In case you somehow missed it on E!, the big uni-related news yesterday was that Chad Johnson wore an “ocho cinco” nameplate during pregame warm-ups (that’s “eight five,” in case you don’t habla Español). He was reportedly told he’d be fined if he wore it during the game, so teammate Carson Palmer reached over shortly before kickoff and removed the nameplate — easy enough to do, since it was only affixed with Velcro — revealing the usual “C. Johnson” underneath.
The media, predictably, is treating this as a typical wide receiver “Look at me!” stunt, like Terrell Owens’s Sharpie or Joe Horn’s cell phone. But that’s not a good comparison, because those were essentially solo pranks, while Johnson needed help to pull this one off. Who made that nameplate for him? The fabric and typography appear to match the Bengals’ standard specs, so did Reebok make it? Did the equipment manager have it made? Did the team’s stitching vendor do it? And who put the Velcro around the edges of Johnson’s regular nameplate? Someone did some major aiding and abetting here, and I’d very much like to know who it was.
Also, if this is the NFL’s latest attempt to court the Hispanic audience, they’d better wise up regarding the proper numerical translations. Fortunately, reader Jeff Israel has provided a helpful tutorial.
Paging Messrs. Krevanchi and Mihalik: An interesting footwear query came in last night from Joaquin Jang, who quoted the following bit from Scott Ostler’s column in yesterday’s San Francisco Chronicle:
Jorgen Klinsmann is seen as the coach who could lead U.S. soccer out of the wilderness of mediocrity, and talks have begun. Insiders say one stumbling block is shoes. U.S. soccer is a Nike operation, and Klinsmann has strong ties to Adidas. Maybe Klinsmann could do what Darryl Dawkins did one game when he had overlapping contracts with two rival shoe companies. He wore one of each.
“Dawkins played before I began following the NBA,” says Jang, “so I’d never heard of him wearing two different shoes at the same time. Have you? Any photographic evidence of it?”
As many of you know, I’m not particularly sneaker-centric, so this was all news to me. I did some very quick photo research but the pics of Chocolate Thunder that I found all showed him wearing matched footwear. Also, it’s worth noting that several of the items in Ostler’s column are clearly meant to be jokes, and this might be one of them. Any sneaker-heads out there care to enlighten us?
Horn-Toot Dept.: The one-two punch of the Bill Buckner and Kenny Rogers stories has resulted in some nice media coverage for Uni Watch. Check out these testimonials from the Baltimore Sun, Newsday, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Showing off? Nope (well, okay, maybe a little) — I just wanted you all to see that more and more people are starting to Get It™, which is good news for those of us who already do. Also, reader input and contributions are a huge part of Uni Watch — I literally couldn’t do it without you folks — so feel free to take a share of the credit for those glowing reviews.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Really love your team’s colors? Home Depot will let you paint your house with them (tip o’ the cap to the always-colorful Mike from Queens). … Paul Stastny has changed his uniform number from 62 to 26. “62 was to honor his dad (in reverse, since Peter wore 26), but now he’s just going with the direct approach,” explains John Griebel. … “Technically, these qualify as a uniform change,” says Nicole Haase. Full details here. … Why doesn’t Chris Hovan just get it over with and wear a toga already? … Good stuff you may have missed from recent Comments sections: Nice article here about college football merit decals (with thanks to Jill Horn). … Tony LaRussa appears to have been wearing some sort of stick pin just under the “StL” logo on his undershirt. … Adam Vinatieri was wearing an undershirt with striped sleeves yesterday. Anyone know the brand? … John Muir notes that Vancouver goalie Robert Luongo’s alternate mask features the team’s old Johnny Canuck logo on the side. Full details on that seldom-seen logo here.
#1 by Cork on 10.30.06 9:40 am |
Yes, technically ochenta y cinco would be correct, but in Chad’s defense (it pains me to do it), he always refers to himslef as eight five, so in this case ocho cinco is probably the better way to go.
#2 by Anthony the Rutgers Fan on 10.30.06 9:40 am |
Klinsman should be allowed to wear whatever he wants. However, I can see where a problem would arise if he was expected to put on a nike branded USA soccer t-shirt or warm-up suit
#3 by Matt B on 10.30.06 9:42 am |
I’m positive the players aren’t required to wear Nikes on the field (many of them have their own contracts). JK can always wear street shoes if Nike/Adidas is an issue for management.
