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Hat Tricks: Not Just for Hockey Anymore


It isn’t often that a labor impasse provides us with a uni-notable element, but it also isn’t often that you come across a fella with such impeccable taste in headwear as NFLPA exec director DeMaurice Smith, who’s been single-handedly spearheading a fedora revival. And I say good for him — as you can see in several of the photos in the slideshow above, he consistently looks sharper than the hat-free folks he’s pictured with.

So while we may lose the 2011 football season, we may gain a style revolution. Seems like a fair trade-off, no? — Paul

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New ESPN column today — the long-awaited cricket edition. Look here.

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Meanwhile, I’ll be guest-speaking this afternoon at the NYC11 convention, which is open to all Uni Watch readers. Details here.

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’Tis the season: Everyone in the country will be filling out NCAA brackets over the next few days (except for me, cuz I don’t follow college hoops), which means it’s time for our annual March Madness pool. As usual, intern emeritus Vince Grzegorek has set up a group for us. To enter, go here, click on “Join a Group,” and enter our group I.D., which is 98702. If that group fills up — and it probably will, based on what’s happened in past years — then use our second group number, which is 99239. And if THAT one’s filled up, use 200063.

Scoring, which will be tracked by Vince, is as follows: 1 point for first round, 2 for second, 4 for third, 8, 16, then 32 for the championship game. The tiebreaker is total points scored in final game.

The top five winners will get to choose from the 17 prizes listed below (top winner gets first choice, second-place winner gets next choice, etc.). As you’ll see, exactly zero of these prizes have anything to do with college hoops, but whaddaya gonna do. The prizes not chosen will be offered again for the annual reader-appreciation raffle in December.

1. A free Uni Watch membership.

2. A free T-shirt based on a certain team and a certain foodstuff, in gray, winner’s choice of size.

3. A “How to grow a beard like Brian Wilson” poster, by McSweeney’s. 11″ x 17″.

4. An A’s nameplate for Eric Stuckenschneider, which would have been the longest NOB in MLB history if it ever been used. (Stucky got hurt, so that was the end of that.) Tucker not included.

5. A “Monsters of the Midway” deck of cards. Brand-new, never used, never shuffled.

6. A Penguins throwback ski cap.

7. A Capitals throwback ski cap.

8. A Winter Classic knit cap. Rendered in Penguins colors but does not have any Penguins graphics — just says, “Winter Classic.”

9. A Penguins throwback lightweight knit cap.

10. A Capitals throwback lightweight knit cap.

11. A Penguins Winter Classic scarf.

12. A Capitals Winter Classic scarf. Has “Pittsburgh” on side, which seems counterintuitive, even if that’s where the game was played.

13. A Penguins SpeedWick T-shirt. 100% polyester. Blank on back. Tagged as a large; measures 23″ pit to pit.

14. A Capitals SpeedWick T-shirt. 100% polyester. Blank on back. Tagged as a large; measures 23″ pit to pit.

15. A Penguins Winter Classic T-shirt. Sidney Crosby name and number on back. Heavily distressed graphics. Cotton/poly/rayon blend. Tagged as a large but measures 20.5″ pit to pit, which means it’s really more like a roomy medium.

16. A Capitals throwback T-shirt. Unlike the Pens tee shown above, this one does not have the Winter Classic logo on the sleeve. Alex Ovechkin name and number on back. Cotton/poly/rayon blend. Tagged as a large but measures 20.75″ pit to pit, which means it’s really more like a roomy medium.

17. A “Hockey Day Minnesota 2010” patch. This was a giveaway at a Minnesota Wild game last winter.

Yes, that’s an awful lot of Winter Classic swag to be offered in a basketball pool, but I don’t choose which stuff shows up on my doorstep, people. Happy bracketing!

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And hey, speaking of the NCAA tourney, reader Rick Freeman weighed in last night with the following observation:

Michigan is set to play Tennessee in the NCAA tournament. The Wolverines are the higher seed, which means they’ll probably wear their home uniform.

The issue: Michigan likes to wear its yellow (“maize”) uniforms in big games. And NCAA chalk after being picked to finish like, ninth in the Big Ten or something would certainly count as a big game. But Tennessee’s road uniforms are a rather pale shade of orange, which will probably be too close. Can Michigan make them wear white? Or will yellow be considered too close to that, too? What’s the rule in the NCAA?

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Good question. I have no idea. Anyone..?

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Membership update: A new batch of designs has been added to the membership card gallery, including Mike Engle’s card, shown at right. Do you recognize the design it’s based on? Answer: It’s the 2009 NHL Eastern Conference all-star jersey. Good one, right? You can get in on the membership scene yourself by signing up here.

