Decisions, decisions...

The NBA free agent sweepstakes starts tomorrow. With Paul Pierce and Dirk Nowitzki opting out of their contracts, this makes the 2010 class of free agents the biggest and best ever. Where will you land, King James?

One decision that will be made tomorrow is whether or not to snag the "Citrus" Nike Air Jordan IXs...


As a heads-up -- the release has been moved up from Saturday to tomorrow.

One other classic retro that is available now is the Nike Air Max Uptempo 97 in the OG colorway...


You can only get them on Eastbay right now, but I expect most shops to get these soon.

And another hot shoe available now on Eastbay is the Pro Strong in a Retro + colorway (stealth/university blue)

Blue Thunder In Chi-Town

Kevin Durant visited Niketown Chicago today to unveil the "Scoring Title" edition of his Nike KD2's.

Durant did an interview with a radio station host from WGCI before doing a Q&A session with local kids. Also on hand was Leo Chang, Senior Designer at Nike Basketball.

There was little time for autographs and pics, as KD quickly was ushered off to head back to his Skills Clinics at Attack Athletics. Here are some pics from the event and the shoes...

Also spotted by my boy Ed spotted these KD "Creamsicle" -inspired Hyperfuse worn by one of KD's party...

Hotness!

Maxs By Jake

In 2008, I had the pleasure of meeting Jake Danklefs from Texas, a fellow sneaker connosiuer (Air Maxs especially) and just a fan of having a good time. I love checking out his blog for his spectacular photography & fun entries.

Anyways, check out his pics showing the OG vs. Retro "Comet" Nike Air Max 95s. If you are on the fence on picking them up, this should help. Enjoy (click on pics to enlarge). And thanks, Jake!

OG on the right, Retro on the left.

OG on the right, Retro on the left.

^ OG tongue

^ Retro tongue

Have a good weekend!

Monday, Monday

Yes, it's Thursday, but here is a glimpse of what Kobe wore at the parade on Monday: an altered version of the Nike Zoom Kobe V "Big Stage" (Finals) home colorway. The "Big Stage" Vs are due in the coming weeks at HOH location, but could we see this "Parade edition" too?

From Kobe to Lebron....with free agency one week away, we don't know where the King will play next season. But we do know what shoe he will be wearing - the Nike Air Max Lebron VIII...



The AML VIII features the same total Air Max midsole as the VII but with Flywire uppers in two places rather than one. Pics courtesy of VMV.

Your initial thoughts?

Changing of the Guard

Some of Brand Jordan's top endorsees could all be wearing a new uniform for the upcoming 2010-2011 season. Some of the stars are likely to stay on their current teams, but here is a list of who might be on the move...

Joe Johnson, Atlanta Hawks. Unrestricted free agent, most likely on the move.

Ray Allen, Boston Celtics. Celtics have to re-sign Paul Pierce, Ray Allen & Doc Rivers - and the aging Allen is probably last on that priority list.

Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat. Will most likely stay, but is the biggest free agent outside of LeBron James. We know that he hates his hometown Chicago, LOL...

Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets. With Paul now open to a trade and the Hornets owner strapped for cash, CP3 could be on the move.

Carmelo Anthony, Denver Nuggets. Melo won't be a free agent till summer 2011, but he could opt out and test the free agent waters, especially with Denver's lack of any deep playoff runs the past few years.

With free agency starting July 1st and NBA trades being made already, expect to see some fireworks next week!

Finally, congrats to the US Soccer team!

This morning, Landon Donovan scored a goal in the 91st minute over Algeria to qualify the US team for the knockout round & a win on Group C of the World Cup.

U - S - A! U - S - A! U - S - A!

Pump Fake

So, when I viewed Sneaker News tonight, my heart stopped. I initially saw these pics of OG Nike Air Jordan sweatsuits and thought, "Yes! Now they are takin' it waaaay back!"

After reading the copy, I stopped sweating profusely when I found out it's just a feature on OG AJ sweatsuits and not an announcement of retro suits. Sigh....

Well, God knows the quality would suck on them if they did retro them. Anyways, check the SN feature - nice write-up & lots of quality pics. It'll take you back...

Parade of Shoes

On Monday, Kobe & the Lake Show celebrated their back-to-back championship in Los Angeles with a Laker-funded parade through the city. Check out the "Black Mamba" tee that Kobe is rockin' -- I expect it to have the same hype as last year's MVPuppets "Four Rings" tee...

Onto the kicks...

Nike is droppin' a parade of Air Maxs with it's Athletics West Omega Pack starting this month...


Watch for the below Air Maxims in black/lime to hit NSW retailers this week...

And for anyone that missed out on the Infrared AJ VI pack this weekend, keep checking FNL & Eastbay.

Most of the time people who placed orders with denied credit cards have their sizes pop up back to online stock!

Off The Wall

John Wall worked out for the Washington Wizards yesterday and unveiled the Reebok Zig Slash, the signature shoe of Wall & first hoops shoe that Reebok has used its Zig Technology.


I am sure the shoe performs great, but I hope Reebok isn't expecting an Allen Iverson-like ROI with "the Walls".

Cough, cough...

Hypebeasts galore! Not only is the coveted Nike Air Jordan VI "Infrared Pack" dropping this Saturday, but so is the Foamposite "Cough Drop".

Originally thought to be had at just House of Hoops locations, the shoe will also be released at various Foot Lockers and even NDC. Watch for 'em!

Maggie Z?

Yes, I know her name ^ is Maggie Q, but yesterday Maggie was spotted wearing the latest Zigtech offering from Reebok...


Maybe I won't mind taking another look at these...


Hmmm...


And good luck to Kobe tomorrow night in L.A....


He's gonna need some luck (or at least some help from D Fish, Odom or Gasol) if the Lakers want to survive. I'm predicting a Laker win tomorrow and an epic Game 7!

Cup Crazy!

I apologize for my sneaker absence this past week - I've caught Stanley Cup fever! The city of Chicago has waited 49 years for this. I haven't seen the city party like this ever.

Congrats Blackhawks!

Anyways, back to the kicks. Some images of the Premio Bin 23 AJ XIII have surfaced...

Hmmm....it's reminisce of the white/wheat XIII retro from a few years back. Yet another different colorway from the Bin 23 AJ II & AJ IX....white, desert clay & team red. I'm not so sure about this one...

I do like how the Bin 23 wax logo is in a non-obnoxious location, compared to the AJ II & AJ IX...

The World Basketball Showcase was held in New York this past week.

The showcase was to promote the World Basketball Festival on August 12-15, an event that features the 2010 USA Basketball National Team playing scrimmages and exhibition games all over New York -- from Rucker Park, to Madison Square Garden, to a constructed open-air court in Times Square.

The festival acts as a warm-up for the US team to compete in the FIBA World Basketball Championship later that fall in Turkey. It is also the first event collaboration between brands Nike, Jordan Brand and Converse.

The companies wasted no time in using the showcase to unveil some of their upcoming product; Sneaker News captured some of the lines here: Converse Fall BB 2010, Nike Hyperdunk 2010 (above) and the much anticipated Nike Hyperfuse.

And lastly, a reborn classic...

Reebok will introduce the Insta Pump Fury 2010. The upper remains the same, but the midsole was reconstructed for a more sleek & current look, rather than bulky split midsole of the original.

World Cup action today - go USA!