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In Which a Uniform Manufacturer Threatens Me With Litigation Over a Uniform Leak

A little behind-the-scenes-drama has been unfolding here at Uni Watch HQ. I’d like to tell you about it today.

As most of you know, I’m often on the receiving end of leaked uniform designs. One instance of this took place earlier this year, when a source sent me screen shots that he said were from a major sportswear company’s new online catalog. The screen shots showed several uniforms that one of the big-time American sports leagues would supposedly be unveiling for its next season. (For the purposes of this article, we’ll consider college football and college basketball to be leagues, just like the Big Four pro leagues.) The uniform designs represented a significant departure from this league’s typical uniform approach and would definitely create a stir if they were publicly released.

For several reasons, I was 99.9% sure the screen shots were legit, so I could have just posted them and written about them and that would have been that. But there was that 0.1% bit of doubt — maybe the source was just messing with me, or maybe he had somehow gotten fashion jerseys in the catalog mixed up with game jerseys. So I did what a good journalist does in this type of situation: I tried to get confirmation. Specifically, I contacted the sportswear company whose catalog had supposedly been the source of the screen shots and asked them for comment.

Their response, which came within a few hours, was to threaten me with legal action based on a claim of copyright infringement, and to demand that I not publish the screen shots.

Well, that certainly answered the question of whether the material was legit, right? (I have since received additional confirmation that has increased my certainty on that point to 100%.)

I’ve dealt with dozens of uniform leaks over the years, but I’d never been threatened with litigation over one of them. Then again, I haven’t always asked a company in advance before publishing leaked material. That’s what I get for being responsible.

I was in no rush to publish the screen shots — they’d be just as relevant a few days or a few weeks down the road (indeed, they’d still cause a stir if I posted them right now) — so I took my time and got plenty of legal advice. The basic upshot, which I pretty much knew already right from the start, was this: As a journalist and a critic, I was almost certainly within my rights to publish the screen shots. The sportswear company, despite all the huffing and puffing from its legal department, surely knew this and was likely just bluffing. But there was still some chance that they could file suit against me simply to make my life miserable. Even if I won, as I probably would, the whole thing could end up being a tremendous hassle.

So I decided not to post the screen shots, at least for the time being.

It’s never good to encourage or reward a bully, which is essentially what I’ve done here. For that I apologize, both to those who feel let down by my retreat and to any fellow journalists who may now have to deal with an emboldened bully that feels it can push writers around with impunity. But we all have to pick our battles, and I had my reasons for not picking that particular battle at that particular time.

Now, as longtime readers may recall, back in 2006 I wrote a fairly lengthy piece about uniform leaks. That piece included a breakdown of all the typical arguments not to publish a leaked design and my assessment of each one. It concluded like so:

• “What’s the rush? We’ll all get to see the design eventually.” As simplistic as it may sound, I think this is actually the best reason not to publish a leaked design. Does it really matter whether we see the Diamondbacks’ new logos now or [in two months], when they’re slated to be officially unveiled? Nah. If a league representative showed me a new uniform design and said, “Listen, you can do what you want with this, but I’d appreciate it if you could just wait and let us handle it our own way,” I’d probably oblige.

If the sportswear company had taken this approach (“Paul, please, we don’t want to give the Chinese counterfeiters a big head start on these designs,” or whatever), there’s a decent chance I would have honored their request. Instead, they used scare tactics to try to silence a journalist, which is not a particularly honorable way to conduct business. So while I’m not too concerned about getting a scoop on these particular uniform designs — which are likely to end up on the “What were they thinking?” scrapheap anyway — I’m pretty annoyed by the way the sportswear company handled this situation.

One thing that’s very clear to me is that this isn’t the last time a situation like this will develop — maybe not even with these particular uniform designs. As teams, leagues, and companies plan things further and further in advance, and as their advance planning is made available to retailers, wholesalers, athletes, video gamers, and others (many of whom are only too happy to leak information on the internet, for various reasons), we’re going to keep seeing more and more leaks. This particular leak, and the sportswear company’s efforts to suppress it, amounts to one small episode in a much larger game a Whac-A-Mole — a game that the companies and leagues are destined to lose. Indeed, they’ve been losing it for years, as anyone who follows the uni-verse is well aware.

I also want to make it clear that I take privileged information very seriously. I’m routinely told and shown things on an embargoed basis (i.e., I’m not allowed to talk about it until a certain date), and I always — always — honor those terms. But there were no such terms attached to these screen shots. Remember, I didn’t go looking for this leak; it came looking for me. And the sportswear company’s beef isn’t with me; it’s with someone who sent screen shots of their catalog to me.

In the grand scheme of things, of course, a leaked uniform design and the reporter who might bring it to light are both rather frivolous. But it’s interesting that this little drama has unfolded while the country and the world have been engaged in several larger debates about leaking. There’s Edward Snowden and the NSA leaks, Chelsea Manning and the Wikileaks documents, and New York Times reporter James Risen, who’s being threatened with jail time if he doesn’t reveal the sources of leaked information. No, I’m not comparing a uniform design to a national security document, I’m certainly not comparing myself to Risen, and I’m not interested in debating whether Snowden and Manning are heroes or traitors (at least not here). I’m just making the point that leaked information, and the competing interests to disseminate and suppress it, is a topic worth thinking about on levels that go beyond the uni-verse.

