You know The Blot is a huge Monopoly fan. I think it ranks right up there with another Parker Brothers creation, Trivial Pursuit, as two of my all time favorite board games (both games are now owned by Hasbro). But, even with that being said, I don’t think I could pull off this new line of Monopoly x Reebok Reverse Jam Mid sneakers. While the concept is great, the shoes aren't as great as the board game itself.
The sneaker line consists of six different versions of Reebok’s Reverse Jam Mid sneakers, each focusing on a different aspect of the Monopoly board game. The sneaker’s colorways are: Monopoly Board, Monopoly Money, Monopoly Tokens, Monopoly Chance Cards, Monopoly Community Chest Cards and Monopoly Houses. (link)
I am in shock there are so many different versions, but it should mean if you want a pair of the Reebok x Monopoly line of sneakers then at least one style should be available to you. My favorite so far has to be either the classic Monopoly Board or the Monopoly Community Chest Cards Reebok Reverse Jam Mid sneakers.
The Reebok Reverse Jam Mid Monopoly Board and Monopoly Money sneakers are set to drop on August 28th, 2008 and will sell for $84.99. (link) The remaining four styles of the Monopoly x Reebok Reverse Jam Mid line will be released November, 2008. (link)
Today Upper Deck released their Kevin Durant All-Star Vinyl Figure for sale at their online store. The figure commemorates the former Texas Longhorn becoming “the first ever Seattle player to win the NBA Rookie of the Year Award.” (link) The figure comes in three versions: Home Edition (limited to 500), Road Edition (limited to 1,000) and Black Edition (limited to 250). The Home and Road Edition Kevin Durant vinyl figures are being sold for $74.99 while the Black Edition retails for $99.99. You can also purchase the Kevin Durant Dual Pack for $149.99 which includes two Kevin Durant All-Star Vinyl Figures, one Road Edition and one Black Edition.
I think Upper Deck moved a little too quick to make a Kevin Durant All-Star Vinyl Figure. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge fan of Durant, but I’m always hesitant to buy any sports collectible of an athlete in their professional jersey because of the way players today tend to jump to a new team as soon as their contract is up. Considering this is only Durant’s first year on the Seattle Sonics, what’s to say he doesn’t end up playing somewhere else in 3-4 years and is ultimately remembered for playing on his second, third or even fourth team. On top of that, it is almost a given than the Sonics will be leaving Seattle in the next few years, meaning these figures will be obsolete in no time.
In fact, the owner of the Sonics has already said he’d be happy to leave the team name, colors and records in Seattle for a future franchise to take over. That would mean Durant’s team would have new jerseys, colors and a new team name as soon as next year once the team is relocated to Oklahoma City. I don’t see how anyone could justify spending $75 on a figure that could be out of date in less than 6 months. The argument from Upper Deck that while “the future home of the Sonics may be up in the air, Seattle will always be the site of Kevin Durant's rookie campaign” just doesn’t cut it for me. (link) It’s really too bad Upper Deck didn’t make a Texas Longhorns variant figure of Durant, because The Blot would scoop up one of those bad boys in a heart beat.
Congratulations to Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, who yesterday was awarded the 2007-08 NBA Most Valuable Player award. Wow, what a long wait it’s been. After finally winning the MVP award after being in the league for 12 years, Kobe “matched the longest wait in NBA history before winning a first MVP award.” (link) The wait is understandable since Kobe entered the league at the young age of 17 after being the first guard to ever forgo college and be drafted into the NBA straight from high school.
Bryant led his LA Lakers to the best record in the Western Conference and the team improved upon its record from last year with an increase of 15 wins. He was rewarded for his efforts this season by being selected the league’s top player with 82 first place votes and 1105 total points. (link) Coming in second was New Orleans Hornets All-Star point guard Chris Paul who garnered 28 first place votes and 889 total points. The vote ended up not being as close as some “experts” first thought. Bryant is the fourth LA Laker to be named league MVP and is looking to lead his team back to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2003-2004. The three other Los Angeles Lakers to win the NBA MVP award are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Ervin “Magic” Johnson and Shaquille O’Neal.
Kobe’s first MVP award is the culmination of an already decorated career that includes 3 NBA World Championships, named to the First Team All-NBA Team 5 times, named to the First Team All Defensive Team 5 times, selected to the NBA All-Star Team 10 consecutive times, 2 time NBA All-Star MVP, 1997 NBA Slam Dunk Champion and 2 time NBA Scoring Champion. (link) With no signs of slowing down, the future of both Kobe Bryant and the LA Lakers looks bright for years to come.
Also, if you haven't seen the very cool Nike commercial for Kobe's Hyperdunk Shoes where he jumps over a speeding Aston Martin you should really check it out below:
