Kobe's Jersey The Top Seller In China For Second Straight Year

Lakers and U.S. G Kobe Bryant's No. 24 jersey was the top selling NBA jersey in China for the '07-08 NBA season, the second straight year Bryant has topped the list. Celtics F Kevin Garnett's No 5. jersey was the second-best seller, while Rockets G Tracy McGrady's No. 1 jersey was the third-best seller for the second consecutive season. Rockets and China C Yao Ming's No. 11 jersey ranked No. 10 on the list, dropping from No. 6 for the '06-07 NBA season. Rankings are based on sales from retail stores throughout China. The chart below represents the top 10 best selling jerseys for the past two NBA seasons (NBA).

Dawes Hopes To Make Connections With Sponsors While Attending Beijing Olympics

... THEY'LL PASS YOU BY: The GLOBE & MAIL's Brian Milner reported while "few of Canada's summer Olympians have managed to parlay their successes into lucrative corporate sponsorship or endorsement gigs," Olympians at the Beijing Games will "find it particularly tough to turn gold medals into gold" because of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Canadian companies are "pouring most of their sports marketing dollars into promotions tied" to the Vancouver Games. One marketing exec said, "In the marketing game, the second Beijing is over, the only thing that will matter to Canadian corporations is Vancouver and Whistler." Toronto-based Landmark Group President Elliott Kerr said of corporations, "They've only got so much money. And I suspect that if they had a chance to increase budgets, they would be spending more in Vancouver, not splitting it" (GLOBE & MAIL, 8/11).

Watch The Clip

CHECKING IT TWICE: Nike this week is debuting two spots, one featuring U.S. Olympic sprinter Sanya Richards, and the other including the U.S. Olympic softball team. Nike today will launch "We Have Softball," which features members of the U.S. team as well as clips of other softball participants around the U.S. Nike Friday will debut "A Dream Deferred," which shows Richards training for the 400-meter Olympic race. Both spots, via Wieden & Kennedy, Portland, will run in 60- and 30-second variations (Nike).

NOTES: Former U.S. Olympic women's soccer F Mia Hamm has signed a deal with umbilical cord blood bank ViaCord to raise awareness of the umbilical cord banking. Under the deal, ViaCord parent company PerkinElmer will provide funding to the Mia Hamm Foundation (PerkinElmer)....U.S. Olympic Gold Medal-winning swimmer Cullen Jones "hopes to channel his Olympic success ... into a modeling career" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 8/12)....Brine has signed U.S. Olympic field hockey player Keli Smith to an endorsement deal. As part of the deal, Smith will represent Brine at field hockey events nationwide, as well as appear in the company's ad efforts. Smith and Brine also will team to develop field hockey products (Brine)....U.S. Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson said of seeing her image on a Coke display in Boston in June: "It didn't hit me until then that it's all around the U.S. and everybody gets to see it. It was really shocking, but it made me feel really excited and proud." PEOPLE magazine's Nicole Weisensee Egan reports Johnson "figures to earn [$1-2M] in endorsements following" the Beijing Games (PEOPLE, 8/18 issue).

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