In Columbus, Tom Reed noted Blue Jackets merchandise sales on Shop.NHL.com are 52% "better than this time last season, while jersey sales have risen" by 56% following their 16-game win streak. In the team gift shop, jerseys for RW Cam Atkinson and D Zach Werenski "are fast movers," while jerseys for C William Karlsson also "are in demand." Blue Jackets Senior VP & CRO Cameron Scholvin said that the club’s digital and social media traffic also "have risen" by about 50% (DISPATCH.com, 1/7).
GREEN FEES: Top-ranked female golfer Lydia Ko has signed a multiyear sponsorship deal with new golf apparel brand Mckayson. The deal is for three years ('17-19). Ko as part of the deal will take a direct role in developing her own golf apparel line, the "Mckayson LK Line." The deal was negotiated by agents from IMG Golf, which reps Ko, and Mckayson’s senior management (THE DAILY).
CIRCLE OF TRUST: NASCAR team Circle Sport Owner Joe Falk and The Motorsports Group Owner Curtis Key "announced Saturday that [they] will field a combined effort" in the '17 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup season. MOTORSPORT.com's Nick DeGroot reported the organizations will "field the No. 33 Chevrolet SS, utilizing the Circle Sport Charter and will work out of the TMG facility." Circle Sport "spent last season allied with Leavine Family Racing." A driver has "yet to be named" for the Feb. 26 Daytona 500 (MOTORSPORT.com, 1/8).