Captain America wearing Adidas Predators in this year’s WM
#4 by Anthony the Rutgers Fan on 10.30.06 9:42 am |
Cork beat me to number one post. Even though we technically posted at the exact same time.
#5 by Robert on 10.30.06 9:57 am |
The exposed armpits of NLF linemen are seriously grossing me out. For a league that is usually worried about players keeping their shirts tucked in and so forth, the NFL has really dropped the ball on this one. Barf.
#6 by Mark Mihalik on 10.30.06 10:01 am |
While I don’t know about Chocolate Thunder’s mismatching (sorry Paul, but I’ll look into it), this reminds me of when Ron Artest definitely did play in mismatching shoes. When he played in the 2004 All-Star Game, he felt that being an All-Star made him deserving of a big-time shoe contract, so he wore four different shoes in the first half of the game (mismatching them all). I’m pretty sure he wore Nike, adidas, And1, and DaDa, but I’m not sure… I’ll get pictures in a bit.
#7 by Robert on 10.30.06 10:03 am |
On an different note - has anyone come across examples of three digit uniform numbers for athletes?
I was watching a Mexican soccer game this weekend and one of the players on CD Guadalajara (Chivas) had uniform number 100.
I also remember watching a Chilean soccer game a while back and one of the goalies wore 188.
Does anyone know of more examples? Or does anyone know if this is allowed in any of the major sports leagues in the US?
#8 by Doc on 10.30.06 10:04 am |
Paul,
What did you think of the all black Under Armour uniforms worn by Maryland on Saturday Night against Florida State. and how about the long sleeves shirt worn underneath the jersey.
#9 by Chris Hilf on 10.30.06 10:10 am |
That helmet decal article is interesting. It says Pitt doesn’t wear their anymore. I noticed this earlier in their season. They used to - even recently. I will investigate to see if I can find out why they stopped.
#10 by Ed Gaug on 10.30.06 10:13 am |
As an ex-lineman, I wish has my jersey sleeves cut like that. I had full sleeves with the massive lineman pads and you simply couldn’t move you arms past 90 degrees. Practice jerseys were actually much more comfortable because they were loose and had half sleeves.
#11 by Phil on 10.30.06 10:13 am |
Paul,
I’d like your opinion on Maryland’s undershirts also.
Plus, what on earth are the things college football players are wearing on their arms? Here’s a pic.
#12 by Mark Mihalik on 10.30.06 10:16 am |
Here are the pictures… sorry I couldn’t get any better ones without the Getty overlay. He’s #23.
Dada and And 1
Nike and adidas
#13 by Joe Hilseberg on 10.30.06 10:21 am |
You beat me to it! Here are 2 pics….
I don’t mind the black jerseys at all when paired with the white pants. All black would be a nightmare!!!
#14 by Joe Hilseberg on 10.30.06 10:23 am |
Here’s the 2nd pic…
#15 by Chris Doran on 10.30.06 10:27 am |
Ok, I got used to logo creep on goalie’s pads, glove, blocker and stick, but square in the middle of the mask ?!? Now that’s gonna take a lot to get used to…
#16 by Paul Lukas on 10.30.06 10:28 am |
Not a fan of all the extraneous piping and such. But I think the red-trimmed undersleeves actually look pretty swank. Two simple red stripes — so much better than all the gobbledygook Nike usually puts on sleeves.
Additional photo galleries available here.
#17 by Matt B on 10.30.06 10:35 am |
Plus, what on earth are the things college football players are wearing on their arms?
They make the upper arms narrower at the shoulders and elbows, giving the biceps better definition. These guys really want to show off their 24 inch pythons.
#18 by Mark in Shiga on 10.30.06 10:37 am |
Robert, there have been several examples in the Japanese baseball leagues. Numbers can’t overlap between the big-league team and the JV, so minor leaguers get stuck with numbers in the 50s and 60s, the coaches get the 70s and 80s, and the 90s are left for mid-season signees, bullpen catchers, and BP pitchers. When that’s not enough (particularly with the staffers), they go over 100. Here’s a height-of-fashion #102 Buffaloes jacket, and the same team’s red jersey. Here’s an Orix Blue Wave BP pitcher jersey #104, and this is a Carp interpreter wearing 120.
