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Pretty Much the Opposite of the ‘Look at Me!’ Approach

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Greetings from Duluth, where I arrived last night. Newly crowned national curling champion Tyler George picked me up at the airport, so of course I was all set to pay for his parking, but get this: The Duluth airport has free parking if you get in and out in 20 minutes. Have I mentioned before that the Midwest is my favorite part of the country?

One person I’m looking forward to meeting later this week is reader Jory Fleischauer, who lives nearby. He recently told me about an interesting storyline involving NASCAR, which of course is a realm I rarely write about, mainly because I don’t know jackshit about it. But as you’ll see, Jory has come up with something that’s very much in the Uni Watch wheelhouse.

Check out the little flaming decal under Jimmie Johnson’s left headlight. It’s hard to see, but it says “BA” and also has a number. Jory says (and Johnson’s publicist has confirmed for me) that the initials are for Blaise Alexander, who died in a crash in 2001, and the numbers are the tail number of the Hendrick Motorsports plane that crashed in Martinsville, Virginia, in 2004.

The decal is just the latest stage in a progression that Jory’s been tracking for years now:

After Blaise died, Jimmie would take a Sharpie and write “BA” followed by some flames below the left side headlight. After the Hendrick crash in 2004, they added that plane’s tail number to it. Now it’s progressed to a full-fledged decal on the car.

Jimmie’s car is usually either dark blue or black, and until recently the decal itself was dark as well, which made it harder to see. Sort of an “It’s there, but it’s not there” type of thing. It’s only been in the last two years or so that they have lightened it up so you can actually notice it.

The interesting thing, at least from Jory’s point of view, is that this memorial decal has gotten almost zero attention in the NASCAR world — most people, he says, appear to be unaware of it. “That memorial has been on his car for every one of his 294 starts, every one of his 49 victories, every one of his four championships, as far as I can tell,” he says. “But aside from a brief mention in a 2003 article, but no one has covered it or told the story behind it. It’s like if Michael Jordan wore the initials of a fallen friend on his sneakers for every single game of his career and nobody noticed or said anything. I’m not sure anything like this has occurred in any sport with a star of this magnitude.”

In fact, the decal is routinely omitted from models of Johnson’s car. Jory explains: “NASCAR fans often collect diecasts of their favorite car. These diecasts can get very detailed — the race win diecasts replicate every scratch, tire mark, you name it. But when they produce diecasts for Johnson’s wins, the memorial decal is not there (here’s another example — yes, the photos are are not very clear, but you can tell the decal isn’t there).”

All very interesting. I know nothing about the history or protocols memorial gestures in the NASCAR world, so I asked Jory about that. He responded with a tremendous essay on the topic, covering major memorials for the past 20 years or so. You can see that report here.

NCAA Contest Reminder: Remember, Vince is running his annual NCAA Tourney contest (and I’m providing the annual prizes). Details here.

Uni Watch News Ticker: Good story + slideshow about the Wild’s equipment crew here (with thanks to Karl Anderson). ”¦ “Baseball Prospectus Radio posted another uni-centric podcast over the weekend, this time focusing on three Northeastern seniors who’ve designed a shirt with sensors in it to detect changes in a pitcher’s motion as fatigue sets in,” writes Brian Hansen. “The podcast is here and there’s a video of it in action here.” ”¦ Sammy Barbour reports that the PuckDrawn site is challenging its readers to rebrand the Original Six NHL teams. This is a classic case of fixing something that isn’t broken, but some of the submissions are interesting nonetheless. So far they’ve done the Wings, Rangers, and Leafs. ”¦ Y’know, I could really get used to this (with thanks to Jameson Costello). ”¦ Dave Eskenazi sent along some photos that show the 1961 Seattle Rainers jerseys with the 1962 “Century 21” Seattle World’s Fair sleeve patch. “This of course was the event that brought Seattle the Space Needle, not to mention Elvis and a young Kurt Russell (who was a pretty good ballplayer himself).” ”¦ Pretty hilarious commercial playing off the hyphen in Ryan Rowland-Smith’s name — highly recommended viewing (with thanks to Jeremy Brahm, plus John Doodigian says, “The blogosphere is already clamoring for the T-shirts to be made”). ”¦ Another baseball team wearing green today: Virginia Tech (with thanks to Andrew Cosentino). ”¦ Mizzou baseball is wearing very nice throwbacks on Sundays (with thanks to Ryan Sherry). ”¦ Sam Graves was watching the UNC/Wm&Mary NIT game and noticed Ed Davis, who’s out for the season and was dressed in civvies, with “Easy Ed” monogrammed on his cuff. ”¦ Columbia River High School in Vancounver, Washington, played their opening game of the season on Monday, and 10th-grader John Mahoney was making us proud — below the waist, at least. Next time remember to tuck in that shirttail, John! ”¦ So you wanna host a few NCAA Tourney games? There are just a few rules you’ll have to follow (fascinating contribution from Mike Cline). ”¦ Speaking of NCAA rules, Arkansas-Pine Bluff neglected to add the little blue “NCAA” patch for last night’s play-in game, at least for the first half. But when they came out for the second half, the patch had been added (good work by Tim Burke). ”¦ Camo is bad enough, but there’s something kinda fucked up about the Johnstown Chiefs planning to wear Marine Corps-“inspired” uniforms next week. Details here (thanks, Kek). ”¦ My anonymous NFL tipster says there’s a decent chance the Bears may be adding something like this to their wardrobe this season, although probably with thicker numerals. … As most of you probably know, the Phillies wore a blue jay patch in the mid-1940s. Now Matt Algeo has found an old newspaper article chronicling the confusion this caused. Further details on his blog. ”¦ There’s this thing I usually say on March 17th, but apparently Mike Engle couldn’t wait, because yesterday he said it for me.

 
  
 
Comments (120)

    My anonymous NFL tipster says there’s a decent chance the Bears may be adding something like this to their wardrobe this season, although probably with thicker numerals.

    I much prefer that to the orange abomination they wear around Halloween.

    Roy Halladay should be made to wear a Phillies/Blue Jays patch on his uniform this year. Kind of ironic that he’s still with the “Blue Jays.”

    Those Missouri Sunday throwbacks

    link

    are very similar to the throwbacks Auburn wears (also made by Under Armour)

    link

    Here’s New Jersey Devils GM Lou Lamoriello talking about the throwback uniforms the team will wear tonight:

    link

    Highlights:
    – He speculates that the team may wear the red & green once per season, but no more.
    – He admits the shade of green does not match the old uniforms, just because of the change in fabrics.

    [quote comment=”382009″]Roy Halladay should be made to wear a Phillies/Blue Jays patch on his uniform this year. Kind of ironic that he’s still with the “Blue Jays.”[/quote]
    Ummmm, the Phillies never officially changed their name to the “Blue Jays” and they are, in fact, the team that has had the same nickname for the longest time, uninterrupted, in professional American sports history.

    [quote comment=”382012″][quote comment=”382009″]Roy Halladay should be made to wear a Phillies/Blue Jays patch on his uniform this year. Kind of ironic that he’s still with the “Blue Jays.”[/quote]
    Ummmm, the Phillies never officially changed their name to the “Blue Jays” and they are, in fact, the team that has had the same nickname for the longest time, uninterrupted, in professional American sports history.[/quote]

    Still, it would be great to see the Phillies put that patch on their uniforms sometime in the future. Have they ever done a turn-back-the-clock promotion sporting that patch?

