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NORADmiration

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the new Winnipeg Jets logo set was unveiled a few weeks ago, Uni Watch webmaster John Ekdahl, noting the prominent use of the military fighter plane, quipped (via an e-mail to me), “Is Winnipeg the headquarters of NORAD or something?” I repeated stole that line during a radio interview I did the following day. As I discovered a few days later, the joke was on us, because Winnipeg actually is a NORAD stronghold. So the Jets’ logo concept makes sense from a conceptual standpoint, although I still think the execution is clunky and blah. (Also, it’s worth noting that the concept has caused some controversy.)

As it turns out, there’s another NORAD-inspired hockey design out there — and it’s being worn by the NORAD hockey team. Marcelo Cordoba, of the uni manufacturer Junkyard Athletic, gives us the full scoop:

We were approached in March by a few guys at NORAD to design their hockey uniforms. Ironically, these guys found us through the Yahoo Sports blog Puck Daddy, which wasn’t so kind to our Valentine’s Day design that we did for the Alaska Aces.

The NORAD guys are Alaska Aces fans and loved the ideas incorporated in that jersey design so much that they contacted us and asked us to design their hockey unis for them. All they asked was that we utilize certain logos that NORAD recognizes.

We took the Windsor Spitfires logo and used a variation of that as the jersey crest. NORAD is a joint command between the governments of Canada and United States, so we put roundels from both countries on the shoulders. And we put the NORAD logo on the upper chest.

All the rest of the uniform artwork was left to us to design. My art designer extraordinaire, Justin Liedloff, had the concept down in 10 minutes. Forty-eight hours later, we presented the team with the full design. The NORAD guys loved it. They’re planning on doing a reverse version of the jersey + socks (navy main color with gray trim). We’re looking forward to doing that with them.

Not sure about those socks, but I dig the radar-based jersey concept. My thanks to Marcelo for sharing this story.

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Membership Update: Several more designs have been added to the membership card gallery, including Brett Hixon’s Kansas hoops treatment, shown at right. We print these in batches of eight, and there’s one slot available in the current batch, so the next person to sign up will get his or her card very quickly.

Multi-tasking, as usual: There’s a new post over on the Permanent Record blog. I think you’ll like this one.

