The Phoenix Suns, which has been a leader in social media in the NBA, launched its own Twitter-based platform, which will collect Tweets from fans and Suns players and staff and display them on its Web site.

The new platform, Suns Twackle, was developed in partnership with Octagon Digital and, in addition to fans, will pull in Tweets from Shaquille O’Neal (@The_Real_Shaq), Steve Nash (@The_Real_Nash), the Suns Dancers (@SunsDancers), various staffers, and Alvin Gentry (@AlvinGentry), the NBA’s first head coach to join Twitter.

The Special Olympics is hoping to eradicate the use of the word “retard” through a new campaign that asks the public to sign a pledge to “end the word.” It comes on the heels of President Obama’s late night gaffe where he equated his bowling score with that of one belonging to the Special Olympics while with Jay Leno.

In describing the community’s reaction to the president’s misstep, Timothy Shriver, chairman of the board of Special Olympics, wrote today that, “At Special Olympics, we had to deploy a round-the-clock team to monitor our website and remove offensive posts. Clearly, we’ve got a problem.”

His column for the Washington Post is here. Pledge drive is here.

Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby are kicking their PR efforts into high gear, after recently hiring Cramer-Krasselt for PR support. Leading up to the Derby on May 2, Churchill Downs announced that celebrity chef Bobby Flay will serve as the official host and spokesperson for the Kentucky Derby Party program and Web site for the second year.

The company also recently closed applications for its CPO—Chief Party Officer—to run the festivities on the Kentucky Derby infield. Churchill Downs accepted online video applications for the position until February 28 and the new CPO will be announced soon. The company is also planning a press conference on March 11 about a new partnership with a nonprofit organization.

Five days and counting, PepsiCo hasn’t slated all of the Super Bowl LVIII ads it plans to air. The soda giant is relying on blogosphere buzz to determine which ads will best align with consumer interests. This news, along with a showing of the airing Monsters vs. Aliens ad, was unveiled at a press conference, held by the conglomerate, today. The company also said Gatorade’s “G” ads, which generated questions from media and bloggers, will move forward from the Super Bowl with clearer branding tactics.

In terms of stereotypes, the worlds of professional athletes and the tech-savvy users of Twitter don’t seem to be made for each other, but both Phoenix Suns center and the NBA club are proving that misconception wrong.

It turns out the Suns organization at large is also the microblogging service as part of its digital outreach, an effort that also contains PlanetOrange.net, a social networking Web site. The organization is also planning a “TweetUp” – a physical meet-up for Twittering Suns’ aficionados – for mid-January, Amy Martin, Suns director of digital media and research, told PRWeek. “I think we are just at the tip of the iceberg here, and more than anything, one of the things you can gain as an organization [by using Twitter] is just listening to the fans and being able to understand their perspectives better, because that’s the environment, as opposed to the more controlled properties,” she said.

Sports media is also getting in on the act. The Washington Post’s sports department is to communicate with the DC region’s rabid Washington Redskins fanbase during games and throughout the NFL season at large. The updates came in handy during player injuries, and when a parking lot fire spread to numerous cars at Maryland’s FedEx field, Cindy Boren, deputy sports editor at the Post, told PRWeek. “It has a purpose journalistically, and it has its moments when you’re just complaining about the Metro [subway system], but overall it’s great,” she said. “It’s a more convenient form of blogging. I was skeptical at first, but I like it, for one, because it cuts down on the pontificating and it cuts down on the trolling.”

I am a bit biased, because it is about my alma mater, but this Chicago Tribune article about Northwestern University campaigning to get a quality bowl game for its football team this year is interesting. While a team’s record is a major part of its bowl selection, other criteria makes up the final decision, including how much fans are willing to travel and spend money.

“Northwestern became bowl-eligible after earning a sixth victory Oct. 18,” the Tribune article says. “But the tricky and tireless part for [athletic director Jim] Phillips is campaigning to put the Wildcats in a bowl with the most appeal.” Phillips has been sending out photographs of the 1996 Rose Bowl featuring Northwestern and making phone calls to those making bowl game decisions. He is also happy that fans and alumni are excited about the first bowl-eligible Wildcat team since 2005. I agree: Go ‘Cats!

The Tribune also has a piece that mentions this year’s campaign from University of Texas coach Mack Brown. Sports reporters are buzzing about the Bowl Championship Series’ decision to put the University of Oklahoma above UT in the standings on Sunday. Meanwhile, USA Today discusses “style points” to help a team’s standings.

In case you decided to tune out for turkey day this whole week, Citigroup had a rough start, accepting government help to stave off further instability. But the troubles at the financial institution are now affecting America’s pastime, too: baseball. It called into question the naming deal between Citigroup and the New York Mets.

A $400 million, 20-year deal gave naming rights of the new Citi Field (set to open in April) to Citigroup. But there’s the lingering question of what will happen if the worst should befall the banking group. For now, a Mets’ media relations spokesperson calls the agreement “firm,” and a told The New York Times that the organization is still “committed.” But, like everything else this year, we’ll probably have to wait and see for a definitive answer.

30 head coaches from the NBA have to wear Joseph Abboud suits, sport coats, dress slacks, and ties during games, reports the Wall Street Journal, which adds that the company is “building its brand on dressing high-profile sports figures.” The brand is providing threads with a combined retail value of $500,000 in return for the right to call itself the coaches’ official clothier.

The National Basketball Coaches Association told the Journal that main draw was JA Apparel’s promise to donate boys suits to the association’s new children’s charity. While the partnership seems like a CSR win-win, the Journal rerports that the line, not visibly labeled, could slip under the radar if not distinctly designed.

ASA Entertainment continues with its streak of high-profile action sports events, partnering with LG Mobile Phones for the LG Action Sports World Championships in Seattle, from October 31 to November 2.

But this year, the sixth year of sponsorship for LG, the event has a political twist. LG partnered with youth voter initiative Declare Yourself, which has been ramping up its own partnerships leading up to the election on November 4.

At the LG Action Sports World Championship, which features action sports and musical performances from The Game, Pennywise, MxPx, and Hoobastank, LG is handing out t-shirts, hats, and skateboard decks with the Declare Yourself message to vote, said Denise Abbott, director of media relations for ASA. Declare Yourself videos will be played throughout the arena, and then posted online, and a text-messaging contest will also take place during the event.

While in Los Angeles last week for PRWeek’s Entertainment and Media Roundtable, I also attended a PRWeek panel, discussing PR in the entertainment industry. The panel, moderated by PRWeek’s Keith O’Brien, included Susan Fleishman, EVP of corporate communications for Warner Bros; Chris Ender, SVP of communications for CBS; and David Stamper, SVP, partner, and GM of Fleishman-Hillard Los Angeles. A recap of the panel is after the jump.

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