Continuing the Super Bowl shoes theme we just started with the Giants’ Nike Vapor Talon Elite, here are the Nike Vapor Talon Elite Patriots PE, worn by several Pats Super Bowl Sunday. Going for a much lighter look than the Giants version, these feature an even mix of white and blue over the Hyperfuse-enhanced upper. A great look for one of the NFL’s current great franchises, even if they came up a bit short Sunday, hit the jump for plenty more looks.

The Giants and Patriots played another classic Super Bowl Sunday, yet again going down to the wire, but you surely already knew that. So as a change of pace, as opposed to the same old highlights and Ahmad Bradshaw touchdown run, let’s check out some Super Bowl shoes, specifically the Nike Vapor Talon Elite NY Giants PE. A number of Giants laced these up, including receivers like Mario Manningham and Victor Cruz. Hit the jump for plenty of shots, and stay tuned for the Patriots’ Vapor Talon Elites as well. (And click to check out all 32 NFL teams’ Nike Vapor Talon Elites.)

Tomorrow, the Marquette women’s basketball team will host its seventh annual ‘Pink Out’ to support breast cancer awareness. The game is part of the greater ‘Play 4 Kay’ initiative, which over 1000 schools (no idea how the number is that high) will participate in to raise funds and awareness for women’s cancers. The Golden Eagles are also one of a number of schools that will sport special gear to coincide with the event; as such, check out the Play 4 Kay Marquette pink uniforms (and matching pink Zoom Hyperenforcer) below the cut, and make sure to look for the uniforms tomorrow, when Marquette hosts Pitt.

'Play 4 Kay' Marquette Pink Uniforms

As we typically see each year, Nike is creating several shoes inspired by the upcoming NBA All-Star game. And with the 2012 game in Orlando, it seems only natural that some shoes would borrow inspiration from the nearby Kennedy Space Center. But while we’ve seen the All-Star Kobe VII and LeBron 9 go for a full-on “space” look, the Nike Dunk High All-Star 2012 pack keeps its inspiration on earth, featuring aesthetics inspired by NASA itself. All three colorways go for canvas uppers featuring graphics and type “borrowed” from NASA gear and facilities, going so far as to incorporate a removable, Velcro-adhered Swoosh and NASA-style logo tag. Check out looks at each one under the cut, and look for the Nike Dunk High All-Star 2012 release date in mid-to-late February. Photos via rakuten.co.jp/soleroom/

Nike+ has been wildly successful, a great program that motivates and encourages while tracking and analyzing a user’s running activity. But running isn’t the only recreational sport, so meet the Nike+ FuelBand — combining sport and digital by turning all of life’s activity into a trackable sport.

The Nike+ FuelBand essentially brings Nike+ connectivity to every form of activity. Worn on the wrist, the FuelBand’s three-axis accelerometer captures and measures all motion, keeping track of calories, steps, time and NikeFuel, a brand new stat designed to be the “ultimate measure of athletic activity.”

Because it’s worn on the wrist, it’s able to measure all forms of activity, from running or soccer to basketball or gymnastics. The three preexisting metrics — calories, time, steps — are then ran through the NikeFuel algorithm (based on oxygen kinetics and engineered by some leading minds in science and sports) to register the NikeFuel score, which is normalized across all characteristics, ignoring age, gender, body type and the like. (Calorie counts are also available to give an understanding of how they relate to NikeFuel.)

Further, the FuelBand has an easy interface that motivates and encourages as the wearer strives to hit their goals each day, the 20 LED lights going from red to green as the goal is neared.

And finally, like the best aspects of Nike+, everything is digitally tracked and synced with NikePlus.com via built-in USB or via Bluetooth to the free iPhone app. Users can than go online to NikePlus.com for an impressive web and mobile experience and a look at the big picture of what they’ve accomplished, and where they are in the context of their ongoing goals.

The Nike+ FuelBand will be available for pre-order later today (January 19th) at NikeStore.com for $149.

The 2012 Australian Open is underway and, as tends to happen most years, several of the highest profile players there are signed to the Swoosh. We’ve already shared previews of Serena Williams’s Black History Month special collection as well as Roger Federer’s new shoe, the Nike Zoom Vapor 9 Tour (also seen below), but what will the other big stars be wearing? As usual, Maria Sharapova opts for a dress that’s performance-driven, yet wouldn’t appear out of place on a runway, Li Na dons a two-piece skirt/shirt combo, Rafael Nadal goes for simple flat-front shorts and a crewneck t-shirt, and Federer embraces red polos. Add to that Bernard Tomic’s gear and more from Serena Williams, and all in all the 2012 Aussie Open is a clotheshorse’s dream. Check out everything under the jump.

As arguably the most iconic tennis player of her generation, Serena Williams is one of Nike’s most high-profile athletes. And so it only makes sense that Nike Tennis would select her, one of the biggest draws at the Australian Open, to wear a special edition line; one created to coincide with February’s Black History Month.

Inspired by the 1996 USA Basketball Women’s team, 2002 Brazil Men’s Soccer team, and the 2008 Kenyan Long-Distance running team, the Nike Black History Month Collection for Serena Williams consists of the Nike Sportswear BHM Destroyer Jacket, Nike BHM Seasonal Knit Jacket, Nike BHM C72 Bag and Nike BHM Air Max Mirabella 3, each sporting the special Black History Month logo and featuring a palette and design inspired by the culture and history that we celebrate in February.

While myriad Nike athletes will don various Black History Month pieces in February, Serena gets things started with her special set at the ongoing Australian Open. Hit the jump to check out the full collection and look for the pieces on Serena now in Melbourne.

