If you heard a round of "Swoosh" last night, it was probably the cry of joyous Nike(NYSE: NKE) investors celebrating the company's fiscal second-quarter results. The athletic footwear and apparel maker saw its top and bottom line sprint past Wall Street's projections.

With earnings climbing by 18% for a $0.57 a share showing on $2.5 billion in revenue, it might seem like smooth treading for the company. Unfortunately, the laces are coming undone. Yes, Nike scored a strong quarter, but that came on the heels of big gains in Europe and Asia. Domestically, it saw an 8% dip in revenues. Recent events are also uninspiring.

Earlier this week, Foot Locker(NYSE: Z) had announced that it would be scaling back on its Nike orders next year to make room for a wider assortment of non-Nike products. The fact that the retailer has been Nike's largest customer, and the chain-wide move will mean as much as $400 million less in Nike spending come 2003, may not seem like much for a company with just over $10 billion in annual sales. It should, though.

Whether Foot Locker is reacting to customer demand or shifting its product mix to produce higher margins, it doesn't bode well for Nike if others follow suit. As a matter of fact, even the company's mouthpieces are getting cold feet.

Last week, Nike settled with Minnesota Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper over a lawsuit that Nike initiated over the summer when the scramble-happy passer wanted to ditch a Nike endorsement deal to hawk Reebok(NYSE: RBK) wares. The two warring factions are back on good terms, but does Nike really want a spokesman who can scramble both on and off the field? Like a new pair of shoes, the company looks good right now, but it's going to take some time to break it in.