Sports Marketing

It may be the most lucrative day off ever taken.Cal Ripken's decision to end his consecutive-games streak not only brought renewed attention to the work ethic of baseball's Iron Man, but set in motion an elaborate memorabilia machine designed to generate millions in profit for merchandisers.In a vivid example of the growing sophistication of "milestone marketing," fans around the country were offered autographed baseballs and other specialty items within hours of Ripken's taking a seat.Similar campaigns, coordinated with military precision, were launched this year around the 62nd home runs of Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa.

BaseballAstros: Placed IF Jack Howell on 60-day DL. Purchased contract of IF J. R. Phillips from Triple-A New Orleans.Athletics: Activated IF Miguel Tejada; optioned him to Triple-A Edmonton.Expos: Recalled P Rick DeHart from Triple-A Ottawa.Mariners: Optioned OF Ryan Radmanovich to Triple-A Tacoma. Activated P Bob Wells from 15-day DL.Marlins: Recalled P Matt Mantei from Triple-A Charlotte and P Ryan Dempster from Double-A Portland. Optioned P Chris Hammond and P Rob Stanifer to Charlotte.

If Grant Hill is attempting to become the next Michael Jordan, he showed yesterday he is coming closer -- off the basketball court, anyway.The Detroit Pistons star signed a seven-year, $80 million contract with Fila Holdings SpA, one of the most lucrative sports endorsement contracts in history, that will boost his annual take from about $6 million to $11 million.Only Jordan, who recently signed a new contract with Nike Inc., receives more -- roughly $20 million a year. Hill's new deal exceeds the five-year, $50 million contract Allen Iverson of the Philadelphia 76ers signed with Reebok International Ltd.Fila, which has its U.S. headquarters in Sparks, hopes the contract will lead to an increase in sales of its sneakers and a corresponding jump in its stock price, which has gone from a high of $105 a share on Sept.

In an in-your-face world of backboard-breakers and locker-room screamers, Fila USA thinks it's found a celebrity shoe salesman to top them all: a nice guy.Detroit Pistons forward Grant Hill, who will go into Sunday's NBA All-Star Game as the first rookie to receive the most All-Star votes, is at the center of the Hunt Valley company's $8 million campaign to bring its shoes out of the inner cities and into the suburbs.In making the wholesome, soft-spoken Mr. Hill its representative in the multibillion-dollar U.S. athletic shoe market, Fila may be leading the way in lowering the volume in sports marketing.

NEW YORK -- A sport with no direction, too much factionalism and no cohesive plan to get out of its current mess named a new leader yesterday to help solve thoroughbred racing's many troubles.Brian McGrath was introduced at a midtown news conference as the Thoroughbred Racing Association's first-ever commissioner. In actuality, the 51-year-old New Yorker is more marketing czar than commissioner since he will have none of the regulatory powers normally associated with a sports commissioner.

COLLEGE PARK -- No one turned away at the door this time. No fire marshals running around in a panic. No refunds for ticket holders forced to exit the building.Less than a year after drawing an overflow crowd of 14,500 to Cole Field House, the Maryland-Virginia women's basketball game last night returned to more civilized surroundings.Good.There's nothing wrong with the women pushing toward the big time, but for all their hand-wringing over growth, growth, growth, the sport is doing just fine.

CHICAGO -- The fragile flower that is soccer in the United States is putting down roots in a pair of queenly mansions in the historic district just south of Chicago's Loop.Here, at 1801-11 South Prairie Ave., turn-of-the-century home to some of Chicago's most prominent families, the United States Soccer Federation is establishing its headquarters.There are 35 employees at work administering every aspect of the sport, from training and registering officials to organizing national teams on seven different levels.

Anita Nall -- the local swimmer who emerged from the Olympics as Baltimore's newest sweetheart -- knows better than most that Barcelona gold is hardly a gold mine.The 16-year-old, who returned from Barcelona with individual silver and bronze medals and a relay-team gold, is negotiating with swimsuit maker Speedo for an endorsement, and already has been featured in ads for The Gap, a clothing retailer.But even if a few more deals materialize, it is unlikely Nall ever will see anything approaching riches from her Olympic performance.

Dikembe Mutombo is the kind of athlete who's determined to make it to the top with nothing more than his basketball talent and his native wit.And his business agent, his marketing agent, his college coach, his record producer, his video crew, his photographer, his publicist, his makeup person ...Promoters of Mutombo, a 7-foot-2 native of Zaire in central Africa and rookie center for the Denver Nuggets, can hardly wait for him to be a superstar.And why should they?In the olden days of sports marketing, you practically had to be in the Hall of Fame before a cigarette company would put you on its billboards.

