There’s no NBA, at least for now, but there are new NBA uniforms — maybe. A bunch of new designs emerged from a hacked video game yesterday. Are they legit? I honestly have no idea, but most of these video leaks in recent years have proven to be pretty accurate, so let’s take a look:
• The new Grizzlies alternate: Yes, that’s the only view of it that’s available. Looks like they’re doing a Memphis Tams ABA throwback. And if you’re asking yourself if the Tams actually wore mismatched jerseys and shorts, the answer is yes. Naturally, I love the green/gold combo (which the Tams wore because, of course, they were owned by Charlie Finley). Everyone else will hate this, but I think it’s the best argument so far for settling the lockout.
• The new Raptors alternate: Never mind, let the lockout last the rest of the season.
• The new Heat alternate: BFBS BS. Pfeh.
• The new Kings alternate: Old-school script and new-school number font don’t mesh well at all, and those colored panels on the shorts are garish-and-a-half. Yeesh.
• The new Bobcats throwback: That’s supposedly the rear view of a Carolina Cougars ABA throwback. Not bad.
• The new Sixers alternate: Or at least I’m assuming that’s an alternate. Could be the new road uni, I suppose. Either way, I like. Much nicer than the solid-red design.
• The new Clippers alternate: Nobody cares.
• The new Nets throwback: Why not just put “Brooklyn” on the jersey now?
Again, I have no idea if any of these are the real deal. But this is definitely legit: This season’s NBA All-Star Game logo. Will that game even be played?
Uni Watch News Ticker: Here’s the best article I’ve ever seen about the Brewers’ sausage races. ”¦ Good story about logo creep and sponsorship in the NHL (from Ryan Connelly). … Two good catches by Yogi Combs: First, MLB logo/ribbon creep has now spread to pink Tooth Fairy necklaces. And Texas A&M must have pulled a jersey switcheroo for a special teams play, because one player had a No. 74 helmet and a NNOB No. 96 jersey. … Is Yuniesky Betancourt using one of those pink Mother’s Day bats? “That photo doesn’t quite do it justice, but on the TV it looks quite pink,” says Michael Couillard. … New throwback packaging for Genesee beer (big thanks to Brad Tucker). … Here’s an early batting helmet concept I hadn’t seen before: air-cushioned tubing, from 1922 (great find by Tom Shieber). … The Blues have added a memorial decal for Pavol Demitra and Igor Korolev. They both wore No. 38, so just one number on the decal. In addition, Blues goalie Jaroslav Halak has a tribute to Demitra on his backplate (from Joel Francis). … Whoa, did you realize Al Davis once coached for the Chargers? I didn’t, until Brady Phelps sent me that link. … Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford was wearing the team’s alternate-uni socks for Saturday’s home opener. “If memory serves, the team last wore those socks in 2009, a full year before Crawford joined the team,” says Tom Juettner. … Okay, this is seriously weird: NBA teams can’t have anything to do with their players during the lockout, so the Nuggets are trying to generate a bit of buzz by honoring a hockey player (from Anthony Tamilio). … New sweatbacks for UNC. … The Brewers are adding a memorial patch for head groundskeeper Gary VandenBerg, who passed away on Monday (from Robert Erdtmann). … Ecuador’s goalie was wearing a backwards “DirectTV HD” cap last night (screen shot by Dave Raglin). … More details about this weekend’s College GameDay show: An ESPN crew visited my house last night to interview for a segment about uniforms, plus they’re planning a “uniform fashion show” featuring a panel of judges that will include uni designer Todd Radom. Must-see TV! … If you click through the five pages of this message board thread, you’ll see tons of old ballplayers wearing sweaters. The most interesting one is this one — a pullover, not a cardigan! Hadn’t seen one like that before (big thanks to David Brown). ”¦ New logo for Easton (from Scott Lederer).
All these alternates suck. And why does Toronto have a military camo style? That doesn’t sound legit.
