Awesome Sports

A crazy mix of brains and brawn, Chessboxing is an actual sport where you alternate between 4-minute chess rounds and 3-minute boxing rounds; checkmate and K.O., anyone?

Thrustmaster’s Tennis Duo Pack NW straddles the line between real and virtual; it not only works with Wii’s MotionPlus but includes a foam ball for when you want to break a real sweat.

Seen at the 2008 Olympics, Air Trekkers literally take insanity to new heights; these aluminum stilts use carbon fiber springs that’ll let you jump 10 feet high and run up to 20mph.

Although weighing just 4.5 lbs, Burton’s Zoom Pace Bag is eminently versatile with a removable camera pack, padded laptop area, ski attachment points and 420D nylon construction.

The bright yellow-green colorway isn’t for everyone, but these “Tennis Ball” Nike Hypermax kicks are definitely fresh; it also sports a breathable mesh tongue and felt markings.

Like a real caddy but minus the grumbling, Shadow Caddy is a robotic cart that follows you via a transmitter on your belt; object detection prevents collisions with objects and other golfers.

Most guys wouldn’t be caught dead in Crocs, but their Prepair Collection of sandals is designed to improve athletes’ recovery times by reducing pressure and muscular effort.

Made out of vinylester resin, carbon/kevlar fabrics and fiberglass, Wave Sport’s Project 54 CX is an ultra lightweight kayak at only 20 lbs; it’s limited to 50 handcrafted pieces worldwide.

FineTuneGolf’s RoboCup makes practice putting infinitely easier: simply place it in a cup up to 14 feet away, and it’ll return your golf balls over 15,000 times on 4 AA batteries.

About as sane as living in a glass house, Teckell’s Foosball tables are primarily made of white, green or transparent glass; sharp consequences aside, they are definitely lookers.

Part Winter Games and part disco, Bernard Wilhelm joins Mykita with these slick, aerodynamic aviators that feature lightweight sheet metal frames and mirrored UV blocking lenses.

Deckstool is where old decks go for a second chance: built from broken skateboards, each is crafted and finished in urban Philly and totally unique; they’ll even make your own Custom stool.

Iriver’s LZR Racer Aquabeat is an MP3 player that is designed for underwater use; it’s good at up to 3 meters and features 2GB of storage with up to eight hours of continuous playback.

Part high-end art, part sports equipment, RAYSKIN’s hollow-deck surfboards are handmade from exotic woods and individually surf-tested before being re-finished and sold.

It’s a great day to be a Tarheel: UNC’s 2009 NCAA Title win is captured in grand style in the timelapse video below, which shows partiers at Franklin and Columbia near the UNC campus.

It’s only a featherweight at 45 seconds, but this trailer for Fight Night Round 4 demos seriously cool moves including inside fighting, glancing blows and dynamic blood, sweat and tears.

Dream of simpler, more pixelated days with this fitted Lil Juggler t-shirt; it’s created by Aussie footballer apparel outfit Gfunk&Batz and sports woven inner & hem labels.

Made in collaboration with ALIFE and Girl Skateboards, Marker maven Krink has an ultra-sleek deck out; it sports a metallic finish with Krink’s trademark drip styling. Thanks, Luke!

An evolution of Dainese’s motorcyclist-oriented Wave Safety Jacket, the V Neck Wave Jacket increases neck cervical support, thereby protecting against wind and jerky movement.

Hamilton’s Khaki BASE Jump watch was made for BASE jumpers; it sports an easy-grip bezel, protected crown, countdown or stopwatch versions, and black or bronze PVD finishes.

Hurricane’s Force 12 pool table was designed for a world-class yacht racer; it features stainless steel rigging, aluminum plate, teak rails with mahogany trim and 1″ Italian slate.

Nubeo and Kobe Bryant team up for the Black Mamba watch, whose DLC-treated case is the most complex ever with 131 pieces; it also packs a Valjoux 7750 calibre and 36 part bezel.

Tired of getting pwned by noobs? The Xtensor Hand Exerciser is designed to improve reaction times by rebalancing strength and flexibility; it can also treat tennis elbow and arthritis.

Essentially a glorified iPod Dock with 2.1 audio, Spalding’s iHoop features a suspension cradle to protect your iPod; it also comes with a 1/8″ mini plug for other mp3 players.

There are pogo sticks, and then there’s The Flybar: powered by super-powered elastic bands, it’s capable of catapulting you 7.5 feet into the air, easily enough to jump over cars.

Outside Blog has a video up with some sweet airtime (and spectacular crashes) from the Salomon Extreme Freeride Championships in Taos Ski Valley, New Mexico on March 7th.