TS Commander Art Of War

To go along with the TS Creator Art Of War release, here are the TS Commander versions. Wonder if Tim will sport these?

Nike Air Flight Lite

These black and white editions are due for release in February of 09. Now why aren't these in MID and in NUBUCK like the OGs!! The black nubuck mids with white accents back in the day were straight up gangsta! I believe a navy version of the nubuck mids were recently released though I've never seen them in the real.. and there's also a black purple nubuck high version that is highly anticipated along with several white leather joints in several colours. It's amazing to me that they retroed these in the first place, to me they were kind of obscure. I'm super excited about the release of the Flight Lites, but IMO the only one that has novelty attraction is the black nubuck mids.. the ones Scottie rocked vs the Lakers in the 91 Finals.

LeBron James "Chalk"

This is the full version of the commercial. Dang he got chalk all over Weezy's kicks.. how rude!

How you like dem Apples?

Last night LJ and the Cavs paid a visit to Madison Square Garden to face off (apologize for the hockey terminology, I'm Canadian I can't help it) against the Knicks. MSG as you may know is an incredible arena and Lebron as with many other athletes have expressed their enjoyment playing there. So decides to commemorate this occasion by giving Lebron another VI.. the Big Apple VI. I guess there aren't enough versions of the VI already out there (sarcasm intended). Don't get me wrong, I happen to like the VIs.. they may even be the best Zoom Lebrons to date. Anyway.. I thought these juicy red ones to be quite special and thought I should make a post about them. Oh and to make this post a lil more interesting.. Beyonce, Jay-Z were at the game... oh and Spike Lee was rockin his own pair of Big Apples.

Air Jordan 2009 : Sample

Are you serious? I know this is just a pic of a sample, but I don't understand how they can go from a beautifully crafted Jordan XXIII to THIS. Apparently the inspiration for the 09 comes from the sport of fencing. We'll see how many samples they go through and how this theme will pan out in the near future..  hopefully they get their sh*t together! This would be a bad look to kick off the Jordan 20xx (year) campaign.

Adidas TS Creator Art Of War

Apparently Adidas has been going with an Art Of War series for a number of years now... oops.. kinda flew under the radar for me. Guess I wasn't paying attention to Adidas Basketball until more recently. Interesting story to go along with the "Team Basketball" that Adidas has been inducing into their marketing. These 09 TS Creator Art Of War sneakers will be exclusive to Asia.

Adidas Originals House Party

Was that Katy Perry? She's hot. I didn't know Jeezy was affiliated with adidas too.

Jordan Ol' Skool II Finishline Exclusives

Lookin for an "ol' skool" look to ball in, but don't want to sacrifice today's technology? These are the shoes for you. I wanna give these a go... absolutely love the OG AJ1 colourways.

Reebok Pump Omni Lite Reverse Dee Brown

Reebok has again released the classic Omni Lite's that Dee Brown wore in the 1991 Slam Dunk competition, but this time they've released a reverse colourway. Limited to only 1991 pairs worldwide these might just sell out in minutes much like the previous OG black colouway release in February. IMO the black ones are 10 times better... dangit why couldn't they have made them a general release!

Fila 96 x Reed Space

Alright, had to make a post about these.  I used to work at the Fila store and it was probably one of the most depressing jobs I've ever had! Well, in terms of being around footwear and not being able to sell it. Luckily, I worked with great people that made those days go by with some enjoyment. Otherwise, the place was rarely busy, the product was boring unless of course you like velour track suits, people loved to steal from us (why they would want to steal from Fila still stumps me), the floor would constantly be dirty even though no one walked over it, my neck would get sore playing solitaire on the POS.. hmmm what else? Well I guess the most depressing thing for me was that it sucked the sneaker life outta me. My love for footwear died for a moment there. I guess being around shoes that I couldn't get excited over everyday did me in. HOWEVER, I do have to say, one shining light was that Fila was affiliated to Grant Hill.. and I like Grant Hill.

Above are the Grant Hill 2s otherwise known now as the Fila 96s. Fila has collaborated with Reed Space on this release giving them 2 Reed Space exclusive colourways; a New York Knicks version and a CMYK themed shoe. Both of them along with the OG colourway fully equipped with foam filled laces (inside joke) and 2A technology are being released this Friday.

Kobe IV Carpe Diem

Love this colourway. Love the name that it has taken. Can't wait to see how this low-cut performance shoe feels on the court. Due for release in January 09, this particular version of the IV will be a Footlocker exclusive.

Reebok Answer XII

Reebok got it right sendin AI the Answer XIIs for a huge game vs the Lakers. Iverson must have felt good in them handing the Lakers their first lost of the season. These are some nice ball shoes designed by Kohei Kanata.

That's a bad look.

Come on Adidas, send Chauncey some Creators in Denver colours.

"It's got that good traction."

Dang, this ad campaign is way more hilarious then I was expecting. Bron Bron's got some charisma. Check out the other "Six Tips" while you're at it.

Have you seen Melo lately?

Alright, Dwight's Shoes aren't THAAAT WACK.

Okay, so I've been hatin on Adidas' basketball footwear program for a while now. These recent photos of the TS Commander and TS Creator on the feet of NBA players are definitely doing their best to convince me otherwise... and I gotta say they're not doing a bad job. Those VOTE 08 editions on the feet of Garnett and McGrady are NICE.

Overall, the actual design of these 2 shoes is quite nice, I bet the concept drawings of them were amazing. I can't really comment on the performance, so instead I'll start complaining about some other things like putting Garnett's face on the shoe. Come on guys, that just looks plain tacky. No offense to Garnett of course.. his face is just fine... I just don't think anyone's photographic face should be on a shoe.. not even Jordan. 

And how about the marketing... Adidas seems to have 2 ad campaigns going right now: "Impossible is Nothing" and "Basketball is a Brotherhood". The first of course was the slogan that Garnett was mistakingly accused of blurting out after he and the Celtics won the championship last year. He didn't say "Impossible is Nothing", he said "Anything is Possible" which funny enough is Chinese Sneaker brand Li Ning's slogan. ANYWAY, what I want to talk about more is the "Basketball is a Brotherhood" campaign that promotes basketball as a team game rather than an individual/superstar type of game. Where in the world does Tracy McGrady fit in all of this? Yes, basketball is a team game, but people like superstars and the way the NBA game is played, superstars flourish. I think this campaign is best left for the college game. I do like the attempt in Adidas' part in designing only 2 shoes for all the superstars on their roster and eliminating all the previous individual lines.. it's interesting and it does work in a sense.. its like a team shoe.. and not only does it back up what they're preaching, it also saves on production costs.

Air Max 1 PHANTACi : The Grand

These Air Max 1s have been specially made for actor and singing star Jay Chou who owns a store in Taiwan called PHANTACi. The runners along with a SE leather jacket have been named "The Grand" pack getting its inspiration from a grand piano. Branding of Jay Chou's store includes a bright pink/magenta and has of course been implemented into this pack.