Photo: adizero Crazy Light 2 basketball shoes

InsideHoops got a pair of great new shoes from adidas that we love: the adizero Crazy Light 2 basketball sneakers. They came out back in late April. Ours are a very cool shade of gray that you can see below.

“The adizero Crazy Light 2 is light done right,” said the shoe’s designer, Robbie Fuller, adidas advanced footwear concept designer. “We not only made it lighter, but we made it stronger and more aerodynamic. We work closely with the adidas Innovation Team (aIT) to continuously innovate and find that perfect weight-to-strength ratio that gives athletes better command and agility on court.”

“Elite athletes are elite athletes because they’re always fighting for that competitive edge,” said Lawrence Norman, adidas vice president of global basketball. “The adizero Crazy Light 2 is that competitive edge. The shoe had a huge performance and style impact during college tournaments and we can’t wait for fans to see the adizero Crazy Light 2 in action during the NBA playoffs. When every second of every game matters, this shoe delivers faster play, stronger cuts and greater support.”

The shoes are beautiful, insanely light, and slick. We at InsideHoops approve. Check them out:

http://a248.e.akamai.net/f/248/9086/10h/origin-d5.scene7.com/is/image/adidasgroup/G56415_01?wid=500&hei=500&fmt=jpeg&qlt=92,0&resMode=sharp2&op_usm=1.1,0.5,1,0

Vanessa and Kobe Bryant divorce is off

kobe bryant

Vanessa Bryant will NOT sign documents to make her divorce final … at least for now … because TMZ has learned, she and Kobe are working on a full reconciliation.

We’ve learned Kobe and Vanessa are trying to work out the issues that caused her to file for divorce back in December. They spend a lot of time together but he has not officially moved back in with her.

Under California law, Vanessa has to wait 6 months before she can file final docs making the divorce official. The 6-month mark hits this weekend, so Vanessa could end the marriage as early as Monday … but we know she won’t.

— Reported by TMZ

DJ Rony Seikaly goes on music tour

On June 5, legendary NYC house music label Nervous Records teams up with emerging music sensation Rony Seikaly for the release of an exciting new compilation – Nervous Nitelife Presents Rony Seikaly.

Seikaly first rose to prominence in the NBA but when he wasn’t on the court he was in the record shops, reading the top dance magazines and driving around with the best dance mixes blasting from his car stereo. Seikaly turned his hobby into a second career in which he’s quickly risen to the top of the pack, playing at international club destinations like Club Liv in Miami and Pacha in Ibiza.

In addition to extensive DJ touring, Rony is also an accomplished producer whose Summer 2010 track “The World Is Beautiful” was frequently played on Pete Tong’s Radio 1 Show and charted by top DJ’s worldwide.

It’s interesting to note, that while DJs are often known for playing other artists tracks, Rony chooses to present his sets with approximately 70% of his own original productions and remixes. This leads to a club experience that’s completely unique, spontaneous and harkens back to the days of old when clubbers entrusted their evening into the DJs hands. Nervous Nitelife Presents Rony Seikaly is very much the CD version of what you’d experience at the club with Rony Seikaly behind the decks. It’s largely built on his own original productions and remixes with a few of his favorite bits from other producers sprinkled in.

The mix tips off with the Rony Seikaly and Jean Claudes Ades remix of Seikaly’s own “Mood That I Love;” A vocal house track that’s the perfect vibe for that time when the sun drops jut below the horizon and you know the party’s about to kick into high gear. It’s seamlessly mixed into the warm and bubby Fabo feat. Angela Sheik “Can’t Decide” and Seikaly’s driving the “Playa” before Lazaro Cazanova enters with his airy “Miami Vice feat. Amy Douglas (Julien Sandre Remix).” Next, a trifecta of Seikaly’s own original tracks hit consecutively and as the names imply (“Bring It On,” Build Up The Volume” and You Can Feel It”) it’s all about building the intensity.

The second half of the mix commences with Saarid’s wobbly “Future Lately feat. Javi (Walker & Royce Remix)” which leads into the thick rubber band basslines of Seikaly’s own “Desert Night’s” and his most punishing track of the mix, “Illusion.” Next, a gorgeous instrumental, “Watergate” sets the stage for a grand exit with Seikaly’s “Maro,” “Empty Days” and Catz ‘N Dogz Remix of John Davis & The Monster Orchestra “Bourgie Bourgie.”