    …because you just know that many college hoopsters can afford monogrammed dress shirts. Hmmmmm ….

    Also, isn’t it strange that Mizzou baseball is Under Armour, but Mizzou football is Nike?

    Especially the fact that Nike included Mizzou in its riflery program… you’d think they’d only save that for their “top” programs/committed Universities.

    “Y’know, I could really get used to this (with thanks to Jameson Costello). ”

    What? The pitcher’s ass? The high number on his back? The foolish batting practice jerseys? The 6th Ump in a spring training game in RF?

    Interesting piece on mlb.com by Tom Singer on the first use of StPatrick’s day unis in Spring Training, by the Reds in 1978. I saw one in the Reds museum last summer, but couldn’t get a good photo of it.
    link
    Wishing you all [well, maybe not everyone] could be here to partake of my shamrock and Irish flag cookies and chocolate mint brownies today.

    [quote comment=”382017″]”Y’know, I could really get used to this (with thanks to Jameson Costello). ”

    What? The pitcher’s ass? The high number on his back? The foolish batting practice jerseys? The 6th Ump in a spring training game in RF?[/quote]

    No fool, the sock stripes.

    [quote comment=”382014″]This should be the font on the front of the Nationals home jersey:

    link

    Yeah, let’s have every team’s script look just like the Dodgers, Athletics and Royals. I sort of like the unique approach the Nationals have used.

    Wasn’t the Reds’ ’78 green jersey on display at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum for a long time? The case showcasing the evolution of the uniform got removed, unfortunately.

    Great essay/entry from Jory! Couple of more things on the NASCAR memorials. IIRC, the year that Alan Kulwicki died, the winning driver of each race paid tribute to him by celebrating with Kulwicki’s signature “Polish Victory Lap” (that is, taking the victory lap clockwise around the track. Also, in 2001 after Dale Earnhardt’s death, a number of winning drivers did post-race tire burn-outs where the marks they left vaugely resembled the number 3. Now THAT’s fancy driving!

    [quote comment=”382014″]This should be the font on the front of the Nationals home jersey:

    link

    cool font. looks a bit “athletic” but at a greater angle!

    link

    I’m all for St. Patrick’s Day uniforms. I’d take them over drunk moms from NJ invading my city yearly. However, I would love see teams do it more intelligently and subtly. Like lets not make the whole thing green for the heck of it.

    Your making a new hat/jersey/whatever anyways. Be creative. Take for example the Dodgers. Keep the LA in your hat white, maybe try it white with a green inline on the logo. Just a touch, not a smash. They could cold always use yellow/gold, or dark blue as well. Just not orange. Change it up.

    Or every team could just wear the Dublin Greensox uniforms.

    [quote comment=”382021″]Great essay/entry from Jory! Couple of more things on the NASCAR memorials. IIRC, the year that Alan Kulwicki died, the winning driver of each race paid tribute to him by celebrating with Kulwicki’s signature “Polish Victory Lap” (that is, taking the victory lap clockwise around the track. Also, in 2001 after Dale Earnhardt’s death, a number of winning drivers did post-race tire burn-outs where the marks they left vaugely resembled the number 3. Now THAT’s fancy driving![/quote]

    ah yeah, the “Polish Victory Lap”! i was really sad to see kulwicki go! just cause it seemed he worked extra hard. but, in the end he won doing things “his way”! i was a HUGE nascar fan until #3 got killed… then i just kinda lost interest in the sport

    my first race was in martinsville. it was the king’s last season. during that season bobby labonte would wear a different helmet every race. each helmet would be painted to look like an NFL team (because of gibbs). i think that race he had a bengals hemlet paint job. mark martin won…

    Nice article by Jory – but the only Childress car that always runs a 3 decal on the side is the 29 (as a continuation of the original 3 team).

    You could get technical and say the 31 and 33 have a 3 since it is part of the number, but RCR never put a 3 on the 07 when they were running it.

    Oh, I do love the Duluth airport. I remember hauling ass there from a job in northern Wisconsin (Ashland) to catch a flight back to Chicago.

    About 10 minutes away from the airport, my coworker (who had driven up to the jobsite) has a moment of panic when he realizes we still have to return the rental car: “WAITAMMINNIT! Do they have a shuttle?”

    My response: “Yeah, it’s your feet.” (The rental car lot was about 50 yards from the main entrance.)
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Believe it or not, you can park for free in the main lots link.

    Yeah, I know. Just try picking someone up there in under 10 minutes. Still, 2 bucks for the first hour ain’t bad.

    Pretty cool story here about how a MLB video game DOESN’T mimic real life (and that’s a good thing) …

    link

    “Camo is bad enough, but there’s something kinda fucked up about the Johnstown Chiefs planning to wear Marine Corps-”inspired” uniforms next week. Details here (thanks, Kek).”
    All I can say to that is this:
    Johnny Upton: I’m gonna walk down that stinkin’ runway, open up this faggot robe and wiggle my dick at ‘em! And do you know why? Because I want you to have a heart-attack and die so we don’t have to do this shit again! You and your fucking fashion shows!

    [quote comment=”382020″][quote comment=”382014″]This should be the font on the front of the Nationals home jersey:

    link

    Yeah, let’s have every team’s script look just like the Dodgers, Athletics and Royals. I sort of like the unique approach the Nationals have used.

    Wasn’t the Reds’ ’78 green jersey on display at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum for a long time? The case showcasing the evolution of the uniform got removed, unfortunately.[/quote]

    So you don’t like the Nats road unis?

    [quote comment=”382005″]My anonymous NFL tipster says there’s a decent chance the Bears may be adding something like this to their wardrobe this season, although probably with thicker numerals.

    I much prefer that to the orange abomination they wear around Halloween.[/quote]
    Meh. If they’re going to kill the orange alt, I’d much rather they replaced it with a link than with another blue jersey.

    Or link

    I’ve never been to the Duluth airport, but the depot was pretty spectacular in its day.

    [quote comment=”382029″]”Camo is bad enough, but there’s something kinda fucked up about the Johnstown Chiefs planning to wear Marine Corps-”inspired” uniforms next week. Details here (thanks, Kek).”
    All I can say to that is this:
    Johnny Upton: I’m gonna walk down that stinkin’ runway, open up this faggot robe and wiggle my dick at ‘em! And do you know why? Because I want you to have a heart-attack and die so we don’t have to do this shit again! You and your fucking fashion shows![/quote]

    Just an overdone version of a tuxedo t-shirt, isn’t it?
    And we all know how classy THOSE are.

    Or maybe it’s more like the one-piece garbage bag of a “Marshal BraveStar” costume you had that fit over your snowsuit in case it was cold on Halloween. You know, the one where the thighs rubbing together went “voop-voop-voop” when you walked in it. Yeah, that was just like a real cowboy, alright.

    There’s fun and there’s…kinda stupid.

    —Ricko

    [quote comment=”382008″]happy st. patty’s day to all

    /so tempted to wear oaks rups today…[/quote]
    You didn’t? That’s disappointing.

    I considered the Oaks, but I went a link (That top stripe isn’t actually washed out like that).
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    P.S. Showoff.

    I did one of each of the rebrands on Puckdrawn. I don’t want those teams to change, and I’m not trying to fix them in any way, I just took it as “design this jersey from scratch” as if the team never existed. I can’t speak for everyone, but that’s my opinion on it

    [quote comment=”382028″]Pretty cool story here about how a MLB video game DOESN’T mimic real life (and that’s a good thing) …

    link

    thats a great story!!! so cool for them to include hans! thanks for sharing!

