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Sunday, March 30, 2008

The Converse Blog: Road Trip

Hi all, just wanted to stop by and let you know that I won't be posting this week, at least Monday or Wednesday. I am going on a road trip with some of my friends. We don't know where we're going or when we're going to get there and I can't wait. I just wish we'd find our way to a Converse store. Regardless take this break and think about some stories you might have involving you and your Cons. Email them and I'll post some up.

Friday, March 28, 2008

The Converse Blog's Friday Flashback Converse Dr.J

Today we return to the Friday Flashbacks with the Converse Dr.J I remember seeing these a few years ago and I completely loved the use of the Dr.J logo. For some reason I was thinking that these came out in 83 for the season the 76ers won the championship. You can tell that they're a link between the past and the future of Converse. The outsole appears to really thin, like the Pro Leathers. The upper, mostly around the ankle, give a glimpse of designs to come.









That's all for the Friday Flashback, if anyone knows more about them let me know. Thanks for stopping in and voting in the poll.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

The Converse Blog's Weapon Wednesday Hook'em Horns

With the NCAA Tournament gearing up again tomorrow and almost everyone checking their brackets, I thought I'd honor the only hope I have of winning my pool. Since Davidson decided to completely own Georgetown, I am in trouble. See I had the Hoyas winning the whole thing. However, I did so well in the first round, 28 of 32 games, I still have to chance to win. The only way that happens is if Texas makes it to the championship game.

I thought this might be a good time to show some Texas love and share a photo of a Texas Orange pair of Weapons.



I am really impressed with the votes that we've seen on the poll, hopefully they will continue. Thanks for taking a minute to check out The Converse Blog, and remember Hook'em Horns!

Monday, March 24, 2008

The Converse Blog: Dance with who brought you. What's up WKU?

It’s quite simple really; you dance with who brought you. And for Western Kentucky, it was Converse that brought them to the dance, figuratively speaking, but they’ve spent the first two songs dancing with Nike. Now I don’t pretend to know the details or whose fault it really is. But what I do know is that with the exception of two players, Western Kentucky has worn Converse all season long. If you read this blog then you know I’ve been touting WKU as the other Converse school this season. Then when it comes to the tournament they dumb Converse for Nike.

Okay, that isn’t completely true; four players from yesterday’s game still wore Converse. Two of them logged significant minutes with Jeremy Evans and Orlando Mendez-Valdez. Did Converse drop the ball and not get them some new shoes in time for the tournament? Did some of the players loose their shoes and Nike stepped in quickly with some Zoom BB 2’s? Did WKU just decide to change after wearing Converse the whole season? Whatever the reason, what should have been a really exciting run to the sweet sixteen for Converse has turned into one of the biggest question marks of the whole tournament. I’ve never seen a team switch brands of shoes from the regular season to the tournament. I emailed someone with the basketball team for some clarification, but I have not heard back from them.

I am not trying to throw WKU under the bus here, I am just frusterated and decided to rant about it here. I am still rooting for them, there is no question about that. I sure would like to see them take the floor next game in some of the new Team Wade's that Marquette was wearing. Anyway, hopefully I can find out some more information between now and then. Below are pictures of Jeremy Evans followed by Orlando Mendez-Valdez wearing Converse from yesterday's game.





Thanks for checking out the blog, if you have any information about this please let me know. Also thank you for voting in the poll, each poll has gotten more and more votes. Take some time and catch your breath after a wild weekend of hoops, because it starts all over again soon.

Friday, March 21, 2008

The Converse Blog: Friday Flash bulb & Elton Brand!

I know, I know. You're probably wondering where the flashback is, or better yet why the use of a Flash bulb. Well today I am going to recap some of the Converse pics we've seen over the last week or so and even a very surprising video. Also if you read the title of the post, you might have an idea of who is in the video. Lets start with the pictures.


A couple of games ago, the 76ers played the Magic, and this happened. Now I am not sure what the end result was, but I do know it was a perfectly timed shot. Here Andre Miller is wearing the 099 and Maurice Evans is wearing the Hops.


It took some time, but Kyle Korver has finally been rolling out in some PE Converse Hops. Both feature the light blue of the Jazz.





Yesterday Marquette handed Kentucky their first round one defeat since 1987, and they did it with PE Converse Team Wades.




