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Nats Take Rebranding Plan to Extraordinary Lengths

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Not sure we’ve seen this category of logo theft before: a high school football team using an MLB logo. That’s Washington Community High School from Illinois. They’re called the Panthers, so couldn’t they just find a generic cat illustration or something to put on the helmet? Apparently not. (My thanks to William Barrett for bringing this one to my attention.)

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New ESPN column today, and it’s about a frequent contributor to the site: Michael Princip. Click herePaul

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Collector’s Corner, by Brinke Guthrie

One of the great things about eBay is that you often come across things you haven’t thought of in years. Consider, for example, the first item in today’s list — I’m pretty sure I pounded down a few of those back in the day.

• Didja know Pete Rose had a chocolate drink? Bet on it!

• These 1940s baseball jerseys here and here have Lukas written all over them. [No argument here. — PL]

• Johnny U as a San Diego Charger — sacrilege! Note the high-tops.

• I would have used this 1970s NFL pencil bag in elementary school, for sure.

• Check this first baseman’s mitt — how were you supposed to catch a ball with this thing?

• Here’s a terrific-looking Dallas Cowboys bobblehead, circa 1962, and his arch-enemy from the Redskins. Notice they both say “Toes Up.”

• Reader Matt Campbell submitted this fantastic program cover.

• And Paul’s buddy Kirsten found this great “Wide World of Sports” Thermos.

Seen something on eBay that you think would make good Collector’s Corner fodder? Send your submissions here.

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Membership Update: Sixteen membership kits mailed out yesterday, including Gordon Blau’s groovy Kansas City Bombers rollerderby treatment (shown at right). As always, you can see the full gallery of membership cards here and make good on that New Year’s resolution by signing up here.

Uni Watch News Ticker: Not sure if this is worth putting in the tourism brochure, but Pittsburgh is now home to the world’s largest goalie mask (with thanks to Tom Konecny). ”¦ New football jerseys on tap for Kansas (with thanks to Brad Barker). ”¦ This is pretty great: Lee’s Summit High School in Missouri, whose football team is called the Tigers, uses tiger stripes as award decals (great find by Brady Graham). ”¦ No frozen cabbage leaves available? Then just cut holes in your cap. That’s Buck Weaver, photographed on what must have been a hot day (with thanks to Brian Nelson). ”¦ Hmmm, a Dodgers cap with a logo patch? Odd (good spot by Brad Phelps). ”¦ Further info on Nikegon’s oddly placed conference patch, courtesy of Randy Policar: “If you look at photos from Media Day, the patch wasn’t there. Either Nike or Oregon ‘forgot’ to put them on. The Pac-10 people saw it and were not pleased. They overnighted a set of patches to Scottsdale (complete with the neon green outline) and Oregon had to have them sewn on by the seamstress who handles ASU football.” ”¦ Striped socks, crazy officiating uniforms, history’s worst cheerleading outfits, helmet carts, mustard-colored footballs, orange goalposts, and a very young Mike Patrick — all in this amazing WFL video clip (great find by David Ethridge). ”¦ You know how some teams will print, “Established 1944” (or whenever) on their gear? The Nats are trying to play that game too, but they have some funny ideas about which year to reference. ”¦ The SF Giants have announced their promotional schedule for the coming season, and Uni Watch fans will like what they have slated for July 9 (these glad tidings courtesy of Brad Dugan). ”¦ If you go to this UNC hoops Q&A page and search on the word “Aarons,” you’ll find some good info about corporate sponsorships and a tweak to the center jump circle (good find by Chris Warfford). ”¦ New logo for IndyCar (with thanks to Jeremy Brahm). ”¦ Here’s what Maria Sharapova will be wearing in the Aussie Open (thanks, Brinke). ”¦ Why does this Clemson player have NNOB? “That’s DeAndre ‘Nuke’ Hopkins,” the leading receiver on the Clemson football team,” explains Benji Boyter. “After Clemson’s bowl game, he joined the basketball team, but they haven’t put his name on the back of his jersey yet.” ”¦ Latest Nike-outfitted hoops team to get the sublimated rear-design treatment: Pitt. The logo is of the student section (the Oakland Zoo), along with the university’s motto, “Veritas et Virtus” — Truth and Virtue (with thanks to Steve Harrison). ”¦ Here’s Dwayne Roloson’s new mask (with thanks to Ben Gorbaty). ”¦ I’m going to be on a road trip today, so Phil will be minding the store. See you all tomorrow.