Want to be among the first in America to get a crack at the Nike Zoom KD IV Year of the Dragon, and meet Kevin Durant in the process? Well … be in Maryland today. Kevin Durant will hit the Hyattsville, MD House of Hoops at Prince Georges Plaza tonight, January 17th, in a special event hosted by Big Tigger. Starting at 6pm, the event will feature music by DJ P. Chris as well as a raffle and prizes. And, perhaps most importantly, though meeting KD is pretty cool in and of itself, the event will apparently play host to the very first US Nike Zoom KD IV Year of the Dragon release date. So head on over and enjoy if you’re in the area, feel free to let us know how it goes, and click here for a few more looks at the the Zoom KD IV ‘YOTD.’

Kevin Durant at House of Hoops Hyattsville

Nike+ has something big planned for January 19th. While an official announcement is still three days away, this video explains that “On 1.19.12, Nike will launch a revolutionary product designed for all kinds of playmakers,” then going on to show a handful of famous playmakers like Hope Solo, Kevin Durant, Li Na and the like, as well as some regular, non-famous folks who have an equal drive for sport.

Based on the prevalence of the Nike+ logo and the wide range of athletes (and sports) featured in the spot, our money is on an expanded Nike Plus system that will incorporate all manners of athletics, not just running, but of course that’s just a guess. Hit the jump to see the video and check back with us on Thursday for an answer.

To help raise cancer awareness as part of the Coaches vs. Cancer initiative, four Jordan Brand schools — Marquette, Georgetown, UNC, Cal — will don pink Jordan Brand shoes, including the Air Jordan 8.0, Jordan CP3.V and the as-yet unreleased Jordan Play in These II. While all are pretty good looks, and the altruistic motivation is a nice excuse for dudes to wear pink, we’re not expecting to see these at retail anytime soon. However, look for Jordan schools to wear them throughout January.

As mentioned earlier, the Crimson Tide are national champions (Alabama national championship gear here), having beaten LSU 21-0 in a rather impressive display of defensive prowess. And they did it in the Nike Vapor Talon Elite, the most advanced football cleat to date. Hit the jump to check out a very brief video celebrating all of those things.

We’re less than two hours away from a clash of the the defensive titans, with Alabama and LSU set to face off in the BCS Championship game, and I bet you’re so busy wondering what shoes they’ll wear that you can’t even focus. Lucky for you, I’m here to share this preview of the Nike Vapor Talon Elite, Alabama and LSU editions. The cleats sport a lightweight but supportive fit, as well as “on-demand” traction, the former achieved through a Hyperfuse construction, midfoot carbon fiber insert and responsive, dual-density sockliner; the latter comes from a Pebax outsole and forefoot talon spikes, offering traction for any situation. Hit the jump for looks at low versions of the Bama and LSU BCS Championship shoes, and look for these (and the 3/4-cut) to release at the beginning of April.

Putting exclamation points on already remarkable seasons, the Ducks and Cowboys can now call themselves Rose Bowl and Fiesta Bowl champs, respectively. And a mere hours after the bowls had gone down, Nike had already put together special edition Oklahoma State Fiesta Bowl champion shirts (notably “Nacho Victory”) as well as Oregon Rose Bowl gear (including “Rose to Power” and “Won the Day” shirts), now available to order at nikestore.com and each school’s athletics website. Hit the jump for looks at a few Oregon Rose Bowl champion shirts and hats, and the Oklahoma State Fiesta Bowl versions. And expect more to come, with Virginia Tech conceivably winning a Sugar Bowl tonight, Clemson and West Virginia (both Nike schools) facing off for an Orange Bowl Wednesday, and Bama and LSU (two more Swoosh squads) clashing for the BCS Championship next Monday.

Yesterday we debuted the rather eye-catching new Oregon Ducks Rose Bowl uniforms, a bit of a departure from the Oregon norm, albeit a pretty clear descendant of the Ducks uniforms of the last few years. Unquestionably the most noticeable new uniform aspect, as well as the most different, is the new Oregon Rose Bowl helmet, unique in its center-top logo, wings along the side, and its extraordinarily glossy look. Today we have a more detailed look at that helmet, which was designed with a black liquid metal finish to achieve a color-changing effect, as can be seen in the photos. (The colors on the helmet are simply reflections from lighting in the room, that’s just how shiny the finish is.) Hit the jump for another look (spoiler alert: it’s amazing) and head to the comments section to weigh in with your thoughts. Photos via Rob Moseley. Follow him on Twitter for all things UO.

Oregon Ducks Rose Bowl Helmet

When the Ducks secured a third straight Pac-12 Championship, most probably figured it was only a matter of time before a brand new Oregon Rose Bowl uniform was debuted. And, well … those people would be right. Take a look at the just-unveiled 2012 Oregon Ducks Rose Bowl uniforms that we’ll see January 2nd in Pasadena, against a Wisconsin Badgers team that is rumored to have a special look of its own. The wings and ‘O’ are still there, but in a very different manner, with the former being moved to the helmet. A helmet (detailed look at the Oregon Rose Bowl helmet here) which sports an extra-shiny look due to its liquid metal black finish.

While the uniforms feature a new look for the Ducks, the most significant distinction in the 2012 Oregon Pro Combat System of Dress uniforms is the performance. The gear incorporates the new Nike Chain Maille Mesh, which is focused around increased thermoregulation and breathability, as well as lightweight protection.

Nike Pro Combat Deflex padding continues the theme, maximizing protection in crucial areas while wicking away sweat and enhancing air flow. Likewise, the Flywire collar eliminates a layer of fabric, providing stability and anchoring the jersey while reducing bulk and weight and allowing for air-flow. All in all, the new Pro Combat System of Dress uniform features 16 different materials, all used with the goal of creating the lightest uniform possible, while improving protection, air flow and, overall, performance. Plenty of looks at the Rose Bowl Oregon Pro Combat uniform below.