Uni Watch News Ticker: My pal and fellow Foreword Liz Clayton just gave me two really super presents: these wonderful hot dog wrappers and, even better, these absolutely beautiful potato chip bags. And where did she find these treasures? In Milwaukee, of course. ”¦ Hello Kitty’s looking pretty sporty now that she’s working with the Japan Handball League (with thanks to Jeremy Brahm). ”¦ Justin Lafferty was at a track meet and saw someone wearing Golden State Warriors argyle socks. ”¦ Odd uni choice at Dayton, where the baseball team is looking like the beach blanket-era Chisox (as noted by Tim Bennett). ”¦ Cycling note from Sean Clancy, who writes: “Tim Krabbe is a Dutch writer whose semi-autobiographical novel The Rider has developed a cult following, as evidenced by these fans with their super-cool “De Renner” jerseys, paying homage to the original Dutch version of the book.” ”¦ New logo set for the Joliet Slammers. “The secondary jailbird logo is kinda fun,” says Jeff Ash. ”¦ Good to see that Steve Vucinich has gotten some proper stirrups for Josh Outman (photo by Russ Chibe). ”¦ Hmmm, have the Indians worked out the problems with the Bob Feller patch image? Does this mean they’ll be wearing the silhouette-image patch once the regular season starts? I put those questions to their PR director, Bart Swain, who would only say, “It’s close to happening.” Stay tuned. ”¦ Kyle Wooser DIY’d himself a bunch of T-shirts — most of them with an alarming amount of purple content. “I used the technique from this blog entry,” he says. “First, I print out the logo and then tape the sized logo onto the non-glossy side of the freezer paper. Then I stencil out the shape and iron it onto the shirt. Then I brush the fabric paint on and it works just like the blog said.” ”¦ Amusing observation from Matt Harris, who writes: “Apparently the MLB The Show developers think the Yankees rotation is in such shambles that Brett Gardner (#11) not only will pitch this year but will also change throwing arms.” ”¦ The Richmond Flying Squirrels have unveiled what must surely qualify as one of history’s worst mascots (with thanks to David Ryan). ”¦ The Penguins wore their Winter Classic throwbacks on Saturday. But as many readers noted, James Neal wore the wrong pants. ”¦ Dylan Buell reports that Ball State and Kent State went mustard-vs.-ketchup the other day. ”¦ MLB is now selling T-shirts with cap-history chronologies (as noted by Christopher Leopardi). ”¦ Justin Lane Chambers points out that the little medallion thingie at the base of the Duke collar appears to have morphed from a circle to a triangle. ”¦ For reasons that I suspect I don’t want to know, two contestants on The Biggest Loser have been wearing captaincy patches (screen shot courtesy of Evan Schreiber). ”¦ “One of the great crimes of the atrocious Reebok Edge jerseys will be rectified next season, as the Ottawa 67’s will be wearing their barber pole jerseys again,” reports a gleeful Steve King. “I love this quote from the team’s official site: ‘The team was forced to temporarily switch from the barber pole to a solid colour prior to the start of the 2009-10 season when the OHL adopted the new Reebok EDGE jersey.’ No sugarcoating here. Rarely will a team’s official release so blatantly fault the uniform manufacturer for a uniform decision.” Indeed. ”¦ Scroll down to see photos of the very interesting pant-cuff buckles on this old baseball uni. ”¦ Attention DIYers: Here’s a rare find — a blank wool flannel uniform that’s just begging to serve as the blank canvas for your next project. ”¦ Attention bakers: Here’s a jersey-shaped cake pan. ”¦ Highly disappointing to see that Miguel Cotto was not wearing socks — or at least wore no visible socks — during Saturday’s dismantling of Ricardo Mayorga. ”¦ Gabe Butler scored a nice electric football game, circa 1970, for only five bucks! ”¦ Omaha Vipers goalie Sanaldo wore a Superman chest logo on Sunday. “I don’t know why,” says Kenn Tomasch, “but the Milwaukee Wave were kryptonite, beating Sanaldo and the Vipers 15-6.” ”¦ The latest chapter in the ongoing investigation of former Mets equipment manager Charlie Samuels is that cops have found a bunch of autographed 1986 Mets uniforms — assumed to have been stolen by Samuels — in a Florida storage locker. ”¦ In a vaguely related item, a New York mini-storage company has been taking pot-shots at the Mets in its current ad campaign. No word on whether Samuels was one of their customers. ”¦ Kudos to the Sabres, who managed to produce a really nice Rick Martin memorial decal mere hours after the French Connection player passed away yesterday. ”¦ Remember how the NBA recently nixed Dwyane Wade’s tinted glasses? The NCAA apparently has no such issues with Melissa Jones of Baylor. She’s wearing the shades as a result of a recent head injury (good find by Matt Mitchell). ”¦ Last week I noted that Mariano Rivera was going high-cuffed while working out, but it was too soon to get overly excited because he hadn’t yet appeared in a Grapefruit League game. That changed yesterday, when he made his first spring training appearance, and now we can officially get excited. The issue is addressed down toward the end of this page. Key passage: “Closer Mariano Rivera was sporting high socks when he took the mound for his first Grapefruit League appearance Sunday. ‘You might see that [this year],’ he said. ‘[It makes me] feel lighter'” (big thanks to Grant Goldman and Ed Lafayette). ”¦ Whoa, what’s with all the neon green on the lacrosse nets and zebra jerseys? “I’m guessing it’s for the ‘Headstrong’ cancer charity that started in the lacrosse community in 2008 and had players wearing neon green shoelaces,” says Garrett Schabb. ”¦ Dig what Dante Bichette was wearing at the MLBPAA Legends game in Clearwater: a TATC jersey! Kudos to him for the inspired uni choice (and to Bill Kirby for the photo). ”¦ New third kit for Peru (with thanks to Kenny Loo). ”¦ RIP, Danny. Saturday nights won’t be the same without my Vicar.

