Congratulations to Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks on making it into the 2011 NBA Finals. As a Laker fan, I was stunned to see the Mavs sweep the Lakers as easily as they did. Mavs have been a consistently great team for several years. But this year, there's been something magical happening with them.

The NBA is about moments. The Mavs have had plenty of them in the Playoffs. Stuff like: Terry hitting 9 threes on the Lakers alongside a temporarily rejuvenated Peja. Nowitzki constantly coming through with big shots including that Game 4 comeback that began with Dirk taking over with less than 5 minutes left in what looked like a Thunder victory. Kidd hitting that three in Game 4 (I LOVED Game 4!). Shawn Marion stepping up to the challenge of guarding Kevin Durant and looking like the "Matrix" of Phoenix.

Tyson Chandler has definitely brought something to the team. But guys have also acknowledged Caron Butler's dedication to recovery as inspiration. Adding more fuel to their fires of inspiration, Terry had the NBA Championship trophy tattooed on the inside of his right arm at the beginning of this season (see pic below). It's the Mavericks championship this year. Good luck to a helluva team.

It's finally here: the full length BLACK MAMBA short film! As both a Laker fan, Troublemaker Studios, and Kanye West fan, this is an awesome collaboration. Great sense of humor and execution. Watch the full film (it's just 5 minutes) below:

Below are my favorite illustrations from the latest issue of ESPN magazine's NBA preview issue. ESPN cleverly collaborated with Marvel comics to come up with illustrations that mixed elements from Marvel's superhero world with key aspects of each NBA team that deserve attention in the upcoming 2010-11 season. It was very hit-or-miss from the different artists that participated in the project. Alex Maleev's depicton of Michael Jordan as Nick Fury was perfect in tone and execution. Skottie Young's take on the Sacramento Kings was cute. Simone Bianchi's interpretation of Yao Ming's rebuilt knee was awesome. They should have put Carlos Boozer/Red Hulk in a cast!

I think I've found my next pair of basketball sneakers! I've already gushed praise for the Nike Cradle Rock Low shoes I purchases earlier this year. Beyond looking super fresh with their Skate/Retro style, they've given me tons of support and comfort while I play basketball. I loved them so much that I bought a second pair. The Cushlon midsole gives a nice bouncy step and more than makes up for the lack of any air unit.

My love of low top basketball shoes and strong design has me really looking forward to Nash's NEXT shoe, the Nike Zoom Go Low. It's a nicely designed shoe, but the colorways shown thus far have not done a very good job of showcasing the more interesting attributes of the shoe. That's about to change with the Nash black colorway.

I've done some obsessive digging for information on the shoe. Fortunately that paid off with me finding a high quality picture of the Nash away/black version of the shoe. Thus far the only photo shown of the shoe was a poorly shot flash version of the back of the shoe (with the Steve Nash logo). The photo of the shoe I found is a professional grade image that showcases some tastefully applied patent leather on the front of the shoe... and a subtle touch of orange in the front shoelace holes.

A combination of cushlon midsole and a forefoot zoom air unit assures these will be even more comfortable than the Cradle Rock Lows. I also love how elements of the design pay homage to the Huarache 08 and Air Max 90 shoe designs.

Hopefully these shoes will show up at some shoe retailer in the US. If not, I'll have to import these from Asia or Canada.

I'm disappointed in my Bay Area buddies! Why oh why are they not talking about Jeremy Lin? This 22-year-old Asian-American basketball player will be a walk-on rookie on the Golden State Warriors this up-coming season. The majority of my college buddies happen to be both asian and avid sports fans and yet NONE of them have given me the heads up on Jeremy Lin. C'mon fellas!

After discovering his brief co-interview with teammate Udoh on ESPN's series of NBA rookie interviews, I had to do a little digging to find out a bit more about Lin. This 6' 3" guard took his high school team to a Division II state title. Despite that, none of the top colleges cared. He ended up going to Harvard University where he majored in Economics and played for their Basketball program. Even though he was chosen to the All-Ivy League First Team he was undrafted by all NBA teams.

Fortunately, the Dallas Mavericks invited him to walk-on and play for their summer league team. In the summer league, Lin proved he could compete on an NBA level with his efficient play. The highlight of his Summer Play was an impressive performance against the #1 pick, Wizards' John Wall (highlight clip below).

At the end of the summer league, Lin got contract offers from a few teams including the Mavs, Lakers, and Warriors. Jeremy Lin ended up signing with his childhood favorite team: the Golden State Warriors.

It'll be fun to see if Jeremy Lin will be able to make his mark while playing for the Warriors. Coach Don Nelson isn't really known for playing his rookies much... but Lin's quick play could fit in really well with the fast paced 'Run-N-Gun' Warriors game.

Being half-Japanese, I learned to play basketball for a Japanese-American Community Center league at the age of 5. The Asian in me is cheering for Jeremy Lin's to find success in the NBA game and prove that it's possible for an Asian to ball with the best of them!

I love, love, LOVE this Air Force One sneaker designed by Bespoke, a fashion retailer in Japan. Everything starts with a strong idea. But what takes a strong idea and makes it a great final product is in the implementation of the details. The way Bespoke took the key materials and visual cues of a jean pants and implemented them into the classic form of the Air Force One sneaker is an excellent example of that. I'm not all to sure that they'd look good with a pair of jeans, but damn they're might sweet on their own!