An Andy, AMEN!
 

I guess we should look at banning bare feet because the arch serves the same function. Of course, the foot is not a mechanical device (or is it?) but clearly people with high arches would have an unfair advantage over people with flat feet.

Comprehende
 

I hope you all didn't misunderstand... but that was my exact point - all shoes provide some cushion/spring. I assume Chuck and JR were just funnin'

I haven't seen the shoes (Nike Shox) but I assume they are NOT similar to the old "Spring" shoes that included a set of two(or more?) springs for about 3 inches underneath the sole of the shoe and then a second sole that contacts the ground. Those would be hilarious and obviously illegal.

Wish I had a picture!
:)

Found one on e-bay (of all places - $20) but how do I put that jpeg into this message?

Pardon me for sounding stupid, but isn't this a running shoe?
 

After reading the posts here, it looks like this is designed as a running shoe and propels the runner forward. They refer to the boing factor, but it doesn't sound like it really gives much of an advantag.

I know that if I am on the court with a kid that spent his entire year's allowance on these shoes, I'm going to let him play until someone on Mt. Olympus tells me otherwise.

Re: Re: Sproing
 

Is there any other way to play? What's all this fancy talk about shoes? Y'all need to bring yourselves and all your book learning down to good ole Kaintuck to see how the game is meant to be played. :D

These shoes do not give a advantage. These shoes are not new. These shoes have been around for about two years. You probably had someone already wear these shoes in a game and didn't even realize it. They are popular, and have been for two years, because Vince Carter wears them. We all know the kids follow the stars. If, we started examining shoes we would have to know what they look like and what technology they use to determine their legality. Obviously everyone doesn't follow shoes closely enough or this would have came up two years ago. Plus, this technology is a gimmick and you have to be a certain weight to get the benefits of the shox. I love Nikes but for the most part they are a fashion shoe designed to catch the eye instead of being comfortable/useful to the foot.

It is amazing what you can learn on a couple of trips to the Athlete's Foot.

Unless I see a shoe that has the "Flubber" effect (remember the movie?), I have other things to worry about.

Z

An Andy, AMEN!
 

What about these ?

http://www.cockeyed.com/incredible/s...ingshoes13.jpg

Re: AnAndy, AMEN!
 

All I have to say is... Can you buy them in all black?

I don't allow any Nike shoes in any of my games. The kids change or they don't play.

Nevadaref, I know you are kidding. Are you from Northern Nevada or Southern Nevada?

Re: Re: AnAndy, AMEN!
 

Might make GT/BI easier to call . . .

what does that mean? i hope you were being facetious.

so i wore them on wednesday and they hold up pretty well. the first game, they were kinda weird feeling, but by the 2nd game, i'd worn them in and they felt pretty good. i may put some "are you gellin?" stuff in there once the season begins to make it even more comfortable.

I think he was. He just forgot the winkie ;)

So did they give extra "spring" to your step? That's a serious question.

Can I just say that those are the stupidest commercials I've seen in a LONG time. "Gellin' like a felon"? Give me a freakin' break. Where's that pukin' smiley when I need it?

Re: Re: Sproing
 

And while we're at it, shrink the width of the key and only allow 3 frontcourt dribbles before forcing a pass-off.

Just Slightly Insane
 

"The concept is the same as springs,but instead of actual springs, Nike Shox uses high density polyurethane foam columns,which provide the same basic effect as springs.They absorb the energy of impact and return it to the wearer on the transition from heel-stroke to toe-off."

Oh my God. That sounds nice, but think - the time constant of the return . . . it is not 'adaptive' in nature. It doesn't know what you're going to want to do. It can just as well zig when you want to zag. Nothing as simple as this can work well under the range of conditions basketball implies. My guess is it doesn't do much. If it did, it would cause train wrecks.

Speech recognition wasn't, and isn't, easy, either. Sure, you can do it under controlled conditions, with a limited vocabulary domain. But we'll all have to put up with the Baby Bell's maniacal devotion to collecting voice samples, when pressing '1' is a LOT easier. Not all engineering makes sense.

Try the new BMW 5 series, however. The steering wheel has a nice adaptation - it 'scales' (lock to lock) to the speed you're going. Thus it takes roughly 10 turns at 70 to do as much as one turn will do at 10mph. My younger boy wanted to know, could they take it one step further and recognize roll-over just before it happens - and refuse to let the wheel move that last unsafe millimeter?