Todd Bratrud has once again put his lighter up to a new Nike SB Dunk High collaboration, and the result is as smooth and satisfying as anything we’ve seen from Swoosh Skateboarding all year.  The Skatepark of Tampa-connected Dunk High SB ‘Cigar’ takes its inspiration from the Ybor City section of town famous for its production of fine tobacco products, though we can’t help but wonder if anything quite as nice as this specially-packaged pair of SB Dunks was ever created there.  The suede on these is just top-notch, and paired with a dope tobacco-textured side panel to finish off the deluxe feel.  These are sure to fly off shelves wherever they’re stocked, so be prepared when they hit Nike SB retailers like Michigan’s Premier starting tomorrow at noon local time.

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The well-respected and oft-poignant sneaker aggregate known as Crooked Tongues has teamed up with suede-and-mesh masters New Balance for a sick duet of New Balance M1500s. Going against the grain of typicall sneaker teasers and previews, Crooked Tongues has decided to show the entire shoe – in deconstructed form. Two colorways of the Crooked Tongues x New Balance M1500 will drop in mid-October – an Orange/Black/Grey variety and a Moss Green/Hunter green join; although we a get a complete look at a colorway on a sneaker model we are all familiar with, somehow the tension and anticipation mounts up. Check out both colorways below and stick with Sneaker News for more information as it develops.

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Michael Jordan’s passions outside of the game of the basketball are reflected in each and every Air Jordan design. For example, the Air Jordan XVII was designed after Michael’s passion for jazz music, as seen on the musical notes used to inspire the design on the upper, and golf, which can be seen on the outsole traction of the sneaker, which mirrors a golf course. Golf has been one of Michael’s favorite recreational hobbies after he officially retired from the NBA, and he certainly goes through holes one through eighteen in style, with this custom Air Jordan golf bag that features his six NBA Championships rings stitched proudly on the side. We also have a look at another custom golf bag, which features Air Jordans all around. Definitely one of the cooler bits of Air Jordan goodies, so take a look below and let us know what you think. via TerezOwens.

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Sneaker Pimps just concluded tour stops in Atlanta and Miami, and are already on the move to the next US metropolis for another dope sneaker-centric meetup.  Sneaker Pimps Chicago is sponsored in part by Sneaker News and will open its doors at the House of Blues in Chi-town this Friday, September 23rd with two of Brooklyn’s finest MCs, Mos Def and Talib Kweli providing the soundtrack to your buy/sell/trades.  SP has a knack for securing big name hip-hop acts for their events; how does Black Star stack up against some of the other recent performers like Raekwon/Ghostface and (The) Game?  Let us know what you think and if you plan to attend and stick with Sneaker News for event recaps from around the world.

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Starting in late July, Sneaker News was stuffed to the gills with news of new fragment design collaborations with Nike Sportswear for something like six weeks, and now after a short cooldown period, the hype is starting to manifest in some clean new kicks at retail.  Check out the new fragment design x Nike Tennis Classic Velcro in three white leather colorups that illustrate Hiroshi Fujiwara’s tendency to be a few steps ahead of the pack.  These three are distinguished by the accent color hits on their heels and have just dropped in Japan, so click through to see more images and stick with Sneaker News for updates regarding US availability.  via Houyhnhnm

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Nike’s Lunar foam cushioning platform debuted during the huge Olympic push of 2008 alongside Flywire on the original Zoom Hyperdunk, but it’s taken three generations to get LunarLon just right to stand alone as the sole, well, sole stuff, for one of Nike Basketball’s performance releases.  And there’s no Flywire on these, but a super-breathable featherweight Hyperfuse upper means the Nike Lunar HyperGamer will be able to compete with the Swoosh’s top two non-signature series.  Here’s a look at the Lunar HyperGamer in four new colorways, a set that’s done half in Oklahoma City Thunder colorways, perhaps foreshadowing sneaker journeyman Russell Westbrook’s adoption of the model when the NBA season finally begins.  There’s also one you’d call out for being a Sacramento Kings colorup along with one classic ‘Blackout’ look, so click through to see ‘em all, let us know how they rank and stick with Sneaker News for the US release dates.  via Kenlu

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In business, just like the sports world, sometimes a shake up in management can be just the right catalyst to push a team further towards the promised land. While Gentry Humphrey’s run at Jordan Brand has brought us some bold initiatives and unforgettable sneaker releases, everything comes to an end and it was recently announced that he would be leaving Jordan to take on a juicy new role across campus with Nike. Sneakerhead critics of the coarser breed have been discussing this for years, complaining of uninspired design and overdependence upon the past as reasons Jordan Brand might need a new man at the helm.  But just as the president of the United States can’t just wave a magic wand to fix the economy, Gentry Humphrey leaving his role as head Jumpman isn’t going to instantly transform Jordan Brand into some kind of utopian fantasy where everybody’s wishes are catered to individually – but it just might mean some big things for Nike Sportswear.

