What the puck? In honor of the Stanley Cup, the Rocky Mountain News has dubbed its sports section the Hockey Mountain News--but Hokey might be more appropriate. It certainly describes Saturday's column by Rockies first baseman Andres Galarraga, who used his weekly space not to discuss batting averages, or baseball, or even the town's newest sports heroes, but instead to plug his own off-the-field enterprise. Headlined "Marketing Line of Clothing Can Be Difficult," Galarraga's piece went on to prove that getting a puff piece published is a cinch.
"It has been hard. There are a lot of details to pay attention to," lamented Galarraga. Tell that to the Hokey, which neglected to note that its star columnist had just hit a home run of free advertising. "The products now available have logos that follow the Big Cat theme or have claws or claw marks. I'm even selling a kind of varsity jacket, with leather sleeves," Galarraga announced, then helpfully added, "Several stores are carrying them, including Joslins, but sales have been most consistent at the Sportsfan locations." Good job of reporting, Big Cat!
Sadly, the Rockies have been pussy-footing around about adding Galarraga's line at their own stores. "I think they're a little worried by the competition," Galarraga confided.
Maybe he should have a friendly chat with one of the Rockies' owners. The Rocky Mountain News, for example.
Meanwhile, over at the Official Newspaper of the Fan, Denver Post columnist Chuck Green has inspired some more free advertising--although not of his own design. A few months ago Green veered off the pet beat to detail his excellent experience buying a vehicle from a car broker--a column that had auto dealers across town racing their engines and threatening to shift their advertising. Neutralizing the situation took considerable corporate schmoozing--including the full-page Post ad that ran again Saturday, reminding us that "Your best deal is always from a factory-authorized Colorado auto dealer." No mention was made, however, of the column that sparked this Post cave-in.
Equal time for hurlers: Participants in Sunday's inaugural summer walking tour of LoDo hosted by the Colorado Historical Society got an eyeful of some unusual artifacts--the detritus left over from the first annual LoDo Bar Crawl, held in the same space the day before.
Lower Downtown District Inc. director Richard Holcomb wasn't there to bat cleanup--but then, it turns out he's history. Holcomb suddenly resigned from the post last week, for reasons that have yet to be announced. In the meantime, while the LoDo booster group searches for a replacement, former LDDI head David Gottlieb will fill in for a few weeks before he moves back to Chicago.
Sign of the times: Coors Brewing Company, once the target of a gay boycott, is now a major sponsor of Someone You Know, a new gay and lesbian publication in Colorado Springs (which could use one). The paper was surprised--and delighted--by Coors's support, which helped make the monthly possible. "We target to the mainstream and take a personal angle on issues," says editor Julie Cooper. "Because this is someone you know--whether you know it or not."
We'll drink to that.
