One player is switching teams. A free agent has been acquired by another team, and yet another team is completely revamping its lineup and adding new talent. Sound like another day in the world of professional athletes? Think again. It's just another week in the sports drink category.

Pepsi's $14 billion acquisition of Quaker will bring Gatorade and its estimated 78% share of the sports drink category into the Pepsi fold. To make room and assuage FTC concerns, Pepsi is shuffling its All Sport drink off to Monarch Co., an Atlanta-based beverage company responsible for Dad's Root Beer, the Moxie soft drink and private-label sodas.

Coke, meanwhile, enjoys a 15% share of the sports drink market and aims to increase that stake with a revamped Powerade. July will see the launch of a new Powerade with vitamins B3, B6 and B12, as well as a Powerade Light that also has B vitamins and 50% fewer calories than the leading sports drink. Coke promises these will be the first in an expanding array of Powerade products that fuse the benefits of hydration and energy. Recent trademark applications have included Powerade AM, Powerade Psych and Powerade Launch.

Coke has also purchased Mad River, a brand of iced tea and juice drinks. This will serve as Coke's entry into the “new age” market, with Mad River's vitamin- and herb-enhanced beverages.