As you can see it is not just your standard Apple product but rather a golden 32-gigabyte personalised version to mark the occasion.

Beckham, who made his England debut in September 1996 against Moldova, was picked for new coach Fabio Capello's second national squad, after missing the friendly with Swtizerland due to lack of match fitness.

The LA Galaxy midfielder started the France game in his preferred right-midfield position before being replaced by David Bentley just after the hour mark.

Beckham looks like to add to his 100 caps following Capello's post-match appraisal of his performance, and with just four men ahead of him there is a small possibility the Leytonstone-born footballer could surpass former goalkeeper Peter Shilton's record of 125 England appearances if he is able to continue playing until the 2010 World Cup in South Africa as he desires.

"Two weeks ago today history was made," Murphy said at a press conference this afternoon in San Francisco. "I was privileged enough to be in house. I was lucky enough to be that guy who caught the ball. Today I am excited to announce that myself along with SCP Auctions will be putting the ball up for sale."

SCP, a partner with the premiere auction house Sotheby's, specializes in high-end sports items and will run an online auction for the ball from Aug. 28 to Sept. 15. Auction officials say the ball is probably worth at least a half million dollars.

Murphy, who bought tickets for the Padres-Giants game along with a Yankees fan friend in advance of passing through San Francisco en route to an Australian vacation, eventually decided to sell the ball when it became clear that the cost of keeping it would be too much to bear. Advisers informed him he would be taxed on the ball just for holding on to it.

And while David wants to change the American opinion of professional soccer, Victoria, 33, seems determined to change the American opinion of her. "I think people are really going to see me for the first time," she says. "I think they have this impression that I'm this miserable cow who doesn't smile. But I'm actually quite the opposite.

"When you're out there, they're trying to get pictures up your shirt, down your top," she continues, in explanation of her tendency to scowl in paparazzi shots. "With all the flashes, it's as much as you can do to just find your car. I'm going to try and smile more for America."

*****

As of this fall, the Beckham style will be widely available in America. Victoria's denim line and collection of sunglasses-both under her dVb label-will be sold at Saks Fifth Avenue, Henri Bendel and other upscale stores. (Intimately Beckham, a fragrance in both men's and women's versions, will be in department stores.) For Victoria, an admitted shopaholic, it's a major triumph to be sold in such retail temples. "Being a Spice Girl opened a lot of doors, but it also shut many because of preconceptions people have about me," she says. "I've had to bang down those doors."

Victoria insists that-unlike some celebs with namesake labels-she was very much involved, even traveling to the factory in Winnipeg, Manitoba, to supervise the production of her jeans. "I'm a real consumer, and I think I know how real women want to look," she says. She even had her new friend Jennifer Lopez road test a pair to make sure they suited curvier girls.

Coveted by the likes of Nicole Richie, Sienna Miller and Nicole Kidman, the £990 origami-folded stretch cotton frock has been designed by Roland Mouret, whose Galaxy Dress became the hottest item of 2005.

Posh posed for photographers at the team's ground in Carson, California, on Friday with a £10,000 Barbie- pink ostrich-skin Hermes Birkin bag on her arm, Balenciaga court shoes and her trademark oversized sunglasses.

Having worn the dress long before it goes on sale in November - and in the pink limited edition which will be sold only in upmarket New York department store Bergdorf Goodman - Posh is sure to have made shoppers from Sloane Street to Sunset Boulevard green with envy.

It is, to use her husband's terminology, a gloriously executed goal against the fashion opposition. And to guarantee she's one step ahead of every other red carpet hopeful, Posh has put her name down for all 21 items in Mouret's new collection - an order worth more than £30,000.

You can't ever say that Boston Red Sox fans aren't enthusiastic. A gas grill, reportedly listed by Manny Ramirez, has been removed from online auction site eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) after bids spiked to nearly $100 million. Originally purchased for about $4,000 and used once, according to the Red Sox slugger's testimony, the minimum bid of $3,000 was registered shortly after 1:00 p.m. Tuesday. By midnight, the offers were out of control.

While the site offered no explanation for the listing's removal, other parts of the eBay web site warn that items may be taken down if thought to violate eBay policies. The listing had featured seven pictures of the Jenn-Air grill, two with Ramirez in the shot.

Romomania has spread to the collectibles industry, where he has become a hot commodity. Rookie cards of the former backup rank high on collectors' Christmas lists, as do autographs, jerseys and anything else with the likeness of the newest Cowboys sensation.

That is, of course, if you can find them.

"The demand for his cards came in the day he was named the starting quarterback, and we've been out of them ever since," said Al Gilliland, the owner of Triple Cards and Collectibles in Plano. "Every day people are calling and asking if we have any Romo rookies, and we don't have any. We'd like to get some in, but we haven't had any luck."

