Derek Jeter, New York Yankees shortstop and arguably the most recognized name in baseball today, has done what no other Yankee before him has: on Saturday, July 9, he collected his 3,000th hit. He accomplished the feat in the most spectacular way possible, on a home run off Tampa Bay Rays‘ David Price, at home in Yankee Stadium. Having already singled in the first, Jeter connected on an off-speed pitch in the third inning, driving the ball into the seats over the left-field fence.

Jeter is just the 28th player in major league history to reach the 3,000-hit plateau, and only the second to do so with a home run. He’s also just the second player ever to achieve the milestone while playing shortstop, the most physically demanding position on the field next to catcher. Statistically, this has been a difficult season for Jeter, but he still possesses the intangibles of a pure competitor. The captain has always been regarded as someone who plays the game right, a grinder who time and again comes through in the clutch. Today, the clutch hit was a history-making spectacle, perfect for baseball’s greatest stage. We at Freshness congratulate Derek Jeter on his 3,000th hit.

Remember MySpace? It sold for approximately $35 million dollars to marketing network Specific Media last night, down from its original valuation of $580 million dollars when New Corporation brought it 6 years. Though it isn’t the first time a social media is relegated to the “Internet boneyard” and certainly won’t be the last, the story of MySpace was unique for 2 distinctive reasons. First, its acquisition back in 2005 prompted a bidding war between 2 media giants, News Corporation and Viacom. When Viacom, the parent company of Paramount Pictures, MTV, VH1, and such, lost the deal. The company fired Tom Freston, one of the founding member of MTV. The second distinction was just how much resource was at MySpace’s disposal once News Corporation won the bidding war. Its holdings like Fox News, New York Post, and 20th Century Fox have made its chairman Rupert Murdoch not only wealthy but one of the most powerful man in media today. Still, with all his leverage, Murdoch failed to capitalize on MySpace potentials. When Facebook overtook its popularity 2 years ago, MySpace attempted at a rebound several times, from redesigning its layout to its logo. As a last ditch effort, it even added a “Connect with Facebook” button last year.

Though details on the sale to Specific Media weren’t made public, News Corporation will still hold a minority stake in the company. In addition, MySpace’s new owner announced pop star Justin Timberlake will own part of the company and take part in re-vitalizing MySpace. Oh how the mighty have fallen, though it also served as a warning to Google, who launched its Google+ project the day before.

A market capitalization at $198.88 billion dollars, search engine giant Google really defines the word “giant”, though it is not without faults. One area its surely lacking in presence is social media, where Facebook, Twitter, and numerous smaller start-ups have dominated the last few years. Sure, these competitors lacked ability to profit from their popularity, as least for now. In gaining back some momentum and market share in this highly lucrative realm, Google announced the Google+ project. Then, we’ve been down this path before with Google, remember Google Wave? or Google Buzz? Just how different will be Google+ project? First and foremost, the concept is asking user to try it, much like the inception of Gmail. Google’s mantra of simplicity came into play with the initial design as well. Functions are grouped into 5 categories, each with their own icons – Circles, Hangouts, Instant Upload, Sparks, and Huddle. While its very easy to see the similarities between Google+ and Facebook, Google stress its new take on social media is quite a different animal. To drive that point home, it created a total of 6 different tutorial videos, a general overview along one for each of the 5 functionality. As to whether the king of search will dethrone the king of social media? We will soon find out.

Jonas with Diddy during Magic, 2007

When I heard the news earlier this morning, I didn’t want to believe it. But as twitter filled with words of remembrance for the founder of LRG Jonas Bevacqua, the shock finally hit. Our prayers and thoughts go out to  friends and family of Jonas Bevacqua and LRG.

Maiden Noir has already began to release it’s newest Summer 2011 Collection, Battle Field, at select retailers but not the Seattle-based brand has provided an in depth look into the entire collection as well as telling the story behind this season’s collection. Battle Field, looked to explore a nautical theme this season specifically the open sea and the ‘Blue Jackets’. As always the brand outsourced it’s fabrics to Japan so that the quality is of the highest grade. The cut and sew pieces from this season are refined, clean, and classic while honoring the heritage silhouettes that they were created from. Some of the highlights of the season include the Field Jacket, Mini Check dress shirts, bright oxfords, and Ripstop Field cargo shorts. Maiden Noir’s Summer 2011 ‘Battle Field’ collection is available now at their select stockists and their online store.

While its a disappointing piece of information for most Nike SB fans, it is certainly a great news for those living around the Greater Los Angeles region. Tomorrow morning, Nike Vault will start off the sale of Kobe Bryant x Eric Koston – Nike SB Zoom Eric Koston One, a special edition to mark the release of Nike SB Zoom Koston One.  An unique fusion between 2 playground sports, basketball and skateboarding, it will feature a Zoom Kobe VI upper, with its reptilian-like treatment, with an updated Nike SB outsole. Encapsulated between both will be a Nike Lunarlon insert.  To come in a custom made humidor with Eric Koston signature gold balls and suede tote, only 24 units were made for the occasion.  Sale proceeds will be go towards 2 charitable causes, the Nike Better World initiative and the Kobe Bryant Family Foundation, the 24 pairs will be on sale tomorrow at Nike Vault in Downtown Los Angeles.

Nike Vault at Staples Center
1111 South Figueroa Street | Map
Los Angeles, CA, 90015
TEL #: 213-763-2650

Release Date: May 21st, 2011 (Tomorrow!)

