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).

A Town Divided by Sneakers

Did you know athletic brand behemoths adidas and PUMA were created by a pair of German brothers?  Originating out of Herzogenaurach, Germany, adidas and PUMA were the result of a falling out by the Adolf and Rudolph Dassler brothers during World War II.  The town of 22,000 people, which both brands claim as their hometown, has been divided by the rivalry.  "The city of bent necks" for the way everyone would first glaze at another's shoes has been so polarized by this divide that its mayor balances out his wardrobe with adidas and PUMA apparel  equally.  The feud that has isolated the northern and southern parts of the town has supposedly come to an end with the proposal of joint practices between the "pumeraner" and "adidassler" soccer clubs.  Officials from both brands say the feud is over, but history of the divide is evident in these visuals provided by Wall Street Journal.

Snoop Dogg x DaM-FunK Release Two New Tracks

Pittsburgh Steelers fan by night, OG rap legend by day; Snoop Dogg has teamed up with Dam-FunK to bring us two new tracks with guest vocals by Daz Dillinger and up-and-coming artist Shon Lawon.  The songs "N My System" and "It's Not A Secret" return that retro 'G-funk' flavor to the funky West Coast tracks that are sure to start the New Year off right.  You can listen to Snoop and Dam's latest tunes now on OfficeVibes.

Kanye West featuring Paul McCartney - Only One

And the first post of 2015 goes to Kanye West. Right as we brought in the New Year Kanye released his wonderful song with Paul McCartney we have been hearing rumors about for a while, "Only One". Along with the styling from The Beatles legend, Kanye sings with love in his heart from the perspective of his late mother, Donda West. In a tweet Kim said, "People always ask me what my favorite Kanye song is and it's Only One. Kanye feels like his mom sang thru him to our daughter." It certainly seems that way, but hear the emotion in his voice for yourself as you can stream "Only One" below.

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.