White Flower Oil Cures All
So this white flower oil mentioned on Fresh Off the Boat is a real product, even sold on Amazon. You down with the Bak Fah Yeow
Kicks Analysis 2015 #8: The Champ
Notch another one for Team Swoosh. With Duke’s 68 to 63 victory over Wisconsin, a team wearing Nike shoes has now won 14 of the last 17 NCAA men’s basketball tournaments. That’s an impressive 82% winning percentage dating back to 1999.
1999 Connecticut (Nike)
2000 Michigan State (Reebok Answers)
2001 Duke (Nike)
2002 Maryland (Nike Shox Stunners)
2003 Syracuse (Nike Shox)
2004 Connecticut (Nike Lebron Zoom Generation and Air Force Operates)
2005 North Carolina (Nike Retro Jordan X)
2006 Florida (Nike)
2007 Florida (Nike)
2008 Kansas (Adidas)
2009 North Carolina (Nike)
2010 Duke (Nike)
2011 Connecticut (Nike)
2012 Kentucky (Nike)
2013 Louisville (Adidas)
2014 Connecticut (Nike Kobe 8 or Venomenon)
2015 Duke (Nike)
The Blue Devils wore all kinds of Nikes on the night of the Finals. I spy the 2015 Hyperrev, a Kyrie 1, and most impressively, a custom “universe” Lebron 10 on the feet of guard Quinn Cook. So much for my sentiment about not seeing LeBrons in the tournament.
Quinn Cook (@QCook323) // @dukeblueplanet
Custom @NikeBasketball LeBron 10#CollegeKicksOnCourt pic.twitter.com/einba5P6QQ— Nice Kicks (@nicekicks) March 14, 2015
Congratulations to Duke for yet another championship, capping off One Shining Moment.
Kicks Analysis 2015 #7: The Finals
Why do I bother with this Kicks Analysis? Throw out the numbers and just play the game and keep playing even if the shot clock expires! That’s why Adidas is even with Nike going into the 2015 NCAA Tournament Finals where Duke plays Wisconsin. Nike versus Adidas. Fifty fifty chance.
Adidas’ representation went like this:
- Round of 64: 17%
- Round of 32: 19%
- Sweet 16: 25%
- Elite 8: 25%
- Final Four: 25%
- Finals: 50%
While I’m still not a fan of the Adidas styling, if I had to jump on the three-stripped bandwagon, I would wear the new-ish D Lillard 1.
Kicks Analysis 2015 #6: The Final Four
Seeding has stabilized with the Final Four of Duke, Wisconsin, Kentucky, and Michigan St. The Blue Devils, the Badgers, and the Wildcats are all top seeds while the seventh-seeded Spartans kept on marching. This marks the end of Under Armour’s excellent run with the downfall of the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. That’s three Nike teams, Duke, Kentucky, and Michigan St. and one Adidas-wearing Wisconsin team left.
Kicks Analysis 2015 #5: Elite 8
From 64 teams down to the Elite 8, and all three shoe brands are still in the game. Nike has five of the eight (62.5%), Adidas has two teams (25%), and Under Armour sole representation (12.5%) is thanks to the strong play of Notre Dame.
Seed, Team, Shoe
1, Kentucky, Nike
3, Notre Dame, Under Armour
1, Wisconsin, Adidas
2, Arizona, Nike
1, Duke, Nike
2, Gonzaga, Nike
4, Louisville, Adidas
7, Michigan St., Nike
Kicks Analysis 2015 #4: Shoes of Champions
I already commented on the dearth of team shoes this year. Rather, players are wearing shoes matching their playing style and fashion sense. Although the one truism is that Air Jordan kicks are still marquee. You’ll see some Kobes, KDs, and surprisingly even fewer LeBrons. The closest team shoe I’ve noticed is the Nike Zoom Hyperrev 2015.