Meanwhile, I still have the screen shots.

+ + + + +

MLB/MiLB News: Retro jerseys on tap tomorrow for the Brooklyn Cyclones. ”¦ David Ortiz had a patched tear on his left pant leg the other night (from Joe Kuras). … Mike Burgess bought a beer at a Royals game and immediately deduced that the image of Royals pitcher James Shields on the cup had been Photoshopped from Shields’s time with the the Rays. “The two guys I was with said, ‘How do you know?,’ and I pointed out the stripe around the neck.” I assume Mike has now gotten himself some new friends. … Jerry Wolper found a 5/2/76 Atlanta Constitution article about the Braves’ nickNOBs. Doesn’t really add any new revelations to our ongoing investigation of this topic, but it’s good stuff nonetheless. … This is pretty funny: Rays pitcher David Price throwing a bullpen session while wearing a Vanderbilt football uniform — complete with helmet! … “In 2006 the South West Michigan Devil Rays (class A Midwest League) were trying to get a new stadium in Battle Creek, Michigan,” says Eric Leach. “They didn’t get the stadium, and the team was sold and relocated. But if they had stayed, here is the first draft of what the rebranding would have looked like. I’m sure they would have tweaked it from this point, but I love the retro look and colors.” … With the Astros moving to the American League this year, the National League logo was updated — instead of 16 stars, it now has 15. But the Cubs are still wearing the old logo as a patch on their blue alts. ”¦ I didn’t watch last night’s Mets game, but Phil did: “There was a solid 30 seconds to a minute of talk about [Travis] d’Arnaud’s and [Matt] den Dekker’s NOBs, and the fact that the Mets use a an upside-down ‘P’ for d’Arnoud’s ‘d,’ and how the equipment guy is looking into getting some custom lowercase letters made up. Probably won’t be until next season, though.”

NFL News: Douchebaggery alert from Gil Neumann, who pointed me toward a very amusing, ingeniously simple piece about all the Gatorade product placements in a documentary about Robert Griffin III. ”¦ The New Girl and I saw the very excellent Fruitvale Station last night. At one point, two middle-aged black guys are talking about the NFL, and one of them explains why he likes the Steelers: “Black uniforms, black coach — and he’s even got a black wife!” ”¦ Justin Lee was playing Madden 25 and noticed the following: “For the Vikings, there’s a new ‘white alternate’ set of pants with a Norseman logo on the hip.” I was pretty sure the Vikes didn’t have any alternate pants, but I checked the NFL Style Guide just to be safe, and sure enough — look what I found! Not sure how I missed that before. Don’t know if those will ever make it onto the field, since the team has made no mention of them. Maybe just an option that got scrapped along the way..? In any case, it explains why there’s an extra set of pants in Madden. … Another Madden 25 note, this time from Preston Feiler: “Noticed right away that they have new helmets and pants for Miami, but the jerseys have the old numbers and NOBs and one uni set has the old socks.”

College Football News: Mississippi State waited until yesterday to announce that they’d be wearing a new alternate helmet this Saturday. … Yesterday I mentioned that Baylor had a new “farewell” logo for Floyd Casey Stadium. Now it turns out they’ll be wearing it as a patch. … Small item that I missed in this week’s ESPN column: Auburn has scrapped the tramp stamp (from Scott Holcomb). … Many readers pointed out that my ESPN column didn’t have any mention of these gold and black helmets for Washington, but I’ve been unable to get any confirmation about them actually being used on the field. … New uniforms for Penn (from Evan Smith). … Not that this should surprise anyone, but it turns out Johnny Football sure rings the cash register (from Tommy Turner). … New uniforms for North Dakota State (thanks, Phil). ”¦ Arizona and Northern Arizona, who’ll play each other on Friday, will both wear this memorial helmet decal for the recently fallen Arizona firefighters (from Kevin Wos). ”¦ Oklahoma’s field now has the Big 12 logo. ”¦ Just when we had finally trained NFL fans to know what the green helmet dot is for, there’s this: All Vanderbilt players will be wearing green dots on their helmets “in support of violence prevention” (I think that’s a fancy way of saying “peace”) for tonight’s season opener against Ole Miss. No photo yet of the dots, but a school spokesperson tells me they’re “about size of a quarter and will be positioned on the back of helmet, in the middle and toward the bottom.” It’s all connected to this anti-violence initiative, and is apparently also a response to the sexual assault recently committed by five now-expelled Vanderbilt football players. All of which is great, but now the whole country’s gonna think every Vandy player is wearing a radio-equipped helmet (thanks to Benton Payne for letting me know about this). ”¦ Georgia Tech’s Bobby Dodd Stadium hasn’t had a midfield logo, but that is changing this year.

