The world's largest ad group, London-based WWP Group,
which owns J. Walter Thompson and Ogilvy & Mather, "faces a
possible breakup." WPP Chair Martin Sorrell said in an
interview with the Financial Times that his group could be
"broken up in five years" if it doesn't add sufficient
shareholder value or show more profits (N.Y. POST, 3/14).
But a source at WPP "who is familiar with the situation
vigorously denied" that WPP is considering a breakup of the
parent company (AD AGE ONLINE, 3/14)....In Detroit, Terry
Foster notes that figure skater Tara Lipinski "has become
the Grant Hill of skating." Represented by Charlotte, NC-
based Edge Marketing, Lipinski has her own Web page at
TaraLipinski.com, has earned more than $100,000 in prize
money and has sponsors "knocking on her door" (DETROIT NEWS,
3/14)....In N.Y., George Vescey, on the Yankees-adidas deal:
"The part I really like is Phil Knight of Nike saying that
baseball had blown it big time by allowing [Owner George]
Steinbrenner to make that deal. Is Knight not the same man
who cooked up a similar deal with Jerry Jones of the Dallas
Cowboys? This Phil Knight is now criticizing baseball and
Adidas and Steinbrenner? The man has chutzpah. He should
worry about his sweatshops in Asia producing goods that make
Michael Jordan and Jerry Rice and Tiger Woods even richer"
(N.Y. TIMES, 3/14)....The USTA League Tennis program,
presented by Infiniti, showed an 8.4% increase in
participation in '96 compared to '95 participation figures.
Last year, 249,841 recreational players competed in USTA
leagues, while 230,391 played in '95 (USTA).
