Thanks to his partnership with Sharp Electronics, Florida Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez will be stopping at Brandsmart in Miami on Saturday to sign autographs and pose for photos.

Sharp included Ramirez along with a dozen other Major League Baseball players last summer in promotions for its Sharp Aquos, MLB’s “official High Definition television.”

Ramirez will appear from 11 a.m. to noon Saturday at Brandsmart, 16051 S. Dixie Highway, Miami. He will only be allowed to autograph signature cards that Sharp will be providing at the event.

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Chicago Bears wide receiver and former UM star Devin Hester is starring in an ad for Under Armour’s new “Mission” campaign to promote the company’s new UA Fierce cleats.

The fast-paced commercial, which debuts during tonight’s broadcast of the 2009 ESPYs of which Under Armour is a presenting sponsor, is filmed from Hester’s point of view. It’s a day in his life – his waking up, visiting with Deion Sanders, signing autographs at Sports Authority, throwing out the first pitch at Wrigley Field and working out at Soldier Field. At the beginning, it isn’t entirely clear who the viewer is following, but the ad offers clues along the way.

“It’s pretty strange, it’s kind of like a mystery, trying to figure out ‘who is this person? Oh OK, they want to keep it like a little secret and then at the end wow, OK,’” said Hester, who is from Riveria Beach.. “I think this is the first commercial where they [Under Armour] featured just one guy. I’m blessed to be the guy to do it. It was very fun, a great opportunity for me."

It’s also the first campaign in which Hester has held the starring role. He and his mother, Juanita Brown, were in one of those “Mama’s Boys” Campbell’s Chunky Soup ads together with other NFL players and their moms two years ago.

Hester said he enjoyed working with Sanders, whom he’s known since college. “Not only is he my idol, he’s more of a big brother, a role model for me. I look up to him. We text message every day, before I wake up I have a message from him. He sends words of encouragement, things to think about, to be happy for waking up, a big word of encouragement to start off your day,” Hester said.

As for UA’s cleats, Hester says they’re made for swift athletes like him. “The UA Fierce is the lightest they’ve made so far. It’s made for speed for players such as myself. You want to wear the lightest cleats as possible.”

Check out the ad here:

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Heat superstar guard Dwyane Wade is joining Nike's Jordan Brand.

Wade, who signed a modest $400,000 deal with Converse as a rookie, is abandoning his deal with Converse, which was set to run through the 2011-12 season. He’s joining Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and Derek Jeter, among others, with Team Jordan, the brand named for Michael Jordan.

Wade’s first Converse shoe was released during the 2005-06 season.His signing was viewed as a way to spark the struggling brand, which is also owned by Nike. The Wade 4 was released last season, but Wade wore the Wade 1 on the court. Converse re-released a limited number of the Wade 1 last season.

“For me, the move to Jordan Brand is a dream come true,” Wade said in a statement. “As a kid, I grew up on the south side of Chicago idolizing Michael Jordan and have worked hard to achieve the same success that he’s had on the court. I have enormous respect for this brand and all that it stands for. I’m humbled to be a part of the Team Jordan family and I’m looking forward to a great future.”

The Jordan Brand, which also includes apparel, was launched in 1997.

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Jimmie Johnson just made history, becoming only the second driver in NASCAR history to win back-to-back-to-back Sprint Cup championship titles. He’s well-spoken, clean-cut and has one of the sport’s biggest corporations – Lowe’s -- supporting him.

So will he finally break through and become more marketable than his fellow drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and even Carl Edwards, his runner-up for this year’s championship? Not likely, experts say.

Oh sure, he’s marketable. He even shot a commercial last week before the Ford 400 Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. But he doesn’t have that certain something.

“Call him the Roger Federer of NASCAR,” said Bob Dorfman, executive creative director at Baker Street Partners and author of The Sports Marketers’ Scouting Report. “Maybe Johnson is too cool and laid back on camera to the point of seeming a little stiff and aloof, and a question mark as a compelling pitchman. Given the state of the current economy, and the tight purse strings of marketers, it’s doubtful that Johnson’s third straight NASCAR championship will lead to new major endorsement deals.”

Dorfman predicts Johnson will make the rounds of talk shows and speaking engagements.

According to Millsport Motorsports’ Davie Brown Index, which uses consumer research to measure the attributes of athletes and celebrities, Earnhardt tops the list of NASCAR drivers among both avid NASCAR fans and the general population. Gordon and Stewart also beat out Johnson.

“He’s dry,” said Joe Castello, who hosts radio shows about auto racing on both 790 The Ticket and Sirius XM. “His style was to be the polished marketable guy, the polished pristine vanilla guy that’s corporate and that got him to where he is. But fans don’t like that. Fans don’t like the vanilla guy. Fans like the Tony Stewart, fans like the guy who’s going to do something against the grain.”