Hockey News: Here’s a great retrospective of USA Olympic hockey uniforms going back to 1920. “Especially good for anyone who thinks the new sweaters suck,” says Phil. … Slight jersey tweak for Penn State (from Jon Bravard). … The U.S. Olympic team was honored at Nationals Park the other day, and Patrick Kane was given a Nats-themed hockey jersey (from Jason Mott). … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: New uniforms for the Soo Greyhounds.

NBA News: Excellent article on the guy who designed the Suns’ new uniforms and has also been involved in lots of other Phoenix-area sports designs. Recommended (from Greg Esposito). ”¦ The Bobcats are adding sponsorship patches to their practice jerseys (thanks, Phil).

Everything Else: The New Girl and I recently stopped at an ice cream stand in New Jersey, where I ordered two scoops in a standard sugar cone. It came with one of those paper “cone jackets.” The weird thing is that the jacket was festooned with little soft-serve wafer cone icons. In other words, the jacket was intended for use with one kind of cone but was decorated with images of another kind of cone. Odd. … New uniforms for the Marshall women’s soccer team. “Love the stripes!” says Jake Keys. … It’s hard to be sure, but it looks like all the players in this 1936-37 high school basketball team portrait had uni numbers that were multiples of 11 (from Chris Campolettano). … The Golf Channel didn’t exactly score a hole in one yesterday. … Here are the cycling shoes for the US Pro Challenge Stage Race in Colorado (from Sean Clancy). … Slight logo tweak for the Miami (Ohio) athletics department (from Matthew Earley). … Cheerleaders at a Florida high school have been told they can’t wear their uniforms to class because they violate the school’s dress code (thanks, Brinke).

 
  
 
Comments (172)

    As to the team with multiples of eleven: the guy behind #44 couldn’t have one unless it’s a duplicate of another – there are ten players.

    00 Isn’t actually a multiple of 11.

    The more accurate term I believe would be “repdigit number.” That is, number with a repeating digit.

    Why not? Couldn’t 11 x 0 be 00, 000, 00.0, 0.000, etc.? Aren’t they all the same value?

    George Costanza:[holds up a baseball t-shirt that reads “KOKO 00”]

    Jerry: Zero zero?

    George Costanza: That’s “oo”. As in “oo-oo-aaa-aaa”.

    (btw, that chimp’s alright. High Five!)

    Another Madden 25 note, this time from Preston Feiler: “Noticed right away that they have new helmets and pants for Miami, but the jerseys have the old numbers and NOBs and one uni set has the old socks.”

    Someone is making things up. You can mix & match uniform parts with Madden. The Dolphins new uniform is properly in the game. The blue stripe on the road socks is way too wide, and the aqua color is too dark, but the jerseys don’t use the old font. Whoever took that screen shot used those socks and old jerseys intentionally.

    That appears to be a pic from the mobile version of the game. No way that’s the player model being used for the console version.

    This explains why they have wrong aspects, though it is possible they are doing exactly what you mentioned but on the mobile version. They definitely got the uniform right on the console version (as you said).

    Don’t recall the new ticker format being in the survey, but it is GREAT!!! Wonderful upgrade.

    Several people suggested it in the comments, and I introduced it yesterday. Still an experiment, a work in progress. Go back to yesterday’s entry to see my thoughts on it and lots of good comments, pro and con.

    Love the new ticker format! One suggestion, though, is for the “etc” icon to be more distinct from the orange basketball. Maybe something in the underused green family?

    Definitely dig the new ticker. It actually didn’t deter me from exploring non-interest uni topics as you suggested (and I agreed) it would, in fact, I’d say I explored a bit more…

    I love the new ticker as well! Easier to read, easier to see what you really want, and easier to explore into things I didn’t think I’d be interested in! Please never go back.

    and give us our screenshots. Allow some “anonymous” twitter handle tweet it out and let uni-watch so happen to see and retweet.

    A much clear pic of the tag on the Bengals’ Tyler Eifert replica jersey with Chad Johnson’s name above the bar code. Obviously Koch Sporting Goods in Cincinnati took their old Johnson jerseys and had the nameplate changed. The Eifert replica jerseys have the old NFL shield on the front. More pics in yesterday’s comments, comment numbers 201 and 202.

    link

    If you look at the other pics (comments 201 and 202 from yesterday’s post) you’ll see they’re old Chad Johnson jerseys. One of the store employees confirmed this. The old NFL shield on the front of the jersey makes it obvious.

    They’re the last two comments from yesterday’s post….I thought they were already numbered.

    Excellent upgrade to the ticker today! I really, really like that I can skip the NBA and NHL news and take a more thorough dive through the M/MiLB and College and Etc stuff. Thanks Paul!

    agreed 100%. Paul, you have done a great thing here! i never would have guessed how much of a difference this could make.

    I like the new format, too. No worries Paul, I still check out some of the links in sections that wouldn’t normally interest me if the description sounds interesting.

    -Jet

    I just love watching Big 12 football and basketball games because of their classy use of Roman numerals.

