Don't tread... on a widescreen iPod

Soccer in the United States has gone through a number of phases over the last 10 years. First, it was MLS, the new kid on the block, building on the success and featuring the heroes of World Cup '94. Then it was an inexpensive family-friendly alternative to the overblown egos of most pro sports, with easily accessible players who presented a squeaky clean face to the world. Sort of the "we may not make much money, but we sure love our fans" approach. But after the Nats' successful run at World Cup '02, the sport began to take itself a little more seriously. The media profile began to rise. Freddy Adu and Landon Donovan are household names who show up regularly on MTV. Advertisers are beginning to take notice of soccer's appeal and show their love with, well maybe not wads of cash, but at least some decent money. Slowly but surely, US Soccer is creeping its way into the public conciousness. With that in mind, last year Nike began its Don't Tread On This campaign, announcing to the world that the US was no longer a soccer doormat, that we were ready to play on the big boys' level and win. All fine and good, but you need a fan base and an advertising audience that believe that message. Well, here's a big step down that road. US National and New England Revolution midfielder Clint Dempsey (aka Deuce, as the hip-hoppers say) has teamed up with Houston rappers Big Hawk and XO to create "Don't Tread", a rap video that is slated to become the centerpiece for Nike's campaign. This campaign is getting notice from news sources like ESPN.com and Soccer365, among others, and it seems like an interesting new direction for the National Team heading into this year's World Cup. While the overly-blinged hip-hop set isn't really my style, I've got to respect Nike for going for the street cred, since in most parts of the world, it's soccer fields and not basketball courts that fill the poor places. Suckas better recognize. And God, anything's got to be better than that horrendous "Goals, Goals, Goals" song they play at Nats matches now. That shit sounds like the Wiggles on meth. The Nats take on Japan tomorrow night in San Francisco (on ESPN2 at 11:00 ET), which should be a much tougher test than Norway. Japan is also World Cup-bound, so their players are fighting for roster spots just like the US players. I expect this to be a pretty tight game played at a high level. And during the breaks, I would assume we'll see the commercial version of the "Don't Tread" video several times.

In other interesting news, it looks like Apple is already planning to turn their video iPod on its side, preparing a touch-sensitive widescreen iPod for release sometime later this year. Gizmodo and Engadget have the details, and Engadget also has some back story on Apple's patent work for a tablet-style Mac that allowed them to have the touchscreen technology available for the new iPod.

And in other Apple news, the iTunes Music Store is headed for its one billionth download. Cool prizes await, so get in there and buy tracks, people! I need to win me that grand prize! The very thought of a $10,000 iTunes gift card gives me dollar sign eyes...