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What a Ducky Way to End My Month

New-2012-Oregon-Football-Uniforms


By Phil Hecken

Paul’s third installment of the “Uni Watch Power Rankings” is now available for your enjoyment.

. . . . .

Whew — the long, national nightmare of me filling in for Paul ends today. Trust me, no one is happier Paul will be retaking the reins of Uni Watch than yours truly. It was a long, fun month, and I couldn’t have done it without the great support of the entire Uni Watch readership (and too many guest writers and correspondents to even name). Major props to Ricko, Morris Levin and everyone who contributed an article, a ticker mention, a letter to the NBA, a suggestion, barb or even quip. As Paul is wont to say, “You’re all aces.” Thanks to one and all.

And what a better way to return the rightful place of Paul at the helm than to have Oregon introduce their new uniform set (at least that’s the plan, it’s not a 100% certainty) — I can almost smell tomorrow’s lede…and it won’t have my by-line on it. Today, dear friends, the U of O is supposed to break out their next iteration of uniforms — the team that broke the mold and set the standard (can I use more cliches?) for the craze that is multiple uniforms and multiple helmets is set to do it again. After a decade of innovation and crazy designs (both aesthetic and technological), Nike University will give us a look at their newest set.

In a way, the unveiling will be almost anti-climactic, because the new set is essentially what they wore in the Rose Bowl, only with different colors (so far, they’ve shown us black, white, thunder [green] and lightning [yellow], but who knows if that’s all they have in store). Gone are the “Bellotti Bold” fonts that graced Oregon’s unis for several years. In are much more legible numbers and even more sweatboxes polygons. What else is new?

With the last iteration, Nike introduced gray to their colorscheme — setting off another trend in NCAAFB. Will there be more gray in the new sets? In addition to the rather drab, almost olive Rose Bowl green, it looks like they’ve added in a much brighter and shiner kelly green to the mix — and we all know the kids love shiny things. Speaking of shiny things, in that Rose Bowl, Nike also introduced a pretty funky chrome helmet — when they do unveil, they’ll add green one — will there be more? We’ll just have to wait and see.

When I started writing for Uni Watch in 2008, I knew and loved Oregons uniforms, but I didn’t know much about college football (I still don’t, but I know more today than I did then). Still, I’ve always waited with baited breath to see “what would Oregon do next?” I don’t have quite that same sensation today, but I’m still pumped — kind of like Mac fans must have felt whenever Steve would debut a new Apple product — it’ll be something we never knew we needed or wanted. Yes, I’ll admit to drinking the Duck Kool Aid years ago, and I’ve been addicted to quack ever since. It doesn’t seem like today’s expected unveil will be quite the mindfuck it’s been in years past, but I’m still looking forward to the fashion show. And if they do introduce today, someone else gets to write about it tomorrow.

So, I’ll end today’s final lede (and possibly the shortest of the entire monthlong run) on that note. Below I’ll have a few updates on what’s going to take place on the weekends this fall and beyond — there will be some changes and some returning faces. Paul back on weekdays…me on the weekends — yeah, it’s much better that way. Thanks for humoring me the past month — it’s been ducky.

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“Benchies” first appeared at U-W in 2008, and has been a Saturday & Sunday feature here for the past two years.

. . . . .

Y’know, some days you gotta keep going no matter what…

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Click to enlarge

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#NoUniAds Campaign…Day 34

This will be a regular feature on Uni Watch until the NBA rescinds its incredibly offensive and stupid proposal to place corporate advertising on uniforms (or until Paul takes back the weekdays…so this may be it for a while).

And now, a personal note from Paul:

