Any publicity is good publicity, right? I suppose that’s Nike’s thought here. They’ll be paying the University of Washington Huskies (whose football team is 0-10 and whose basketball team just lost to Portland) $33.8 million over 10 years to gird their athletes’ loins in the Swoosh. The agreement dictates that Nike will provide UW with $2.6 million per year in equipment as well as annual cash payments of $725,000 for their 23 programs. I presume most of them are more successful than their football team. Incentives included, the deal could be worth as much as $39 million.

On a related topic, Washington will meet Washington State Saturday in the Apple Cup, which this year is the Super Bowl of Inferiority. Will UW go winless (losing to Cal is a foregone conclusion)? Is WSU really as bad as they looked in the numerous games in which they gave up 60+ points? Only time will tell, although NikeBlog is predicting a game in which inexplicably both teams are able to lose.

With a Hollywood-style red carpet premier on Thursday, November 20th followed by a wide release date November 22, Nike and Jordan are debuting the Jordan Melo M5 in style.

The shoes itself is designed for the all-around player: the shoe tips the scales at 15 ounces, perfect for the speedy point guard; maximum flexibility for the direction-changing shooting guard; the cushioning of a full Zoom Air sole for banging power forward; extra-padded, molding fit perfect for the small forward; and finally a highly-supportive shank plate for the brutish center.

While the shoe, Carmelo’s fifth with Nike and Jordan, has a patent leather toe clearly reminiscent of the Air Jordan 11 and an upper-pattern that pays homage to the Air Jordan 23, the shoe is actually inspired by Melo’s five favorite AJs: Air Jordan 6, Air Jordan 11, Air Jordan 13, Air Jordan 15, and Air Jordan 23.

Granted I don’t like Carmelo Anthony, but still: I’m just not getting a good vibe from the shoe. First of all, I don’t even think it looks like his own show. It looks like a Jumpman based off of the Air Jordan 23 (and yes, I realize the pattern isn’t exactly the same as the 23, and it may even look more like other shoes, but the 23 happens to be fresh in mind). But hey, to each their own. And if they have a white version that has black or blue patent leather, it might be kind of cool. As long as they downplay that pattern.

Pictures from Nike.com/jumpman23. Jordan Melo M5 Release Date: November 22, Retail price $125

To mark the 20th anniversary of Nike ACG, Nike is dropping the remixed Air Magma: the Nike Air Magma Riptstop. I was thinking of a good way to describe it, but I think Nike does it quite well:

“Utilizing the same construction of the original Magma, the Air Magma Ripstop is remixed in a number of ways. The leather was switched out for a waterproof technical rip-stop in three of the original ACG colorways. In a mid-cut boot construction, it protects the foot from abrasion and moisture penetration. The solid rubber toe-guard of the outsole provides added wear and protection, and creates a strong bond between the sole and the upper. Other features of the shoe such as the hinged eyestays, bellows tongue and notched counter and collar provide secure fit, prevent debris from entering the shoe and minimizes pressure on the achilles.”

Well put. These will see a wide release on Saturday, November 22nd. Pictures and information from Nike.com

Well, it looks like we finally have the official colors for the Air Jordan 11 Air Jordan 12 Countdown pack. It will be the previously-reported Black/Red “bred” Air Jordan 11 and the … (Drum Roll) … Black and White Air Jordan 12, aka the Taxis. After months of back and forth about whether these would include Space Jams, Breds, red/black/cement gray Air Jordan 12, etc, Jordan Brand has finally settled on this Air Jordan 11/12 Countdown Pack. And great news, this now goes from “pretty damn cool” to “easily the best Air Jordan 11/12 Countdown Collezione” they’ve released. Any time Jordan opts for OG’s over new colorways I think we all wind up winners. Pictures are—I believe—from an early-released overseas pack. Thanks to Sole Collector for the photos.

The Air Jordan 11/12 Countdown Pack release date remains December 26, with retail at $310.

Landon Donovan is set to go on loan to Bayern Munich of the Bundesliga until at least March, although Munich is hoping to keep him through the end of the season. This comes as sort of a shock since Donovan didn’t really impress anyone with his first foray into German League soccer with Bayer Leverkusen between 2001 and 2005, where he didn’t play up to his potential, got homesick and asked to be loaned to MLS, then when he finally returned to Leverkusen he asked to be permanently sent back to MLS.

Jürgen Klinsmann, the coach of Bayern Munich, had been a technical advisor with Donovan’s LA Galaxy of MLS until he took over Munich’s coaching duties in July, so he must have seen something he liked in Donovan. And for his part, Donovan has acknowledged that he was the problem last time. This comes on the heels of the announcement that David Beckham—also of the LA Galaxy—will go on loan to AC Milan for three months. Picture from NikeSoccer.com

According to sources such as CNBC, Nike’s Finest Maria Sharapova may be nearing a deal to endorse Enlyten SportStrips, an electrolyte supplement that is something of a competitor to Gatorade (picture those Listerine Cool Mint Oral Strips and the scads of copycat products that came out a few years ago; except these provide you with electrolytes). Sharapova signed a deal with Gatorade in January of 2007 which paid her $900,000 annually over two years, but now that that deal is coming to an end, Gatorade had hoped to keep Sharapova on at a discounted rate, which did not please her.

Enter HealthSport, the parent company of Enlyten. In a deal that would give Sharapova an annual salary in excess of what Gatorade has offered as well as a piece of the company, Enlyten hopes to make Sharapova the face of their product (joining Jason Taylor as the only professional athletes on the Enlyten roster). While this is a solid business move for Enlyten, they might get some personal pleasure out of slighting Gatorade as well. Enlyten signed an endorsement deal a year ago with the Buffalo Bills, but when Gatorade got wind of it they went a-tattling to the NFL that they were signed on as the “official electrolyte replacement” of all NFL teams. Not only did this end Enlyten’s relationship with Buffalo, it put the kibosh on deals Enlyten had been working on with several other NFL teams. That battle has since moved to court and has yet to be resolved. Pics below from Nike.com.hk. Above is an Omega watch ad. I’ll take ten thousand.

Nike has once again teamed up with Innovation Kitchen to create two new Air Force 1′s. The extremely limited (as in 1 of each) shoes were made for noted collectors Kevin Hunter and Mayor. Hunters’s AF1 is Bentley-inspired, designed to match the color and style of his Bentley with a red, leather upper and Bently logos stitched into the shoe, while Mayor’s shoe was created to celebrate his 1000th pair of Air Force 1′s; his Air Force 1 has “1″ printed exactly 1000 times on the shoe. Even the boxes were detailed: Hunter’s shoes came in a wooden box built to match exactly the woodgrain interior of his Bentley. In case anyone was wondering how limited Mayor’s shoes are, his box had “1 of 1″ laser-etched into it.

Ahh to be so famous for liking shoes that Nike wants to make your own customized shoe for you. How sick are those red ones? That was a rhetorical question, but the answer is “very.” Pics from Nike.com