Marketplace Roundup

Lakers, Magic Wear Special-Edition NBA Finals-Branded Shooting Shirts

Lakers and Magic players Thursday during Game One of the NBA Finals wore special-edition NBA Finals-branded shooting shirts on the court for the first time. The adidas ClimaLite shirts have a Finals logo on the chest and a Conference Champions graphic on the back neck. The shirts, available at NBAStore.com as well as the Magic's and Lakers' team stores, retail for $31.99 for short-sleeve and $33.99 for long-sleeve (THE DAILY). Meanwhile, adidas has provided Magic C Dwight Howard with a "lighter size 18 pair of shoes" for the Finals. The TS Commander LT, which will hit retail for $100 in October, is six ounces lighter than the TS Bounce Commander Howard has been wearing. The shoes will be grey and blue instead of his normal white or black pairs. Howard will sign each game-worn pair, which will then be auctioned at NBA.com "with bidding starting at $1,012," a nod to Howard's jersey number (CNBC.com, 6/4).

FISH FRY: The Marlins during Sunday's game against the Giants at Land Shark Stadium are giving out "five-inch banks resembling" 2B Dan Uggla's head to the first 5,000 kids in attendance. In an ad promoting the giveaway, Marlins RF Cody Ross "smashes an Uggla bank with a bat to get change for a soda." Uggla said, "They told me they had a commercial they wanted me to do that involved a piggy bank. I didn't know it was going to resemble me. I thought it was pretty cool." Florida-based Match-Up Promotions VP/Sales Jeff Collins, whose company created the bank, said that "at least two other MLB teams are handing out head banks this season." Collins: "I don't think it's going to be the next bobblehead, but it's fresh for the sponsors and fresh for the fans" (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 6/5).

CHECK MATE: ESPN's Kevin Negandhi noted the Univ. of Oregon football team has 384 different uniform combinations as of the "most recent count." ESPN's Jesse Palmer said, "Anytime they wear black, I like it. But it just must be nice to have Nike in your backyard." Negandhi: "It's a great recruiting tool" ("College Football Live," ESPN, 6/4).

GATOR BITE: The Univ. of Florida (UF) confirmed that the school has "quietly cut its ties to sportswear maker Russell Athletic." UF officials would not discuss the reason for the move, but workers' rights groups "contend that in the fall Russell retaliated against workers in Honduras who joined a union by closing their factory." UF is the No. 2 best-selling brand in college sports (ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, 6/5).