Nike NFL Elite 51 Pro Bowl Uniform

Nike's move to the NFL's official uniform supplier back in 2012 presented a stage for the Swoosh to push its brand deeper in the football market as well as a platform where the sportswear company could showcase its many innovations. While Nike may be restricted in terms of design when outfitting the 32 NFL teams, the Pro Bowl offers opportunity for expression. Hall of Fame wide receivers Cris Carter and Michael Irvin will pick from the league's best, uninhibited by conference, creating a "best in the NFL" matchup. Team Irvin and Team Carter will be dressed in Nike NFL Elite 51 Pro Bowl Uniform The Nike NFL Elite 51 Pro Bowl Uniform featuring bold anthracite color-blocking amplified by vibrant orange accents, worn by Team Irvin, and Volt color accents, worn by Team Carter. Personal detailing makes its way on to the jersey nameplate as stars recognize the number of respective past Pro Bowl selections for each chosen player. Along with the jersey Nike-sponsored athletes will wear the Nike Vapor Untouchable cleat, each pair knit with the equivalent of five recycled plastic bottles. The Nike Vapor Knit Glove will correspond to each player's Pro Bowl team's orange or Volt color. See the entire uniform on the field Sunday, January 25th at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, AZ. Go to Nike News for more information.

Vice Sports: Nigel Sylvester on Breaking the Mold and Taking on BMX (Part 2)

Vice Sports returns with Part 2 of "Nigel Sylvester Taking On BMX" after last week's Part 1 took us around Sylvester's native Jamaica Queens, New York City stomping grounds. This time around the BMX rider opens up about his brand and how he uses his bike to express himself differently than other riders. Most intriguingly, Nigel Sylvester comments on the current outlook of the BMX industry alluding to a lot of comments he received for doing ESPN's 2014 Body Issue. He says, "I already knew going into it. I was like ok, this is gonna shake it up a little bit. I think the BMX industry had more to say about it than anyone else... They look at it like, 'Oh he's gay for doing that.' I'm doing things my way." But, the doubt and hate seems to only fuel Sylvester as he continues to find success from the seat of his bike and even in other creative avenues which he mentions in the video below.

Vice Sports Meets: Nigel Sylvester Taking on BMX (Part 1)

Here Vice Sports unleashes "Nigel Sylvester Taking on BMX", a multiple part series exploring the life and career of BMX rider Nigel Sylvester. Hailing from Jamaica Queens, New York City, Sylvester is not your prototypical BMX rider, evident from his darker skin color and how he is taking his brand beyond the bike. Nigel speaks on how the people and places of Jamaica Queens shaped him, coming up in the ranks of professional BMX, and the strength his mother showed him when she was diagnosed with cancer while he was just 16 or 17 years old saying from his mother's situation, "How can I not work as hard as I possibly can every single day?" Through all of this the New York rider has garnered much success tallying heavyweight sponsorships from Nike 6.0 and Gatorade without entering traditional competition arenas. Let Nigel tell you his story himself below.

27-Year Partnership with Nike Terminated

In 1987, the University of Miami and Nike agreed to a deal that would change the entire landscape of college sports forever.  An all-sports apparel contract, which is now the standard among the NCAA, outfitted the inventors of swagger in Nike gear all throughout their cataclysmic championship runs--but now, no more.

This week, adidas and the Miami Hurricanes will announce a new agreement in which the company out of Herzogenaurach, Germany will become the school's new all-sports apparel supplier.  Make no bones about it, this deviation from a 27-year partnership stems from the decision of athletic director Blake James to test the Hurricane's athletic value in the open market.  According to sources, the adidas deal is worth several million dollars more per year than the previous Nike contract.

adidas took away another Nike contract just last month when it agreed to terms with Arizona St. to sponsor their athletics for an eight-year $33 million deal. The Miami contract would mark 11 out of the 65 Power 5 conference schools that adidas sponsors.  Whether Nike ultimately loses its control over the college football market remains to be seen, but it is apparent that the German company is investing more money than it ever has into advertising (approximately $239 million).

Relevance Restored in Pittsburgh

For 12 out of the 19 years I’ve been on this planet, the Pittsburgh Steelers have participated in the playoffs.

I’ve watched my team play in three Super Bowls.  We won two.

Not to mention, we own the most Lombardi Trophies with six all-time.

Those towels you all wave at sporting events?  They originated in Pittsburgh with the world renowned Terrible Towel during the 1970’s Steelers dynasty.

There are over 700 Steelers bars around the world.  Our fans are everywhere and we won’t let you forget it.

To those of you whom are unfamiliar with Steeler Football and Steeler Nation, we’re back.

Growing up in Pittsburgh, being a Steelers fan is innate.  The pride we exhibit for our hometown team is an extension of the pride we have for our beloved city.   Built on the blue-collar beginnings of an industrial steel town, we are tough and we are gritty and we seem to always find a way to succeed.

The last time Pittsburgh caught the playoff fever, however, was in 2011 when polarizing quarterback, Tim Tebow, led a young Denver Broncos squad down the field on an overtime winning drive.  We would have to go even further back to the 2010 season for the last time the Steelers were victorious in a playoff game and played at home.  Whether us fans like to admit it, this Steelers team has been under construction acquiring collegiate standouts and hidden gems alike in the NFL drafts, as well as fine tuning our offensive and defensive schemes.  Last night’s hard-fought victory against our AFC North rival, Cincinnati Bengals, was the culmination of an adverse journey, but once again Steeler Nation finds itself champions of the division for the twenty-first time with a home playoff game next week.  Long-term historic success and rich tradition coupled with a stellar offense and budding defense led by ex-retiree, James Harrison, has the Steelers on the cusp of a deep playoff run. 

Beyond the outstanding, all-pro type performances from Le’veon Bell, Antonio Brown, and Ben Roethlisberger, a palpable energy has been brewing among the Steelers faithful.  Perhaps the unfortunate death of NFL legend and former Steelers head coach, Chuck Noll, or the 75th anniversary of Super Bowl XIII where the Steelers defeated the Dallas Cowboys, or even the unrest and frustration of being irrelevant the past several years is cause for the steady momentum the Steelers have gained each week.  Whatever the case may be, it’s playoff time in Pittsburgh and InTheRough has provided you with the visual Goods of what that atmosphere in the Steel City feels like.  Enjoy the visuals from yesterday's Sunday Night Football below, and be sure to keep a watchful eye out for all the teams during the 2014 playoffs, as it is infused with some of the NFL’s greatest franchises as well as its newest superstars.