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Boy Wonder

matt.jpg

Major developments in the batboy realm lately, as several readers have noted that Mets batboy Matt has recently started wearing stirrups. But Matt, whose full name is Matthew Harris, isn’t just any batboy — he is, to my knowledge, the only uniformed MLB employee who’s also a card-carrying Uni Watch member.

I e-mailed Matt to ask why he’d made the hosiery switch, and whether the stirrups were provided for him by the team or if he had to procure them himself. His response:

We have always had them, but no one uses them. I wore them once a while ago and we lost, so I banned myself from wearing them. Then [for last week’s series] against the Braves, I was like, ‘What the fuck, I’ll wear ’em.’ So I did. I always liked the look, probably why I am a Uni Watch fan. Some of the players commented on ’em, most like ’em, but I couldn’t see anyone on this team wearing them.

Matt wrote that last bit a day before Lastings Milledge broke out the blue stirrups on Saturday. Did Milledge get the idea from Matt? I wrote to ask him. His reply: “Well, before Friday night’s game, he saw me with them, and commented how he liked them and wanted a pair.” So there you go: Matt Harris, spreading the gospel.

And if you’re wondering (as I was) why a Mets batboy would choose a Pirates design motif for his membership card, Matt says, “I dunno, I just like the Pirates’ font, colors, and vests. I would have gone with Yankee pinstripes , but I wanted my name on it, so Pirates font it was.” Holy moly — a Mets batboy with a Yankee-themed card?! Talk about a narrow escape.

(Special thanks to Chris Flinn, who provided the photo of Matt walking across the infield.)

Uni Watch News Ticker: An interview with me will be airing today at 1pm and again at 1:30pm at Baseballchannel.tv. … Reprinted from Sunday night’s comments: Look what showed up on a children’s restaurant menu. … “Brendan ‘Boog’ Ryan was showing his stripes in Sunday’s Dodgers/Cardinals game,” writes Elena Elms. “With Anthony Reyes on the mound, it was a rare two-stirrup (or should I say four-stirrup?) day for St Louis.” … By now most of us have seen photos of the MLB uni regulations that are posted in every clubhouse. What you may not have seen are the corresponding NFL regs, which Mark Nussbaum recently photographed during a tour of Qwest Field (additional pics here, here, here, here, and here). That main poster is at least seven years old (I got a copy of it in 2000), and many of its main points obviously aren’t enforced very stringently — so much for the NFL’s much-vaunted “uniform police.” … Joe Torre used to wear a pinkie ring — but not while in uniform. Very amusing details here (with thanks to Richie Rich). … The new Syracuse helmets have inspired some interesting correspondence between the a fan and the team’s equipment manager (with thanks to Mike Alper). … Rugby news from Caleb Borchers, who writes: “Here’s a gallery of some Rugby World Cup warm-up games. One is Ireland vs. Scotland (both in brand new Canterbury jerseys) and the other is France vs. England (in their Nike nasties). Apparently random splotches of color on the calves is a common innovation of ugliness! I particularly don’t like Scotland’s dot matrix deal, which makes it look like they rolled around in white paint before the game. When you look at how good these teams looked just six moths ago, you can see how badly these companies and their templates have screwed things up.” … Awesome article here about Nike’s materials librarian, who sounds like someone I ought to interview (great find by Karen Peters). … World-class decal obsession from Eric Buzard, who writes: “While watching the Seahawks/Chargers game on Sunday night, I noticed how the American flag decal on the Chargers’ helmet is positioned so that it covers the end of the bolt. The exception is the Riddell Revolution helmet, which has a larger shell and more real estate to work with, so the flag doesn’t have to cover the bolt. You can see both styles here. What’s even more interesting is how the Rams have the fine-print warning label running portait-style [i.e., vertical], as opposed to landscape [i.e., horizontal], which is how most teams do it. The portrait-style allows the label to be placed on the one-inch raised area as found on a standard Riddell helmet. Not sure what the story is for Schutt helmets.” … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: David Carr was wearing gloves on both hands the other night (plus he appears to have cut his sleeves extra-short). Looks like he’s been doing it in practice, too. Too bad, since Carr used to play while wearing, depending on which report you choose to believe, either his wedding band or a piece of tape in place of his wedding band. Whatever it was, it looked like this, but I guess we won’t be seeing it anymore. … Latest uni-related superstition: Jermaine Dye is now hiking up his pants (nice find by Todd Usher). … “Having followed hockey for quite a while, I can’t remember seeing a goalie whose pattern for the pads and blocker used the team logo like this,” writes Matthew Lepke. “It’s not just a pattern based on the logo (we’ve seen that many times) — it is the logo.” … As previously reported/expected/etc., the Niners and Ravens have switched to black shoes. … The Niners also provided the first game-action view of their Bill Walsh memorial decal, although that photo is of interest primarily for other reasons. … Although it’s tough to see, the Dolphins have reduced the size of their drop shadow, going from this to this (with thanks to Al Muñiz for bringing me up to speed). … Prison team? Early mix of ballplayer and football ref? Nope — it’s Hall of Famer Dan Brouthers, who played in the late 1800s, when stripes were apparently very in (nice find by David Parker). … By the time most of you read this, I’ll be on Long Island, where I’m spending the day at Lelands auction house (writing a bizness story about them for the Financial Times). I expect to see — and, I hope, photograph — lots of cool uni-related stuff. Details to follow tomorrow.

 
  
 
Comments (178)

    I love the shot of Name Lastname. One more example of first string not playing in the preseason.

    God, the Eagles-Ravens game was bad. The announcers on the local station, save for newly-retired Ike Reese, were horrendous. “Bloom’s gone into the locker room for an x-ray on his toe, and that’s a problem. They wanted himt o get a lot of chances today, and you can’t get out there when you’re in the locker room gettin’ and x-ray.”
    Really. =P

    I don’t recall having seen those Calgary pads on Roloson – it’s interesting. The logos were a little excessive, but I think team logos on the legs have been done a few times before. I want to say that oneof the Avalanche goalies did that (Budaj maybe?). I know that the kid between the pipes for my old high school has the link on his pads when they’re put together.

    I was watching The Big Lebowski last night and just thought how much Paul would hate John Turturro’s (Jesus Quintara) link.

    of course Carr wears two gloves. It’s important to have traction when you’re picking yourself up off the turf 20 times a game.

    It is easy to see the antiquated nature the NFL uniform regulations at first glance. The jerseys have sleeves and the player is well-equipped with sturdy pads. In other words, he looks more like a football player than a Tour de France participants who take the field for NFL teams these days.

    Is Lasting Milledge’s change in hosiery the first example of UniWatch influencing the way a uniform is worn, in-game? … be it 2 degrees of seperation.

    Don’t know if its been mentioned in here before, but I was watching one of the National morning shows, and members of the Russian National Baseball Team were there, and sporting very cool throwback jerseys. I searched online for the team, and they are link. A bit steep, but a really nice jersey…

    Attention Awesome Uni-Watch Graphic Designers

    Last year we designed a new crest for the HS soccer team that I coach, and it needs a little bit of tweaking (minor changes). link, it is fuzzy because I moved it from adobe to paint.

    If you can help, please e-mail me at link and I will let you know what I am looking for. There is a shirt in it for you if you can help.

    Thanks,
    Orlando

    I find it interesting that the Niner helmet shown in that screen grab has

    A) The green dot
    B) The Bill Walsh sticker
    C) The American flag
    D) The Safety disclaimer
    E) The new Niner logo at the bottom of the helmet
    F) The NFL logo
    G) No uniform number – no room, I guess

    I’ve never seen so much adornment on the back of a helmet outside of a college all-star game.

    I think more and more baseball players will be going to stirups. They will consider it “old school” and “retro”.
    Also, what it that small green dot on the back of the some of the football helmets this year?
    Thanks.

    Love the new Niner look of black shoes, especially with Michael Robinson’s elimination of the white portion of the sock and . . . was he wearing hightops to boot?

    On those Rugby shirts, this is Canterburys template, Australia and South Africa will be wearing similar shirts.

    link

    link

    I hope that the number fonts though are better than the irish ones

    link

    link

    Might be a competition I follow on the radio!

    Can someone give more of the story behind the Name Lastname image? Did that actually show up on the screen during the game and I missed it? Or was it just from the production room?

    Thanks for the link to Lelands, Paul. I saw a few hockey jerseys that were new to me. I think the Fightin’ Saints might be my new favorite team:
    link

    And as much as I hate Cleveland and the site policy for hating purple, the Crusaders logo is impressive:
    link

    Anybody know when the 49ers started using that wordmark logo on the back of the helmet? It was also in each endzone of the game last night and I’d never seen it before.

