CYBERSPORTS NO SNICKERING AT THESE SNEAKER REVIEWS.

Byline: - Tom Hoffarth

Kobe Bryant's new Adidas? Better than anything Michael Jordan ever had his name on.

Those Nikes with the springs on the bottom? If you're willing to go through a day of pain, they're like no other.

And what about Reebok's re-introduced Pump technology? Just more hot air.

That, and more rants and raves about today's hottest high-priced high-tops by a hip hoppin' fellow named Ernest ``Professor K'' Kim make the ever-expanding big shoe review site called Kicksology.net a wise place to stop before heading down to Foot Locker to mortgage the house.

The site draws more than 20,000 shoe lovers each week, checking on product reviews of all the major labels as well as some not so well known, which is very helpful. Mostly, the focus is on the flashy models and whether they live up to the buzz after they're tested on a five-point rating scale for comfort, fit, cushioning and ankle support.

The highly polished site will only serve as a Consumer Reports-like service as long as it avoids pressures that can be put out by the companies to influence reviews.

--After offers to merge with Yahoo, ESPN and Nike fell apart in recent weeks, the Seattle-based Rivals.com network of sites will close and the remaining 80 employees are to be laid off, according to several reports.

Some 600 teams and schools allow Rivals to operate their sites, and the company has title sponsorship rights to the Hula Bowl. Neither USC nor UCLA's official sites were run by the company, but sites devoted to both schools (WeAreSC.com and BruinReportOnline.com) have been popular fan info sites.

Rivals.com is one of several sports sites to shut down in recent months, following Santa Monica-based Broadband Sports, UltimateBid.com and MVP.com. According to the Industry Standard magazine, ESPN.com and SportsLine.com may be the most trafficked sites, but neither will be profitable this year because of advertising sales.

--The Internet gambling site Intertops.com has odds posted at 10-to-13 (bet $13 to win $10) that the XFL won't make it past the first season.