    [quote comment=”382014″]This should be the font on the front of the Nationals home jersey:

    link

    You’re right, War Damn Eagle. The current font is an abomination.

    [quote comment=”382037″]I did one of each of the rebrands on Puckdrawn. I don’t want those teams to change, and I’m not trying to fix them in any way, I just took it as “design this jersey from scratch” as if the team never existed. I can’t speak for everyone, but that’s my opinion on it[/quote]
    Some of them were pretty eye-catching, especially the ones that went 180 degrees from what the teams currently wear. Always going to draw criticsm when you rebrand iconic looks like the Rangers, Leafs and Red Wings. I enjoy looking at them mainly because I know there’s no way in Hades that I could ever create something like any of those.
    And, IMHO, it’s not the designs that looked like “roller hockey jerseys”, it’s that damn Reebok template!

    [quote comment=”382035″][quote comment=”382008″]happy st. patty’s day to all

    /so tempted to wear oaks rups today…[/quote]
    You didn’t? That’s disappointing.

    I considered the Oaks, but I went a link (That top stripe isn’t actually washed out like that).
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    P.S. Showoff.[/quote]
    [quote comment=”382035″][quote comment=”382008″]happy st. patty’s day to all

    /so tempted to wear oaks rups today…[/quote]
    You didn’t? That’s disappointing.

    I considered the Oaks, but I went a link (That top stripe isn’t actually washed out like that).
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    P.S. Showoff.[/quote]

    Need gold sanis and white shoes with kelly green laces, though.
    (Don’t ya hate when a throwback is messed up.) ;)

    —Ricko

    [quote comment=”382035″][quote comment=”382008″]happy st. patty’s day to all

    /so tempted to wear oaks rups today…[/quote]
    You didn’t? That’s disappointing.

    I considered the Oaks, but I went a link (That top stripe isn’t actually washed out like that).
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    P.S. Showoff.[/quote]
    Oh Shit… that picture does a ‘freaky’ thing to me! The way is just stands alone the way it does–kinda looks like a prostethis. weird.

    but nice ‘rups, thou. ;)

    [quote comment=”382041″]Need gold sanis and white shoes with kelly green laces, though.
    (Don’t ya hate when a throwback is messed up.)

    ;)

    —Ricko[/quote]
    I guess I have some shopping to do at lunchtime.

    [quote comment=”382035″][quote comment=”382008″]happy st. patty’s day to all

    /so tempted to wear oaks rups today…[/quote]
    You didn’t? That’s disappointing.

    I considered the Oaks, but I went a link (That top stripe isn’t actually washed out like that).
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    P.S. Showoff.[/quote]

    yeah…i prolly should have, but i just went with these solid greens instead

    [quote comment=”382037″]I did one of each of the rebrands on Puckdrawn. I don’t want those teams to change, and I’m not trying to fix them in any way, I just took it as “design this jersey from scratch” as if the team never existed. I can’t speak for everyone, but that’s my opinion on it[/quote]

    i wouldn’t take it personally. i think paul was knocking the idea or the site for putting the idea out there… not the actual designers.

    toronto as a whole seemed to have the best ideas though. pretty cool stuff!

    also, keep in mind how difficult it is to even pretend to re-brand a pro team (in any sport)!

    just keep up the good work and have fun with it

    [quote comment=”382045″]i wouldn’t take it personally. i think paul was knocking the idea or the site for putting the idea out there… not the actual designers.

    toronto as a whole seemed to have the best ideas though. pretty cool stuff!

    also, keep in mind how difficult it is to even pretend to re-brand a pro team (in any sport)!

    just keep up the good work and have fun with it[/quote]
    Oh, no, I don’t take it personally. I was trying to explain why we were even bothering redesigning in the first place. It’s just a creative exercise for us. My designs tend to be on the more extreme end of the branding (marchawg), but I would never be offended if someone didn’t like them!

    [quote comment=”382045″][quote comment=”382037″]I did one of each of the rebrands on Puckdrawn. I don’t want those teams to change, and I’m not trying to fix them in any way, I just took it as “design this jersey from scratch” as if the team never existed. I can’t speak for everyone, but that’s my opinion on it[/quote]

    i wouldn’t take it personally. i think paul was knocking the idea or the site for putting the idea out there… not the actual designers.

    toronto as a whole seemed to have the best ideas though. pretty cool stuff!

    also, keep in mind how difficult it is to even pretend to re-brand a pro team (in any sport)!

    just keep up the good work and have fun with it[/quote]
    I quite liked the Rangers’ rebrand that drew upon the Amerk’s heritage. However, anything associating the NY Rangers with a western motif (Texas RAngers or six-shooters) or as a ‘Forest Ranger’ in a forest green Alt kit is a COMPLETE dis-connect.

    And Finally: The Rangers don’t need a new uniform…. just decent ownership.

    (Memorized this before most of you here were born, I think.)

    “May the road rise to meet you.
    May the wind be always at your back.
    May the sun shine warm upon your face,
    the rains fall soft upon your fields,
    and, until we meet again,
    may God hold you in the hollow of hand.”

    And, of course, my other favorite…

    “May your soul be in Heaven half an hour before the Devil knows you’re dead.”

    Happy St. Patrick’s Day, everyone.

    —Ricko

    [quote comment=”382048″]
    I quite liked the Rangers’ rebrand that drew upon the Amerk’s heritage. However, anything associating the NY Rangers with a western motif (Texas RAngers or six-shooters) … is a COMPLETE dis-connect.[/quote]
    I don’t know if it’s really that much of a stretch, considering how they got their name.

    The organization my kid plays hockey with is called the Niles Rangers. Their unis and most of their logos are just NY Rangers’ ripoffs homages, but they’ve got some western-themed “alt” logos as well, like one with a cowboy who has a bandanna over his face.

    Do I want to see the New York Rangers wearing something like that? No, but it looks OK on grade-schoolers.

    Anyone else see the UNC unis last night?

    Since they haven’t been mentioned today I assume it’s old news and I’m just not with it?

    [quote comment=”382031″][quote comment=”382020″][quote comment=”382014″]This should be the font on the front of the Nationals home jersey:

    link

    Yeah, let’s have every team’s script look just like the Dodgers, Athletics and Royals. I sort of like the unique approach the Nationals have used.

    Wasn’t the Reds’ ’78 green jersey on display at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum for a long time? The case showcasing the evolution of the uniform got removed, unfortunately.[/quote]

    So you don’t like the Nats road unis?[/quote]

    Not particularly. I liked the road uniforms the team wore in their inaugural season.

    [quote comment=”382050″][quote comment=”382048″]
    I quite liked the Rangers’ rebrand that drew upon the Amerk’s heritage. However, anything associating the NY Rangers with a western motif (Texas RAngers or six-shooters) … is a COMPLETE dis-connect.[/quote]
    I don’t know if it’s really that much of a stretch, considering how they got their name.

    The organization my kid plays hockey with is called the Niles Rangers. Their unis and most of their logos are just NY Rangers’ ripoffs homages, but they’ve got some western-themed “alt” logos as well, like one with a cowboy who has a bandanna over his face.

    Do I want to see the New York Rangers wearing something like that? No, but it looks OK on grade-schoolers.[/quote]

    Always figured the New York Rangers were named after Rogers’ Rangers.