 
  
 
Comments (173)

    Paul-

    For those pitt jerseys, the design above the zoo logo is an outline of the Cathedral of Learning, the most recognizable building on campus. When nike started these sublimated designs, my friends and I (we were students at the time, now alumni) had hoped to see the cathedral on the back. Is this the first jersey to include a shout-out to the student section? Or at least the first to specifically integrate the student section’s logo?

    JEK:

    I forget exactly what their student section is, but Utah has a shout out to their student section on their shorts…obviously not sublimated but still a shout out to the student section nonetheless.

    Also, as a Pitt student, this is not the first time the Cathedral has been put on a team’s jersey…our club lax team had the Cathedral on their warm up shirts last season…I’m heading to class now but I will have a picture linked to this post before the day is over…they’re truly amazing.

    I always thought that the Cathedral could be put behind PITT on center court in some sort of way and it actually look good.

    Either way…Hail to Pitt and glad we have a coach who is actually humbled about coaching out football team and not going to take advantage of the situation!

    Utah’s home basketball shorts say “U, US, MUSS.”

    U=the school’s local nickname “The U”
    US=us
    MUSS=Mighty Utah Student Section, which looked pathetically un-mighty as Jimmer Fredette dropped 47 on them the other night and BYU blew out the Utes.

    Here’s a good shot of the shorts: link

    As promised:

    The most amazing piece of Pitt athletic equipment known to man since Pitt Script football days!

    link

    Niiiiiice I like it. Going with your idea, I think they should shadow the logo on the back of this year’s Zoo shirts behind the “PITT” at center court.

    link

    That would look amazing. I had a feeling some sort of sublimation involving the cathedral was on its way when those came out. I’m psyched they’re including the Zoo in it too. Now they will really take the Zoo with them wherever they go!

    H2P and good luck with lax season!

    But the Nats were established in 1969. That’s not “funny ideas about which year to reference,” that’s “finally correcting one of the stupidest lies in commercial marketing history.” The Nats could with at least some tenuous connection to reality have chosen 1859, 1901,1969, or 2005 as their “established” date. But 1905 made no sense whatsoever – even the claim made in late 2004 to justify it, that it was when Washington’s team first adopted the “Nationals” nickname simply wasn’t true. Or even close to true. Or even sort of looking like something else that was sort of true.

    As with the DC logo, I assume that choosing a new “established” date will cause the previous choice to simply fade away, even if it’s not officially abandoned. There’s something in the water on South Capitol Street that prevents team execs from ever making a firm decision to end anything; instead management just adopts the replacement and relies on some kind of natural merchandising evolution to cause the old to wither away.

    The 1969 date is what I would support. Maybe the Nationals are gearing up for a game in which they’ll wear Expos turn-back-the-clock uniforms?

    Oh please let this be the reason!

    I just bought one of link to be my new wearing-to-the-ballpark cap. Wore it downtown on Monday when I had some meetings and got a ton of comments.

    Wasn’t there a similar discussion here some time ago about when a team was founded, and if it moved, what it owed to the city left behind? In this regard, is the “established” date that of the team or the franchise? Would the Baltimore Ravens list 1996 as the Est. date, or the year the Cleveland Browns first played? Likewise, how about the Browns? Do they use their original year, or their rebirth year?

    In regards to franchise relocation, I think there should be rules that a team leaves behind the name, colors, records, and all trophies, awards, etc. won in the past, and begins anew in their new city. That’s basically what the ravens did, and what I wish the Colts had done when they moved (I used to work for the Baltimore Colts, so I am somewhat biased). That way, the Est. date would be the first year in their new city.

    I would be fine with that rule. I don’t know many people around here that care about what the Colts did in Baltimore, and I would guess the Ravens are too concerned about what the Browns did. And, obviously, the Nationals are much more interested in Washington baseball than they are the Expos.

    The Browns/Ravens one is simple, because the Ravens are a brand-new franchise, made up from assets transferred from the Browns franchise (which went dormant for a couple years). So the Ravens would absolutely be 1996.

    The Ravens are not a new franchise, despite what the NFL tricks you into believing. If they were really a new franchise/ expansion team, then they would have been forced to start from scratch with their roster. Instead, all of their personnel went directly from Cleveland to Baltimore. Based on how the Steelers have dominated the new Browns in recent years, I think it’s pretty clear which is the expansion franchise.

    So you’d have the Dodgers abandon their Brooklyn history? That would be dumb.

