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Jason Williams Returns to the NBA, Excitement Returns to Sacramento

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Jason Williams and The Sacramento Kings, The Greatest Show on CourtBeing a Kings fan since they moved to Sacramento in 1985 (yes, back when they played in what is now a small office complex) has been a roller coaster ride to say the least. While heading down hill on the roller coaster may be a lot more fun then the slow climb upwards, it’s not the same for a basketball fan. The Kings down slide has been steady, and heart wrenching since 2001, finally hitting rock bottom last year with the worst record in the league. On top of that, a little salt in the wound was applied by missing out on the number one draft pick, which we had the best (1 in 4) shot at winning. I’ll be the first to admit I was disappointed to say the least, as visions of Rubio dishes danced in my head. Nevertheless, seeing that Geoff Petrie has taken more control of the personnel on the team in recent months, renewed hope in the off-season moves, more hope than I’ve had in 7 or 8 years.

The highlight as a fan for me came with Jason Williams running the show, albeit wildly sometimes, run n’ gun, it was and is my favorite style of basketball to watch. I couldn’t help but feel a little reminiscent of “White Chocolate” over the past month or so, due to his return to the NBA. The combination of he and Vince Carter on the Magic is one of the greatest highlight reel duos in the history of the NBA…if it had happened in 1999. Back when Vince Carter was rocking the Tai Chi from And 1, and J-Will was, aside from appearing on AND 1 Mixtapes, inventing some new no-look pass, that no one had ever seen, during every game. Yeah Williams may have taken some ill-advised shots, and committed a few turnovers, but what do you remember more, a basic bounce pass, or no look dish by your favorite player? I thought so.

Aside from J-Will being traded for Bibby (don’t get me started on Bibby, Miller, or Artest), those were the best days as a Kings fan. In fact, I was lucky enough to be at THE high point in Sacramento Kings basketball, the 2002 Game 5 Western Conference Finals against the Lakers in Sacramento. Series tied 2-2, and never have I been to a louder indoor sporting event in my life, and I’ve been blessed to attend quite a few (it ranks up there with being there for Barry Bonds 756th home run). The crowd was going crazy an hour before game time, culminating with the burning of a Lakers jersey in the middle of the court as the team was being introduced. (The league banned this part of the “warm-up” ritual shortly after.) My voice was gone by the end of the 1st quarter, and my throat hurt for another couple days after the Kings won that game to go up 3-2. Unfortunately, the Kings, although possibly due to some biased officiating, lost the next two games. They haven’t made it back to that excitement level since. Fast forward to 2009…and back comes Jason Williams…

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Reebok The Pump Returns

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Reebok bringing back “The Pump” original is long overdue. Many of us that have been into sneakers for years, all but pray for the days when the marketing teams at Nike and Reebok went “no holds barred” against each other. Back when you could see Richard Chang Pump Up, and Air Out, literally. The first of the new commercials to hit the web is the above “Reebok Pump Beat.” Although the idea behind the commercial is nothing new, for me it’s exciting to see Reebok coming back with a little reminiscent advertising. Hopefully, this will heat up the competition between footwear brands, because we all win when the companies push each other to make better products and lower their prices at the same time.

Let’s face it, Nike and the Air Jordan Brand have really dominated for a number of years now. With that, has come an incredible drop in quality from the Swoosh. With the exception of the basketball signature sneaker lines like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Chris Paul, and the new Trainer 1, most of the materials have taken a significant nose dive from the mid-’90s. It may be more profitable, but it’s not what got them to where they are.

As for Reebok, the history of their lineup is vast, and most of the OG sneakerheads would agree, a goldmine waiting to be retroed. The Pump celebrates it’s 20 year anniversary this year, a technology that 20 years ago was so successful, even Nike quickly dropped the thought of competing (Air Command Force). I’d love to see Reebok step it up with the aggressive marketing again, every commercial was filled with “zingers” towards an athlete signed to Nike or the kicks they wore. Competition is key to success, and as of right now there is very little in the industry. Most companies, like Reebok, are hanging on to their brands in other avenues besides sneakers. There is no shortage of fans, sneakerheads, or aspiring designers, so hopefully, this 20 year anniversary can Pump up the competition.

I grabbed a handful of my favorite Reebok Pump commercials from back in the day after the break. Including the ad for the Original Pump with Danny Ainge, Byron Scott, Dominique Wilkins, etc. Do you think they were actually worried someone was gonna intentionally kick the release valve on their Pumps?

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Free Kicks for Sneakerheads on Twitter?

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Ray Allen Air Jordans Left for a Lucky Fan
Ray Allen Air Jordans Left for a Lucky Fan

From musical references to most recently being the subject of MTV’s coverage of the Video Music Awards (VMA), Twitter has changed what “news” is. Everything is real-time, what people are buzzing about now, but from a sneaker addict perspective, the sneaker culture has seen some of the greatest benefits from “tweeting.” Personally, I had a great experience thanks to Adidas’ use of Twitter, but beyond that, there is so much more for sneaker lovers on Twitter.

The hype around upcoming releases is what fuels sales numbers, and also helps determine what shoes actually make it from a sample pair, into a production model. Twitter has taken that to a whole new level. Celebrity sneakerheads seem to enjoy showing off their latest pick-up as much as the rest of us. Although many, like Wale, seem to have the hottest upcoming release months in advance, a few others have been jumping in on the action lately in even more creative ways.

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The World’s Happiest Cities: San Francisco

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MMMM!!!According to a recent Forbes survey, San Francisco was ranked as the 7th Happiest City in the world (the only city in the US). I’m biased of course, but recently attended an event at Union Square that celebrated the 40th Anniversary of the Woodstock. More specifically the performance of The Who’s Tommy, and Pinball Wizard. To celebrate, 100’s of people showed up, and after an amazing performance presented by Wolfgang’s Vault, the crowd had there chance to play their finest air guitar rifs.

Since I haven’t been to The City since my move to Austin, I had to at least partake in some clam chowder, and of course, some people watching. SF is a goldmine for people watchers like myself, especially with a camera in hand. Some of my favorite things about The City are the amount of skateboarding, bicycling, and overall activeness that goes on. This particular day I was able to catch a trio of skateboarders with an incredible amount of determination. Check out some of the pictures of them, and the Flash Mob below.

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