Gatorade Inventor Dies

University of Florida professor Robert Cade, the lead inventor of Gatorade back in 1965, died Nov. 27 at the age of 80 of kidney failure. According to legend, the inspiration for Gatorade came from a question from former Florida Gators coach Dwayne Douglas, who asked, “Doctor, why don’t football players wee-wee after a game?”

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Ex-Columbia Execs Launch Inpirational Collection

Beth Brownlee, former apparel sales director for Columbia Sportswear, and Ruth Nichols, also a former Columbia executive, have introduced "Trust Your Journey," an inspirational and eco-friendly apparel line. The brand's name was inspired by Brownlee's battle with breast cancer when a friend told her during chemotherapy to "trust your journey." Said Brownlee, "When I heard those words, it just hit me, 'You can beat this awful cancer, Beth, you just need to believe in this and have the courage to stay positive,' I said to myself. I knew at that point I would heal and one day give this inspiration back."

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Adidas Digs Chinese Art

Adidas is sponsoring an art exhibition "Gong Zhen: Sport in Art" as its preps for the upcoming Beijing Olympics. The show features 70 artists from around the world, including contemporary darlings of China's art market, Wang Guangyi and Yue Minjun. Currently at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Shanghai, the exhibition moves to Guangzhou, Nanjing, Shenyang and Chengdu before heading to Beijing.

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Cycling Takes Another Hit

Following adidas's lead last month, T-Mobile pulled out of its sponsorship of the Germany cycling team after cyclist Patrik Sinkewitz's admission that he used performance enhancing drugs. Said CEO Hamid Akhavan, "We have decided to take this step to distance ourselves and the brand T-Mobile from the latest doping confessions in sport and more particularly cycling."

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Meet The Mascots

Inspired by local Aboriginal mythological creatures and influenced by modern animation styles, the mascots for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games look adorably awesome to me.

Miga is a snowboarding sea bear inspired by the legends of the Pacific Northwest First Nations; Quatchi is a Sasquatch (!) and Sumi is "an animal spirit who wears the hat of the orca whale, flies with the wings of the mighty thunderbird and runs on the furry legs of the black bear."

More info: Vancouver2010.com

Dick's Sporting Goods to Acquire Chick's Sporting Goods

Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc. has entered into a definitive stock purchase agreement to acquire Chick's Sporting Goods. Under the terms of the agreement, Dick's has agreed to pay approximately $40 million in cash for the outstanding equity of Chick's. Including the assumption of approximately $31 million of indebtedness, the transaction values Chick's at approximately $71 million...

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Cyber Monday Discounts

The National Retail Federation reports that nearly one-third of online retailers are having special one-day sales for Cyber Monday. And the number of online retailers planning some type of special promotion for the Monday after Thanksgiving surged to 72 percent of those polled, up from 42 percent just two years ago. Another NRF survey of online shoppers revealed that more than half of adults plan to shop at work.

Via AP.

Gil TV

Adidas launched GilTv.com today, a micro site that showcases NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas' quirky persona and promotes his signature Adidas footwear line.

Here's one of the videos on the site. It's called "black president."



Arenas also writes a pretty amusing blog on NBA.com.

Update: Looks like Arenas just found out he's out for three months with a knee injury. Ouch. Bad timing.

Quote of the Week

"We do cater to a higher end customer, to better products than Academy does. But there is an overlap there. Academy is a very well-run operation, and they will be the toughest competition we have had to face."

- Ed Stack, Dick's Sporting Goods' chairman & CEO

Virtual Tour: House of Hoops

House of Hoops, the new Nike and Foot Locker retail concept, opened the doors on its first store today. Located on 125th Street in Harlem, House of Hoops is situated in the middle of an urban fashion retail hub. We were inside the store getting a preview on Sunday.

Look for expanded coverage in the December issue of SGB, but for now, here's a sneak peek—a video tour of the House of Hoops:



Near the end of that video is Nike's Archie McEachran showing us the limited edition Zoom Lebron 5 China colorway.

The store has a t-shirt bar where customers can customize their own shirts. There are separate merch areas showcasing highlighted players. There is a hoop in the front of the store and in the back of the store is a "chill zone" with several big screens, a video game area and leather lounging chairs.