    1969 was indeed the start date of the Montreal Expos, but the more significant date is 2005 for the Washington baseball fans. This is one of those cases where the marketing side of things really takes liberties with reality. Tacking on history for no apparent reason just doesn’t fool anybody. Many of the younger Nats fans who will be wearing Bryce Harper jerseys soon could care less about the old Expos. Older Nats fans can recall Frank Howard and the old Sens, and most of them never saw Gary Carter play in person.

    That said, a more honest approach is embracing the old Washington Senators, even though the Sens had a checkered past. If the Nats wanted to do a Expos throwback day, that’s fine, and recognize that aspect of the overall history.

    I tend to agree, though “Est. 1969” is infinitely superior to “Est. 1905.” May not resonate with most fans, but it’s at least, you know, true. Personally, I wish they’d have gone with “Est. 1859,” which not only harkens to the foundation of the very first Washington Nationals baseball team, but would have given a franchise with very little to celebrate something to have celebrated in the 2009 season. Not many baseball teams have sesquicentennials, especially in their fifth season of existence!

    Never mind the fact that they fly World Series/
    AL Pennant flags above their scoreboard that belong to the Minnesota Twins… (1924, 1925, 1933)

    link

    Seeing as how the Twins don’t fly those pennants at Target Field, hard to argue with the Nats claiming them. And if anything, the most important bottom line for baseball history in Washington is, “It’s complicated.” So inasmuch as Nats fans are now confronted with “Est. 1969” and pennants that say 1924, 1925, and 1933, well, if that raises more questions than pat answers, that’s a good thing.

    But if they’re going to claim old Senators/Twins pennants, I wish they’d also claim the Grays championships won in DC as well.

    that is a grrrrreat call!!!! teams should fly negro league championships from their towns. i have less then zero problem with worshnin calling out their city’s titles, and am totally behind flying negro league titles. i can’t believe this ha not been brought up before, it is brilliant.

    Can the Cubs claim the American Giants’ championships?

    link! The only championship won by a baseball team that called that park home.

    US Comiskular? Um, no.

    But I think they moved into the place that used to be across the street AFTER they were done winning championships.

    I dunno. I’m no Negro League historian.

    likewise. maybe they didn’t play there, but i thought they did. it would be a cool thing to do though, wouldn’t it? not because it is a “franchise” thing, but because it is a “city” thing, and it doesn’t right a wrong, but it acknowledges one.

    Ok, well the easiest way to settle this is to sell shirts, hats, etc. that say “Washington Baseball – Est. 1901” as opposed to “Nationals – Est. 1901” that way they can claim attachment to anything they want.

    sure, why not, as long as you visually differentiate aO’s, terrapins, black sox etc, what is the harm? if you are informed, it is a teaching lesson for your stupid shaggy-cut, or nuevo moe-cut kid. you can tell them about how black folk were not able to play with white folk. you can tell them about the greed of spaulding, or whatever. the fact is this, bawlmer won titles here or there, why not say hey something existed here before today. what the hell is so all fire special about 2011? won’t people look back on us, and our lack of technology and say what a bunch of rubes? i mean seriously. why not fly a freaking flag that makes a person think about what came before them?

    The whole thing just reeks of “phony” to me. How do the fans feel?

    I assume that the sheer majority of fans think of 2005 as the year their team was established. Are any Nats fans really proud of- or aware of- The Expos history?

    Of course referencing 1969 is better than faking that you have the history of a completely different franchise.

    But the inconsistency is just silly. So you’re selling gear that states “established 1969” and flying flags stating you won pennants decades before that? Just stop.

    phony? where to begin, how about with this, they will sell their gear no matter what it says, 2005, 1969, 1901. but they for sure were established in the 60’s, that is just fact, so if factual info is important to them, nailed it. sure they were re-established in 2005 for the third time, and worshnin folks can’t be too over the top proud aboot expos wins(which is why teams should leave their history in a city).but flags about worshnin pennants? why the hell not. i mean worshnin did win a couple over the years and worshnin people should acknowledge them. were they senator pennants? grays? who the hell cares, they are worshnin pennants. i mean they wear negro throwbacks to celebrate that history, why not make the ballpark a museum to worshnin baseball, black and white, and everything inbetwixt? why not fly everything that celebrates that history? you say “just stop”, and “inconsistency is silly”, why is that so? silly me that batman.

    Are any Nats fans really proud of- or aware of- The Expos history?

    Yes. Me, for one. Most of the Nats fans I know, for others. And what’s more, most of the Nats fans I know care about and are aware of the history of the prior two American League franchises in town and regard the current Nats as a part of that history. I have yet to meet anyone at a game or at a bar watching a game who (A) doesn’t know about the 1924 World Series championship and (B) doesn’t know that it was won by a different team that no longer plays in Washington.

