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Buzzer Beater

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The Hornets unveiled their new alternate last night. As was widely expected, it’s a “pride” uni with “Buzz City” on the chest. Despite the sleeves and the BFBS, I like it (or maybe I’m just relieved that it doesn’t include any purple). Further info in this short ESPN write-up that I did last night. One element not mentioned in that piece and not shown in the photo above: striped socks! ”” Paul

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Design contest reminders: In case you missed it yesterday, I’m running an ESPN contest to redesign (or, if you prefer, re-redesign) the Clippers. The deadline is next Thursday, July 2, 7pm Eastern. Full details here.

Also: Phil is running a contest to redesign the Rays. Deadline for that one is next Tuesday, June 30. Full details here.

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’Skins Watch: Thanks to some legal gymnastics, the ’Skins name controversy ended up being referenced in a Supreme Court dissent last week (from Tommy Turner). ”¦ Reader Douglas Ford asks, “Is this the most racist MLB iPhone case ever?” ”¦ With a tipping point apparently having been reached on the movement to remove or de-emphasize the Confederate battle flag in many states, Keith Olbermann draws a parallel between the flag and the ’Skins name. ”¦ Vice Sports has made a similar connection between the Confederate flag and the ’Skins name (thanks, Phil). … And Dave Zirin of The Nation notes that if retailers like Walmart and Amazon have stopped selling the rebel flag, they should probably stop selling ’Skins merch too. ”¦ Meanwhile, last week’s Supreme Court case about the Confederate flag on Texas license plates — which is completely distinct from the current movement to de-emphasize the flag — is a bad news for the ’Skins and their trademark case (from Kary Klismet).

Baseball News: Great piece by Todd Radom on the uniforms and other trappings of the 1965 A’s. … Following up on an entry from a few days ago, here’s another shot of George Brett with his right pant leg unzipped (big thanks to Royals historian Curt Nelson). … Virginia’s jersey script is embedded with little UVA logos (from Ben Matukewicz). … Embarrassingly over-the-top pandering costume on tap for the Omaha Storm Chasers. … Dodgers rookies had to go on a coffee run in full uniform (from Chris Flinn). ”¦ I noticed that Mets third base coach Tim Teufel and first base coach Tom Goodwin were wearing orange undershirts yesterday, instead of the team’s usual blue. They may have taken that idea from pitching coach Dan Warthen, who been wearing the orange base layer for the last few seasons. Bench coach Bob Geren wore blue, however (my thanks to Cork Gaines for the Goodwin screen shot). … Here’s some video of a Pirates broadcaster talking about why Andrew McCutchen is wearing the striped socks. “On the plus side, the design is okay,” says Brice Wallace. “On the negative side, do we want players coming up with individual designs?” Indeed, that is precisely the dilemma. … Good piece on the laundry logistics and — of course — the corporate branding implications of the Nats’ chocolate syrup victory dunks (from Tommy Turner). ”¦ Good story on MLBers who don’t wear batting gloves. That story also includes some good batting glove history and lore, and even some info on single-glovers. Good stuff. ”¦ So what sort of memorial is Charleston’s minor league baseball team, the RiverDogs, going to wear for the victims of last week’s church massacre? Surprise: a black armband. A rare example of dignity instead of grief fetishizing. Good for them (thanks, Phil).

NFL News: The Giants will wear their alternate white pants for two home games this season — once against Washington and once again the Pats. … Here’s the logo for the 2017 Super Bowl host committee (from Jeremy, who didn’t give his last name). … Bill Schaefer was doing some research and came upon photos of a 1971 Jets/Pats preseason game in which both teams wore white, which was noted in a newspaper game recap.

College Football News: Yesterday’s Ticker included a look at Louisville’s season-opening uniform. Here’s a closer look at some of the elements from that uni, along with the other side of the helmet. Additional photos and info here, and here’s a video. … Some uni tweaks for Michigan State (thanks, Phil). … Adidas appears to be devoting at least as energy work to their cleat box design as they are to their uniforms (from John Urbina). … Earl Campbell appearntly got the Longhorns equipment staff to repair one of his Oilers helmets (from Mark Johnson).