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Uni Watch News Ticker: No more embarrassing stars/stripes caps, at least on Sept. 11. Instead, teams will wear rather large American flag icons. Can’t tell for sure if the flags will be sewn into the caps or if they’re just peel-and-stick patches. Hopefully the former, so as to avoid this sort of problem. Of course, the best solution would be to scrap the flags and the pandering altogether. ”¦ I love the felt logo on this old Cal State Bakersfield track jersey. ”¦ Doing any work on Mike Gundy’s house? Don’t wear Sooners gear. ”¦ The Toronto Star invited Blue Jays fans to submit designs for the team’s new uniforms. Here are the results. ”¦ Here’s a handy guide to the 2011-12 Premier League kits (with thanks to Nathan Gemignani). ”¦ It’s amazing how much gear out there — even some on-field gear — still has the old NFL logo (good spot by Zack Bennett). ”¦ New basketball court design for Iowa (from Matt Hays). ”¦ Jarren Ginsburg was watching some old NHL footage and spotted a fan wearing a Pavel Bure jersey with the NOB in Hebrew. “While it is the most accurate spelling I can think of (sounded out as Boo-rayee), it utilizes the letter ‘yud’ twice in a row, which is a way of spelling ‘God,'” explains Jarren. “Certainly a lot of respect/worship for the Russian Rocket.” ”¦ Rob Klingenberger spotted Ruben Tejada using Tommie Agee’s Jason Pridie’s bat. ”¦ Back on Friday I mentioned that Justin Boren of the Ravens was wearing white crew socks but no full-length stockings for Thursday’s preseason game. I didn’t have a photo, but now I do, thanks to Zak Kalina. ”¦ The U.S. Navy is holding a logo-design contest for the new USS Minnesota submarine. “The contest is open to high school and college students ‘with a State of Minnesota connection,’ whatever that means,” writes Matthew Algeo. “Among the rules, this is my favorite: ‘We want the natural tension between the traditions of the US Navy and “creative license” to exist.’ Who knew there was a natural tension between Navy traditions and creative license?” For that matter, who knew that submarines needed logos, or that the Navy running contests instead of just hiring professional designers? ”¦ Here’s a look at those new South Carolina shoes — the ones that supposedly guarantee maximum logo exposure eliminate the need for spatting — in action (courtesy of Lance Hall). ”¦ UConn football was NNOB last year, but not anymore (with thanks to Gregory Koch). ”¦ New uniforms — including numbers! — for Gushue curling (big thanks to Matt Gamboa). ”¦ Gee, can you possibly guess who makes Notre Dame’s new practice jerseys? ”¦ New helmet for Western Michigan. ”¦ Another NFL NOB typo, this time from Friday’s Redskins/Steelers game. ”¦ The Braves retired Bobby Cox’s number on Friday. ”¦ Heavyweight plodder Scott LeDoux died last Thursday, which led me to go and watch some old footage of his fights. Really liked the shirts worn by his cornermen for his 1980 bout against Larry Holmes. ”¦ As an aside, I remember reading an article about LeDoux on the day of that fight (I was 16 at the time). It included a quote from one of LeDoux’s drinking buddies, who said, “Hey, Scott, how’s it feel to be ranked No. 10 in the world, but only No. 15 in this bar?” ”¦ Championship teams visiting the White House usually give the President a jersey with his name as the NOB. But the Packers took a different approach. ”¦ Mesa State College (Division II) has changed its name to Colorado Mesa University, which means new logos, uniforms, etc. (with thanks to Tom Hamann). ”¦ Ron Mazzola notes that Luis Natera of the Binghamton Mets had mismatched 2s on his jersey the other night. “I looked at several other Mets with 2s in their number, and they all matched,” he says. ”¦ Man, did the 1981 Iowa Oaks wear the biggest uni numbers ever or what? That’s a young Ryne Sandberg at second bar, incidentally (good find by Ryan Simmelink). ”¦ Someone has created a uni-builder site for Arizona State (from Matthew Wilson). ”¦ Giants skipper Bruce Bochy gave up his No. 15 when the team acquired Carlos Beltran. Before he did that, however, the team had been ready to give Beltran No. 16 (big thanks to O.J. DeCastro). ”¦ We’ve all seen our share of dirty baseball uniforms, but this one wins the prize. That’s Kitakata (not sure of his first name) of Karatsu Economics High School in Japan (from Jeremy Brahm, of course). ”¦ Also from Jeremy: Gamba Osaka are going to wear a 20th-anniversary uniform on October 2nd. ”¦ Chris Cocuzza notes that a lot of the Panthers had an odd placement for their Reebok sleeve logos on Saturday. We’ve seen that before, of course, but usually only on a few linemen. Seems to have been more widespread (although not universal) this time around. ”¦ Alan Tompas found a shot of Harmon Killebrew in an A’s uniform. Anyone know what that’s about? ”¦ While flea-marketing on Saturday, I saw a varsity jacket featuring a very endearingly startled-looking Tiger. Didn’t fit me, alas. ”¦ Tom Seaver retired after the 1986 season. So what was he doing in a 1987 Mets jersey? That’s from June of ’87, when Seaver pitched a few minor league games in an abortive attempt at a comeback (nice find by Todd Radom). ”¦ The Braves announced that they’ll be adding a memorial patch for Ernie Johnson Sr. They originally said they’d start wearing it two days ago, but it hasn’t been designed and produced yet. ”¦ The Brewers wore their Bierbrauer jeseys yesterday. And as you may have seen in yesterday’s post here on the site, Zack Grienke actually wore that jersey a day early. ”¦ Meanwhile, the A’s became wore their Atléticos jerseys yesterday. Is this the only MLB jersey ever to have had an accent on the chest insignia? ”¦ No, these aren’t slacks — they’re actual baseball pants. ” Found these hideous things while watching the 2011 Perfect Game All-American Classic (college baseball),” says Sean Patton. “That’s the actual color — dark gray with red piping.” Yeesh. ”¦ Soccer note from Omar Aujani, who writes: “In Sunday Super Copa between Barcelona and Real Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo came out onto the field wearing a long-sleeved shirt. But following the halftime break, he came out in short sleeves. I distinctly remember seeing him do this during last season once or twice, and as far as I know it’s something uniquely Ronaldo.” ”¦ Corey Madere notes that Florida State has added “FSU” to their jersey chest. ”¦ Duke has new basketball shorts. … Steve Murphy has created a really nice gallery of 1930s Boston Braves photos.