    I think it’s so cool the way they have XII (for 12) on one side of the field to celebrate the present, and IIX (for 8) on the other side of the field to honor their past.

    Way to go, Big 12!

    …Or maybe the IIX on the other side of the field is XII upside-down? There’s no such thing as IIX in roman numerals. The number 8 is always VIII.

    Actual Roman people did write IIX on occasion, though. They wrote IIXX for 18 even more often, because they called that number duodeviginti (2 from 20).

    I’ve never seen more than one I in front of another numeral.
    I thought 8 was always XIII.

    XIII would be 13. You meant VIII?

    I mean, you’re right. The whole point of subtractive notation is so no one letter appears four times in succession, but it’s not incorrect to show 8 as IIX.

    I thought most of the time, IIX was something some grandfather clocks had because VIII makes the dial face look unbalanced for some reason

    Back in the days of the actual ROMANS, Roman-numeral usage wasn’t very consistent. Old manuscripts and graffiti show that forms like “IIX” were indeed used for 8–for that matter, you might see “IIIX and IIIIX” for 7 and 6, “IIIC” for 97, “VIC” for 94, or even “IIIIIIII” for 8. We moderns have simply standardized the forms that occurred most commonly.

    Ah! Thanks for the lesson folks. I guess I’m accustomed to our modern standardization. Now I know. And knowing is half the battle.

    Because everything before the largest number is subtracted from it. II = 2, X = 10, therefore IIX can = 8.

    (Of course, that whole history thing is coincidence. They just flipped the XII over so that it looks right for fans on that side of the field)

    A very simple solution I just thought of for somewhat reducing Paul’s workload on the ticker is to have strict email guidelines.

    Require each tipster to title the subject line “TICKER-SPORT”, then google can sort the emails for him into each respective sport.

    Just my 2 cents…

    That Madden 25 screen shot looks really odd. The graphics look like it is running on N64. I don’t have a modern console or the new Madden game, but I have played modern consoles, and none of them look like that! I thought it could be a PC running really low quality graphics, but notice the players proportions. Mike Wallace looks like a cartoon character. He has huge shoulders and way out of proportion legs.

    Was this a test image from the game as it was being developed (which would explain why they did not have all of the uniform elements yet)? I am really curious where this screenshot is from!

    Agreed. I thought it look like it came from the Wii version, but there isn’t one. iOS seems likely.

    But then if it’s iPhone or iPad, I’m not sure why the submitter would bother taking a photograph when it’s hell of a lot easier and cleaner to take screenshot.

    Despite the wrapper snafu, I’m glad there was no actual ice cream vessel infraction.

    Scooped = sugar cone
    Soft-serve = cake cone
    That’s the law.

    Waffle cones were invented by Jigsaw (of the “Saw” movies) to slowly and painfully sever the eater’s head off at the jawline!

    Yeah, I was pretty confused when I saw the picture. Paul was holding what I have always called a “waffle cone”. Is that not a universal term?

    As Dumb Guy alluded to, Waffle cones have the jagged edges at the top and they are larger.

    I’m from Jersey originally, maybe Sugar Cone is a Northeast reference, like Jimmies?

    I think you’re right… I looked again at the photo, it’s definitely not a true waffle cone. That’s what I get for not drinking my coffee until just a few minutes ago. I guess I’m the dumb guy in this thread… no offense to DG.

    Paul’s holding what I grew up calling a sugar cone. More importantly, what flavor was he enjoying?

    Also, that Madden shot is likely from the free iPhone mobile game, not the good version. I’m assuming the level of detail that goes into the free mobile game is lower.

    1. Paul, my law degree is ancient and unemployed, but you might ask your lawyer buds if they know an aggressive no-win-no-fee tort lawyer to go after the bastards (under NYS law, presumably) for harassment and other assorted indignities.

    2. I like that Penn football is doing red-and-blue hoops on their sleeves (though not enough), but the rest of the uni makeover inflicts severe eyeball hemorrhaging. Btw, Cambridge-Alston A&M is loaded this year (I think) and will kick the ill-clad Quakers down the steps of Franklin Field, where Penn’s big Philly fan base produces an average weekly crowd of about 5,000 work-releae parolees.

    You’d win the lawsuit, but it would cost you a ton of money. Principle is expensive, and since I’m sure you’re solo, I cannot blame you for sidestepping that fight. Litigation is miserable and expensive. Just like my law school experience.

    Very true Duncan.

    I wonder if the uniform company would be as belligerent if ESPN were publishing the leak instead of a modest single-operator blog.

    Can anyone explain Travis d’Arnaud’s insistence on the lowercase D on his uniform? I mean, it’s his right and all but it looks ridiculous. And everyone’s legal last name isn’t spelled in all caps in most places in real life but it is almost always in all caps on sports uniforms. What does he do for his driver’s license? Most states go all caps there and it is a legal document.

    I have no idea why no equipment manager has given him a small capital, like every other name-with-a-prefix has always gotten.

    Sorry to prattle on, but one more thought before this becomes an unhealthy obsession. All of the other letters on the back of his jersey are uppercase. It makes the “d” stand out that much more. Or does he write his name d’ARNAUD in his everyday life?