    Interest in the Expos history of this particular franchise doesn’t run nearly as deep, but it’s there, and in my experience it’s actually pretty widespread. When Paul posted that link a while back, I shared the link with a couple of Nats-related email lists I’m on, and I got huge, universally positive feedback. Nats fans loved it; a lot of folks here remember having “their team” moved away, so there’s some bittersweetness about the fact that our new team came at the expense of someone else losing theirs. (I grew up rooting for the first team that broke Washingtonians’ hearts by relocation, and spent half my adolescence in fear that my Twins would be moved away or even disbanded, so I totally understand the tinge-of-regret thing that a lot of old expansion-Senators fans have about the Nats being the relocated Expos rather than an expansion team.)

    All in all, despite the early “Est. 1905” silliness, the Nats do a terrific job of celebrating history without directly claiming it. There’s a very strong sense of “We’re a part of Washington’s baseball history,” not, “Washington’s baseball history belongs to us.” And if the Nats are willing to extend the same consideration to their actual franchise history in Montreal, that’s all to the good.

    The “toes up” on the Cowboys and Redskins bobbleheads refers to one of the many variations that the dolls had. They can be found with toes down, square base, round base, etc…

    also note: the Redskins bobblehead has the feather stripe going the wrong way on the helmet. correct placement has the the tip of the feather to the front.

    BTW, that is THE Redskins throwback i want to see. loved the feather helmets

    I saw that and you beat me to it.

    And you’re right. that would be the best throwback for Washington. Hell, get rid of the current helmet design all together and go with the feather from the old days.

    really? you call out the “feather” going the wrong way rather then calling it out for not being feathers?

    Sure, it’s fairly rudimentary (and from the front it looks more like baseball stitching) but it resembles a feather.

    yes “resembles” for 300 bills. my point is of all the things worthless about that “feather”, the direction is low on the list.

    I attended Washington Community High School. Though I don’t know when they started using the script W it has been used on the helmets quite sometime. I have never actually seen a photo where the script W was not used. For the most part, that is the schools primary logo. It is also used on the team’s baseball caps. Any uniform that doesn’t use the script W simply uses the word Washington or Panthers.

    I noticed this the day that they Nats had their unveiling. I hadn’t brought it up over fear of a lawsuit by MLB, the Nats, or both. Because to me, the script W belongs to the Washington Panthers.

    Makes sense: As of 1971, the old Senators curly-W logo was effectively (if not actually legally) an abandoned logo. Circa the 1990 season, I saw it used by some high school in Minnesota, for example, at one debate tourney or another.

    Since the version of the curly WCHS uses is noticeably different from the updated, streamlined version the Nats now use, hopefully MLB or the Nats or whomever can kind of let it slide.

    My 1970 YMCA 6th grade football team was the “Oilers.” Why? Cause the coach was able to get a stack of this window stickers mailed to him, and he just gave us each two of them.

    link

    Orange goalposts! (From the WFL video)

    PS, exactly what was wrong with those cheerleader unis? Thought they were pretty sharp – super clean lines. Way short skirts that’s for sure.

    Previously-undefeated Duke wore their black uniforms for the first time all season and lost at Florida State. There’s a lesson to be learned here, methinks.

    Feburary 26th (or 27th, perhaps — date still TBD) would be a good time for them to break those out.

    i am sick of you crying about THE scarlet&greys, you need to move to another state mothervilker. you waist too much time hating big state U in your state and fail to see that what happens there happens everywhere in regards to big state U, what with the shoving down of the throat, and nuisance fans. if you think it isn’t the same everywhere with every university you are delusional.

    ha! monday should be the end of my public shaming, i figure a week is enough of chimping myself.

    I never said the grass was greener elsewhere. I know sports fans are pretty much the same everywhere. And you don’t even know the real reason I don’t like OSU. Actually, when it comes to hoops they’re not my least favorite team…that goes to Indiana, Georgetown or Duke. But with the exception of the Hoosiers, I like every team left on OSU’s schedule better, so yeah, I hope someone beats them. You don’t even like basketball anyway, so why did you even pay attention to it?

    as long as you recognize that k-state/ku/mu can make a man want to vomit within 2 months, you can hate away. but wait, there is a story? are there gargoyles? needlessly scratched LP’s? hairless cats? please tell.

    not chimp~
    i take it those dates are when my volleyball team plays your tiddlywinks team?

    sounds like he hates any team that is successful in any sport that does not have a joepa. iU and duke tiddlywinks, THE football, but i dig that line, it is fun to tear em down to build them back up. usc was fun for a minute after they finally put a team out there again, but by the end of the cheater pete era i had enough. oregon unis might be fun to you now, but if they become a consistant team, you will tire of their noise too.