It’s important that we keep making our voices heard: Call the NBA’s publicly listed phone number (212-407-8000), ask for Adam Silver’s and/or David Stern’s office), e-mail deputy commissioner Adam Silver at his his publicly listed address (asilver@nba.com), and tweet to @NBA with the hashtag #NoUniAds. Do it now.

~~~

Jeff Mayer tips us wise to this entertaining op-ed on the NBA’s evils. It’s a good article, and worth the read. Some of the more potent prose:

Advertising on the uniforms … will become an NBA staple starting in the 2013-’14 season when two-inch-by-two-inch sponsorship patches will be sewn onto the jersey of each player in the league. It is, clearly, the first step to turning every future LeBron and Kobe and Carmelo into something looking like your basic stock car, church bulletin or minor-league outfield fence.

Baseball’s pitching rubbers will be made to look like tubes of anti-fungal cream, football’s end zones will be painted to look like Snickers bars, hockey’s goalies’ pads will be fashioned to look like so much canned fruit. And even your basic college experience, which is supposed to evoke images of ivy-covered walls and not barkers along a midway, will feel more like an infomercial than a sporting exercise.

And a bit of disheartening (at least on the surface) news comes from Greg Kupka, who reports, “Either the NBA has gotten tired of our emails or the Adam Silver (asilver@NBA.com) address wasn’t supposed to be public. Just got a “return to sender” saying my letter violated their “email policy.” I guess their policy is now to just ignore the fans outright.”

Fuckers.

. . .

Now, one last letter to the NBA:

David Firestone:

As a long-time American sports fan, and a traditionalist in American sports uniforms, I was shocked and appalled by the NBA’s recent announcement that starting in 2013, small sponsor patches would be implemented. I am of the belief that tradition of sponsor-free uniforms should be upheld.

The theory that teams would benefit from “sponsor revenue” makes no sense whatsoever, when you take into account all of the revenue teams get from merchandise, concessions, stadium naming rights, ticket sales, and commercial sponsorship. Furthermore, there is a soft salary cap in place, which keeps teams within the $58.44 million dollar rage, and players frequently get sponsorship deals for basketball shoes, and other equipment. Any team that needs to sell ad space on uniforms to “increase revenue” is either poorly run, or needlessly greedy.

An arguement can be made that association football, or “soccer” as Americans refer to it has numerous sponsors on uniforms at the professional levels, and that teams can earn a lot of revenue from these sponsorships. That argument, while valid, flies in the face of tradition. Did Dr. J, Wilt Chamberlin play with Chevy ads on their jerseys? Did Pistol Pete Maravich, Bill Russell, or Jerry West play with Budweiser logos on their chest? Did Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, or Magic Johnson sport Pepsi on their uniforms? Of course they didn’t!

That takes me to another point. The uniform ads can and will come into conflict with personal sponsorships that players have. For example, LeBron James is endorsement by McDonalds, and let’s say the Miami Heat get a sponsor patch for Burger King. What would happen there? Derrick Rose has an endorsement from Powerade, and what would happen if the Chicago Bulls got sponsored by Gatorade? At what point would the team sponsorship take a lucrative endorsement out of a player’s pocket? It really doesn’t seem fair to me to take money from an individual because the team wants an endorsement from a rival.

Please, we need to stop this uniform sponsorship rule from being implemented!

Thanks for keeping the faith readers! We can stop the NBA if we can keep up the pressure. Don’t let the crusade stop during my absence — Paul may not continue this segment, but it doesn’t mean that the fight is over!

#NoUniAds!

Thanks to Tim E. O’Brien and Chris Giorgio for the image in the upper right of this section!

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Looking Ahead…

I return to the weekends beginning over the Laborious Day Holiday weekend, so that means we’re back with some of the “favorites” that haven’t been seen for a while, and, as mentioned above, there will be a few changes.

”£”ŠBenchies will return to the weekends, and Ricko will (of course) still be doing it.

”£”ŠColorize This! will be back, and better than ever — our stalwarts Gary Chanko, George Chilvers and John Turney, plus a few others, have already sent in submissions. They’re fantastic.

”£”ŠUni Concepts will also return with a vengeance, as a few of you submitted over the past month, and I had a few left over from before I switched to weekdays — keep them coming!

”£”ŠUni Tracking, which made a very brief appearance just prior to Paul’s summer break, will also be back — if you’ve been tracking the uniform combinations and machinations of your favorite baseball teams, begin sending in those reports just before the Labor Day holiday, so they’ll be up to date — and I’ll be sure to run them.

”£”ŠSunday Morning Uni Watch, ably undertaken by Terry Duroncelet last fall, will again return for the college football season.

”£ The Duck Tracker, started three years ago by Mike Princip (examples here and here), and adopted last year by Jake Hurley (see here), will be taken over by Tim E. O’Brien for 2012. Tim’s already got his template ready, and he will always have it ready for us on Sunday mornings following a Ducks game this fall. Tim is also tracking other college teams, although those will remain on his board.

”£ After 27 years of faithful service, Jim Vilk will be retiring from his College Football 5 & 1 duties, citing exhaustion, dementia and an overbearing weekend editor. He’ll grace us with one final salvo on opening weekend (and he’ll stick around for a few 5 & 1’s here and there, mostly for college hoops and figure skating). I have found an able replacement for him in Catherine Ryan, who served as one of my Olympic Correspondents this summer. We may break her in with a “dueling 5 & 1” along with Jim on opening weekend, before she assumes the duties full-time.

”£ Stirrup “Fridays” will become a feature on the weekends, as I will feature those dedicated revolutionaries who sport stirrups on Fridays (like Coleman Mullins just did with the Pack). Make sure you send me in a picture of your Friday rups and a brief blurb on what team they are and why (as if you needed a reason) you chose those particular rups. Don’t have any rups? Well, then make sure you pay Comrade Robert Marshall a visit (e-mail him at rpmarshallart@gmail.com and he will provide you with a pair or three of the hosiery of the revolution.

”£ “50 Years Ago”, Ricko’s look-back at the college football “Game of the Week” from 50 years ago will also make a re-appearance.

Plus, there will be the usual non-recurring surprises and some gags, goofs and features. Make sure if you read during the week, you stick around for the weekends as well. It’s gonna be a great fall!

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Uni Watch News Ticker: Both Jeff La Haie, who noted Tuesday night “Tim Lincecum pictured in Giants dugout wearing wrong hat during the game. Not unusual to see players wearing their Sunday caps instead of similar BP caps during pre-game, but never seen someone wearing it during game.” and David Taub, who wrote “Wrong Cap Lincecum!” spotted Cy Lincecum in the wrong lid. … Terry Mark saw this Indiana basketball: So, what’s in a uniform number? article in the Indy Star. … While Chuck Beech remarks this “Article from April on possible Ole Miss alt helmets; I did a quick search to see if this has been previously submitted, and if so, sorry,” neither Paul nor I could remember them being shown on UW. … For all the crazy alts and helmets Notre Dame has, Jerry Kulig doesn’t think this helmet on ND Media Guide will ever be worn. Fortunately. … John Fusco Went to the Wilmington (DE) Blue Rocks game the other night and noticed the ENTIRE team (including bat boy) was High Socked and Stirrupped. The downside was a pinstriped shirt with plain white pants. (Which may be hard to see in the photo…Sorry, only a cell phone!) They’ve recently been wearing stripped stirrups as their standard uni as well. … “Buried in this article it mentions my alma mater is getting Wounded Warrior Project uniforms for a game on ESPN2,” writes Christopher Ashley. “They use Under Armor for the regular unis so, I am guessing UA will do these also.” … It sounds like Georgia Tech could be getting new uniforms from Russell that were designed by someone other than Russell, says Brent Beck. Brent also notes, “I submitted a helmet design that I made myself with no response from GT.” … Paul will of course be back tomorrow, but that didn’t stop him from sending this my way yesterday: “Just what the world needs: Nike’s first sneaker priced over $300.” … Two stories from Chris Mahr today: 1) Jeff Samardzija Gives Thumbs Down to New ND Unis; and 2) Maryland’s Crazy Football Helmets Back in 2012?. … Speaking of “new” helmets, is this a “new” helmet for UW? (Thanks to Jake Moorhead, I think, for that). … “Nice little slide show for the Top 14 (French) rugby league,” writes Josh Jacobs. … After the NY Rangers traded for Rick Nash their media people quickly mocked up a calendar wallpaper with him in NYR gear, notes Alexis Melendez. “Only problem is they used a pic of Brad Richards (including his gloves, gear) and were even too lazy to remove his name and number off of the stick. Also take a look at Nash’s ”˜61’. It looks like they took Richards’ ”˜19’ and flipped it, also not fixing the drop-shadows going to wrong direction.” … Good spot from Kenneth Guckenberger, who asks “Has anybody commented on the size of the numerals on the new Nike uniforms? I know in Denver, they look tiny. No way the announcers are going to be able to tell between a 6 and an 8. I think they even looked smaller in the new orange jerseys.” They look fine to me, but Jim Vilk is already penning his “AMEN BROTHER” reply. … Robert Silverman asks if these are the new Knicks unis? “Taken from an NBA13K screen shot. The article points out that they could also be a placeholder. The non-contiguous shoulder piping is problematic, but looks like a fine retirn to form.” … “Coachie Ballgames” loved yesterday’s debate on franchise identity and civic prideand writes, “Thought you might dig this post I wrote awhile back about how the far more democratic system soccer-playing countries use ensures that cities keep their teams. Also discuss the one exception of a team that moved in England.” … Great play on words from Jay Sullivan, who intones “Red Sox in 6” (in honor of Johnny Pesky). “Even the Angels participated in the tribute wearing a patch on their chest.” (thanks to José Niebla). More photos here. … Rudy Gutierrez says, “So you know how Drew got traded to the A’s, I guess his D-backs bats come with him.” … Here’s a full gallery of Iowa uniforms, sent in by Jack Coyier, who adds, “Looks like the new throwback helmet.” … “According to Darren Rovell at ESPN, this will be the student shirt available for the Badgers this upcoming football season,” writes Johnny Okray. “So many things wrong with it. The twitter handle on back, of course… but the three stripes making up the face mask is corporate douchebaggery at its finest.” … And finally (FINALLY!!!), Keenan Bailey sends a link to a “Uni Watch inspired article” (his words, not mine).

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Aaaaaaaaannnnnnnddddddd that, folks, is THE wrap!

Thanks again to everyone — each submitter, correspondent, helper, writer, and reader — for making the past month run so smoothly. Honestly, I don’t know how Paul keeps this up on a daily basis, but all I can say is we’re all the richer for it. You guys enjoy this fine Wednesday, the rest of the week, weekend and next week — and I’ll be back with more weekend shenanigans over the Labor Day weekend, as we kick off the College Football Season. It’s been a blast, but now I need my UW vacation. Back atcha soon. Cheers & Peace.

~~~

“I’m annoyed that my taxes go up because of lots of things that I don’t personally like. Unless you’re Paul Ryan, and looking to re-write our society from the ground up in some sort of Ayn Rand fantasy, that’s a really tough argument to make.”
—Chance Michaels

 
  
 
Comments (221)

    I just want to say thank-you to all of you for keeping the content coming while Paul took his much-deserved break. I’ve enjoyed the perspectives each of the contributors brought to the blog over the last month. Again, thank-you for the hard work and thoughtful pieces.

    Phil, way to go this month. A change of style and humor can be nice every now and then and you showed both throughout your work. Speaking of work, all the effort you put into it could not have gone unnoticed amongst us Uni Watchers, but I can only speak for myself. Well done good sir. Enjoy YOUR break.

