How Sweet It Is

He will forever have the sweetest swing in baseball. As Ken Griffey Jr.'s baseball career came to a close after his retirement earlier this season, Nike Sportswear has continued their swing of Swingman retros...

The Shoe Game announced today that the Nike Air Griffey Max II will release summer 2011. This comes just a year after NSW released the Nike Air Griffey Max I.

IMO...

Griffey Air Max 2 > Griffey Air Max 1

The "Real" Big Stages

^ Yes, we call these shoes the "Big Stages"...

But the real "Big Stages" IMO are these Durant Hyperfuse PEs...

With no Kobe or Lebron playing on the USA FIBA World Championship squad, Kevin Durant serves as the leader of the squad and is given the chance to excel on the world's big stage.

In an exhibition tune-up game vs. Lithuania, Durant scored 15 points today. The World Championships start next week in Turkey, with the Americans facing Croatia first round.

Durant already has an NBA Scoring Title under his belt. Do I see a gold medal next?

Maybe those Durant PEs will be more coveted than the Kobe V Big Stages after all...

LeBron Zoom Soldier IV - A Closer Look

Today we will take a closer look at the Nike Zoom Soldier IV.


As opposed to the unique looks for the first three Zoom Soldier models, I initially found the ZS4 to look a little generic. With a standard mid-foot strap and un-exciting Air Max cushioning in the heel, this model does not have any noticeable features like its predecessors.



But after I took a good look at the shoe's details and gave them a wear casually, I found the shoe to be a nice alternative to the Air Max Lebron VII.




Out of all the Soldier models, I found the ZS1 to be the most visually appealing...


Not a bad hooping shoe, but I thought it was better to rock these. These ran a bit on the small side. My favorite Soldier by far...


While the ZS2 was an excellent "kick around" with its rough mudguard and hard outsole, I found these to be a bit bulky for hooping...


These also ran a bit small. The ZS2 is an excellent everyday shoe...


As for the ZS3, I found this model to be the best performing on the court.


The lightest of the Soldier series, the ZS3 has two functional midfoot straps & excellent cushioning. These ran closer to true size but still a tad on the small side (narrow, if anything).

Other than this month's Bike-A-Thon in Akron...


...where he wore the white/black/red colorway ZS4...


...we may not see him wear this model in competition unless he wears it during the pre-season.
LeBron even shied away from the Soldier series in his last playoff run with the Cavs, opting instead for the lighter Lebron VII PS (Post Season)...


And since he is not competing in this year's FIBA World Championships, Bron won't be seen wearing his newly released "United We Rise" (UWR) ZS4...


We may also not see as many player exclusives (PE) colorways like in year's past (like Akron, SVSM or Christ The King HS special make-ups). The only one I have seen thus far is this pink ZS4 (left)...


Initially, I am not a fan of the Air Max Lebron VIII...


(Well, maybe just the obsidian AML 8 low-top that Maverick Carter was seen sporting lately)...


...so for now I'll keep dabbling with the ZS4 till I give in to the AML8!

Blue Suede Shoes

I'm all shook up! Check out these blue suede shoes...

And nubuck. And leather. And whatever-cheap-material-that-resembles-leather-used-on-retro-Jordans....

With the launch of the World Basketball Festival today in New York, Brand Jordan (along with Nike Basketball and Converse) are pushing new basketball product hard. As part of Brand Jordan's "For The Love Of The Game" campaign, they unveiled an all-blue 1 through 25 collection of Air Jordans a House of Hoops Harlem.

But that's not all. If you venture over to NY sneaker staple Atmos, you can find a lasered collection of Air Jordans 1 through 25...

For those of you not in the NYC area, peep the entire lasered collection here & non-lasered collection here, via Sneaker News.

I doubt these columbia blue J's will ever release. Only a handful of the Silver Anniversary collection has dropped (with many of the released versions varying from the early samples)...

...and there are no signs as to when the rest of will.

And back to our regularly scheduled program...

Good afternoon! Sorry I have been away; I've been dealing with some issues, but I am back for good now! So much has dropped in the past week, but here is what stands out since my last entry...

Dropping today at your local Nike SB account today -- the latest in the beer SB quickstrikes, the "Tecate" Nike Dunk High SB (pic courtesy of Uprise Chicago).



(Beer not included). These don't hold a candle to the Heinys. Well, sticking with the food & beverage theme...


The Nike Air Jordan 2 "Candy Pack". Due out a day before Halloween. Yikes - it looks like the boys in Beaverton have been turning to the vending machine for inspiration lately...

Last entry we covered the Olympic AJ 7 "FTLOTG" dropping. But the same shoe in a super-limited pack for $600? Peep this Skull Candy headphone collabo with the OLY 7s and an over-the-top case...


Wackness. If I were you, just pick up the shoes for retail and pick up some white Aviator headphones at half the cost of this silly pack (pics from Freshness Mag).

With the much ballyhooed launch of the Madden 11 video game from EA Sports this week comes a Nike Air Trainer 1.2 collabo/promo release along with it...



Brown? These aren't bad, but these don't touch the Tebows, Bo Jackson or Griffey 1.2s.

The lasered playbook heel is a nice touch. Pics courtesy of Sole Collector.

Last but not least, a third colorway of the Asics Gel Lyte III by designer Ronnie Fieg, dubbed the "Culture Shoq"...


Showcased by model Amee Enger, this white/purple/black colorway might be the sickest of the bunch (Super Reds & Navy-Aquas were the other colorways).


Pure hotness...and the shoes look good too ;)


Watch for some new features and profiles in the coming weeks!

Nothin' But Love

A pleasant surprise from the usual Jordan retro releases that we know about months in advance: the Olympic AJ VII is dropping next week as part of the "For the Love of the Game" Jordan collection.

To commemorate the Michael Jordan clause to be able to play basketball anywhere, Brand Jordan is releasing the OLY AJ 7 to near exactness, but including a stitched FTLOTG heart logo on the heel.

This release coincides with the Nike World Basketball Festival. Retail will be $150.