    Andy Reid didn’t seem to be wearing the new Motorola headsets during last nights game. Can’t link the picture but it’s in the group link Photo number 46. Others seem to be wearing them in photos 60

    in that pinky ring clip, was that Chris Berman in the 70s before ESPN? (Torre sure looked different)

    Isn’t that the second straight year MNF has had the NAME LASTNAME graphic pop up? I thought it happened last year as well.

    I find it interesting that David Carr wears knee and thigh pads in practice with little or no contact, but takes them out for the game.

    [quote comment=”132181″]I don’t recall having seen those Calgary pads on Roloson – it’s interesting. The logos were a little excessive, but I think team logos on the legs have been done a few times before. I want to say that oneof the Avalanche goalies did that (Budaj maybe?). I know that the kid between the pipes for my old high school has the link on his pads when they’re put together.[/quote]

    I can’t find a pic, but I remember one of the U. of Michigan goalies in the mid-’90s having a split ‘M’ design on his pads.

    I was proud to have this conversation at the Mariners game last night (for the second time this year):

    some random girl behind me-“Why does Ichiro wear his socks high?”

    drunk me-“Because it looks so much better. Look at Felix, he looks like a bum”

    srgbm-“You’re right, he does look really good. More players should do that”

    Regarding the Niners’ helmets: they don’t have to have the numbers on the backs of the helmets. After all, the Cowboys don’t (hence the Dyna-Tape nameplates)

    Kudos to Matt for sportin’ the stirrups, but am I the only one who finds it a little disturbing that a bat boy would use the term, “what the f#ck”??

    no screen shots… but, during last night’s 49er game I noticed someone on the ‘9ers was using white athletic tape on his cleats. that’s a no-no!!

    regardless, they looked great with the new black shoe fashion. as terrible as the raven unis are, the black cleats definitely “fit”.

    Paul,
    The bit on the Scotland having the white patches everywhere, isnt just Scotland. Its all Canterbury teams. Each kit for each player is designed a little differently depending upon the position that the player playes. the white patches are actually due to a material on the jersey that improves grip. you can see it on the irish team in link why ireland’s is much more subdued than scotland i dont know. Canterbury has also brought this idea into football (soccer) where if you look at david james keeper kit at pompey, youll see that on his sleeves and across his midsection he has the same patches. so its not just for looks, its actually meant

    [quote comment=”132215″]Kudos to Matt for sportin’ the stirrups, but am I the only one who finds it a little disturbing that a bat boy would use the term, “what the f#ck”??[/quote]

    Well, he is from New York.

    word has just come out that legendary yankee SS and announcer phil rizzuto has passed at age 89. look for the yankees to honor rizzuto with the #10 stitched on the left arm, above the black armband already being worn for cory lidle.

    the yanks have done this before with the passing of joe dimaggio (#5) and mickey mantle (#7).

    I would expect it tonight.

    [quote comment=”132209″][quote comment=”132181″]I don’t recall having seen those Calgary pads on Roloson – it’s interesting. The logos were a little excessive, but I think team logos on the legs have been done a few times before. I want to say that oneof the Avalanche goalies did that (Budaj maybe?). I know that the kid between the pipes for my old high school has the link on his pads when they’re put together.[/quote]

    I can’t find a pic, but I remember one of the U. of Michigan goalies in the mid-’90s having a split ‘M’ design on his pads.[/quote]

    WOW…i wish i could find a picture of those. They were made by VIC, and have been floating around my hometown for almost 10 years now…i still see some guy with the exact pads around the local arena’s here in London, Ontario. I am not entirely sure, but I think Dan Blackburn wore them in his time at UofM? anyone feel free to correct me with pictures…

    Paul, have you ever covered goal equipment at all? Equipment companies are going more and more custom, and there are examples showing up everywhere. see : Kevin Weekes about 5 yrs ago with Carolina. Ill start hunting for some pics.

    [quote comment=”132222″]word has just come out that legendary yankee SS and announcer phil rizzuto has passed at age 89. look for the yankees to honor rizzuto with the #10 stitched on the left arm, above the black armband already being worn for cory lidle.

    the yanks have done this before with the passing of joe dimaggio (#5) and mickey mantle (#7).

    I would expect it tonight.[/quote]
    Sorry to hear that news. Is having your number retired the qualifier for that kind of honor with the Yankees? To me, I guess, DiMaggio and Mantle reached a legend/icon status that warranted a higher tribute. Did they do the number thing when Billy Martin died?

    Take a closer look at the NFL uniform guidelines pic, then look at the “Heads-up” poster above it. Maybe it’s just my filthy mind, but…?

    Heads-up indeed.

    [quote comment=”132219″][quote comment=”132215″]Kudos to Matt for sportin’ the stirrups, but am I the only one who finds it a little disturbing that a bat boy would use the term, “what the f#ck”??[/quote]

    Well, he is from New York.[/quote]

    As a former bat boy (ended last year), I always hated the stereotype that it’s for 12 year olds. I was told (though I can’t confirm it), that bat boys have to be 18 yrs old. The kids you see now running around are players/coaches kids. A normal bat boy still has to be out there.
    ex: When Raffie was doing his 3000th hit, his kids would dress up and be bat boys. I still had to dress up and make sure they did every thing ok. (I was on the visiting side, which only has one bat boy a game)

    [quote comment=”132215″]Kudos to Matt for sportin’ the stirrups, but am I the only one who finds it a little disturbing that a bat boy would use the term, “what the f#ck”??[/quote]

    It did strike me as odd, until I gave some thought to the actual age of most batboys. The visiting team’s batboy at Rangers games looks like he’s thirty and could grow a full beard in a week.

    Brian’s goalie equipment is known for it’s custom graphics on leg pads. Check out their site, link as they have a nice gallery of some of the custom work they’ve done.

    [quote comment=”132224″][quote comment=”132209″][quote comment=”132181″]I don’t recall having seen those Calgary pads on Roloson – it’s interesting. The logos were a little excessive, but I think team logos on the legs have been done a few times before. I want to say that oneof the Avalanche goalies did that (Budaj maybe?). I know that the kid between the pipes for my old high school has the link on his pads when they’re put together.[/quote]

    I can’t find a pic, but I remember one of the U. of Michigan goalies in the mid-’90s having a split ‘M’ design on his pads.[/quote]

    WOW…i wish i could find a picture of those. They were made by VIC, and have been floating around my hometown for almost 10 years now…i still see some guy with the exact pads around the local arena’s here in London, Ontario. I am not entirely sure, but I think Dan Blackburn wore them in his time at UofM? anyone feel free to correct me with pictures…

    Paul, have you ever covered goal equipment at all? Equipment companies are going more and more custom, and there are examples showing up everywhere. see : Kevin Weekes about 5 yrs ago with Carolina. Ill start hunting for some pics.[/quote]

    Correction : It was Josh Blackburn. Heres a look at one version of the UofM themed pads, but not the ones i was thinking of.

    link

    [quote comment=”132232″]Brian’s goalie equipment is known for it’s custom graphics on leg pads. Check out their site, link as they have a nice gallery of some of the custom work they’ve done.[/quote]
    That custom gallery is pretty sweet.

    stuby..

    as a matter of fact, I am almost positive the yankees DID stitch the #1 for billy’s passing. I believe those three (joe d., the mick, and billy) are the only ones who have had such a uni-honor.

    link wore US Flag pads in the old Kings colors. Somebody also wore pads with a film reel coming undone across them, but I can’t remember who. It may have been Hrudey as well.

    Don’t know if this has been posted before, but the new Redskins 75th anny jerseys will look like link. link a view of what they’d look like in action.

    [quote comment=”132209″][quote comment=”132181″]I don’t recall having seen those Calgary pads on Roloson – it’s interesting. The logos were a little excessive, but I think team logos on the legs have been done a few times before. I want to say that oneof the Avalanche goalies did that (Budaj maybe?). I know that the kid between the pipes for my old high school has the link on his pads when they’re put together.[/quote]

    I can’t find a pic, but I remember one of the U. of Michigan goalies in the mid-’90s having a split ‘M’ design on his pads.[/quote]

    Andrei Trefilov sported the Sabres’ bison head on his pads, and had them inverted just like Rolie The Goalie.

    (Yes, bison. There are no buffalo in North America.)

    [quote comment=”132237″]link wore US Flag pads in the old Kings colors. Somebody also wore pads with a film reel coming undone across them, but I can’t remember who. It may have been Hrudey as well.[/quote]
    That was also Hrudey

    is their a difference between the responsibilities of the “bat/ball boys” we see issuing new balls, and getting bats during games, and the clubhouse attendants who do all the other stuff?
    ive read some of what they do and its long hours for little salary.. but the perks are phenomenal… in fact i think PL did a piece on an mlb clubhouse attendant…

    [quote comment=”132237″]link wore US Flag pads in the old Kings colors. Somebody also wore pads with a film reel coming undone across them, but I can’t remember who. It may have been Hrudey as well.[/quote]
    Sorry for the self-quote, but I found more:
    link‘s cat pads
    Trevor Kidd in 3 different cities:
    link
    link
    link
    And I’m pretty sure he had some flames/hell design in Calgary but I don’t have a picture of them.