    I hope he does. And if d’Artagnan and the Three Musketeers wore NOB, I’d expect “d’ARTAGNAN” on the cape.

    You see this with link, though link.

    Correct. What’s more: in the original languages, names like that are usually alphabetized without the preposition–I believe a French phonebook would list both “d’Artagnan” and “d’Arnaud” under the As.

    It gets complicated when you start talking about Dutch and Belgian names. For example, the Dutch forward Robin van Persie would be listed under ‘P’ in the phonebook, and the “V” is lowercase when it appears after “Robin”. Andy van der Meyde would similarly be listed under ‘M’.

    But the Belgian defender Daniel Van Buyten would be listed under ‘V’, and the “V” in “Van” is always capitalized. A lot of Belgians end up removing the spaces after the prefixe, so you see both “Van Damme” and “Vandamme”.

    As someone with a similar “small d” in my three-word last name, the “d” is small if you’re using mixed case, if using all uppercase it is uppercase. d’ARNA… doesn’t seem right.

    But it’s not all that different from the the lower case letters in “Mc” and “Mac” names, right?

    Yeah, I’ve never understood why it’s McDONALD… it’s either McDonald or MCDONALD. The “C” ‘should’ be lowercase, but it doesn’t have special dispensation for it’s lowercased-ness over the other lowercase-optional letters, right?

    12 years older and link would be a full-kit wanker, but right now, it’s so damn adorable. Bonus points for the sponsor-less jersey.

    Bonus points for the sponsor-less jersey.
    That’s because Everton’s link is link. English soccer clubs remove link and link sponsors from youth replica kits. For clubs with less morally corrupting sponsors, the youth kits look link.

    Those 1960 USA hockey uniforms were supplied by Gerry Cosby, the Rangers long-time outfitter. So it was no big surprise that their style mimicked the Broadway Blueshirts. Cosby was the goaltender for the 1933 World Champion USA hockey team for the tournament held in Prague. He posted four shutouts in five games. The only goal he allowed was against Canada in the finals as the USA won 2-1 in overtime. He and his brother John opened their MSG-located sporting goods company in 1938.

    Here’s a fantastic article on a subject Paul is sure to love: How to buy an authentic baseball jersey.

    #8 reminds me of Bill Simmons’ podcast episode with Bill Hader, when they talked about how the OKC Thunder gave Hader a personalized jersey. Hader’s dad begged him to wear it to a game, but he resisted because, you just don’t wear a personalized jersey with your name on it.

    That’s a stupid rule. I’m a fan of the team, not just a current player. If I’m going to wear the team’s jersey, I want either my name or no name on it.

    I think the rule is famous people shouldn’t wear a jersey with their personalized name. They get comments (apparently) like “Yeah, we know who you are”. For a regular Joe Schmoe, where else would you wear it?

    I tried to read the article but my brain could only get as far as “Gah, that drop shadow on the Votto jersey is terrible!”

    The clear solution is to have a jersey with only a number, so that you can inherit every player who wears that number in the future. And if you root for a team that has always put names on all its jerseys (the Marlins and Diamondbacks come to mind), you should change your favorite team.

    Funny line from About Last Night on Grantland (link)

    “Chris Johnson’s single made the Braves a walk-off winner, as Atlanta beat the Cleveland Indians, 3-2, at Turner Field. The victory clinched a series win for Atlanta in the bitter “Thank God the Redskins Exist, So Fewer People Complain About Our Offensive Mascot” rivalry.”

    If Caron Butler is traded from the Suns to the Bucks as has been reported, will he be the first player to be involved with a uniform unveiling without ever playing a game with that team either prior-to or after the unveiling?

    Slight retraction: You said “that team.” Dukes and Young played on the Devil Rays. The Devil Rays and the Not Rays are the same team.
    I still think it’s notable.

    It is a bit semantics with the (Devil) Rays, but I think it is interesting that Caron Butler was apart of the Suns reveal and unless he joins the Suns later in his career, he will have never played a game for the organization.

    Time to sound like an old man yelling at the kids on the lawn again.

    As I stated before, when it comes to unveiling new college football uniforms, for me it’s Scroll Down/Hands Over Ears. Now we have litigious motions over leaks of unreleased material.

    Paul, I’ve been reading your stuff for over a decade and I loved it all, but it was more fun when Uni Watching was “for those who get it.”

    The fun is kinda going away.

    LOVE the new Ticker format!!! (at least I think its a new ticker format and not just a one off) I sometimes got lost in the ticker and this way is so much better!

    Searched up Bishop Gorman (LV) high school and found that they apparently have a wealthy benefactor and may have more uni-combinations than Oregon. They had at least 10 different uniform styles and also had at least 7 different helmets. (Flat Navy, Black, Orange, Chrome, White, and Chrome Orange). That must come at a huge expense to someone. Any idea who is funding them?

    link

    Man, that many colors and combinations and they couldn’t come up with a better logo than the Packers G? That’s just fucking pathetic.

