How are the various conferences represented in the 2011 Big Dance and what are their dancing shoes?
Once again the Big East dominates the field with 11 teams (8 Nike, 3 Adidas) but sadly, the top tiered Big East teams have been dominated.
With the first two rounds of March Madness over, here’s the updated breakdown of shoe sponsorships this year. In the field of 64, Nike’s swoosh is on the feet of 51 teams. Adidas’ three stripes are on 12 teams and Under Armour is singly repped by Temple.
So the Supermoon on Saturday night may have affected the outcome of the Bows’ CIT loss to San Fran. Win or lose, I’m proud that the Rainbows went for it wearing their intense green Adidas adiPURE shoes aka the Supermoons.
Thanks to Brandon Flores Photography, here are some great shots of the Supermoons on Saturday.
And yes, Amazon does sell the adiPURE in the Intense Green colorway
…are pictures of the Rainbow Dancers?
That’s what happens when you let the leader of Hawaii’s hottest gentlemen’s club wield your camera during Hawaii’s second round CIT game against San Francisco. Thanks to ESPN radio, we had choice seats in the fifth row where we watched the Bows’ lead vanish in the last minute of play. It was crushing. The Bows were playing tough in their Adidas “Supermoons,” seemingly going to the next round of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament. Then like that, victory was gone.
Missed free throws, a flagrant foul, a shooting foul on a three, an errant pass, and the deal was sealed. Overall, the Bows had an excellent year after so many unknowns to start the season: injuries, mid-season departures, then more injuries. Going to the Big Dance would have been nice, but for a team picked last in the conference, playing in any post season tournament is an accomplishment. Congratulations to the Rainbows for a great season and can’t wait until the Bows hit the court next year. Until then, a few images from the Rainbows last game.
If the University of Hawaii Men’s basketball team wins their second round CIT game against formidable University of San Francisco on Saturday, then Hawaii’s mean green Adidas should be nicknamed the “Supermoons.”
As in the Supermoon that’s happening on Saturday night as the Bows play the Dons. Who’s to say what effects the Supermoon will have?
Has it been 3 years since I’ve done one of these? Really? That long? So there’s no time to waste. Everyone knows that a team’s success during March Madness is heavily influenced by their kicks aka sneakers. Wear the wrong brand, and your chances of cutting down the victory net will be slim.
What’s the shoe-scape for 2011 look like? It’s full of swooshes with at least 73% of the teams branded by Nike. Upstart Under Armour is in the game represented by Temple, and Adidas rounds out the dance card with 17% of the teams. I still have 5 unidentified teams to research. They are Indiana St., Long Island, Northern Colorado, St. Peter’s, and Akron.
After the first round games, I’ll fix the kicks analysis.
I thought the WAC Tournament would have been a good debut for these. But after UH’s first round WAC loss, what’s not to lose showcasing the bright greens in the Bows CIT postseason? Go Bows!
Have you noticed similarities between Nike and Apple products and concepts over the years? Sure there’s the obvious Nike+ collaboration that started back in 2006, but here are a few more commonalities
Way back in the day, Nike Air technology was revolutionary. Now the MacBook Air continues the tradition.
I wonder if Apple got its idea for dedicated Apple Stores from Niketowns?
The MacBook Pro and its unibody design? How about the Nike Zoom Hyperfuse with its unibody construction.
And speaking of Hyperfuse, don’t forget the Intel processors inside of Macs support hyper-threading. Oh, and there’s that MacFuse software project.
Nike uses Shox columns for support while Apple like anti-shock hard drives for its laptop line. Nike embraces wires ala Flywire, but Apple wants to forgo wires and go wireless.
The latest rumor is that the construction of the iPad 2 will contain carbon fiber. Do you recall what Nike shoe introduced carbon fiber? None other than the iconic Air Jordan XI.
A giveaway that Apple and Nike are definitely sharing playbooks would be Apple following suit with lunar themed products.
And you know Apple’s Steve Jobs says “Boom” only because Nike owns “Zoom.”
The NBA Dunk Contest has been more of a “been there, done that” kind of event during the All Star Weekend. But the 2011 contest showcased creativity and originality making the event watch worthy once again. Sure, fierce dunks are impressive but add in an element of style, and you have something special. Here are a few of my favorites from this past competition.
Serge Ibaka rescues a stuffed toy stuck on the rim. That takes some concentration!
Former Nevada WAC-er JaVale McGee, I think, had the best dunks of the night. Here’s JaVale dunking two balls in two rims.
Two balls not good enough? How about dunking three balls?
But this dunk is downright nasty, especially in slow motion.
LA Clipper Blake Griffin bested the bunch mixing power, athleticism, and showmanship. Here’s his winning dunk jumping over a KIA car.
That dunk may not have been that difficult but it made for great still pics like this.
Pictures of my latest “everyday” kicks, the Air Jordan CMFT Max 12, Fresh Water colorway. I never owned the AJXII, but I like the thematic inspirations taken from this popular Air Jordan.
Sadly, Foot Locker locations in Hawaii didn’t carry these shoes so I mail ordered them and paid for shipping. Worthwhile though, comfy and I like the fresh water blue accents contrasting with the black. And the elephant print pattern on the soles are cool.
Kobe Bryant is the Black Mamba, and “The Boss” Kanye West wants the Mamba’s Nike shoes.
Lookee here, lookee here. Social media influence measurer, Klout.com, has a new partner in the Black Mamba himself. Yep, Kobe Bryant, Nike, and Klout have joined up for a social media promotion. What is it? Not sure yet, but details are to come as Nike Courtside is slowly unveiled.
And to keep things on the up and up. I’m obligated to say:
I was given a free product or sample because I’m a Klout influencer. I was under no obligation to receive the sample or talk about this company. I get no additional benefits for talking about the product or company.