Michael Jordan’s legendary drive was tested severely in the late ’80s as his Chicago Bulls were ousted from the playoffs by the Detroit Pistons’ ‘Bad Boys’ in three consecutive years.  The second of these was an Eastern Conference Finals loss while MJ was wearing the Air Jordan IV, and with this new Air Jordan 6-17-23‘s translucent outsole sections offering a blue tint that brings to mind images of the AJVI ‘Pistons’, it seems natural to include the AJIV’s signature speckled midsole sections.  It was during the 1991 postseason that Jordan exacted his revenge in the Six, rocking Deeetroit Basketball with a sweep en route to his first of six championships, and while this has little to do with the infused AJXVII elements, it makes for a nice narrative referring to the early part of Jordan’s legend.  Click through to get a better look at this upcoming 6-17-23, stick with Sneaker News for updates on their release and if you wanna grab yours early, look to the limited size run currently available from SneakerApe.

Style: 428817-003
Color: Black/Varsity Red-Cement Grey

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Just who is Lee Hsueh Lin? The 27-year-old point guard from Taiwan is the starting point guard for the Chinese Taipei Men’s National Basketball Team and also the starting 1 for the Yulon Dinos of the Super Basketball League, the top-tier semi-pro basketball league in Taiwan. He’s been nicknamed “the Iverson of Taiwan” not only for his size, but amazing speed, ball-handling, passing, and scoring. Lin was recently spotted with this sweet Nike Zoom Hyperfuse Low PE in a blue and teal green colorway, with a white swoosh and his number 6 jersey number stamped on the lateral heel. Will we see more Nike Basketball PEs for Asian players? Check out Lee Hsueh Lin and his kicks below and let us know what you think. via aaronknows.

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When adidas says they’re ‘All In’, they’re referring to wholehearted efforts from elite performers in an impressively wide range of sports and artistic disciplines, but you could just as easiy apply that saying to Three Stripes’ coverage of the visible spectrum in this latest release.  Check out this baker’s dozen of adidas ClimaCool Ride runners, a model whose multilayered mesh design is something like a more flexible and lightweight take on the SprintSkin premise, or adidas’ answer to Nike Torch.  Competitive comparisons continue with the ClimaCool Ride’s flexible sole resembling Reebok’s smash hit ZigTech cushion, but these manage to come together with a look all their own.  The CC Ride has been crafted in a kaleidoscope of colorways so you can get exactly what you’re after, so be sure to click on the jump below to see the entire run plus a video featuring football icon David Beckham training in a blue pair.

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The closest thing we’ve ever seen to Nike Free on a basketball court was that jaw-dropping freestyle commercial from the mid ’00s, but here’s a case where a grooved runner is seen to follow in LeBron James’ footsteps.  To be fair, we’ve seen plenty of Swoosh runners earn upgrades, and while the Nike Free 3.0 v2‘s name might have you thinking of King James’ current on-court kicks of choice, it’s worth noting that the 3.0 refers to how relatively flexible you’ll find their soles.  At the top end of the range, 7.0s offer the most support, with 3.0s about as close to true barefoot running as you can safely achieve on pavement.  The Free 3.0 v2 offers a considerably more structured look on its upper, though they’re just as lightweight and breathable as the originals.  Click through to see all three spring colorways and grab yours today from NikeStore.

Style: 354574-082
Color: Anthracite/Total Orange-Cool Grey

Style: 354574-301
Color: Neo Lime/Black-White

Style: 354574-400
Color: Blue Spark/Black-White

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Women only! Check out the OFFSPRING pop-up space in Topshop London, one of the largest destination’s for ladies fashion in the world. As if women needed another reason to go shopping, the new OFFSPRING space now delivers the perfect footwear options for the sneaker-conscious girl, with a wide selection from Vans, adidas, Nike Sportswear, Jeremy Scott, Keds, Fred Perry, and Italian brand Superga. The new space features a gorgeous display of today’s hottest women’s kicks, so check it out if you’re in the area and peep the new space below!

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Michael Jordan’s work ethic is the stuff of legends.  He was cut from the varsity basketball squad as a sophomore, which only served to fuel his rise to prominence with a scholarship to UNC where he entered the national spotlight.  Maybe he trained a little too much, cos MJ got so good at the game of basketball that it was no longer a challenge, so he set out to conquer baseball, rebuilding his body in the process.  Upon returning to the NBA in 1995, Jordan was faced with the opposite challenge, stripping away the excess muscle and getting his court legs back and it was this style of training that allowed him to make a repeat-threepeat in his second time around with the Bulls.  The last of those chips was won in a season featuring the Air Jordan XIII, a design inspired in part by the ferocious panther, and it’s with this intensity in mind that the Air Jordan BCT Low was created.  The Black Cat Trainer is reminiscent of the (Air) Trainer 1 family with its forefoot strap, a Stealth and black colorway somewhere in the middle while the bred joints keep that Chicago legacy strong.  The latter is currently out of stock but will be available soon and you can get the ‘Stealth’ BCT Lows right now from NikeStore.

