I just got the word that the greatest shoe AND 1 has ever released is hitting shelves Nov. 11. The company that was once endorsed by former NBA player Latrell Spreewell (before he went a wall) has been in the trenches of the sneaker game since the AND 1 mixtape tour technically died in 2006 with the split of players either playing for Ball For Life or AND 1 (I hope they didn’t think James Jones and Steve Blake could sell sneakers.) Read More »

Scott Williams on Uptempo vs. Generation (W18) from NRF on Vimeo.

Aron Phillips’ interview with Scott Williams a.k.a. Lower Manhattan Classic’s own Tiger Hood!

The Nike Recess Federation is a league designed for the urban and creative professionals of NYC. It’s really cool because they do it NBA style. You have a full draft, general managers, franchise players, free agency, trades, an All-Star game, and if you make it to the finals,you will get to play in the world’s most famous arena, Madison Square Garden. Read More »

photo: nbaloud.com

Toward the end of the summer, I hit up my man Miles Rawls, the commissioner of DC’s renowned George Goodman League. We talked about the summer highlights from Barry Farms, the seasoned vets and young boys on the come up, the standout performances, etc.

When I asked him if he’d been in touch with Agent Zero, who has come down to the Goodman League on the regular since arriving from Golden State, and is a crowd favorite due to his down to earth demeanor and strong playground love, Miles’ voice jumped an octave. Read More »

Clark “Mr. Backboard” Elie was born into the world on December 20, 1954. Growing up in Manhattan’s Upper West Side neighborhood, he played ball with his friends and wasn’t the best at it. At Brandeis HS, he ran intramurals, not varsity. In the early ’70s, the group of cats he rolled with all got recruited to play college ball outside New York. Left behind, he decided to attend City College. And that’s when the legend started . . .

“We used to tease him,” childhood friend Greg “Elevator Man #2″ Brown reminisced with me. “But when we all went away, that’s when Clark got 20 times better!” Elie wound up taking a couple of CUNY chips at CCNY, but his legendary tear in the parks began when Greg Brown returned home. The two, along with Clark’s little brother Mario, wound up terrorizing every playground in the vicinity. Read More »

Adidas and Eastbay have linked up to host an online video chat with reigning rookie of the year, Derrick Rose, tonight at 7 p.m. EST/6 p.m. CST.

Fans will have the opportunity to drop DRose a line and hear his responses at Eastbay.com/adidas.

The conversation merges with the release of adidas’ TS Cut Creator Mid and TechFit apparel, Derrick’s go-to gear for the upcoming season.

Built for the game’s speediest guards and premier playmakers, the adidas TS Cut Creator is the ’09 supplement to the fantastically successful TS Creator Mid. From the top, check how Adi positioned the Stripes on the Cut to sit horizontally, beginning just below the ankle collar— it affords the shoe an ultra-sleek vibe that I’m diggin’. A plastic TPU ventilation plate is perched atop the branding to rid your feets of moisture and heat build-up. Other goodies include a mesh-based tongue and plush inner lining. Read More »

Last week I got the opportunity to meet and greet a dunking legend in Kadour Ziami and blogged it, someone said the Kadour is a great dunker but not the worlds greatest dunker. Read More »

PRO-KEDS X BOBBITO: ROYAL FLASH RELEASE from PK09 on Vimeo.

In 1979, PRO-Keds released the Royal Flash model with the “Add-On Bottom” (as my Spanish Harlem a.k.a “El Barrio” sneaker crew back then would say). In my book Where’d You Get Those? New York City’s Sneaker Culture: 1960-1987 (Testify Books) I wrote: “The Royal Flash was the best combination of basketball performance and style that PRO-Keds ever made.” To celebrate the RF’s 30th anniversary, PK approached me to do a collab with them for the re-issue! Word!

Three suede colors–army jacket green, nugget gold, and spanish tile–will drop in stores Wednesday October 28th (the fourth flavor oxblood will be promo only). I’ll be appearing in the following spots on 10/28 to sign shoes, books, whatever:

12pm – Packer (New Jersey) 2pm – Rime (Brooklyn) 4pm – Goliath (Harlem) 5:30pm- Vault (Harlem) 7pm- West (Upper West Side)

www.frolab.com photo by Cognito

Dante Ross and I built on the PRO-Ked collab and much more in the video above–we’ve been friends for 22 years!

Here’s a complete list of all stores that will be carrying Read More »