The Clippers yesterday unveiled their new D-League affiliate, the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario, and in California, Bill Oram writes the branding is "unique, in that it is named after" one of the Clippers’ "biggest sponsors." Jeff Grubbe, Tribal Chair of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, said the team name is “going to have a positive ripple effect throughout the country.” Unlike with teams such as the Redskins, Indians and Braves, Grubbe said, “We’re not the mascot." The Agua Caliente Band operates a casino resort in Rancho Mirage (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 5/16).
BELOW THE BELT? In Australia, Stephen Brook reports a new ad from gambling company Sportsbet featuring former Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson "celebrates cheating in sport." In the spot, Johnson hypes Sportsbet's new “'juiced up' app for Android phones, which the ad says is 'putting the roid in Android.'" The commercial also "features a Lance Armstrong lookalike cyclist as well as caricatures of Chinese swimmers and absurdly muscled eastern European weightlifters -- two infamous doping regimes." Johnson was stripped of his 100m Gold Medal in the '88 Seoul Games after testing positive for a banned steroid (THE AUSTRALIAN, 5/16).
A LITTLE STRICT? GOLF.com's weekly roundtable discussed the new clause in FedEx' renewed PGA Tour deal that would ban players who endorse rival shipping companies from competing for the FedExCup title. SI.com's Michael Bamberger wrote that "sort of protectionism is ... soft," and he imagines it will "get challenged in court." Golf magazine's Josh Sens noted it is a "tad extreme," but is "par for the course in our hyper-capitalist age." SI.com's Alan Shipnuck: "What's next, no player can wear a Samsung logo at the Sony Open? No Allstate guys at the Farmers Insurance Open? ... Seems like a very slippery slope" (GOLF.com, 5/15).