Where things really get interesting is with the new system (started in 2006) of “developmental players”. They aren’t eligible to be called up to the majors and are paid pittances. Most of the teams decided to squeeze these guys in with the staffers in the low 100s, but the Chunichi Dragons went a step further!
I can’t wait to see what happens if a Japanese team decides to create a whole chain of teams, Branch Rickey-style. They’ll end up looking like the guy on the right.
#19 by Tom on 10.30.06 10:40 am |
Some nice socks stripes in this picture.
You may also note that that they match the sweater sleeve stripes, if not distracted.
#20 by Gary on 10.30.06 10:49 am |
Rutgers, who has some of the greatest uniforms in college football, finally manages to get some major network television coverage, and what do they wear. This. Ugh.
#21 by Mark Mihalik on 10.30.06 10:51 am |
I’m guessing that Vinatieri’s undershirt is this, a Reebok shirt. It’s the only one I could find with white piping, and you can see a visible white line leading up to Vinatieri’s collar in this photo. Since Vinatieri wears Reebok cleats (most athletes wear consistently branded equipment), this would be logical…
#22 by JJD on 10.30.06 10:59 am |
Kind of a weird deal in the Washington-ASU game from Saturday. The Huskies have lots of double-numbers, and the two guys that wear 17 are punter Sean Douglas and back-back-backup QB Felix Sweetman. When Washington’s QB got injured they had to use Sweetman to hold for placekicks, and they had him don a #40 jersey on top of his #17. I’m not really sure why it was necessary since they Douglas doesn’t take the field for placekicks.
I tried to find a photo but haven’t been successful so far.
#23 by Lou on 10.30.06 11:00 am |
I have to agree with you. It is far more offensive to see these guy’s underarms than to see someone with an untucked jersey or socks that are too low. I have no idea what the NFL is thinking here but this look is DISGUSTING and something needs to be done about it.
Maybe Paul could start another petition!
#24 by Steve on 10.30.06 11:08 am |
Watching the Giants game yesterday, my sister made an interesting point. Frank Gifford and some other oldsters were on hand for an anniversary celebration, but while the Giants were wearing blue, Gifford was wearing white…to the casual fan, it didn’t even look like they were representing the same team.
#25 by Chris Doran on 10.30.06 11:10 am |
From the makers of “Ditch the Black”…comes “Punt the Pits!!!”
#26 by Mark in Shiga on 10.30.06 11:13 am |
Maybe more than one player can’t occupy the same number in the same game. Had Douglas punted previously in that game?
#27 by Jonathon on 10.30.06 11:16 am |
Auburn, also an Under Armour school, is wearing similar undershirts. Paul referenced them a few weeks ago after the Auburn-South Carolina game. David Irons, in particular, likes to wear them.
#28 by Banker Bill on 10.30.06 11:19 am |
Easier than putting the Spanish version of “Hey, look at me with my Golden Mohawk and gold teeth - never mind the fact that normally, I couldn’t score if I walked into a $5 whorehouse with a fistful of $100’s.”
But I digress….
#29 by Jim on 10.30.06 11:19 am |
Ment to post this last week. Article about Rex Grossman’s chinstrap.
#30 by Jonathon on 10.30.06 11:19 am |
Jags looked good in the white-on-whites yesterday in Philly. They also looked good in kicking Philly’s behind up and down the field.
http://sports.yahoo....
#31 by Bill on 10.30.06 11:26 am |
any images of the new “purdue pete” merit decals referenced in the article?
#32 by MetsFan AZ on 10.30.06 11:26 am |
I don’t think that’s a rule. U of AZ has two number 1’s a WR/KR and DE. They both start and see plenty of playing time.
#33 by Matt R. on 10.30.06 11:32 am |
I believe that the college rule is that players with the same number can’t be on the field at the same time. Generally, therefore, when players share the same number, one is an offensive player and the other is a defensive player. Not sure why Washington made the player change his number.