With Bo Jackson's career on the field in doubt, where does that leave his off-the-field commercial career?Even Bo doesn't know. But after an injured Jackson was released yesterday by the Kansas City Royals, some sports marketing experts said Jackson could emerge as an even bigger commercial star if his sports career is finished."

He was the youngest of five boys, his father a high school coach, and by the time he was big and strong enough to run on a field or dribble on a hardwood floor, Terry Hasseltine was taking naturally to two positions that augured his future career: soccer midfielder and basketball point guard. For the uninitiated in the sporting world, those are athletes who aim to keep a clear vision of the field, control the ball as much as possible and get it to the scorers who can do the most damage.

Lee Corrigan Occupation President and founder of Corrigan Sports Enterprises. In the news His sports marketing and events management company organized yesterday's Baltimore Marathon. Career highlights When Corrigan formed his company in 1999, Baltimore was the biggest city in the U.S. without a marathon. He and his staff dreamed up the event, brought politicians on board and turned the race into a major city happening. Each year, the marathon and running festival brings $13 million into the city and raises $500,000 for charities, he said.

NASCAR-themed restaurants run by Baltimore-based Cordish Co. will make their debut next year in Orlando, Fla., and Myrtle Beach, S.C., under an agreement giving the developer exclusive international rights to use the NASCAR brand in new restaurant and entertainment ventures. Cordish plans to open about two NASCAR Sports Grilles a year in high-profile locations such as New York's Times Square. In addition, the developer, which will own and operate the restaurants, expects to open up to three similar, but smaller, themed restaurants a year in more suburban locations.

The sails say it all. Ericsson, Pirates of the Caribbean, Brasil, Brunel, ABN AMRO, movistar. And if you don't know what Brunel, ABN AMRO and movistar are, you'll likely learn they represent a Dutch recruiting and consulting company, an international bank and a Spanish mobile phone operator, respectively, by the end of Volvo Ocean Race's Baltimore and Annapolis stopover. They're all corporate sponsors of the eight-month regatta that is here through May 7 and provides one of sailing's most elite prizes.

Cell phones may be the next frontier in sports media. And you thought they existed only so that your spouse could tell you to stop at the grocery on the way home. Fans have been able to check scores and statistics on their phones for years, but companies such as Sprint Nextel are taking that notion to another realm in partnership with the NFL, NASCAR and ESPN. Sprint signed a five-year, $600 million sponsorship deal with the NFL this summer and recently announced its "NFL Mobile" package.

The Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association's A Conference, considered the nation's premier high school boys lacrosse league, will offer three doubleheaders at Johns Hopkins University in April, according to an announcement by two Baltimore-based sports marketing agencies. The University Lacrosse Lax Under The Lights series, sponsored by The Sports Marketing Institute and SportsCom, will be played over the course of three weekends at the university's Homewood Field, with proceeds to benefit the Special Olympics of Maryland.

Michael Phelps' run for eight gold medals may have ended prematurely, but his role as company pitchman is expected to have staying power. He won't get the $1 million bonus Speedo International Ltd. promised if he beat Mark Spitz's 1972 record for winning seven gold medals in a single Olympics. Some people think the front of a Wheaties box might be slightly farther from his reach, too. But marketing executives largely agree that the bet many advertisers made on the Towson swimmer before the 28th Summer Olympiad in Athens, Greece, was a very sound one. After all, he's still raking in medals - he won two golds yesterday to run his total to three golds and two bronzes.

As baseball All-Star Melvin Mora steps onto the lush, manicured green turf tonight, he will serve as a reminder that there are really two forms of stardom: one on the field, one in the minds of corporate bigwigs. The difference between the two is enormous. Mora, for the first half of this baseball season at least, has achieved the first. His sizzling .349 batting average for the Orioles has earned him his first trip - and the only one by an Oriole this year - to the All Star Game, which will be played tonight at Chicago in what purists still call Comiskey Park.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - McDonald's Corp., the world's biggest restaurant chain, is negotiating for one of the biggest prizes in U.S. sports sponsorships: naming rights for NASCAR's elite Winston Cup stock-car racing series. The Winston sponsorship, worth between $40 million and $60 million a year, is one of the most expensive in sports because it covers 36 races that draw crowds of more than 100,000 and better television ratings than any U.S. sport except football in the National Football League.

Annapolis senior lacrosse standout Acacia Walker, a two-time All-Metro first-teamer, has verbally committed to the University of Maryland on a full scholarship. Last spring, the versatile midfielder finished the season with 44 goals and 40 assists for the Panthers. A veteran of the U.S. World Championship under-19 team last year, Walker was a first-team Chesapeake regional All-American. She's looking forward to taking her game to the next level at Maryland. "It's amazing. It's a great group of girls and they made me feel so comfortable at my official visit," said Walker, who plans to study sports psychology or sports marketing.