The 2010 NBA All-Star jerseys have been unveiled—in fact they’re for sale at NBAstore.com right now—and they’re … aight. Nothing special really, but they’re fine. They definitely do not hold a candle to the 1995 jerseys that featured the cactus, but apparently the NBA has an embargo on any sort of creative designs or pictures on All-Star jerseys these days, so that’s to be expected. And they’re much better than those two-tone monstrosities from 2008. I also dig the idea to do one team in red and one in blue, rather than one in red-or-blue and one in the traditional home whites. The real question is, do they fit well with the All-Star editions of the Nike Air Max LeBron VII and the Zoom Kobe V? I think so.

2010 NBA All-Star East Jersey

2010 NBA All-Star West Jersey

… Actually I get kind of irritated when people think that the University of Central Florida now has to pay Adidas $3 million dollars. In fact they had a 6-year deal with the Three Stripes to have $3 million worth of apparel and footwear provided to them over the life of that contract, a deal which will now be canceled despite Adidas apparently having told UCF that Marcus Jordan’s Air Jordans would not be a problem. Anyway, these are what he’s wearing at the moment, the Air Jordan 12 Rising Sun Marcus Jordan PE. (I just threw in that last part actually, I don’t see anything unique to Marcus’s shoe to make it a PE.) I think UCF will take these super fly shoes plus the publicity—to a school whose most notable athletic achievement to date has been Daunte Culpepper playing football there—over the contract. And what are the odds that another company, perhaps even Jordan Brand or Nike, offers up a contract as soon as they’re legally allowed to? Pretty good. Photo by Jason Greene of the Orlando Sentinel.

Marcus Jordan's Air Jordan 12 "Rising Sun"

Adidas TRX White/Legacy

I haven’t done much on Adidas lately, namely because they haven’t dropped anything I HAD to publicize recently, but that stops now. The Adidas TRX runner, originally debuted in 1976, is returning this July and it is absolutely DOPE. Coming in two, equally rad colorways, an Airforce blue/lemon and a white/legacy (legacy is evidently a synonym for blue), the Adidas TRX has the look of a classic running shoe, mixing a suction cupped, flared sole with a mesh and suede upper. Both color combinations create eye-catching looks by using very contrasting colors that somehow seem bright and subtle. I don’t know man, the paradoxical nature of the Adidas TRX.

The Adidas TRX blue/lemon and Adidas TRX white/legacy release in July. They’re currently available for pre-order on EndClothing.co.uk.

Adidas Originals ZX Fall/Winter Collection

Here’s a preview of the Fall and Winter collection of the Adidas Originals ZX collection, including some Adidas ZX8000, Adidas ZX9000, Adidas ZX500, Adidas ZX700 and ZX930. To be perfectly honest I can tell you when I see a pair of Adidas ZX shoes, but I can’t for the life of me tell you which ones correlate with which number. So it’s really anyone’s guess which are which. Feel free to comment if you want to connect the dots. I think most of these are really dope, and will go really well with the Jeremy Scott Adidas Originals by Originals apparel. Pictures from HypeBeast.com.

What better way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day than with Adidas, the Celtics and the quintessential Irish hip hip group? Concepts in Boston has put together a House of Pain x Adidas x Celtics pack that contains an authentic House of Pain Celtics jersey—the same one the Celtics wear on the court—with the number 92 and “House of Pain” across the back, as well as a green Adidas Campus 80 with shamrock logo on the tongue that reads “House of Pain” and “Fine Malt Lyrics.” There are only 5 jerseys—which will be raffled off—but get there in time to pick up a pair of the limited shoes. House of Pain will be at Concepts at 3pm today to sign and greet. The store is located at 37 Brattle St, Harvard Square, Cambridge MA. I’ll post a map below. Pictures via NiceKicks.com

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Party with Adidas in Taipei! The Adidas Originals House Party—which celebrates the 60 year anniversary of Adidas—makes a stop in Taipei tomorrow (today there), Friday March 13. The party starts at 8:30pm at Hua Shan Cultural Park & Creative Village. It will include live music, food and drinks, giveaways and special guests. Sponsors include Bacardi, Carlsberg and Fiji Water. The latter two are outstanding so hopefully they’ll have a presence.

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SneakerCon is coming to NYC, Sunday, March 1st. The sneaker convention is the first of (hopefully) many. The  above flyer has any of the information I could really provide, so check it for info. NikeBlog will be there (and rockin some really sick shoes). It’s at the Times Square Art Center and admission is $10.

Behold, the Nike Haystack pack, comprised of a Nike Terminator High and a Nike Talache Low. Both shoes use a leather upper with with perforated patterns on the toe and along the seams. The Nike Haystack Terminator is a deep tan upper with white swoosh, rear-ankle tab and midsole and a gum bottom. The Nike Haystack Talache Low is a primarily white upper with the aforementioned tan across the side panels and what appears to be a leather midsole.

Love it or hate it, I’ll definitely give Nike credit for doing something creative and different. The Nike Haystack Pack doesn’t look like anything out there by Nike right now, in fact it seems like something from the Adidas Originals line. All in all, the pack is decent. The Terminator High is not great (as the Terminator High in general is not the most attractive shoe) but the Talache Low is pretty tight. I’ll update if general release information becomes available.

