Nick Daiber wins Nike shoe design competition

A 17-year-old student at Highland High School has won a nationwide shoe design contest sponsored by Nike.

Nick Daiber actually tied for first place. Then NBA player Carmelo Anthony made the deciding vote.

"It was really awesome," said Daiber. "Having the judges pick was really cool. But having Melo pick my shoe over the other guy's was like really amazing."

Diaber showed NewsChannel 5 a prototype utilizing a high-top tennis shoe.

"This is taped-up," he said. "I taped over a real shoe and drew on it."

Then he brought out the finished product. No one will be lacing it up any time soon, however. It's a ceramic model.

"This right here," he said, pointing to the top of the shoe. "This part of your foot sweats the most. So it's like a mesh bootie here. And then this shell of a top. And a special lacing system."

Chris Durbin is an engineering teacher at Highland High School.

"I think Nick is the perfect example of the kind of exciting things high school students can do if we just give them the resources and get out of their way," said Durbin.

Art teacher Laura Wander said she is not surprised by Daiber's success.

"No, I'm not. He has wanted this so bad," said Daiber. "He's got such a great work ethic and this is all he's been working on since last year."

The ultimate prize is yet to come. Daiber hopes to get a chance to meet Carmelo Anthony and watch him play basketball while wearing the shoes Daiber designed.

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Mayflower resident assaulted Tuesday

A resident of Mayflower Residence Hall was assaulted Tuesday afternoon around 2 p.m. as he was leaving the northeast entrance of the building, according to a press release.

The suspect wore a ski mask and reportedly punched the victim in the back of the head and attempted to steal his wallet. A Good Samaritan stepped in and was able to aid the victim in retrieving the wallet, the release said.

According to UI police, the suspect is described as a 25- to 30-year old black male, 6 foot, 200 pounds; he was last seen wearing all black clothing and black Nike-style basketball shoes. The alleged victim also said there appeared to be a cut design in his hair on the right side of his head.

UI police are also seeking the Good Samaritan, who is described as an older white male, possibly 40 to 50 years of age, who might go by the name Mark or Clark. He is described as 5-10, 170 pounds, with a thin silver mustache and light brown hair.

Actors spends time in “Bear” Bryant's shoes

Former Alabama football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant will come to life on stage this weekend in the form of “Bear Country,” a play that takes audiences through pivotal events of Bryant's life, up to the end of his coaching career. Produced by Theatre Tuscaloosa and penned by playwright Michael Vigilant, “Bear Country” will be held at Shelton State's Bean-Brown Theatre several nights each week until Oct.2.

Vigilant wrote the play as part of the Alabama Shakespeare Festival's Southern Writers Project. After a three-year process of research, reading about Bryant's life and interviewing family, friends and former players, rehearsal began in 2008 for its first run.

According to Vigilant, the play's overarching message is found in the coach's quote, “Five to seven plays from each game make the differences, whether you win or lose.”

“I wanted to pick five to seven [moments] of Coach Bryant's life and make them the play,” Vigilant said. “We see these pivotal moments in his life and how he developed into the person he was.”

Bryant is played by returning actor Rodney Clark, who brings us through moments such as Bryant's first discovery of football while listening to the 1926 Rose Bowl with his uncle, as well as his playing against Tennessee on a broken leg and his decision not to leave Alabama for a job with the Miami Dolphins. Younger versions of Bryant and those around him are played by the cast's other three members.

Vigilant recalled his nerves on opening night of their first production in 2009 but said warm reviews and exceptional turnout both thrilled and relieved him.

“I have to admit, I've written a lot of plays and been at a lot of opening nights,” Vigilant said. “But I don't think I quite understood the magnitude of what Coach Bryant means to Alabama.”

According to the playwright, every player he interviewed shared the sentiment that Coach Bryant was not just a coach, but a figure who gave them the drive and guidance to help them succeed on and off the field.

“[Coach Bryant's] probably a lot more than you think he was,” Vigilant said. “I'm always pleased to see people rising to their feet at the end of a production [of Bear Country], and I know it isn't just for the performance, but it's celebrating the tremendous legacy of Coach Bryant.”

Clark, a member of the company since 1995, was apprehensive at first about taking the role of Coach Bryant.

“I grew up in Alabama. I was an Alabama fan, went to school here. I watched him on TV,” Clark said. “The thought of screwing it up and having everyone in Alabama after [me] was frightening.”

However, as the script became more and more appealing and his schedule aligned, Clark accepted. Clark said he immediately began digging into YouTube videos of the coach and figuring out just how he sounded, looked and responded to certain issues at the end of his career.

“I haven't been to an [Alabama football] game in a long time,” Clark said. “I went to the opening game this year, and I was in tears. Seeing that video introduction [featuring Coach Bryant], it brought to my mind how important it is to represent this man properly and how much he meant to the state of Alabama.

Eventually, he captured the “mellow” and “warm” aspect of Bryant with his signature deep accent, bringing it into a theatrical form.

Not only is Clark revisiting his role as Coach Bryant, but he is also taking on the character alongside three new cast members. Clark said that, while balancing being an actor and a director can be tricky, and new actors make the production very new, the play's central direction remains the same.

“[Bear Country's] really in great praise of an iconic figure who has been loved in this area for so long,” Clark said. “It's a good way to learn a lot of things about [Coach Bryant], about his personality, and something about his person.”

The next performance of Bear Country will take place tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Bean-Brown Theatre. The run will continue until its final performance on Oct. 2 at 2:00 p.m.

