Finally, Play as the G.O.A.T.

I always dreamed of playing as Michael Jordan in video games as far back as The Super Nintendo days. For some reason, Jordan never allowed the video game rights to use his name in the game. The companies would use a bald guy who looked like Michael and wore a #23 jersey. The thing that was missing was the name "Michael Jordan". In all past games, that guy wearing # 23 was named "Player" because of the rights to use the name Michael Jordan not given to the companies by Michael himself.

For the first time in history, the name Michael Jordan will be used in the game NBA 2K11. Jordan will also grace the cover as you can see in the picture. The game will be released on October 5th 2010 and I look forward to playing with Jordan for the first real time in a video game!

A New York Landmark!

For food that is! Shake Shack in NYC is by far the best burger I have had in all the years I have lived in this food filled city. The last time I attempted to get some food at the shack, the line must of had about 200 people on it and I rightfully turned around and went down the block to "GoodBurger" who are not shabby themselves.

This weekend, I made sure to get to Shake Shack early enough to beat the lunch rush and when I arrived, there was no line. I ordered a Shack Burger with their special "shack sauce" and to be honest with you, it was SLAMMIN! The fries were good but nothing to boast about. They also have a long list of drinks, concretes, and custards to choose from. I have to say the strawberry milkshake I had was also really good.

Shake Shack is all over food network every other week for their renowned burger and rightfully so! I agree with all the critics. If you have not had a chance to get down to Madison Square Park in Manhattan, I suggest you make plans to grab a bite. Be prepared to stand in line.

NYC Belongs to STAT

No Lebron in the Big Apple? Who cares! I really did want Lebron to come to the Big Apple but after seeing the way things panned out on Thursday night at 9pm est, I was happy the Knicks did not bring in the biggest Diva in the NBA to MSG to lead the Knicks.

I am not going to turn this into a I hate Lebron blog, but lets just say he went from being my favorite player to the player I hate the most.

The Knicks did not come up empty handed though because we brought in a force in the paint. Something the Knicks have missed for years since Patrick Ewing's departure. Amare Stoudemire is by far the Knicks best player since the Ewing days. The Knicks like the other 5 teams have moved on and will focus on getting Amare familiar with the team and city and hopefully things for the Knicks will begin to pick up.

Nike SB "Independence Day"

Nike SB released a special pair of shoes to commemorate the celebration of the birth of a great nation, the United States of America. The shoes featured an all american design which included a blue denim design coupled with red, white, and blue colors. Last but not least, there was an American Flag on the tongue and and on the back of the shoes.

The Independence Day SB's were inspired by the album cover of Bruce Springsteen's album, "Born In The USA" which was released years ago. Notice the resemblance in the pictures. The shoes were only released in 3 stores nationwide all of which were located in NJ for some reason. It is rumored that the rest of the U.S. will receive their shipments midway through July. I of course got a pair but had to wait in line for an hour and a half with about 25 other people. Well worth the wait as this pair is much nicer in person than in the pictures. It is said to be a quick strike release so be sure to plan accordingly if you want to secure a pair. Happy Birthday USA.

-Mandingo

Arod Speaks Volumes

The Yankees beat up on the Seattle Mariners on Thursday night. Arod hit a homer in the 8th inning which he mistook for a walk-off home run as he rounded the bases, until he was informed by teammates that it was only the bottom of the 8th inning. He acknowledged his mistake and during his post game interview with the media, Arod was standing in front of his locker to give the interview.

As you can see in the picture, inside of Arod's locker are several boxes of Nike PE's. The giveaway is that the box is marked by a piece of white paper instead of a regular Nike box tag. That is the way PE's get packaged and marked for the players they are made for. An interesting picture to say the least.

The Fat Tongue is Back!

Nike SB has finally brought back the fat tongue SB's that skate boarders and SB fans like myself have been crying out loud for. This pair of Nike "Chromeball Incident" SB's are slated for release in July. They released a few days early in London and when I came across a shop selling it today, it did not take long before I had my pair on the way to my house.