Humphrey had been working with Jordan since the brand was spun off from Nike Basketball in the late ’90s and now finds himself working with Nike Sportswear as the Product Creation Lead for Basketball and Football.  He’ll be leading NSW’s push to outfit the off-court/field activities for those sports’ cultures and promises to “introduce a few things that people will say ‘Damn…’!”  Let us know what you think about the move and Gentry’s tenure atop Jordan Brand, and be sure to stick with Sneaker News for all kinds of upcoming developments, because Humphrey says we’re going to see quite a bit from the Air Force 1 approaching its 30th anniversary!  Get over to TSG for a full interview with Gentry Humphrey explaining all this and more.

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Compton, CA native and hip-hop up-and-comer Kendrick Lamar was recently spotted at Club Nikki in Las Vegas, performing live in front of crowd this past Friday night. Kendrick’s name is one you should be hearing a lot in the near future, as his recently released album Section.80 has been widely acclaimed by critics and peers. During his performance, Lamar wore the Air Jordan 1 Retro in the original Black/Red colorway. Are these the ‘Banned’ AJ1s that dropped earlier this year? The Jumpman label on the tongue says they are indeed not, but still a sick pair of kicks nonetheless. Check out Lamar’s kicks after the jump and stick with Sneaker News for more Celebrity Feet coverage! via spyonvegas.

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Until about eight days from right now, the term ‘KITH’ is/was an expression used by fans to abbreviate the title of Lorne Michaels’ Canadian cult classic skit show, Kids in the Hall.  But once Ronnie Fieg’s new retail space in Brooklyn opens next Friday, you’ll start to get Google auto-completes like ‘Kith store’, because the former David Z cohort is building some significant attention with one of the most luxurious collaborative projects to date in his long-running relationship with Asics.  The new Ronnie Fieg x Asics Gel Lyte III ‘Salmon Toe’ has an air of distinction that’s just a hair above his tonal suede designs, a premium feel thats enhanced by some of the nicest engraved wooden shoeboxes we’ve seen.  A mere 72 pairs of these will be released at the Kith opening on September 30th at 11am EST, the first 40 lined up with a chance to grab the complete collector’s edition set with tee shirt and wooden dog tags. For those of you not in the NYC area, the Salmon Toes will release simultaneously at the brand new Kith website. Check out some detailed images of the ‘Salmon Toe’ Gel Lyte IIIs along with some sketches and a video showing how the packaging came to be, and let us know if you’ll be lined up in Flatbush at the end of the month.

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The ‘Year of the Rabbit’ edition only featured a bit of red on its mostly black body, which means that the Air Jordan 2011 flagship didn’t have so much as a single true ‘bred’ colorway release all year.  That left room for the Hyperfuse-equipped Q Flights to fill that void and now the newest Air Jordan 2011 A Flight will join that group, solidifying one of the AJ Legacy’s key looks on this year’s tech revisions.  Much like the Q Flight, this Flywire-infused A Flight sees its black upper framed in intense Varsity Red, a translucent sole adding to the premium feel.  Click through to see more angles and look for these at Jordan Brand retailers like Corporate.

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The Nike SB Zoom Stefan Janoski is a shoe whose colorways have historically been tamer than its Nike SB brethren. A few of the recent samples we’ve seen, take the ‘Wino’ for instance, have shown that the Janoski’s can rep an off the wall colorway as well as any model, but for the most part this sneaker keeps it simple. The latest is this midnight fog version, coming in a dark suede upper that lands somewhere between grey and black. Check out the full images of this Nike SB Zoom Stefan Janoski after the jump and if you like what you see then hit up Flatspot for your pair.

Nike SB Zoom Stefan Janoski
Midnight Fog/Black/White

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The recent return of the OG Air Trainer SC IIs was more than welcome with the rabid cult following it’s built in recent years as the demand for a retro release built to a fever pitch.  Here’s another model that was more obscure upon its debut and will probably always remain as such relative to the SC IIs, but the folks who are going to be into these should probably sit down before reading this.  A trio of Air Kukunis were previewed around the turn of the year and judging by how long it’s been, you can consider them all but nixed.  But this might not be entirely bad news, as perhaps Nike Sportswear was just clearing the way for the new Nike Kukini Free.  It’s such an obvious match to have the Kukini’s elasticized skeleton lockdown system paired with the super-responsive Free 5.0 sole, and almost shocking when you consider how close in time these two looks debuted.  Then again, it also goes to show how much the industry used to be regimented in its design when compared to the modularity that abounds with today’s ever-growing expanse of hybrids.  So this is not only a dope minimalist runner, but also a statement on the last decade-plus of design evolution, and these three pairs should be in stores next summer.  via CK

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