    Was at the Revolution game this past weekend, and noticed that the coach, Steve Nicol had his initials on his polo shirt. Couldn’t get a photo, but got this archived one as apparantly he’s been doing it for a while. Hadn’t seen that before on any other coaches, anyone think of another example?

    link

    if you notice in the photo of David Carr (wearing the two gloves), his uniform pants end above the knee, like bike shorts.

    [quote comment=”132237″]link wore US Flag pads in the old Kings colors. Somebody also wore pads with a film reel coming undone across them, but I can’t remember who. It may have been Hrudey as well.[/quote]
    Kelley’s helmet/mask was the worst. I remember he always wore a light blue headband. You would see it stick out from behind. Billy Smith wore a headband too.

    [quote comment=”132249″]Was at the Revolution game this past weekend, and noticed that the coach, Steve Nicol had his initials on his polo shirt. Couldn’t get a photo, but got this archived one as apparantly he’s been doing it for a while. Hadn’t seen that before on any other coaches, anyone think of another example?

    link

    This is very typical in other soccer leagues around the world, especially the European leagues. You can see it in the EPL every weekend. Started trickling into the MLS once the Euro coaches started coming over, and keeping the same customs they were used to.

    [quote comment=”132245″]is their a difference between the responsibilities of the “bat/ball boys” we see issuing new balls, and getting bats during games, and the clubhouse attendants who do all the other stuff?
    ive read some of what they do and its long hours for little salary.. but the perks are phenomenal… in fact i think PL did a piece on an mlb clubhouse attendant…[/quote]

    clubhouse attendants do various things; clean/hang laundry, set up the kitchen, stock coolers, get/fix various equipment, run errands, etc. Bat boys will generally set up/take down the dugout/bullpen, shag balls for BP, bat boy the game, clean shoes and help with laundry at the end of the night.

    Of course I’m commenting as a visiting clubhouse attendant, not a home side, whose responsibilities may differ.

    And yes, the hours suck but the perks are amazing.

    The Yankees did wear a #1 patch for Billy Martin. The “Dressed to the Nines” site has a lengthy list, though it’s not complete. I think the best memorial patch ever has to be the Cubs’ Harry Caray caricature.

    link

    [quote comment=”132249″]Was at the Revolution game this past weekend, and noticed that the coach, Steve Nicol had his initials on his polo shirt. Couldn’t get a photo, but got this archived one as apparantly he’s been doing it for a while. Hadn’t seen that before on any other coaches, anyone think of another example?

    link

    there must be something going on up at gillette stadium with coaches gear and theft as thats another new england sports coach who monograms his game day attire.
    link

    [quote comment=”132251″][quote comment=”132237″]link wore US Flag pads in the old Kings colors. Somebody also wore pads with a film reel coming undone across them, but I can’t remember who. It may have been Hrudey as well.[/quote]
    Kelley’s helmet/mask was the worst. I remember he always wore a light blue headband. You would see it stick out from behind. Billy Smith wore a headband too.[/quote]

    He wore it because the sweat used to drip down his forehead into his eyes. It was long so it would absorb and wick the sweat away from his eyes.

    Kelly used to have some super-long hair, and the headband saved his eyes from the burning sensation of sweat getting in them, from what I remember him saying on Hockey Night In Canada.

    Being a goalie myself I am loving all the attention to goalie equipment today. Hockey goalies are the ones in all of sports who really get to show their personality in both their masks and equipment. It was my attention to goalie equipment that lead to my Uni Watch Syndrom.

    [quote comment=”132248″][quote comment=”132237″]link wore US Flag pads in the old Kings colors. Somebody also wore pads with a film reel coming undone across them, but I can’t remember who. It may have been Hrudey as well.[/quote]
    Sorry for the self-quote, but I found more:
    link‘s cat pads
    Trevor Kidd in 3 different cities:
    link
    link
    link
    And I’m pretty sure he had some flames/hell design in Calgary but I don’t have a picture of them.[/quote]

    The Carolina pads are cool because it’s the warning flag, right? The pattern doesn’t translate well to the Florida Panthers.

    [quote comment=”132263″][quote comment=”132251″][quote comment=”132237″]link wore US Flag pads in the old Kings colors. Somebody also wore pads with a film reel coming undone across them, but I can’t remember who. It may have been Hrudey as well.[/quote]
    Kelley’s helmet/mask was the worst. I remember he always wore a light blue headband. You would see it stick out from behind. Billy Smith wore a headband too.[/quote]

    He wore it because the sweat used to drip down his forehead into his eyes. It was long so it would absorb and wick the sweat away from his eyes.

    Kelly used to have some super-long hair, and the headband saved his eyes from the burning sensation of sweat getting in them, from what I remember him saying on Hockey Night In Canada.[/quote]

    I had long hair in high school and when I played the sweat used to follow the hair right into my eyes. With having to wear an iTech, and gloves it’s hard to wipe the sweat away. To deal with it I took to pulling the hair over my forehead back with a rubberband in an ugly top-of-the-head pony tail. And Hrudey is right, the sweat starts to burn after a while.

    [quote comment=”132269″][quote comment=”132248″][quote comment=”132237″]link wore US Flag pads in the old Kings colors. Somebody also wore pads with a film reel coming undone across them, but I can’t remember who. It may have been Hrudey as well.[/quote]
    Sorry for the self-quote, but I found more:
    link‘s cat pads
    Trevor Kidd in 3 different cities:
    link
    link
    link
    And I’m pretty sure he had some flames/hell design in Calgary but I don’t have a picture of them.[/quote]

    The Carolina pads are cool because it’s the warning flag, right? The pattern doesn’t translate well to the Florida Panthers.[/quote]
    I don’t know that for sure, but he did start the tradition in Carolina so maybe.

    I also love the attention to goalie equipment. One of my favorite parts of the year is when all the kids show up to training camp and we get to see the myriad of equipment from different teams.

    [quote comment=”132275″][quote comment=”132269″][quote comment=”132248″][quote comment=”132237″]link wore US Flag pads in the old Kings colors. Somebody also wore pads with a film reel coming undone across them, but I can’t remember who. It may have been Hrudey as well.[/quote]
    Sorry for the self-quote, but I found more:
    link‘s cat pads
    Trevor Kidd in 3 different cities:
    link
    link
    link
    And I’m pretty sure he had some flames/hell design in Calgary but I don’t have a picture of them.[/quote]

    The Carolina pads are cool because it’s the warning flag, right? The pattern doesn’t translate well to the Florida Panthers.[/quote]
    I don’t know that for sure, but he did start the tradition in Carolina so maybe.

    I also love the attention to goalie equipment. One of my favorite parts of the year is when all the kids show up to training camp and we get to see the myriad of equipment from different teams.[/quote]
    I’ve heard that goalie equipment is by far the most vile smelling stuff on the planet. True?

    [quote comment=”132237″]link wore US Flag pads in the old Kings colors. Somebody also wore pads with a film reel coming undone across them, but I can’t remember who. It may have been Hrudey as well.[/quote]

    As stated above, it was… link.

    I have to admit, I was a little disappointed when he finally went the route of the “custom” goalie mask and ditched the link deal…

    [quote comment=”132281″][quote comment=”132237″]link wore US Flag pads in the old Kings colors. Somebody also wore pads with a film reel coming undone across them, but I can’t remember who. It may have been Hrudey as well.[/quote]

    As stated above, it was… link.

    I have to admit, I was a little disappointed when he finally went the route of the “custom” goalie mask and ditched the link deal…[/quote]
    He may have gone traditional, but he was still unique in that he went with the rarely used Armadila helmet with grid cage like John Vanbeizbrock had. Those are the only two NHLers I know of wearing those helmets. Both opted against the cat eye cage too.

    In regaurds to goalie equipment smelling. Yes it smells, but not as bad as a forwards gloves. I found simply airing out my equipment in the garage helped immensly. Throw a few dryer sheets in your bag helps too.

    Hockey equipment overall is really “vile” smelling…not just goalie equip… lol.

    Paul, it seems like there is a nice little following in favor of something “tender” related.

    a good place to see some nice equipment is at the Goalie Store Bulletin Board…under the Equipment Forum. Threads like “Show off your gear” and “Gear Sightings” are always fun to look at.

    link

    Here’s another guy who always looked good in the crease. I hate the leafs and never really liked him, but Felix always had some nice Koho’s.

    link

    [quote comment=”132219″][quote comment=”132215″]Kudos to Matt for sportin’ the stirrups, but am I the only one who finds it a little disturbing that a bat boy would use the term, “what the f#ck”??[/quote]

    Well, he is from New York.[/quote]

    He’s a Yankee’s fan, ’nuff said.