 
  
 
Comments (147)

    “Meanwhile, the A’s became wore their Atléticos jerseys yesterday. Is this the only MLB jersey ever to have had an accent on the chest insignia?”

    I don’t know if it counts or not, but the last version of the Expos’ road jersey had a fleur-de-lis where the accent mark on the “e” in Montreal would normally be.

    Ryan is correct. I thought I’d get the scoop on this one when there were only 9 comments in play, but evidently I was mistaken.

    The Seaver pic was taken at Met Park in Norfolk,VA in 1987. I think Seaver was trying to come back with the Mets,so he pitched in the annual exhibition game against the Tidewater (now Norfolk) Tides. I don’t think he pitched well, so he made his retirement official soon after…

    From 1979-82, Killebrew served as a TV color commentator on Oakland A’s broadcasts. Maybe he did some side work asa hitting instructor.

    I was trying to figure that out, too. I can’t tell if the net is causing an illusion, but it looks like Rollie Fingers’ handlebar mustache to me.

    Seriously, are the DC sports teams gripped by some sort of spelling curse, or what?

    Actually, it did.

    “And as you may have seen in yesterday’s post here on the site, Zack Grienke actually wore that jersey a day early.”

    True, that was repetitious and repetitive, but it did also link to a story about the Bears ignoring the NFLs movement of the kickoff placement … and a possible loophole to allow teams to do the same consistently, within the rules of the game.

    link

    Good for the Bears. The new kickoff spot is going to kill special teams play. They might as well just scrap kickoffs altogether and just automatically place the ball at the 20 after a score.

    Personally, I like the fact that MLB acknowledges 9/11 with a uniform-related patch (although the garish stars and stripes hat was awful, it was an attempt.) I don’t feel that including the flag on the uniform is pandering.

    I’ll be interested to see the comments from Phil on this point as two weeks ago he threatened to ‘ban’ me because he did not agree with an opinion of mine (no profanity, no personal attack, he just didn’t like it and told me a I may be banned). Although I don’t agree with Paul’s opinion that including the flag is pandering, i respect his point and will not threaten to ‘never again read’ anything he writes.

    Not interested in having personal conflicts play out in the comments. Don’t care who started it, don’t care who did what to whom. Let’s move on. Thanks.

    As for 9/11, last I checked it isn’t a holiday. Neither is Pearl Harbor Day, and we don’t change our uniforms for that.

    I believe 9/11 is Patriot Day. Also, baseball was instrumental in the country “getting back to business” on 9-21-01. I think adding the flag and doing the remembrance before the game and during the 7th inning stretch is acceptable. There were folks at one time who thought scheduling games on 9/11 was inappropriate. This is a nice compromise. A black armband would however be inappropriate since we have healed. Now we celebrate the heroic response by those who sacrificed their lives on that day, hence the flag. It honestly does not bother me either way. I have never purchased a hat with the flag decal, I do have a couple giveaways though.

    You’d get an argument in Boston, where April 18 is Patriot Day, to commemorate Paul Revere’s ride. That’s when the Marathon is held, and the Red Sox play an early game.

    Boston celebrates Patriot’s Day as opposed to Patriot Day. This website above all else I frequent, would surely understand the difference of an apostrophe.

    @Paul Lukas: “As for 9/11, last I checked it isn’t a holiday. Neither is Pearl Harbor Day, and we don’t change our uniforms for that.”

    Shhhh. With all the talk about expanding the playoffs, you might give them ideas.

    A black armband would however be inappropriate since we have healed.

    A black armband, or black streamer on a flag, does not symbolize “I am in need of healing.” It symbolizes, “I mourn and honor the memory of the dead.” So unless by “We have healed,” you mean to say, “The dead of 9/11 should no longer be remembered or honored,” a black armband would in fact be the most appropriate way for baseball to commemorate the day.

    It’s like link: “Now there’re flags flying on every lamppost / Red white and blue against the sky / It’s September and I can’t help but think that / It looks like the Fourth of July.”

    In uniform sense it would not. The memorial patches and black armbands usually stop after that season ends. Usually. After that if the player is to be remembered it is normally done in a celebratory way. Jackie Robinson is the first one to pop in my head. Perhaps my wording was incorrect, but it would be highly unusual for a black armband to be worn again after it is removed.