    Oh, and thanks for posting that pic of my sexy, stirrup-covered leg ;)

    Brent Beck…please leave well enough alone. You can’t improve on the iconic gold helmet with the GT logo. Look at how ridiculous UGA looked when they went with black lids.

    And for God’s sake Tech…go back to the uniform style of the 1950s and 60s. White jerseys with navy numbers and two 1.5″ stripes on the sleeve—top stripe old gold, bottom stripe navy. Old gold pants with the navy/white/old gold/white/navy stripes down the side.

    I hated Tech’s uniforms in the 2000s. The Star Trek font on the numbers and the weird vents and seams and pseudo-stripes looked ridiculous.

    There are more than enough “clown costumes” in the ACC. Do you really want to look like Clemson or Maryland?

    I fully understand the Gold helmet thing. I just wanted to try something different. The problem is they have Russell as their uniform provider. They keep trying to make them look like an arena football league team. They also can’t decide which gold to stick with. Like it or not, the whole uniform thing is here to stay. I do believe they can find a classic look like they had in the late 80’s and early 90’s that can have a “new” look to it but still be classic.

    Tech’s school colors are gold and white. Blue (and occasionally black) are used as an accent and to make the numbers legible. The reason why you did not hear anything from Tech is that a dark helmet would drive most alums into a frenzy (they already hate the blue jersey Tech wears once in a blue moon). The dark helmet is a non-starter.

    Navy was made the official Accent color a few years back, Black is no longer used on uniforms (only logos, not used on uniforms), in fact the only time black has been used in years is when the Baseball team did a throwback to the 1985 ACC Championship baseball team.

    I disagree about the helmet, I think white helmets are more than acceptable alternates (especially when we hold a whiteout) but any other color is unacceptable.

    The good news with the new uniforms is they aren’t designed by Russell, and the design was popular amongst the higher ups (which wasn’t necessarily the case with the designs worn starting in 2008).

    Taken on its own, that gray helmet with the gold looks awesome! But I have to agree–GT’s helmets should be gold. And they should be old gold. But then again, I think vegas gold should be stricken from the planet or called what it is–shiny tan.

    Old Gold has been tried and it failed, hence the change in gold from 2008 to 2009. It’s hard to replicate with today’s material (though ND’s new gold pants (the normal ones not the alternate ones) do appear to be close), if those throwbacks were worn during a day game I think people would have a different opinion on them.

    Not only do the Blue Rocks wear stirrups, they sell them in their team store! To my knowledge, they’re the only team to sell stirrups in their shop.

    link

    I make it a point to get to the ballpark when the Blue Rocks visit the Potomac Nationals. Great looking team.

    The Idaho Falls Chukars (another Royals affiliate) have their players and coaching staff go high cuffed and stirrupped. I’ve tried to buy their stirrups at their store and they aren’t as forthcoming as the Blue Rocks. Love those blue striped stirrups as well!

    Great job all month long, Phil, and kudos to all the others who contributed (the Olympic correspondents, to be sure).

    And thanks to everyone for the Birthday wishes yesterday, both here and on facebook.

    King’s Court for Felix’s starts was expanded to the “Supreme Court” for his first start after his perfect game. First 34,000 fans were given the typical yellow shirt but with “King of Perfection” and a yellow “K” placard. Was the best Safeco atmosphere in the last 10 years.

    Thanks! Saw some pics on Twitter last night, didn’t know what it was about. Say, didn’t that used to be a Mariners team color?

    “Mission Accomplished”, Phil!
    What? No month-long paid vaca?
    You gotta renegotiate that benefits deal with the boss!

    And a bit of disheartening (at least on the surface) news comes from Greg Kupka, who reports, “Either the NBA has gotten tired of our emails or the Adam Silver (asilver@NBA.com) address wasn’t supposed to be public. Just got a “return to sender” saying my letter violated their “email policy.” I guess their policy is now to just ignore the fans outright.”

    “Violated their e-mail policy”!?

    Maybe I can try to have telemarketers prosecuted for “violating my telephone policy”. And get those pesky kids selling chocolate for Little League sent to juvenile hall for “violating my doorbell policy”!

    Great job Phil! It’s been a fun ride reading what you put out for us! Also, sign me up under the “I can’t wait to see what Nikegon U is going to do next” list. I love those Ducks uniforms.

    Ricko, I agree with Mitch 110%. Hell, I actually miss the old C-hawks old unis. I think a good tweak and the old ones would have been awesome (ie, more neon green).

    The previous unis were even more depressing, but I still appreciated today’s Benchies immensely.

    And yes, great job, Phil. Didn’t have time to read everything, but what I did read was good stuff.

    So glad we outlived Bellotti Bold…

    Amen, actually. Now that Oregon uses the better font (now dubbed “Bellotti Better”), Bellotti Bold look like utter shit. I accepted the font with the uniforms ’cause it was unique (kinda like the Titans number font).

    I think they gave the font a name back when they unveiled the rose bowl uniforms. I’m pretty sure the name had to do with Chip Kelly (continuing the trend of naming it after the coach).

    Brilliant move by the Red Sox to all wear the same number last night. Made it very difficult for the Fenway Faithful to know who they were supposed to boo!

    That being said, has an opposing team ever worn a patch in memory of someone on the other team before?

    In 1997, everyone who played against the Dodgers wore Jackie Robinson patches on their sleeves.

    great job this month Phil.

    as ar as those White Helmets for UW. those were their special 9/11 commemorative helmets from last season worn against Hawai’i. they wore the white helmets with the regular purple W again during their bowl game against Baylor. looked good. I hope they keep the white helmet in the line up.

    stoked for the Ducks uni unveil. rumor to have brought yellow pants back, as well as a grey/ carbon jersey.

    Cant blame the nba for changing silver’s email. Imagine having to sort thru all that uni spam for actual work related email.

    NBA should just set up a public email for people to vent their spleens.

    Phil, as Peterman told Elaine once… congratulations on a job…. done. Of course I’m teasing, YOU’RE the ace. Great job. I’m sure Paul appreciates the rest from daily entries and like he said this year it gave him the chance to work on the rankings project.

    This makes me happy: “Sunday Morning Uni Watch, ably undertaken by Terry Duroncelet last fall, will again return for the college football season.” I love getting my Sunday morning coffee and seeing what Terry has to say, always good stuff!

    This, on the other hand, makes me sad: “After 27 years of faithful service, Jim Vilk will be retiring from his College Football 5 & 1 duties, citing exhaustion, dementia and an overbearing weekend editor.” MoVi, with all this free time since you also retired from facebook, how’s about getting on twitter!!!!!

    I’m thinking of getting a rotary phone…can you access twitter from that?

    With all this free time, I gonna take up tailgating. Not wathching any games – just tailgating.

    Dear Phil:

    Your relentless humility is nearly unbearable. The work you’ve done over the past several weeks, however, has been exceptional. Thought-provoking, thorough, inclusive, and most of all, fun. This year, it felt less like “Phil covering for Paul for a month” and more like “Phil taking his month and knocking it out of the fucking park.”

    Kudos to you, you link.

    regarding the whole “nike’s first sneaker over $300” hype…. although not a ‘sneaker’ per se, the nike elite line of soccer cleats (2010-12) was priced $349-399 depending on model.

    Besides that, it’s not really a sneaker per se as it is a piece of tech. I’m never going to buy it for the tech aspects, so I’m not going to get worked up about it.

    When regular, run-of-the-mill sneakers start costing that much, then I’ll take a hike. I have no problem spending in the $100-$150 range for a good pair of sneakers (either for casual or training purposes).

    When run of the mill sneakers start costing that much, that’s pretty much when I’ll stop taking hikes.

    Are you a serious hiker? What do you pay for a good pair of boots?