#34 by Mark Mihalik on 10.30.06 11:33 am |
Getting back to the Darryl Dawkins thing… I couldn’t find any photos of the incident (it may have only been for one game, and there’s not extensive archived photos from back in the 80s), but it appears that this happened in 1982. This article references the incident at the bottom, and I found a New York Times article that discusses a 1982 “sneaker war” between Nike and Pony over Dawkins. Here’s an excerpt:
Darryl Dawkins’s feet belonged to Nike. So when the center of the Philadelphia 76ers showed up on the basketball court in May wearing shoes made by Pony Sports & Leisure, there was big trouble. What galled Nike officials most was that Mr. Dawkins, known as ‘’Chocolate Thunder,'’ had asked for, and received, a $20,000 advance on his $50,000-a-year endorsement contract only a few weeks before his defection. Then, too, Mr. Dawkins’s shoe switch came in the middle of the National Basketball Association playoffs -when his feet would be most conspicuous - and left Nike with 20,000 useless ‘’Chocolate Thunder'’ posters. Nike promptly sued Mr. Dawkins, striking the first legal blow in what could become an all-out sneaker war.
So, I’m assuming this story is true… it would be great if we could find a photo, though.
#35 by John Ekdahl on 10.30.06 11:34 am |
I’m prefer “…score in a women’s prison with a fistful of pardons”
#36 by Mark Mihalik on 10.30.06 11:36 am |
Another humorous part of that Times article, however, was this:
Mr. Werkschul said Nike had also terminated contracts with about a half-dozen athletes who had used Nike’s logo on another brand of shoe. Charges that Mike Schmidt of the Philadelphia Phillies was wearing shoes with a doctored logo once came up as a peripheral matter in a tangled antitrust suit between Brooks and Nike, but apparently neither side thought Mr. Schmidt was acting in bad faith.
Reminds me of when Doug Mientkiewicz put an adidas logo on Nike cleats (he was under contract with adidas) last year.
#37 by Mike Miller on 10.30.06 11:44 am |
I know this may be sacreligious, but I think the NFL may need to go away from the zebra stripes for officials and into another color. I had a really hard time yesterday watching the Jags-Eagles game picking out the officials from the Jags players. The Jags were wearing all-white with black trim and black helmets which is pretty similar to a referee uniform.
Maybe they need to go the soccer route an have a couple of different referee jerseys.
#38 by tedkerwin on 10.30.06 11:47 am |
Regarding the Giants honoring the 1956 Championship game, the 1956 players were wearing the white jerseys with red trim, the former Giants wearing blue were past members of the Giants that were not on the 1956 team, hence the different color jerseys. The guys in blue just showed up as part of the ceremony.
#39 by WVU Tom on 10.30.06 11:48 am |
They weren’t all black, at least they wore white pants to prevent the “unitard” look. Not sure how I felt about them–black has always been a Maryland color (as the state flag is black/yellow/red/white, same as school colors), but it pains that 99% of the time alternate jerseys like these are the result of a marketing ploy, and not a desire to improve a teams on-field appearance.
#40 by New Orleans on 10.30.06 11:50 am |
Football jerseys should have sleeves… perhaps short sleeves, but sleeves. More and more football jerseys are coming to resemble basketball jerseys. If the problem is eliminating more fabric that opponenets can grab on to you would think that Nike or some other manufacturer would come up with a design for tight fitting sleeves to eliminate the players’ concerns. With all of the different panels made up of different materials performing different functions on modern football jerseys you would think that grab resistant sleeves would be a no-brainer. I know that in the grander scheme of things this may be a non-issue, but I would like to see football maintain some traditional apearance.
#41 by Lou on 10.30.06 11:55 am |
A lot of younger fans do not seem to realize this, but in the 1950s and early 60s the Giants frequently wore the white jerseys with red trim and red numbers at home.
#42 by Kramer on 10.30.06 11:58 am |
i went onto that room painter thing and searched the schemes for the raiders and mets and wouldn’t you know that there was BLACK for the METS thank god for people unafraid of changes. on a side note the raiders room looked amazingly sharp.
#43 by JFL on 10.30.06 11:59 am |
I am pretty sure the rule is that there can be multiple players wearing the same number as long as they play on opposite sides of the ball. Since, the punter and the quarterback both technically play offense that they both could not wear 17. Thus the new jersey.