    Anyone see the 75th anniversary patch the Eagles sported last night? I thought it didnt look too bad.

    [quote comment=”132201″]Anybody know when the 49ers started using that wordmark logo on the back of the helmet? It was also in each endzone of the game last night and I’d never seen it before.[/quote]

    The 49ers have been using that new wordmark for a few seasons now. I’m pretty sure it was introduced late in the 05 season.

    Here is the website of the artist who worked on that wordmark project: link

    [quote comment=”132287″]Anyone see the 75th anniversary patch the Eagles sported last night? I thought it didnt look too bad.[/quote]
    Unfortunatly, the all white look is all the rage with youth goalies. Last year at tryouts all my goalies showed up with all white equipment and I was looking around wondering where the memo was that I missed informing me to go all white. I prefer mostly black as it hides the puck and leads to quicker whistles.

    [quote comment=”132286″]oh, and at the complete other end of the equipment spectrum

    link[/quote]
    Arturs used that equipment all the way back to his Dynamo days in Russia. When he got new pads (I think it was his last season in Carolina), a coworker of mine spotted him running over them with his Land Rover.

    [quote comment=”132263″][quote comment=”132251″][quote comment=”132237″]link wore US Flag pads in the old Kings colors. Somebody also wore pads with a film reel coming undone across them, but I can’t remember who. It may have been Hrudey as well.[/quote]
    Kelley’s helmet/mask was the worst. I remember he always wore a light blue headband. You would see it stick out from behind. Billy Smith wore a headband too.[/quote]

    He wore it because the sweat used to drip down his forehead into his eyes. It was long so it would absorb and wick the sweat away from his eyes.

    Kelly used to have some super-long hair, and the headband saved his eyes from the burning sensation of sweat getting in them, from what I remember him saying on Hockey Night In Canada.[/quote]
    Kelly’s addition to Hockey Night in Canada has been a success, with me anyways. Grapes still rocks too. Ron Maclean just knows how to talk to people on the air. I can’t believe they weren’t even going to re-sign Ron a few years back. Sometimes CBC thinks it’s a bit more powerful than its broadcasters.

    … By the time most of you read this, I’ll be on Long Island, where I’m spending the day at Lelands auction house (writing a bizness story about them for the Financial Times). I expect to see — and, I hope, photograph — lots of cool uni-related stuff. Details to follow tomorrow.

    Check out this item up for link

    [quote comment=”132286″]oh, and at the complete other end of the equipment spectrum

    link[/quote]

    Irbe wore all-white pads since he started playing in the NHL with the San Jose Sharks. He wore basic brown pads with Dynamo Riga in the Soviet Union.

    link
    link
    link
    link
    link
    link
    link

    [quote comment=”132269″][quote comment=”132248″][quote comment=”132237″]link wore US Flag pads in the old Kings colors. Somebody also wore pads with a film reel coming undone across them, but I can’t remember who. It may have been Hrudey as well.[/quote]
    Sorry for the self-quote, but I found more:
    link‘s cat pads
    Trevor Kidd in 3 different cities:
    link
    link
    link
    And I’m pretty sure he had some flames/hell design in Calgary but I don’t have a picture of them.[/quote]

    The Carolina pads are cool because it’s the warning flag, right? The pattern doesn’t translate well to the Florida Panthers.[/quote]

    Yeah, you never see hurricane warning flags in Florida.

    [quote comment=”132183″]of course Carr wears two gloves. It’s important to have traction when you’re picking yourself up off the turf 20 times a game.[/quote]

    Actually, they’re gardening gloves. While he’s down there on the turf, he does a little weeding. After his playing career, he’ll have a show on HGTV.

    [quote comment=”132298″]
    Kelly’s addition to Hockey Night in Canada has been a success, with me anyways. Grapes still rocks too. Ron Maclean just knows how to talk to people on the air. I can’t believe they weren’t even going to re-sign Ron a few years back. Sometimes CBC thinks it’s a bit more powerful than its broadcasters.[/quote]

    I agree. Kelly has been a great addition to the broadcast team, and his Behind The Mask segments are always good.

    The reason MacLean was going to be let go is because of the NHL strike. They needed to cut salaries to save money while they lost money due to no advertising dollars coming without the highly-profitable Hockey Night In Canada. That’s how they lost Chris Cuthbert to TSN. Cuthbert used to do all the West Coast games before CBC hired Jim Hughson.

    [quote comment=”132306″][quote comment=”132298″]
    Kelly’s addition to Hockey Night in Canada has been a success, with me anyways. Grapes still rocks too. Ron Maclean just knows how to talk to people on the air. I can’t believe they weren’t even going to re-sign Ron a few years back. Sometimes CBC thinks it’s a bit more powerful than its broadcasters.[/quote]

    I agree. Kelly has been a great addition to the broadcast team, and his Behind The Mask segments are always good.

    The reason MacLean was going to be let go is because of the NHL strike. They needed to cut salaries to save money while they lost money due to no advertising dollars coming without the highly-profitable Hockey Night In Canada. That’s how they lost Chris Cuthbert to TSN. Cuthbert used to do all the West Coast games before CBC hired Jim Hughson.[/quote]

    I think that all NHL teams should be mandated to have a 360 view of all their goalies’ masks on their website.

    CNNSI did a great feature 6 months? a year? ago…30 masks. Great stuff.

    [quote comment=”132306″][quote comment=”132298″]
    Kelly’s addition to Hockey Night in Canada has been a success, with me anyways. Grapes still rocks too. Ron Maclean just knows how to talk to people on the air. I can’t believe they weren’t even going to re-sign Ron a few years back. Sometimes CBC thinks it’s a bit more powerful than its broadcasters.[/quote]

    I agree. Kelly has been a great addition to the broadcast team, and his Behind The Mask segments are always good.

    The reason MacLean was going to be let go is because of the NHL strike. They needed to cut salaries to save money while they lost money due to no advertising dollars coming without the highly-profitable Hockey Night In Canada. That’s how they lost Chris Cuthbert to TSN. Cuthbert used to do all the West Coast games before CBC hired Jim Hughson.[/quote]
    Jim Hughson calls Blue Jays games too on Saturdays for CBC. I love his line when he calls hockey games: Now that’s hockeyyy. love it.

    [quote comment=”132261″]The Yankees did wear a #1 patch for Billy Martin. The “Dressed to the Nines” site has a lengthy list, though it’s not complete. I think the best memorial patch ever has to be the Cubs’ Harry Caray caricature.

    link

    Billy was the 1st one we did this for…and since 1990, Billy, Joe and the Mick are the only Yankees to DIE whose uniforms have been retired…so i would assume that yes, there will be a #10 above the arm band

    [quote comment=”132219″][quote comment=”132215″]Kudos to Matt for sportin’ the stirrups, but am I the only one who finds it a little disturbing that a bat boy would use the term, “what the f#ck”??[/quote]

    Well, he is from New York.[/quote]

    Reminds me of the Lewis Black line: “Where I come from, New York, f*ck isn’t even a word, it’s a comma”.

    [quote comment=”132215″]Kudos to Matt for sportin’ the stirrups, but am I the only one who finds it a little disturbing that a bat boy would use the term, “what the f#ck”??[/quote]
    most bat boy are in their late teens to early 20’s.

    [quote comment=”132253″][quote comment=”132249″]Was at the Revolution game this past weekend, and noticed that the coach, Steve Nicol had his initials on his polo shirt. Couldn’t get a photo, but got this archived one as apparantly he’s been doing it for a while. Hadn’t seen that before on any other coaches, anyone think of another example?

    link

    This is very typical in other soccer leagues around the world, especially the European leagues. You can see it in the EPL every weekend. Started trickling into the MLS once the Euro coaches started coming over, and keeping the same customs they were used to.[/quote]

    Right you are. Here’s a picture of Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez. Check out the huge ‘RB’ on his chest: link

    [quote comment=”132310″][quote comment=”132306″][quote comment=”132298″]
    Kelly’s addition to Hockey Night in Canada has been a success, with me anyways. Grapes still rocks too. Ron Maclean just knows how to talk to people on the air. I can’t believe they weren’t even going to re-sign Ron a few years back. Sometimes CBC thinks it’s a bit more powerful than its broadcasters.[/quote]

    I agree. Kelly has been a great addition to the broadcast team, and his Behind The Mask segments are always good.

    The reason MacLean was going to be let go is because of the NHL strike. They needed to cut salaries to save money while they lost money due to no advertising dollars coming without the highly-profitable Hockey Night In Canada. That’s how they lost Chris Cuthbert to TSN. Cuthbert used to do all the West Coast games before CBC hired Jim Hughson.[/quote]

    I think that all NHL teams should be mandated to have a 360 view of all their goalies’ masks on their website.
    [/quote]

    everybody except the red wings. link and link are pretty much the last remnants of the helmet-cage combo era.