    These uniform variations are becoming very frequent nowadays. The pink, blue, green, flags, camo, combat, Latino, 42, throwback, faux back, German, day, Friday, Sunday, BFBS, Thanksgiving, whatever the Bengals are wearing… LOGO CREEP! I fully understand why so many on here are drawing a line in the sand. It’s like Jean-Luc Picard said, “We’ve made too many compromises already; too many retreats. They invade our space and we fall back. They assimilate entire worlds and we fall back. Not again. The line must be drawn here! This far, no further! And *I* will make them pay for what they’ve done.”

    I don’t like putting flags on athletes, because they are really only entertainers. Then everyone points at the guy who forgot his flag and says, “Shoot the commie.” It’s B.S.– Get rid of ’em. Flags belong on uniforms of keepers of the peace, that’s it.

    No, it’s pandering. Or rather, it’s exploitation. If MLB wants to commemorate the 9/11 anniversary, well, that’s seems to me to be an obviously stupid, tasteless, classless thing for an entertainment business to do. Seriously, would we all be thrilled if Chuck E Cheese had special a “Celebrate 9/11” half-price pizza party? That would like, do honor and credit to America in anyone’s eyes?

    But putting aside my personal standards of decency, why would MLB commemorate the 9/11 anniversary with flags? It’s not a holiday. It’s not a day of national celebration. We don’t mark the 9/11 anniversary as a national party with picnics and rock concerts and fireworks. We mark it as a day of mourning and remembrance. And in the most literal sense, you don’t raise the flag to mark mourning and remembrance or to honor the dead or wounded. You lower the flag to do that. You lower the flag to half-staff, or if you have a flag that cannot be lowered, you attach a link to your flag.

    So if MLB wants to mark the 9/11 anniversary, it should do so by wearing black armbands or the equivalent. If MLB normally wore flags on their uniforms, which let us not forget is a form of flag desecration no different than burning the flag, on 9/11 it would be appropriate to remove the flag and replace it with a black armband as a symbolic form of lowering the flag in mourning. Adding the flag where it doesn’t normally appear on 9/11 is the symbolic equivalent of building a taller flagpole and flying the flag higher when everyone else has lowered it to half staff.

    So rather than a gesture of honest mourning, MLB has added the flag, which seems pretty obviously to be a way of cashing in on (read: pandering to) cheap sentimentality and lowest-common-denominator nationalism. It’s Chuck E Cheese throwing a 9/11 party. It’s the opposite of anything that could be considered appropriate – or, in my book, patriotic.

    That’s about as perfect an explanation to the 9/11 MLB mess as you can get. 9/11 is not a Rah Rah day. There will (and should) be moments of silence in baseball and NFL stadiums across the country. I presume that government offices nationwide will order flags to be lowered. It is a somber day. Not a day of pride or patriotism.

    I do not think pride or patriotism are bad things, mind you. But they, like anything else, have a proper place. “Never Forget” doesn’t mean “Let’s Celebrate”.

    Well put. I’m no expert on flag etiquette, but adding the image of the flag to a sports uniform on a day of national mourning seems at odds with protocol, not to mention unseemly.

    A holiday in itself should not dictate changes to a uniform. A day that people care about is another matter. While 9-11 is not a holiday, it is Patriot Day, a day of remembrance… a marked occasion not only for mourning those who were lost, but also celebrating the heroic individuals who responded that day. Unfortunately things became political about the day. I don’t care about Bush or Obama or Iraq or Afghanistan, but I do understand the feelings of the families and friends who lost loved ones. To many people it is more than just another holiday/day of remembrance. That’s why I do not care if there’s a flag on the uniform or cap.

    I can see the logic of others though, so I’ll drop it at that and go back lurking. :)

    If MLB normally wore flags on their uniforms, which let us not forget is a form of flag desecration no different than burning the flag

    But if I’m not mistaken, it is not flag desecration for a fan to wear a flag patch on a fashion jersey worn to a ballgame, correct? Just want to make sure everyone knows where the lines are drawn.

    The problem is teams being assigned to wearing flag patches on their uniform. What you *can’t* control is people wearing flag patches on their clothing, because presumably they are speaking on their own behalf. A team with a patch is conscripting its player without his input or permission.

    Asked and answered how many dozen times? OK, here’s the Cliff’s Notes.

    1. The US Flag Code is quite specific on the point of banning flags from being affixed to an “athletic uniform.” If we take the meaning of words seriously, then no, a fan wearing a sports jersey as a shirt would not fall afoul of that rule, since a fan in the stands is not wearing an athletic uniform. And the Flag Code clearly defines proper methods for wearing the flag on clothes other than athletic uniforms, so if an article of clothing is just a shirt, and not an athletic uniform, then flag etiquette is cool with that.

