By Vince Grzegorek
A moderately warm December has given way to a winter that seems to have had snow, ice, and cold on repeat. It wasn’t too long ago that I golfed on both Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve in wonderfully autumn-like temperatures, but now Mother Nature is making up for lost time, and I don’t want to leave my house.
Fortunately, baseball is around the corner. With pitchers and catchers reporting soon, I figured it was time to pick up a good baseball book and wait for the snow to melt.
My choice was Game Time: A Baseball Companion by longtime New Yorker writer Roger Angell (that’s him at the top of the page), whose baseball prose is the perfect remedy for the winter blues. In many ways, in fact, Angell’s writing is the perfect antidote to the tabloid-esque news of the off-season. Instead of free agent talk, contract discussions, and steroid speculation, Angell provides stories, in the old-fashioned sense of the word. He sits down with some of the game’s greats and elicits interesting tales about their days on the diamond while steering clear of obvious or already well-known ideas.
Sometimes Angell lets the stories shine by celebrating their truthiness while ignoring, or even distorting, certain facts, until the end of the tale, citing them finally as humorous or ironic bookends to fond, but hazy, baseball memories. Sometimes what’s important isn’t what really happened — it’s what we remember happening. The effect is that you feel like you’re at spring training, or in the bleachers for a day game during June, and you have the whole afternoon to sit back and remember and tell baseball stories.
This isn’t a uni-centric book per se, but there are several interesting uni-related tidbits worth mentioning. You may already know of some of these (like the fact that Bob Gibson always wore a long-sleeved shirt under his jersey), and others you may not know, or want to (like a certain player’s underwear). Here’s a sampling:
Page 220: “Watching [Joe Wood], I recalled one of the pictures in the “The Glory of Their Times” — a team photograph taken in 1906, in which he is sitting cross-legged down in the front of a row of men in baggy baseball pants and lace-up, collared baseball shirts with “NESS CITY” across the front in block letters. The men are standing in attitudes of cheerful assurance, with their arms folded, and their mushy little baseball gloves are hanging from their belts. Joe Wood, the smallest player in the picture, is wearing a dark warmup suit, with the sleeves rolled halfway up his forearms, and his striped baseball cap is pushed back a little, revealing a part in the middle of his hair.”
Page 236: “Randy Myers, the ex-Met longterm subscriber to Soldier of Fortune magazine … had only lately stopped wearing camouflage underwear under his uniform.”
Page 267: “[T]he clubhouse was delighted by the arrival of the amiable all-purpose infielder, Luis Sojo, an old friend and teammate who had been in temporary residence with the Pirates. He’d been let go after the 1999 campaign — according to one story because George Steinbrenner didn’t like his habit of leaving the top button of his uniform unbuttoned.”
Page 304: “The frowsy, hard-playing Gorman Thomas is a walking strip mine. He has worn the same pair of uniform stockings — now as threadbare as the Shroud of Turin — in every game since Opening Day 1978.” [To fully appreciate the longevity of Thomas’ hosiery, consider the fact that Angell wrote this particular essay in 1982. — VG]
Page 306: “When [Willie McGee] was acquired from the Yankees in a minor-league-level swap last year, no one in either club thought to tell him about the deal, which he first learned of in a buried sports-page item, and he still wears the anonymously high uniform number — 51 — that he was given in spring training.”
Pages 350-51: “The Red Sox are also the only team whose favorite slugger, the gently ferocious DH Manny Ramirez, wears the outsized pants of the fattest player on the squad, reliever Rich (El Guapo) Garces, for the style’s sake.”
Page 357: “[There was a] recent moment, undreamed of in “Field of Dreams or “Casey at the Bat,” when Omar Vizquel, the Indians shortstop, complained to an ump about the distracting earrings sported by Seattle reliever Arthur Rhodes, and won an on-the-spot disjewelment… [Incidentally, the next pitch Rhodes threw after being forced to remove his earrings was around Vizquel’s head, inciting a brief war of words and Rhodes’s ejection from the game. –VG]
Page 383: “Now it’s happened. Jackie Autry, [Gene Autry’s] widow, produced his white cowboy hat at the on-field award ceremonials after the team put down the San Francisco Giants, 4-1, in the seventh and deciding World Series game, and waved it for the exulting scarlet-clad home crowd. It was like George Steinbrenner brandishing Babe Ruth’s bow tie, only sweeter.”
As with everything else in the book, these little details seem to surface effortlessly, and to the benefit of the story being told. I realize that’s hard to tell from the excerpts, so go ahead and read the whole book.
(Non)Tangential Bonus Material: You may have noticed in one of the comments sections from last week that the new AHL team in Cleveland (where the Uni Watch Intern Dept. is headquartered) finally has a name and a logo. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Lake Erie Monsters.
