Kenin's & Ka. Pliskova's Fila Tennis Shoes

 Here are some close-up shots of the Fila Axilus 2 Energized (limited edition) shoes worn by Karolina Pliskova and Sofia Kenin during the 2020 U.S. Open grand slam tournament.

Karolina Pliskova

Sofia Kenin

Although I like the colour, I'm not particularly turned on by the "F" symbol.  It makes the shoes look like a second-tier brand - a cut below Mizuno, Asics, New Balance, etc..  It looks more like a sewn-on tag that you'd find on the inside of a shirt, telling you how to wash it.  Ha ha!!

Under Armour Shoes Discarded

Have you seen these shoes?  They are the Under Armour Valsetz RTS 1.5 WP tactical boots.  The police are on the hunt for these to help track down a missing man.

They were worn and possibly discarded by a 34-year-old schizophrenic man who usually takes long walks in bare feet.  He wears a size 10 and is located in Victoria BC, Canada.  Anyone who sees these shoes shouldn't touch them and should contact the police right away.

*Yeah right.  Good luck telling that to a shoe junkie.*

More details can be found in this article.  

If you like these boots, you can purchase them here.

Springy Shoes (Mizuno Wave Rider 24)

Remember the Enerzy technology Mizuno introduced earlier this year that I mentioned in this link?  Welp, it piqued my curiosity and I've decided to experience "the bounce" for myself.  These came in a couple of weeks ago.

From having tried these on indoors, I can attest to Mizuno's technological claims.  You can feel the cushioning but it's firm enough that you can feel your forward momentum being propelled as you push off.  You will also be able to the extra bounciness when you jump and land.  I'm a heavier-weighing guy so it will definitely absorb a lot of the shock my knees and back would take on without.

There are other shoe models that have this springy technology in them.  If you want to try out the Enerzy technology I will provide the direct links for your convenience:

• Men's Wave Rider 24 (green) (grey) (GTX) (Waveknit)
• Men's Wave Sky 4 (black)
• Women's Wave Rider 24 (ice blue) (GTX) (Wknt - pink) (Wknt - black)
• Women's Wave Sky 4 (arctic ice)

GTX = Goretex:  It means the shoe is completely waterproof.  Good for hiking or running in wet weather.

Shapovalov vs. Korda

Here, we have Denis Shapovalov's Nike Air Zoom Vapor X Knit shoes and Sebastian Korda's pink Adidas Adizero Ubersonic 2s in a first-round match at the 2020 U.S. Open.

The black Adidas stripe is not scrape-worn.  It's simply on 

there by design.  Sure fooled me.

Don't forget the outsole.  It obviously matters to the 

shoe designers.

Shoes that 19 Celebrities Wear to the Gym

 

I came across this article and picked out what I think showed the more interesting shoes of the bunch.

Rosie Huntington-Whitely

Naomi Watts

Reese Witherspoon

Sofia Vergara

Taylor Swift & Gigi Hadid

Jessica Alba

Khloe Kardashian

Jordana Brewster

Here's another list of celebrities in athletic shoes.

Naomi Osaka's Pink Nikes

 Below is some screen captures I pulled from the TSN broadcast of the U.S. Open 2020.  These are the custom-coloured Nike Air GP Turbos, with the message:  "Home is where the heart is" written on them.

Clash of the Colourfuls (Serena vs. Pironkova)

Here we not only have two really good tennis players duking it out in the 2020 U.S. Open quarter-finals to advance to the next round, but the two pairs of shoes are competing for something in their own right - the shoe lovers' attention!!  What you like depends on whether or not you like the plum purple more than the diva pink.

In case you're wondering, Tsvetana Pironkova sports the Asics GEL-Resolution 7, while Serena Williams counters with customized NikeCourt Flare 2, a variation only she has access to.  No wonder it's so hard to find out the shoe model name for these Nikes.

Below are a pair of zoomed-out pictures of these shoes.

Novak Djokovic & His Shoes Got Kicked Out

It looks as though Djokovic and his Asics Court FF Novaks won't be seen for the rest of the 2020 US Open Tournament.

 No, it's not because he has a bad left shoulder.