Previously: Under Armour Store, Virtual Tour

More Doping Ahead...

According to the BBC, Peter Sönksen claims the test for human growth hormone (HGH) is useless and will only catch "a stupid athlete".

"The test we have is imperfect and it's probable that an awful lot of people who appear to be negative are in fact doping," the professor told BBC Sport. "Until we have a more effective test, you can't believe what you're seeing."

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Does This Look Like Furniture To You?

Last month, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Long Beach, CA, uncovered a smuggling scheme and seized 64,664 pairs of counterfeit "Nike" footwear and 6,144 fake "North Face" jackets worth more than $2 million. The counterfeit goods were packed in sea container shipments with manifests that indicated the shipments were supposed to be furniture from China.

Via

Sneakerhead Buzz Item

Starks Laces. These guys are doing some cool stuff.

Good Soles

Pictured above at the Sole Technology warehouse in Lake Forest, CA last week, CEO Pierre Andre Senizergues and his employees joined together in sending off a gift-in-kind donation of 1,000 pairs of shoes and 500 pieces of apparel to aid Southern California wildfire victims. The wearable contribution went to victims who lost their homes, and was channeled through the United Way. More information on how to help can be found by visiting unitedwayoc.org.

Mad Money's UA Rant

Jim Cramer, host of CNBC's Mad Money, put Under Armour on his "sell block" last week in one of his patented rants. You can watch the video here.

You Make The Call

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Touché

Earlier this week, British Airways implemented regulations banning large sports equipment from its flights. Causing the most ruckus was the news that surfboards would no longer be allowed as checked luggage. Also among the banned items: canoes, kayaks and hang gliders. In a cheeky move, competitor Virgin Atlantic announced the very next day that it would not only continue to allow all of the above items, but would allow them to be checked for free. Read the Virgin Atlantic news release here.

The China Issue

In mailboxes this week.

London's $1 Billion Olympic Stadium

According to the BBC, the new £496 million Olympic Stadium will hold over 80,000 people and "does not compromise on sustainability."

(Yes, £496 million equals $1 billion now, the £ hit $2.10 for the first time in 26 years yesterday)

Here's a video created by the London Olympic Committee (done in a very British fashion) that shows some of the key features...

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Matt Lauer At The Arctic Circle: Does The Logo On That Beanie Look Familiar?

Viewers who tuned in to the Today Show on NBC on Monday caught a glimpse of Matt Lauer sporting a familiar logo on his beanie. The Under Armour beanie on Lauer's head gave the brand some excellent exposure, and according to this article in the Baltimore Sun, it was not a case of product placement, Lauer chose to wear it on his own.

Images via nbc.com.

View From The Inside

Just a few shots from the New York City Marathon Health and Fitness Expo at the Jacob Javits Convention Center this past weekend. All of the running industry's big guns were there selling product and engaging with consumers. Admission to the expo was free, and it was open to the public.

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That last photo above is from the New Balance booth, where a few cooking demonstrations took place, featuring various New York City chefs. The crowds were lined up plenty deep to watch the cooking demos and sample the results.

In the Cards

We picked up these playing cards at the pre-NYC Marathon party Brooks threw at Providence on 57th Street this past Saturday. The bash was in honor of the Hanson brothers. No, not the dorky hockey brothers from the Slap Shot movie or the Hanson kids who came up with the "MMMBop" hit. But the two brothers who started the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project, an elite running group sponsored by Brooks. Thirteen members of the team competed in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in NYC on Saturday and nine finished in the top 30, including Brian Sell, who finished third to earn a spot on the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team.

More "sights and scenes" from Marathon Weekend coming soon...

Virtual Tour: Under Armour Store

Under Armour made its entry into branded retail today, with the official opening of its first-ever retail store. Located in the Westfield Mall in Annapolis, MD, the store occupies 4,500 square feet of retail space.

SGB was on location at the store on October 31, getting a sneak peek the day before the official opening. Look for expanded coverage in the December issue of SGB.

For now, here's a teaser—an exclusive video tour of the new Under Armour store, shot on location by the SGB staff.