This summer, Seikaly will begin residencies at LIO in Ibiza and REVEL in Atlantic City, all while celebrating the release of his first compilation on Nervous Records, Nervous Nitelife Presents Rony Seikaly due out June 5th.

TRACK LISTING 

1. Rony Seikaly – Mood The I Love (Rony Seikaly & Jean Claudes Ades Remix)

2. Fabo feat. Angela Sheik – Can’t Decide

3. Rony Seikaly – The Playa

4. Lazaro Casanova – Miami Vice feat. Amy Douglas (Julien Sandre Remix)

5. Rony Seikaly – Bring It On

6. Rony Seikaly – Build Up The Volume

7. Rony Seikaly – You Can Feel It

8. Saarid – Future Lately feat. Javi (Walker & Royce Remix)

9. Rony Seikaly – Desert Nights

10. Rony Seikaly – Illusion

11. Watergate (Instrumental)

12. Rony Seikaly – Maro

13. Rony Seikaly – Empty Days

14. John Davis & The Monster Orchestra – Bourgie Bourgie (Catz ‘N Dogz Remix)

RONY SEIKALY LIVE TOUR DATES SCHEDULE

5/22    Cielo – New York City

5/25    Playhouse – Los Angeles, CA

5/26    Wet Republic – Las Vegas, NV

6/3      RX Pool Party/Delano – Miami, FL

7/14    Southpointe – The Hamptons, NY

7/15    Wet Republic – Las Vegas, NV

7/21    Voyeur – San Diego, CA

7/22    XIV – Lon Angeles, CA

Penny Marshall ripped off by scammer pretending to work for Lamar Odom

Attention filthy rich LA Lakers fans — Lamar Odom does not have a cash-strapped assistant … something director Penny Marshall learned after getting jacked for several thousand bucks.Sources tell TMZ the double-cross started at a Lakers game last month … when a man claiming to be LO’s assistant gave Penny a phone number he said was Lamar’s.

We’re told Penny and the person she thought was Lamar texted back and forth for several days — when finally “Lamar” asked her to loan his assistant a chunk o’ cash. Ever the faithful Lakers fan, Penny forked over more than five grand to the faux “assistant.”

Hook. Line. Sinker.

— Reported by TMZ

Amare Stoudemire is now engaged

amare stoudemire

New York Knicks captain and six-time NBA All-Star Amar’e Stoudemire proposed to Alexis Welch, the mother of Stoudemire’s three children, in Paris Saturday night.

Stoudemire asked Welch for her hand in marriage while overlooking the Eiffel Tower lights outside of their penthouse at Le Meurice Hotel Belle Etoile Royal Suite at 11 p.m. local time.  He surprised her with a dinner after they spent the day taking a private historical tour of Paris that included stops at the Louvre and other landmarks.

“I have been planning my proposal for a while and overlooking the entire Paris skyline seemed like a perfect place.  I am so happy she said ‘yes,’ and now we can continue to build our life together as husband and wife,” Stoudemire told PEOPLE from Paris.

— Reported by People Magazine

Photo: Brooklyn Nets dancer finalists

I spent yesterday and today watching hundreds of lovely young ladies try out to be members of the 2012-13 Brooklyn Nets dance team.

(Yes, I have a rough job, but somebody has to do it.)

I will post photos and video on InsideHoops.com in the coming days, but for now here is a quick pic of the 30 finalists.

http://distilleryimage11.instagram.com/792f56a6adb011e1a8761231381b4856_7.jpg

Lil Wayne reportedly `denied entry` to Thunder game… because he had no ticket

Lil Wayne is a ‘Lil wrong when he says he was denied entry into tonight’s playoff game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs — fact is, he just didn’t have a ticket.

The rapper just tweeted, “Going to go to the Thunder game tonight but was denied by the team to be in their arena. Wow.”

But a rep for the OKC Thunder tells TMZ … “We did not deny him,” adding, “His representatives contacted us about courtside tickets and we told them we are completely sold out.”

— Reported by TMZ

InsideHoops.com editor says: You generally have to acquire a ticket in order to attend a ticketed event. The arena probably “denied entry” to other people who also did not have tickets to this particular ticketed event.