#44 by Jason on 10.30.06 12:00 pm |
On the Home Depot topic, when my wife and I purchased our house I wanted a “Brewers” room so I had the paint made up at Home Depot. The blue looked really weird, almost purple-ish, but the gold was really cool. I didn’t purchase the “brewers blue” but found a reasonable substitute. My point is if you want to try this, have them make 1 gallon first and check the color. They won’t charge you if you don’t like it. Cool concept, though, and the room is pretty sweet. (If you’re a Brewer fan)
#45 by New Orleans on 10.30.06 12:02 pm |
Jeez… it’s still morning and already two of my pet-peeves have been brought up, duplicate numbers and sleeveless football jerseys. I can go take a nap now…
#46 by todd krevanchi (krvanch) on 10.30.06 12:24 pm |
Paging Messrs. Krevanchi and Mihalik:
must be a lehigh valley thing…
#47 by tedkerwin on 10.30.06 12:44 pm |
I noticed the Nike counter is gone, is that due to inactivity over the last few weeks?
#48 by Jon on 10.30.06 12:52 pm |
Great post on the Japanese ballplayers in the 100s above.
#49 by Dave on 10.30.06 12:53 pm |
http://www.fanblogs....
Louisville in all black Thurs night
#50 by John Ekdahl on 10.30.06 12:56 pm |
Yeah. I don’t know whether they stopped visiting or switched to a different IP range. It doesn’t really matter, the point was made.
#51 by Pat on 10.30.06 12:59 pm |
Socks?
#52 by Chris on 10.30.06 12:59 pm |
I was at the Titans/Texans game yesterday and sat right behind the Texans bench. I noticed that both David Carr and Sage Rosenfels both have their uni number on their wristbands.
#53 by Andy on 10.30.06 1:00 pm |
I was watching a college football game this weekend and saw a team playing where a lot of their linemen had shirts under their uniforms with the sleeves coming out past their uniform sleeves…about halfway down their biceps. They looked like they had a spider-man print on them…like the uniforms the US Olympic Ski team wore a few Olympics ago. I don’t remember what team it was though…
#54 by BJ on 10.30.06 1:01 pm |
I mentioned this before, but does anyone know if Nike is coming to its senses regarding their undersleeves? FSU players were wearing a different design the other day.
The upper left sleeve was Garnet, and below the bicep it went to gold. There was also a block of gold on the shoulder. It didn’t have the stupid TriBolt logo (their term, not mine).
Now, it’s not as classy as the UMD version, but a step in the right direction.
#55 by Mike on 10.30.06 1:06 pm |
It’s not supposed to say “eighty-five”, so it wasn’t a faux pas. It is supposed to say “eight five”. It’s more street. When people refer to Detroit, they say “three one three”. Same kinda concept.
#56 by Kelli on 10.30.06 1:14 pm |
I prefer ‘Pitch the Pits’, but either way there is a lot of spitting involved.
#57 by BtotheE on 10.30.06 1:25 pm |
Great link. The player who I believe started this trend is Deion Sanders. Cornerbacks followed his lead and it went on to other positions. Not calling Grossman a lier(he made audibles in college, atleast under Spurrier W/it strapped), but you can call out plays with your chinsrap buckled, otherwise Payton Manning would not have a helmet even on. It could be a dangerous trend, an other quarterback that does it on a regular base is Mike Vick, here. and here.
#58 by Steve-O on 10.30.06 1:27 pm |
what i really think needs to be done is stop the jaguars from ever wearing those hidious uniforms again. they don’t look so bad when they do white on black, but any team wearing white on white should be kicked out of the league
#59 by Chuck D on 10.30.06 1:30 pm |
Comment #22 -
The University of Hawai’i Football squad has two players wearing the same uni number for #’s 9, 11, 12, 15, 19, 23, 25, 34, 44, 45 and 58.
Good luck to the public address guy.
#60 by Paul on 10.30.06 1:32 pm |
the same uniform number rule states that the players cant be on the field at the same time. So you can have a punter and a QB with the same number but one has to change if they both have to be on the field. So the third QB probably got the new number instead of the starting punter due to seniority probably
#61 by JJD on 10.30.06 1:33 pm |
That doesn’t really make a lot of sense, though. Why would they issue the QB #17 in the first place if he couldn’t have the same number as the punter?
Washington has always had double-numbers. A few years ago in an Apple Cup game they had Reggie Williams play a couple of snaps at corner and he had to put a #19 jersey over his customary #1 because Jafar Williams played LB and he was also #1. THAT scenario makes more sense than it did in this case.