    2. Even if we say, “To hell with the dictionary,” and declare that every fan wearing a jersey in the ballpark is actually wearing an “athletic uniform” and thus fully equipped to take the field of play as a player right then and there, I still give actual individual people the benefit of the doubt. People have thoughts and intentions, so we can say of a person, “He may be wrong, but his heart is in the right place.” Businesses are not people; they do not have thoughts and emotions; they have no hearts to be in the right place. There is no doubt about which we can give a baseball team or a sports league the benefit.

    3. Even supposing that we say to hell with the dictionary, to hell with the obvious intent of flag etiquette, and to hell with affording people the benefit of the doubt, so what? Even granting that I may have been wrong to have a flag patch sewn onto the sleeve of a USA jersey once, does that mean that the US Flag Code does not say what it says? The Flag Code says what it says, even though I’ve surely violated its high standards from time to time. The key difference being that I don’t violate the Flag Code in order to use the American flag to make a quick buck. MLB does. The question isn’t my personal credibility; the question is whether more than a century of established flag etiquette defines what MLB is doing as flag desecration. It does.

    That’s just silly. It almost gives the impression that Duke Basketball is trying to impress people with what happens ABOVE the paint, not what happens WITH the paint.

    Showoffs.

    Those Duke shorts are absolutely hideous. I can’t believe that Coach K would let his team wear such a design. And I wonder if there is a matching style for the women’s team? Nike, you’ve gone way over the top. Ugleeeee!

    I believe the only alteration made to Duke’s court design was the elimination of the obsolete women’s three-point line, which will not be needed this year as the women are moving up to the men’s length.

    The Duke shorts are the same as they have been since January when Duke played Maryland – this is the switch from System of Dress to HyperElite (see, Kentucky, UConn, Syracuse, Michigan State et. al for the holes on the shorts). The only change is the removal of the ball and hoop on the D, as Duke is trying to brand all sports together by using just the unified logo (Nike did this to Syracuse and Arizona years ago – MAJOR DOWNGRADE). The ball and hoop are off the center of the court as well. There are also the charge circles on the court as well. The other major change is that the baselines with Duke on them are much smaller – over the past few years, the fire marshall required some changes to Cameron’s pathways resulting in photographers sitting on the endlines covering up the Duke – presumably this solves the problem.

    Since Corey Madere brought up the subject of FSU jerseys, there’s something I’ve always wanted to know: what was the pattern of the striping they used in the mid ’90s? In some respects, it looks like the Kente cloth Georgetown uses, at the time I thought it was just clever use of halftoning. I always liked it; I was sort of disappointed when they went to the feather pattern. FSU fans? Anyone?

    They first added trim in 94 or 95, looked like this:
    link

    They went to the current trim probably for the 98 season when they changed from basic block numbers to their current number font.

    Today’s ticker is in the best tradition of fab UW Monday mornings.

    “… I love the felt logo on this old Cal State Bakersfield track jersey. …”

    Oh, man. Track & Field was still a semi-major sport when I was coming up (your reader was a miler who finally succeeded in getting demoted to the 880), and its graphic history is extremely interesting. Well, possibly interesting to the warped persons who frequent this site. I’d love to see more UW stuff on old and new track outfits.

    “… The Toronto Star invited Blue Jays fans to submit designs for the team’s new uniforms. Here are the results…”

    Some wonderful stuff. Most of the submissions are dreck, but there are quite a few that are very witty, especially on the subject of how to Canada-ize the new unis. And some of the entries are really really good, and bear close inspection.

    “… We’ve all seen our share of dirty baseball uniforms, but this one wins the prize. That’s Kitakata (not sure of his first name) of Karatsu Economics High School in Japan (from Jeremy Brahm, of course). … ”

    What a great shot! love the yellow glove as contrast.

    “… While flea-marketing on Saturday, I saw a varsity jacket featuring a very endearingly startled-looking Tiger. Didn’t fit me, alas. …”

    That is one non-threatening little pussy. Fabulous. What size didn’t fit you, Paul? What flea market.

    The jacket was at the Brooklyn Flea in Ft. Greene. It’s rare for something to be too small for me, but this jacket was a little short in the length and short in the sleeves. Probably just as well — I have way too many varsity jackets as it is.

