I would shop locally.
We have a great locally-owned apparel store down the street from us. They can produce silk-screened and embroidered items in very low quantities, but more surpisingly, they have access to everything I can find on the Internet. And not only that, they can consult with you to provide the best specific item for your need (I'll bet, for example, there are no less than 3 different maker of footballs). Even better, you can go in and see samples instead of ordering large quantities of cheap crappy swag (look for Aspose mousepads).
A couple years back, I had a few hundred mugs printed from DiscountMugs.com (the printer themselves) at what seemed to be a great price. I never would have guessed it, but later that year, my local store beat the price on the mugs, even though they were the middleman. They went to a producer that doesn't sell to the public.
Support local business... get a better product... and save money. WIN!