#62 by Steve-O on 10.30.06 1:34 pm |
Even though this trend does look pretty bad, I think it helps the lineman out a ton. I know when I was playing, it was really hard to get my arms out with a full sleeve.
#63 by Adam on 10.30.06 1:35 pm |
Pitt got rid of the decals last season, coinciding with their new (at least, last year) uniforms. Not sure why. But the 2004 season was the last sighting.
#64 by Jeff on 10.30.06 1:36 pm |
Punter is usually considered a defensive position and placekicker offensive, no? If this is the case, holder would be an offensive position, and the punter (now holding placekicks) would now be an offensive player.
#65 by Adam on 10.30.06 1:38 pm |
Eh. Rutgers mixes up their pant/jersey combos all the time for the all red or all white look. This isn’t the first time they have gone all red this year.
#66 by bluenoser on 10.30.06 1:43 pm |
I think you may be confusing the logo in the middle of Luongo’s mask for that of the evil empire when it is in fact their retro team logo!!
http://www.canadiand...
#67 by Adam on 10.30.06 1:45 pm |
Not sure what the whole “Purdue Pete” thing is about. It looks like a hammer to me! (like the ones they used on railroad tracks back in the day).
Here’s a pic I cropped for you.
#68 by New Orleans on 10.30.06 1:46 pm |
Duplicate numbers in college football may have something to do with freshman eligibility. Back in the day when a high school quarterback, for example, was signed he was probably given a QB number on the college freshman team. If he changed positions he was usually given a new number appropriate for that position when he made the varsity. Now I would bet that some signees are promised that they’ll be allowed to wear their high school numbers in college. Look at Joseph Addai for example, the ex-LSU running back. He was a high school quarterback and he wore #10, a traditional QB number, at LSU for his entire career as a running back at LSU. You see college linebackers now wearing #10. In fact I saw a college game a few weeks ago on TV (can’t remember which one) in which there were standout players on the same team on offense and defense each wearing #10. It gets a little confusing…
#69 by Andrew F on 10.30.06 1:53 pm |
I think he was talking about the giant RBK that’s attached to said logo
#70 by justin on 10.30.06 1:59 pm |
Regarding UW’s Felix Sweetman wearing #40 over his #17 jersey…
He first came in as the upback on punting formations, so he couldn’t wear #17. He put on the #40 for that, and therefore had to wear it as the placekick holder as well.
#71 by BtotheE on 10.30.06 2:01 pm |
About jersey numbers, Florida State has three #16’s. Two backup quarterbacks and a backup punter. Sidenote, it is also a retired jersey (not number, of Chris Wienke) so players can still wear it.
#72 by JJD on 10.30.06 2:01 pm |
CLARIFICATION: It turns out Sweetman DID actually get in on the punt-coverage team, so he was on the field with Douglas. I thought he was just holding for PATs.
#73 by JJD on 10.30.06 2:02 pm |
Justin beat me to it. Thanks, Justin.
#74 by bluenoser on 10.30.06 2:07 pm |
Don’t mind me..1000 apologies, I’ll wake up soon….poker last night, LOL!!
#75 by Chris Hilf on 10.30.06 2:11 pm |
Huh?
#76 by Eric on 10.30.06 2:29 pm |
Johnny Canuck is pretty cool.
The same website had this pic which shows that the original Vancouver unis had an awesome detail I never saw before: A “V” is carved out of the sleeve stripe by negative space. Very cool
#77 by AJ on 10.30.06 2:30 pm |
At the Indiana-Mich. St. game Saturday I noticed several of the IU players wearing mismatched sleeves-one crimson, one white. IU wears Adidas, not Nike. Is Adidas making mismatched sleeves now too, or could these be self-made shirts?
#78 by John B. on 10.30.06 2:39 pm |
Beauty is in the eye of the Buffalsug…or you might not like the design of the Sabers new identity but apparently 900% more of Sabres fans do.
Sports Business Journal
October 23-29 Issue // Coast to Coast Section
Sales of Sabres Gear Up 900%
The Sabres have the top-selling jersey on NHL.com since their new logo and color scheme last month. Sabers merchandise has accounted for almost 10 percent of all products sold on the Web site. From Sept.12 to Oct. 16, sales of Sabres gear was up almost 900 percent compared with the same period last year. Overall sales on NHL.com this month are up 85 percent compared with 2005.