    Too bad they weren’t. Much better nickname with that basis than just cuz they were owned by a guy called “Tex” and truly unclever writers went right to cliche.

    Here’s why this platform makes more sense for a NY team…
    link

    —Ricko

    I mean, Rogers’ Rangers fought the first battle ever on SNOWSHOES, for pete’s sake…and their primary theater of operations was around Lake George and Lake Champlain.

    PERFECT things to use to inspire a New York hockey team’s moniker.

    Too bad has nothing to do with the nickname. Always gave the club credit for having an unusually great sense of history. THAT sure was misplaced.

    Well, as I so often say, learn something here every day.

    —Ricko

    [quote comment=”382024″]I’m all for St. Patrick’s Day uniforms. I’d take them over drunk moms from NJ invading my city yearly. However, I would love see teams do it more intelligently and subtly. Like lets not make the whole thing green for the heck of it.

    Your making a new hat/jersey/whatever anyways. Be creative. Take for example the Dodgers. Keep the LA in your hat white, maybe try it white with a green inline on the logo. Just a touch, not a smash. They could cold always use yellow/gold, or dark blue as well. Just not orange. Change it up.

    Or every team could just wear the Dublin Greensox uniforms.[/quote]

    Just to further illustrate. St. Patty’s unis could be so much more subtle, and complimentary to the teams current design, I whipped this up fast, as an example.

    link

    Tried the PuckDrawn site to look at the O6 unis, but was blocked by the office internet filter. It said it was because it was a “Shopping/Merchandising” site. I can accept that I guess, but the logic confuses me as Amazon, eBay, and every other like site I’ve ever gone to are no issue…

    Wow, I am just really taken aback by that “Rangers” thing.
    As I kid seeing Red Wings and Black Hawks, I just figured the Rangers were a third team in the original six taking their nicknames from roughly–very roughly—the same period of American history.

    Now today I learn it’s because they were owned by a guy called “Tex” and some whiz kid group of sportswriters came up with “Rangers”? Fucking brilliant. Think they came up with all by themselves?

    Honestly that nickname just dropped, for me anyway, from being one of the better ideas for a nickname in all of pro sports to not even being on the list.

    Damn. It’s much more fun when we learn something GOOD.

    —Ricko

    [quote comment=”382057″]Tried the PuckDrawn site to look at the O6 unis, but was blocked by the office internet filter. It said it was because it was a “Shopping/Merchandising” site. I can accept that I guess, but the logic confuses me as Amazon, eBay, and every other like site I’ve ever gone to are no issue…[/quote]
    For me it’s this:
    The URL is listed under categories (Profanity, Fashion/Beauty), which are not allowed by your administrator at this time.

    [quote comment=”382059″]
    For me it’s this:
    The URL is listed under categories (Profanity), which are not allowed by your administrator at this time.[/quote]

    is your admin planning on allowing profanity at some point in the future?

    [quote comment=”382060″][quote comment=”382059″]
    For me it’s this:
    The URL is listed under categories (Profanity), which are not allowed by your administrator at this time.[/quote]

    is your admin planning on allowing profanity at some point in the future?[/quote]
    If I can get enough signatures on the petition.

    ruh roh

    link

    By Ameet Sachdev | The Chicago Cubs, in search of new advertising revenues, have asked the City of Chicago for permission to erect a 360-square-foot billboard above the left-field bleachers at Wrigley Field, an alderman said Wednesday.

    [quote comment=”382062″]ruh roh

    link

    By Ameet Sachdev | The Chicago Cubs, in search of new advertising revenues, have asked the City of Chicago for permission to erect a 360-square-foot billboard above the left-field bleachers at Wrigley Field, an alderman said Wednesday.[/quote]

    Golly, would’t that obstruct the view from those rooftops on Waveland Avenue?

    —Ricko

    [quote comment=”382064″][quote comment=”382062″]ruh roh

    link

    By Ameet Sachdev | The Chicago Cubs, in search of new advertising revenues, have asked the City of Chicago for permission to erect a 360-square-foot billboard above the left-field bleachers at Wrigley Field, an alderman said Wednesday.[/quote]

    Golly, would’t that obstruct the view from those rooftops on Waveland Avenue?

    —Ricko[/quote]

    That depends … obstruct thier view of home plate? Probably not. Obstruct their view of most of the playing field? I bet it would! Would it obstruct TV camera shots of the only non-revenue-sharing building owner across the street? Why yes – it just might do that!

    [quote comment=”382065″][quote comment=”382064″][quote comment=”382062″]ruh roh

    link

    By Ameet Sachdev | The Chicago Cubs, in search of new advertising revenues, have asked the City of Chicago for permission to erect a 360-square-foot billboard above the left-field bleachers at Wrigley Field, an alderman said Wednesday.[/quote]

    Golly, would’t that obstruct the view from those rooftops on Waveland Avenue?

    —Ricko[/quote]

    That depends … obstruct thier view of home plate? Probably not. Obstruct their view of most of the playing field? I bet it would! Would it obstruct TV camera shots of the only non-revenue-sharing building owner across the street? Why yes – it just might do that![/quote]

    Hopefully they will put seats up there for people like Mr. Woo Woo.

    [quote comment=”382058″]Wow, I am just really taken aback by that “Rangers” thing.
    As I kid seeing Red Wings and Black Hawks, I just figured the Rangers were a third team in the original six taking their nicknames from roughly–very roughly—the same period of American history.

    Now today I learn it’s because they were owned by a guy called “Tex” and some whiz kid group of sportswriters came up with “Rangers”? Fucking brilliant. Think they came up with all by themselves?

    Honestly that nickname just dropped, for me anyway, from being one of the better ideas for a nickname in all of pro sports to not even being on the list.

    Damn. It’s much more fun when we learn something GOOD.

    —Ricko[/quote]
    I completely agree with you. When I learned about how the nickname came about, I was dumbfounded. I’ve always hated the Rangers, but now they seem more of a joke to me than ever. (GO DEVILS!)

    [quote comment=”382067″]Time to join the idiots.
    Cheers![/quote]

    Suzanne Pleshette (Mrs. Dr. Bob Hartley on TV) once said that her then-real-life husband, Irishman Tommy Gallagher, “evidently feels he has an ethnic responsibility to be an idiot.”

    Don’t know why I thought of that…

    —Ricko

    [quote comment=”382065″]Would it obstruct TV camera shots of the only non-revenue-sharing building owner across the street? Why yes – it just might do that![/quote]

    genius

    [quote comment=”382059″]For me it’s this:
    The URL is listed under categories (Profanity, Fashion/Beauty), which are not allowed by your administrator at this time.[/quote]

    And yet you get this site, which is 2 for 3 in those areas…

    Speaking of number 3, something that is NOT beautiful is the design for the NCAA tournament floors. Even if they ditched the blue and black for a Vancouver Olympics-ish blue and green, I would not approve.

    1) It’s a huge waste of money, all in the name of corporate branding. How very NFL of you.

    2) One of the cool things about tournaments past was getting to see all the different floor designs from around the country. Now it looks as if every game is in the same arena.

    3) It’s not as if anyone watching on TV is going to confuse the games with the NIT or the two newer tournaments (another waste of money), but even if they did you had the banners at the scorers table reminding you. Those were good enough.

    I hope this doesn’t filter down to the conference tournaments as well in the future. Or will there still be conference tourneys when they expand the NCAAs to include almost everyone to appease the “Wah! We won 20 games, we’re entitled to a postseason game too” crowd?