    If you aren’t a runner and you buy a pair of $100 or more running shoes as a fashion statement, that’s dumb. Buy casual sneakers in the $50-60 range.

    Same thing with this Lebron shoe. If you’re a weekend warrior that plays hoops in a rec league, you don’t need a $300+ sneaker with Nike+ in it tell you what your vertical is!!!

    This story is so much ado about nothing

    wow…the rasros are ranked ahead of the browns???

    i most certainly did NOT see that coming

    I’ve always liked the Astros’ current set. It doesn’t feel very Astros-y, but it’s still a nice enough design.

    And contrary to what a lot of people seem to assume, I don’t love the Browns’ design just because it’s plain. I respect that they’ve kept it old-school, but I don’t think it’s an awesome uniform. Just a *good* uniform.

    Paul, so far the list has been well done, but the ‘stros current uniforms are horrible, starting with the goofy font and colors that have been used for the last few years. Hopefully they will go back to the classy shooting star design from the 60’s and traditional team orange and blue for their AL move.

    This may be a homer opinion, but you’re way too harsh on the Bulls logo. If nothing else, they deserve credit for being one of the few NBA teams NOT to have a basketball on their logo.

    And the Chargers don’t need white-topped socks because they shouldn’t even have those fucking godawful blue pants. Someone in southern California needs to organize a Broncos-style bonfire for those things.

    But I do agree that the Bulls’ black alts are shite. They need to bring back the mid-90s pinstriped version.

    (and green is not “more” unique than red [or any color])

    I confess I’m surprised by all the vitriol for the Astros’ current set. I figured not many people loved it, but I didn’t think people disliked it to such a degree.

    I still think it’s fine. Not great, but fine. I look forward to the redesign, though, becuase I think *that* may end up being great.

    Would the bull on the logo of a “middle-brow steakhouse” have blood on the tip of his horns, as the Bulls logo does?

    Paul, as a life long Astros fan who say them in the Ranbows personally, I have to agree with you. They have never looked like the Astros ever since they dropped the orange. Knowing they are bringing the orange back in their new unis/logo/etc for next season makes me happy.

    As for those thinking the current unis are ranked too high, well, that’s their opinion. I was just happy to see you didn’t have them in the bottom 20…

    I know what I don’t like about the Astros: they’re link that makes so many teams’ jerseys look ugly, even ones with NOBs.

    Which is too bad, because I like that beige color that they use, I like how they wear non-gray jerseys most of the time on the road, and I like their distinctive but not excessively quirky number font.

    I was also surprised that the Astros ranked so high. I always thought that the kind of gas station motif they’ve got going in the stadium really didn’t translate well to the uniforms, and that the old school script was somewhat out of sync with the negative space hat logo.

    So yeah…ready for the new set.

    wow…the rasros patriots are ranked ahead of the browns???

    i most certainly did NOT see that coming

    And the Eagles haven’t even been ranked yet. Wow. The real reason Donovan McNabb puked in Super Bowl 39 is because he realized what a horrible uni matchup he was in, and yet both teams are ranked higher than the Browns? I don’t even like the Browns, but I do like their uniforms, and they deserve much better than this.

    So it doesn’t seem as if we’re all piling on here, I will concede this point: the Astros unis is a nice design indeed. As you said, it’s not Astro-y at all, but for some other team that’s a nice look. Thanks for putting it in perspective.

    I thought for sure the Iggles would be the lowest ranked of the Philly teams (I’m holding out hope…but not holding my breath…that the Flyers make the Top 20 though), not the Sixers.
    PS-Making excuses for “5” Howard Eskin’s job!

    Overall, I’m not sure how I feel about the concept of a Uni-watch power rankings (not that I’m not reading it with interest). I’m king of listed out, but everything I’ve read has, as always, been entertaining.

    A couple of comments:
    1. Re:San Diego Chargers – I would rate lower , the number font is cluttered and simply does not look good.

    2. It will be interesting to see – the average score per league, to know which league is most satorically challenged and which league has their act most together in terms of uniforms, it looking to be baseball on top, and maybe a fight between the NHL and the NFL for the lowest average score. I would actually put overall the NFL as the lowest average score/

    Patriots ahead of the Browns, Skins and Giants? Paul, it’s okay to do drugs on vacation. It’s not okay to do ALL the drugs on vacation.

    and by the way, the penguins are better than all these teams???

    penguins, IMO: amongst the best logos in all sports, slapped on THE worst uniform templates, with one of THE worst colors as icing on the cake (hello, vegas gold)

    We know.
    Vintage = Bad, outdated, has outlived its purpose, without equity value or appeal, in need of reworking.

    Moving along.

    I don’t think that applies here Ricko, the Bulls logo is actually older than what the Celtics use.

    I have no expectation of Paul’s list matching mine, but that line really threw me.

    Plus, lists are just…lists.

    I’m loving the folks (especially in the espn comments) who feel their team has been “wronged” by Paul and get all snarky and personal.

    Life, people. Get one.

    What I get a kick out of is all the folks who think Paul is in his 60’s, he does come off that way sometimes as an old curmudgeon.

    But again they’re all opinions, it’s Pauls opinion versus some ESPN readers opinion, and I enjoy reading all the equal yet differing opinions.

    What I’ve been toying with while he’s been running down the teams is things like the Yankees uniform, iconic, historic, but is it really a great uniform? It really is rather boring and uninspiring compared to others.

    “What I get a kick out of is all the folks who think Paul is in his 60′s.”

    That’s because people in their 20’s haven’t yet figured out that everything the world does not exist just to please them.

    How do I know this to be absolutely, positively true?

    Because I have been in my 20’s. When the rest of my generation was in their 20’s, too.

    Nothing really to get worked up on here. Usually what matters most is what is at the top or bottom. The middle is just, “filler”.

    But apparently I live in a Uni Watch world where the Bulls are ranked lower than the Pistons, Patriots (whom deserve near-bottom status for sure) Astros, etc. Not going to get my panties in a bunch, but the Bulls have basically stood by tradition (even tho each & every black uni sucks ass). While I can’t prove it, while using this link, the Bulls were probably only the 2nd team behind the link to wear a red uni in the NBA. I really don’t care, tho, because the NBA is becoming a Minor League anyway. #NoUniAdsNBA

    I’m really enjoying the list! Some spot-on evaluations today.

    However….

    The Bulls look great, always have, and that logo is right up there with Bucky Buck spinning the ball as one of the NBA’s tops.

    The Islanders unis deserve to be ranked much higher and their logo is and always will be wonderfully idiosyncratic.

    And finally…I don’t don’t think the OKC Thunder have been listed yet, after 3 days. This must be a mistake.

    Today’s list is perplexing to me, where the first two days were not…

    Chargers ranked ahead of the Jets, Colts, Browns, Redskins and Giants? And like Jim said, the OKC Thunder being ranked ahead of ALL of them? In the words of Liz Lemon, “what the WHAT?!?”

    And the Islanders don’t belong anywhere near this low.

    But it’s been a lot of fun to follow and debate. Great job by Paul! I’m looking forward to the top 25!

    My favorite part of the Bulls? Those link. Love that diamond/hexagon shape. The Spurs used to have that link.

    I wanted to get a pair, until I saw they were $150. Not in this lifetime.

    I have to agree with seattle, and oddly concealed78 as well. There’s somethin’ wrong here ;)

    The Bulls logo has always been one of favorites in the NBA, and they’ve known better than to screw with it. They do a great job of showcasing it on the shorts too, as concealed78 (sorry, I don’t know your name) pointed out above.