Ummm, you do realise that Canada does have an army which since 2002 has had troops in Afghanistan (though since July no longer involved in combat operations, but solely in the training of the Afghan army and police. There have been over 120 combat fatalities during the war.
Now to me, teams wearing camo is a cheap way to “honor” the troops, but our friends up north do have troops worth honoring.
They have an army?
You’re an idiot Fred. Canada has been probably our staunchest ally throughout the entire Middle Eastern operation. How dare you make fun of their brave military personnel who have been right there with us every step of the way. Shame on you.
Oh I didn’t know that. I guess I’m an awful American. Shame on me.
We were asking the same thing about the U.S. between 1914-1917, and 1939-1941.
Wait.
Canada’s a country?
That’s not even military camo; it’s hunter’s camo. That looks more like leafy woodland camouflage, which no military has ever used.
Looks like digital camo to me.
Looks like digital dinosaur poop to me. The Raptors have a history of bad uniforms that would make the Buffalo Bills blush.
If it is, indeed, hunters camo… I actually think its kinda cool. Military camo- for all the reasons stated on this blog for years- is at the least disingenuous. But I could get behind hunters camo.
And raptors are, by definition, hunters, so there’s that.
Of course, it’s not really camouflage if it’s a leafy pattern and you’re playing indoors. What they need is fabric printed to look like the wooden floorboards of an NBA court, or like the view of the first rows of seats that you see from the floor, thus offering the players camouflage that makes them harder for the other team to see. (Brings to mind happy memories of playing the Atari 2600 game Combat on the level where you could have two invisible tanks dueling in an invisible maze with bouncing bullets. Basketball would be so much more interesting if the players were invisible to each other!)
The Canadian military has their own distinctive camoflage pattern – CADPAT. Sure looks like the Temperate Woodland version in the screengrab.
link
As the Wikipedia notes, its copyrighted so the Raptors can’t use it without permission.
Cowboys to wear their blue road uniforms at Patriots for first time since 2009. In the 2nd paragraph on this page:
link
Silver alts for the Pats then?
Can’t be silver alts, the Patriots have the red throwbacks this year. It’s gotta be either color vs color (sweet) or the Pats going white at home (lame).
Unless the NFL has decided to actually allow 2 alts now, but that doesn’t seem likely.
Probably white for the Pats, they’ve done it once or twice before. And probably to throw the ‘Boys into blue.
I’m not sure why a team that normally wears silver helmets and navy jerseys at home would want their opponent wearing silver helmets and navy jerseys. It just doesn’t seem like a good idea to me. The fans in the cheap seats are gonna be confused.
“fans in the cheap seats are gonna be confused.”
~~~
and no one is ever drunk at a patriots game
That’s right. Pats fans consume the smallest amount of beer per capita in the NFL (based on in-stadium sales).
And the difference between #31 (Oakland) and #32 is pretty astonishing. It’s like a 2-to-1 margin.
You can look that up. Just give me a few minutes to update the Patriots’ Wikipedia entry before you do it.
Phil, would you be at $8 for a shitty Coors Light draft?
I was kinda stoked that they have Harp and Sam seasonals at the game, but $10? Eff that. We drank Keystone while tailgating and got a nice buzz for less than $20.
It was awhile back, but the Saints wore their one&done Gold jersey Alt as well as their 1967 Throwbacks in the same year. Maybe they’ll allow the Patriots to do the same.
Am I the only one that hates the Pats’ Navy Blue road pants? They’d look awesome on Silver Pants/Helmet with the White jerseys, but please ep the striped rpad socks ….
jim vilk will love that tams throwback…so you won’t be alone
So is a yellow jersey now like an official link? Let’s see the Titans get in on that action.
Titans in yellow jerseys? …and people think *I’m* crazy.
Like link but more so.
How about this?
link
While I’m at it, here’s a Ravens tweak based on Alex Cloutier’s tweak from a few days ago.
link
Boy, I should submit these or something.
link
The yellow over blue actually looks pretty good. They’d find a way to screw it up, but it does look good.
