Michael Vick’s agent Mike Principe felt comfortable enough to say that Vick signed a new endorsement deal with Nike, to which Nike representatives were like “WHOA GUYS PLZ HOLD TEH PHONE.” Okay it went down more like this:
“Nike does not have a contractual relationship with Michael Vick. We have agreed to supply product to Michael Vick as we do a number of athletes who are not under contract with Nike.” official statement
They aren’t endorsing him, but he is getting free things from them as other athletes do in many types of sports without much bravado.
It doesn’t help I crave speed. It doesn’t help I love black and gold color schemes. It doesn’t help they are less than 200$ and my size in Rollerblade Women’s. These Rollerblade 2007 Marathon Carbons are the type of skates I dream about owning. This model was ~300$ when I first saw them two years ago.
I merely dabble in speed skating, nothing compared to the real deals. I have a set of Salomons that have 84mm wheels, and it’s a stretch for me to use them with the state my ankles and right leg are currently. In order to use speed skates (skates with wheels larger than a 84mm diameter), the boot height becomes shorter to allow a deeper knee bend. The lack of support stresses the stabilizing muscles of the legs.
Looking at a skater’s leg, he will not only have well-developed calves with a sweet muscle swell, he will also have the finer, lesser talked of muscles making an appearance. They only really show when flexing or doing a cardio workout — they disappear from the skin under normal circumstances unless the person has no body fat. These muscles are important to have in control when using bigger wheels.
The frames are set wider (maybe “longer” is better — the distance from heel wheel to toe wheel) to accommodate the wheel size. It’s a huge adjustment to go from 80mm wheeled frames to 84mm. The way the weight has to be balanced on the foot becomes much different. When I first moved to my Salomons, I had excruciating shin splints. I even made a piece about it in ceramics one. The two week adjustment period came and went, and it dawned on me that my stance and weight dispersion needed to change. Pushing with 76-80mms involves a diagonal motion in the middle of the foot. My arches were dying in the Salomons with this movement. The key is the push is a solid one with the entirety of the foot, not just one part. Once I changed that, the pain dissipated. I also became aware of how I changed my turning strategy. The wider frames thwart sharp turns, so prepare for a wider turning radius. It’s a drawback, but the increase in speed makes up for the loss of dexterity.
Those of you with a need for speed and 250 dollars to blow, remember to change the way you put your weight in your push or else you will be walking with a limp. I’ll be working on my stabilizers so I can skate without tripping again. Those were the days.
Need to work on your leg stabilizers, too? Do throwing exercises! Line jumping to be exact. Side to sides, front to backs, single and double foot. Be sure to warm up your legs and stretch, especially if you have knee and ankle problems. Theme music is optional.
(3:13:18 PM) KGB1:it’s not a grunt at allll (3:14:43 PM) dnd: lolol (3:15:00 PM) dnd: that’s awsome (3:15:08 PM) dnd: i can’t even make noises like that (3:15:16 PM) KGB1:no idea what to call that (3:16:30 PM) dnd: some sort of mating call
The latest summer Olympics in Beijing saw the international introduction of the LZR Racer suits by Speedo. Michael Phelps wore the suit and got 8 medals. He wasn’t the only one breaking records wearing that thing. So I hear.
Now the kiddies in college and even younger are seeking out the perishable suits at 550$ a pop. The suits are in top form for three meets. After that, the quality drastically falls. Part of their awesomeness is how they fit the swimmer like skin. It stretches after being used and peeled off a few times. Budgets are stopping many teams from getting a set uniform, but those with the money can acquire them. Coaches and committees alike fear there will be a great divide between those competitors with the means and those without. Though the suits have not been scientifically shown to improve performance, the outcome of the Olympic Games this year is leading folks to believe otherwise.
Speedo is offering discounts to some NCAA teams to help combat cost, but many are asking for a ban on the suits in amateur events. An even worse outcome of this mess: kids quitting the sport due to financial issues. How bogus. As reported by the Washington Post, USA Swimming has already banned the suits for 12 years of age and younger. What makes this thing so great, other than look fanfuckingtastic on swimmer bods? Gizmodo’s Jack Lotus gave the lowdown in back in August,
The seams are ultrasonically welded together and the Hyrdo[sic] Form Compression system holds the swimmer’s abdomen and other bits at an optimal position for streamlining. The suit is made up off three pieces, which were cut from a three-dimensional pattern to hug the body more closely. Word on the street is it takes about 15 minutes or so to squeeze into this marvel of modern swimming pool engineering.
It looks like the suit’s awesomeness is equal to a brace for an ankle or a wrist. It provides external support for the muscles and joints with the tension of the fabric. Certain parts require more strength than others due to the nature of the muscle being covered, like the gluts or apparently the hamstrings. The tension is the best when the suit is new, and it breaks down the more it is used and stretched. Wraps suck after a few weeks of constant use. They lose their elasticity. Wraps don’t cost several hundred dollars, though.
People commenting on the article in Deadspin have decided that to end this coming separation is for swimmers to compete in the nude. Works for me.
and making them mad. somehow this isn’t so inspiring.
if this ad was made by a female, i will become sad. if anything, having rotund buns makes it way, way, WAY harder to find clothes in the shops. so fuck you, nike, and you’re treating girls like sexy running things that are primarily here to look good. fuck. off.
Okay. Jaime Nared is 12-years-old and playing on boys’ traveling basketball teams, and she’s not allowed to play on the team anymore because she is too good. This is the 12-year-old level. The gal is already 6′1″ and is schooling the guys. Forget the girls’ teams her age. She beats the pulp out of them, too. Her good friend, Kailee Johnson, is one grade older than her. And 6′2″. They play on the local high school’s girls’ team together. People are pissed about Jaime trying playing with the boys because… well i’m not sure why. And playing on the high school team is pissing off the parents of girls that miiiiight be getting less court time because the middle-schooler is there. Dudes… she’s really good. Chill the fuck out.
For those who don’t play sports, the general tradition of females versus males is that males tend to be faster, stronger, and more agile than females. Males naturally have more testosterone and therefore can retain muscle mass growth better than females. They play at different levels and therefore play on different teams. But skill is pretty arbitrary. Jaime and I can only assume Kailee as well are screwing with that. HAH.
The Chicago White Sox were visited on Wednesday by a dinosaur as a promotion for the Australian-born show, Walking With Dinosaurs, which is to play the United Center August 7th-17th.
i was looking at this fun post on deadspin by Drew Magary about getting in with your lady to be able to watch football, and he links to his old blog, Father knows Shit. He reminds me of Maddox. The blog had a short stint in 2006 — example post about music taste being destroyed by kurt cobain, and he now writes for Kissing Suzy Kolber, which i now realize i should be reading even though it’s mostly about sports.
i’m not saying… i’m just sayin’ is all.
PS: Braylon Edwards’ diamond undone ‘tie’ from the ESPY awards is freaking awesome
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