    Happy to see NASCAR and Jimmie getting some love on this site. I respect Paul for not bashing NASCAR and several other sports mentioned on here he isn’t familiar with. Most times when folks don’t understand a sport like NASCAR or the NHL they simply bash it and call us all a bunch of morons for watching cars go around in circles. I was never a big NASCAR fan having grown up on Long Island til I moved south and met some folks involved with NASCAR, and its just as involved as any other sport. But when you smell that burning oil and rubber and they come by at 200 MPH, thats a happy place. Of course, sitting there waiting 2.5 hours for them to fix a pothole was a bit of a turn off.

    And as well, Orlando Airport offers the first half hour free I believe for parking. NYC amazes me, whats LGA like $20 a day for long term? Unacceptable.

    [quote comment=”382068″]I’ve always hated the Rangers, but now they seem more of a joke to me than ever. (GO DEVILS!)[/quote]

    You’re not this guy, are you?
    link

    JimV19 said…

    “2) One of the cool things about tournaments past was getting to see all the different floor designs from around the country. Now it looks as if every game is in the same arena.”

    Mindful the NFL’s repurposing of its post-season graphics, huh.

    Kinda like Home Depot and Lowe’s eliminating the neighborhood hardware store. Seems great, the “wave of the future” and all, but eventually we kinda miss the community feeling of dealing with someone down the street.

    Hopefully such thoughts will come back here, too, and the sports monoliths will realize that the individual character and personality of these things is a lot of what makes them special from one year to another…not the sense of some corporate entity hovering over everything like the invading ships in INDEPENDENCE DAY.

    —Ricko

    [quote comment=”382075″]Quick soccer question: Why do they call the unis “kits”?[/quote]
    Because it is quite literally the kit needed to “construct” a game – every player had to bring one shirt, one pair of shorts, one pair of socks and shoes….

    [quote comment=”382049″](Memorized this before most of you here were born, I think.)

    “May the road rise to meet you.
    May the wind be always at your back.
    May the sun shine warm upon your face,
    the rains fall soft upon your fields,
    and, until we meet again,
    may God hold you in the hollow of hand.”

    And, of course, my other favorite…

    “May your soul be in Heaven half an hour before the Devil knows you’re dead.”

    Happy St. Patrick’s Day, everyone.

    —Ricko[/quote]

    the one i always loved was

    “may you be across heaven’s threshold before the ol’ boy knows yer dead”

    [quote comment=”382076″]Hopefully … the sports monoliths will realize that the individual character and personality of these things is a lot of what makes them special [/quote]

    Honestly, that’s how I feel about the name “New York Rangers.”

    I like that it’s based on a bad sportswriter pun. Seems like such a wonderfully 1920s thing to do.

    Can’t stand the lousy crest, but the name has a certain charm you’d never get today in the land of focus-group branding.

    I’m curious on Paul’s (well everyone’s) opinion of NASCAR design in general. Its obviously all corporate/advertisement based. Every color scheme is a color scheme for a reason (a primary sponsor). And it goes so far beyond similar sports like golf and tennis- the sponsors are a major part of the race. When Junior has a special orange Amp Energy scheme, its mentioned left and right on the broadcast, etc.

    Personally, I love NASCAR. While I never want advertising to touch baseball, football, etc… for some reason I have no issue with it in NASCAR. I actually think its kinda cool to see new schemes, colors, etc.

    Does it offend people?

    [quote comment=”382034″][quote comment=”382029″]”Camo is bad enough, but there’s something kinda fucked up about the Johnstown Chiefs planning to wear Marine Corps-”inspired” uniforms next week. Details here (thanks, Kek).”
    All I can say to that is this:
    Johnny Upton: I’m gonna walk down that stinkin’ runway, open up this faggot robe and wiggle my dick at ‘em! And do you know why? Because I want you to have a heart-attack and die so we don’t have to do this shit again! You and your fucking fashion shows![/quote]

    Just an overdone version of a tuxedo t-shirt, isn’t it?
    And we all know how classy THOSE are.

    Or maybe it’s more like the one-piece garbage bag of a “Marshal BraveStar” costume you had that fit over your snowsuit in case it was cold on Halloween. You know, the one where the thighs rubbing together went “voop-voop-voop” when you walked in it. Yeah, that was just like a real cowboy, alright.

    There’s fun and there’s…kinda stupid.

    —Ricko[/quote]

    Wait a minute… It never gets cold on Halloween.

    —The South

    [quote comment=”382074″]http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2793/4439441431_3cd36b52c2_o.jpg

    Anyone else notice the umpire has only one arm in this photo?[/quote]

    I’d be willing to bet that umpire only has one arm most everywhere he goes! In any case, good catch!

    [quote comment=”382080″]I’m curious on Paul’s (well everyone’s) opinion of NASCAR design in general. Its obviously all corporate/advertisement based. Every color scheme is a color scheme for a reason (a primary sponsor). And it goes so far beyond similar sports like golf and tennis- the sponsors are a major part of the race. When Junior has a special orange Amp Energy scheme, its mentioned left and right on the broadcast, etc.

    Personally, I love NASCAR. While I never want advertising to touch baseball, football, etc… for some reason I have no issue with it in NASCAR. I actually think its kinda cool to see new schemes, colors, etc.

    Does it offend people?[/quote]

    I’m with you- I love the sponsors, schemes, etc. Just like I don’t mind shirt sponsors for soccer clubs- The MLS clubs (KC, Dallas, New England) that have the team name seem weird to me.

    [quote comment=”382080″]I’m curious on Paul’s (well everyone’s) opinion of NASCAR design in general. Its obviously all corporate/advertisement based. Every color scheme is a color scheme for a reason (a primary sponsor). And it goes so far beyond similar sports like golf and tennis- the sponsors are a major part of the race. When Junior has a special orange Amp Energy scheme, its mentioned left and right on the broadcast, etc.

    Personally, I love NASCAR. While I never want advertising to touch baseball, football, etc… for some reason I have no issue with it in NASCAR. I actually think its kinda cool to see new schemes, colors, etc.

    Does it offend people?[/quote]

    I agree with you 100%. Not sure why, but I just view NASCAR differently when it comes to sponsors. Drivers become synonomous with their sponsors. Richard Petty=STP. Dale Earnhardt=Goodwrench. Harry Gant=Skoal Bandits. Jeff Gordon=DuPont. On and on…

    Maybe I have gotten so used to it, but I really don’t even think about it anymore. Every driver in the post race interview says, “I want to thank everybody at Chevrolet, Home Depot, Bass Pro Shops, Sunoco, Ritz crackers, and Budweiser.” All this as they take a drink of Coke with the label turned toward the camera.

    [quote comment=”382080″]I’m curious on Paul’s (well everyone’s) opinion of NASCAR design in general. Its obviously all corporate/advertisement based. Every color scheme is a color scheme for a reason (a primary sponsor). And it goes so far beyond similar sports like golf and tennis- the sponsors are a major part of the race. When Junior has a special orange Amp Energy scheme, its mentioned left and right on the broadcast, etc.

    Personally, I love NASCAR. While I never want advertising to touch baseball, football, etc… for some reason I have no issue with it in NASCAR. I actually think its kinda cool to see new schemes, colors, etc.

