Owens and Harris Jordan III’s, Other NFL Training Camp Cleats
The new cleats keep rolling in… and if you’re wondering why these NFL PE recaps have been nearly all Nike-based, it’s only because the other brands haven’t really been doing many custom kicks (yet, at least). Here’s the best from the past few days…
Terrell Owens and Chris Harris are the latest to get Jordan III PE’s. While TO’s look decent and are pretty consistent with the style of the other Jordan models that he’s worn over the past few years, I wish these were hooked up a little more. Chris Harris’ III’s, on the other hand, are a really nice blend of the GR model and PE colors.
(Photos by AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, Chuck Burton)
Zoom LeBron VI Debut
LeBron James has been sidelined lately with an injured right ankle, but he returned to Team USA practice this afternoon in Macau. However, the LeBron story that really had basketball fans buzzing today was this:
(Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE/Getty Images, REUTERS/Victor Fraile, AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
It’s been all but officially confirmed that these are the Nike Zoom LeBron VI (full size pics here, here, here, and here), a much different look from the previously leaked images. Hopefully we’ll be seeing more of these this summer — the Soldier II Olympic PE is nice, but it’s rare to see a LeBron signature model hit the court this early in the year. Stay tuned…
Hall, Hunter in Swingman Remix; New Catalog Images
Since I wrote about the upcoming Nike Air Swingman Remix last week (click here for that post), two more players have been spotted wearing the Ken Griffey Jr. signature shoe:
(AP Photo / Morry Gash, Gus Ruelas)
Whether these are PE’s or not has yet to be seen, but with both Bill Hall and Torii Hunter lacing them up, my theory that Griffey is hand-picking the players who are wearing them is looking even more accurate.
NFL Training Camp Cleats: LenDale, Peterson, Moss, and Smoot
LenDale White broke out this new Nike model in Titans camp yesterday… At first I thought that they might be an unreleased model (a la Shawne Merriman and Stephen Jackson in ‘07), but as reader jb pointed out, they’re the Nike Throw Back, a Dick’s Sporting Goods exclusive. LenDale’s custom pair above has Titans colors, a different midsole (the GR version has the Huarache midsole), and a TD outsole.
(Photo by AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
Kevin Durant, Nike Unveil New Signature Shoe
Kevin Durant and Nike recently unveiled the Kevin Durant 1, KD’s first signature shoe, in Taiwan. They’ll feature Zoom Air cushioning and simple upper design (bordering on uninspired) with patent leather accents. While this black pair could probably use some white or yellow in the midsole, the white versions looks promising. Photos via kenlu.net… more pics after the jump.
Red Sox-Yankees Weekend Series Cleats
Sox-Yankees games are great for many reasons, but one of the best things about them is that they’re all photographed like it’s the World Series, making for some great footwear shots. Here’s a couple good views of some recent cleats:
Here’s a better shot of the new David Ortiz signature shoe… he wore these during his recent rehab assignment, but they made their MLB debut this weekend. I’m guessing Reebok hasn’t made him a black version yet; he wore his black ‘08 sigs on Saturday.
(Photo by AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
UPDATE: This model is now available at Eastbay (thanks to rbkguy for pointing this out). It’s called the Big Papi 2M Mid II, and the product image can be seen here.
No Pony’s for Moss; Other NFL Kicks
Not too many custom cleats can be expected from the first week of training camp, but here’s the best of them:
Tom Brady broke out a new pair of Super Bads with a turf midsole and a Shark cleat pattern (similar to the midsole/outsole that he’s worn the past few years), but the really interesting thing in this photo is the absence of Randy Moss’ Pony signature cleats. Moss wore those Super Bad I’s, a Reebok model, and Super Bad II’s last year, but after all the hype about him signing with Pony, I’m surprised that he didn’t break out the new PE’s at camp (and I can’t imagine the folks at Pony are too happy). Thanks to Greg Riffenburgh for the photo.
(Photo by Damian Strohmeyer/SI)
Nike Blows Up Bronson Arroyo’s Swooshes
Before he had long hair or rock star aspirations, Bronson Arroyo was wearing the Nike Air Zoom 3.5, a 1999 Nike release that he’s worn ever since his days with Pittsburgh and Boston. It was never all that popular in the majors, but much like Mariano Rivera with his early 90’s Air Clippers and Randy Johnson with his old Air Shows, Bronson has stuck with them throughout his career. Until recently, they looked like this:
(AP Photo/Danny Moloshok)
As you can see, they’re one of Nike’s more subtle designs — the swoosh is only about two inches long. However, this is what they look like now:
(AP Photo/Al Behrman)
It’s the same exact shoe, just with a larger swoosh sewn on. Unless Bronson personally requested a bigger swoosh (which is doubtful), I’m guessing that Nike did this so fans could spot their logo on TV or from the stands. This story pales in comparison to Todd Helton’s Mizuno-ized Nike Clippers and other footwear rebrandings, but it’s always interesting when a shoe gets customized solely for increased logo visibility.
Albert Pujols Air Max MVP Player Exclusives
As promised, I finished up my renderings of Albert Pujols’ home and All-Star versions of his Max MVP PE’s. For whatever reason, Albert must prefer the Zoom heel cage to the Max Air unit in the MVP, but they look great regardless. The All-Star version appears above, and the home version appears below.
You’ll be seeing these and many others in the PE Gallery within the next few weeks.
Jason Taylor Jordan PE Close-Up Shots
Thanks to UGK4Life for pointing us to some pics posted up by AirJordansXX3 in NT. These Jason Taylor PE’s were sent to the Redskins equipment room from Miami, which is obvious due to all of the orange accents… I’m guessing that the Jordan III pair that Taylor wore earlier today was just colored to match the ‘Skins unis (either that or they just appear more burgundy than orange in the wire photo). More pics after the jump.
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