    He’s also stuck in the 80s, so there’s the source of the hatred for my alma mater.

    You can assume away, but as with all things mothervilker, there’s not a tidy wrapped up explanation. I’ll get into it some other time.

    good point not chimp, you guys have been sub par for while if i ain’t mistaken. you don’t deserve dukesque hate, you desreve hoosieresque football sympathy.

    The last 3 years have been brutal (thanks, Kelvin Sampson and the brain trust that thought it was a good idea to hire him).

    2008: promising start then crashed and burned
    2009: 1 conference win
    2010: 4 wins
    2011: 0-4 so far…

    futball? Is that chimpese for Fußball/futbol?

    That’s probably IU’s most consistently successful sport.

    I hope Ohio State never ever wears black. On OSU boards there are a few wackos that have asked that the Buckeyes wear black.

    I would not mind gray football jerseys. The basketball team looks good in the gray.

    the tiddlywink team can wear whatever they want, but you might be trying to apple an orange when applying that logic to the shoe’s team.

    noice star use didn’t hit zero thanks to a field goal when cam could have leaned forward fo a tuttie. i should have celebrated that more.

    and yes not chimp, i meant ß, but i didn’t feel like looking for the right proper ß, and just went fut.

    yeah…but i still finished not chimp, not champ…but ahead of the other not champ either way…friggin push

    and that line was down to *even* when the game went off, but not when we locked

    someone wanted to lock the lines, just sayin’. i can’t believe i didn’t hammer you though, best push ever. in retrospect that kneel down was the best play of the champ-chimp season bowl season. the tennesee-carolina game would have been the game of the season had it mattered, but we will have to celebrate the “newton knee”. for me that will always describe a team not looking to cover. awe sheet, “they will just take a newton knee, they are not looking to score.”

    someone wanted to lock the lines

    ~~~

    yes *someone* did want to *lock* the lines because *someone* always got his picks in on time, and didn’t wait until the line moved and the early games had been played like *someone*

    of course…that other *someone* is the champ…so maybe there’s my new stregedy for next year

    the reason we *locked* the lines was so we might get so *head to head* matchups like the forced military bowl which screwed us (and nearly let the other not champ not chimp almost pass me)…had army covered, that other *someone* might be chimp today and he who must not be named wouldn’t be sporting that monicker until monday next

    Thinking that the Fred Norman card was a circa-1970 photoshop job modification of his 1962-3 Kansas City Athletics uni.

    It appears that there are other baseball logos making their way onto high school helmets. Check out the team picture here – looks like a Red Sox logo to me (though I wish I could find a clearer picture). This is the League City, TX Bay Area Christian Broncos

    link

    How to catch with that 1B Mitt? using both hands. . .. I actually used a neighbor’s glove similar to the 40s Draper-Maynard Professional Trapper. Pretty good glove when oiled & broken in. But when I got switched to 1B full time, I used the same glove I’d used pitching & playing CF – A Rawlings 6 Finger – that thing could snatch the rock.

    Didn’t mention the ‘straight-away’ kicker Ramsey. Really makes the WFL clip good.

    The Dodger’s cap looks like a cut and paste (pre-PhotoShop) logo. Look at the jersey, it has a red font.

    A good mystery to solve. I thought Topps always used airbrushing back in the day, so to me, at least, the cap logo looks like it is an authentic patch. But where does the red font on the jersey come from? Is the photo from spring training? Is Norman wearing a minor league jersey?

    It’s got to be literal cut/paste by the Topps photo dept. Fred Norman played for the K.C. A’s and the Chicago Cubs prior to 1970. Here’s his BB-Ref stats:
    link

    Ronnie beat me to the ‘Skins backward feather.

    Also, there is only ONE Charger that belongs in that #19 uni. Sorry Johhny, it ain’t you.

    And Alworth went to Dallas and took #19 from Lance Rentzel, who was traded to the Rams (but wore #13). Johnny U only played a few games with the Chargers, but he should have hung it up while still a Colt.