    Does it offend people?[/quote]

    I worked on the NASCAR circuit for 5 years in the summers. I was a tire goon for Goodyear. Since the advertisers are paying big bucks for their exposure, they want to really put on a specific show. We were required to wear specific shirts and shorts and hats, even on days when the track was only open so we could mount tires (the teams weren’t even there yet)

    I think that NASCAR is different from the other sports here in that the advertising is an element. Also, it started, to some degree, like a minor league sport. They needed the money, like little league teams. Therefore, fans of NASCAR, like fans of all motorsport, accept advertising.

    As a total aside, Paul, given your love of texture, you might want to give NASCAR a try. The vast majority of the firesuits and other uniforms are direct embroidered (although, alas, chain-stiching has all but disappeared), and fire suits are wonderfully quilted.

    Personally I’m an adict.

    [quote comment=”382079″][quote comment=”382076″]Hopefully … the sports monoliths will realize that the individual character and personality of these things is a lot of what makes them special [/quote]

    Honestly, that’s how I feel about the name “New York Rangers.”

    I like that it’s based on a bad sportswriter pun. Seems like such a wonderfully 1920s thing to do.

    Can’t stand the lousy crest, but the name has a certain charm you’d never get today in the land of focus-group branding.[/quote]

    Good thing the owner’s name wasn’t Carter, they’d have been the “Little Liver Pills”, I suppose.

    My thing, I guess, is being disappointed that what I reasoned was behind a great nickname turns out to have never entered their minds

    Sure, kinda fun that it lasted. But it doesn’t make it the story of a well-conceived nickname. In fact, it reveals how ill-conceived it was. And how little thought went into it.

    I mean, were there just ONE report of someone back then saying, “Yeah, that’ll work…also because Rogers’ Rangers are a HUGE part of New York state history and, subsequently, of military history in the U.S. and Canada” it would be a whole different story.

    But apparently no one did. It was just a “funny” joke that will never get points for being original. Or particularly funny.

    —Ricko

    from si valut today- Patrick Ewing with a gray t-shirt under a white jersey. And sneakers printed on each sleeve. link

    [quote comment=”382084″][quote comment=”382080″]I’m curious on Paul’s (well everyone’s) opinion of NASCAR design in general. Its obviously all corporate/advertisement based. Every color scheme is a color scheme for a reason (a primary sponsor). And it goes so far beyond similar sports like golf and tennis- the sponsors are a major part of the race. When Junior has a special orange Amp Energy scheme, its mentioned left and right on the broadcast, etc.

    Personally, I love NASCAR. While I never want advertising to touch baseball, football, etc… for some reason I have no issue with it in NASCAR. I actually think its kinda cool to see new schemes, colors, etc.

    Does it offend people?[/quote]

    I agree with you 100%. Not sure why, but I just view NASCAR differently when it comes to sponsors. Drivers become synonomous with their sponsors. Richard Petty=STP. Dale Earnhardt=Goodwrench. Harry Gant=Skoal Bandits. Jeff Gordon=DuPont. On and on…

    Maybe I have gotten so used to it, but I really don’t even think about it anymore. Every driver in the post race interview says, “I want to thank everybody at Chevrolet, Home Depot, Bass Pro Shops, Sunoco, Ritz crackers, and Budweiser.” All this as they take a drink of Coke with the label turned toward the camera.[/quote]

    no way man, think of that early 90’s petty car with just the carolina blue and the orange stripes/paint scheme with only the #43 on it. or earnhardts black chevy with the gray stripe along the bottom, the red accent, and the big #3 on the side and roof, maybe add gray racing stripes up the center. or gordon’s blue and orange flames. cars could and would look MUCH better without the sponsors!

    [quote comment=”382088″]no way man, think of that early 90’s petty car with just the carolina blue and the orange stripes/paint scheme with only the #43 on it. or earnhardts black chevy with the gray stripe along the bottom, the red accent, and the big #3 on the side and roof, maybe add gray racing stripes up the center. or gordon’s blue and orange flames. cars could and would look MUCH better without the sponsors![/quote]

    I think it mostly has to do with the fact that it was always there so we accept it. If it was never there and then one day cars showed up with sponsers and paint schemes to match the sponsers we’d cry bloody murder.

    Obviously sponsership is a huge part of the sport (if I may call it a sport), I do not mind the way its been handled for the most part. My one pet peeve is the need to force it upon race names. The Lowes 600 is fine, Pepsi 400 is fine. The Coke-Zero 400 is pushing it a little, and when they named the michigan race something like the spiderman versus mothra 500 a few years ago, that is simply not needed.

    [quote comment=”382086″][quote comment=”382079″][quote comment=”382076″]Hopefully … the sports monoliths will realize that the individual character and personality of these things is a lot of what makes them special [/quote]

    Honestly, that’s how I feel about the name “New York Rangers.”

    I like that it’s based on a bad sportswriter pun. Seems like such a wonderfully 1920s thing to do.

    Can’t stand the lousy crest, but the name has a certain charm you’d never get today in the land of focus-group branding.[/quote]

    Good thing the owner’s name wasn’t Carter, they’d have been the “Little Liver Pills”, I suppose.

    My thing, I guess, is being disappointed that what I reasoned was behind a great nickname turns out to have never entered their minds

    Sure, kinda fun that it lasted. But it doesn’t make it the story of a well-conceived nickname. In fact, it reveals how ill-conceived it was. And how little thought went into it.

    I mean, were there just ONE report of someone back then saying, “Yeah, that’ll work…also because Rogers’ Rangers are a HUGE part of New York state history and, subsequently, of military history in the U.S. and Canada” it would be a whole different story.

    But apparently no one did. It was just a “funny” joke that will never get points for being original. Or particularly funny.

    —Ricko[/quote]
    I’d wager a guess that as much thought went into that pun as went into virtually every other nickname of the time. The Rangers weren’t named after the color of their socks, or the owner’s old Army unit, or the largest local industry, or whatever other criteria were popular at the time.

    Besides, we don’t know that nobody thought about Major Rogers at the time. Journalism in the 1920s was somewhat different from the “see all, broadcast all” of today.

    Although maybe I need to read up on my history – I don’t remember Rogers all that favorably. At best, he’s a problematic figure in history, especially from an American perspective.

    [quote comment=”382083″][quote comment=”382080″]I’m curious on Paul’s (well everyone’s) opinion of NASCAR design in general. Its obviously all corporate/advertisement based. Every color scheme is a color scheme for a reason (a primary sponsor). And it goes so far beyond similar sports like golf and tennis- the sponsors are a major part of the race. When Junior has a special orange Amp Energy scheme, its mentioned left and right on the broadcast, etc.

    Personally, I love NASCAR. While I never want advertising to touch baseball, football, etc… for some reason I have no issue with it in NASCAR. I actually think its kinda cool to see new schemes, colors, etc.

    Does it offend people?[/quote]

    I’m with you- I love the sponsors, schemes, etc. Just like I don’t mind shirt sponsors for soccer clubs- The MLS clubs (KC, Dallas, New England) that have the team name seem weird to me.[/quote]

    Now that seems normal to me.

    In theory, I’m not opposed to shirt sponsors, but in the real world practice of it I am. In other words, if the sponsor matches the shirt (by that I mean if the team I like features a product I’d endorse), then fine. Problem is, that almost never happens.

    Take the Seattle Sounders. If this t-shirt jersey had the team name instead of this, link I’d snap it up in a second. Or if they were sponsored by Starbucks or Seattle’s Best Coffee, fine. As it is now, I’m not buying one.