    I do love that startled-looking tiger, though. Wouldn’t it be great if that school’s teams were actually called the Startled Tigers? They could have a rivalry with the Fainting Goats.

    So help me, at first glance, I thought that said “Farting Goats”. That team would be pretty fast, doncha think?

    I feel fairly safe saying that jacket is from RIT which at that time was commonly referred to as Rochester Tech or just Tech. I’m searching for that logo in the photo archives, I swear I’ve seen it in there somewhere

    Those Braves pics are great. Time to kick the weekend colorization back into high gear. Would be nice to see the yellow Bees or those 1940 socks in full technicolor.

    I didn’t see it mentioned here, but the Pirates played along with the Brewers’ German theme. They were the “Piraten” yesterday.

    link

    i love how the pirates don’t have to change much between Pirates, Piraten, & Piratas! keep the heritage nights comin’ boys, we can handle it!

    Wow, I was at the game and didn’t even notice. Props to the Pittsburgh organization for playing along with our German fun day. (99 Luftballons and other fun “German” songs were played over the PA and such like that.)

    Nice understated look for the Hawkeyes’ basketball court. I can take the parquet. The two-tone wood finishes are ugly.

    The Navy contest surprised me as well. When I was serving in the Silent Service (submarine force) I received a quite a few challenge coins and decided to get them out and look at the Virginia class ones. Here are some images I found for them …
    link USS New Hampshire

    link USS Hawaii

    link USS Texas (look in the child’s hand)

    link!!Wk~$(KGrHqR,!jgEw49-Sp1OBMZGQvsDpQ~~_3.JPG USS Virginia

    Those are just the ones I have personally, and it surprises me that the Navy is actually going to use a contest submission to design such an important piece. I can’t wait to follow up and see the winning design.

    Here are the links (challenge coins are cool!).

    USS Virginia:
    link!!Wk~$(KGrHqR,!jgEw49-Sp1OBMZGQvsDpQ~~_3.JPG

    USS Texas:
    link

    USS New Hampshire:
    link

    Try that again, as UW seems to be eating these long links.

    link

    link

    link

    link

    To my eye, none of them look like they couldn’t have been the product of an amateur competition. Which is not a criticism of the quality, it’s just that there’s a level of homespun-ness to a lot of military design work. Plus, I think I recall several other ships getting designs from the public; I can’t find evidence of it, but I really thought the link got its seal this way.

    Wow, that was the biggest coding failure ever… Someone want to remove that/fix it for me? Apparently my coffee hasn’t set in yet.

    I tried to help, but made it worse. I think I got it right on my third attempt, if it gets unstuck from moderation.

    I don’t agree with the controversy surrounding the Jets logo and its ties to the military. If having a military inspired team brand means the city of Winnipeg is full of warmongers, then what does that do to teams like the Devils, Hurricanes, Lightning and Maple Leafs? Are their fans suddenly satanic (well that one might work actually), celebrants of natural disasters or just extremely into leaves? Are people in San Fransisco gigantic warriors? Dallas fans celestial cowboy maverick rangers? Houston fans just bad? It doesn’t hold any water to me. I can see why it may upset some people who don’t like the military, but you can’t please everyone.

    It’s all right now. I’ve learned my lesson well. StLMarty’s words will serve me well if I ever go to a Garden party.

    What a shot on Houston…

    Yeah, we’re into big cats and flying cars in Detroit, I guess.

    I’ve been following the Winnipeg Jets controversy and so far it appears to be one guy who doesn’t like the military connection and who’s written one article about it that’s getting picked up everywhere.

    I think Sidney Rice has been wearing that dew rag…cap…thingy since he got it. Maybe some players don’t get new equipment. It’s like superstition or something.

    One additional tidbit about the Hebrew writing on that fan’s Pavel Bure jersey in the ticker: the fan also switched the regular block numerals for a popular Hebrew font, link.

    He could have used traditional Hebrew alphabetical numbering and added even more flavor, but 10 is the letter yod, which looks too much like a dot and not enough like a number.

    Just throwing this out there, but what are the odds they got permission from the Spitfires to use the plane illustration on the NORAD team crest?

    By “a version of that” they seem to mean “took the entire illustration and rather awkwardly changed the text underneath.”

    Other than the text, the rest of the jersey looks pretty cool.

    I’m sure the designer of the Spitfires logo would be heartened to know that some other design firm can take their illustration and sell it to someone else.