    So, what are teams going to do with bat boys’ jersey numbers in 2010? Revert back to “BB”? Leave them blank? Anybody know? I know not all teams use the numbers even now, but for those who do I wonder what they’ll do once the leading 0 is out of date.

    [quote comment=”132329″]So, what are teams going to do with bat boys’ jersey numbers in 2010? Revert back to “BB”? Leave them blank? Anybody know? I know not all teams use the numbers even now, but for those who do I wonder what they’ll do once the leading 0 is out of date.[/quote]

    I really don’t see how anybody could know, since I’d be willing to bet that not a single team has even thought about it. Also, I’m sure different teams will do different things. So I guess we’ll just have to wait 3 years and see.

    [quote comment=”132326″]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b394/johnious/random%20stuff/dancloutier.jpg
    cloutier with logos on his pads

    …keep scratching your head danny, you’ll figure out that goaltending thing someday…[/quote]

    He’ll be lucky if he sees the ice again. Cloutier was a better fighter than he was a goalie. Maybe he could be the next Rick Ankiel… only with a lesser and more sad story?

    link
    link
    link

    [quote comment=”132315″][quote comment=”132261″]The Yankees did wear a #1 patch for Billy Martin. The “Dressed to the Nines” site has a lengthy list, though it’s not complete. I think the best memorial patch ever has to be the Cubs’ Harry Caray caricature.

    link

    Billy was the 1st one we did this for…and since 1990, Billy, Joe and the Mick are the only Yankees to DIE whose uniforms have been retired…so i would assume that yes, there will be a #10 above the arm band[/quote]
    i’ve spent this afternoon looking for a pic from my all-time favorite no-hitter, even though it isn’t acknowlegded anymore (Andy Hawking losing 4-0 to the White Sox), but haven’t had any luck. Once again, thanks for the (relatively close) accuracy of Dressed to the nines.

    [quote comment=”132297″][quote comment=”132286″]oh, and at the complete other end of the equipment spectrum

    link[/quote]
    Arturs used that equipment all the way back to his Dynamo days in Russia. When he got new pads (I think it was his last season in Carolina), a coworker of mine spotted him running over them with his Land Rover.[/quote]

    Yeah, Arturs wore the same pads from 1994 until his last season in Carolina. He used to carry a sewing kit aboard team flights and make repairs to his pads to keep them in shape. I still have a Goalie’s World magazine from 2000 which has an ad where Arturs had run out of masks and was looking to buy one from anyone who may have had one lying around. It was a discontinued Jofa model…I’ll try and scan the photo later.

    I noticed link while I was looking at an old issue of ESPN the mag. Anyone have any pics of a recently traded player using a bat from an old team? It may be equipment and not Uni related but I think it’s at least as interesting as link.

    Paul, once the NFL season has started and we have seen every team’s uniforms, can you rank each uniform from best to worst?

    [quote comment=”132199″]Can someone give more of the story behind the Name Lastname image? Did that actually show up on the screen during the game and I missed it? Or was it just from the production room?[/quote]

    I worked for FOX Sports in the late 90’s as an Assistant Broadcast Associate for baseball broadcasts. Broadcast Associates are the people who put together almost all the chyron graphics you see in game, particularly the “bottom thirds” as seen in the Name Lastname example.

    I didn’t watch the game on TV so I can’t say if it did make it to air, but seeing the ESPN bug in the bottom right corner leads me to think this wasn’t a shot from a production monitor.

    BA’s create bottom thirds for every player and nearly every situation in a game. Our baseball graphics were listed out on a card that looked a lot like a football coach’s playcard. Divided into home and road directories, they generally were four digits and ended with player jersey numbers as the last two for easy recall. Situational stats, accumulated stats and other information was constantly updated throughout the game so we always had accurate information on the screen.

    I only ever worked one preseason football game (the first one at the new Browns Stadium, in fact) and it was a madhouse because A) rosters are so big and B) we never knew who was going to see action. We did the best we could to get at least one graphic per player, but we had to prioritize because it’s more worthwhile to have enough info about, say, Alex Smith and Trent Dilfer, than Shaun Hill.

    If that graphic did make it to air, it means either the BA didn’t create a graphic to match the slide number, a director took the wrong monitor (graphics are sometimes called up but not used – it’s not the BA’s decision), or everyone just stopped paying attention. Literally a half-dozen people should see that graphic before a director calls its number to air.

    [quote comment=”132341″][quote comment=”132326″]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b394/johnious/random%20stuff/dancloutier.jpg
    cloutier with logos on his pads

    …keep scratching your head danny, you’ll figure out that goaltending thing someday…[/quote]

    He’ll be lucky if he sees the ice again. Cloutier was a better fighter than he was a goalie. Maybe he could be the next Rick Ankiel… only with a lesser and more sad story?

    link
    link
    link[/quote]
    Clouts sucks between the pipes. LA’s biggest mistake in years was signing him and hanging LaBarbera out to dry in Manchester. That Salo fight, though, is one of my alltime favorites.

    [quote comment=”132343″][quote comment=”132297″][quote comment=”132286″]oh, and at the complete other end of the equipment spectrum

    link[/quote]
    Arturs used that equipment all the way back to his Dynamo days in Russia. When he got new pads (I think it was his last season in Carolina), a coworker of mine spotted him running over them with his Land Rover.[/quote]

    Yeah, Arturs wore the same pads from 1994 until his last season in Carolina. He used to carry a sewing kit aboard team flights and make repairs to his pads to keep them in shape. I still have a Goalie’s World magazine from 2000 which has an ad where Arturs had run out of masks and was looking to buy one from anyone who may have had one lying around. It was a discontinued Jofa model…I’ll try and scan the photo later.[/quote]
    I have that same one. I replied as I had the helmet, but not the mask. Apparently Irbe found a stock pile of the helmets in some sporting goods store. There were there so long the white helmets started fading to yellow, thus forcing him to start painting his helmets.

    [quote comment=”132345″]I noticed link while I was looking at an old issue of ESPN the mag. Anyone have any pics of a recently traded player using a bat from an old team? It may be equipment and not Uni related but I think it’s at least as interesting as link.[/quote]

    The Nationals sell team used broken bats at RFK. Many of them are current players, but bats from their old teams. I think some other teams sell off the broken bats as well. The Pirates used to…

    everybody except the red wings. hasek and osgood are pretty much the last remnants of the helmet-cage combo era.

    What’s interesting about Hasek’s helmet is during his first term with the Wings after he left the Sabres his traditional Cooper SK2000 helmet/cage combo somehow morphed into a one-piece custom helmet with a traditional cage. I always found it a bit unique and wondered who makes it for him. It’s hard to see the difference especially now with the “Hockeytown” paint scheme.

    [quote comment=”132351″][quote comment=”132199″]Can someone give more of the story behind the Name Lastname image? Did that actually show up on the screen during the game and I missed it? Or was it just from the production room?[/quote]

    I worked for FOX Sports in the late 90’s as an Assistant Broadcast Associate for baseball broadcasts. Broadcast Associates are the people who put together almost all the chyron graphics you see in game, particularly the “bottom thirds” as seen in the Name Lastname example.

    I didn’t watch the game on TV so I can’t say if it did make it to air, but seeing the ESPN bug in the bottom right corner leads me to think this wasn’t a shot from a production monitor.

    BA’s create bottom thirds for every player and nearly every situation in a game. Our baseball graphics were listed out on a card that looked a lot like a football coach’s playcard. Divided into home and road directories, they generally were four digits and ended with player jersey numbers as the last two for easy recall. Situational stats, accumulated stats and other information was constantly updated throughout the game so we always had accurate information on the screen.

    I only ever worked one preseason football game (the first one at the new Browns Stadium, in fact) and it was a madhouse because A) rosters are so big and B) we never knew who was going to see action. We did the best we could to get at least one graphic per player, but we had to prioritize because it’s more worthwhile to have enough info about, say, Alex Smith and Trent Dilfer, than Shaun Hill.

    If that graphic did make it to air, it means either the BA didn’t create a graphic to match the slide number, a director took the wrong monitor (graphics are sometimes called up but not used – it’s not the BA’s decision), or everyone just stopped paying attention. Literally a half-dozen people should see that graphic before a director calls its number to air.[/quote]

    That sounds like a maddingly stressful job. I remember EPSN used to run a college football game and split screen it with behind the scenes production stuff. It always amazed me how much was going on.