Some very exciting pictures have surfaced. Below Mr. Elton Brand is shooting before a recent Clippers home game. It's kind of hard to tell, but it looks like he's wearing the Converse Hops.

So then I found a better picture on Getty Images, and it really looks like he's wearing the Converse Hops.


Better yet, I found this video and around the 1 minute mark, well just watch.



Yes, he is most certainly wearing the Converse Hops. Elton Brand with Converse?, that would be amazing. Hopefully he'll see some action before the end of the Season. Well, that's it for this week. I hope you've enjoyed what you've seen. Thanks for checking out the blog and remember to vote in the poll...and cheer on Western Kentucky today against Drake.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

The Converse Blog's Weapon Wednesday

I am back in Lexington for a few days and it's been great. Then I realized almost all of my pictures were on my computer at home. So I had to look around to find some Weapon's today. I did think about not doing some Weapons today and talk about the whole Kurt Cobain backlash that seems to be going on. That may come tomorrow though, because I did end up finding some Weapons.



To the best of my knowledge these were part of a pack for a specific store, I am not completely for sure so I don't want to mislead you. There are a few shades of grey, off white, and red. Thanks for checking out the blog, remember to vote in the poll and spread the word about the Converse Blog.

Monday, March 17, 2008

The Converse Blog: Catching up with Wade

I haven't spoken much about Dwyane Wade on here recently. He has shut it down for this season, something that probably should have happened sooner. He never really looked healthy all year, so this is really good for Wade, the Heat, and Converse. It is believed that Wade will be healthy enough to play in the Olympics. Were he might debut a new shoe or a new colorway of the Wade 3.0. Either way, the next Wade shoe to debut will be when Marquette plays Kentucky in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.


Recently kicks and the city posted video of the shoes, and here are some pics. These are the Converse Team Wade. They will be released in team colors for next basketball season. I can't wait to see Marquette on Thursday come out in these unique shoes made just for them.







It looks like Kentucky has a sizeable lead on the poll, but anything could happen between now and the end of the voting. Thanks for stopping by and checking out the blog, good luck in filling out your brackets!

Friday, March 14, 2008

The Converse Blog's Friday Flashback - Odessa

The as I mentioned on Wednesday the weather is changing. It's getting warmer now that March is here. Which means people will ditch their treadmills for a more natural walk, jog, or run. On a side note, do people still jog? Anyway, back in the early 80's Converse was all about the running and jogging. I am not mistaken, this shoe was one of the first tome come from the Converse Bio Lab in early 80's. Yes I am talking about the funky Converse Odessa.




I only have one pic, but it shows you all you need to see. Funky side lace system. But the main reason I love this shoe is the use of the Star in Square logo. If you've been reading for a while, it is my all time favorite Converse logo. And this is one of the only shoes I've ever seen where this logo was the primary logo.

I don't know much else about the shoe, but I do know that this needs to be re-issued, soon. I really think it would be a nice addition to the Converse Century collection. Only time will tell though, but I sure hope to see them again someday.

Before I go I want to give some love to BounceMag.com, last night they ran an interview I did with Jeremy Ripley. Big thanks you Jeremy for not only contacting me about this opportunity but for posting Converse stuff on BounceMag.com. Well, I am out for the weekend.

Oh, I almost forgot, I want to take the time to thank all of the good Wildcat fans from Catspause that have stopped by to vote for UK in the poll. Please take a few minutes and read through some stuff, I hope you like it. Thanks for stopping by the Converse Blog!

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

The Converse Blog's Weapon Wednesday - WKU

Before we get to the Weapons today, I want to take some time to dish out some love to WKU. Last night Western took on Middle Tennessee for the Sun Belt Championship. After a first half that was close, WKU took control in the second half. Never really blowing them out, but they always seemed to be in control. So with that win, Converse now has 100% of their schools in the tournament. I can't think of anyone else that can say that. I was beginning to wonder if I was ever going to talk about Converse in the NCAA tournament again. Now thanks to WKU and Marquette, I can.

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Now that we've had our last good snow of the year, temps are on the rise. Well, until Tree Bark Winter, or whatever they call it these days. Anyway, the point is, bright times are coming. New life is starting to come about; our flowers are beginning to bloom, and the grass is getting greener. Below is a Converse Weapon from either Japan and China, I am not for sure. They're white/neon green/grey in colorway. These have basketballs in the grey design pattern and have a few splashes of neon green. These shoes scream March, bright greens, basketball, white shoes. Enjoy!