On a serious note: I know from our site analytics that we have several dozen readers in Japan, although I only know one of them by name: Mark in Shiga, who’s a mainstay of the comments section. I was worried about him on Friday and was relieved when he posted a comment on Saturday. Had a quick e-mail back-and-forth with him yesterday and am happy to report that he’s fine. Keeping my fingers crossed for our other readers in Japan — and, really, for everyone over there.

 
  
 
Comments (145)

    The Brett Gardner thing is actually a promo for MLB 11: The Show.

    It’s supposed to be Kevin Butler from all those PS3 commercials, he plays against Joe Mauer and smack-talks him up and down.

    I’m guessing the 11 stands for 2011.

    Looking at that photo, I can’t help but wonder when the producers of MLB The Show are finally gonig to get around to positioning the number correctly on NNOB jerseys. It’s like they’ve actually inserted a “name” that consists of only blank space, and then pushed the number down accordingly. It looks hideous!

    Re: “Omaha Vipers goalie Sanaldo wore a Superman chest logo on Sunday.”

    He’s getting his style hints from Pablo Aurrecochea of Guarani (Paraguay)! link

    If you go to Google Images and search on “Pablo Aurrecochea” you will find the entire gamut of Pablo’s cartoon kits, with everything from Batman to SpongeBob… link

    Didn’t th NCAA allow Illinois to wear orange against Wisconsin, which was wearing red, against each other a few years back? The shades they were wearing were very close to each other, if I recall.

    Exactly my first thought. Yellow v light orange would be bad. Does TN have an alternate? They seem like a team that would go BFBS.

    Tennessee has no alternates. The black alternate was considered at one time, but so far hasn’t happened. And I hope it never does.

    In recent years, the NCAA has been a lot better about telling teams to bring 2 sets of uniforms to all of the sites. There were stories about 12’s needing to have their home unis shipped overnight after they ended up with 2nd Rd games against 13’s, so the NCAA supposedly reminded everyone to bring 2 just in case. Hopefully they can address a potential clash on site without delay.

    Looks from the pic that the Rick Martin “decal” isn’t a decal at all. Am I crazy, or does it look like it is just a print out attached to the helmet with clear tape? It is still a very nice tribute.

    Agreed on the tape. With literally just a few hours to do it, this is a nice quick tribute. Likely a formal decal or patch coming soon.

    ” New logo set for the Joliet Slammers. ”

    Am I the only one who, every time he sees that team name, calls them the Toilet Jammers?

    Nope, because it’s a local town near me, I think of link

    And for the license plate on that car, it’s a 1979-83 era plain white plate in navy blue with ‘Illinois’ in a Eurostar-type font, which IMO IL never had a cooler LP, which the history could be found link

    As for the Slammers, there’s definitely a ‘Heckle and Jeckle’ quality to the logo. Silver Cross Field is a strange thing; it’s smack in the middle of a downtown that looks very old with lots of concrete & brick buildings, and depending what street you’re on, all you see is the link Pictures don’t do it justice on how crammed the area actually looks.

    Concealed, I just looked at that slideshow and think that the 1913 Illinois license plate is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. Cut-out numbers with no background, and then “ILL 13”, vertically, in an amazing superimposed style on the right! Bring that back in 2013!

    Incidentally, in Japan they have nearly the reverse of that plate: solid white metal but with the number areas cut out. They’re replaced by translucent green plastic. A fluorescent light is then placed behind the plate, and at night the number glow in green.

    Dye-cut license plates would be very cool! Personally I haven’t liked the past two incarnations of the plate; the light blue gradient paired with crimson digits (and looks really dark instead of more redish) looks ugly IMO & too similar to other states like Ohio, and the one prior to that screamed 1980s.

    IL just had a LP recall with free replacements due to 2001 design’s digits rusting & becoming illegible, so unfortunately I don’t think they’re going to change the design anytime soon. The state also has designer plates galore for pretty much link Some of them are kinda tacky, while the link have a superior look IMO.

    I did. Interesting that they didn’t reveal the black sock thing until they were actually on the court in order to subvert Nike and Michigan’s exploitation of their marketability.