    /sarcasm

    Speaking of odd, why would a NORAD team use the image of a plane from the Battle of Britain? If a single-seat prop fighter is really NORAD personnel’s idea of how North American airspace is to be defended, then suddenly Red Dawn doesn’t seem far-fetched.

    But still, NORAD has got to be one of the three greatest initialisms ever.

    Thank God for Scott. Yeah, why should Cold War NORAD be symbolized by a WW2 Spitfire? And why should a Spitfire — such a lovely design — be emblazoned with big shark’s teeth? I’m not aware that the Brits went in for that kind of blustery paint-on stuff (although Scott is better qualified to say so definitively).

    There is a valid Canada-Spitfire connection, but it’s in Saskatchewan. not Manitoba. Many RAF and Commonwealth fighter pilots trained in Spitfires in the skies over Saskatoon, out of reach of the inconvenient Luftwaffe.

    By the way, that NORAD logo is really terrible.

    I should point out that the source of the logo, the actual Spitfires team, is in Windsor, Ontario.

    Just sayin’…

    Is there a precedent for those gigantic and intrusive Kappa logos on the Fulham kits? The ‘keeper’s uniform was even worse on Sturday, with an odd, skin-tight fit and a repeating Kappa-logo pattern up the sleeves. I haven’t seen too much Kappa gear overall, so I’m not sure if this is par for the course or just some new kind of awful.

    That’s standard operating procedure for Kappa.

    Actually, last year’s AS Roma kits had SEVEN logos up the sleeves (four on one, 3 on the other, leaving room for a Serie A patch):

    link

    re: Pavel Bure Hebrew jersey

    The characters could also be Yiddish, a language in which the double “yud” (called tsvey yudn”) represents the “ay” sound, with no religious connotation. If that’s the case, the spelling/pronunciation would be a little more accurate: Boo-ray.

    In Hebrew a double yud is most often used to denote either an abbreviation, similar to an apostrophe in English, or a transliteration of a foreign word. When it’s used as shorthand for the name of God, it’s in the sense of an abbreviation, like how some Jews in English-speaking countries insert a dash into the word God.

    In this case, I’d say it’s to show that Bure is a foreign name being transliterated into Hebrew.

    As to the Packers Commander in Chief jersey, the team likely decided to use that NOB for the White House visit as they had already given the president an Obama jersey during a visit on January 26 following the State of the Union, as evidenced here link and by personal recollection as I saw him speak.

    If the Blue Jays uniform contest is an adequate representation of Toronto fans’ aesthetic sense, I’d argue that even the CURRENT unis are better than the Jays deserve. Hell, the previous “Sally League special” cap might have been above them. but let’s be charitable and assume that alien interference or meth abuse was at work.

    Given that the team’s nickname circumscribes their color choices a bit, is there a decent possible design that’s A) NOT simply a revival of their 1970’s-80s graphics, and B) not an abomination unto God? Extra points for something that incorporates Toronto’s minor-league history, perhaps.

    Toronto’s Achilles’ Heel is that their uniforms always fall prey to some fad, like neon-looking fonts or superfluous black trim. My tack would be to take the original logo, which (shorn of its lettering) was nothing short of perfect, and try to make something timeless for it. The result might resemble the Royals or the Dodgers, but we won’t be crying for it to be done over again in five years.

    Why the hell is there so much red in the suggested uniforms for the Blue Jays? I know some of it is from them being the only MLB team in Canada, but there’s a difference between having red trim on a blue uniform and having a wildly inappropriate color scheme for your team.

    Saturday, August 20th, the Astros will have Hispanic nightand add “Los” to their jerseys. Don’t know why it took so long for the Astros to do this, but at least it won’t look as bad as “Los D-Backs” or “Los Mets”.

    Though “Los Astros” translates out to “the stars”…which makes me wonder if the Dallas Stars ever did a Hispanic night, would they wear a jersey that had “Los Astros”?

    If the Texas Rangers have a Hispanic Heritage night, they should put ‘Gringos’ on their jerseys. ‘Guardabosques’ is a little clunky.

    Or if they wanted to honor real texas Hispanic Heritage, they could put “Los Rinches” on their jerseys.

    In a recent online poll ESPN used the old D-Backs color scheme. Seriously, it’s been four years! link

    Watching the Mets play this weekend, I was struck by the link logo behind the plate. AZ should incorporate that teal as a 2ndry color into their red heavy uniform. Would provide a connection to the WS winning team, and differentiate them from the rest of the “reds” in MLB.