Romo's rookie cards, which came out in 2003, are the hottest items. Beckett Media, which publishes a monthly football card price guide, has the quarterback ranked as the No. 2 player on its sports hot list, behind former TCU running back LaDainian Tomlinson of the San Diego Chargers.

How hard are Romo cards to find? In the current price guide, Romo's top-of-the line rookie card is listed at $100. The card, a 2003 SP Authentic Gold Autograph, recently sold for $1,200 on eBay. There were only 25 of that card produced.

Romomania has spread to the collectibles industry, where he has become a hot commodity. Rookie cards of the former backup rank high on collectors' Christmas lists, as do autographs, jerseys and anything else with the likeness of the newest Cowboys sensation.

That is, of course, if you can find them.

"The demand for his cards came in the day he was named the starting quarterback, and we've been out of them ever since," said Al Gilliland, the owner of Triple Cards and Collectibles in Plano. "Every day people are calling and asking if we have any Romo rookies, and we don't have any. We'd like to get some in, but we haven't had any luck."

Romo's rookie cards, which came out in 2003, are the hottest items. Beckett Media, which publishes a monthly football card price guide, has the quarterback ranked as the No. 2 player on its sports hot list, behind former TCU running back LaDainian Tomlinson of the San Diego Chargers.

How hard are Romo cards to find? In the current price guide, Romo's top-of-the line rookie card is listed at $100. The card, a 2003 SP Authentic Gold Autograph, recently sold for $1,200 on eBay. There were only 25 of that card produced.

Stephen Colbert isn't a big guy, but his economic reach is long.

The Saginaw Spirit are learning just how long after the host of Comedy Central's "Colbert Report" started talking in September about the Ontario Hockey League team on his nightly show.

"We just sent 25 jerseys to California last week," Saginaw Managing Partner Craig M. Goslin said. "It's the largest single jersey sale to date. We sent them to a wholesaler out there whose clients want one because the jersey has become hot because of Colbert.

***

"We've sent hats and jerseys to Ireland and Scotland in recent weeks," Goslin said. "Our hat sales are up 25 percent over last year, and Stephen Colbert has helped us in a big way by talking about us every week."

The Ronaldinho signature collection in the U.S. includes a new boot, the Tiempo Ronaldinho, as well as state of the art equipment including a ball, shin guards and a sport inspired bag. The Tiempo Ronaldinho reflects personal insight from Ronaldinho's futsal past and his current style of play -- as richly crafted, refined and elegant as its namesake's football skills.

In tribute to Ronaldinho's personality both on and off the field, the iconography and visual design of the collection reflects his rich and fabled story. Tri-colored stitching represents Ronaldinho's three major passions in life: Yellow for family, sun, and Brazil; Orange for samba, spice, and food; and Red for the passion and joy he feels for life and soccer. Gold outlines the "10" and stylized "R" that mimics the start of his own signature. According to Ronaldinho, "Everything I know, everything I have, I owe to my family. I play with music in my head ... as long as there is a ball, I am happy."

Nike Designer Tetsuya Thomas Minami, although born in the United States, lived in his family's home town of Osaka, Japan since the age of one. His lifelong passion for the game both on and off the pitch allowed him the opportunity to play on many levels. He moved back to the U.S. to study Industrial Design at Cal State University while playing on the university's soccer team in 1999. Since joining Nike, and in addition to designing the Tiempo Ronaldinho footwear collection, Minami has worked on additional football products such as the successful Mercurial Vapor collection, the Air Zoom Control II and the Nike First Touch II.

A Bowman "Signs of the Future" autographed card, issued by The Topps Company, Inc., features a photo of Washington from the waist up in his green Jets jersey with his arms folded across his chest - and appearing to make obscene gestures with both hands.

Washington said Wednesday there was nothing naughty about the photo, which was taken during a shoot with Topps a few months ago. He said he was making an `E' with both hands to honor his hometown, but some fingers are hidden under his armpits.

"All it is is that I'm from the east side of Jacksonville - that's my community," Washington told The Associated Press. "It looks funny, but maybe I should've taken the picture a different way. That's all it really is - nothing more than that."

The apparent obscenity has increased the popularity of the card. Topps is offering collectors the chance to return the card and receive another in its place after saying its release was an oversight by editors.

The TCX Make-A-Wish Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chopper is a one of a kind! This chopper was made exclusively for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and JR Motorsports by the The Cycle Xchange (www.TCXCustoms). The chopper has been autographed on the rear fender and the signature was clear-coated in to preserve it. The chopper will be put on Ebay beginning Friday, September 29, 2006 and the opening bid will be $8,888. The winning bidder and a guest will be flown to Charlotte from anywhere in the continental United States. They will be the guests of the Celebrity Sports Auction and stay at The Westin Hotel in Uptown Charlotte, home of the auction.