    Here’s a TX high school team using the Braves logo:

    link

    Another using the TX Rangers logo:

    link

    And for those hockey fans, one using the Buffalo Sabres logo:

    link

    If my school colors were Green & Gold, used the letter “A” and I was going to use an MLB logo…. I would have gone with this instead:

    link

    and left off the ‘s….

    My alma mater’s mascot was the Patriots. Back in the late-90s/early-00s, they ripped off New England’s “Flying Elvis” as their helmet logo.

    Gotta give a shoutout to Dallas Hicks posting over on Icethetics for this find: link, with uniform numbers between the collars and crests. (Original Icethetics topic about the ASG jerseys link.) I couldn’t help but notice that those numbers seem to be somewhere between standard block numbers and the Los Angeles Kings’ current, unique number font.

    But, this led to another, more disturbing discovery. When searching for images of Kings jerseys, I stumbled across a retailer that, based on their prices (and a number of other factors), looks to be offering knockoff jerseys. link – those numbers on the thirds look horrible!

    Plus, seems these people don’t even know what they’re doing – link, for one… but quite possibly the most egregious listing is link Gee, I didn’t know Sidney Crosby was traded to Detroit… or that the Wings changed their name to “Detroit Canada”… or that Reebok changed their logo from the vector to a familiar-looking swoosh! Good GOD!

    Blah… the Icethetics link should be link – forgot to remove the hash for my own submitted comment. Oops! (Any way to fix that, Phil?)

    And I duplicated a link, too: link that’s the correct link for the Lions listing.

    Wow, I’m doing great this morning! XP

    fixed your icethetics link but i’m not sure what is wrong with those others — your coding is good but the links aren’t…if they’re just photos, maybe you can just grab em and post em that way

    I tried to follow your first link to the questionable retailer and got this:

    Notification

    Bad Reputation
    Your request to URL “http://www.jerseys-union.com/nhl-jerseys-los-angeles-kings-c-120_139.html” has been blocked by TrustedSource. Web reputation scores of 50 or greater are considered “Bad”.

    The Web reputation score of this URL is 85, which is not allowed by your administrator at this time.

    I’m curious how they come up with that score… but, yeah. I don’t think I’d trust ordering from that site. Definitely some questionable looking items.

    Page 10 of the link:

    To determine a TrustedSource web reputation for each URL, TrustedSource uses an automated process that looks at many different security attributes of that URL – the URL’s content, where the URL is showing up on the Internet, the URL’s domain behavior, and more. TrustedSource determines a score that represents the risk to your network, computers, and personal information when you visit any URL. The reputation score is represented in the database regardless of its categorization status. This means a URL can have a web reputation score, but is not in any category.

    What do you expect from a website that has this many mistakes in their credo at the bottom?

    “We have a very strict quality ctrolling system which promises that the NFL jerseys,Hockey jerseys,NBA jerseys,MLB jerseys we produced are always of the best quality.”

    Nice helmet, Mike!

    “Look, this helmet is not going to prevent all concussions or all neck injuries,” he readily acknowledges. “But there are things you can do to limit them.”
    Glad you said that, because a better helmet is only half the battle. No matter how good the technology is, there has to be a fundamental change in the rules of the game. Anyone who uses a helmet as a weapon should be ejected, not just penalized. Mandate proper tackling as well. No more three-point or four-point stance. Even that won’t get rid of all concussions, but it will be a huge leap.

    I would definitely wear that helmet, and I also second Vilk. Bigger helmets might end up making things worse with the way the game is played today.

    Great project of Michael’s. Thanks, Phil, for spreading the word.

    PS Also liked your ESPN sidebar that upended the myth of the Princeton genesis of the winged helmet design. I hate Princeton.

    PPS But that full-length football sleeve with black and orange stripes is, unfortunately, one of the great uni looks of all time.

    Thanks, to all Uniwatchers, for the encouraging words here and in the emails I got.

    Currently working on a Bulwark to go nicely with Vilk’s green Tatupu jersey. heh heh

    Well….Regarding the Nats “date of establishment” deal. If this is one of the few ways that the Expos history gets any play at all then i’ll grudgingly take it.

    That Johnny U Chargers photo reminds me of the era when plastic grass was just accepted as an inevitable, obvious improvement on that stuff God planted. Candlestick, Busch, Soldier Field…how many stadiums made the switch temporarily? The most ridiculous had to be the Orange Bowl. Unless it was the Aloha Bowl. If you can’t grow grass there…

    I THINK the problem in Aloha Stadium is too much rain and too much usage of the field which would result in it being unplayable much of the time. If I’m remembering that correctly. I would imagine the conditions in Hawaii are great for GROWING grass. Maintaining it for constant use as an athletic surface…maybe, maybe not.