    That black alt is atrocious though.

    as concealed78 (sorry, I don’t know your name)

    It’s Mark, but there’s many of those already on here & I’ve been using this screenname for 13+ years now – too late to stop now! It’s also a Bob Dylan reference with my year of birth (tho some might say it’s my age but am that in spirit) & I’m part of that Internet generation who made screennames of words paired with numbers.

    Whenever I see “Rick” on here, I wonder if Ricko just forgot a letter (I’m done that) & it’s semi-confusing.

    concealed, Mark, I’ve always thought the Bulls/Spurs shorts with the diamond shape were awesome too. Georgetown had them back in the day as well:
    link link

    100% Agree about the Giants unis. I really like the Chargers unis so I’d rate them higher. Also the Eagles uniforms are nice and I totally understand why they’re in the top 50.

    *deep grumble*

    The Eagles; like the A’s; need to be in kelly. Forest green might as well be black. It’s dreary and dark.

    The Eagles very zig-zagged angry modern eagle head logo; the rounded blockshadow numbers; black, silver & Midnight Green; fat pant stripes & over-designed helmet – there is nothing classic here. It’s just a modern interpretation on what used to be link link & link.

    The Eagles had a great look, and they let it go & sold out. Join the other 3 Philly clubs & be classic.

    Man. Why can’t they just embrace–fully–the beauty of those ’70’s uniforms? Sweet perfection.

    Answer: Because they figured that with gray–the new black–they would sell more replica jerseys.

    And…truncated stripes? Excuse me, but…why?

    I’ve had it with the outrage on the Lebron X both on facebook and twitter. I wish people would get their facts straight before flying off the deep end.
    a. The Lebron X is not, i repeat IS NOT $315. It will sell retail at $175-$180. The Nike+ Lebron X (SOLD IN LIMITED EDITIONS MIND YOU) will cost approximately $300-$315. This shoe will incorporate computer technology in each sole recording metrics of the wearer (speed, miles, calories, vertical jump, etc). This data will be processed and sent to both your smartphone AND your computer. It can be used as a performance tool to guage any number of things. This is no different than buying a Honda Accord base model, or getting one will every option, fully loaded. One just has “more”.
    b. In 1985 Nike’s top shoe, the Air Jordan cost $65 and gas was $1.20. Today, it’s top shoe, the Lebron X is $180, and I got gas for $3.60 a gallon. In 27 years each product tripled in its cost. Gas’ technology hasnt changed too much while the technologies in footwear have increased multi-fold. If gasoline also advanced in its technology that it gave data based statistics on performance, it would come with an additional cost as weel. the cost of technology is proportionate over time.
    c. There was a time when people thought paying $5,000, $10,000, $20,000, $30,000 and up for cars and houses was preposterous as well. Its 2012 people, our “stuff” now comes with options AND added cost. Want a pizza? Pay X. Want toppings on it? Pay X + Y. Want a car? Pay X. Want it with all the bells and whistles? Pay X + Y. Want the Lebron X? Pay $175. Want the Nike+ edition? Pay $315.
    d. Its not Nike’s first $300 sneaker. If I’m not mistaken, Michael Schumacher’s driving shoe was.

    Its 2012 people, our “stuff” now comes with options AND added cost. Want a pizza? Pay X. Want toppings on it? Pay X + Y. Want a car? Pay X. Want it with all the bells and whistles? Pay X + Y. Want the Lebron X? Pay $175. Want the Nike+ edition? Pay $315.

    Thanks for the “Capitalism for Dummies” lesson, but this is just another way of arguing that all market mechanisms are inherently self-justifying, which is an opinion that many sources — including this web site — do not share.

    “this is just another way of arguing that all market mechanisms are inherently self-justifying, which is an opinion that many sources – including this web site – do not share.”

    and once again it falls back to the same standing premise, that if you have an opinion that differs from the administration of this website, your ideas and opinions are not welcome.

    it didnt used to be like this. it’s really a shame…

    Straw-man argument.

    I never said your point “was not welcome”; I said (okay, implied) that things aren’t as simple as you made them out to be.

    Let’s go back to the start, shall we? Here’s the start: Some people are outraged over $315 sneakers. And your response to that is, “Hey, it’s the market, it’s what people want, that’s business for ya.”

    And MY response to THAT is — as it has always been — that life isn’t that simple. The mere existence of $315 sneakers reflects a misplaced sense of cultural priorities. It reflects a culture that has been trained to be consumers, not citizens. It reflects a disease in our culture. That’s why people are outraged — because they understand, intuitively, that there is something very wrong about $315 sneakers. (I did not spell all of this out because I’ve already done it a jillion times before, so instead I simply gave a basic line about how the market is not self-justifying. Perhaps this was too simplistic on my part.)

    And your response to that was to punt.

    If you have a better response, this would be a good time to offer it.

    how is your opinion not welcome?

    just because others may disagree with you, no one is saying you can’t express your thoughts…just bear in mind that when you do, some may not agree — but please do continue to express them

    My issue here is that people are going bat shit crazy that there will be a limited edition of the regularly price $175 Lebron X shoe which will offer an option that breaks down activity based performance data and transmits it to a phone application and computer. This LIMITED EDITION will be $315. The majority arent outraged because of any social or cultural implications, they hear $315 and automatically think to when they bought a pair of Chucks for $25
    Where is the outrage on gasoline, or bread and milk, or cars, or homes, or clothing? Each of those have proportionately increased in price over time. Where is that outrage? Where are those articles and tv spots?
    Ok, so it was established by a company that the market for this shoe with this technology is set at $315. Whats the alternative, forfeit technological advances for the sake of the keeping a few people happy because they dont like where the current market is? Shall we forfeit the privelege of options in our world? It hasnt happened with houses and it hasnt happened with cars, its not going to happen with this technology.

    Why do i feel that my opinion is not welcome Phil? Paul’s statement was that my argument was something that this website does not share. I can accept that HE as an individual doesnt share my opinion, but when he speaks for an ENTIRE website, its contents and readership? To me that says two words, “Not Welcome”.

    two things: who is going “bat shit crazy”? oh, right, you said you’ve “had it with the outrage on the Lebron X both on facebook and twitter. I wish people would get their facts straight before flying off the deep end.”

    so you came on uni watch to state this, which is all fine…but you’re probably NOT going to find much sympathy here (where it barely got a ticker mention — no one on HERE is going ‘bat shit crazy’)

    then you say where’s the “outrage on gasoline, or bread and milk, or cars, or homes, or clothing? Each of those have proportionately increased in price over time. Where is that outrage? Where are those articles and tv spots?”

    again, were you expecting to find that sort of outrage expressed ON A UNIFORM BOARD?

    so, you come to UW to complain about something that’s not particularly germane to this board, paul issues an opinion of which you were probably already aware, then you take umbrage that your opinion is not welcome?

    if you’re expecting to be the pied piper for nike kicks, i think there is another board, something with “talk” in it

    you should well know you’re not going to find sympathy for those views here

    but keep on expressing them, and when (shockingly) paul rebuts, don’t act like you’ve suddenly become a pariah whose views aren’t welcome

    For the record, I speak for the web site because it’s, um, MY web site.

    That doesn’t mean you can’t voice your opinions. But it means that simplistic arguments like “The market is what it is” will be countered, strongly, so you’d best be prepared to back them up with stronger logic than that.

    I see what you’re getting at Todd, but there are bigger things that go into the market for milk, gasoline, and food. I won’t break down things like cost of feed, transport from the farm to the store, profit margins, etc. but I know what you’re saying. But I’m going to take this argument in a different direction.

    Honestly, I have a firm belief that things should not be priced outside defined limits for what one is buying. And I firmly believe that things have gotten out of hand in terms of our reliance upon technology to “re-invent” the wheel every week.