Hockey News: The Coyotes will unveil their new uniforms at their draft party today, and the Avalanche are due to reveal minor tweaks to their jerseys as well. ”¦ Check out the uniforms in this story about Colorado rec league whose players survived cancer and other traumas — gorgeous Colorado flag-based jerseys, with “Survivor” as the NOB (from John Costigan IV). ”¦ Orange third jersey apparently in the works for the Oilers (thanks, Phil).

NBA News: Yesterday was “half-Christmas.” In honor of that and the NBA draft, the Timberwolves had draft prospect jersey gingerbread cookies at their offices (from Jared Hensch). ”¦ Good piece on how the Bucks’ new court design was developed (from Jesse Zakshesky). ”¦ Check out the jersey that the Knicks gave to first-rounder Kristaps Porzingis last night. “They used the uni number 15 to mark the year but included an apostrophe so as not to give him Earl Monroe’s retired number,” explains Mike Engle. “The Buffalo Sabres regularly employ this practice too.”

Soccer News: New home kit for Swansea City (from Miles Crowther). ”¦ New uniforms for Dutch Eredivisie and Ajax. ”¦ New kits for PSV as well.

Grab Bag: People are receiving their Uni Watch smart phone cases — nice! ”¦ Really interesting article on ways the Confederate flag has been adapted and redesigned into a symbol of racial harmony and peace (from Chris Geis). ”¦ The sculpture of Joe Louis’s fist in Detroit is getting an overhaul. ”¦ Interesting article on the history of the New York City flag, which just turned 100. ”¦ Good article on the relative merits of high and low socks in cycling (from Sean Clancy). ”¦ Also from Sean: “Riders will not be allowed to stay in motorhomes during the Tour de France. Team Sky leader Richie Porte slept in a giant RV instead of the usual cramped hotel rooms during the Tour of Italy. Cycling governing body UCI, however, has ruled that stage race riders must stay in the hotels provided by race organizers. ”¦ New mascot at UMUC, whose teams will now be known as the Nighthawks (from Jason Nofsker). … The Denver Outlaws and Rochester Rattlers of MLL recently wore Grateful Dead-themed uniforms (from Stephen Basden). ”¦ Duckpin bowling, rarely seen outside of Baltimore, is coming to Atlanta next summer. “It’s going to take Atlanta by storm,” says Mike Nessen. “A short, stubby storm.” ”¦ The U. of Arizona has told an Ohio high school to stop poaching the Arizona logo. Key quote: “Nowadays, logos are but a click away on the Internet.” Aside from the ethical and legal issues of stealing someone else’s mark, it continues to amaze me that schools would rather use something that’s already out there instead of having something unique of their own (from Kevin Mueller). ”¦ New logo for the car brand Mini. ”¦ And speaking of autos, new badge design for Alfa Romeo (from Rahul Vyas). ”¦ According to the second item on this list, U.S. military personnel have to pay for their own uniforms, which I hadn’t been aware of. Definitely seems like something that should be covered by the government, no? ”¦ Good story about a woman who always wanted to dress up as a Wimbledon ballgirl. … Faaaascinating article on grilling a steak by tossing it directly onto the charcoal. Gonna have to try that.

 
  
 
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Comments (76)

    Really? Now I have to worry about my kids reading UniWatch because they might see George Brett with his pants unzipped???

    ;)

    From the Arizona logo poaching story; this sentence:

    “The Pioneers’ current uniforms bearing that logo can be used until they need replaced.”

    Prithee, is “..until they need replaced.” proper grammar? I am asking because I know a lot of people speak like that. Shouldn’t it be, “…until they need *to be* replaced.”?

    Just asking.

    Also, I don’t like articles that talk about to similar looking things, and then DON’T SHOW THE THINGS.

    “Dutch Eredivisie” is the country descriptor and league name. PSV is the other team besides Ajax mentioned in that tweet.

    Quick fix… “New uniforms for Dutch Eredivisie and Ajax.” Change word “and” to “club.”

    Or change it to “New uniforms for Dutch clubs PSV and Ajax” (two teams are featured).

    Seems adidas is out for some last-gasp designs before Nike swoops in and changes them all. Buzz City is such an obvious money grab.

    Purchase today and repurchase 2-3 years from now.