Multi-platinum rapper Eminem has designed limited-edition uppers of eight different shoes in the Air Max series; from the Air Max ’87 (originally designed by Tinker Hatfield, one of the world’s foremost footwear designers), all the way up to the most recent Air Max 360. His reinterpretation of the upper has been laid onto the original blueprints for each of the Air Max shoes to create a unique set of shoe designs. An ardent fan of the Air Max and avid collector of sneakers, Eminem jumped at the chance to imprint his own personal touch on the world of sneaker collectors and raise funds for disadvantaged youths, both in his home state of Michigan and around the world in refugee camps.

"Reebok is thrilled to partner with Scarlett because she is a world renowned style icon and truly an inspiration for today's young women," said Reebok's President and CEO Paul Harrington. "Scarlett embodies the pulse points of our brand - individuality, authenticity and a life lived to the fullest in perpetual motion. These characteristics make her the perfect fit for our new women's footwear and apparel collection and also for our exciting new women's campaign."

Recognized worldwide for her fashion flair, Johansson was recently voted "Best Dressed" in an online poll conducted by Yahoo! A New York City native, Johansson has always had an affinity for fashion. "Reebok has a rich heritage in developing and designing cutting-edge women's product which makes them an ideal company to partner with to launch 'Scarlett Hearts Rbk'," said Johansson. "I am very enthusiastic about working with Reebok to design this line."

"Most people know to wear flip-flops in the shower and locker rooms but they don’t think about it on a yoga mat," said Noreen Oswell, the chairwoman of podiatric surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. In the last two years, Dr. Oswell said there has been an uptick of fungal infections among her patients who use mats that aren’t properly cleaned.

Dr. Ellen Marmur, who runs the division of dermatologic surgery at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan, said she has seen more bacterial infections in the last year and a half in "young women who mentioned they did yoga and Pilates," and for whom she had ruled out other risk factors for dermatitis or dry, itchy skin. Dirty exercise mats were most likely to blame, Dr. Marmur said.

*****

Critics warn that hygiene isn’t always a priority at some gyms and studios. Heather Stephenson, a Brooklyn yoga teacher who has worked for two gyms and has worked out in more than 25 worldwide, said: "In my experience it is not an incredibly regular practice to clean them." Ms. Stephenson, who is a founder of Idealbite.com, an eco-living Web site, added that blankets, which are used for headstands, "aren’t often cleaned, either."

Some specialists also worry that the cleaning solutions are not as effective as they could be. In order for a mat wipe to work, the liquid needs to have alcohol or quat-based disinfectants that are commonly used in detergents, said Dr. Philip Tierno, the director of clinical microbiology at N.Y.U. Medical Center. The wipe also needs to be moist enough to wet the entire surface. Soap and water won’t kill bacteria, but chlorine will, added Dr. Tierno, the author of the book The Secret Life of Germs. Longtime devotees of yoga tend to buy their own mats and don’t lend them to anyone because they consider them an intimate part of their practice.

We've just been overrun!" Reggie Bennett, a burly 41-year-old in full-body camouflage, shouted to the four young men behind him on a sunny day in the middle of March. "Our plane is down. We're going to our hole-up site!" One by one they followed his signal to move forward, crouching behind trees, carefully navigating through the brush, quickening their pace as they heard threats screamed behind them: "I see you, G.I.! You think you crafty, G.I., but I gonna put you in a cage so you can't get out!" They paused in a dried-up creek bed, Mr. Bennett bringing up the rear. "Keep quiet. There are land mines, B-52's and burnt craters all around us," he warned. "This is what a war zone looks — "

He was interrupted by a ringing cellphone. "You're going to my voice mail," he said, as he checked the incoming number. "I'm evading now!" But Mr. Bennett wasn't getting cellphone reception midbattle in Falluja. He was teaching his signature Hidden Pursuit escape and evasion class to college seniors who had forgone the wet T-shirt contests and beer bongs of Cancún, Mexico, and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for the chance to dodge simulated gunshots and cannon explosions at Mountain Shepherd Wilderness Survival School in Amherst, Va.

*****

"They want to pretend they're on 'Lost,' " said Mr. Bennett, referring to the hit drama on ABC about a group of plane crash survivors trying to hack it on a remote island. "They watch those shows and think, 'Hey, that looks pretty cool.' " A former instructor of survival, evasion, resistance and escape in the Air Force, he started Hidden Pursuit last year after students, from retired radiologists to Google executives, asked for a more extreme challenge. Now it's one of his most requested classes.

