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The Under Armour Elite 24 basketball game is this Saturday in New York. As usual, ESPNU will handle the broadcast. And, for the second straight year, Nike has counter-programmed the event in an attempt to keep as many of the nation's top high school prospects as possible from wearing Under Armour gear on national TV.

I wrote about this last August -- about how Nike's decision to try to lure prospects away from Under Armour's top event with an offer of an all-expenses-paid trip to the Bahamas was proof that the so-called Sneaker Wars are back on. (You can read that column here.) And what's interesting now is that Nike has sweetened the pot, if you will, by adding an extra perk for those shunning Under Armour for the swoosh.

A trip to the White House!

What's next, I wonder?

A private Drake concert?

Front row seats to the next Victoria Secret's Fashion Show?

The possibilities are endless -- which is fine by me because, honestly, I've always enjoyed the Sneaker Wars, if only because they're wildly entertaining. (In fact, it's the subject of our latest Candid Coaches entry.) That said, yes, there is a bad side, and the bad side is this: shoe companies, after developing these relationships, sometimes do actually determine where prospects attend college, and, I admit, that's kinda slimy. Everybody admits that's kinda slimy.

But, frankly, I gave up on the purity of recruiting a long time ago. So ... whatever. And, either way, if the byproduct of the entire system is that young people who often come from less-fortunate backgrounds are treated to trips and moments they'd never otherwise experience, well, that's not the worst thing in the world, I don't think. So war away, sneaker companies. War away.