    Stadiums that had grass, then turf, then grass again include the Orange Bowl, Candlestick, Soldier Field and Busch, as you mentioned.

    Arrowhead went from turf to grass. Giants Stadium started and ended with turf with a brief grass period in the middle. At the end of its run, Tulane Stadium had turf. And, remember, they tried grass in the Astrodome at first.

    Thanks for that run-down….I knew I could count on the experts here:) Interesting about Aloha Stadium; I always wondered about that. And I never thought about football on grass in the Astrodome, very interesting.

    It was long after football days but let’s not forget 1/2 of Comiskey Park while we’re at it!

    This is old (from 2007) but Adam Carolla filled in for Jim Rome on his show and used his “final burn” to rant on baseball players uniforms. Enjoy;

    link

    At the 2:03 mark of the WFL video, it appears that number 55 on Jacksonville is missing one of his helmet decals. It may just be glare, but it looks like it’s gone.

    Central High,FL / Houston Rockets:
    link

    Riverview, FL / San Jose Sharks:
    link

    St Thomas More, IL / Nashville Predators
    link

    Plymouth, MI / Nashville Predators
    link

    Los Alamos, NM / LA Lakers
    link

    Archbishop Thomas Murray, WA / Florida Panthers
    link

    Elwood, IN / Florida Panthers
    link

    Vernon Hills, IL / Van Halen
    link

    Roxana, IL / Shell Gas Station
    link

    Loyola College Prep, LA / Snoopy
    link

    Africentric, OH / Africa
    link

    Oxbow, VT / Olympics
    link

    And my personal favorite: The Poca, WV Dots
    link

    Indiana high schools are littered with professional/collegiate logos.

    link
    Click high schools –>Indiana

    Some noteable ones are: Northwestern High using an upside down U from “The U.”
    Jay County and TH North both using flying Elvis
    Heritage High and Heritage Hills High(home of Jay Cutler) both use Pat Patriot
    Belmont High uses the exact version of the leaked FSU black helmets.

    I don’t mean to sound like a dick (and I’m not singling you out, Mark) but I think we’re all well aware of the widespread use of college/NFL logos in high school football. Today’s post focuses on an MLB logo being used.

    I gotcha…the post just got me looking around. That’s why I only pointed out a couple of the unusual ones.

    there is a burger that almost rivals swensens and their white pleather belt and blue poly pants at a place called town topic, a small killer greasy-spoon with less “character” then swensens, but the Q ain’t worth the postage.

    just off the phone with tck, can you believe they are behind? rain, pour. anyway, i hear next tuesday is the ship date now, they are coming in on saturday to finish it.

    I see that Siloam Springs Arkansas lost their Superman logo. Can’t remember… think that may have happened around 2007???

    I totally support high school teams using/modifying college and pro logos – big deal, right? High schools don’t normally have a fancy graphics dept. When they are forced to make their own, it often just looks like a third grader designed it. However, I find it odd that a team would use the exact logo (and color scheme) to a team there are geographically SO CLOSE to… link

    Now, I think this means I am going to end up killing more time looking at high school football helmets… Thanks guys! :/

    this is for anybody, but what the corn is “*”, when did that become a “? and when do we use * instead of “?i am confazed by this, please to splain someone, i ain’t that bright.

    I *think* I have an s-plane-nation for you.

    The asterisks can denote many things. For instance, I use them when I’m too lazy to italicize or embolden or whatever.

    It’s also a holdover from when I posted on messageboards that didn’t allow HTML.

    so i san say something like i am *so* sick of people, and it will read like i am soooooooooooo sick of people, or i am so sick of people? i gots it now. i swear i have not been able to figure out the nuance of when various people use that.

    i kind of thought that was in there too. so there isn’t really a specific use, it is multi-layered? i am serious on this one, i have never known. it is sort of the in my horchata realization.

    Um, Akatexaco, don’t tell me I’m wrong about what the asterisks mean. Yes, that’s the way *you* were using them in *this* specific instance, but that’s not the *only* way they can be used.

    I very clearly said they can denote many things. And then I gave a ferinstance. I was not saying that this is how *you* were using them in *this* specific instance.

    If chimp wants to say “I am *so* sick of people…” then that’s his prerogative.