#79 by Andrew on 10.30.06 2:42 pm |
First time commenter here.
I thought the item on Paul Stastny’s number was interesting, since Peter played for the Nordiques who are now the Avs. Can anyone else think of a player wear the same number as his dad for the same franchise? I can only come up with 2: Brett Hull played briefly last season with the Coyotes wearing the 9 his dad was with Winnipeg, and there was Ken Griffey Jr.’s brief stint in a Reds #30.
#80 by Josh Peterson on 10.30.06 2:43 pm |
Didn’t Colorado bring the retired #’s the franchise had in Quebec. Is Petr Stastny’s #26 still retired and he allowed his son to wear it or did Colorado leave all of the other retired #’s behind when the moved south?
#81 by David on 10.30.06 2:58 pm |
They unretired all of the Nords numbers when they moved to Colorado in ‘96.
#82 by Minna H on 10.30.06 3:01 pm |
Wow! Busy place today. First of all, Banker Bill and Ek, you guys should do an act together. You guys crack me up with that riff on Ocho Cinco.
Second, Joe H., as I said before, what FSU wore was not true black. The ‘tribute’ uni had some sort of weird greenish tint to it. This is true black, and it looks damn good. Besides, they are the Ravens. They should be in black.
Finally, Mark in Shiga. Yes, I am Asian. The reason my name is spelled with two Ns is because my parents named me after MN as well as because it translates nicely into Chinese (even though we are Taiwanese). There are a few of us up here in the chilly north!
p.s. I, too, like the Maryland unis except for the random striping. A nice way to blend the old and the new.
#83 by Mark Mihalik on 10.30.06 3:01 pm |
Junior wore #30 for six years. He only changed into #3 this season.
#84 by Chad E. on 10.30.06 3:03 pm |
Indiana wears underarmor for underwear. Tracey Porter was wearing the half/half you speak of.
#85 by Minna H on 10.30.06 3:07 pm |
John B., I think sales are up because the jerseys are new, not because of any love for the Buffaslug. As discussed before, many fans will compulsively buy whatever crap the manufacturers throw at them.
Hey, Teebz, Riley, Kenny, bluenose, ESS (Not sure the initials are right, but there are three, and one is an E), et. al. We’re talking hockey, y’all. Come out and play!
#86 by Minna H on 10.30.06 3:08 pm |
Bluenoser. If I’m going to give you a shout-out, I should try to get your name right.
#87 by Kramer on 10.30.06 3:11 pm |
if anyone is bored go onto nflshop.com and look at the new storm sideline gear, and look at those Jerseys
#88 by Mark Fimoff on 10.30.06 3:18 pm |
Bring back the original blue and gold with the awesome striped socks.
#89 by Burrill on 10.30.06 3:27 pm |
At the Michigan game Saturday, I sat a few rows behind a guy wearing a black Michigan jersey. I really am getting tired of this — wear the team colors already! At least the guy wearing the retro Sabres jersey was wearing blue and yellow. (And he was wearing a cool jersey.)
Oh, and going back to Friday (I tend not to check the site very often on weekends): my office is in the middle of plant operations, so some of the guys who come into the office are not restricted by any office dress code (just practicality). Hence the man in the problematic Tigers hat.
#90 by BtotheE on 10.30.06 3:32 pm |
Some players have their number retired (2, Deion Sanders, 17, Charle Ward, while others have their jersey retired (For show in the stadium athletic center) such as Weinke(16) and Warrick Dunn(28). Players can wear these numbers, such as Chris Rix changed his number from 15 to 16 after Weinke left, (now three have it) and Lorenzo Booker wears 28. They might have to get permission from the former players to wear it, but I am not sure.
#91 by J. Deaton on 10.30.06 3:34 pm |
As far as Chad Johnson’s nameplate, I would bet that it was made at Kock’s Sporting Goods in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is about 5 blocks from PBS and if they can’t make it, you don’t need it. The did all of the Reds and Bengals lettering for decades until recently.
#92 by Alex Kibler on 10.30.06 3:56 pm |
I remember going to a soccer game at Elon College several years back, where my father and I were both tickled pink that the Goalie’s number was 911. This was obviously before Septbember 11th, and at the time, it was pretty dang funny.
