Andrés Iniesta is a good footballer. Cesc Fàbregas is a good footballer. Need I say more? Yes, actually, I do for it to make sense here. Nike has some fancy new soccer boot that’s it’s launching aside an interactive digital training tool that you can use on a Web site, or on your iPhone or iPod touch. Very exciting.

The boot is the Nike CRT360 Maestri. Nearest I can tell it’s your standard “fancy” soccer boot, but what concerns us here is the interactive training aspect. Each boot comes with a unique code that you can use to see EXCLUSIVE training tips from Iniesta and Fàbregas, either online or by using your iPhone.. Probably eight of you know who these guys are, but let me assure you: they’re very good. In fact, here’s Iniesta sending Chelsea crashing out of the Champions League last year:

You have to understand the drama of this situation. Barcelona was playing, by a country mile, the best football in all of Europe (of the world, probably), and yet Chelsea were two minutes away from winning the game, and thus the semi-final. So Iniesta receives the ball at the edge of the penalty box and smashes it into the top-right corner of the net. I have never been happier watching a sport as I was that day, and that includes when Barcelona actually won the championship a few weeks later. In this video, you can hear the dejection in the British announcers’ voices. Meanwhile, the Arabic commentator LOSES HIS MIND. “Allah, Allah. Allah, Allah, Allah!” The Italian guys do a fine job, as well. Greatest sport on Earth.

Available starting July 15th is the brand spankin’ new Nike+ SportBand. The $59 watch-like device will be available in grey with pink, dark with yellow and black with red. The SportBand gives vitals, like calories burned, distance, pace and time. Oh, the new improvements include a white background screen to make the numbers pop and a “welded seal to improve water resistance.”

One more thing. Nike has combined NikePlus.com with NikeRunning.com.

Nike Running [Nike]

New season, new ball. The three big football leagues—England’s Premier League, Spain’s La Liga, and Italy’s Serie A—begin in just a few weeks, and Nike has developed a fancy, new ball for them that’s loaded with all types of hi-tech goodness that may pique your interest. It’s called the T90 Ascente. Goalkeepers will hate it; flashy forwards will love it.

What’s so damn special about the ball? The Nike bullet points are: “360 Sweet Spot,” “Longer Range,” “Increased Visibility,” “Higher Accuracy,” and “Greater Speed.”

Breaking those down, the “360 Sweet Spot” refers to the way the ball reacts to being kicked. Usually, footballs have a “sweet spot,” like the “meat” of a baseball bat, that you’re trained to hit for maximum speeds, accuracy, etc. Apparently the T90 Ascente doesn’t have a “sweet spot,” per se, rather that the whole ball is a sweet spot. That is, wherever you kick it, the ball will react as if you’ve kicked the sweet spot. Good news for Quaresma. (Why do sports compilation videos on YouTube always have terrible music?)

Longer range? That’s pretty obvious, right? The ball is constructed in three layers, and this somehow makes the ball travel two ball lengths longer than previous Nike footballs.

Increased visibility. You’ll notice the patterns on the ball; it sort of looks like the scanner from Half-Life 2:

Anyhow, the patterns are such that they create a “flicker” as the ball spins. That’ll be helpful on those awful, gray winter days in Liverpool.

If you actually had the ball in your hands, you’d see that its surface is textured to a degree that’s probably a little different than the last ball you kicked. Nike calls it “micro-textured,” which basically lets air flow around the ball more smoothly, creating less resistance, etc. You know, like the dimples on a golf ball.

The T90 Ascenete is also faster than previous balls, traveling at about 22.19 m/s (72.17 feet/s). Something to do with the three-layer construction.

All this talk of multi-layer construction reminds me of the great Razor Blade Wars of the past decade. “Our razor has three blades.” “Well our razor has four blades.” “Ha! Our blade has five blades!.

And, uh, if you speak Spanish, watch this video. It explains the technological wonder of the ball.

Nike has its own video, in English, that I can’t embed. (Though, if I were feeling crazy, I could probably just swipe the Flash file then upload to our CG YouTube account. No thanks.) It’s here if you’re interested.

About 15 minutes ago I wrote “Goalkeepers will hate it; flashy forwards will love it.” But now I see FC Barcelona’s goalkeeper Víctor Valdés praising the ball in that Spanish video. Figures.

Who hasn’t been at a sporting event and wished for one of those T-shirt cannons? Nike is “selling” the Nike T-shirt Gun seen in the above video for just $1500. I put “selling” in quotes because it doesn’t seem legit. It’s one of those “internet jokes” that you may have read about in USA Today.

According to the product description:

Better than you’ll find in any stadium or arena, the Nike T-shirt Gun is the best in fan gear for your favorite sporting event.

• The Nike T-shirt gun delivers only Premium Nike T-shirts.
• Eliminates poor fitting, uncomfortable, lame-designed T-shirts on all your friends.
• Each limited edition T-shirt gun is numbered and engraved with the signature of a Nike athlete.
• Quality Craftsmanship guarantees your T-shirt gun will last game after game.

A T-shirt gun with unlimited premium Nike T-shirts that can shoot those shirts onto other people? If only it wasn’t out of stock! I suspect it’ll be out of stock indefinitely unless Nike has somehow managed to make an affordable T-shirt cannon that doesn’t rely on a giant backpack full of compressed air. That, and the magic T-shirt trick it can do.

Nike T-shirt Gun [Nike.com via Newlaunches]

Reader Billy May sent us these concept sketches for the Nike Hindsight, specially design biking glasses with specifically tuned Fresnel lenses for keeping an eye on approaching taxis/cars/baby strollers.

