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Trakus is poised to sell to a diverse group of deep-pocketed customers, says Forrester Research senior analyst Mark Hardie. Aside from its broadcasting applications, the technology could be adapted for Internet use--for the digital re-creation of games on sports Web sites, for example. While Trakus faces competition from other sports-oriented high-tech companies, such as SporTVision, it has a shot at establishing its statistics as the industry standard. To lock in that advantage, the company has filed for two patents on its technology. "It's like Omega's sports timing," Hardie says. "At one point they had to persuade everyone to use them. Now everyone does."

Trakus could even adapt or license its technology for other uses, such as tracking packages in warehouses. And Spitz says he hasn't completely given up on the supermarket idea.

FLIES IN THE OINTMENT: ELAPS is still in the late stages of development. As of April, the company had proved its system could successfully track one player at a time; this summer it will take on an entire team. The whole shebang will be up and running by the start of hockey season, Spitz says. Still, potential purchasers are reluctant to sign on until ELAPS is fully baked. "If they don't see something, it's hard for them to believe it's going to happen," says Spitz.

THE "RATIO OF NECK SIZE TO ENDORSEMENT FEES" FACTOR: Sports fans are notoriously hungry for stats, and Trakus can create a whole range of new ones. Within a year or so, Spitz envisions, football commentators will be tossing around numbers like the hit gauge (force of a tackle) and stamina index (a player's change in speed over time). --E. B.

10. A cure for cabin fever

COMPANY: Knight-McDowell Labs, Carmel, Calif.
YEAR FOUNDED: 1997
CONCEPT: Produce and market a tablet that provides instant protection for anyone venturing into such germ-infested environments as schools, hospitals, and airplane cabins
PRINCIPALS: Rider McDowell, 38, CEO; Victoria Knight-McDowell, 40, president
PROJECTIONS: Growing from revenues of $600,000 in 1998 to $2 million to $2.5 million by 2000
FUNDING: $300,000 in personal savings, including Rider McDowell's paycheck for penning the 1996 made-for-TV movie The Angel of Pennsylvania Avenue, a depression-era Christmas tale about a man in jail, his three children, and Herbert Hoover

BIRTH LEGEND: Tired of sniffling their way through life, the McDowells began experimenting with different combinations of vitamins and Chinese herbs bought at Bay Area natural-foods stores. They finally came up with Airborne, an effervescent tablet that dissolves in water to create a drink with the aesthetic and gustatory appeal of lemon-lime Gatorade.

WHAT'S TO LOVE: The U.S. dietary-supplement market grew to $14 billion last year. And Airborne specifically plays on fears that what air travelers breathe bears little resemblance to what Heidi was inhaling up on those Alps. Since Airborne reportedly works instantly, like a surgical mask strapped across the face, it's a tempting point-of-purchase item in airport gift shops. (The product is being sold in 40 stores in five airports so far.)

Retailers like natural-foods supermarket Trader Joe's are also welcoming Airborne. "When I do products, I'm not iffy about them," says Lori T. Latta, a senior buyer at Trader Joe's. "In our nutritionist's opinion, this has merit." Direct sales are also brisk: Knight-McDowell Labs has moved 50,000 packages of Airborne, priced at $5 to $8, through its Web site and an 800 number.

FLIES IN THE OINTMENT: "More and more big players and house brands are taking up shelf space, and that leaves less space for newcomers," says Lynette Thwaites, managing editor of Nutrition Business Journal. Lack of familiarity is also a prob- lem: plop-plop-fizz-fizz notwithstanding, most American consumers don't use many effer- vescents.

THE "DANCES WITH WOLVES" FACTOR: The McDowells have stirred up significant buzz by extracting endorsements from their celebrity contacts. Rider McDowell says that Kevin Costner liked Airborne so much that he asked Warner Brothers to stock it on its corporate jets. The San Francisco 49ers' training staff swears by the vitamin-laden brew. Just how glam an item is Airborne becoming? Consider this: the first ad for the product outside the airline trades and the Internet appeared in The Hollywood Reporter. --M. H.

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