    Michigan’s uniforms at the time were good, solid, classic. But the warmups for Michigan and Duke seem so dated and bizarre, which in years to come is probably how we will look at some of the current uniform designs with horns and weird blotches of color. Nothing stands the test of time like classic stripes (see: UCLA football, basketball).

    The horns are already dated four years after they were introduced. Even on the sweatback designs, the trend seems to be toward limiting contrast panels to the sides.

    In the FAB 5 movie, when the FAB 5 started their first game at Notre Dame, there was a Notre Dame player with his first and last name on his jersey. I believe the name was Joe Ross (?). He was white dude, possibly the center wearing a higher number.
    He got dunked on and then one of the FAB 5ers got in his face. You can see the name pretty clearly.

    Cheers

    Their uniforms and how they wore them were part of my uni-awakening.

    What’s really strange is that while their maize uniforms with the black Air Force Max B(Barkleys)are my all-time favorites, I didn’t like them as individual players all that much. Their trash talking and gesturing was a bit too over the top for me, with Rose and Webber being the worst, but I watched EVERY game I could because they were AMAZING! Rose and his personality has definitely grown on me but Webber still irks me although like LeVar Arrington in football, he was a BEAST!

    If you didn’t get a chance to see it and you are of similar age, it is a very enlightening film. I highly recommend it.

    Yahoo won’t let me post a bracket. It keeps telling me I’m posting an incorrect one. The only thing I can think of is that I’m putting the final score of the championship game under the team I expect to win instead of in the left box. Do you know what the issue is?

    I figured it out. It won’t let you pick the winner of a play in game to win a first round game. I had VCU beating Georgetown.

    Looking at the MLB The Show screenshot, I have to ask … the ESPN2 Bottom line – is that a “live look” at the scores, or are those scores from when they made the game? It seems like if its “old news”, it seems like wasted screen space. If its live updates, I’m really impressed by the use of technology!

    link

    I think that’s a screenshot of the TV. It’s from a commercial, not a promotional still.

    Duh … didn’t even think of that possibility. That makes the most sense! Where’s that dunce cap when I need it?

    I know EA has a real time ticker on Madden though, so it’s possible that SCE would be able to make one for MLB 11. I doubt it would be ESPN-branded unless they have a licensing deal and it certainly wouldn’t be ESPN2, of course.

    Neal’s pants defy explanation at the moment… because the Pens haven’t used their Edge-style pant design in throwback colors yet. The pants for the powder blues feature a straight powder-blue stripe bordered by white stripes, while the 2011 WC jersey has the narrowing stripe bordered by “vintage creme” as shown in the right pic.

    yeah… REAL curious about that myself this morning!!! because technically… correct me if i’m wrong… the pens are officially realesing a “new 3rd” next season. right?

    I heard they were, but then decided to stick with the highly successful circa 1969 design the Pens have been using the last couple of years.

    But Neal’s pants do suggest another design, or perhaps those pants were produced before the decision to put on hold another alternate jersey was made.

    Don’t see the need for another alternate jersey at this time, the two blue ones are sufficient. Down the road, I wouldn’t mind seeing a 1993-2000 throwback of the black flying penguin.

    Actually, the one blue one is sufficient – the powder blues. Although the navy WC jersey has had its share of fans, most Pens fans I know still don’t like it, and the consensus has been they should’ve gone with the classic “black-and-gold” 1980-92 look.

    I didn’t mind the 1992-2002 logo or unis, and I even have a 1996-2002 third/road jersey… but because the look was brought in under Howard Baldwin’s ownership, and it was under Baldwin’s ownership that the team ran into bankruptcy, I’ve seem some backlash against the look of that era.

    There is a US World’s Fair exhibit opening at the Long Island Museum in Stony Brook this week (3/18). Drove by the museum this weekend and figured there may be some tasty ephemera that pops up.

    link

    The site still says its closed but there is a disclaimer at the top that is easy to miss.

    Just a heads up.

    Man, for never being an officially adopted logo/helmet design, that Browns’ “CB” really got around:

    link

    Persuant to our discussion last week regarding unproductive work time because of the distraction provided my Uni Watch…

    Today also is National Napping Day.

    Go for it.

    —Ricko

    The fedora IS looking good on that man.

    What is the proper etiquette for the wearing of that style today and if the hat should regain popularity among the masses is that a good thing?

    There’s about as much chance of fedoras catching on with the public as there is that people will take their style tips from Craig Sager.

    Proper hat etiquette is the same as always. You wear it in public places, like outdoors, transit stations, and building lobbies; and take it off in private places, like homes and offices.

    It is a good thing if people know how to fit hats to their heads. De Smith isn’t very big and doesn’t have large ears, so he looks good in a hat with a stingy brim, like he’s usually shown wearing. Someone like me on the other hand (6’1″, 210 lb, 7-3/8 hat size, big ears), needs to wear a more traditional fedora or homburg with a brim at least 2-1/2″ wide.

    Incidentally, if anyone knows a good place to get a decent hat for around $50 or less, feel free to post it.

