British Olympic Gold Medal winners HELEN GLOVER and HEATHER STANNING "are to be celebrated in a commemorative stamp that Royal Mail will print overnight and rush out tomorrow." The quickness at which the stamp will be issued, "just 24 hours after their Gold Medal win in the Women's Pairs rowing final at Eton Dorney," is a first for Royal Mail. Royal Mail will also "paint red post boxes gold" in the hometowns of both athletes (MARKETINGMAGAZINE.co.uk, 8/1). ... Champion cyclist BRADLEY WIGGINS will also be honored by having a mailbox in his hometown painted gold (AP, 8/3). ... News Corp. CEO RUPERT MURDOCH is thinking about backing BORIS JOHNSON to replace DAVID CAMERON as Tory leader as he takes to Twitter to praise the London mayor's "brilliant" organisation of the Games. Murdoch is now in London with his wife, WENDI DENG, to meet with Johnson at the Olympics on Friday where they will watch "British star REBECCA ADLINGTON defend her 800 meter Gold Medal" (GUARDIAN, 8/2). ... Former World Cup champion and Brazilian int'l player ROBERTO CARLOS announced "his retirement during a press conference near Moscow." Carlos, who won the 2002 World Cup with the Brazilian Seleção, wants to say goodbye with a match between his most recent club, Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala and Real Madrid for which he played 11 seasons and won three Champions League titles (SID, 8/1).