Edgewood Eagle Cheerleaders Raise Money, Collect Shoes

The Edgewood Eagles cheerleading squad does more than cheer at Pop Warner games.
Recently, the squad raised $700 for Jackson, a great dane recently featured on local television who needed his two front legs operated on. The money went to Great Danes Rescue around New England and was raised during a recent car wash in front of Cranston High School East.
On Sunday, the squad held a sneaker drive to collect shoes that will be shipped to Nike. They'll then recycle the shoes to make indoor tracks, basketball and tennis courts and playgrounds around the world.
Nike recieved more than 6,000 applications for the drive and Edgewood was one of just a few hundred chosen to participate.
Their goal was to ship 100 sneakers to Nike and so far, they've already collected 250.

Parents save when kids stay home

Anyone who has taken their kids back-to-school shopping knows how hard it can be to resist pleas for a Dora the Explorer folder or a Lightning McQueen lunchbox. But this year, some parents have been testing a new strategy: leaving the little ones at home.
Parents are being squeezed by stagnant wages and rising costs, not to mention a growing list of classroom supplies that teachers request they buy.
But kids want the Nike shoes and Abercrombie & Fitch tees they see in ads every day, never mind the cost. They also don’t like to be dragged from store to store while their parents comparison shop.
As a result, only 56 percent of parents say they’re bringing their kids along for back-to-school shopping this year, down from 80 percent last year, according to marketing data firm America’s Research Group.
“One of the best ways to save money is to do the shopping and bring it home and say, ‘Here are your back-to-school clothes,’ ” said America’s Research Group President C. Britt Beemer. “When children are along, pleasing them and avoiding a tantrum is an easier choice than trying to say, ‘No way.’ ”
Gayle Strickland Jones, who lives in Middletown, Del., decided to handle the back-to-school shopping this year without her children after her 10-year-old son pleaded for an $8 pair of titanium scissors at Staples — just because they were cool.

On a solo trip, she ended up buying a $3 basic pair of scissors at Walmart instead.
Similarly, Jones, who works at DuPont, was able to save money on purchases for her daughter. Last year, Jones bought her seventh-grade daughter a new backpack with polka dots, so this year, the girl requested that all her school supplies be in zebra print. As a compromise, Jones picked up a two-pack of zebra-print erasers for $1.
Ultimately, shopping without the kids saves Jones money, which is important because her husband was laid off from his sales job earlier this year. She spent just $75 on school supplies this year — much less than she says she spent last year — and even less than if the kids had been with her.
“They would not only be pickier but wanting things they don’t necessarily need,” Jones said about shopping with her kids.
To be sure, children have always bugged their parents to buy unnecessary doodads. A generation ago, kids begged their parents for Legos and My Little Pony after watching commercials for the toys during Saturday-morning cartoons. But that was the extent of their brand exposure.
Now, kids are being marketed to on several digital channels from the time they can talk. In total, companies spend roughly $17 billion per year advertising to kids, up from $100 million in 1983, according to the not-for-profit group Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. And children younger than 8 are the most susceptible to marketing because they interpret ads literally, not understanding the intent is to drive sales.
“If you show it to kids enough, they’re going to want it,” saod Sandra Calvert, director of the Children’s Digital Media Center at Georgetown University.
That has put a new level of pressure on parents at a time when they’re looking to spend conservatively in the down economy.
The average family with kids in grades kindergarten through 12 plans to shell out $604 for clothes, school supplies and electronics this year, down slightly from $606 last year.
But in a 2011 back-to-school shopping survey by market-research firm Kelton Research, most parents said that, more often than not, their kids push them to buy certain products or brands. And almost one in two parents said they feel pressure to buy the highest-quality or costliest items for their children.
“When I was a kid, I used to pester my parents for name-brand shoes, but I had much less access, and I was much less marketed to,” said Gareth Schweitzer, president of Kelton Research, adding that now it’s “harder for parents to save money.”
Gina Lincicum, a stay-at-home mother of an 8-year-old boy and 5-year-old twins, said it’s tough to keep a budget in check when shopping with kids.
So this year, she has decided to order her children’s clothing online and then have them try it on at home, where they won’t be tempted by more expensive duds. (Lincicum, the blogger behind the site Moneywisemoms.com, said she is waiting until late September to do this so she can catch deals.)
“When we’re out, my son says, ‘I want that Mario T-shirt,’ ” said Lincicum, whose family has been feeling the stress of the high cost of living in their northern Virginia town. “I’m like, ‘Wait a second, you have enough T-shirts to get you through two years.’ ”
Sue Werle took a similar approach when she decided to exclude her four children, ages 2 to 8, from back-to-school shopping trips.
Werle, who lives in Sherwood, Ore., opted to buy most of her kids’ school supplies online because she could take her time and ensure she was getting the lowest price — a feat she says is impossible when she brings the kids to the store because they are impatient and want a lot of unnecessary things. For instance, her 8-year-old son insists on Skechers-brand shoes, which can run between $36 and $60 in his size.
“It’s hard when you know those Hot Wheels pencils are just really cool,” said Werle, who opted for very basic school supplies but decided to allow each child to pick out one bigger, special item, such as a backpack or pair of shoes. “But when you’re trying to stick to a budget, you have to go, ‘What’s going to matter to my child in the long run — that they have a cool backpack or the pencil that in two weeks is going to be lost, broken or chewed on?’ ”
Laura Train decided to do her back-to-school shopping without her kids even knowing. Train, who works for the Social Security Administration in Baltimore County, Md., picked up school supplies at Target while her two children were out of town in Texas this summer.
Between clothing and supplies, she budgeted $500 for both kids, and so far she hasn’t gone over. But her kids are at an age — 11 and 14 — that she didn’t feel comfortable buying everything without their input. Train did her best, though, getting basic, inexpensive items in colors she thought they would like. She even picked up one item for her daughter that wasn’t on the list.
“I got her a mirror for her locker,” Train said. “She thought that was pretty cool.”