Louisville-based Ford dealer Kevin Collins said that his company's sponsorship of the WTA Louisville Int'l Open "would continue" despite his daughter, Whitney Collins-Thompson, resigning from her position as Tournament Dir earlier this week. Collins said, "I’m prepared to fulfill my contract as a sponsor. If something changes, we’ll address it at that point. (But) as far as I’m aware of it, there’s going to be a tournament" (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 3/30).
BUSTER BUSTS OUT: In S.F., Katie Dowd noted Giants C Buster Posey's latest Northern California Toyota ad features him as an "enthusiastic customer service rep." He is "required to emote -- and he emotes!" It is "very charming in an aw-shucks way that only Buster seems able to pull off without seeming lame." Posey started endorsing Toyota in '13 and has been "featured in several ads over the past few years" (SFGATE.com, 3/28).
SO SUH ME: In Lincoln, Chris Dunker reports the Univ. of Nebraska "walked away from negotiations" with TFL Development earlier this month, "effectively ending plans to bring a Nike store to downtown Lincoln." The school said that months of talks between itself and the company launched by Dolphins DT and NU alum Ndamukong Suh
"failed to produce an agreement for a retail store in the former Nebraska Bookstore space" (Lincoln JOURNAL STAR, 3/30).
MARCO LOGO: United Fiber & Data will serve as the co-primary sponsor of Marco Andretti's No. 27 IndyCar Honda for four races this season. UFD joins Snapple and hhgregg as Andretti’s top sponsors. The company also will be an associate sponsor of Ryan Hunter-Reay's No. 28 car for the entire season. This is the third season UFD has had an agreement with Andretti Autosport (Andretti).