    Why do they need a limited version of the shoe with a microchip for double the price? Can they not just attach a pedometer to the shoelaces and offer a website where one can plug the USB-enabled pedometer into a computer for download? Can the runner not wear a watch to determine time and speed based on distance and steps taken?

    Honestly, we rely and actually use technology as a crutch and as an excuse for any increase in price. It doesn’t cost three times more to make shoes today than it did a decade ago – in fact, I’d argue it costs less with all the overseas outsourcing. Computer chips can now be made for pennies on the dollar – hell, the Raspberry Pi motherboard is $35, and it operates an entire computer.

    We need to start being more self-reliant and depend less on technology. I encourage Nike to continue to do R&D to make better shoes to run in, but Nike shouldn’t be the be-all, end-all for simple calculations such as speed and distance. Computers do a wonderful amount of work for us on a daily basis, but when kids can no longer do long division, I fear for the future.

    In short, if technology can do anything and everything for us, we, as human beings, are now obsolete. And that’s a disgusting feeling.

    Crap, this is why you should refresh right before you post. Sorry to just be “repeating” what Paul stated himself a few minutes ago.

    I agree with Todd to a certain degree, that these sneakers are made for someone who needs and will use the technology and are priced accordingly.

    Where the slippery slope comes in is people buying this technology simply because of its name, which of course the name is designed to do.

    For instance, I work on $5,000 software at work, is it outrageous that my job calls for me to work on such software? Would it be outrageous for some 6 year old kids to have this software on his laptop just because he wanted it? No and yes.

    So I think its almost an apples to oranges comparison with the $315 sneakers used by training professionals and the idea that this is a societal problem, and the apples to apples comparison is folks who don’t need $315 sneakers buying them. And I agree that is a bit overboard.

    1. youre right, people are overreacting. articles written, tv spots airing, tweets, posts, etc. so when i DO see it mentioned on UW i found it a reasonable topic to mention and address that this is blowing up outside of UW.

    2. was i trying to find outrage on those other items here? now? not at all. they are all items who have had proportionate increases in price over time. oustide of gasoline (which there is constant debate) i havent found outrage anywhere on the significant price increases on these items. would i see them discussed here? no, but virtually of of this board’s readership uses these items AND are impacted by their pricing.

    3. if the pricing of technologically enhanced pair of sneakers by an NBA superstar is not germane to this board, why was it included then?
    in addition, since i gave this board another shot a few months ago, ive seen NUMEROUS pieces on meat, cooking, etc. doesnt seem germane to UW either.
    beyond that, my first statement was setting the record straight on what was $315 and what wasnt. I just wasnt if Paul, like many people who have commented in other forums knew the difference.
    And yes i do take umbrage when my opinion is not welcomed. i share an interest in the same niche as everyone here. i thought this was an “open forum”. i dont find anything wrong when individuals have differing opinions than mine. but when one speaks for an entire website, thats quite harsh. not very open.

    4. im not trying to be the pied piper of anything. just issuing an opinion. and yes, i know about that other board. i am one of its 4 creators.

    5. im not looking for any sympathy… from anyone. all i’d like is for mine and other differing opinions to be understood. like i said above, when he spoke for an entire website, stating that what i said was not shared, thats a LARGE commUNIty, and quite harsh towards this reader.

    i gave an opinion, a valid one, i did not speak ill of anyone here or insult anyone here. that’s it.

    Teebz,
    With the “Green” efforts they are using, another challenge might be a line of products whose pricepoint is reflective of the recylced products used to create them.

    “if the pricing of technologically enhanced pair of sneakers by an NBA superstar is not germane to this board, why was it included then?
    in addition, since i gave this board another shot a few months ago, ive seen NUMEROUS pieces on meat, cooking, etc. doesnt seem germane to UW either.”

    i wasn’t talking about the pricepoint of the nikes (when discussing germaneness) — i was talking about the lack of outrage over gas prices and such

    as to what paul has added to HIS board…i’ll let him address that

    If the green products being used are, in fact, recycled for these shoes, then there should be very little cost on obtaining other people’s garbage to recycle into new shoes. There would admittedly be a cost to convert it to something usable, but there are absolutely no refining or production costs associated with producing the first iteration of material from raw materials.

    Therefore, the cost to produce the shoes should be lower, not higher, and the price at which you sell them should be lower, not higher, if your profit margin remains the same. Unless, of course, increasing profit margin is your only concern, and then you’re just a sonuvabitch in my eyes.

    Nike is a bazillion-dollar company on its own. Can it not pass those savings onto the consumer, and actually sell MORE shoes by making them more affordable while still maintaining a fairly robust profit margin?

    Ive said this before in a blog post.
    Ive been reading UW YEARS before this blog was started. It was very underground, and for the ESPN column, i tried to contribute from time to time with content, etc. When this became a daily blog many years ago, it was still somewhat underground, but was growing. It was great. I loved it. Daily content on a topic i was passionate about. Paul had even created a Uni Watch Interview segment in which he’d interview people in the industry. I was selected out of his readership to interview him, which we did one Sunday afternoon. I’ve also contributed a feature piece once. Uni Watch was a daily break of niche content. For years i was a daily reader and i commented often. Then some things changed, and I stopped reading for a number of years. It wasnt until a few months back when i was contacted by a friend that i was mentioned in the feature story (about that same interview i conducted) that i began to read casually again, and then regularly. from time to time i’d comment, but nothing major. to this day i still dont comment very often, but when i have it was because i was passsionate about something. just now, it seemed that differing opinions werent greeted as differing, but as wrong.
    the way today has gone, its tiring anymore. i guess its time to step away.

    Some people pay $300 for Red Wing workboots, some people pay $300 for Nike techo-kicks.

    gore-tex, steel toed, completely waterproof, lifetime warranty… vs., a goldie swoosh with a computer chip that you’ll only really need like 3 times

    by coincidence, my choice was tweeted yesterday:

    link

    See Connelly, I think his point is valid. The market for the $300+ shoe is for a serious athlete in training that wants that chip to track that info.

    Much as a worker is going to prefer Red Wings to the crappy Kmart $20 work boot.

    I don’t look at the tech, high end as shoe for the sneaker head, they should just be buying the $185.

    People that want the workboot look can just as simply buy Timberland for much less dough than a top line work boot.

    (Sorry Todd, I’m trying, but some people just aren’t seeing/getting it!)

    I trust that you did not feel compelled to camp outside the store and trample over others to buy or harm anyone to steal either pair…would not that be a better indicator of a “misplaced sense of cultural priorities” than the mere existence or ownership of such ‘overpriced’ footwear?

    yeah but kek, you know as well as i do that snearer-heads HAVE to have the best shit out there. so why not thow a computer chip in it and jack the price up another $150?

    “to all our loyal fans that we know would buy a turd with a swoosh… here is a $300 pair of shoes to up your shoe collection game… you’re welcome!”

    extra $100… nike bullet proof vest… don’t get shot while wearing a $300 pair of shoes to the neighborhood basketball court…

    Nice work, Phil!

    Will Catherine Ryan also adopt MoVi’s moniker, “I’d Wear That?” Cuz she’s certainly a lot easier on the eyes than
    the Vilkster… ;)

    -Jet

    for there to be a retirement ceremony, he’d actually have to, ya know, retire…he’ll still be doing 5 & 1s for tiddlywinks and men’s figure skating, so it’s not like he’s done permanently

    unless you want me to make that so ;)

    Thanks. Just feels like 27 years, though.