#93 by jwb on 10.30.06 4:00 pm |
#94 by jwb on 10.30.06 4:03 pm |
that didn’t quite work
what i meant to say is the first photo is a photo shopped picture of Leon Washington from a game last year of what the uniform was suppose to look like.
While the second photo was the actual game jersey a “true black” if you must honoring the Seminole Tribes colors of Black, Garnet and Gold.
#95 by Jeff I on 10.30.06 4:05 pm |
Dig the shout-out, thanks Paul.
Time to update my resume… and my computer from MS Paint to Photoshop ha!
Anyone think the Sabres uni sales is in part to the fact that they overhauled their color scheme and the core fan base doesn’t want to look out of date, no matter how horrendous the unis are?
#96 by Minna H on 10.30.06 4:05 pm |
Ok. jwb, that looks better, but the unis are way too busy. Plus, I saw part of the game on tv, and the FSU unis did not look true black to me.
Let’s put it this way: that uni is just wrong, regardless of color.
#97 by Nolan on 10.30.06 4:07 pm |
I was going to bring this up the other day, the team pays Mike Vick a $25million signing bonus on top of his salary, and they don’t want him to keep his helmet on?
In the Arizona/Chicago MNF game, Leinart went up to the line for a play and didn’t have either of his straps snapped, what happened? He was sacked and his helmet came off.
I’m sure the team could make them buckle up if they really wanted to, right?
#98 by Kenny on 10.30.06 4:07 pm |
Sorry I’ve been M.I.A. and I haven’t posted at all this weekend, but Halloween weekend was kind of crazy (plus I was too busy being extremely ecstatic over the WS win by STL).
- The Maryland sleeves were OK at best in my
opinion. FSU’s = hideous
- Loved what Ocho Cinco did. And if my memory is correct, I know baseball players call teammates by their number and when I was playing football we did the same thing - nice block seven four, good move six
- The Bears orange jerseys look odd to me. Once a year is good enough to see them, especially when they play the 49ers.
- One word: UGLY!!
- Brady Quinn’s exposed knees again
- Good thing Navy has their name on their jersey otherwise it would look like ND was scrimmaging in Baltimore
- R.I.P. Red
#99 by bluenoser on 10.30.06 4:48 pm |
Fear not Minna I am listening,and being a current resident of Niagara Falls,On, may have some insight on this particular topic. I was at the home opener of the Sabres against my beloved Habs (don’t get me started) and there were a significant # of the new jerseys but they were being sported mostly by kids, yes the blind masses the NHL does indeed target with the new crap. Speaking to many of the more mature Buffalo fans, they almost unanimously hated the new jersey! Another major factor in the increased sales is the fact that the team is 10-1 and everything Sabres is hot right now, the band-wagon is getting very crowded and everyone is buying the Slug to show their new found pride!! The shame in all of this is that the die hard, long time fan will probably have to put up with the slug as a result of this wave of blindness!!
#100 by Andy on 10.30.06 4:51 pm |
Found it.
#101 by Banker Bill on 10.30.06 4:57 pm |
Thanks Minna - nice to know that bad humor is still appreciated!
Article on nhl.com about the Washington Capitals wearing WHITE PANTS when they debuted - I had forgotten that. Pics at nhluniforms.com
John Buccigross mentioned the Sabres logo resemblance to “Barney Rubble’s toupee” today - we have someone (I forget who) who has been calling the Sabres the “Barney Rubble Hairpieces” for about a month…you should write him and link to the first time you mentioned it on here!!
#102 by Banker Bill on 10.30.06 5:01 pm |
Buccigross is on espn.com by the way - best hockey columnist there is - his mailbag is hilarious every week.
#103 by Vegas4BOC on 10.30.06 5:02 pm |
In this social & politically correct world of ours, it’s pretty cool to see video clips of Red Auerbach smoking a Stogie on the sidelines while in the middle of a game, coaching.
This belongs to the Uniwatch category of accessories. I’d thought it be cool to list coaches that did this during games, etc.
#104 by Vegas4BOC on 10.30.06 5:08 pm |
No, the Barney Rubble hairpiece has been mentioned many months ago over at the SabresReport.com forum.