TORONTO -- NFL football helmet barbecues. NBA wallpaper, lamps and children's furniture. NHL brand street-hockey shoes, jerseys, pucks and sheets. Major League Baseball batting helmets and beds.

A dizzying array of sports merchandise jams store shelves these days, ringing up multi-billion dollar sales figures at the retail level, in turn pouring millions into the coffers of various leagues.

Despite disenchantment with pro sports among many fans, the retailers and leagues say sales have remained strong.

Both the NFL and NBA expect gross retail sales figures to top $3 billion each this year. The NHL, which lost half of last season to a players' lockout, has seen retail sales of league-licensed goods climb to just over $1 billion from $600 million in 1992.

Here's a look at some of what's hot and where sports merchandise is headed in sports whose seasons are currently under way:

NBA

Just when you thought there were enough team jerseys on the market, one of the biggest trends in the NBA has been the introduction of a second road uniform.

``Five teams this year have gone to second road teams and five did it last year,'' said Peter Land, the league's director of marketing communications. ``A lot of this comes when teams move into a new building, so they try to time it with the move.

``Seattle Supersonics moved into a new arena so they changed their logo.''

The Chicago Bulls are currently the hottest-selling team in the NBA, while the expansion Toronto Raptors have slid into eighth place. Underscoring the popularity and lucrative nature of the business was the recent seizure of 30,000 fake Bulls polo shirts in Beijing, worth $54,000 U.S.

``Even before the Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies played a game, both teams were doing quite well from a merchandising standpoint,'' said Land.

International profile

He said the NBA expects to see its biggest growth in merchandise sales come from outside the United States as the league's international profile grows.

``With Dream Team in 1992 and again in Atlanta, you'll see worldwide interest in basketball grow,'' said Land. ``And especially with more foreign-born players coming into the league.''

NHL

Team jerseys, hats and jackets remain staples of the NHL's retail trade, but the league is rapidly branching out into non-traditional areas.

The jerseys, which can cost anywhere between $50 and $100 Cdn, of the Original Six -- Toronto, Montreal, Boston, New York Rangers, Chicago, and Detroit -- plus the Anaheim Mighty Ducks and San Jose Sharks lead the way in sales, says Bernadette Mansur, vice-president of corporate communications. Like the NBA, NHL teams are also introducing a third set of jerseys for use on special occasions.

Mansur says despite persistent criticism of the new New York Islanders' crest and the Colorado Avalanche's color scheme, both jerseys are selling well.

Figures available for 1995 show the Ottawa Senators ranked 24th of 26 teams in U.S. sales. In 1994, the Senators were 18th in combined Canadian and U.S. sales.

One of the emerging trends for the league is the introduction of sports equipment for hockey played on and off the ice.

``Road hockey has become a phenomena in places like Dallas and San Jose,'' said Mansur. ``We've introduced the Nike-NHL street hockey shoe. Our priority right now is brand NHL products.''

And next time you're in the grocery store take a quick look down the frozen seafood aisle -- there's you'll find Nova Scotia's National Sea Products Ltd. bearing the NHL logo as the league's official seafood.

NFL

NFL aficionados have made ``authentics'' the rage in the last two years, says Chris Widmaier, director of corporate communications.

``There has been a return to the authentic, athletic clean look,'' he says. ``The sale of NFL jerseys for the 1994 fiscal year saw 1.5-million sweaters sold, which was a 75 per cent increase (from 1993).''

The league had projected sales of two million jerseys for the 1995 fiscal year, but that figure could top 2.5 million with the Dallas Cowboys the No.1 seller.

Widmaier says there has been a definite shift in sports and team licensed product since the early 1990s.

``The emphasis was on it as a fashion statement,'' says Widmaier, adding the NFL is the No. 1 selling league in the U.S. ``Now the emphasis is back on performance-type product. That's a core trend in all sports-licensed product.''

The NFL's Pro-Line jersey can cost anywhere between $150 to $200 U.S., depending on which team it is.

If that's too pricey or conservative for you, how about an NFL helmet barbecue (charcoal-burning) for about $80 U.S.

``It's just ideal for tail-gating, but it's a product for a very distinct audience,'' says Widmaier.

He says the sales of hard goods -- especially home products and back-to-school supplies -- is experiencing a tremendous surge.