Picture Source Glltn.com

Adidas has teamed up with three prominent streetwear and fashion designers—Jeremy Scott, Alyasha and Kazuki—to create the “Originals by Originals” brand, a limited collection of apparel and footwear that will be available at boutiques and Originals stores. While it’s all really offbeat, some of it doesn’t quite click, coming off as more of an elaborate attempt to be trendy and different. That being said, the Jagwire by Alyasha is FIRE. Resembling a Superstar but avoiding all the pitfalls of that shoe (and despite its “classic” status, there are plenty), the Jagwire has a very casual, relaxed look but paradoxically also seems quite high end. Let’s just hope the Portland Originals store gets it.

The Originals by Originals collection is a spring/summer line and will be available starting February 1st. The Jagwire is $120. Via FreshnessMag.com

The NBA All-Star uniforms for the game February 15th were unveiled Monday, and we’re seeing some pretty significant design changes coming from official NBA uniform supplier Adidas.

First, the uniforms make sewing a thing of the past, using heat-welding instead of traditional stitching to ensure more maneuverability and less irritation from loose seams inside the jersey. The letters and numbers are attached through a similar gluing process to reduce the overall weight of the uniform by 31%. Additionally the “gripper” waistband makes sure the jersey doesn’t accidentally become untucked from the shorts. God forbid.

Also, the uniforms will use extra ventilation over “heat zones,” ensuring the players stay cool in the areas in which it’s most needed. The uniform is supposed to be worn over Adidas TechFit compression equipment which theoretically reduces fatigue and improves recovery time.

And last but not least, Adidas made sure that the aesthetic design of the jersey paid tribute to the host city. The horizontal lines under the armholes represent the famous rock formations of Phoenix (so says Mens Fitness. I don’t really see it) while the gradually changing colors (yellow to red on the West jersey and blue to light blue on the East) represent the rising from the ashes of the legendary bird who shares its name with the city.

The uniforms should be available on NBA.com on January 22nd. NikeBlog maintains that the NBA should reuse the sweetest-ever uniforms from the 1995 NBA All-Star Game, cacti and all, which was the last time the All-Star Game visited Phoenix if memory serves. Those were absolutely rad.

via MensFitness.com

Adidas has modified the TS Commander a bit, coming up with the TS Bounce Commander. The performance shoe is designed to absorb more impact and shock while providing extra cushioning. Plus Dwight Howard, KG, Tim Duncan and the rest of the Adidas team will look extra fly when they go clubbing after the games. Everyone know that girls dig shoes that appear laceless but in fact are not. Dwight Howard will be the face of the advertising campaign.

Tech:
• BOUNCE™ replaces traditional foam midsole material with TPU to provide unstoppable cushioning.
• TPU, thermo plastic urethane; a bouncy, structured formation that stretches and springs to launch you into your next step.
• Upper: Synthetic leather upper for light weight and durability.
• Midsole: Molded EVA; adiPRENE+ insole offers enhanced cushioning and shock absorption for protection at impact; TORSION SYSTEM bar for arch protection.
• Midfoot strap for perfect fit and comfort.
• Outsole: Non-marking rubber with herringbone tread pattern for maximum traction on court.

Video, tech specs and pictures from FreshnessMag.com

In 2009, Adidas will celebrate their 60th anniversary. The anniversary of the name anyway, the Dassler brothers actually started making shoes 25 years earlier, but it wasn’t until 1948 that they had their final fight (Haggar was not involved. Neither was Cody) and set up shop on opposite sides of the Aurach river, with Adi registering Adidas in August of ’49 and Rudi creating Puma in 1948. But I digress with the history lesson.

Adidas has started the celebration (which I expect to take up all of next year but I think technically would take place in August) with a new “Celebrate Originality” ad, featuring just about everyone they’ve got signed to wear the three stripes: Katy Perry (the “Kissed a girl” biddy); Darryl McDaniels (DMC from Run-DMC); I think I saw at least the girl from the God-forsaken Ting Tings (they sing that horrid “Shut Up and Let Me Go” song) and the guy is probably there too; Russell Simmons (if you don’t know who he is you’re probably 85 and don’t know what the internet is so you couldn’t possibly be reading this); the men Method and Red; Missy Elliott (shudder); Young Jeezy ( I think. It might have been Young Joc. I really don’t know which is which); David Beckham and finally Kevin Garnett. Actually at 30 seconds there is a dude who looks exactly like David Carradine from Kung Fu, but it doesn’t really make sense why he would be in this commercial so I’ll assume I’m mistaken, unless someone can clarify for me. I’d like to think it’s him.

The whole ad is just a big house party with the abovementioned folks hanging out and doing weird stuff while “Beggin’” by Madcon plays in the background. The music is a good fit and it’s cool to see all the celebs in the same place, but I think it could have been a lot cooler. Oh also, if anyone knows the dude with the chubby face that beats KG in poker, let me know. It looks like Glen “Big Baby” Davis but that would be the equivalent of putting Joel Przybilla in a high-budget ad. Or the Ting Tings. Hmm…. on second thought it might be Jeezy without his glasses and making a “fat kid just got cookies” face.