USA Today - 09.08.2019

USA TODAY z FRIDAY, AUGUST 9, 2019 z SECTION C

FIRST WORD

He wasn’t on the team. You’ve

gotta be on the team to get a

ring. I love Kelly and appreciate

what he did for us, but he decided

to move on.”

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney on why

former starting quarterback Kelly

Bryant, who led the team to four vic-

tories at the start of last year’s title

campaign, would not be getting a

ring. Bryant left the team in midsea-

son and transferred to Missouri.

NOTABLE NUMBERS

10

Wins for the Yankees with no

losses this year versus the

Orioles at Camden Yards, the second

team since 1955 to go 10-0 against an

opponent on the road (Red Sox at

Tampa Bay in 2002).

16

Home runs hit by the Yankees

this week versus Baltimore,

tying an MLB record in a three-game

series (Red Sox versus Yankees in

1977).

LAST WORD

‘Field of Dreams’ captures the

uniqueness of Iowans’ can-do

attitude, and there’s no better

place to host our state’s very first

major league game than this leg-

endary baseball field in Dyersville.”

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on the an-

nouncement the White Sox and Yan-

kees will play Aug. 13, 2020, at the

farm site where the film was shot.

From staff and wire reports

SWINNEY BY KELVIN KUO/USA TODAY SPORTS

SPORTSLINE

© 2 019 CDW®, CDW•G®and PEOPLE WHO GET IT®are registered trademarks of CDW LLC.

For a faster path forward, you need VMware®

and IT Orchestration by CDW™.

WE GET THAT BUILDING A

GATEWAY TO THE FUTURE WON’T

PREPARE YOU FOR TOMORROW.

CDW.com/vmwarehci

Operate in the data center, in the cloud or on the edge —

today and in the future — with VMware Cloud Foundation™,

designed and implemented by CDW experts.

FOR A FASTER

PATH FORWARD,

YOU NEED VMWARE®

AND IT ORCHESTRATION

BY CDW™.

Learn more below.

Shoe designer Salvador Amezcua

knew something was up. His phone

was blowing up – he was getting non-

stop texts from NBA stars.

“Yo, have you seen the rule

change?” they asked Amezcua.

Amezcua, a custom shoe artist bet-

ter known as “Kickstradomis,” was

confused, until he flipped on his TV

and learned that the NBA had lifted

team color restrictions on players’

shoes for games.

“My face lit up, because I already

knew that next season was going to be

crazy,” Amezcua said.

With the restrictions officially lifted

last August, dozens of NBA players

turned to designers like Kickstradomis,

and many players are already planning

shoe designs for this season.

From depictions of TV or movie char-

acters, tributes or unique color

schemes, players came up with endless

ways to show their personalities with-

out being limited to team colors. Player

style that used to center around tunnel

entrances quickly turned to footwear.

“People want to be able to express

themselves,” newly signed Minnesota

Timberwolves forward Jordan Bell said.

“It’s such a team sport, and you want to

The Pistons’ Langston Galloway wore a custom pair of shoes for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.TOMMY GILLIGAN/USA TODAY SPORTS

Custom kicks are more

than fashion statement

Lila Bromberg

USA TODAY

See KICKS, Page 8C

Salvador Amezcua, better known as

Kickstradomis, preps a pair of

sneakers for painting in his Los

Angeles studio.

SANDY HOOPER/USA TODAY