I know I’m in the minority but I love basketball uniforms with mismatched jerseys and shorts. I liked it when the Wizards did it and I like the look in old timey photos.
In regards to the NBA 2k12 leaks… keep in mind that Madden 12 includes yellow Packers jerseys, silver Raiders jerseys, black Bucs jerseys, white pants with red-gold-red striping for the 49ers, and blue pants for the new Bills uniforms – and that’s without any hacking/unlocking.
So while there’s a really good chance these are legit… they could be fashion jerseys or fictional concepts/mistakes.
Video games don’t always reflect reality? Next you’ll be telling me that those titanium nekclaces don’t enhance performance….
No, those work. The placebo effect is real.
link on the subject. Not sure if it specifically touches on the placebo effect, but the same phenomenon of declining experimental results has been found in placebo-effect studies as well. Placebo effect is one of those things that the more you look at it, the less of it there is to see. (Sort of like the NBA these days.)
San Diego is where Al Davis learned about a pass happy offense, which he brought to Oakland, with Stabler and the rest.
did I also hear that he “signed Lance Alworth” — I heard that bit over the weekend too — news to me…
Somehow I don’t think Al personally signed Lance, but I wouldn’t doubt that he was influential to the process. Al was the team’s “offensive end” (aka receivers) coach.
Actually, he might have.
In those days of “babysitting” draft choices during bidding wars (the 49ers drafted Alworth in the NFL) assistant coaches often were dispatched, contract in hand, to get players to sign…or if necessary to sequester them until they did. Remember, in those days the pro seasons were over and done before the bowl games, after which the players could be signed. Teams could send staffers anywhere.
If the assistant coach already knew the kid, or was an alum of his school, or had scouted him (as was the case with Davis scouting Alworth), so much the better. I do believe it was Davis who recommended to Sid Gillman that the Chargers take the Arkansas RB and convert him to flanker.
Alworth had Davis intro him at his HOF induction, btw, for whatever that might indicate.
Ricko, fascinating: thanks for sharing!
On the soccer front:
Sometimes, goalies wear a ballcap to shield their eyes from the sun. Ecuador’s keeper wore one last night against the US, but he work it backwards the entire game. And it had a huge DirecTV logo plastered on the crown. Fail.
This guy approves:
link
And it was a night game so there was no need to avoid any glare. Honestly don’t know why the ref allowed it.
I am utterly amused by the A&M number mismatch, for a bit of a personal reason – 96 and 74 are numbers I’ve used for myself!
#74 is OL Danny Baker; TE Caden Smith is the normal #96.
Re. the leaked NBA unis – the Bobcats uni is a Carolina Cougars throwback, the Nets are wearing the Dr. J-era unis (although New Jersey Americans unis would have been sweeter) and the Clippers uni is an L.A. Stars throwback. The Spurs also have Dallas Chapparels unis.
A lot of teams would have been cracking out ABA throwbacks to mark the 45th anniversary of that league. The Timberwolves ran a poll to decide whether to wear Pipers or Muskies unis, and I’ve heard that the Hornets would have brought back the N.O. Buccaneers unis too…
Ah, thanks. I’ll update the Bobcats and Clippers items accordingly.
Best case scenario: The Carolina Cougars alternate jerseys the turn out to be super sweet, fly off the store shelves and instantly become more popular than the team’s standard jerseys. Jordan decides to take advantage of the positive vibe and changes the name of the team despite the current negative connotation (or positive depending on your personal preferences) of the term.
Very excited about Carolina Cougars throwbacks. These seem overdue.
Man, it would have been great if my beloved Clips went with an Anaheim Amigos throwie.
N.O. Hornets have actually worn the ABA Bucs uniforms for at leasst one home game in the past. 1-2 years ago. I have seen the #3 Chris Paul versions around N.O. ….