It's because he hit a line judge while casually whacking the ball back towards the wall in frustration of his underperformance.  It wasn't even hit all that hard but it struck her square in the Adam's Apple resulting in her gagging.  This took place on Sunday, September 6, 2020.

After some careful thought and analysis, the chair umpire was forced to make Novak yield the match to his opponent, Pablo Carreno Busta, and will forfeit all of his prize money accumulated in 2020 US Open tournament, as well as all the ranking points he has accumulated from his tournament match wins.

Interesting read:  Lineslady harassed & death-threatened

Jamal Murray's #BlackLivesMatter Tribute

Canadian NBA star of the Denver Nuggets was overcome with emotion when asked about his shoes and what they stood for after his team's win on Saturday evening.

His left shoe has a sketching of Breonna Taylor and his right shoe bears George Floyd's face.  Pretty boring pair of shoes otherwise but the nice artwork made these hightops blog-worthy.

Interesting read:  George Floyd hoax

More Kobe Bryant Tributes

Sunday, August 23 would've been Kobe Bryant's 42nd birthday.  Some of you may have already seen these previous Kobe-tributed sneakers.  In memory of Kobe's passing in the helicopter accident earlier in the year, here are some more Kobe-based artistic showings:

Expensive Shoes Stolen in Break-and-Enter in Nanaimo

Several pairs of Gucci and Yeezy shoes worth hundreds of dollars taken in break-in June 8 

NANAIMO NEWS STAFF / Jun. 8, 2020 / 4:15 p.m. / LOCAL NEWSNEWS 

Nanaimo RCMP are counting hundreds of dollars worth of shoes among the items that went missing in a recent break-and-enter. 

Police in Nanaimo have listed Yeezy and Gucci shoes valued at hundreds of dollars among items 

taken in a break-and-enter at a residence in Harewood on the weekend. (Photo submitted)

According to police, the incident happened Sunday, sometime between 1 a.m. and 1 p.m., at a townhouse in the 300 block of Hillcrest Ave. in Harewood. 

The homeowner told police he and his roommates were asleep during the break-in and had forgotten to lock their door before retiring for the night. 

The items taken, which also included a Gucci wallet, were near a door which was found open. 

Investigators canvassed the area nearby and learned that a man was seen near the residence at approximately 6 a.m. on the day of the break-in. He was described as caucasian, six feet tall, with a slim build, in his mid 20s and was wearing white sweatpants, white shoes and a white-and-black-striped hoodie. 

Items taken in the break-and-enter include Gucci shoes in white with a red lip design, Adidas Yeezy shoes with green mesh, Yeezy shoes in brown and black, and a yellow wallet with a red and white embroidered snake design. The contents of the wallet included debit and credit cards, Vancouver Island University student ID and a Chinese government ID card. 

All debit and credit cards were immediately cancelled and no fraudulent activity has been reported. 

Anyone with information about the the stolen items or the man seen near the residence is asked to call the Nanaimo RCMP non-emergency line at 250-754-2345.

Evolution of the Reebok Logo

I was never a fan of the old Reebok slash-mark logo.  I didn't think it looked good at all and the form became obtrusive when trying to design the look of the shoe based on that.  However, there is the occasion when that logo blends in well with the shoe design.  Have a look at this example.  The logo "dictates" the design, but I digress.  Below are the iterations of Reebok's past logos:

The 2014 logo is their most current logo to this date.  The delta logo is used to symbolize what the (shoe) company wants to promote - a change for the better in social, mental, and physical health.  Our bodies are meant to move and getting physically active on a regular basis addresses those issues.  Matt O'Toole, head of the global brand explains:

Further thoughts on this topic can be read here.

I like the delta logo much better.  It's more aesthetically pleasing, more modern and more relevant.  The logo doesn't look so out-of-place and you don't have design the shoe based on this logo just to make the shoe look good.  Here is a screen capture of the Crossfit Nano 5.0 from the video:

To see my custom-coloured version of this shoe model, refer to this post.  You can slap the delta logo on many more design styles than the streak-slash logo, without making it look out of place.

Altra Superior 4.0 Trail Runners

For those who have narrow heel and midfoot but wider in the forefoot, look to the Altra-branded shoes.  These ones caught my eye so I will showcase these.  Gotta love the colorway with the line-art mountain range drawn over the shoe's midfoot area.