In bold letterings and blaring fonts, START TODAY the parent company of ZOZOTOWN online retail concept, started this morning as an international shopping destination for the very first time.  Already the most popular online shopping site in Japan for fashionable goods, ZOZOTOWN added a new web domain address, ZOZOTOWN.com. The simple alteration also mark additional language supports for Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Korean, and English. START TODAY also made the necessary improvements in logistic, product processing, and payment acceptance. Purchases done from outside of Japan can be ship to 82 different destinations worldwide with more to follow.  Meanwhile, direct payment via PayPal help to eliminate credit issues and currency differences. The 500,000+ merchandises from some 700 brands are searchable through either “category” or “brand” methodology.  The retailer also promised fast delivery through air freight, with a 4-day lapse to most places.  The new ZOZOTOWN also means one thing, no shopper have to sit out on buying that rare Japan only Air Jordan.

For a label known all over the world, Nike‘s Co-Found Philip Knight remains a mystery.  Now Chairman of the company he founded with his long time mentor, University of Oregon track coach Bill Bowerman, Knight have always shunned publicity and the attention of the media, till now.  In an exclusive interview with the one and only Oprah Winfrey, Knight talked candidly about the establishment of Blue Ribbon Sports, its subsequent change to Nike, and the origin of that famous Swoosh logo.  Knight also touched upon some personal aspect, especially the death of his son Matthew Knight in 2004 from a scuba diving accident, a subject he rarely talked about.  Other rare looks include the top-secret Nike Sports Research Lab on Beaverton campus and the relationships between the athletes, particularly that of Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods.  Of course, being that its Oprah, the host had a surprise guest in the waiting – Lance Armstrong, who praised Knight and Nike’s support through the years. via: Oprah

Ever heard of Emancipation Day? Neither most Americans. But thanks to this little known holiday effective only in Washington D.C., the due date from personal tax reporting been pushed back to next Monday, April 18th, rather than the traditional April 15th. Unfortunately, it would only be a postponement of the inevitable. To alleviate stress induced migraines, New York-base Help Remedies is ready to, well, help. Established with its very own 5-pillar of ethics, Help Remedies eliminated the common practices of exaggerated claims, introduced easy to open, biodegradable packaging, and profit sharing plans among charitable organizations. And because the company’s core belief is to help people with their little aliments, Help Remedies will dispatch the Help Remedies Tax-Day Relief Team next Monday, April 18th, on the steps of James Farley Post Office in New York City (the last postal station to open till Midnight) to greet those last minute income tax payers. While the company can’t stop your hard earned greenbacks from going to Uncle Sam, it can at least reduce that throbbing headache of yours. Reassure, help will be there.

Help Remedies Tax-Day Relief Team
James Farley Post Office
421 8th Avenue | Map
New York, NY 10001

Event Date: April 18th, 2011 (Income Tax Due Day)

The average pair of jeans takes 42 liters of water in the finishing process alone – that doesn’t include any of the cotton growing, which itself is very water-intensive. Levi’s is now taking aim the amount of water the company uses with the well-titled “Water < Less" collection of garments. There is a reason that this is important - water, often taken for granted, is poised to become one of the most valuable resources on the planet in coming years. As populations grow, access to clean, safe, drinking water is becoming increasingly contentious; water scarcity has already led to much armed conflict, and was one factor in the Darfur genocide. Levi's plan won't save the world with water savings, but what it does do is highlight the issue of safe water - which is an easy issue to overlook. The line will include over a dozen classic Levi’s jeans, including the Levi’s 501 jeans and the 511 and 514 jeans, as well as the popular trucker jacket - in total, 1.5 million pairs of jeans will be produces with the Water-Less method, saving approximately 16 million litres of water. This is great news for denim geeks, who are known to be so devoted to water conservation that they wash their jeans very rarely, if ever. Check out the initial images of some of the products from the Water>Less collection after the jump.

For Spring/Summer 2011, Penfield stayed very true to it’s roots: the Massachusetts-based clothing maker kept a very New England feel to the whole collection. Just to ensure that the collection isn’t boring though, Penfield introduced three new jackets: the Barnstable, Sconset and Walpole, and mixed in some Spring-appropriated brighter colors throughout the collection: select pieces are available in robin’s egg blue, burnt orange, and vibrant red. The Spring collection brings back some of the perennial favorites, like the Vassan, which was a predecessor to the two-tone mountain parkas that are now a part of many label’s outerwear collections. Interesting details include a fold-out extension on the Templeton jacket, to convert it into a long coat, and the diagonal chest pocket found on several of the pieces. Some pieces in the collection are so traditional, and done in such drab colors, that they might seem boring. But each piece in the collection is available in a number of color options; which can be seen in images after the jump, so there are more lively choices. The pieces are available at Penfield now, and will be showing up at accounts soon.

The Aventador….it clearly follows the trajectory set by the Reventon, with its sinister angularity. But it also somehow seems to shatter even the bombastic precedents that Lamborghini is known to set. Unveiled at this year’s Geneva Motor Show – and in some ways a show-stealer – the Aventador is at the zenith of super sports car evolution. Lamborghini vehicles – by virtue of cost, and because anyone who drives them flirts with absurdity – are a rarity in real life. For the majority of us, they are best left in the imagination. Lamborghini recognizes that fact, and to augment the fantasies of fans, the Italian supercar maker just launched a microsite devoted to the Aventador, which allows visitors to configure and customize the vehicle. It isn’t the most fully featured configurator, but visitors can select from a few different options, including most importantly, choice of exterior finish and color. If humanity has any sense of self preservation, fossil fuel-burning internal combustion engines will become anachronisms sooner rather than later. But for the time being, the Aventador represents – by most metrics – a remarkable achievement in automobile design. Now you can imagine it in your own personal flavor. Check out some shots of the configurator after the jump, or visit it here.