    And my “overbearing” editor wasn’t a factor in the decision. I just thought it was time for a new perspective from a fresh set of eyes. Hmmm, hadn’t thought of a patch…

    I was glad to see the redskins entry on paul’s ranking bypassed the usual talking point about the name.

    has anyone noticed two different blues on the notre dame shamrock unis…the blue of the jersey matches the socks, and the blue of the sleeves on the undershirt (basically) matches the pant stripe and the gloves, but the two blues don’t match one another…

    link

    if it’s already been noticed, my apologies for not having coffee before i write…

    Thought this recent observation of mine was worth sharing:
    Cards’ ace Adam Wainwright has generally worn his trousers in the low-cuff style during his career. But lately I’ve been noticing just a wee bit more sock (or are they stirrups?) showing. I’m guessing he’s every bit as superstitious as other baseball players.

    Based on my use of GIS, Wainwright didn’t show off the striped socks in a home start against the Dodgers on July 24; it doesn’t appear he did on the 29th at the Cubs, either.
    But on August 4, when the Cardinals wore their home 1982 throwbacks against the Brewers, Waino definitely showed some hose (several other Cards, including Yadier Molina, joined Waino and regular blouser Daniel Descalso in the “throwback” style):
    link
    For what it’s worth, he pitched a complete game and allowed a single run.
    Next time out, against the Giants on 8/9, the Cardinals wore their normal unis, by Wainwright still went high-cuffed.
    link
    I was at his next start, at home against the D’backs, he continued with his new look, and won his 3rd straight start.
    link
    The same happened last night, in a complete game shutout of the Lastros.
    link

    Forgot to note that, in this stretch, he’s 4-0 with a 1.16 ERA; he hasn’t allowed more than 5 hits a start, all of which have lasted at least 6 innings.

    Bravo, Phil. It was a fun month. Will be glad to see the tweaks and concepts back though, definitely my favorite part of the weekends, here.

    Green Oregon uniforms…me gusta.

    I noticed on the slideshow for the Iowa throwback helmets that on pictue #17, James Vandenberg has a black facemask on his gold helemt. Every other player throughout the slideshow has a gray facemask. Just thought I’d throw that out there.

    link

    Phil, you did a great job minding the store while the boss was away.

    You have peaked my interest with the Stirrup Friday section…

    I’m gonna repost this today……….

    Rumors about the Blackhawks black alt jersey making a return:

    link

    Not uni-centric, but related to yesterday’s relocation discussion:

    There’s a new series of MLB DVDs out showcasing the “essential” games for a bunch of franchises.

    I wonder if any Expos games will be included on the Nationals’ set, or will the Nats simply help themselves to abandoned DC baseball history yet again.

    football’s end zones will be painted to look like Snickers bars

    Funny you should say that…I used to have this game:
    link
    Sorry I couldn’t find a better picture, but the SNICKERS logo is painted in the end zones.

    In a perfect world, the Sixers would wear a classy stars-and-stripes treatment, but another team already beat them to that concept a few decades ago, and the Sixers’ own attempts at stars and stripes haven’t worked out so well

    I always thought this version was pretty good:
    link

    But I do like the Sixers’ current unis. And not just because you can see the numbers from orbit. It’s just a simple and clean yet colorful look.

    That one was clean, I’ll give it that. But felt a little TOO conservative for the 76ers. Especially on Dr. J.

    The number font is a little too goofy for my tastes, but this one has the stars and stripes and red and blue mix that reflets the team better, I think:

    link

    Just wanted to second everybody else who has thanked Phil for his work over the past month. Well done, sir.

    On an unrelated note, I’m shocked to see that the Bulls were the first Chicago team to make its appearance on the power rankings. I agree about the alternate sucking, but the same is true of the Celtics alt (since Paul pointed out the obvious comparison). Obviously it’s all subjective, but I guess my biggest surprise was the dissing of the logo. As a native Chicagoan I’m obviously biased, but I always thought the design struck a perfect balance between simplicity and stylization.

    Can’t argue with any of this. In my world, the Cubs would have been the first of the 5 Chicago teams to make an appearance (especially if alternates are factoring heavily in the decision-making process).

    i know this is heresy. i know. but i don’t care if the NBA puts ads on their uniforms. honestly.

    i can’t explain it other than i think if the owners want to sully their laundry that so many people hold so dearly, let them. that will be their legacy long after the labor shortages.

    look at how every minute of every game is sold to a corporate sponsor. “verizon call to the bullpen”. “the official office superstore of the boston red sox”. whatever. i’m over it.

    all they have left is their uniforms. if they want to fuck that up, so be it. their disgrace will be their legacy.

    i’m so over the corporations owning everything everywhere…there’s much better and far more important things to send a protest email to someone about.

    just my two cents! love the blog. great work this month Phil!

    You know that once ads get on there, it will only get bigger, uglier and worse. The thing is, the NBA only sees it as a positive & will spin it any way they want to justify it.

    Ads on the NBA jerseys will have a chain reaction. I just don’t think there will ever be enough bitching & complaining by the public to change their minds. And even then, they’ll say “oh they weren’t real NBA fans anyway” or “nobody really cares or will notice”. If the NBA can be a bastard, I can be a bastard. Boycotting is a lot easier than following.

    i’m so over the corporations owning everything everywhere…there’s much better and far more important things to send a protest email to someone about.

    Not on Uni Watch. This is what we do here. This is the equivalent of the Queen of the United Kingdom breaking into your house. Or something like that. To quote a Doors song, “Get your guns, the time has come”. The British (uni ads) are coming.

    link

    Imagine coming home from school on 04/28/69 & turning the television on to channel 13-WNET & seeing that whole performance.

    No f-bombs on Build Me A Woman, of course.

    Oh ya, I was going to add:

    You & I may be well used to it & over it, but the next generation of fans is not & will see ads as no big deal & won’t know better. Some traditions are worth keeping.

    Still can’t wrap my head around the Brewers in the N.L. or Interleague Play in the regular season. It’s just not kosher. The DH pre-dates my existence but I fight it to its miserable & deserved bloodied death. Sit on the bench & play 3 minutes of a game like you have old man’s gout.

    Anecdotally, i have gotten steel toed “docksider” style shoes for work that were $100-125. Id rather buy the extra $ for more comfortable shoes than just wearing traditional work boots.

    Somebody clue me in on Iowa’s new uniforms. I know they’re wearing a 30s throwback once, but not changing altogether, correct? So the old gold helmets are just the throwback?

    The throwback uniform is confirmed for the Iowa State game. At Big 10 media days both Hyde and Vandenburg talked about a grey/silver uniform to honor the military for the Purdue game this year, but I haven’t read anything confirming that.

    Phil and the rest of the 08/12 crew. I’d like to congratulate you on a job well done during this month. Well planned, well thought out, and well written.
    Kudos…

    “For all the crazy alts and helmets Notre Dame has…”

    As recently as a year ago, I never thought I’d hear a sentence start with that phrase.

    Seeing all those Belotti Bold numbers together was the first time that I ever saw a connection between those proportions and link.

    U suk Fil, when is Paul comming bac?


    Great work all summer Phil. Thanks for taking on the monumental task. Kudos to everyone who helped and great work to Ekdahl for taking of the weekends.

    Let me echo the above sentiments for the outstanding job Phil has done over the past month! Great work, buddy!!!

    Nice job filling in Phil. And thanks to all the other contributors.

    I look forward to Colorize this and the coming college football season. Good to see Rickos 50 years ago will be back. Poor poor JimV. Darn that overbearing weekend editor.

    Kudos, Phil, for keeping the ship upright!

    Paul’s uniform survey so far doesn’t surprise me, despite my being butthurt over the take on the Oilers’ insignia. Opinions are opinions. I like the Bulls’ logo just fine.

