KOBE 8 MAMBACURIAL

Kobe Bryant’s love of soccer inspired this latest money making inspiration since as we all know, Kobe is out and the Lakers, well don't even mention those FAKERS right now when a real team  in the SA Spurs are ready to dethrone the Heat. But Nike have to make their money somehow, and since the MAMBA shoes ain't selling like they used to; being outsold by Bron's by a margin of 6 to 1, Nike Basketball comes up with a great money making scheme to suck the money out of the Kobe-loving Chinese and Filipinos in the U.S and abroad by introducing the Mercurial-inspired basketball shoe. By now, we all know that Kobe Bryant is an avid and dedicated soccer fan. So Nike decided to create  tribute to Kobe’s love of the sport with the KOBE 8 MAMBACURIAL, a Kobe signature basketball shoe inspired by the unique design of the Nike Mercurial Vapor IX football boot.  Since its launch 15 years ago, the Mercurial has always stood out from the rest. Bold and exciting, ultra lightweight and worn by the best in the game, the boot’s color and design ensure its players are noticed on the pitch.  The KOBE 8 MAMBACURIAL fuses key design attributes of basketball and soccer shoe uppers and includes a number of details borrowed from the Nike Mercurial Vapor IX. The striking Fireberry colorway is taken straight from the soccer boot and applied to the Nike Engineered Mesh upper of the latest Kobe Bryant signature shoe. Oversized white “NIKE” script appears on the medial side of each shoe, and an electric-lime Swoosh shifts from the side to just over the toe. "Mambacurial" is notated on the backside of the tongue, and the upper rests atop a grass graphic and translucent green rubber outsole.  "Soccer boot design has influenced my shoe in the past but the KOBE 8 MAMBACURIAL brings it full circle," Bryant says. "It's great to see powerful design come together across sports."  Kobe Bryant and Nike Basketball give basketball fans the chance to familiarize themselves with soccer inspiration with the KOBE 8 MAMBACURIAL. The shoe is now available at select retailers aka CHINA and nike.com internationally; in North America, the shoe will be available June 7.

NIKE ELITE SERIES 2.0 presents LeBron, KD and probably should omit Kobe from Playoffs lineup

How was Nike supposed to know that the Lakers would probably not make the 2013 NBA Playoffs, and how's Nike supposed to know that all those minutes would lead the 'Black Mamba' to a ruptured Achilles tendon and would be shelved for the year maybe even next year. If they would've known, they probably would not make an ELITE version of the Kobester's 8th signature shoes. MAYBE, if they would've introduced the ELITE series earlier then maybe Kobe wouldn't have gotten hurt, oh wait a minute....he got hurt while wearing these new ELITE that was supposed to be IMPROVED version of the inline offering. Could it be that the Kevlar is too stiff and was burdening Kobe's feet when he made that basketball move he made so many times until the POP? Or maybe the Flywire strings were too light? Were they really made for enhanced fit? Seems like every shoe company out there are preaching enhanced fit for their signature basketball sneakers and yet more and more basketball players are getting hurt with serious injuries.

Even w/o KObe, the NBA playoffs must move on with the current NBA Golden Boy/marketing machine and Nike still has the MVP in Bron and the MVP in waiting in Kevin Durant, hoping for a rematch of last year's title game. So out with the OLD (Kobe) In with the new (Bron & KD) Can't write this scenario any better than how everything is unveiling.

Easter Egg themed Nike Basketball offerings for the resurrection of Jesus

Each year for the past decade or so, Nike has been whoring out what is supposed to be the most religious of all Holy days for Christians. It's been a tradition now along with the Easter bunny and egg hunts, to go out buying bright 'Easter" shoes from Nike. This year more than ever when people are hurting in their pocket, Nike is back at it with hiking prices and making folks line up for their Easter Egg Hunt Themed offering. I am not really sure who would wear these shoes, but I am sure they all will be made limited to duped kids into buying them and of course, let's not forget the resellers aka Uncle Phil's best friend since Nike seems to be helping these folks making money reselling stuff that are already over inflated. Anyways look for these at your fine Nike Basketball retailers all over the world on March 29, 2013.

Nike Basketball defines Nike as a company through innovation and design

Nike may start as a running company when it's founder started flipping Japanese made running shoes from the back of his car, but over the years as runners world wide knows, it has lost it's dominance in the running industry and is working effortlessly to reclaim that dominance. But the real bread and butter for Nike is of course it's basketball department.

Here we take a glimpse of the evolution of Nike's basketball shoe design that kept evolving from it's humble start in 1972 until now with great ability to fuse art with science, creating a delicate balance of blending breakthrough form with proper function to deliver exceptional performance.

For over five decades, Nike's transformation of the basketball shoe’s upper has been dramatic. In 1972, the Blazer was a simple cut-and-sew leather design. In 2012, Nike introduced the revolutionary Kobe 8 System, a completely new interpretation with Nike Engineered Mesh, made to meet the needs of one of the game’s best players.

Check out the pics for a revolutionary journey that is Nike Basketball:

Reebok Answer IV - G-Town - back to school with Allen Iverson

Releasing on the same date as the Reebok Question in the Georgetown colorway is the Reebok Answer IV in similar color schemes. Made classic as the shoe that A.I wore to the NBA Finals against the Lakers, the Answer IV saw limited colorways run towards the end of 2012 and just in time for the NCAA March madness, the Georgetown colorways will drop March 9, 2013. Eventhough G-Town has always been a Nike school, I am sure A.I & G-Town fans alike will want these to reminisce about the best guard to come out of that school. Again these will retail for $125, so find your spot, cop 'em and bring on the madness.

Reebok Question - Georgetown colorways show A.I is still top dawg/Hoyas.

Say what you want about Allen Iverson, love or hate, the kid brought it on the NBA hardwood every night with or without practice. The Anti-Jordan, the guy with the 2nd best selling shoes in the league, the guy that made Masta Stern implement the dress-code, the guy that rocked cornrows before all others, so he never won a ring, many other greats didn't get that chance, he took his 76ers close though but not enough to contain the Diesel & MAMBA. But all that was in the NBA, let's talk about this skinny kid out of Virginia that changed the way Coach Thompson approached his game plan for the Georgetown Hoyas, who are known for centers and not guards. G-Town, a University rich in Law traditions was the epitome of national TV envy back in late 95, early 96. All because of A.I. Look for this Hoyas Questions March 9 at your Foot Lockers and other sneaker retailers for a mere $125, these days that's basically FREE. LOL! 

Running with PUMA at 2013 Tokyo Marathon Expo

The PUMA Mobium made it's presence felt at the Tokyo Marathon Expo providing runners and running enthusiasts the chance to experience and trial the shoe out. The Mobium's technological selling point is as an adaptive running shoe, where the footwear ideally can expand and contract with your feet during runs. PUMA focused that idea on the Mobium Band, for all intents and purposes a synthetic representation of your foot’s plantar fascia. FINALLY, someone actually cares enough to make shoes that helps reduce the chances of plantar fasciatis that has ruined my runners life.