Arizona Wildcats Kobe X player exclusives
Texas Hyperrevs
Surrounded by Air Jordans
Harvard Hyperrevs
Nike Kyrie 1 behind UAB’s mismatched kicks
Mismatched Nike Zoom Run the One and LeBron Soldiers
Cheery swooshes
Air Jordan 11 Legend Blue
Retrain Your Brain at Starbucks Kailua
Not too long ago, the Starbucks location in the heart of Kailua town closed for renovation. That was then, this is now.
Regular patrons, what do you notice right away? Yes, you have to retrain your brain and walk to the far end to place your order. It’s no longer the drink pickup area that’s now near the entrance.
You now go counterclockwise and pass by the counter of goodies.
Not sure what’s so special about this special edition Starbucks card. The “renovation complete” commemorative edition?
The small interior tables have been replaced with a higher seating capacity counter.
And look at the newest edition, the first Clover brew in Kailua!
I like the main lighting in the store…
Along with the accent lights over the Clover.
The reclaimed wood look prevalent in other Starbucks is here.
But something else is different. What is it?
Oh yeah, I know… There’s no longer a second doorway! The street facing entrance is now a picture window framing the condiment bar.
So go ahead and retrain your brain on your next visit.
Retro for April 1
That was fun, but now it’s time to restore Pulpconnection back to its most recent look. For April 1st, Pulpconnection went retro thanks to the free Retro theme from Organic Themes. Talk about throwing it back to the old days of the Internet. Anyways back to the future…
Hammer for Hawaii on April 1
Are you fed up with what’s happening in Hawaii? Are you fuming about the #carmageddon caused by the #zipnado failure? Are you willing to step up and do something about it? Gregg Hammer is and announced his (early) candidacy to run for Governor for the state of Hawaii.
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Here’s to H4H on April 1st!!
Kicks Analysis 2015 #2b: Regional Sponsorships
There’s nothing really telling about the kicks distribution in the regions of the 2015 tournament. See for yourself. Nothing eye popping, right?
While scanning images from the early round games, there weren’t true team shoes represented where the entire team wore the same shoe model. In general, players just wore whatever sponsored shoes matched their personal and playing styles. These were the team exceptions to the individual norm – Oregon and UAB.
Being so close to Nike HQ and the alma mater of Phil Knight, Oregon gets the best custom kicks, and the Ducks were decked out in KD7.
While UAB didn’t quite have the same team shoe, they did collectively wear purposely mismatched Nikes. Throughout the entire season, the Blazers have worn “reversed” kicks to raise awareness and funds for pediatric cancer.
Is Amazon Dash Button an April Fool’s Prank?
Did you see Amazon’s latest release of their Dash buttons? You install these little physical devices around your household near consumable items. When you start running low on these items, push the matching Dash button and the item is magically added to an Amazon order for you to approve.
Sounds like a nifty albeit prank of a product from Amazon. These buttons make sense for a certain audience, so I can’t tell if this is a legit product or something announced on the eve of April 1st. If you’re an Amazon Prime member, you can sign up for an invitation and see what happens.
Kicks Analysis 2015 #3: Sweet 16
The sweet, sweet sixteen of ’15 looks like this:
- Kentucky (Nike)
- Purdue (Nike)
- Notre Dame (Under Armour)
- Wichita St. (Nike)
- Wisconsin (Adidas)
- North Carolina (Nike)
- Xavier (Nike)
- Arizona (Nike)
- Duke (Nike)
- Utah (Under Armour)
- UCLA (Adidas)
- Gonzaga (Nike)
- N.C. State (Adidas)
- Louisville (Adidas)
- Oklahoma (Nike)
- Michigan St. (Nike)
Nike commands 62.5% (10 out of 16) of the field, Adidas has 25% (4 out of 16), and Under Armour is still holding on with two teams in the Sweet 16 (12.5%).
How does this compare with the start of the tournament? Nike lost ground going from a 75% showing down to 62.5% so that means movement for Adidas and UA. Adidas upped their numbers going from 17% to 25% and Under Armour getting a slight bump from 8% to 12.5%.