    Forget De Smith, I spearheaded the fedora revival a couple of weeks ago when I changed my twitter and facebook profile pics!

    I have two fedoras and wear them a lot – I got into it after seeing some old pictures of my grandfather wearing them in the ’50s (he was an FBI agent!) and thought they looked great.

    I got so many compliments on them, including one from a 78-year-old professor and her husband who insisted that all men should wear hats in public!

    Etiquette?
    If you’re not that well-known in a high profile situation, wear a fedora so that video crews can easily identify you as you walk in and out of meetings.

    Also, it will give you some personality in the whole business.

    Hey, I am NOT criticizing him. Not at all. Quite the opposite. I’m saying that even if he’s been wearing fedoras for years, it’s really to his advantage at the moment.

    Branding, folks. The other side has “Chucky’s Big Brother in a Suit”.

    —Ricko

    If you want to be technical, the two straw hats are trilbies. The felt hat is definitely a homburg though.

    I love Mo & the NYY-mostly. And I like sporting high cuffs. But that mixed uni look proves why stuff can go so wrong. The BP jersey, the BP cap & the pinstripes look like a good day at the Goodwill store, bad day on the field…

    So busy being snarky I neglected hope for the best outcome for Mark in Shiga and all in Japan. AND for all of us too.

    Thanks, JE! I actually live in Tokyo now, which is much closer to the epicenter than Shiga, and while it was still a magnitude-6 here, with stuff flying off shelves (my fridge jumped three feet!), I’m much better off than anyone up in Sendai. If you have a chance to donate, please do.

    More likely this is a softball uniform.
    link
    Throughout the ’50s and into the early ’60s the belt buckle bottom was pretty much the standard uni for serious softball teams. Especially in solid dark colors such as that red (didn’t show the dirt like white or gray on unis players had to maintain themselves). Think of them as “long knickers.”

    If you don’t know what real knickers are/were, look it up.

    Line from the famous “Trouble” number in THE MUSIC MAN: “Does he start buckling his knickerbockers BELOW the knee?”

    —Ricko

    Actually, this might be a great new mascot for The Ohio State when the investigation is over and done…
    link
    Y’know, as in, “Hey, at least they left us our, ummm, acorns.”

    —Ricko

    Fun stuff.

    Love the look of cricket “kits” (see, I was paying attention). The game’s come a long way since “everyone in white”. And I suppose some would say MLB should take a cue from that. Not me. Won’t say that the same paradigm should be applied from sport to sport, rather that it’s those differences among them are what’s compelling.

    That’s why whenever someone says something like, “Why is dark over light okay for football but not for basketball?” I want to ask if they also happen to have noticed that football players wear shoulder pads.

    Different sports, different styles and looks, evolving on different paths. Hell, that’s half the fun of all this. It’s the uniqueness, not the similarities, that make this interesting.

    —Ricko

    Of course, if anyone should still be wearing all white, it’s England. Don’t they wear all white for basically every sport in which the UK competes as three separate countries?

    Speaking of England’s kit, it appears that cricket is not immune from BFBS BS, since they are wearing black when it’s not a traditional color of theirs, along with Pakistan and Ireland.

    do they use a different colored ball in matches that take longer than one day?

    not trying to be a wiseass…serious question…do they always use a white ball? if so, why would white be banned for one day matches but not test matches? (i think that’s the term) do players see the ball better on days 2-4 or 5?

    i guess what im getting at is…if they ban white clothes because it’s hard to see the ball…what difference does it make how long the match is?

    who designed the “slammers” logo(s)?

    and, not a gorundbreaking thought, but i expect Mariano to go high-cuffed in hot/warm weather only.

    Glass Coke bottles at a sporting event.

    Now there’s a concept. I guess they don’t have any Eagles or Browns fans in Iceland.

    “You don’t live in Cleveland, you live in Reykjavik!!!”

    That WAS the quote, right?

    —Ricko

    Oh man, I had that Tudor NFL Electric Football from the same year. I remember staring at those two pages showing the other teams available, for hours on end. Interesting that the AFL teams were only available in dark unis at the time.

    I remember ordering some extra teams and the Chiefs (in red) set had one Cardinals player by mistake.

    -Jet

    i am jealous of this score, especially at a cost of 5 bucks. jet, i too stared at the choices for hours as a kid, and was eventually lucky enough to add in a buccaneers to my stock steelers-rams game. doug williams would have his revenge for 9-0.

    All my best to those in Japan, and those affected by the events. It turns out my cousin, Hiro, won the airline “lottery”, in that after five weeks in Japan (just four miles off the coast), he had a ticket for Saturday. Those who were set to fly out Friday were stuck, and he ended up being on the first US-bound flight after the quake. I hope for nothing but the best for those in waiting, but I’m very thankful for having Hiro back in Chicago!

    I suggested we hold a party, specifically, a “Hiro’s Welcome”, this weekend (serving, of course, Hiro Sandwiches).