    OK? OK.

    oh! this is good reading, so any emphasis then? the way i read what you wrote i *really* hate people, and that works. but the way susan uses it i can say, i so *love* people and people will know i hate people. actually i guess if what susan says plays if i say “i hat people”, i can come in late and say *hate*, but either way it is a point of emphasis OR correction depending on the case specifics. thank corn i am starting to understand. i think i usedthe key next to the andpersand once, wait, *used the* once, but i used it wrong. hey! look at me i am learning.thanks, i think i will try this web language tool, i won’t ask any more questions about it, but not chimp and susan, if i use it wrong, can you point it out to me?

    rrrrrr, that stupid highlander commercial with the shaggy haired towhead just came on again. i *love* that commercial *so* much that it makes me want to buy what a 7 year old thinks is a cool.

    …oops, i meant *burn* a car that a 7 year old kid thinks is cool.

    i think i have it in it’s multifunctional glory there, thanks susan an not chimp.

    Regarding the mention of Mo Vaughn using Cooper hockey pads in the ESPN article – That has to bea separate baseball elbow pad – there aren’t hockey elbow pads that are that big.

    In the 90s – Use of the Cooper/Bauer name for hockey was owned by Canstar, which was then bought up by Nike. But the Cooper name for baseball equipment, was owned by Irwin Toys out of Toronto.

    Throughout the 90s, Cooper bats and gloves could be found, with some Jays using the gloves like Robbie Alomar, and then later Roger Clemens. The bats were fairly widely used in the Majors during the early to mid-90s IIRC, nothing to the extent of Louisville Sluggers or Rawlings, but still it had a decent presence.

    The WFL clip also has another thing that is different from today. Instead of endzone pylons, they have flags in each corner! I guess one could hit them like today, but I’m not sure. They could be just for visual reference.

    Look at 1:16 on the video.

    link

    Texas High School has new turf field just like Eastern Washington

    link

    Also, according to several post on twitter (including Darren Rovell of CNBC) Erin Andrews has signed a deal with Reebok.

    Pictures from her photo shoot.

    link

    Someone asked the question about coaches gear after they are fired. This was just posted by a local Detroit sports anchor

    RichRod’s items will be featured in “Coach’s Closet” tent sale at Wayne Salvation Army store Saturday, 1/15 – 12-2pm (34260 W. Mich Avenue)

    I am not sure if anyone reads Texts from last Night but I read this and instantly thought of UniWatch.

    (251):
    I want a picture of impoverished children wearing Oregon national champions shirts.

    (478):
    Yes, I feel sorry for the tribe that gets those. They won’t be able to hide from the lions.

    Not sure if I’m the first to point this out but there’s a high school in Texas that just did this:

    link

    UGGGGHHH

    Great to see the ESPN article with Michael Princip. I admire his work. I love his Oregon history page and the Duck tracker too I worked with him last year on the Ohio State vs Oregon Rose Bowl feature. And I can just tell that Michael is a darn good guy.

    That is very cool of you to say Larry, thanks so much.

    I really enjoyed the article we did together last year, and we need to do something for 2011.

    Speaking of the Illinois HS team using the W like Nationals. And speaking of Michael Princip. I was wondering if any high schools have used any of the Oregon Ducks combos or maybe any Oregon helmet with the O on?

    In watching high school football highlights in both Ohio and Pa I see several teams use pro or college looks.

    Thanks Corey. Are you in Oregon?

    Actually the unis look decent. The burgundy or maroon or whatever the 2nd picture was

    Ha! That’s awesome! I believe Aaron Curry tried to do something similar a few weeks back? Well, I think his move had more to do with hurdling over the center to try and block the field goal.

    Hey, Paul, you asked about link last week? Well, today he donated what amounts to 432 pieces of maize-and-blue merch to a local Salvation Army, and link

    Don’t know if other coaches do this kind of thing, but I’ll give Rodriguez credit for helping raise money for a noble cause.

    There’s no shame in admitting you’re wrong, Mr. Delany,
    link
    but *no,* you want to let your division names “breathe a little bit”?

    The new Oregon b-ball court looks crazy on tv. Its an awesome design to see live. A couple things though…the glare from the lights is intense on the lighter parts of the floor…you can’t tell where the mid court line is at all in the dark or light parts…and because the 3 point line is white to contrast the dark tree parts of the design a the top of the key where the glare is you can’t make out that line either.

    Its going to be an adjustment

    I think the Ducks of course also have new uniforms too. They look very plain, not just by Oregon standards

    It’s the 2nd half and I still can’t tell if the new unis are white with Oregon’s traditional darker green trim…or if it is white and black. I think my attention has been shattered by the court!

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