But there’s no question Johnson is marketable, Castello said. “He doesn’t sell as many T-shirts as Earnhardt, as Stewart. “He’s a California kid, understated, that doesn’t make you want to run out and get his T-shirt. His fans are passionate.”

And if you win three consecutive championships, that’s got to mean something, Castello said. “You’ve got to respect that.”

Meanwhile, Lowe’s is offering a discount on Kobalt Tools in Johnson’s honor. Find the details on our Shop-O-Matic blog.

And don’t forget to check out my guest blogs at CNBC, here and here.

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Heat rookie Michael Beasley confirmed today that he has signed a shoe deal with adidas. The deal was first reported by the SportsBusiness Journal’s Liz Mullen, but Beasley, the No. 2 pick overall, spoke briefly about it this afternoon to reporters, including our Heat beat writer, Ira Winderman.

"It was the best situation for me," Beasley said. "I've been playing in adidas since I was 13 years old. I established a relationship with some of the guys on the staff and financially it was the best situation for me and my family."

Read the rest of Ira’s story here.

Mullen reported that Steven Reed, Beasley’s business manager, said his client agreed to the deal “enthusiastically” because adidas is the brand he’s worn “his whole playing life.”

Clearly Beasley has worn other shoes, including Nike’s Jordan brand. CNBC sports business reporter Darren Rovell looks at why Reed’s comment doesn’t make sense here.

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Olympic gold medalist and Heat guard Dwyane Wade has renewed his endorsement deal with McDavid Inc., Illinois-based maker of HexPad protective apparel Wade routinely wears.

After a three-year deal signed in 2005 expired, Wade has signed on to promote the company for another two years, the firm announced this week. Financial terms were not disclosed.

You’ve regularly seen him wear the company’s Hex Power Shooter Arm Sleeve, among other items.

”Dwyane is the perfect example of how McDavid can help athletes stay in the game,” McDavid Vice President Terry Fee said in a statement. “He was among the first in the NBA to make HexPad an everyday piece of equipment. After rehabbing from a string of injuries Dwyane felt secure enough wearing HexPad to not only get back on the court but perform at the highest level.”

The company partners with a number of other athletes including Arizona Cardinals and former Hurricanes running back Edgerrin James and Golden State Warriors forward Corey Maggette, as well as international soccer, basketball and volleyball players.

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Just a month after he was selected second overall by the Dolphins in the 2005 NFL draft, running back Ronnie Brown signed a deal to be a national spokesman for EAS Inc., a Colorado-baesd national supplement maker. The deal was newsworthy not just because Brown was a rookie, but because EAS was the first product to be approved under the NFL and its Players Association’s supplement-certification program.

The program was started to ensure players could find supplements free of the more than 70 items on the league’s banned substances list that includes everything from steroids to growth hormones to masking agents. The program allows manufacturers to apply for approval to state their products contain no banned ingredients.

Brown is among a group of athletes endorsing EAS, called Team EAS, that includes Cleveland Browns quarterback Brady Quinn and Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Chase Utley.

The company has taken a unique approach to telling its story, featuring Brown’s post-knee surgery workout in a video. He’s wearing an EAS logo on his shirt and he does talk about the benefits of EAS and which products he uses, but it’s woven into the piece that mainly focuses on his workout routine.

No word yet on a followup to watch Brown rehab his injured thumb.

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Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez continues to be in good company. He’s joining a dozen other MLB stars in endorsing Sharp Electronics – Sharp Aquos is MLB’s “official High Definition television” – the company announced Friday.

Ramirez will make appearances and do promotions on behalf of Sharp at local retailers and events. He joins a roster of Sharp endorsers that includes David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox; Mariano Rivera and Joba Chamberlain of the New York Yankees; Matt Holliday of the Colorado Rockies; and Prince Fielder of the Milwaukee Brewers.

In honor of the new deal, Ramirez is scheduled to appear at the Brandsmart in North Miami, 4320 NW 167th Ave., from noon to 1 p.m., next Friday, Aug. 15.

Sharp, which signed a deal with MLB Properties last year, sponsors the National and American League players of the month and Hank Aaron awards. The company also has a sweepstakes running for a trip to the World Series and HD TVs.

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So Dan Marino won’t be appearing on ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars,” but he’s still pitching products.

When I called yesterday to check on the rumors that swirled about Marino’s two-step, the Hall of Fame Dolphins quarterback was in Miami finishing up the filming on a television commercial for Fort Lauderdale-based United Steel. You’ve probably heard the radio ads or seen the print ones Marino has done for the company that bills itself as metal and steel building experts. Now the company is adding a TV spot.

Check out Marino’s endorsement for the company here.

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Fort Lauderdale sprinter Walter Dix competed in the U.S. Olympic trials in his FSU uniform.

He had turned down earlier endorsement deals said to be worth $1 million a year.

The gamble paid off. Dix has signed a multi-million dollar contract with Nike through December 2012. His agent calls the deal “record-breaking” for a track star. Read my colleague Sharon Robb’s story about Dix here.

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