    As for NASCAR, if the sponsors are car-related (tires, auto parts, etc.), that seems okay. It’s when you get into the big sponsors I get turned off by it (especially when they had the tobacco and ED medication ads).

    Hi everyone,

    Paul suggested that I post here with a question…I lost a c.1997 Knoxville Smokies cap on an airplane a while back and the airline couldn’t find it. Does anyone know of any way that I could recover a cap like that? It was dark navy or black and with a silver S and an image of a mountain and a stream in the lower hook of the S. The Smokies don’t have anything like that on their site and they’re the Tennessee Smokies now anyway.

    Paul said that there had been a place that did stuff like this but it folded in the past year.

    Does anyone know if there is anyplace that might specialize caps from this era?

    please feel free to email me off list

    david dot gratt at gmail dot com.

    thanks!

    I thought Tebow was going to be an Under Armor person, but in his pro day today he was wearing nike with a XV logo on the front. Don’t tell me nike has already made a logo for this kid.

    link

    [quote comment=”382084″]Harry Gant=Skoal Bandits.[/quote]
    Heh. That Niles Rangers logo I alluded to earlier looks a lot like link.

    [quote comment=”382075″]Quick soccer question: Why do they call the unis “kits”?[/quote]
    It’s originally from the British military. A soldier’s uniform and gear was his kit.

    That comes from the Middle English kitte. A kitte was a wooden tub. It’s thought that in the 1700s, gear for one man would be packed in a container and the name transferred from the container to the clothes.

    [quote comment=”382010″]Those Missouri Sunday throwbacks

    link

    are very similar to the throwbacks Auburn wears (also made by Under Armour)

    link

    They are also the same as Wichita States Sunday Throwbacks that was posted the other day.

    [quote comment=”382090″][quote comment=”382086″][quote comment=”382079″][quote comment=”382076″]Hopefully … the sports monoliths will realize that the individual character and personality of these things is a lot of what makes them special [/quote]

    Honestly, that’s how I feel about the name “New York Rangers.”

    I like that it’s based on a bad sportswriter pun. Seems like such a wonderfully 1920s thing to do.

    Can’t stand the lousy crest, but the name has a certain charm you’d never get today in the land of focus-group branding.[/quote]

    Good thing the owner’s name wasn’t Carter, they’d have been the “Little Liver Pills”, I suppose.

    My thing, I guess, is being disappointed that what I reasoned was behind a great nickname turns out to have never entered their minds

    Sure, kinda fun that it lasted. But it doesn’t make it the story of a well-conceived nickname. In fact, it reveals how ill-conceived it was. And how little thought went into it.

    I mean, were there just ONE report of someone back then saying, “Yeah, that’ll work…also because Rogers’ Rangers are a HUGE part of New York state history and, subsequently, of military history in the U.S. and Canada” it would be a whole different story.

    But apparently no one did. It was just a “funny” joke that will never get points for being original. Or particularly funny.

    —Ricko[/quote]
    I’d wager a guess that as much thought went into that pun as went into virtually every other nickname of the time. The Rangers weren’t named after the color of their socks, or the owner’s old Army unit, or the largest local industry, or whatever other criteria were popular at the time.

    Besides, we don’t know that nobody thought about Major Rogers at the time. Journalism in the 1920s was somewhat different from the “see all, broadcast all” of today.

    Although maybe I need to read up on my history – I don’t remember Rogers all that favorably. At best, he’s a problematic figure in history, especially from an American perspective.[/quote]

    All very true, no doubt about it. Although the absence of “see all” history/journalism in the ’20s probably still had Rogers on a higher plateau than the one he occupies today.

    Either way, just saying was disappointed to learn my idea of a great nickname had nothing to do with the reasons I thought it was great.

    Believe me, not suggesting it’s the only lame nickname story in history.

    Some real clunkers have been considered for teams along the way, too. Before the owner of Rocket Trucking got involved with the Denver franchise in the ABA (naming them the Rockets, later to be changed because the NBA already HAD a Rockets), the original owner wanted to call them the “Larkbuntings”…after the birdie.

    And Mrs. Payson wanted to call the Mets the “Meadowlarks” because she knew they’d end up playing in that new stadium in Flushing Meadows.

    “Alouettes” is a FAR better way to say “Larks,” if you ask me.

    —Ricko

    [quote comment=”382095″][quote comment=”382075″]Quick soccer question: Why do they call the unis “kits”?[/quote]
    It’s originally from the British military. A soldier’s uniform and gear was his kit.

    That comes from the Middle English kitte. A kitte was a wooden tub. It’s thought that in the 1700s, gear for one man would be packed in a container and the name transferred from the container to the clothes.[/quote]
    Thanks

    [quote comment=”382015″]…because you just know that many college hoopsters can afford monogrammed dress shirts. Hmmmmm ….

    Also, isn’t it strange that Mizzou baseball is Under Armour, but Mizzou football is Nike?

    Especially the fact that Nike included Mizzou in its riflery program… you’d think they’d only save that for their “top” programs/committed Universities.[/quote]

    Ill use Wichita State again.

    Our hoops team is outfitted via Nike and Jordan Brand.

    But baseball uses Under Armour. I absolutely detest the designs we were given for baseball outside of the sunday throwbacks.

    Some pretty cool striped stirrup action in this 1958 link team photo on eBay. Not crazy about the price though.

    [quote comment=”382092″]Hi everyone,

    Paul suggested that I post here with a question…I lost a c.1997 Knoxville Smokies cap on an airplane a while back and the airline couldn’t find it. Does anyone know of any way that I could recover a cap like that? It was dark navy or black and with a silver S and an image of a mountain and a stream in the lower hook of the S. The Smokies don’t have anything like that on their site and they’re the Tennessee Smokies now anyway.

    Paul said that there had been a place that did stuff like this but it folded in the past year.

    Does anyone know if there is anyplace that might specialize caps from this era?

    please feel free to email me off list

    david dot gratt at gmail dot com.

    thanks![/quote]

    I think this is what you’re looking for link but even if your cap ended up there, I doubt it’s still around. Personally, I’d love to have a K-ville Smokies cap!

    [quote comment=”382101″]Or is Larkbunting a flower?
    Either way, would have been a dopey nickname.

    —Ricko[/quote]

    It’s a birdie.
    link
    Woulda been cool for baseball. Picture a lark…bunting.
    Then again, chicks dig the long ball.
    Just ask these guys: link

    Topps screwed up Halladay’s card by airbrushing Steve Carlton’s retired #32 onto his jersey. Found on thefightins.com.

    link

    [quote comment=”382071″]
    …something that is NOT beautiful is the design for the NCAA tournament floors. Even if they ditched the blue and black for a Vancouver Olympics-ish blue and green, I would not approve.

    1) It’s a huge waste of money, all in the name of corporate branding. How very NFL of you.

    2) One of the cool things about tournaments past was getting to see all the different floor designs from around the country. Now it looks as if every game is in the same arena.

    3) It’s not as if anyone watching on TV is going to confuse the games with the NIT or the two newer tournaments (another waste of money), but even if they did you had the banners at the scorers table reminding you. Those were good enough.

    I hope this doesn’t filter down to the conference tournaments as well in the future. Or will there still be conference tourneys when they expand the NCAAs to include almost everyone to appease the “Wah! We won 20 games, we’re entitled to a postseason game too” crowd?[/quote]

    I hate the NCAA’s “same court” requirement. It drives me nuts when I’m sitting in a sports bar and there are four games on at once – and it’s almost impossible to tell which game is which.