    [quote comment=”132253″][quote comment=”132249″]Was at the Revolution game this past weekend, and noticed that the coach, Steve Nicol had his initials on his polo shirt. Couldn’t get a photo, but got this archived one as apparantly he’s been doing it for a while. Hadn’t seen that before on any other coaches, anyone think of another example?

    link

    This is very typical in other soccer leagues around the world, especially the European leagues. You can see it in the EPL every weekend. Started trickling into the MLS once the Euro coaches started coming over, and keeping the same customs they were used to.[/quote]

    Bill Belichick’s famous grey hoodie has “BB” stitched onto it too.

    link

    While watching the tribute to Phil Rizzuto on espn.com (every memory I have of the Yankees as a kid involves the Scooter on WPIX) and I noticed that the Yankees used to have a white button on the tops of there hats istead of the blue they have now. This is the best still picture I could find. link Although he did always talk about putting his chewing gum on the top of his hat so maybe that was it.

    [quote comment=”132322″][quote comment=”132253″][quote comment=”132249″]
    This is very typical in other soccer leagues around the world, especially the European leagues. You can see it in the EPL every weekend. Started trickling into the MLS once the Euro coaches started coming over, and keeping the same customs they were used to.[/quote]

    Right you are. Here’s a picture of Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez. Check out the huge ‘RB’ on his chest: link

    Not just for managers. It is fairly common for players’ training kits/warm-up gear to have initials on it.

    As far as the ‘Cuse helmets go, to me they just look…….blah. Just a touch of white outline would punch it up a lot.

    They could use link on their unis too.

    [quote comment=”132361″]
    Bill Belichick’s famous grey hoodie has “BB” stitched onto it too.

    link
    I think you mean infamous….

    [quote comment=”132355″]everybody except the red wings. hasek and osgood are pretty much the last remnants of the helmet-cage combo era.

    What’s interesting about Hasek’s helmet is during his first term with the Wings after he left the Sabres his traditional Cooper SK2000 helmet/cage combo somehow morphed into a one-piece custom helmet with a traditional cage. I always found it a bit unique and wondered who makes it for him. It’s hard to see the difference especially now with the “Hockeytown” paint scheme.[/quote]
    Hasek changed helmets because Bauer stopped making that model of helmet. Hasek gets his helmet now from link.

    [quote comment=”132374″][quote comment=”132355″]everybody except the red wings. hasek and osgood are pretty much the last remnants of the helmet-cage combo era.

    What’s interesting about Hasek’s helmet is during his first term with the Wings after he left the Sabres his traditional Cooper SK2000 helmet/cage combo somehow morphed into a one-piece custom helmet with a traditional cage. I always found it a bit unique and wondered who makes it for him. It’s hard to see the difference especially now with the “Hockeytown” paint scheme.[/quote]
    Hasek changed helmets because Bauer stopped making that model of helmet. Hasek gets his helmet now from link.[/quote]
    To add to my comment, the “typical” looking goalie masks by Warwick are some of the best masks on the market and light as a feather. I’d have one myself if they weren’t so expensive.

    [quote comment=”132346″]Paul, once the NFL season has started and we have seen every team’s uniforms, can you rank each uniform from best to worst?[/quote]
    ..here’s my top 5 favorites: Browns, Giants, Raiders, Redskins, and the new Chargers.

    I’m glad to see Syracuse stuck with one of the most pointless things I’ve ever seen the orange sticker on the orange helmet with a slightly darker orange number on it.

    link

    [quote comment=”132371″][quote comment=”132361″]
    Bill Belichick’s famous grey hoodie has “BB” stitched onto it too.

    link
    I think you mean infamous….[/quote]

    “Infamous is when you’re more than famous.”

    [quote comment=”132376″][quote comment=”132346″]Paul, once the NFL season has started and we have seen every team’s uniforms, can you rank each uniform from best to worst?[/quote]
    ..here’s my top 5 favorites: Browns, Giants, Raiders, Redskins, and the new Chargers.[/quote]
    and my bottom 5: Eagles (ugh, almost as ugh as anything Red Sox), Seahawks, Jaguars, Broncos (I know there is a few Bronco fans in here sorry), and the worst are the Bengals. Again, these are my least favorites.

    [quote comment=”132376″][quote comment=”132346″]Paul, once the NFL season has started and we have seen every team’s uniforms, can you rank each uniform from best to worst?[/quote]
    ..here’s my top 5 favorites: Browns, Giants, Raiders, Redskins, and the new Chargers.[/quote]
    Steelers could easily be included in this category of top five.

    I know this is old, but this has got to be the worst logo of all time.

    link

    I didn’t really pay attention to the back and forth over this, but man is it terrible … and not needed.

    I can’t think of a dumber logo.

    [quote comment=”132376″][quote comment=”132346″]Paul, once the NFL season has started and we have seen every team’s uniforms, can you rank each uniform from best to worst?[/quote]
    ..here’s my top 5 favorites: Browns, Giants, Raiders, Redskins, and the new Chargers.[/quote]

    Oh…speaking of the new chargers unis (which i do like, quite a bit…just putting that white helmet on there really gave it some punch!)…I was listening, last Friday to ESPN Radio. It was about 8:00 in the evening. Not sure who’s show it was. Maybe Kestichur (sp?) or someone like that. (“The Pulse”) Anyway, this clown was talking about the white helmets.

    Here’s a summery…as close to a real quote as I remember it-
    “How can they go to the white helmets and not bring back the powder blues? WHy do that? I don’t mean to go all queer-eye-for-the-straight-guy here…but I don’t get it. And why go with white helmets? No team since the Dolphins has won the Superbowl with white helmets!”

    Um…hey ass-hat. Take a look at your NFL Films commemorative DVD from the most recent Superbowl…what is that on Peyton Manning’s mellon-shaped head? Looks like a white lid to me!

    [quote comment=”132382″][quote comment=”132376″][quote comment=”132346″]Paul, once the NFL season has started and we have seen every team’s uniforms, can you rank each uniform from best to worst?[/quote]
    ..here’s my top 5 favorites: Browns, Giants, Raiders, Redskins, and the new Chargers.[/quote]
    and my bottom 5: Eagles (ugh, almost as ugh as anything Red Sox), Seahawks, Jaguars, Broncos (I know there is a few Bronco fans in here sorry), and the worst are the Bengals. Again, these are my least favorites.[/quote]

    The worst? Seattle’s monochromatic green on green with the green helmet. I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.

    [quote comment=”132291″][quote comment=”132287″]Anyone see the 75th anniversary patch the Eagles sported last night? I thought it didnt look too bad.[/quote]
    Unfortunatly, the all white look is all the rage with youth goalies. Last year at tryouts all my goalies showed up with all white equipment and I was looking around wondering where the memo was that I missed informing me to go all white. I prefer mostly black as it hides the puck and leads to quicker whistles.[/quote]
    thats true but all white blends you into the net and dasherboards making it harder for the shooter to see you and aim away from the giant dark sopt.

    I think that Bill Simmons line about, um, regurgitating is banned here.

    [quote comment=”132328″]everybody except the red wings. link and link are pretty much the last remnants of the helmet-cage combo era.[/quote]

    link of the Bruins also has a unique link.

    And I mean “unique” literally — the only one like it in the NHL.

    [quote comment=”132386″]

    And why go with white helmets? [/quote]

    I hope I do this properly :) Anyways this question brought to mind something I read years ago about the Buffalo Bills when they made the switch from red to white helmets in the ’70s. Apparently the QBs were having problems picking out their own receivers so the Bills decided to go with white helmets since it would make the WRs pop out more and because at that time the only other AFC team to wear white helmets were the Dolphins.

    did anyone listen to PL’s interview today?

    [quote comment=”132383″]Paul, once the NFL season has started and we have seen every team’s uniforms, can you rank each uniform from best to worst?
    ..here’s my top 5 favorites: Browns, Giants, Raiders, Redskins, and the new Chargers[/quote]

    rank the uni’s?
    best to worst based on what?
    PL’s opinion?
    then it is a ranking based on one mans opinion and not research or statistics.

    i have read too many posts over the last 2 months bashing the SI guys for putting together a ranking of the best and worst college football unis, or criticizing other newspaper and online journalists who have done the same. (i include myself as one of the bashers.)

    if there is to be a ranking or a rating, it should be based on statistics.

    perhaps an online poll of uniwatch readers could be set up to select their top 5 best looking football uniforms (set up criteria for best looking)

    then at least the rating would have some substance (as it would be selected us, who pay attention to every detail in this genre, or more simply, who “get it”)

    there could be no disputing the winners (or losers) either because results are based by percentage of uniwatch readers.

    would that be any better?

    [quote comment=”132401″][quote comment=”132386″]

    And why go with white helmets? [/quote]

    I hope I do this properly :) Anyways this question brought to mind something I read years ago about the Buffalo Bills when they made the switch from red to white helmets in the ’70s. Apparently the QBs were having problems picking out their own receivers so the Bills decided to go with white helmets since it would make the WRs pop out more and because at that time the only other AFC team to wear white helmets were the Dolphins.[/quote]
    I thought the Bills wore white helmets from their inception ’til some time in the mid ’80s, when they switched to red. Besides, you had the Jets, Pats, Colts (switched to AFC in 1970) and Oilers (switched to white during the 70s) all wearing white.

