In Chicago, Dan Cahill noted a rape investigation involving Blackhawks RW Patrick Kane "could make for a tough decision for EA Sports," which in June announced that Kane and Blackhawks C Jonathan Toews were on its "NHL16″ cover. The situation "has people wondering if EA can or will pull the cover if anything comes of the investigation" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 8/8). Performance Sports Group Senior Dir of Corporate Communications Steve Jones, the parent company of Bauer Hockey, said that the brand, which sponsors Kane, "had not asked retailers either to remove or keep up any imagery of Kane while it monitors the situation" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 8/9).
BEER IS FLAT: Molson Coors said that it "didn't see any meaningful boost in sales from the latest post-season even though four Canadian teams" made the playoffs. Molson Coors Canada President Stewart Glendinning: "What would be helpful is if we had more Canadian teams going further, then we would start to see it." Molson Coors said that it "plans to aggressively step up its advertising for the rest of this year as it looks to reverse market share losses and spur volume growth in its two largest markets" -- Canada and the U.S. The CP's Ross Marowits reported much of the unspecified additional spending "will be targeted on Coors Light, which is getting new packaging and will be supported by new TV ads" (CP, 8/9).
RAISING CANE: In N.Y., Barbara Ross reported N.Y.-based designer Teresa Taylor, who is the girlfriend of former MLBer Art Shamsky, "is accusing a Long Island medical equipment firm of stealing her ideas for wooden canes shaped like baseball bats and aluminum canes decorated" with MLB logos. Taylor said that she "had a licensing agreement with MLB to use team colors and logos on the canes but Drive Medical Design and Manufacturing of Port Washington failed to manufacture them and instead is trying to get its own patent on them." She is "demanding" $12M in damages (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 8/8). In N.Y., Julia Marsh noted MLB "yanked the contract" with Taylor in last October "after she failed to launch the product on time." She "had anticipated selling" more than 1.8 million canes in the first two years alone (N.Y. POST, 8/9).