Several MLB players use red (not pink) bats i.e.: Dan Uggla during (and after) his streak used one link
The cherry finish on bats are readily available for a lot of bats when ordered.
E-gad!
link
I don’t know what is worse — the neon green and black, the huge numbers, or the enormous “P” on the kilt.
Genny Beer throwbacks=Awesome! I remember my dad drinking those little bottles when I was a kid.
New packaging for Genny…not going to change the awful beer inside.
At least it tastes better than that rice-brewed swill from Scrubweiser. And Genny is brewed with pure Hemlock Lake water from my hometown!
Too true. The only good rice beer is Kirin Ichiban.
I’m from VT and grew up drinking Genny. We could get it on tap for $0.35 at one bar…when I was 16…
I am convinced it has stool softener-just sayin’!
I did like their Bock though.
Hemlock — the stuff that killed Socrates.
This explains a lot about that beer.
I never said it tasted good lol….
Hey Paul, just letting you know the membership card came in yesterday, and it looks great. Thanks a million!
link
As far as hockey kits go–and certainly for college teams–it’s going to be awfully hard to top the USAFA unis. Such details as the “lightening bolt” down the pants side-panel help make this a classic and tie it to other USAFA unis.
what’s a hockey kit?
link.
What’s a hockey kit?
A helmet, skates and stick in one easy to buy package, of course. They’re aisle 2 of the sporting goods department at your local S-Mart.
Shop smart, shop S-Mart.
Groovy!
Those Raptor alternates are simply disappointing and pedestrian. I wish if they were going to do something alternative, they’d come up with some alternative branding. Maybe move away from the velociraptor imagery to something more akin to a bird of prey. Although saying that, it’s not as though the Hawks have been killing it on that front.
Speaking of the Hawks… I was playing the latest version of NBA Jam earlier and happened to randomly pick them… When the hell did they start wearing blue?
Two seasons ago. They switched their colors from red, white and gold to navy, red, silver, and white.
It was actually more like four seasons ago. And wasn’t black part of their red/gold color scheme?
It was, as an accent color. They might have had a black alternate for a time, but I recall a gold alternate in their final seasons with that color set.
“…something more akin to a bird of prey.”
I’ve been saying this since the team debuted with those Barney logos.
And, not that this is necessarily a good thing, they could go apeshit with the alternate logos. So many raptors to choose from — eagles, falcons, owls…
It’s never made sense to me that they would jump on the Jurassic Park bandwagon when and how they did with the name. An owl-themed Raptors identity in Toronto would freakin’ rock, I say.
Who thinks of an owl as a raptor though?
I know I personally think dinosaur or military jet before birds. I think if they had a bird theme, be it eagles, falcons, owls, whatever… a lot of people wouldn’t understand.
There have got to be some minor league teams out there, but I can’t think of a single pro sports team in any sport that uses an owl-based identity.
NCAA – Rice
Owls would be awesome. They could capitalize on the whole “Harry Potter” thing by using a knockoff of Hedwig the Owl as their mascot and logo. Because cashing in on the current hot movie is a great way to name your team.
Who thinks of a raptor a bird?
People who knew what a raptor was before Jurassic Park.
Before the film, people would have asked, “Who thinks of a raptor as a dinosaur? Raptors are eagles, hawks, owls, falcons…birds of prey.”
Mike — there’s also the Temple Owls but can you think of any pro franchises?
There is the Los Angeles Angels of Aneheim rookie league affiliate, the Orem Owlz. link
At some point, instead of doubling down on the stupid, just admit you made a mistake by naming your basketball team after a popular but dated movie and marketing it at 6 year olds who think dinosaurs are cool. Start fresh with a new nickname, logo and colours.
link
Well, that’s not really fresh, but it is awesome.
The name isn’t totally from a movie, because the term “raptor” existed LONG before the movie, or the book.
It was Toronto’s using the dinosaur application that made it a pop, at-risk-of-being-dated-quickly connection.