    [quote comment=”132387″][quote comment=”132382″][quote comment=”132376″][quote comment=”132346″]Paul, once the NFL season has started and we have seen every team’s uniforms, can you rank each uniform from best to worst?[/quote]
    ..here’s my top 5 favorites: Browns, Giants, Raiders, Redskins, and the new Chargers.[/quote]
    and my bottom 5: Eagles (ugh, almost as ugh as anything Red Sox), Seahawks, Jaguars, Broncos (I know there is a few Bronco fans in here sorry), and the worst are the Bengals. Again, these are my least favorites.[/quote]

    The worst? Seattle’s monochromatic green on green with the green helmet. I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.[/quote]

    Green? Take another look.

    As a Seahawks fan, I agree the BLUE on BLUE on BLUE at home isn’t a good look, but the road unis are pretty sharp. And if they’d wear their white pants at home like they were originally dreamt up, they’d look okay too.

    [quote comment=”132231″][quote comment=”132215″]Kudos to Matt for sportin’ the stirrups, but am I the only one who finds it a little disturbing that a bat boy would use the term, “what the f#ck”??[/quote]

    It did strike me as odd, until I gave some thought to the actual age of most batboys. The visiting team’s batboy at Rangers games looks like he’s thirty and could grow a full beard in a week.[/quote]
    Yes, I am 22, 23 in october…..

    [quote comment=”132417″][quote comment=”132231″][quote comment=”132215″]Kudos to Matt for sportin’ the stirrups, but am I the only one who finds it a little disturbing that a bat boy would use the term, “what the f#ck”??[/quote]

    It did strike me as odd, until I gave some thought to the actual age of most batboys. The visiting team’s batboy at Rangers games looks like he’s thirty and could grow a full beard in a week.[/quote]
    Yes, I am 22, 23 in october…..[/quote]
    In that case, swear all you want. We’re cool with it.

    NHL update:

    Third jerseys are on their way back. The Flyers FAQ about jerseys says this:

    What colors are available?
    Black and white jerseys are available this year. A third orange jersey will be released next year.”

    So much for the NHL and Rbk Hockey not performing a cash grab.

    [quote comment=”132394″][quote comment=”132291″][quote comment=”132287″]Anyone see the 75th anniversary patch the Eagles sported last night? I thought it didnt look too bad.[/quote]
    Unfortunatly, the all white look is all the rage with youth goalies. Last year at tryouts all my goalies showed up with all white equipment and I was looking around wondering where the memo was that I missed informing me to go all white. I prefer mostly black as it hides the puck and leads to quicker whistles.[/quote]
    thats true but all white blends you into the net and dasherboards making it harder for the shooter to see you and aim away from the giant dark sopt.[/quote]

    i want someone to wear a set of brians custom pads and have the graphic look like a net. call it goalie camoflauge lol

    [quote comment=”132425″]The BLUE on BLUE Seahawks unforms look their best when it’s raining.[/quote]

    They didn’t look too bad in the snow either. But maybe that was beating the Packers on MNF that made them look so good too.

    [quote comment=”132435″][quote comment=”132425″]The BLUE on BLUE Seahawks unforms look their best when it’s raining.[/quote]

    They didn’t look too bad in the snow either. But maybe that was beating the Packers on MNF that made them look so good too.[/quote]

    Actually from a uni standpoint, the Seahawks will never look as good as the Packers.

    [quote comment=”132382″][quote comment=”132376″][quote comment=”132346″]Paul, once the NFL season has started and we have seen every team’s uniforms, can you rank each uniform from best to worst?[/quote]
    ..here’s my top 5 favorites: Browns, Giants, Raiders, Redskins, and the new Chargers.[/quote]
    and my bottom 5: Eagles (ugh, almost as ugh as anything Red Sox), Seahawks, Jaguars, Broncos (I know there is a few Bronco fans in here sorry), and the worst are the Bengals. Again, these are my least favorites.[/quote]
    Love the Broncos team, hate the uni, so no need to apologize.

    Best unis: Chicago, Dallas, Oakland (though it hurts to say that), New Orleans.

    Worst unis in my book: Miami, Cincinnati, Buffalo, Jacksonvillage.

    [quote comment=”132419″][quote comment=”132417″][quote comment=”132231″][quote comment=”132215″]Kudos to Matt for sportin’ the stirrups, but am I the only one who finds it a little disturbing that a bat boy would use the term, “what the f#ck”??[/quote]

    It did strike me as odd, until I gave some thought to the actual age of most batboys. The visiting team’s batboy at Rangers games looks like he’s thirty and could grow a full beard in a week.[/quote]
    Yes, I am 22, 23 in october…..[/quote]
    In that case, swear all you want. We’re cool with it.[/quote]
    haha, fuckin sweet! haha

    [quote comment=”132365″]While watching the tribute to Phil Rizzuto on espn.com (every memory I have of the Yankees as a kid involves the Scooter on WPIX) and I noticed that the Yankees used to have a white button on the tops of there hats istead of the blue they have now. This is the best still picture I could find. link Although he did always talk about putting his chewing gum on the top of his hat so maybe that was it.[/quote]
    that may have been gum. scooter often put his gum on his hat….

    [quote comment=”132436″][quote comment=”132435″][quote comment=”132425″]The BLUE on BLUE Seahawks unforms look their best when it’s raining.[/quote]

    They didn’t look too bad in the snow either. But maybe that was beating the Packers on MNF that made them look so good too.[/quote]

    Actually from a uni standpoint, the Seahawks will never look as good as the Packers.[/quote]

    Actually, that’s not what I said.

    [quote comment=”132446″][quote comment=”132436″][quote comment=”132435″][quote comment=”132425″]The BLUE on BLUE Seahawks unforms look their best when it’s raining.[/quote]

    They didn’t look too bad in the snow either. But maybe that was beating the Packers on MNF that made them look so good too.[/quote]

    Actually from a uni standpoint, the Seahawks will never look as good as the Packers.[/quote]

    Actually, that’s not what I said.[/quote]

    I believe he was just correcting your mistake.

    I don’t think NASCAR is a sport and the drivers don’t actually wear “unis”, but they get to customize their rides (with all sorts of logo creep). But Dale Earnheart Jr. is taking it to the extreme by racing in a special white Elvis car on October 14th, in memory of the King’s death 30 years ago. -Josh

    [quote comment=”132452″][quote comment=”132446″][quote comment=”132436″][quote comment=”132435″][quote comment=”132425″]The BLUE on BLUE Seahawks unforms look their best when it’s raining.[/quote]

    They didn’t look too bad in the snow either. But maybe that was beating the Packers on MNF that made them look so good too.[/quote]

    Actually from a uni standpoint, the Seahawks will never look as good as the Packers.[/quote]

    Actually, that’s not what I said.[/quote]

    I believe he was just correcting your mistake.[/quote]

    I didn’t make a mistake with anything that I said.

    I did not compare the Seahawks jersey to any other jersey, nor did I put down the Packers uniform.

    The only factual points of my comments were that it was MNF in Seattle against the Packers in the snow and the ‘Hawks won.

    Is it obvious that I hate when people put words in my mouth and interept what I said as something completely different?

    Watched the game. Don’t know if anyone noticed, but did anyone see that Brendan Ryan and Anthony Reyes’ socks were different? Ryan’s stripes were thinner than Reyes’. Which one is right and which one is wrong? Or should be? Would like to see Reyes’ with the thicker stripes plus higher ride in the stirrups. Does any team have better socks than the Cardinals? I’d say no.

    [quote comment=”132437″][quote comment=”132382″][quote comment=”132376″][quote comment=”132346″]Paul, once the NFL season has started and we have seen every team’s uniforms, can you rank each uniform from best to worst?[/quote]
    ..here’s my top 5 favorites: Browns, Giants, Raiders, Redskins, and the new Chargers.[/quote]
    and my bottom 5: Eagles (ugh, almost as ugh as anything Red Sox), Seahawks, Jaguars, Broncos (I know there is a few Bronco fans in here sorry), and the worst are the Bengals. Again, these are my least favorites.[/quote]
    Love the Broncos team, hate the uni, so no need to apologize.

    Best unis: Chicago, Dallas, Oakland (though it hurts to say that), New Orleans.

