Pug Pup Update

The pup isn't born yet...but Carter has now officially won (seeing as how he picked the latest date).
Along with garnering the "godfather" status to the unborn Pup...an un-named/undecided prize will still be his...

Project OR

This weekend at Outdoor Retailer in Salt Lake City, PANiQ continued to get great press when design student Ronald Rod won the Project OR design competition by creating a jacket using the integrated smart fabric button technology that has made PANiQ the world leader in wearable electronics.

PANIQ SITE LAUNCHES!

www.paniqzone.com

Pug Pupdate

For all of you who don't know, I am getting a Pug. That's right. Pint sized perfection will soon be mine. I'm impatiently waiting for the 'lil guy to be born so that I can name her, and more importantly, so I can declare the winner of the "Frank Pug Poll" (a poll predicting the birthday of my soon-to-be Pug-ette). So far, 3 people have been eliminated: Steve (1.14), Keo (1.19), and Dave (1.20--the pugsta and I woulda shared the same bday! a terrific theory!).

Still in the running are:
Tyler: 1.23
Lisa: 1.25
Heather: 1.27
Carter: 1.28

The suspense continues!!!

HAPPY MLK DAY!

(click to enlarge)

Today we honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as well as the release of AND1's inaugural Tribute shoe, the ME8 Tribute. This Limited Edition version of Monta Ellis' first signature shoe pays homage to Dr. King and marks the launch of AND1's Tribute site.

A lot of hard work by a number of people went into this project, which included packaging, print ads (SLAM and Complex magazine), posters, billboards, banners and other point of sale displays, on-court signage, web banners and the previously mentioned microsite (special thanks to the guys over at Dangerr Creative and CelSol). All in all, very exciting to be a part of.

Separating Fighters from Octagon Girls

UFC fighter (and AND1's newest endorsed athlete) Nate 'Rock' Quarry stop by our office today. When we got to talking about specific take down techniques, I was quick to volunteer Lucas as the subject. Check out this video of Nate showing us how he uses a Triangle Choke to force someone into submission.

If you listen closely you might hear the following:

Dave: AND1 - that's it - end of story!
Lucas: yeah, that's good

Perfect Season

I’m sad to say that the 2008-2009 NCAA football season officially came to a close. Although Florida will retain the #1 spot until the pre season polls begin to service this summer, something truly magical happened this season. Of course, I am talking about the perfect bowl record executed by the Conference of Champions and an impressive 5-2 record* for the in house Frank crew.

It all started off when the, unlikely, Arizona Wildcats put a double-digit dent in the BYU Cougars’ post season at the Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl. I’ll be honest, I’m not a big ZONA fan, nor have I ever been a big supporter of the Stoops family. PAC 10: 1-0 / FRANK: 0:0

Next the California Golden Bears secure a win over the ‘Canes in what could be considered a home game at the Emerald Bowl at AT&T Park. A bittersweet win for the Duck fans in the office, as Coach Tedford was a tough loss. PAC 10: 2-0 / FRANK: 0:0

Then it was the Duck’s turn. A civil war match up at the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl between U of O and OSU… no, not that OSU…not that one either…that’s right Oklahoma State. The Civil War of Donors. Phil Knight 42, T. Boone Pickens 31. PAC 10: 3-0 / FRANK: 3:0

To finish off 2008, I present to you the Brut ‘disappointment’ Sun Bowl. Beav’s thought they smelled roses, and viewers expected more than 3 points. Would this be the last team from PA to lose to a PAC10 team? PAC 10: 4-0 / FRANK: 4:0

Nope. The Granddaddy of ‘em All. Joe Paterno vs. Pete Carroll. The 95th annual Rose Bowl Presented by Citi Bank. A new year, and the largest margin of victory (2 TD’s) by a PAC 10 bowl team this season. Fight On! PAC 10: 5:0 / FRANK: 5:2

I guess its safe to say that the best thing that comes out of the end of football season is the full coverage of basketball season.

* It should be noted that a win for Oregon was counted 3 times, once for every alumni in the office and that the 2 losses came from a very heated in house rivalry between two tradition programs.

The Storm of the Century...

Okay, so it might not have been the storm of the century, but it was enough to shut down Portland, Ore. for an entire week. Sure, the 8-12 inches of snow that covered the city streets paled in comparison to the 30+ inches my hometown in Montana received over the same time period, but when the Metro area is only used to 1-2 inches, that extra white stuff causes quite a ruckus. That’s right, I just said “ruckus.”

Streets shut down, cars were snowed in, and businesses stayed closed. Schools started their winter vacations early forcing many parents to work from home. It was Frank’s first serious taste of what the Northwest is capable of. And even though winter storms of this magnitude don’t hit the city that often, when they do, they do so with tenacity.

(A table for two?)

Thank you for reading the thoughts of Lucas.