But, y’know if someone’s experience/knowledge base begins around the time of the film, they’re gonna think Velociraptor was the most common and widespread usage. They’d be wrong, of course.
An owl would be fantastic. Preferably (as noted above) a snow owl.
Snow owl? Perfect for a link organization like the one we’re discussing.
That sucks for Orlando. A lockout in any other year and they’d host an All Star weekend. oh well…
I wonder if any businesses around the arena could sue the NBA for contract interference if they had parties and that sort of thing planned that are no longer feasible.
Seasons not done yet right? Just the first few weeks.
In any case though, the City or Orlando will lose big time dollars on the ASG if it doesn’t happen.
I talked to a professor and he agreed with my assessment, that legally the NBA can’t interfere with a contract unless its action was intended to interfere with that contract. An unfortunate side effect is just that.
And there won’t be a season this year. It’s in the players’ best interest to wait it out and the owners think it’s in theirs.
I don’t think theres any precedent for that. The NBA themselves didn’t get involved in those contracts, and I don’t think the NBA has an obligation to *third parties* to host the All-star game there.
Sorry, I forgot that lawyers like to make words mean different things. ‘Can’t’ in this case means that the NBA is legally unable to interfere, so it can’t be sued for interference, even if its actions do actually interfere with the fulfillment of an outside contract.
No, it’s a cardigan, but thanks for noticing!
link
Not sure if this has been mentioned yet, I follow along daily but…what is the deal with the pine tar this post season? I believe I’ve noticed it most prevalently in the ALDS and ALCS, these guys coat their bats in pine tar and then rest them on their trailing shoulder leaving a huge brown gob of pine tar. Does the pine tar even come out in the wash?
Yeah, this is the first time I’ve seen pine-tar shoulder stains like that too. Wondering the same thing. I’m mainly seeing it with a couple of Detroit batters, though, so perhaps it’s just a thing with that clubhouse, and I just don’t ever see the Tigers play until they make the playoffs.
I’ve noticed major pine tar stainage on Victor Martinez’s left shoulder during two postseason games. But when I went looking for photos of same last night, I found that he usually *doesn’t* have the stain. Odd.
Victor Martinez most prevalently.
link
Ah, good one!
I looked through that set for pictures without the stain and to see if it was clean before the game, but found the opposite, each one had the stain. Is he wearing a new jersey every game or does pine tar actually come out of a white jersey?
Pine tar is a resin, not a lipid. It’s nearly impossible to remove it with regular soap once it sets. You have to dissolve it or scour it out. If he’s reusing his jerseys then it won’t come out in the wash.
I should say it’s a resin rather than a lipid and regular soap is only formulated to remove lipids.
“If memory serves, the team last wore those socks in 2009, a full year before Crawford joined the team,” says Tom Juettner.
Crawford actually played in a handful of games between the ’05/’06 and ’08/’09 seasons (including link).
But yeah, the team hasn’t worn those particular black socks since 2009.
There are many great beers brewed with rice including, but not limited to Great Divide’s Samurai and any of the fine beers brewed by Hitachino.
Samurai! I had one over the summer and for the longest time I couldn’t remember the name of it. Great stuff.
The 2009 NFL season paid tribute to the AFL.
It’d be cool to see the NBA do the same thing for the ABA. Alot of the cities that had ABA teams now have NBA franchises. Wouldnt it be cool to see the Spurs vs the Nets (in their throwbacks)….playing with a RED,WHITE,BLUE Ball??? That’d be awesome
Maybe the Pistons could wear FLINT TROPIC unis???? Lets get Tropical!!!!! (That parts a joke, but the ABA tribute season is sincere)
Interesting story about the red white and blue basketball, the ABA never got around to getting the rights to that popular basketball. And this came at a time when the ABA could have used the additional revenue.
Visually, the RWB basketball is more appealing, I wonder how a RWB football would look in actual competition. Guess we’ll have to leave that one up to another league.