Well, that's it for today. As you've probably noticed, the poll closed and with a late push Brandon Roy moved ahead of Chris Bosh for second place. But it was really Steve Nash's show from the beginning. I couldn't agree more with the top three. Who knows, maybe the right people have seen the poll, or perhaps not, either way it was fun. I am working an equally fun and thought provoking poll to debut, possibly later on today. Thanks for reading the blog... or just looking at the pics, that's ok I forgive you.

Monday, March 10, 2008

The Converse Blog: Pro Team New Orleans

NBA All Star weekend, from what I hear is crazy. There are also limited edition kicks released from pretty much every company. My first knowledge of limited edition Converse at All Star weekend was in 2001. That year there was a big party in which Converse announced the signing of Andre Miller and Wally Szczerbiak and Dr. J as an ambassador of the brand. I still remember Wally wearing the Converse Team Madness with Helium during the MTV game and then the All Star game. Only problem was, he never wore Converse again. I've always really be confused by that, so if anyone knows what happened please email me, thank you. Anyway, there was a limit edition Weapon released in a Red/White/Blue colorway.


This year there was a limited edition of the Converse Pro Team. I was fortunate enough to get some pictures below. Big thanks to Matthew Katz for that last two of pics below. I've got a pair of these on the way, so I hope to have more pics posted soon. I just couldn't sleep on these anymore. Enjoy!










Friday, March 7, 2008

The Converse Blog's Friday Flashback: Roll Out!

I'll be up front and honest about something, I can't skate. It doesn't matter what kind, skate boarding, ice skating and especially roller skating. I just never really had a desire to learn, but I did try once. All I ended up doing was stepping on my cousin's feet, a lot. I hadn't thought much about that until a recent event brought back the memories. I won't bore you all with the details, but it was one of those "wanna get away moments." The only problem was that I couldn't get away, and I am not sure I really would have.

Alright before this spirals too far away from what this blog covers, I had better get to the point. If I would have had these skates that night, I probably would have tried to learn again. So if you're reading this, and you know who you are, find these in my size and I'll be on the rink.









That's right, Converse Skates. The most re-issued training shoes from Converse, once came with a set of wheels. Now I apologize for the roughness of these kicks, but I just couldn't pass up the chance to bring you all something unique. As you can see below, these were produced by KR skates, which I assume made all kinds of sneaker skates, but I couldn't find much about the company.



Well, that will do it for today. Go do something you've never done this weekend, who knows you may love it. Thanks for checking out the blog, keep spreading the word about The Converse Blog!

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

The Converse Blog's Weapon Wednesday - Goodbye Good Sir

And just like that, one of the sporting worlds best has hung up his cleats.....for now anyway. Brett Favre will be missed, there is no question about that. I don't know where to rank him on some all time greats list, but I do know he played the game the right way. Dude had fun doing everything, just the way it should be. So today I am doing my part to honor this legend with a pair of Weapons that released a few years ago.






These Weapons are in Packers green and gold, well close enough anyway. I am really sad to him go, if for no other reason than I have a friend that's a huge Packers fan. Now I've got to find something else to rib him about. I'll think of something.

Anyway, thanks for stopping in. If you haven't voted on the poll yet, please do. I'd really like to get to 100 votes, and I think it's on 97. Thanks again and enjoy today!

Monday, March 3, 2008

The Converse Blog: First Look at the Converse Wolf

I've sat on these pictures for a few weeks now. They came from an auction on TaoBao. These retro running shoes will be coming out this fall. According to the catalog they will come in three colorways Olive/Lemon Curry, Fossil/Major Brown, and as pictured below Beluga/Petit Four. They sure don't make color names like they used to. Either way, I've seen all three in the catalog and they're all amazing. I am really geeked about these shoes. I am still wearing my grey suede Phaeton IV that I snagged at Finishline. Still looking for more pairs on eBay, but I haven't had luck.





Well I hope you enjoyed the first look at the Converse Wolf. Look for them in June of this year. Also I want to remind you all of the poll. There are only a few days left to vote, and it looks like the real race is for second place. Brandon Roy has closed the gap on Chris Bosh. I am not wanting to influence the vote, but I just found that interesting. Thank you all for coming to the Converse Blog and enjoy your Monday!