    I’ll agree that the new Hornets uniform looks OK, and the shorts look downright good. And I’ll even ignore the BFBS (which I’ve always excused for teams saddled with the teal/purple color scheme, anyway) and #teamadidas sleeves.

    The “Buzz City” wordmark disqualifies this uniform from being anything other than utterly stupid. Putting a city nickname (different from an abbreviation) on your jersey is dumb for any team outside of an adult rec league, to do it as part of a marketing push is even worse and to do it to copy another team (as the Hornets are doing here to copy the Blazers) in your league is embarrassing.

    What’s more, from what I can tell (and I could be wrong about this, as I don’t live in Charlotte and don’t follow the NBA), “Rip City” has some thin historical connection to the city and team, while “Buzz City” seems to have been completely made up for the sake of a link. In fact, the Bring Back the Buzz link mentions the actual “Queen City” nickname but never “Buzz City.”

    And after all that, putting the manufactured nickname on the shorts, where it repeats the exact words displayed above is just weird and nonsensical. Some other logo would look sharp there against the black background. If you want the nickname on the shorts, put it at the bottom of the sides, below where the stripes cross.

    Thank the lord that someone put all those bits together!! If it was you, scottrj, God bless you!

    The worst part is that Charlotte is the Queen City.

    Rip City has at least been around since the 70’s, but even then, it’s not the official city name.

    I guess it might fit into the column Paul reposted in yesterday’s post…since I don’t really get the city pride jerseys.

    The Buzz City alternate is lame for various reasons that have already been addressed, but (incredibly!) I’d like to point out something *good*.

    It’s not obvious from the pictures above, but check out these two shots:

    link

    link

    The side piping design is symmetrical — it appears the same way on both sides (besides the logo; that might not be flipped).

    I find this notable because the Hornets’ other three uni sets have side striping only on the left; the right side is completely blank.

    While I do like the Hornets’ new unis, I’m noticing that it shares design elements with Atlanta’s new uni–namely the “horns” on the outside of the wordmark. Haven’t seen any “explanation” of the uni, but wouldn’t be surprised if here they label them “stingers” or some hornet-related explanation.

    UMUC doesn’t have sports teams, so i really don’t know why they need a mascot. I guess to build some student cohesion for a commuter/night school.

    Also University of Maryland, University College has to win the award for most redundant name, am i right?

    I think they actually did win the American Award for Most Repetitive Name Redundancy Award of America.

    I find that generally, the more times you have to list university, school, academy, etc. in your name, it reflects a greater need to prove that you are an actual school. And University of Maryland University College illustrates that very well.

    I have no problem with UMUC getting a nickname, just as long as they don’t introduce a costumed mascot that would have no reason for being (i.e.: no sports teams, no traditional student body to get excited over its presence, etc.).

    What’s also redundant is Georgia having a live bulldog mascot, AND that Hairy Dawg costumed mascot too!

    Just wondering, shouldn’t state flag themed uniforms (like the Colorado rec league ones, or several recent University of Maryland uniforms) be considered pandering to fans’ pride, just like the national flag uniforms like today’s Omaha Storm Chasers’ uniforms?

    Sigh.

    The mere use of a flag is not pandering. Rather, the repeated draping of oneself in the flag over and over and over again, often in the most garish way possible, as a cheap patriotic appeal — THAT is pandering.

    I do sometimes refer to Maryland’s “pride” uniforms (and other “pride” designs) as “hubris,” however.

    What I find even more odd than the white vs. white Jets/Pats preseason game, is the fact that two division rivals faced off in the preseason.

    Weird things like that used to be common. Was it this site that recently had a picture of what appeared to be a Steelers-Browns scrimmage, of all things? (I’ll link if I can find it later.)

    There does appear to be purple in the striping on the side of the Buzz City pride uni if you look at the striped socks photo.

    T-Shirt club question — has anyone received their 4th of July shirt yet? According to Teespring, mine isn’t even in the mail yet. I’ve e-mailed them, but haven’t heard back yet.

    (And now back to your regularly scheduled discussion)

    And let me apologize now for concluding 3 sentences in a row with “yet.” Sheesh…

    Nope. Haven’t rec’d Canada Day either (although I got an email a couple days ago saying it was in transit or something along those lines).

    I never got a shipping notice for my BFBS shirt. It arrived 14 days after I got the printing email.