    The discussion about the Astros’ uniform is fair: it is, in fact, a nice uniform; just ill-suited to Houston’s image. I say, ship ’em off to the Diamondbacks when the 2013 Astro duds come off the UPS truck.

    I say, ship ‘em off to the Diamondbacks when the 2013 Astro duds come off the UPS truck.

    YES!

    My Favorite comment so far on today’s rankings:

    “Trent19682007
    God forbid teams stay with tradition. This clown hopes everyone looks like Oregon and Maryland’s stupid uniforms. I can’t even imagine what his top ten will be.”

    That one Blue Rocks photo, which was described as a cell phone shot, was strange. Either it’s an homage to Eddie Feigner, or they’re playing the hitter to pull. And I mean pull as in, down BOTH foul lines. It’s a narrow perspective I guess, but the weirdo in me loved it.

    Phil –

    Your writing stinks, your editing is disasterous, your opinions are arrogant, not to mention way off the mark, and you averaged getting the daily installment into the interwebs 8 minutes and 32 seconds slower than Paul.

    I don’t really believe any of this, but you need to be able to fit through doorways at some point in your life, so … you’re welcome.

    “Meh? Word on the street is that you find this to be bone-inducing.”

    ~~~

    i do like that ONE combo, out of the 3,234 possible ones … but i think oregon should wear more yellow (i think it’s still a school colour), and on the ducks, i loves me some gray…since it’s a decidedly neutral nike colour

    but honestly, i was expecting a bit more — maybe they’ve finally said, “fuck it, everyone is copying us anyway, we’ll just concentrate on making the unis, like our players, bigger, faster and stronger…and not coming out with more non-school colours”

    but the gray/yellow/gray? that’s the fucking shit

    “what do you mean “not coming out with more non-school colours (sic)”?”

    ~~~~

    i think one of the shades in there is green

    My God! That model is photographed on a football field, doing football things! I assume they’ve already fired the art director for screwing up the shoot so badly.

    Also, I really, really like these unis so far. First Nike Ducks unis I haven’t passionately hated in many years. Amazing what a difference using actual school colors makes!

    Oh, Paul. I was so with you on the middle quintile today, even the exact placement of the Pacers at the bottom of the top half and the Redskins at the top of the bottom half, but then you had to go and rip on the Reds custom letter/number font. The Reds custom typeface is the best single bit of design to come out of MLB in the last decade. I’ve played with it at some length, and it works great at very small scale and at very large. Very few typefaces of any kind do so well at all scales.

    The shame is not that the Reds use it, it’s that it’s a Reds-only font and not a generic league type like Tuscan or McAuliffe that lots of teams use, because it really is the modern version of those older ubiqui-types. Feels contemporary but not time-bound, works great as type, screams “baseball”.

    Two thoughts after reading some of the ESPN comments: First, I think I need a shower. Second, I don’t think people understand that you’ve actually called half of the teams on today’s entry above-average.

    How have colleges managed to play football all these decades without a “fully integrated uniform system”?

    Been saying since I was in college, “Give me enough money and I can make everyone in America think they should paint their fingernails purple.”

    Okay, maybe I couldn’t convince Paul.

    But other than that…

    “How have colleges managed to play football all these decades without a “fully integrated uniform system”?”

    ~~~

    or this: “with reduced weight even in seemingly small places such as the aircraft grade aluminum D-ring belt.”

    seriously…it’s a fucking glorified belt buckle…it’s not going to increase your vertical by one centimeter or save 1/10th of a second off your 40

    can’t they just lay off the fucking hyperbole machine and just show me a cool looking uni?

    I just read this claim

    “With the integration of Chain Maille Mesh into the jersey as well as the functional winged pattern on the shoulders, this is truly the lightest, fastest football uniform we’ve ever made.”

    And what is the deal with basically a tease on the unis? not showing them all or full photos.

    Thanks Tim E I saw that one.

    I guess not bad. I do not mind Oregon uniforms. They would be much better with school colors all the time.

    TWO O’s? you kids today…

    you think one O and you’d be happy, but nooooooo

    “The completely re-designed number system was inspired by the shape of a mallard’s feathers”

    What kind of ducks have the Nike people been studying?

    I can understand saying the sheen they put on the numbers resembling mallard’s feathers. Maybe it was a typo?

    Yes, congrats to Phil on a great job. A lot of work obviously went into it. It couldn’t have been easy. And if you never wanted to take over daily UW again, nobody would blame you ;)

    I’ll tell you what, there are some pretty good uniforms in the middle quintile. If there are 50 unis out there better than these, then these are good times indeed for athletics aesthetics.

    [Of course, I think the Jets should rank higher (NY, not Winnipeg, although I like those too), but I totally agree about the green-over-green abomination (here’s hoping Nike has eliminated that). They also need to wear the proper socks with the white-on-white, and if the green has actually changed to a more military-drab tone, that has to be fixed as well.]

    OK, Paul, I challenge you to do the same with NCAA
    Division I uniforms.

    And ….. GO!

    (I expect the complete list to start running after next week, OK?)

    Id like to point out, in response to the Browns being ranked #59 in the Power Rankings, that when the team was created it was Paul Browns vision to always have the team wear white. He wanted the Browns in all white to be as iconic as the Yankees Pinstripes. Last year they were honoring that past. It just so happened they didnt play anyone that wanted to wear whites at home, so they never wore the Brown jerseys in the regular season for the first time in their history. They did however wear them twice in the preseason.
    I just figured for a guy that loves classic looks as much as he does, the Browns would be ranked higher. I find it to be one of the best looks in football, however I would dock them for the gray facemasks and bfbs shoes

    As with most things Adidas or Nike do, those douchey Wisconsin shirts are not exclusive to the Badgers. We’ve got ’em at Indiana, I’ve seen a Notre Dame version, and I’m sure you’ll see them at Louisville, Texas A&M, and anywhere else the three stripes rule.

    Johnny Okray, that’s not a “Twitter handle”. It’s a hashtag. Learn about something before you bash it. Rube.

    It’s still a pretty shitty shirt. Nothing about that is uniquely wisco, it’s just a bad template. This is why wisco is suing adidas (ok, it’s not but it’s symptomatic)

    So, ZYX, did you major in Okray studies or something? Surely you learned a great deal about Johnny before you bashed him.

    And that link.

    I would like to formally apologize to ZYX for incorrectly using the term “Twitter handle”. I am very new to Twitter, and realize people use the hash tag as a search function. For me to refer to it as a “twitter handle” was ignorant and unacceptable. A thousand pardons to you and to anyone else I offended.

    What is it like to never make a mistake? Please let me know.

    My point of the post was what Tim E. said… it isn’t Wisco at all. Now, is it a template for all other Adidas schools? Not sure. It’s the first I have seen of it. Not saying that would make it better, but at least I would know that Sconnie isn’t steamrolling this stupid advertising.

    Sorry Kyle, didn’t see your post before I posted. Sorry that you have to be subject to those shirts in Indiana too.

    Johnny Okray, that’s not a “Post”. It’s a “comment.” Learn about something before you bash it. Rube.

    Pete Carroll has confirmed on twitter that the Seahawks are wearing white jerseys and gray pants for their game Friday.

    I was at USC today, and this year the Trojans will be ditching their black cleats for cardinal and silver duds. Also gone apparently is the black socks and undershirts we saw last year for traditional white socks (or possibly cardinal socks, but that’s not likely to happen). And their “look-at-me gloves” will come together to form the trojan helmet decal, not the interlocking SC.

    Great job minding the store Phil! Thanks for posting my submissions and plugging the blog. I’ll see ya on the weekends!

    Red Sox at #42? Behind the Wild and the Blue Jackets? sheesh, I was thinking at least top quintile for the Carmine Hose…

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