adidas Basketball Unleashes The Bull
MVP Derrick Rose’s adiZero Rose 2 Signature Basketball Shoe Featured in New adidas Global Campaign
adidas unveiled its marketing campaign to promote Derrick Rose’s new signature basketball shoe, the adiZero Rose 2. “The Bull” is a 60-second spot that celebrates one of basketball’s most exciting players and showcases his athleticism, fearlessness and basketball prowess.
“The adiZero Rose 2 is built for my speed so you better want to be fast if you wear this shoe,” said Rose, basketball’s youngest ever MVP. “It’s stable and light so it plays great on the court, but it’s also really clean so you can rock it and look real nice off the court. I felt like a gladiator when I laced them up to film ‘The Bull,’ and I hope everybody likes how we show my new shoes to the world.”
Filmed in Madrid, the spot opens with Derrick released from a gate as “The Bull” to a frenzied crowd in a bullfighting arena. After sizing up matador and picadors, Derrick drives into the bullring in his signature shoes using his speed, agility and strength to blow by and overpower opponents that represent his real on-court rivals. Created by 180LA, directed by Stacy Wall and featuring music by DJ/producer Araab Muzik, the spot features authentic Spanish bullfighters in their traditional costumes. Read more
Study Shows Lace-up Ankle Braces Keep Athletes on the Court
Lace-up ankle braces can reduce the occurrence of acute ankle injuries in male and female high school basketball players, according to research presented at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine’s Annual Meeting in San Diego. The study demonstrated that the braces are effective for athletes both with and without a history of ankle injury.
“We wanted to see whether the use of lace-up ankle braces is a viable option for injury prevention in high school basketball players,” said lead researcher, Timothy A. McGuine, PhD, ATC, with the University of Wisconsin-Madison. ”Basketball has one of the higher rates for ankle injuries, and this study illustrates how a simple brace can help keep an athlete on the court.”
Acute ankle injuries are typically the result of a traumatic event, often caused by the sudden stops and starts common to a sport like basketball, and can include sprains and fractures. Read more
NCAA Men’s College World Series Tickets Available on Flash Seats
Veritix, the Cleveland-based ticketing technology company, will provide the technology platform to sell tickets for the games at the 2011 NCAA Men’s College World Series.
For the first time, Flash Seats, the patented digital ticketing platform from Veritix, will be used to buy, sell, transfer and deliver tickets to the games being played from June 18-28/29 at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha.
“The CWS is a premier sporting event and the demand for tickets has increased significantly in recent years,” said Dennis Poppe NCAA vice president of football and baseball. ”The NCAA’s agreement with Veritix provides our fans with a legitimate and safe means to purchase tickets on the secondary market.”
The tickets are available on a College World Series and NCAA endorsed Flash Seats marketplace (http://cws.flashseats.com).
“Once again, our relationship with the NCAA gives us the opportunity to provide a dynamic, convenient, safe and reliable experience for fans – this time for college baseball fans,” said Jeff Kline, president of Veritix. ”It’s a privilege to be working with an organization with the stature of the NCAA and obviously we welcome the opportunity to be involved in the most high-profile and prestigious events in college athletics.”
Veritix signed a multi-year agreement with the NCAA in 2010 to provide primary ticketing services for NCAA Championships, along with advanced ticketing registration for selected NCAA Championships, and continued use of Flash Seats technology.
NBA All-Star Blake Griffin Donates 2011 Kia Optima from Sprite Slam Dunk for Auction to Benefit Stand Up To Cancer
Los Angeles Clippers forward and 2010-11 T-Mobile NBA Rookie of the Year Blake Griffin has donated the autographed 2011 Kia Optima midsize sedan used in his jaw-dropping dunk in the Sprite Slam Dunk at NBA All-Star 2011 for a public charity auction on AutoTrader.com to benefit Stand Up To Cancer.
Proceeds from the auction of the automobile will go directly to cancer research funded by Stand Up To Cancer in tribute to Griffin’s friend and former high school teammate, Wilson Holloway. A Tulsa native, Wilson passed away on February 16 after a three-year battle with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Griffin will work with Stand Up to Cancer to identify the best way to utilize the funds to target research done specifically for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
The auction is now open on AutoTrader.com and will run through 6 PM PT / 9 PM ET on Sunday, May 15. To find out more information and to bid on the auction package, go to www.autotrader.com/BlakeDunk
“I am honored to memorialize Wilson’s legacy by helping to raise funds for cancer research,” said Blake Griffin. “Wilson was an inspiration to everybody who knew him, and a very dear friend and teammate. I dedicated my All-Star weekend to him.”
To further support Griffin’s commitment to raise funds for cancer research in honor of Holloway, Stand Up To Cancer has created a fundraising team called Team Blake: In Honor of My Friend, Wilson Holloway, through which the public can donate any amount of money at www.su2c.org/BlakeDunk. Read more
NBA All-Star Blake Griffin Signs Exclusive Multi-Year Deal With Panini America
Trading card and memorabilia deal places the 2011 NBA All-Star Slam Dunk Champion alongside Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant and John Wall on Panini’s roster of world-class ambassadors
Panini America, the NBA’s exclusive trading card and sticker partner, has inked Los Angeles Clippers slam-dunk sensation Blake Griffin to an exclusive multi-year agreement.
Griffin joins a growing roster of exclusive athletes that are part of the Panini family, including five-time NBA Champion Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers, Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder and John Wall, the No. 1 overall pick of the Washington Wizards in the 2010 NBA Draft. Panini originally signed Griffin to an exclusive rookie deal for the 2009-10 season when Griffin was selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, but Griffin’s season ended early due to injury.
“Panini America will forever hold a special place for me because it’s the company that helped make a dream come true by producing my first NBA trading cards,” Griffin said. ”The opportunity to join the Panini family and work with a company that is at the forefront of innovation and has reinvigorated the trading card category is special.”
As part of the exclusive multi-year agreement, Griffin’s autographs and memorabilia will be found only in Panini products. He also will be featured on Panini products and packaging, as well as in Panini’s national advertising, marketing and social media initiatives. Read more