Nike took away the beloved fat tongue out of their SB's for quite some time to the dislike of many fans. This is the first model to be released with the stuffed tongue in years. Keep things original NIke, thats what the fans want! Get yourself a pair as this color way is clean and summer ready!

Jordan XI Concord "45" Sample

Here is a piece of Air Jordan History for you. The Air Jordan XI Concord "45" Samples popped up on ebay. Here is the catch, this Buy It Now price of $1249 is only for one shoe (right). None the less, this is extremely rare and is one of the hardest pairs of Jordans to find. This pair is grail status to many collectors.

The samples were produced in extremely limited numbers and the "45" on the back represents Michael Jordans # 45 that he wore when he un-retired the first time. The shoes were produced in 1995 and since then have escaped collectors around the world. They were never released in stores and never available to the public. Just MJ had pairs he wore to play and there are very few samples around the world. Here is your chance to own one shoe as they are up on ebay for sale by logmein. The price for one shoe is steep at $1249, but if this was a pair instead of one shoe, this could easily fetch well over that. It is a rarity to see these concords pop up on ebay, so enjoy it and if you have the urge to put the shoe in your collection, Congrats!

Ron Artest's Lakers "Champions" Official Video

The Lakers won the NBA Championship last week and Ron Artest being the outgoing rebel that he is known for, told the world that he would release a rap single. It did not take long for him to hit the mic and put together this track further telling the world about the L.A. Lakers Championship.

The single sounds clean. Maybe the kid from Queens has a future after the NBA. Artest might play for the Lakers but he loves his hood in Queens Bridge, NY as he always mentions. Queens Bridge has produced some heavy hitters in hip hop such as Nas, Capone and Noreaga, and Mobb Deep to name just a few of many. Ron has came a long way since the day of the Brawl in the Palace in Detroit but with that swag and attitude, no matter who he plays for, he will always be a NYC kid.

Mark Sanchez signed to Jordan Brand?

I would like to welcome you to the first installment of my blog. Kicks, Life, NewYork. Use this as a hangout, a place to chop it up, a place to view new sneakers, older sneakers, historic sneakers, sports news, and everything having to do with life, culture and of course the big apple, New York City. Lets break the ice!

Mark Sanchez and the Jets opened up their early summer mini camp on June 16th at the new Meadowlands stadium. To the surprise of many sneaker fans, and memorabilia/player exclusive collectors, Sanchez was rocking a pair or Air Jordan Player Exclusive III cleats. For those of you who may not know, Michael Jordan has a team of athletes who is under contract with his company to wear his footwear/apparel on and off the field.

Player exclusives are not your normal pair of sneakers that you can buy at your local Footlocker. Player Exclusives (PE's) are sneakers/cleats made specifically for a certain player, only in his size, in extremely limited numbers, and given only to that player. They are not sold in stores and you obtaining a pair is extremely difficult. Of course, pairs will leak and find their way into a collectors closet but that is still no easy task.

A couple pictures from the Jets practice leaked and showed up on Niketalk courtesy of forum member: bullets14. As you can see, Sanchez has on a pair of cleats in the green color of the New York Jets along with black resulting in a very subtle and clean pair of PE's.

Team Jordan Brand currently has 4 NFL members whom are:

1. Dre Bly (49ers)
2. Michael Crabtree (49ers)
3. Dwight Freeney (Colts)
4. Jason Taylor (Jets)

As you can see from the 4 person list, Marks new teammate Jason Taylor is on Jordan Brand and has been a long time member. Did he get Sanchez the hookup? No one knows at this point and it has yet to be proven if Sanchez is truly on Team Jordan Brand but for the sake of myself and other collectors, I sure do hope to see Sanchez wearing more player exclusives in the upcoming season. Hopefully a pair or 2 finds its way into my hands, but we will leave that discussion for another day.

J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets