Last week I attended an adidas party in Center City Philadelphia at Ubiq, a sneaker store in the heart of the city.  Even though this has nothing to do with basketball, I thought it was a pretty cool event to be at in a pretty cool sneaker boutique.  adidas had some $150 Superstars on sale that were being sold to the party go'ers, along with a DJ and plenty of other cool stuff going on.  For those of you readers that reside in the Philly area, Ubiq is definitely a store that you should look up.  Even though the bulk of the sneaks they sell are for fashion, they do carry cool colors in the new Hyperfuses and they carry most new Jordan's.

This is a quick little post on some of the terminology when it comes to sneakers.  I've either used these or will in the future, so hopefully this helps you understand some of the abbreviations, and not get lost in the post.

PE=Player's Exclusive

GR=General Release(Will be able to buy at most retailers)

QS=Quick Strike(Limited Release, usually only found in sneaker boutiques)

Colorway=The color scheme used on the shoe

OG=Original(Used the same color and design when it was originally released)

SE=Special Edition

Sneakerhead=Somebody who collects sneaks

Retro=A re-release of an past sneaker

Quick question...

Would you guys/gals like me to talk about other shoes and not just basketball sneaks?

Nike does it again.  The Hyperfuse is the newest ball sneak that Nike has brought onto the scene, and from what people are saying, its their best yet.  The inspiration for this shoe comes from the rugged street ball play in China. This shoes gives you all you need in a basketball sneaker, its has the durability, breathability, all the while keeping it as lightweight as possible.  The NIke Hyperfuse has a superior stability layer, breathable mesh layer, and a tough durable outer layer.  These layers are all "fused"ed together by using a new, innovative method of manufacturing.  This method eliminates the need to stitch layers of a sneaker together, and this has definitely changed the way sneakers are made.  The Hyoerfuse also features Zoom Air cushioning for a responsive and comfortable ride.  The picture above is the collection created for some of the teams that are playing this year at the FIBA World Championships.  Also click on the YouTube video and take a closer look at the new HYPERFUSE.

Ok so now we know who LeBron is going to play for and fortunately for him he doesn't have to change the colorways of his famed sneaker line.  He can still use the black and red that he almost always chooses to use on his sneaks.  So enough of that, the LeBron VII's will be dropping very soon this year and they use some of the same features as the VII's do.  The VIII's still have  the full Air Max unit, and Flywire is still used on the upper in order to reduce weight all the while providing support.  A new feature to this series is the carbon panels infused with Flywire adds just a little more flash this year.

It's been asked for, so I'll write about them.  The KD2's, for those of you who may not know, are the shoes worn by the up-and-coming star, Kevin Durant.  Although I can't really say he's up-and-coming after the year he has had, he's already solidified himself as one of the best players in the NBA.  The KD line has been very popular since their birth into the sneaker world.  Although this is only the second series, they have become a fan favorite.  They are not only stylish but the price point is a lot more affordable for the younger kids out there who may not be able to afford $160 for Lebron VII's.  A couple key product features include a mesh tongue for breathability, a full zoom sole to provide ultimate comfort and a strap located across the forefoot to provide a lockdown support and feel.  Something that has been causing a lot of conversation on the web is the new colorway of the KD2's.  It's only fitting that the new colorway is the exact same colors of the team the Thunder are currently playing in the first round of the playoffs, that's right the Lakers!  But hold on! The colors actually represent the colors of his AAU team he used to play on, the PG Jaguars.  But wouldn't it be something if he decided to bring these out for Game 6 on his home court? Talk about drama!  Although I highly doubt he would do something like that, it's always nice to dream.  I am not a Laker fan at all but I definitely like this colorway.  What do you think?

We all need to stay in good shape, wether it's for the court or just for general interests, well we at least we would like too.  But for all you bballers out there, it's never a choice to stay in good shape, it's a necessity.  Now doing suicides on the court in your ball sneaks are just fine, but sometimes your need to do some extra cardio outside of the gym, and ball sneaks are not the way to go.  You need a true running sneak to give your body the best possible workout.  Nike has been using a certain foam in almost all of their new true running shoes.  It's called "Lunar" Foam, and it is the lightest foam Nike has ever used!  You might think, well why is it called Lunar?  Well that's an easy explanation, the foam shares some off of the same materials that are used in the seats of NASA's space shuttles.  The explanation is easier than the process, it took almost 4 years to develop, but the wait was well worth it.  There are so many more styles of shoes with Lunar Foam than I can count, but in my opinion the newest is their best yet.  It's called Lunar Fly.  I actually own a pair and that is my choice of sneak to run in.  There are many different colorways available at all major shoe retailers, in both men's and women's.  So make sure that you are all running in sneaks that are actually made for running or your body will suffer down the road, and there is only one way to find out.  GO OUT AND TRY ON A PAIR, AND FIND OUT FOR YOURSELF WHAT LUNAR FOAM IS ALL ABOUT!

                    Men's Version                                                   Women's Version

The All-Star Weekend in Dallas is rapidly approaching so I decided to give ya'll a taste of some of the new All-Star inspired Nike's that are going to be worn by some of the top players in the NBA.  All-Star weekends are always a stage for players to rock some eye-brow raising kicks that people are always left talking about for days, and this year is no different.  Nike has done it again by designing 4 of their signature shoes, one in 2 different color ways, for this years festivities in the 100,000+ capacity of the new Dallas stadium.  The series includes the Nike Air Max Lebron VII's, Nike Zoom Kobe V's, Nike KD2's, and the Nike Hyperize, which comes in an East Coast version and a West Coast version.  All the sneakers have many things in common other than the Swoosh on them.  They all have a wood-grain pattern on the upper, which was inspired by the abundant amount of wood you see in Texas, used on ranches and in many peoples homes and buildings.  They also have waxed laces on all models which gives them a shiny rubbery finish.  The thing that Nike has always done with their shoes is the fact that every color is placed where its placed for a reason, and the one common theme in these shoes is the use of black.  Black is used to highlight the primary feature in each shoe.  The Swoosh and Flywire in the Lebron VII's and Hyperizes highlight the lockdown fit, the heel on the Kobe V is used to highlight the fact that that it is a low, and the strap on the KD2's again emphasize's the lockdown support.  These are some sleek shoes with one-of-a-kind designs that are sure to turn some heads this weekend.  Take a virtual tour on Nike.com at http://www.nike.com/nikeos/p/nikebasketball/en_US/allStar10/ and get to know more about this years All-Star collection.

So it’s been awhile since my last post, but I’m back to talk to all those guys and girls that search for those special shoes high and low; not for performance on the court, but for the  “turning heads” style on the streets.  Yes I’m talking about you, you SNEAKER HEAD.

With holiday shopping right around the corner, this is the time when a lot of hot new products will be hitting the shelves all over the world.

For all you Jordan nuts out there, the highly anticipated Space Jam 11’s will be dropping in December.  Personally the 11’s are my favorite Jordan of the number line, but to eachit’s own.   These shoes were first seen on Jordan’s feet while defeating the Monstars in the movie “Space Jam”, hence the name Space Jam XI’s.  They were then again seen on his feet during the 1995-96 playoffs (seen wearing them while guarding Penny Hardaway during playoffs).  Jordan decided  to bring these shoes out, due to the fact that the NBA fined him for the first 2 games of the playoffs because they deemed his XI’s with the white upper, a uniform infraction because the rest of the team was wearing all black sneakers. 

The XI’s were the first basketball shoe to feature patent leather, which led to this shoe to being one of the most sought after Jordan of all time.  Besides having the looks down pact, some of the features of the shoe include a carbon fiber spring plate, ballistic nylon uppers, a Huarache inner sleeve, quick lace system, and carbon fiber sheath and air sole.

All in all, this shoe was an instant classic and still remains a classic with its anticipated release this December.  The price tags on these are $175 USD.

Everybody has that favorite pair of sneaks in their closet, and there are a lot of hot, exclusive shoes floating around out there.  Complex.com has made a list of the Top 100 shoes of the 2000’s take a look and see if your favorite made the list.  I know I have a couple on there, how about you?

http://best.complex.com/2000s/Top-100-Sneakers

Let’s start some conversation out there, let me know what your favorite sneaks are.  If you are a collector, how many pairs of sneaks do you have?