Genny Cream Ale is not a beer. To call it pee in a bottle is to insult pee in a bottle. Even in the short, ugly stubby bottles.
Not uni-related, but got my pair of glasses from Classic Specs (a company that Paul mentioned a year ago or so), and they’re awesome. Thanks for the tip, Paul.
De nada. Classic Specs is a great operation.
link
Thanks for the plug, Paul. I need a new pair of glasses.
Looks good to me, I’ll get a pair.
If I want TWO pair, should I say I’ll get me a “quad”?
The Occupy Boston protests inspired me to make this graphic:
link
Feel free to use for picket signs and DIY projects.
You could do a whole series of those.
Bernie Brewer with a sign attached to his bat, etc., etc.,…
Today’s conversation made me realize an interesting series of coincidences:
NL came before AL
NFL came before AFL
NBA came before ABA
That Davis pic as a Charger coach is awesome. With Al’s passing, I’m once again thinking about all the old players and personalities from my youth who are fading and dying off. Strange how sad and old it makes me fell. Blanda, John Mackey, and so on. RIP
Speaking of Davis, the 1968 Raiders were the best pro team in either league, IMHO. When the NY Jets managed to knock them off for the AFL title that led to the 69 Super Bowl, I suspect they knew they were lucky. The reason Namath was confident the Jets could beat the Colts is because NY had already beaten Oakland, the best there was. Man, I’ll bet the Raiders would have beaten Baltimore by several touchdowns…………..but we’ll never know.
I’m a Clippers fan! I care! Plus, come on, they have one of the most popular players in the league.
Looks like the spam filter’s on the fritz again.
dammit
i thought we fixed that
It’s bad enough I have to censor my love of purple, both as a Clips fan and member of the Uni Watch community.
Here is a picture of the memorial patch the Brewers are wearing for head groundskeeper Gary VandenBerg, who passed away on Monday
link
I’m pretty sure the Yankees never wore a memorial patch for Lou Gehrig.
Imagine that.
Yeah, it’s a nice gesture, but it seems like this has been the most morbidly reflective baseball season I can ever remember.
“Yeah, it’s a nice gesture, but it seems like this has been the most morbidly reflective baseball season I can ever remember.”
You can say that for the whole sports season of 2011. Someone with more time, research skills, and patience than me should count all of the pro and D-1 college memorials from 2011 alone.
It’d be great if they did a memorial logo on the grass as well. What more fitting place for the head groundskeeper?
Darren Rovell reports on Twitter that Troy Polamalu wears his wedding ring on the field during games.
“One thing I learned about @tpolamalu for this week’s @SBGameOn: He wears his wedding ring during games. Scary.”
interesting side note
he also wears his heart on his sleeve
The throwbacks probably won’t be worn in the real NBA season (if there is one). The game has a lot of throwbacks for every team, most of which haven’t been worn in quite some time. The Kings, Jazz, and Sixers alts are legit.
Cards groundscrew is wearing a black ribbon in honor of the Milwaukee groundscrew member Gary Vander Berg, who passed away Monday.
link
Thanks for the heads up about Gameday. I look forward to it and told my brother to tape it also.
The alleged Miami Heat alternate jersey has been selling in the teams arena store and web site since the beginning of last season.
link
link
If I recall correctly, they even had the players take their official photos for the team site in those jerseys.
That is correct.
(link)
that’s awesome
jim vilk would totally wear that
Anyone notice Chuck Noll to the left of Al Davis in the Chargers’ picture?
That blue better not replace the Sixers red. I’m (not) sorry, but seeing the Sixers in red was sweet, and the royal blue they use is the lamest shade of blue ever. And I’m a fan of the color blue.
I never see the point in these alt shirts if they ALWAYS wear white at home. NBA unis just annoy me for that very reason, same thing with the Dallas Cowboys
please tell me I’m not the only person who sees Dwight Howard in that ASG logo. He’s the giant star