    Would’ve been better with “Queen City” instead of a buzzword, pun intended.

    Alton Brown demonstrated the directly-on-coals method for skirt steak on an old (aren’t they all, at this point?) episode of Good Eats.

    You can find the essential instructions at link, or see a video version at link.

    The key difference in Alton’s method: Use a hair dryer on your coals. This helps to clear loose ash while also serving as an intense bellows to get the heat really going.

    You also have to use real lump hardwood charcoal, but you do that now anyway, right Paul?

    Actually, no — I use Kingsford. Shocker, right?

    Lump is preferred by most foodies, I know, but (a) it’s more expensive, (b) it burns *really* fast, which compounds its expense, and (c) it burns hotter, which many people prefer, but I find it can be *too* hot (certain things get scorched) and too hard to manage/control/etc.

    But for this particular method — the steak in the coals — if it has to be lump, then I’ll definitely get lump.

    So… the military pays to have the major sports leagues shill for them but doesn’t provide uniforms to it’s personnel? Here’s a thought… how ’bout the having a fraction of the profits from all the military-themed unis go toward a soldier’s uni-fund?

    The new Alfa Romeo logo will also show up on a uni, namely that of Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt:

    link

    The old look was:

    link

    Personally, I think the new Frankfurt threads look fantastic.

    It’s not “new uniforms for Dutch Eredivisie and Ajax.” It’s new uniforms for Ajax and PSV, two teams who play in the Dutch Eredivisie, which is the Dutch first division or premier league.

    “… … Really interesting article on ways the Confederate flag has been adapted and redesigned into a symbol of racial harmony and peace (from Chris Geis). … ”

    Excellent.

    And if you really want to piss somebody off today:

    link

    I think I know a guy who wouldn’t be offended by that in some way or another, but he might be the only one.

    What is this? I don’t even…

    /sigh

    Now I’m inclined to ponder what other defunct national/battle flags could be re-appropriated in similar fashion.

    “… Interesting article on the history of the New York City flag, which just turned 100. …”

    There’s an unimportant trend here. My favorite items these days are usually “Interesting” this-or-that having little to do with sports unis. Old age.

    I take real issue with that article claiming military personnel are on the hook for so much of their uniform cost; there were so many exaggerations and half truths in that article, I lost count. First, all everyone in the military gets an initial clothing allowance, and for an enlisted Marine male, like the one featured, its $2000…then they get another $600 every year. They will also get issued additional uniforms for deployments, since those get torn up and worn out faster. And there is absolutely no regulation against wearing the standard issue (free) medals, as opposed to the anodized ones. Whomever wrote that article was just crying out for attention.

    The author made reference to when he had spent time at 29 Palms.

    If he can remember that, I wonder why he can’t remember that line on his LES (Leave and Earning Statement) for clothing allowance. I never once had to order “anodized” ones, the ones I got awarded where just fine.

    Twitter polls really bug me. They make no sense – a RT spreads the word to new audiences but a favorite does not. RTs always win.

    Question – who owns the rights to the NBA uniforms? Is it in the NBA, the team, or adidas? Wondering if this will all come into play when the manufacturer switches.

    Will Nike have to replicate these newly introduced adidas threads? And/or will they institute a slow transition to new designs for most of these teams with recent updates.

    Such design work is typically work-for-hire, so ownership of the designs would be retained by the league and/or individual team.

    “Duckpin bowling, rarely seen outside of Baltimore|”

    Growing up in Southern New England it was hard to find a “standard” (?) bowling alley.
    Pretty much every bowling alley was duckpin or candlestick. I really do miss both.

    There still is a duckpin alley in the town I grew up in (Billerica, Mass.), and a few of the neighboring towns had (or still have) duckpin lanes.

    i expect the Cavs pride uni to either have CLE or The Land on the front of it..

    France is wearing their classic tricolor look for the first time in the Women’s World Cup.

    link

    Here’s a quote from the Grantland story about the Milwaukee Bucks’ new floor that Paul should enjoy: “(Vice-president of marketing Dustin)Godsey says. ‘We didn’t want to do black just for the sake of black.'”

    I think the NuSouth Apparel folks were headquartered here in Charleston. I used to walk by their storefront on Wentworth on my way to eat at Jestines.

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