Richard Tedesco

Bend it like Beckham, the movie title derived from that English striker’s special gift for curling free kicks into the back of goal nets, takes on a whole new meaning as his brief Major League Soccer career appears to be ending.

The unique twist here is that the bright promise David Beckham seemed to represent as a marketing icon for MLS and the Los Angeles Galaxy has turned into a cautionary tale that leaves the American soccer league looking distinctly second rate. The Galaxy look as though it was the team taking Beckham on loan in a $25 million five-year deal, rather than AC Milan, which will apparently keep him after his two lackluster seasons in the MLS.

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While other automakers are watching sales decline, Hyundai scored a big boost in business last month fueled by a simple proposition: if you buy a Hyundai and lose your job, you can return the car.

The concept attacks the most prevalent feeling that would prevent any prospective car buyer from making a move right now, namely that void of uncertainly enveloping our economy. Effectively remove that element from the equation, and it obviously draws consumers who are otherwise frozen with indecision.

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So it turns out that Alex Rodriguez was lying when he categorically denied using steroids, and while the rabid faithful of the New York Yankees will doubtless give him a pass after his confessional interview on ESPN, Nike may not be so forgiving.

Nike is the big name for A-Roid, paying him a cool million a year in a five-year deal that ends this year. When Nike signed the deal in 2005, it simultaneously revealed that it was cutting another steroid star, the Yankees’ Jason Giambi, from its roster. Pepsi had a deal with the slugger it already opted not to renew.

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What started as a typical tabloid stunt - a photo of Michael Phelps puffing on a bong pipe - has turned into a competition suspension and a sponsor disconnect with moral overtones for America’s super-swimmer.

“Michael’s most recent behavior is not consistent with the image of Kellogg,” Kellogg spokeswoman Susan Norwitz said in a statement. Of course, that’s subject to change if Phelps the pothead becomes Phelps the multi-medal man once more. Tony the Tiger good, marijuana man bad, sums up Kellogg’s moral marketing message here.

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What’s in a name? In the case of the New York Mets, $400 million over the next decade - and political considerations that could nix their Cadillac naming rights pact with Citigroup.

Conflicting press reports surfaced today indicating that Citigroup was trying to back out of its deal in light of the $45 billion in bailout money and $300 billion in federal loan guarantees it’s receiving. The report about Citigroup’s recant cites a corporate source who insists none of the Trouble Asset Relief Program (TARP) bucks would be spent for Citi Field rights. But another press report quotes a Mets suit saying the deal’s still on.

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Whatever messages emanate from the Vatican these days will likely be streamed on YouTube in what is a landmark departure from the traditionally austere veil of selective communications that has characterized the Church’s practices. The stated reason Pope Benedict becomes a YouTube celebrity is an intention to broaden his reach and better control his image on the new channel, http://www.youtube.com/vatican.

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