Marketplace Roundup

Watch The Clip

In Ft. Lauderdale, Rod Hagwood reported tennis player James Blake on August 15 is "launching his own line of men's apparel with Fila." The Thomas Reynolds Collection, named after his late father, will be available in select Dick's Sporting Goods and tennis specialty stores. The line will "start off with classic tennis togs with a traditional look before expanding into more lifestyle pieces," including footwear and golfwear, for spring '10 (SUN-SENTINEL.com, 8/6).

ZEN & THE ART OF FOOTWEAR: SPORTINGNEWS.com's Rich Lopez reported adidas on November 1 will release 15 pairs of the new Phil Jackson "X" adidas Artillery shoe to celebrate the Lakers coach's 10 NBA titles. The right shoe is "dedicated to his six championships with the Bulls," while the left is in honor of his four titles with the Lakers (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 8/6).

JUMP ON BOARD: In Chicago, Colleen Kane profiles 15-year-old pro skateboarder Chaz Ortiz, whose "potential has grabbed the attention of more than just avid skateboarding fans." Gatorade enlisted Ortiz to be part of its "Mission G" ad campaign, including a commercial with Michael Jordan and Spike Lee, and the Gatorade partnership "also took him to this year's Super Bowl." Ortiz still is a full-time high school student in Chicago (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 8/7).

LET YOUR PLAYING DO THE TALKING: ESPN’s Erik Kuselias noted different college football teams handle promotions for individual awards differently, as some schools “really blow it out, some schools are very reserved.” ESPN’s Andre Ware said, “It’s turned into this beauty contest. … Just allow the player to play. DVDs, postcards, posters, all that stuff -- we the voters, we know. We know who all the best players are. We know what’s being done on the field” (“College Football Live,” ESPN, 8/4).