    True. It looks like they used to do a “Gators” script like Florida with “Gaels” when Demarco Murray played there.

    A cursory glance at notable alumni shows a smattering of middle of the road pro athletes, the top women’s golfer, and a former governor, but my guess – if I follow the money – is the major players in UFC are alumni. Could be someone else who made their money in less glamorous or public ways, but Fertitta/White would be a good guess.

    I hate when I peel off that cone jacket thing and some of the paper inevitably sticks on to the cone. How is that adhered- with glue or something?? I eat it anyway, paper and all.

    Heh… I give it either 3 tries or 5 seconds to get the stuck paper off. And then I eat it, whether successful or not!

    Lee

    The White Sox wore their Sunday ’83 throwbacks last night. Not the first time they’ve worn them during the week. I think the players maybe really like them.

    Can’t say I blame them. Though every time I look at pictures from 1983 they look garish, when they are rendered in modern fabric, without the sansabelt, and in a modern cut they look much much better.

    link

    Between those and the Pirates 1971 throwbacks, I’m wondering if the pullover jerseys are making a comeback, since both jerseys are official alts this year for both teams and not one-off throwbacks. Kind-of like when the vested jerseys started making a comeback in the 1990’s. (The Bucs looked good in theirs initially since it was a throwback design for them, but they eventually link.)At least the teams aren’t appearing to wear spandex with these uniforms.

    As far as the White Sox go, I like their 1983 look as well, but keep it no more as an alt. Their current unis are fine the way they are.

    OK, Uni-Watchers…..my repost of my comment from yesterday:

    Hey, UniWatchers…..personal issue here….I’ll be in NYC next week and need a good place (cheap) to park my car. The hotel wants $50/night+ and I’m looking for other options. I may re-post tomorrow. Please don’t hate. I promise to submit something ticker-worthy as well (I’ll look!)

    (I know I said I’d post something ticker-worthy, I haven’t found anything yet,but I did have the NU white helmet and USA hockey jerseys first this week!)

    I thought of Brooklyn, but, of course, I don’t want to just leave the car on a street for 5 nights! And no, it’s not about security, but I’d be mad if a random car from Illinois just showed up on my block and took a parking space!

    Well, I’m sure alternate-side parking rules would require you to move the car at least once during your stay, so you’ll have a chance to see if anyone tried to break in!

    You have a couple of resources, link and link to see garages around your hotel.

    Another option is to avoid driving into Manhattan, and park near a New York Waterway ferry terminal or a New Jersey Transit station like link (expensive!) or link (farther from city but cheaper), and take the train into Penn Station.

    I’d personally do the latter unless I need the car in the city.

    terriblehuman……You’re not living up to your name!

    BestParking seems to be doing the trick…..

    Gracias, mi amigos – Paul, th & TJ

    Just to clarify Grant Field has had a midfield logo before, but haven’t had one since the renovation of the stadium was completed in 2003 (I think they may have started the 2 logo thing a few seasons earlier, can’t pinpoint an exact year). So its been at least 10 years since it last had a midfield logo.

    The full name is Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field. It was just Grant Field until 1988 when they added the Bobby Dodd part in honor of the historic coach. This year is the 100th Anniversary of the field’s use by Tech.

    So Paul, I’m really excited to see this new uniform design, whether by seeing the leak eventually or the unveiling in due time. But can you just give a heads up as to your opinion of the change? Do you like the radical change, whatever it is?

    In the ESPN college football column (I’m a few days behind), there is a link to this photo of a Carolina blue helmet with black “NC” logo: link

    But in the next photo link in the article that shows multiple uniform sets for this year, the Carolina blue helmet appears to have a white “NC” logo as in previous seasons: link

    Was the black-logo blue helmet just a prototype or will it actually be used?

    Paul, I’m curious why you’ve chosen to keep the manufacturer’s identity confidential. If it’s to guard against burning bridges, one would think they’d already doused the bridge in gasoline and lit a match with their outrageous and over-the-top reaction to your inquiry. Is it possible that the negative PR the company would receive by being outed might affect their future behavior in a “sunlight is the best disinfectant” sort of way?

    I’m curious why you’ve chosen to keep the manufacturer’s identity confidential.

    I’m sure you are. I have my reasons. Sorry, can’t say more than that.

    Understood. Obviously, I’m intrigued to know who it is. But more than that, I don’t want to see bad behavior carry the day. If your best strategy is to hold your tongue and lie low for now, I respect that. You have my best wishes for a favorable outcome.

    On the one hand, I think everyone agrees that the unnamed manufacturer’s legal scare tactic was wrong. On the other hand, I’m sensitive to the company’s desire to get its intellectual property out on its on terms and timeline. And Paul himself says, if they’d simply asked him not to publish, he would’ve agreed. The execution was wrong, but the idea is right, I think.

    It’s easy for us to say, “Fuck it, release the name.” But Paul does have to maintain a relationship with these folks, no matter how douchey they act.

    The execution was wrong, but the idea is right, I think.

