Foam Talk

Some interesting messages have popped up on Nike's twitter feed which seem to suggest that the sneaker community should expect a big announcement regarding some form of Foamposite footwear soon:



My initial thought was that they were going to officially announce another re-release of the original Royal Foamposite One, but the post clearly states that this shoe (we'll assume) is "something the world hasn't felt before." A subsequent message would back this up:



I'm intrigued in spite of myself. One possibility would be another original sneaker in the Foamposite line ala the Foamposite Lite, but the "something the world hasn't felt before" bit seems to suggest something a little more groundbreaking. I wouldn't be surprised if they did something wild like trying to fuse Foamposite and Flywire technology, especially given how well both have been received by the basketball community in the past. That would be my guess. Incorporating Foam into the next numbered Jordan sneaker would also certainly stir things up, but I imagine that they'll keep the AJ2011 under wraps for a while longer (and if they're smart, until Dwyane Wade signs somewhere). Other possibilities? Perhaps a hybrid? Imagine a performance sneaker featuring an updated lightweight version of the Foamposite One silhouette, with the Air Max base from the Total Foamposite Max and the zipper/velcro enclosure from the original Flightposite. Somewhat unlikely, but I wouldn't put it past Nike given how crazy they seem to be about hybrids these days. We'll see.

In other Foamposite related news, a few blurry images of the Cranberry 1/2 Cents have surfaced in recent weeks, and they're looking pretty ridiculous. These are seriously going to turn some heads.



Way too much black & red going on in my closet already, but I'll have to put these down as a "maybe" on my to-buy list. Lots of buzz generating for these, so I guess you could say that cranberry is the new eggplant.

タバコ禁止

Japanese people smoke way too much. Which is fine.





Just not in here.

Redemption

Gave it a few days to sink in. San Antonio had tortured us Suns fans for the better part of a decade, so watching Phoenix sweep the Spurs out of the playoffs was pretty much the next best thing to winning the championship. Seriously, it meant that much.



Sounds like Robin Lopez will be starting in Game 1 against the Lakers, which gives the Suns an additional big body to mix it up with Gasol and Bynum down low. Not too many people are giving Phoenix a chance in this series, but hey, that's cool. I'm sure they're used to it by now.

Return Of The Dragon

So long Daniel Bryan, welcome back Bryan Danielson. I was really wondering where they were going with this "Daniel Bryan" business and the whole losing streak, but it's looking like the payoff could actually be worth it.



Time to kick some heads in.

Enter The Dragon

So what could top LeBron going for 21 against the Celtics in the 1st? Goran Dragic dropping 23 on the Spurs in the 4th. A little surreal watching the Suns reserves pick apart the San Antonio starters, but such is the makeup of this PHX squad. Certainly not the most talented roster in the league, but they're deep and clearly have an unmatched degree of chemistry. Prior to his outburst against the Spurs, Dragic's biggest claim to fame was being the guy who ended up as the less flattering half of that Derrick Rose poster, but Suns fans have seen flashes of brilliance from the second year guard before, including the time that he went for 25 in the first half against Utah earlier in the season. I'm excited because he's going to be the guy running the team once Nash retires, but more happy for him as a person because he's literally the nicest kid ever.

Manu Ginobili:

In the first game, we fouled them too much and they [scored] too much in transition. In Game 2, they stopped running but they beat us on offensive rebounds. Tonight we didn't foul them, they didn't beat us on the offensive boards, Amare scored seven points and they killed us anyway. That's the tough part to swallow.

Music to my ears.

My Rims Can't Buy Beer

But they can buy cigarettes.







And porn.

And Here We Go

Spurs vs Suns. Possibly the most one-sided rivalry in the NBA, considering that the Suns unfailingly lose whenever the two teams meet in the playoffs. As they always do, San Antonio is peaking at just the right time, and it's tough to pick against Popovich, Duncan & co. here, especially considering how things have unfolded in the past. If there's one edge that the Suns have got going for them, it's their rotation (a legit 10 deep). D'Antoni's teams pretty much went 7 or 8 deep in the past, and the short rotations generally meant that the starters had some difficulty closing out games. Not too many people remember that Grant Hill was also severely limited by a groin injury during the last series, and while Gentry certainly can't count on him to check Ginobili, Parker and George Hill, fact is that he's the team's best perimeter defender. Amare routinely puts up big numbers against San Antonio, so it'll likely come down to J-Rich, Frye and Dudley being able to hit their shots.

Barkley is going with his heart instead of his head and is saying that the Suns take the series, and hey, who am I to argue? Phoenix in 7.

Dis(Incentive)?

Serious question. Which makes you want to steal more?

Exhibit A?



Or Exhibit B?