Writes Billy:

Nike Hindsight is, put simply, like giving bicyclists a pair of bifocals for their peripheral vision. By using Fresnel lenses on the sides of eye wear, riders can detect motion in a field of view beyond the normal human limit of 180º. To get technical, high power, diverging Fresnel zones aligned vertically distort into view an extra 25º of view on either side. In doing this, vision is radically distorted in the periphery, but as the eye detects only motion in that area, little clarity is lost in the process.

A rider’s clear benefit is in the early warning of approaching vehicles, but a less obvious advantage is reducing the necessary head rotation to check completely behind oneself. Moreover, while the project was directed towards bicycling for the sake of simplicity, there’s a myriad of sports and activities where a greater field of view becomes an advantage, so feel free to speculate.

Remember: Concept means these are not real – yet – but I would totally wear these if they were. Even riding through the mean streets of Bay Ridge is a frightening proposition as grannies and the habitually stupid try to pass me all the time on my bike.

What do you get when you combine an iPhone, Nike, Google Map support, and fancy graphs? Way to many distractions from your workout.

We digress but per a French website, the upcoming Nike+ is going to sport all that and probabaly a few more nifty features. The most innovative addition though has to be Google Map support ’cause it adds demensions to this app. Just think, a runner could plan out new routes and follow them to a T. There could be greater timing to track your workout progression. Come to think of it, when you combine the iPhone, Nike, Google Map support, and fancy graphs, you get one hell of a workout buddy – plus, one that can carry a tune.

iphon.fr via Gizmodo

There’s some Monday morning quarterback analysis of a recent Nike patent application filing, which could, just maybe, hint at new features for Nike+iPod. The patent details some sort feedback system, that is, Nike+iPod will modify your workout selection based on your selections. iLounge speculates this fun scenario:

For instance, the system would be able to know if a user sped up or slowed down in response to a certain song being played, and could offer the user a choice of adding or removing the song from the workout routine playlist.

Also, maybe, there’s indications that additional sensors could be implemented, which would expand Nike+iPod beyond simple jogging. Exercises like step aerobics, ellipticals, yoga, etc. could be part of future Nike+iPod system.

Also! Everyone owes Chelsea FC for keeping the EPL title race alive for at least one more week.

via iLounge

It looks as if Nike is taking its while-running data systems solo, announcing a new product called Nike+ Sportsband.

Similar to the Nike+iPod product from last year, the Sportsband wraps around your wrist and acts as a wristwatch, but also reports the same data wirelessly as the Nike+iPod device, such as distance run, calories burned, etc.

It features a removable USB drive that stores the data and can be used with the Nike+Coach software to log your routines and make suggestions for improved performance.

Nike will release a stand-alone device in April that’s similar to the Nike+iPod deal, confirming earlier rumors. Nike has named it the SportsBand and it’ll accomplish all the tasks that Nike+iPod does, like keeping track of distance covered, velocity, etc. It’s not going to replace Nike+iPod outright, as the original rumors suggested, but rather augment and diversify Nike’s lineup. It’s for people who don’t have, or don’t want to buy, a nano just to be able to exercise.

A German Mac site reports that it’ll cost you €60, or approximately $8 billion given the current exchange rate.

Nike+Sportsband [MacLife.de]

On the news that Apple and Nike were going to expand their iPod partnership, Adidas is giving a bit of a “me too”, introducing a shoe + phone scheme, using wireless biometrics in the show to display information on an Adidas-branded Samsung phone.

We knew it was coming, but now it’s official, and that’s nice.

Adidas to take on Nike+ with branded handset [Brand Republic]

Really, now. The thing should be wireless, for one thing, and all the data should be displayed on the device, for another. It’s great that this stuff is being tracked, but if it adds too much to someone’s routine, they’re not going to think it worth the trouble.

Apple, Nike to tie iPod Nanos to gym equipment [BusinessWire]

I’m a big fan of Nike and have been since I was a kid. One of the many perks of growing up in Oregon meant you probably knew someone who worked at Nike, which meant you could get stuff at the employee store for cheap. I might have to hit up some friends when the latest Nike+ product makes its way into stores. The FCC has revealed the SportBand which connects to a bracelet that syncs with your Nike+ shoes and completely eliminates Apple and the iPod. When you’re done with your runs, simply plug in to your computer over USB and check out your stats. I’ve started running again so this might actually be worthwhile for me.

Remember awhile back, Nike told everyone it was coming out with a remote control sport watch that would work with the Nike+iPod kit? Well if you don’t, too bad, because now you can finally order a shiny new Amp+ watch for a whopping $80. With a modern, futuristic design, Amp+ will tell you the time and let you access your Nike+iPod Sport kit via buttons on the side. You’ll be able to change tracks, volume, etc. – all the good stuff.

One interesting feature is voice relay of information. Meaning if you need a creepy robot to tell you how long you’ve been running, it’s now entirely possible. Frankly, I don’t see how the Amp+ is worth $80, but to each his/her own.

Nike now accepting orders for Amp+ watch [iLounge]

Before you immediately discount this next post—a post about sneakers—hear me out. Nike, for the first time in its history, has designed a sneaker for a specific ethnic group. For Native Americans, the sneaker—the Nike Air Native N7—was designed to address health problems commonly found in the Native American community, like obesity and diabetes. Compared to the average Nike, the Air Native is about three sizes wider and some measure longer. (No, I don’t know by what measure.) The company will sell the sneaker directly to relevant Native American institutions which will then dole them out, at cost, to those who wish to buy ‘em.

As it turns out, Nike’s not going to make any outrageous profit from the sneaker; it was designed to improve Nike’s image and standing amongst, you know, people.

Hey Nike, how ’bout a blogger shoe? One that makes running around press events painless and continuously pumps caffeine into your bloodstream. I’d buy it (or get John to buy it for us).

Nike Designs Shoe for American Indians [AP/Google via Boing Boing]