Style: 429505-004
Color: Stealth/White-Black

Style: 429505-001
Color: Black/Varsity Red

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Nike Sportswear was dropping so many of their classic models in late 2008 and into ’09 that some informally dubbed it ‘The Year of Nylon’.  And while this modern classic also debuted two years ago, this is our first look at a pack of Nike Toki NDs done in nylon uppers.  These joints add tonal leather Swooshes and piping to aide their clean lifestyle leanings and pairs in navy, grey and kelly green each offer their own take on effortless summertime style.  Click through for more photos of all three, let us know which one(s) you like and stick with Sneaker News for word on the US release date.  via atmos

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One of the biggest Retro releases of the year is undoubtedly the Nike Air Trainer SC II, and with OG-inspired colorways headed our, the energy surrounding this re-issue is matched by only a select few. Here’s a look at some Holiday 2011 colorways of the Air Trainer SC II High; we’ve got one with a mix of dark grey and purple shades, and two tonal-uppered renditions – one using black with a white midsole and a second with a rich burgundy with an off-white cream tone (should remind you of the Trainer SC 2010 Baseball Glove Pack). These darker tones are certainly more fitting for the Holiday season, so expect these to drop during the last quarter of the year; we’ve got extra images for you below so check ‘em out and let us know what you think. via TSG.

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Tim O’Connor is ‘All In’ with adidas Skateboarding and while you might look at his name and expect a March release of his signature sneaker to come in green, white and orange, this new drop is even more satisfying without the gimmicks.  The latest adidas Skate Campus Vulc Mid with O’Connor’s name printed in gold on its side panels comes with a blue suede construction held together by white contrast stitches plus a gum brown vulcanized sole for maximum board feel.  These are essentially Three Stripes’ answer to the Nike SB Blazer High, so it begs the question, which do you prefer?  Click through to see more of Tim O’Connor’s latest Campus Vulc and grab yours today from Premier.

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As we approach the end of March, Sneaker News’ OG Air Jordan Tournament continues forward, inching closer and closer to the Sneaker News reader-voted best OG Air Jordan of all-time. The actual March Madness games began as well, and the collegiate sneakerheads strutted their sweet kicks for the big spotlight; Space Jams, Playoff XIIs, Bred XIs, you name it, it was worn! NBA players also rocked some freshly squeezed kicks, like Melo’s new PE, Gilbert Arenas’ Foamposites, and Dwyane Wade’s new Air Jordan 2011 PE. LeBron James also debuted a new Player Exclusive colorway of the LeBron 8 V/2, but the big LBJ topic came in the form of a sweet custom pair of Dunkmans, done by Conor Burns aka c4. In other sports, two new Zoom Huarache TR Low PEs came to light (Joe Mauer and Manny Pacquiao), and the skate division of Nike caught our attention with some great upcoming releases like the April 2011 Quickstrike release and the P-Rod releases for Holiday 2011.

The ShoeZeum, the greatest sneaker collection and showcase known to man, made a blockbuster debut last week, but Sneaker News had more in store over the past week. In our continuing coverage, we brought you a look at the ‘Welcome to the ShoeZeum’ exhibit along with Jordan Geller’s astounding Air Jordan collection, which featured some OG gems. If you have thoughts of starting your own ShoeZeum, you can start by amassing some vintage selects, like the three original Air Jordans that went on sale on eBay. Those with sick sneaker collections also showed up at Sneaker Con NYC, which was held last Saturday, and are expected to show up again as Sneaker Con hits to road and makes its first stop in that nation’s capital. Sneaker News also gave you a look at some celeb sneakerheads like Chris Brown and Diggy Simmons, who wore some sick Jays over the last week. The much-anticipated Packer Shoes x Stash x Reebok Pump Graphlite will release soon, with full release info detailed on Tuesday. Finally, Sneaker News continued its Michael Jordan Through The Years feature, focusing on the last shoe Michael wore on an NBA court – the Air Jordan XVIII. There’s plenty to see so stick around and check out this week’s Sneaker News Weekly Rewind.

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With many of the 2007 pairs done in ‘lifestyle’ colorways, 2011 is likely to go down as the biggest year since ’88 for the Air Jordan III.  Pictured above is the second of three originals colorways to see a retro release, the AJ3 ‘True Blue’.  These joints are slated to hit US retailers on June 4th and while a release one month later might have been more poetic for the white leather plus red and blue accented design, we’d pick em up today if a surprise shipment were to occur.  The 2009 retro was notorious for its spotty overseas availability, so here’s hoping you can get a pair, a sentiment that’s likely to grow when you click through to see the latest round of photos. If you can’t wait until June, you can pick up an early pair right now from Air-Randy on eBay.

Style: 136064-104
Color: White/True Blue

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The fourth and final bracket of the Sneaker News March Madness OG Air Jordan Tournament is the Southwest Region, as the Sweet 16 round of play comes to the near close. Again, we’ve got four heavy hitters – one of which is the lone upset thus far in the Tournament – that all have the potential to be the best of all time. The #1 seed is the Air Jordan V Grape, a sneaker that Jordan himself never wore in a game, but is still considered to be one of the best of all time. Will that be enough to advance to the Elite 8? The second matchup pits the historic 72-10 Bred XI against the True Blue III, another all-time favorite. The polls for the entire Sweet 16 round are now open, and you have until Sunday, midnight to get your votes in, so don’t miss out!

SWEET 16 VOTING
West Region
East Region
Southeast Region
Southwest Region

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