    I get that. You don’t have to be a bully to rightfully protect your intellectual property, as this story demonstrates:

    link

    Asking nicely actually works some times! Crazy, huh?

    The difference in this case (besides the fact that Mystery Manufacturer acted like jerks) is that there’s little chance the company’s intellectual property rights are being violated. Even if all or part of the uniform screenshots are protected by copyright (which is not a given), publishing the photos on a website for informational or commentary purposes would almost certainly qualify as “fair use.”

    In any event, having the right to do something does not mean it is prudent to do that thing. I can understand plenty of reasons why Paul would choose not publish the leaked materials, and why he would decide not to reveal the company’s identity, even if they don’t deserve his restraint.

    I can see instances where giving the manufacturer name would potentially give away the sport and, essentially, hint at the design change. For instance, if it’s Majestic, then you can be pretty sure the change would be coming to baseball.

    Sure I’m with the rest and would LOVE to know the company and see the screen shot right now. But agreed on the decision to not go down that road right now. Better to smile and be polite and save future relationships with them than to have the rep as the guy that went against them and risk relationships with other companies as well.

    Would it be too off-topic if I asked for some opinions regarding bikes (I imagine there are a few cyclists around here)? Trying to replace my mountain bike (bought when I had no clue about bikes 12 years ago) with a hybrid type bike. Something good enough to get a workout in, lightweight, as well as something to carry my 2 year old little guy in for family outings. All the major brands, trek and such, look good. But curious if there is anything in between the treks and the target/walmart level stuff worth looking into with a mix of quality/value.

    “Would it be too off-topic if I asked for some opinions regarding bikes?

    No, but only if the discussion is about the aesthetics of bikes. Remember where you are. ;-)

    I’m a big Cannondale fan. Their new(ish) logo is cleverly designed to resemble a bike wrench, but their old logo had an amazing old-school charm.

    old: link

    new:

    link

    So college football fans, are the jerseys shown in the link period-correct? RGIII’s Baylor jersey is missing a Swoosh for obvious reasons and Barry Sanders’ OSU jersey looks correct, but I couldn’t tell otherwise.

    Paul, I’m sorry to hear about the journalistic bullying. The screen shots and “maybe it will be maybe it won’t” are what makes the site fun. It’s a changing world, and these people should have kept better track of their employees and not threatened you over their carelessness.

    If you missed the drawing for the Champions League group stage, Group H features four teams with arguably the most iconic uniforms in soccer: Blaugrana of Barcelona, Rossoneri of Milan, Hoops of Celtic and no-fancy-nickname-but-still-iconic white/red of Ajax.

    That is a good looking group, Group B with Real, Juve, and Galatasaray will be a pretty good looking group as well

    Group F with Arsenal, Dortmund, Marseille and Napoli is an attractive group, IMO.

    since they pulled this crap with bigfooty in oz about leaked jumpers for hawthorn early this year, i’m betting it was adidas…

    Paul, I admire your journalistic integrity in not only not publishing the leaks as “requested” but also in your declining to name the offending manufacturer. That being said, I wish I knew who this manufacturer is so I can boycott them. You show far more restraint than I ever would in this situation, sir.

    If I was the unnamed manufacturer, I’d contact Paul in a few days or so and have him leak the pic “against their wishes”. This story has more buzz than their uniform release would otherwise have…

    From the Miley Cyrus “look at me” school of marketing.

    Regarding the Shields jersey being Photoshopped from a Rays jersey into Kansas City — you can also tell from the additional layer of white fabric beneath the NOB, the white layer under the numbers, and the number font itself.

    I don’t think I would have noticed the stripe!

    So do you know when the “leaked information” you have is going to be made public? Now I’m so curious, I just want to know how long I have to wait!

    Hi Paul,

    Big fan of the site. I don’t comment often, but this leak story is disturbing, not in that people can’t discover it early but rather in the fact that this is the uniform business now. Uniform unveilings are controlled environments where companies truly believe the ‘reveal’ is critically important. This is what grown men wear to play a kid’s game. We like uniforms because they are fun. What the fuck?

    Anyway, I’m sure you have probably considered this, and I don’t know your employment status with ESPN (indep. contractor, employee) but you should speak to your editors about publishing on ESPN. Find out who pays legal fees if you are sued for a story on their site. What’s more it dares the offending company to upset a ‘corporate partner’ instead of a modest blog. Just a thought.

    Thanks for the fun you usually provide.

    Gizmodo link at rating the batch of ugliest college unis. Only thing is… they picked a couple of great unis to throw into that mix and rated that horrible yellow Oregon multi-colored facemask and a black Nebraska uni as LEAsT offensive. At least they got #1 right…

    I must admit, Paul, I’m disappointed you’re not willing, or perhaps its better to say unable, to fight this.

    One thing I very much enjoy about this blog is that one of its central tenets is the idea that quality should be more important than greed. You call out teams and schools that ditch unique or traditional elements to play follow-the-leader or become de facto billboards for company templates to earn a few more bucks. You insist things be good and not stupid, particularly when the stupidity (say, ads on NBA uniforms) is for money. You rail against the commoditization of fans.