    I’m so jealous. Only thing people ever compare my name to is a disease.

    I think want looks strange about Josh Outman’s look…
    link
    …is that it’s a mix of two eras.
    With stirrups that high, the pants should be ’70s tight.
    Or, with pants that ’50s baggy, the stirrups should be lower.
    Doesn’t make him wrong, just explains way it looks odd to someone who watched MLB through both eras.

    Also, he changed numbers, right?
    Gave up his 55 for Matsui and is now wearing 88?
    Well, that’s what the guys in the booth said on the A’s spring training game yesterday, anyway.

    (Although now that I type this, I figure Paul’s probably already been all over it).

    —Ricko

    Yep, with those pants there should be WAY less sani showing. And for the record, that’s the direction he should take it (and not tightening the pants, 70’s style).

    One of the odd quirks of Doctor Who. In-universe, the Fifth Doctor had a particular allergy to certain types of (fictional) gases, so the celery stalk served as a detector. Oddly enough, if it changed color because of these gases, all he had to do was eat the stalk.

    Yeah, there’s a lot about Doctor Who that I just don’t get, and I’m a fan!

    Electric football:

    I had that same game as a kid and same teams: Giants and Browns. Look closely at the helmets above the grandstand. You’ll find the infamous Browns “CB” helmet and a green Eagles helmet. Both were incorrect at the time (and drove me nuts as a kid).

    The saints helmet is off too. Whats funny is that on the front of the box its the red Falcons helmet in that spot. I noticed it when I was taking inventory after I got it home.

    Dante Bichette wore the same thing at last year’s charity game, and I sent in pics to document it.

    link

    Maybe he just gets a kick out of the jersey? If I had connections, I would contact him and ask. A quick google search reveals no mention of his love for the TATC jerseys.

    The MLB SHOW screenshot is from the commercial with the Playstation guy playing Joe Mauer, he’s using Gardners number for the commercial, its correct in the game itself. the #11 character even looks like the guy in the commercial

    A link to an article about one of the best singer-songwriters, of this or any other era, Todd Snider. In the cover photo, Todd appears to be wearing a very lazy Steve McNair DIY shirt…
    link

    hey Kyle, great DIY work! love the “distressed” look! what brand of fabric paint did you use (if you don’t mind me asking)?

    Hi errybody (hi dr. nick!),

    Just wanted to stop by and say thanks again to Phil and Uni Watch for highlighting me yesterday. I also want to thank everyone who commented, critiqued and/or visited my personal site, My traffic is through the roof.

    I’ve got a few projects going on right now ( link) but I’m always taking requests.

    Thanks again to everyone…

    Good update, I would love the Pacers going to those unis, although I do like the current set. Just a bit of a nitpick, though. The Pacers’ colors were picked to mimic the state flag, which as an Indiana resident, I’m sure you know is a fairly dark blue. So, the current shade of blue is probably about right.

    That said, if it means actually returning to the playoffs, I’m not going to complain too much about whatever they’re wearing. A return to respectability (along with people realizing they’re not nearly as white as the national media seems to think) trumps uni issues at this point.

    Well, yeah, the pictures are crap online. But, it’s easy enough for me to go by the local school and courthouse and see the real shade of blue, which I would say is closer to navy than it is to royal.

    Jackie Joyner Kersey’s set was a fine piece of asymmetry. Not quite as successful as the Trailblazers, but still pretty.

    BTW PAUL,

    I know how you make those ‘Naming Wrongs’ shirts with No Mas.

    Well, one of their nonUW shirts made it on Conan the other day, the Cassius Clay one. (link)

    The great Gary Oldman was on sporting it.
    Gary(link)
    Closeup(link)

    I think Adam Richman from Man Vs. Food has worn No Mas on MVF a few times as well. Mostly the “Keep The Dodgers in Brooklyn” shirt.

    Wait a sec… six pro sports teams, and the Mets? How are they counting? If you’re talking teams physically located within the Five Boroughs, then that’s five tops (Mets and Yankees, Rangers in the NHL, Knicks in the NBA, Liberty in the WNBA), at least until the Nets move in. If you count the “New York” football teams that are located in New Jersey, then doesn’t that open up counting the Nets and Devils too? And are they counting the Islanders over in Nassau County? (Although, from what I understand, there’s some interest in trying to get them into Barclays, which would put them inside New York City proper.)

    i think they’re counting

    1. (mets)
    2. yanks
    3. giants
    4. jets
    5. knicks
    6. rangers
    7. islanders

    I think there’s interest to get the Islanders anywhere but the Coliseum, isn’t there?

    wang’s lease runs thru 2015…im not too sure how “iron-clad” it is, but he has said he’s not planning to move the team until then

    i’d say the isles are pretty much gone from the mausoleum by 2015 if not sooner…whether it’s to brooklyn, kc or somewhere else…no one knows

    RE: Membership update

    Remove the ban on purple so I can have a card modeled on the LA Kings uni and I’ll sign up in a heart beat.