    Worst unis in my book: Miami, Cincinnati, Buffalo, Jacksonvillage.[/quote]

    Here are my top 5 best looking NFL unis:
    Cowboys, Raiders, Steelers, Jets and Packers

    Bottom 5 worse:
    Saints (not a big fan of black top and bottom)
    Seahawks (all blue not so good)
    Buffalo (should go with throwback AFL look full-time)
    Jaguars
    Cardinals

    I figured this would happen, but I wanted to wait and see. The Brewers are sporting their Retro look today vs. the Cards as they are honoring the 1982 Suds Series. Many ’82 Brewers are being honored before the game in their pull-over style ’82 jerseys. (How they actually were back then. Don’t know if the Cards are sporting any old school jerseys. TBD. I will try and get some pics.

    Holy Cow!! I think the current Brewers are wearing the pull-over jerseys as well tonight!!! When the game starts we shall see for sure

    the yanks are wearing a 10 on their left sleeve above the armband, and will do so for the remainder of the season in honor of phil ‘scooter’ rizzuto…

    Sorry for so many posts in a row about this, but the current Brewers are indeed wearing the old school pull over jerseys as worn in ’82. (Not like the ones worn on Retro Fridays, although those are sharp too)They are sweet blue trim on the collar, and sweet waistbands as well. I can’t tell now if they have belts or not. I don’t think they do. If they don’t, that is a pretty sweet tribute, and dead on tribute. I will get pics as soon as I can.

    Will Niners wear black shoes with throwbacks in Monday Night opener? They haven’t worn black shoes since early John Brodie days. Wouldn’t be right to see them in black shoes and ruin one of the best throwback unis around

    Uni update for my beloved Ohio Bobcats. They’ve been wearing Adidas jerseys for several years now, however after seeing the media day pictures of Coach Solich and Company, it looks like we’re switching to Russell Athletic. I don’t know if there are any significant changes to the unis, but I hope not. I love the plain classic jerseys we wear already.

    I believe that the Buffalo Bills began in the AFL with silver helmets (with blue numbers on each side). They then switched to the ‘standing’ buffalo on a white helmet and then to the ‘charging’ buffalo on a white helmet. Although I don’t like the red helmet as well as the white helmets it is the multi-striped and colored creation of today that really ruins it for me. As far as the retro looking helmets of the Chargers and the Jets I think they should switch to grey masks to complete the throwback look.

    Tigers pitcher Tim Byrdak looks like he is wearing Oakley sunglasses tonight in Cleveland, even after dark, but I don’t think that they are tinted. I don’t recall these glasses from anytime previous.

    I don’t think his glasses are as cool as link, though.

    Watching the Royals v. Rangers game tonight (August 14) and the announcers started talking about an inscription on Royals’ pitcher Kyle Davies’ glove.

    On the pinky-side of his glove he has written in sharpie, “Move Hitters Feet”

    Perhaps someone got footage of this – they showed a nice close-up of the glove.

    I’ve always worn high socks for baseball games, but now I’m inspired to wear some stirrups. Does anybody of a good place to find some? And c’mon Iron Pigs, do you really need five hats?

    [quote comment=”132351″][quote comment=”132199″]Can someone give more of the story behind the Name Lastname image? Did that actually show up on the screen during the game and I missed it? Or was it just from the production room?[/quote]

    I worked for FOX Sports in the late 90’s as an Assistant Broadcast Associate for baseball broadcasts. Broadcast Associates are the people who put together almost all the chyron graphics you see in game, particularly the “bottom thirds” as seen in the Name Lastname example.

    I didn’t watch the game on TV so I can’t say if it did make it to air, but seeing the ESPN bug in the bottom right corner leads me to think this wasn’t a shot from a production monitor.

    BA’s create bottom thirds for every player and nearly every situation in a game. Our baseball graphics were listed out on a card that looked a lot like a football coach’s playcard. Divided into home and road directories, they generally were four digits and ended with player jersey numbers as the last two for easy recall. Situational stats, accumulated stats and other information was constantly updated throughout the game so we always had accurate information on the screen.

    I only ever worked one preseason football game (the first one at the new Browns Stadium, in fact) and it was a madhouse because A) rosters are so big and B) we never knew who was going to see action. We did the best we could to get at least one graphic per player, but we had to prioritize because it’s more worthwhile to have enough info about, say, Alex Smith and Trent Dilfer, than Shaun Hill.

    If that graphic did make it to air, it means either the BA didn’t create a graphic to match the slide number, a director took the wrong monitor (graphics are sometimes called up but not used – it’s not the BA’s decision), or everyone just stopped paying attention. Literally a half-dozen people should see that graphic before a director calls its number to air.[/quote]

    Excellent recap. That had to have been an accidental button, because no way the chyron guy yells “Font’s good on B” for THAT!

    Let me guess, you’re one of the few people on the planet who will be watching a game on TV and notice errors in graphics, or when an NFL game is using the camera clock instead of the bug clock.

    Have you ever yelled “Drop the bug!” out loud in your living room and had people look at you like you’re crazy?

    [quote comment=”132526″]And c’mon Iron Pigs, do you really need five hats?[/quote]

    I know. This is getting crazy. I understand the marketing thing, but 5 on field hats is just nuts.

    The “nasty” smell of hockey equipment is due to long chain fatty acids released in the sweat. And hockey players sweat a lot. “Febreeze” is the best for masking the odor, but manufacturers are working on ways to get rid of the stink. Most likely for wives/girlfriends/moms.

    This probably is too late for anyone to notice, but a couple observations tonight:

    A) Re: The Milwaukee-St. Louis game with throw-backs — the Cardinals’ double-knits are better looking than I remember. When they switched from powder blue to gray, I was happy. That was a much better look. But the cut is terrible for both the Brewers and the Cards. Both are too baggy. It’s awful.

    B) Re: “Bronx is Burning” — Powder blues and the Royals were made for one another. Uniforms fit better in the vintage footage, too. And the stirrups? Awesome.

    [quote comment=”132533″][quote comment=”132526″]And c’mon Iron Pigs, do you really need five hats?[/quote]

    I know. This is getting crazy. I understand the marketing thing, but 5 on field hats is just nuts.[/quote]

    I’d question whether they need five different jerseys to go with the five different hats…

    [quote comment=”132526″]I’ve always worn high socks for baseball games, but now I’m inspired to wear some stirrups. Does anybody of a good place to find some?[/quote]

    This website popped up on here a few weeks ago:

    link (Scroll down 1/4 of the way or so.)

    I was working the NY-Penn League All-Star game today at Dutchess County Stadium, and I noticed that the Aberdeen Ironbirds (affiliate of the Orioles, owned by Cal himself I believe) players had on a completely mismatched outfit. The hat was black with their grey and blue outline logo, but the jersey had blue numbers outlined with bright orange. Does anybody know why that is? I was going to get a shot with my phone but as I was getting it out of my pocket, my boss walked by so I didn’t. The best shot I could find was this:

    link

    Actually I just noticed there’s a little orange in the logo, but it’s still pretty weird to look at in person.

    [quote comment=”132544″]This probably is too late for anyone to notice, but a couple observations tonight:

    A) Re: The Milwaukee-St. Louis game with throw-backs — the Cardinals’ double-knits are better looking than I remember. When they switched from powder blue to gray, I was happy. That was a much better look. But the cut is terrible for both the Brewers and the Cards. Both are too baggy. It’s awful.

    B) Re: “Bronx is Burning” — Powder blues and the Royals were made for one another. Uniforms fit better in the vintage footage, too. And the stirrups? Awesome.[/quote]

    Unfortunately Majestic fucked up the Caridnlas throwbacks for the second time this year (The first time being when they wore 1971 unis against the Padres earlier this year)
    They made them tackle twill instead of chain stitched.
    They put a white border around the cardinals loto which should not be there.
    They made the sleeve stripes too thick.
    And worst of all, they used the wrong fucking Cardinal logo.
    THey used the current version of the logo, where the birds are fatter and the bird on the left has his tail UNDER the bat and the bird on the right had it OVER the bat.
    In 1982, they used the previous version of the birds on bat logo (which was in use until 1998) where the birds were much more skinny and the bird on the left had its tail OVER the bat while the bird on the right had its tail UNDER the bat.

    Why can’t Majestic do it right? Mitchell & Ness can…they manufactured the throwbacks that the Cards wore last season which were historically accurate, not like this garbage that Majestic put out there.

    [quote comment=”132547″][quote comment=”132526″]I’ve always worn high socks for baseball games, but now I’m inspired to wear some stirrups. Does anybody of a good place to find some?[/quote]

    This website popped up on here a few weeks ago:

    link (Scroll down 1/4 of the way or so.)[/quote]
    Thanks a lot. This site is great.

    Watching the Rockies game and I know it has been mentioned before but Ubaldo Jimenez does have his stirrups on backwards. Somebody tell this kid how to wear them the right way! At least he is wearing them though.

    Does anyone know if, when the Baltimore Orioles wore orange-front caps in 1975 and 1976, they also wore matching helmets? Or, like they do now, did they just wear one helmet with both regular and alternate caps?

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