    This is one of the few, FEW places seemingly left where right and wrong are important, and “what makes the most money” isn’t – because what makes the most money often flies in the face of university mission statements, what’s good for kids, being good to the fans who are so supportive, etc.

    One such money-printing company has apparently wised up and decided to fire back, though. “We’ll decide what to do. We don’t want anyone telling anyone it’s good or stupid until we tell them first. Because then we’ll tell the world its good before anyone else, and people will believe us because we’re huge and dictate these things. and we’ll get more money. And we have the clout to do so, because we’ve made enough money off everything else we’ve done to shut you up, one way or another. And, because apparently we don’t have enough money, we need to shut you up. So we will.”

    In the end, the losers aren’t the corporations, or the consumers, who seem to just go with the flow and continue to fill those company’s coffers. The losers are the smart, thinking people like you. Because, for being the only one to actually try and think through what’s right and wrong, you get stomped, and the rest of us who try to do the same get stomped as well in that we don’t get your information and valuable analysis.

    If our legal system has become so convoluted that the little guy can’t fight the big guy, then the big guy will always win, even when the little guy is in the right (as you’ve said). It’s become just as bad as if there was no system at all, apparently.

    To go off on a one-paragraph : While I’m not necessarily the type of person who would have been occupied Wall Street, I -D-E-S-P-I-S-E- the idea that we’re essentially becoming an plutocracy. The rich and selfish will be able to do whatever they want to do to stay rich, get richer, and then decide who kisses their butt enough to join them among the rich. Meanwhile those who actually are smart and seek to make the world a better place for everyone and not just themselves, perhaps by occasionally calling out the rich when they harm others in the interest of maintaining their status, will end up losing and perhaps even in a worse place than they started. It almost becomes advantageous, then, if you’re not rich, to be dumb, and the rich would probably rather have the non-rich be dumb, because they’d just follow along with their schemes – the attack on public schools and teachers in Wisconsin a few years ago struck me as one of the most egregious examples of this. The move on the part of the company you’re dealing with, Paul, strikes me as an especially telling instance of our world’s general move towards plutocracy and how the big companies can essentially get away with whatever they want. The First Amendment may protect you from prosecution by law for your work, but not from prosecution by the real power, companies like the one you’re dealing with.

    Anyhow, for those of us who enjoy reading your blog because we like you holding those companies accountable, to see one such company say, “Nope, we win,” and hearing you essentially concede, is kind of heartbreaking.

    Paul, I kinda wish you’d just publish the pictures, along with your thorough analysis of the new concept, and then a picture of yourself underneath wearing this (link).

    I also kinda wish you would, say, start a Kickstarter or something when you do so that, if and when they sue. And if and when you have to fight it, we (and anyone who believes in journalism or is anti-corporate greed) can help you fight it by contributing. It would still be hassle, but then at least a less-costly one. And, even if it doesn’t work, or not enough money is raised, or you lose the case, at least then you’d be able to say you went down defending something you, and us, believe in, in the spirit of everything else you do.

    Unfortunately, those wishes probably aren’t feasible and are more of a Sam Lowry, “Brazil”-like fantasy. In the end, reality is, you need to be able to survive and it’s probably hard enough as a largely freelance writer living in New York. But dang it, as a daily reader, what you’re describing as happening in reality – it hurts.

    What I gathered from what you said above is, “Yes, we are those who ‘get it’. But, even though we do and they don’t, they still win and we still lose.” That’s sad and disappointing.

    Thanks for the thoughtful feedback and support, Dan.

    Quickly (because I’m about to head out to a friend’s birthday party): The situation is more complex than I presented it here. There are lots of additional factors that I can’t discuss. Although it may seem like I “conceded,” at least for now, it’s more complicated than that. Let’s put it this way: Think about the war, not the battle. That’s what I’m doing.

    It’s not over.

    I love it when I can follow a multi-paragraph rant with a three-word response:

    Good to hear. Keep up the good fight.

    Guess I’ll get used to it but really not a fan of the new ticker style. I liked the magical grab bag all lumped together. This new way just looks like more of a fustercluck to me. But I’m always in the minority on things so I guess I’ll eventually adjust…

    And I really REALLY can’t wait to see the UNC unis on the field tonight against Carolina!!!!! Not that I like them but the faster they get on the field tonight the faster they will hit their expiration date and go away to hopefully be replaced by something closer to what they have worn previously.

    Don’t worry Mike Burgess, you have plenty of friends here!

    The Cereal City Krunch – like the logo, hate the lettering!

    NO old hockey jerseys look bad, simply because they were rendered in wool or cotton/durene!

    -Jet

    I’m all about learning new things today. Remembering the “real men of genius/real American heroes” radio campaigns of the last few years, I never thought there was one specific person given credit as being “Mr. Foam Finger Maker”:

    link

    Paul, this is irrelevant to the topic of today’s post, but, in regards to the new ticker format:

    I really like it. The text-heavy, single-paragraph format of the usual ticker had become rather daunting. Thanks man. Keep up the good work!

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