    Since the Diamondbacks have looked awful for exactly 100% of their existence, their best option is to blow the whole thing up and start from scratch.

    I prefer HFK for all updates on EPL kits. In fact, they cover the top 4 tiers in the English pyramid, as well as English, Irish, Scottish, & Welsh national kits. They started tracking MLS last season, too.

    For 2011-12 Premiership kits:

    link

    Jim Thome just hit his second HR of the game vs. the Tigers, which gives him 600, in case anyone’s paying attention (as apposed to Derek Jeter, who apparently was the first player ever in the entire history of MLB to get 3,000 hits).

    Whatta ya gonna do, HRs are seen as cheap cuz of juicing, I guess.

    He’s gotta go into the Hall as an Indian don’t cha think? Shouldn’t be contest there.

    Agreed.

    Who else is playing now and would definitely make the HoF if their career ended today? (Note that anyone who hasn’t yet played 10 yrs isn’t eligible, no matter how great his numbers might be.)

    Top of my head:

    1) Jeter
    2) Rivera
    3) Pujols
    4) Halladay
    5) Chipper
    6) Helton (I know, I know, but he’ll get in)
    7) Pudge

    I’m sure there are a few I’m leaving out… Damon? I don’t see it. Beltran? Ken Davidoff thinks so, but I don’t. Posada? If you ignore the disaster that this year has been, I think you can actually build a case for him — very few catchers can match his offensive production. Still, induction seems unlikely…. I didn’t include A-Rod or Ortiz because so far no *acknowledged* PED user has gotten in.

    I’ve never heard Thome’s name connected with dope, and his body type doesn’t appear to be influenced by artificial means. 600 homers, 1600 RBI, that sounds like a hall of famer to me. I think Thome will eventually be inducted when his career is examined.

    …anyone else really wishing the Jets would wear their green socks when they go all-white?

    No Vilk. Sheesh. White shoes with the green socks, green shoes with the white ones. Come on man.

    /either way, both of those would be better than black

    Numbers for curlers? About time! Although, it would be a lot nicer if the numbers weren’t 1/4th the size of the sponsor logo.

    As for the Jays…wow. Only two designs are even worth considering:
    #2 – link
    Gotta lose that middle logo, though.

    #1 – link
    Awesome. I’d wear that.

    OK, there was the guy who suggested going back to the original design. That’s the best option, but I was rating the new designs.

    I don’t mind the line under Blue, but the white line through the letters and numbers makes me feel disconnected. Take that out and Bruce is in the running, for sure.

    Oh please, your natural state of being is disconnected. ;)

    The white line is fine, it’s probably the best way to use 2 different blues on the same letter… unless you’d rather see a blue gradient.

    The underline is just distracting to me. I’d take it off completely and let the script stand on it’s own.

    I actually wouldn’t mind a blue gradient.

    Figured, of all people, *you* would dislike the white line and suggest he make it red.

    And you’re right…I’m naturally disconnected…

    OK, #3 – link

    Note to the Jays: If you’re looking for a uni that screams, “We’re from Canada!” just put TORONTO on both the home and away sets. No need to add red, or even a maple leaf.

    Classic case of an athlete in one sport using a piece of equipment (namely shoes) meant for an entirely different sport. Penn State Men’s Volleyball used Kobe Bryant’s Nike Zoom Kobe 5s in place of Nike’s normal volleyball shoes a couple of years back.

    George Kottaras choice to go with football cleats might be to run the bases a little faster, seeing as most football cleats are lighter than most baseball spikes.

    He’s wearing them in Milwaukee, and such turf shoes perform virtually the same on turf as cleated shoes do…at least for baseball/softball, esp. in the outfield. Not as many violent direction changes as football.

    Playing softball all winter in the dome at a local private high school, I’ve worn molded baseball cleats, soccer cleats and turf shoes…and there almost no difference in the traction. Can’t speak to steel cleats. No experience with them on turf.

    Listened to David Stern on link and around the 25-minute mark, he pretty much shot down Bill Simmons’ proposal of putting sponsors on jerseys. “It’s not the panacea that you think it is,” Stern said. Amen!

    This broke on link a few hours ago, but Auburn’s pants striping HAS changed, but not the way everyone though. The link are using the same template as the new South Carolina and Maryland and the ridiculous wrap around panels have claimed a good chunk of the pants stripe.

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