    If the NCAA is going to insist on this “same court” silliness, couldn’t they at least use some different colors? In each of the first four days of the tournament, there are games held at four different venues. Keep the “same court” design, but use different colors for the lanes at each venue. You know, paint the lanes on one court blue, one red, one green, and one yellow.

    Also, the article says that the venue name and city are painted on the baseline, but it’s in royal blue on black – almost impossible to read. Throw the hosts a bone and at least let them have a white outline so that “NCAA” isn’t the only visible name.

    Finally, as a Carolina Tar Heel fan, I have to acknowledge that Roy Williams may be partially culpable for the NCAA’s “same court” mania. In 2008, the NCAA was still using local courts in most venues, but covering up all of the center court logos with massive NCAA decals. Roy complained (and other coaches quietly agreed) that these logos got slick and posed an injury risk. I guess the NCAA decided that if they couldn’t modify a court to their liking, they’d just bring a court they liked with them.

    Don’t know why my response above to JTH was all in italics. But I’m sure it’s user error on my part!

    [quote comment=”382110″]Don’t know why my response above to JTH was all in italics. But I’m sure it’s user error on my part![/quote]

    it was actually jimmy vilk you were quoting, and it’s fixed now :)

    For any off the beaten path college basketball fans I need to recommend the national junior college basketball tournament going on right now (and every year) in Hutchinson Kansas. You can watch the games from their website link. My Three Rivers Raiders just won again and are now in the final four. Their coach, Gene Bess, now has 1,113 total wins, more than any other college coach anywhere. It is really good basketball, many of the players will be playing bowl subcatagory major division….er….D-1 next year. Go ahead – take a look. A whole new batch of unis to check out! And Three Rivers aren’t too bad either (if you like road pin stripes)! link

    Does anyone have any earthly idea why Jim Burt didn’t have TV numbers or stripes on his jersey in the 1990 NFC Championship?

    files.me.com/gmu599/ln5ls3

    Here’s a action shot from the game showing Jim Burt with no TV numbers or stripes. What’s up with that?!

    files.me.com/gmu599/ahzont

    It looks like Liverpool FC’s link for next season have been leaked. It’s odd to see them without the Carlsberg logo– Carlsberg has been Liverpool’s shirt sponsor for 17 years! Standard Chartered signed a four-year deal last fall to take over the shirt sponsorship.

    Not sure what I think about going back to a fold-over collar: I’d kind of grown fond of the Adidas-y V-neck they’ve had for the last couple of years. Also, is it just me or does the home red seem to be a button-down (like a polo shirt)?

    The Devils’ throwbacks tonight would have been great… except of course they are not because of the Reebok Crappy Edge jerseys:

    link

    [quote comment=”382108″]Topps screwed up Halladay’s card by airbrushing Steve Carlton’s retired #32 onto his jersey. Found on thefightins.com.

    link

    Can’t be any worse than this:

    link

    tried to sign up for the tourney bracket yahoo group and its full. is there another group?

    [quote comment=”382119″]tried to sign up for the tourney bracket yahoo group and its full. is there another group?[/quote]

    if the first group (Group ID# “103049″ and password “stirrups”) has filled up, like it last year’s did, use Group ID# 145124 (with the same password, “stirrups”).

    [quote comment=”382116″]It looks like Liverpool FC’s link for next season have been leaked. It’s odd to see them without the Carlsberg logo– Carlsberg has been Liverpool’s shirt sponsor for 17 years! Standard Chartered signed a four-year deal last fall to take over the shirt sponsorship.

    Not sure what I think about going back to a fold-over collar: I’d kind of grown fond of the Adidas-y V-neck they’ve had for the last couple of years. Also, is it just me or does the home red seem to be a button-down (like a polo shirt)?[/quote]

    That’s a problem with soccer shirts, you begin to identify a sponsor with the team and when that changes it becomes hard to tell the difference. And that alternate looks like Blackburn. However I do appreciate collars on the jerseys.

    I just can’t say enough how those Mizzou throwbacks just look right. Like real baseball.

    [quote comment=”382040″][quote comment=”382037″]I did one of each of the rebrands on Puckdrawn. I don’t want those teams to change, and I’m not trying to fix them in any way, I just took it as “design this jersey from scratch” as if the team never existed. I can’t speak for everyone, but that’s my opinion on it[/quote]
    Some of them were pretty eye-catching, especially the ones that went 180 degrees from what the teams currently wear. Always going to draw criticsm when you rebrand iconic looks like the Rangers, Leafs and Red Wings. I enjoy looking at them mainly because I know there’s no way in Hades that I could ever create something like any of those.
    And, IMHO, it’s not the designs that looked like “roller hockey jerseys”, it’s that damn Reebok template![/quote]

    Reebok only cares about marketing, not tradition or even good design. And the stooges at the NHL just go along with it…

    [quote comment=”382053″][quote comment=”382050″][quote comment=”382048″]
    I quite liked the Rangers’ rebrand that drew upon the Amerk’s heritage. However, anything associating the NY Rangers with a western motif (Texas RAngers or six-shooters) … is a COMPLETE dis-connect.[/quote]
    I don’t know if it’s really that much of a stretch, considering how they got their name.

    The organization my kid plays hockey with is called the Niles Rangers. Their unis and most of their logos are just NY Rangers’ ripoffs homages, but they’ve got some western-themed “alt” logos as well, like one with a cowboy who has a bandanna over his face.

    Do I want to see the New York Rangers wearing something like that? No, but it looks OK on grade-schoolers.[/quote]

    Always figured the New York Rangers were named after Rogers’ Rangers.

    Too bad they weren’t. Much better nickname with that basis than just cuz they were owned by a guy called “Tex” and truly unclever writers went right to cliche.

    Here’s why this platform makes more sense for a NY team…
    link

    —Ricko[/quote]
    ‘Northwest Passage’ is an all-time ‘Rainy Saturday Afternoon movie’ for me!!!!!

    [quote comment=”382068″][quote comment=”382058″]Wow, I am just really taken aback by that “Rangers” thing.
    As I kid seeing Red Wings and Black Hawks, I just figured the Rangers were a third team in the original six taking their nicknames from roughly–very roughly—the same period of American history.

    Now today I learn it’s because they were owned by a guy called “Tex” and some whiz kid group of sportswriters came up with “Rangers”? Fucking brilliant. Think they came up with all by themselves?

    Honestly that nickname just dropped -for me anyway–from being one of the better ideas for a nickname in all of pro sports to not even being on the list.

    Damn. It’s much more fun when we learn something GOOD.

    —Ricko[/quote]
    I completely agree with you. When I learned about how the nickname came about, I was dumbfounded. I’ve always hated the Rangers, but now they seem more of a joke to me than ever. (GO DEVILS!)[/quote]
    That’s a good one, Nick…. the devs may have won a few cups in the Lamaire/robinson/fkorek/lamaire era but as the attendance shows: the mickey mouse franchise is always seen as a ship passing in the night —

    so, enjoy your snide remark. as if the silly happenstance of the Ranger’s nickname is truly a reason for increased hatred. Funny. Without the benefit of a PhD. in Psycology I’d say your baseless hatred stems from the fact that the devs could win 15 cups in the next decade and a half and STILL be 3rd. banana to the rangers and Isles.

    enjoy the winning streak –we’ll see what happens when Brodeur gallops off into the sunset.

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