News Briefs

PAPAJOHNS.COM: has signed a multi-year agreement as the title sponsor of the newly created PapaJohns.com Bowl in Birmingham, AL. The game will be played Dec. 23 at Birmingham's Legion Field and will be televised by ESPN2 at 12 p.m. CT. The annual game will match a team from Conference USA against a bowl-eligible team from the BIG EAST Conference, according to news reports.

PHILIP MORRIS USA: will not have to defend its marketing before the U.S. Supreme Court. The high court has refused to hear a class-action suit that charges Philip Morris with defrauding consumers through marketing that implies "light" cigarettes are less harmful than regular cigarettes. The Illinois Supreme Court ruled in Philip Morris' favor on the case in 2004, overturning a 2003 Illinois trial court ruling that initially would have fined Philip Morris $10.1 billion in compensatory and punitive damages based on marketing messages touting lower tar and nicotine in Marlboro Lights and Cambridge Lights cigarettes.