Mark Yost’s Var$ity Green exposes the business behind NCAA athletics. In light of this weeks action over at USC, his investigation is timely and serves to shift through the cliches surrounding the nature of American athletics. Yost is a season journalist, covering sport for the Wall Street Journal and Sports Business Journal.

Var$ity Green releases next week from Standford University Press. A preview is now available through Google Books.

Available now at Amazon.

Italy’s Sergio Rossi continues to output a collection of footwear for the men’s market. Their 2010 Spring/Summer collection is an abundant one, that covers the formal to the casual. Expect well made footwear which offers looks that complement most looks while offering a common alternative to many of shoes on the store shelves today.

Many more looks at the Sergio Rossi Footwear Spring/Summer 2010 after the click.

“Behind the scenes footage at the Burberry Spring/Summer 2010 campaign shoot, featuring British actress Emma Watson and Burberry Chief Creative Officer, Christopher Bailey.”

The reason we started these top 5 album picks was to showcase another side to designers. Music is so intrinisically linked with fashion that we felt it only natural we start asking some of our favourite designers about what they’ve been listening to over the last year.

We often make assumptions about what type of music a designer listens to in their downtime and we made the assumption that Koeun Park would spend her time listening to obscure whale songs – instead she apologised for her ‘terribly commercial’ taste in music, which consisted of Kings Of Leon and Jay-Z amongst others. It’s always nice to be surprised.

Take a leap to see her picks.

Before you start saying ‘this did the blog rounds a week ago’, this is a gander at some looks that the fine folks at Style Salvage couldn’t fit into their post. The collection is called ‘Kingsland Road’ (a road in the trendy side of East London) and the designers say that they were inspired by the road and the culture-meshing that goes on there. As they state in the S.S Q&A:

“We’ve always been interested in the idea of ‘the trans-cultural’ – an enriched summation of many cultures to create a unified whole, forming a sartorial mix which is unique to the UK and possibly at it’s most direct in London. For us, this area of London perfectly captures the spirit simply by walking from one end of the Kingsland Road to the other. It is possible to experience some of the worlds most prominent cultures, and we wanted to echo this mood in our collection”

Aside from the usual Casely-Hayford touches, we also noticed a slight preppy vibe in the louche sweatshirts and consistent use of Miles Davis green throughout the collection.

Song remains the same, detailed images after the leap.

Rasmus Norlander has a solid reputation for architectural photography. He recently put his lens toward Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg. While we need little by way of world cup reminder here at Selectism, little previews of the upcoming tournament are always welcome. Soccer City Stadium will seat some 95,000 fans. Little in the design suggests Soccer City will generate the architectural buzz of Beijing’s Bird’s Nest, but it appears a solid venue despite artistic shortcomings. (via It’s Nice That).

Can’t wait to see it filled.

Folk have just opened up their second store in that new menswear mecca, Shoreditch. Taking over the space Butcher of Distinction occupied (which, whilst stocking a great selection of Rushmoor pieces, had started to resemble a ghost town) giving it a lick of paint and a good makeover.

They’ve made good use of the space too; adding gym horses, milk churns and shoe storage is packed from floor to ceiling of the 12 ft high building. Our female readers (we know you’re out there) will be glad to know that their women’s range is stocked at the store as well.

Take a look at pictures of the store after the leap.

In the words of that sample Wu-Tang used, Can it be that it was all so simple then? While that was a grandiose way to start a blog post, our reasons for liking this jacket are, as the Wu say, simple. It looks good, will keep you warm-ish (we wouldn’t wear this without another layer on top right now) and it’s on sale – down to $464 from $1,545. What else do you need? (Opening Ceremony)

01. John Cale to perform classic ‘Paris 1919′ LP live in London

“The Velvet Underground’s John Cale will perform his classic solo album Paris 1919 in its entirety at the Southbank Centre in London next year.” (Fact)

02. Vic Chesnutt RIP – A Recent Quietus Interview

“It was with sadness that we learned that this time the rumours were true and that Vic Chesnutt had died on Xmas Day. Wyndham Wallace talked to him a few months ago, this feature was the result.” (The Quietus)

03. 20 reasons to be cheerful in 2010

“Forget retrospectives for the moment too. The lead into 2010 is going to be underwhelming, but as the year unravels and you get used to writing ‘2010′ on cheques or paying-in slips (both fairly old-fashioned habits to carry a date that seems so futuristic, but, hey, for the most part, we’re a regressive people) there’s some good things on the horizon. It won’t be all-wack-everything in the near future. Why? Because here’s twenty reasons to be cheerful over the next twelve months” (Gwarizm)

04. NKU: Son of Bazerk, No Self Control and the Band! (pictured above)

“Never Knowingly Underdressed – Son Of Bazerk, No Self Control & The Band!” (Garmsville)

Coming this February 2010 from Assouline is a new book from Olivier Margot on the world of Lacoste. “Since the birth of the iconic alligator – the world’s first clothing logo and the symbol of its French tennis-great namesake – in 1933, Lacoste has been nearly synonymous with sport. When champion René Lacoste put his fa vored tennis uniform (a white piqué polo shirt) into production for the mass market, it revolutionized the standard stiff and starchy athletic attire, usher ing in an era of sport styles that were as comfortable and functional as they were chic.”

Lacoste is available for pre-order from Amazon.