "has made 137 dunks so far this season, generating a total of $13,700" (ESPNW.com, 2/21).
YOUR NAME HERE: U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sergeant Matthew Hansen is the winner of the annual Crown Royal "Your Name Here" 400 program. The April 30 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond Int'l Raceway will not only recognize Hansen, but also his twin brother and fellow marine Daniel, who was killed in action in '09. The race will be titled the Crown Royal presents the Matthew and Daniel Hansen 400 (NASCAR).
FADING FROM GLORY: In N.Y., John Branch notes bowler Kelly Kulick last year "became the first woman to win" a PBA Tour men's event at the Tournament of Champions, but the "echo from her victory has faded." There was the "initial blare of headlines and a few television appearances." But there were "no endorsement offers" and "no big payday." There also were "no calls to appear with Oprah or Ellen or Rachael Ray, which she really wanted," and there was "no lasting mainstream recognition." Kulick: "If I had done what I'd done in golf, if I had beaten Vijay Singh on the last hole of the U.S. Open or something, I guarantee it would have been different" (N.Y. TIMES, 2/22).
NEW PITCH: CRAIN'S N.Y. BUSINESS reported former MLBer John Franco "just landed a new pitching assignment -- for the Municipal Credit Union." The MCU, which last year "bought the naming rights to the Mets minor league stadium on Coney Island," will use Franco "in TV and newspaper ads starting this week" (CRAINSNEWYORK.com, 2/20).