Michelle Barnes, the vice president for marketing for the Outdoor Industry Association, a trade and lobbying group, said interest in wilderness and survival schools was piqued when "Survivor" became a hit show in 2000. (The schools are unaccredited so there is no official count.) Then, she said, participation leveled off, but the success of "Lost" has reignited it, and schools are adjusting to create ever more extreme and far-fetched experiences. "It's consumer marketing," she said. "People watch TV shows that show extreme adventure racing and extreme survival, and so schools are trying to add that twist to their programming." Huddled under gnarled tree branches in the Virginia backwoods, Mr. Bennett and company had just arrived at a temporary "hole up" location, where they could apply camouflage makeup. "First assess your medical problems — take care of massive bleeding," Mr. Bennett commanded his troops, who nodded earnestly, even though none appeared to have a scratch. "Now we restore fluids and apply camouflage."

"This is awesome!" exclaimed 23-year-old Garrett Foster, an engineering student. Soon the men were rubbing green, brown and black stripes over their faces and necks, occasionally pausing so one of them could take a picture with their point-and-shoot cameras. "This is the funnest part yet," said Justin Hightower, a 23-year-old political science major in Oklahoma, who said he signed up for the class because camping had "become boring." Mr. Bennett seemed surprised. "What about the firecracker part yesterday?" "That was cool, but I want to see you blow up a stump!" said David Brush, another student. Mr. Bennett leaned back on the tree stump. "Yep," he said in his Southern drawl, "we're men doing manly things."

After learning of Maria's interest in Nike's fitness dance collection, Nike designers adapted two key pieces for Maria to wear on the tennis court. The Nike Speed Corset is pearl and black and features a state-of-the-art ventilation system in the front and back for breathability to keep Maria cool while playing in Miami's heat. The black Nike Shimmer Mix Skirt is made of moisture-wicking Dri-FIT fabric and features an adjustable roll top waist that allows for a custom fit. Nike's proprietary, tested and re-tested, moisture-wicking technology, Nike Dri-FIT helps sustain body temperature by drawing sweat away from the skin and moving it to the outside of the fabric where it quickly evaporates.

Maria, who traditionally has preferred playing in dresses, was so pleased with corset and skirt design that she decided to wear the separates.

"The corset is definitely something you don't see much on the tennis courts, but Nike made it very comfortable to wear and the vents keep me cool," said Maria Sharapova. "I'm sure that my fans are going to think it's different because I've never worn anything like this, but I'm excited about it and since it's Miami you can get away with things being a little edgier."

"Maria loved the current Nike fitness dance collection so for the NASDAQ-100 Open, we acted quickly to create a special look for Maria," said Mindy Grossman, Vice President of Global Apparel for Nike. "Nike designers translated the fitness dance apparel into a corset and skirt that offer bold style, but also provide the performance features critical for the heat and elite level of play in Miami."

The company says the device will store 100 songs with a six-hour battery life. A USB port on the lateral side of the shoe allows downloading of music and re-charging of the battery. The wireless headset works via Bluetooth, and picks up music from the shoes as far away as 30 feet.

So far, Weir, 21, who came in fifth in the men's figure skating competition for the U.S. team last week (but first in matters of beauty and brashness), has bought the following items here: five pairs of shoes, a pair of rabbit fur hand warmers, a Dolce & Gabbana hoodie he says reads "Sex trainer: Best to practice seven days a week," and a sable scarf that was supposed to be $715 but was instead $415 because he spoke French with the saleslady.

Ah, the fabulousness that is Johnny Weir! The fur collars! The special deals! His absolute favorite item of clothing is a Roberto Cavalli beaver-and-python coat. He is also proud that the "Louie" in Boston "pre-sold me a bag before it was allowed to be released," he says. "I'm the first person in the entire world to have this bag."

*****

He finishes his biscuit and we take the tram to the high-end shopping district around Via Roma. He heads into a eyewear store and tries on a pair of Dior sunglasses encrusted with rhinestones that, at nearly $1,200, he decides are too expensive. Besides, he already has this pair without the rhinestones, he says. Besides, he already has 45 pairs of Dior sunglasses. He wanders around inside. "They have the Dior ski goggles," he says with awe.

Sitting down to arrange the laces on his new sneakers (whose laces he refuses to tie but instead carefully wraps and tucks in elaborate fashion), Johnny spots a pair of $320 Roberto Cavalli shades. He gives them to the saleslady to ring up. This, he says, will bring his sunglasses collection to 103 pairs, which he keeps arranged in drawers according to designer. "I take care of them all," he says. "I have to polish them."

Weir considers clothes and handbags and sunglasses his children. In his closet, "certain designers get a black hanger and certain designers get a white hanger, and they're hung in order of designer and then color." He believes in buying real designer stuff; when he sees someone with a knockoff handbag, "it hurts my feelings," he says.