    Shockingly, there are some pretty good comments on the Page 2 article today. I guess the subject matter doesn’t appeal to the troglodytes who normally post there so they just skipped it altogether.

    Exhibit A:

    I collect WC Cricket jerseys, and preferably the minnows over the Test playing nations (though I have quite a few of those as well). About six years ago, an ex-girlfriend of mine bought me an Ireland jersey. My favorite one of all-time, though Kenya’s with the shield on the front (from the ’99 WC) is a close second. In 2007, Ireland upset Pakistan in the World Cup. Excitedly, I had a reason to wear my Ireland jersey, and so wore it to a match I was playing a few hours from my house (I live in the States, am American, so one has to be a hard core fan to find/play cricket). I arrived, took off my jersey, put on my whites, and went into the field. While I was in the middle of the pitch, a couple of Pakistani guys watching the game burned my jersey. BURNED IT.

    Needless to say, when I go to England this summer, I won’t be bringing my next generation cricket jersey.

    Young Mr. Engle,
    Love everything about your membership card…except that number font. Still a good addition to the gallery, though. Welcome aboard!

    Lots of good stuff today: Finding out that Mark in Shiga is fine, Warriors argyle socks, beach-blanket Dayton unis, some good DIYs, combining neon green with lacrosse, etc.

    I was really digging the John Harvard statue image on Harvard goaltender Kyle Richter’s mask yesterday. I once sat in that statue’s lap. There might have been alcohol involved. link

    The Virginian – Pilot had an interesting bracket page, “The Class of 68,” that rocked some old-fashioned logos: link

    The Minneapolis Star Tribune did a Facebook-style page, link

    The Brett Gardner MLB 11 The Show shot reminds me of how much it bugs me that the numbers on the Yankees’ backs in this game are lower than in reality.
    The game is made to add the players’ names so they just didn’t put names on Yankees jerseys (or for home Red Sox jerseys for that matter) so the numbers are lower because you still have place to put a name.
    I just can’t take it. Anyone else? Should I see someone?

    Joliet Slammers, how clever! That’s what I like about MiLB, the ability to have fun with the team name/logo. Perhaps one of you DIYers can photoshop prison stripe stirrups or at least the high-cuffed look with said stripes? I wonder if they serve PITAs there?

    “That’s what I like about MiLB, the ability to have fun with the team name/logo.”

    Agreed. My favorite minor league team has to be the Montgomery Biscuits.
    link
    Love the logo, love the hat,
    link
    Love the uni,
    link
    but what’s up with the mascot?
    link

    The team web site has them. Glad to see they also sell adjustable twill hats. I know a lot of folks here can’t stand those, but I love them.

    Thinking of getting one of these, too:
    link

    I’m not at a computer to fill out a bracket. (On my phone) I have created a formula that is Uni Watch worthy for brackets that I will submit as my Uni Watch submission.
    24.5% Mascot Prowess- Who’d win in a real life fight between real life versions of the mascots.
    24.5% Mascot Uniqueness- Thanks to the beautiful mascotdb.com I can see how many college teams are Eagles and how many are Tar Heels (75 and 1 respectively). The lower the number the better.
    24.5% Better Uniforms- Well since most teams are wearing either Nike or Adidas they are all wearing the same template. Therefore a lot of the time it comes down to my personal color preference. I’m not opposed to Purple or GFGS or BFBS so should make it interesting.
    24.5% Better Logo- Some are good and some ate definitely bad. UNC-Asheville anyone?
    2% Tiebreaker-Goes to the higher seed.
    I already did one like this and Final 4 was San Diego State, Purdue, Florida and North Carolina. San Diego State beat Florida for the championship.

    LI Phil

    In response to your question about Cricket and the Ball colour.

    There are currently 3 forms of cricket played at International Level. Test Cricket, One-Day Cricket and T-20 Cricket. Each game is differentiated mainly by the length of the match (both time and the number of “Overs” bowled.) An Over is 6 balls long ie the bowler runs up and bowls it 6 times in a row and then another bowler does the same thing from the other end etc etc
    A Test Match goes for 5 days and up to 450 overs, One-Day Cricket as the title suggests goes for One-Day and 100 overs (50 overs each team) and T-20 goes for 40 overs (20 overs per team hence T-20)
    The World Cup (currently being played) is a World Cup of One-Day Cricket or better known as 50 Over Cricket.

    Cricket has been played for a long time with the first game (A Test Match) played between Australia and England back in 1877. A Red Ball has always been used in Test Matches. Test matches are played during day light hours. When one day cricket started it used red balls but with the advent of stadium lighting, prime time TV etc Night cricket became popular yet a Red Ball became very hard to see at night.
    That is when the White Ball started to be used. And as such a white ball against a white clothed player background gave the administrators a chance to change to coloured clothing.

    A Red Ball will last for about 80-100 overs before it needs to be changed where as a White Ball will only last about 25-35 overs before it needs to be changed (it turns a nasty greeny-brown colour).

