ADIDAS MAKES IT OFFICIAL. MCGRADY GETS HIS STRIPES

          adidas officially announced Wednesday that it has
     signed an endorsement deal with 18-year-old basketball
     player Tracy McGrady, who has declared himself eligible for
     the NBA Draft.  McGrady joins the Lakers' Kobe Bryant and
     the Blazers' Jermaine O'Neal as adidas endorsers who have
     gone straight to the NBA after high school (adidas).
          FRESH FACES: USA TODAY's Bill Meyers writes that the
     deal, first reported in the FL Lakeland Ledger, "could be
     worth" up to $12M and is the "largest pact ever for a prep
     basketball player."  Meyers adds that adidas' strategy
     behind signing Bryant, O'Neal and now McGrady is to "appeal
     to the youth market with potential NBA stars as product
     endorsers."  Meyers reports that Nike also "sought" McGrady
     and Fila "says it might sign precocious prep players on
     their way to the pros" (USA TODAY, 6/19).