    I hope that gives you a “brief” insight into the games of Cricket.

    Timothy D.

    thanks tim~

    i spent a month in england in 1987 (january term for school) and i there were exactly four/five “sports” on the telly: cricket (from down under), darts, snooker, and footy (soccer) and australian rules football…and i actually got into all of them, but as soon as i got back stateside, none of those was to be found so i basically forgot about all of them — obviously i knew soccer, but the others were fascinating and new

    i do remember watching some seriously long cricket matches, but i’ll be damned if i could tell you the color of the ball — i had thought it was white, but it likely was red

    appreciate the info!

    Do they play in the snow? They should use a blue ball then…

    Anyway, that is good info, Timothy. Like Phil, I’ve seen bits and pieces of cricket and the other sports he’s mentioned. I finally “got” Aussie Rules football and like it better than American football now, but I haven’t seen enough cricket to say I’ve “gotten” it yet. Thanks for enlightening us a bit.

    Red or White Balls only. The game is traditionally a Summer sport so plenty of sun. No play when it rains, or heaven forbid snows…

    They are trying do develop a White ball which stays white long enough for it to be used in Test Match Cricket. Test cricket is regarded as being the pinnacle of the sport and as such what most international players strive to play.(It requires a slightly different skill set to play each version of cricket). Yet it isn’t played at night (during TV Prime Time) because it is played with a Red Ball. The Administrators want that changed for obvious reasons.

    I hear you say, why don’t they play test cricket with white balls and change them every 25 overs or so?

    Unlike Baseball, where the ball gets changed whenever it gets scuffed, the Cricket ball doesn’t. The way the ball is looked after is a major part of the tactics involved with the game itself.

    The ball is subjected to natural wear and tear (from the ball hitting the pitch, outfield grass, bat, fence etc) as well as “unnautral” wear and tear (such as sweat and saliva to help to either shine or dampen the ball.) This is all legal with the different apsects used to help the ball to either swing, reverse swing or generally keep it in as best condition as possible in order to aid the types of bowlers that are performing well for your team at the time.

    A newer, harder ball favours the faster bowlers who can swing it or seam it while an older ball favours the spinners who prefer a ball to be worn more so it gets more grip and spin off the pitch when it lands. If looked after right the older ball can sometinmes reverse swing for the faster bowlers.

    Such things as deliberately scuffing the ball by rubbing dirt on it, scratching it with your finger nail, picking the seam, rubbing it on the ground, putting vaseline on it etc are all illegal but that’s not to say it doesn’t happen… (It won’t cast dispersions on any particular country because I’m sure all have done different things to the ball over the years)

    Sorry to bore you all with the run down on cricket balls!

    Happy to help out where I can with anyone who is interested in Cricket though.

    Timothy D.

    Not boring at all. Actually, wasn’t there almost an international incident a few years ago involving a doctored ball? I was working nights then, and I remember a late-night radio news show going into great detail about something like that.

    By the way, after reading Paul’s article, I’d love to see this hat be an option for baseball players, too:
    link
    I like that.

    And also, sorry for posting so late. I can’t help the fact that it is 2:20 in the afternnon here in Australia when it is nearly midnight the day before in your neck of the woods.

    For that reason alone I normally don’t post too many comments because I fear that they rarely get looked at as you are all in bed, preparing for the next day of Uni Watch mania.

    But sometimes you get the urge to tell the world about something regardless of the time!

    Cheers

    Timothy D.

    Plenty of incidents. Mike Atherton (England) charged with rubbing dirt on the ball, Rahul Dravid (India) happened to have a throat lozenge pop out of his mouth onto the ball where he rubbed it around on one side of it for a few seconds.

    The one you might be refering to was when Pakistan walked off the field when one of the umpires accused them of ball tampering. Pakistan sat in the rooms for the next few hours and refused to take the field. The umpires awarded the match to England but the final result was determined months later in court.

    Also that wide brimmed had is commonly referred to as the “Chappell Hat” as it was first worn by Australian cricketer Greg Chappell in the late 70’s early 80’s.

    The cricket hat can be a very sacred thing. Just take a look at the Australian Test Cap (known as the “Baggy Green”.) Nowadays you are issued with your Baggy Green before your first test and it is the only one you will ever get (unless of course it completely desintegrates and it needs replacing, but only after all efforts are made to repair it – see Steve Waugh)

    Timothy D.

    That is a nice jacket. The thing with dum corps jackets though, if you aren’t a member, alumnus or volunteer, you’ll have to go DIY. Which is basically claiming to have marched there. And that aint class.

    SD The Volkswagen Passat is a large family car built by Volkswagen Passenger Cars through six design generations since 1973. Slotting between the Volkswagen Golf / Volkswagen Jetta, and the Volkswagen Phaeton in the current Volkswagen line-up, the Passat and its derivatives have been badged variously as Dasher, Santana, Quantum, Magotan, Corsar and Carat.SD

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