A couple thoughts on the choice: First, I like the fact that they went with “Lake Erie” instead of “Cleveland” in the name. It gives it a more geographic feel. Second, I’m not in love with the “Monsters” name, but it has the sort of hokey appeal that is generally celebrated with minor-league teams. That being said, I’m not quite sure “Monsters” was the right choice, but I’m willing to take it, especially given the earlier rumors that the team would be called the Cleveland Fighting Walleye. Walleyes don’t fight. They get battered and fried as delicious meals.
Finally, the logo is actually pretty cool looking (here’s the secondary logo), even if it doesn’t resemble the monster portrayed in this poster, but I wonder why they have the Monster swimming in water. We’re talking about hockey here, which is played on ice, and Lake Erie freezes in the winter, so why not have the Monster’s head breaking through some jagged Lake Erie ice? Scarier, don’t you think?
#1 by Mike on 02.07.07 9:18 am |
Very nice tidbit about the Lake Erie Monsters. Also like the Lake name to give it a more regional feeling, but I feel like it slights the fact that the city and people of metro Cleveland is supporting the team. They get left out of the equation because their name is absent.
Being from Buffalo, though, and since we share a lake, I guess I should get a shirt.
Just thought I should add, ironically enough, the last few years (including this one) Lake Erie hasn’t frozen over…
#2 by John in Athens on 02.07.07 9:23 am |
I’ve found a cure for February: college baseball!
Opening Day is Friday!
GO DAWGS!*
#3 by Robert on 02.07.07 9:26 am |
I recall that Dwight Gooden also always wore a long-sleeve shirt under his jersey at the beginning of his career, no matter what the temperature.
http://images.google...
Tim McCarver once commented to the effect that Gooden would not be doing so after he hit his thirties, implying that old guys would be less tolerable of the heat. I guess that he was right.
#4 by John in Athens on 02.07.07 9:28 am |
*This GO DAWGS! moment brought to you by you know who.
#5 by John in Athens on 02.07.07 9:31 am |
I agree.
… unless they use water from the lake to make the ice!
#6 by Dane on 02.07.07 9:34 am |
Lake Erie freezes in the winter, so why not have the Monster’s head breaking through some jagged Lake Erie ice?
Lake Erie is so polluted that it does not freeze. It just changes from warm toxic sludge to cold toxic sludge.
#7 by Robert on 02.07.07 9:38 am |
Does this mean that I should cancel my plans to vacation on the beautiful beaches of Lake Erie?
#8 by Anthony Verna on 02.07.07 9:44 am |
I’m not a fan of pale ales, but this does bring to mind my favorite brewery.
http://www.greatlake...
#9 by D Schmitt on 02.07.07 9:47 am |
I’ve found a cure for February: college baseball
I concur - thank all that is good for college baseball. I did make it out last weekend to see Pacific v Cal State Northridge just because it was baseball. I chose to cheer for Pacific - coached by Ed Sprague - since they wore stirrups, while Northridge was sadly still wearing colored socks.
Unfortunately, this weekend is probably going to be rainy here in NorCal, so my baseball watching will be hampered. When will college baseball get the TV coverage it deserves?
#10 by Metsfan AZ on 02.07.07 9:59 am |
I remember this too, are you saying he stopped wearing sleeves? One of the last memories I have of him in a uni is atop the shoulders of Yankees after a no hitter and I remember sleeves. Couldn’t find a pic.
#11 by Tim on 02.07.07 10:00 am |
Lake Erie isn’t that bad, and yes, it does actually freeze.
Funny about you mentioning that the team was almost named the Fighting Walleye. I graduated from Port Clinton High School in Port Clinton, OH. Our mascot is the Redskins, but the town is (one of about 6) the self proclaimed Walleye Capital of the World. We have a Walleye Drop on New Year’s and a walleye festival Memorial Day weekend and everything.
Anyway, when we were in high school, we used to joke that if, for some reason, we were sued by any tribe, the sports teams would be the Fighting Walleye within a week. The school’s colors would change from red and white to lake water brown and toxic green, the uniforms would be the nastiest things in the history of mankind, but we would avoid having to pay out a settlement.
#12 by johnmark on 02.07.07 10:01 am |
I once read someone (George Plimpton? Can’t remember) who said that the real end of the baseball season for him didn’t happen with last out of the world series, but usually about a month later, sometime in late November when Angell’s season wrap-up piece would run in the New Yorker. I also read somewhere else that he was in many ways a precursor to sports blog writing, coming from a fan’s point of view, often watching and writing from his couch as much as from the stadium. Of course Angell’s craft is a little more refined than 99.9% of blogs out there, but Fear and Faith in Flushing looks like a clear descendent.
#13 by Jason on 02.07.07 10:01 am |
Ah, Stormin’ Gorman Thomas. There’s a guy who could wear some stirrups properly. Also Elliot Ness is my favorite Great Lakes brew.
#14 by Natron on 02.07.07 10:04 am |
Fighting Walleye? Good thing they didn’t try that… those of us who were devotees of the Minnesota Fighting Pike would freak out!
#15 by Joe on 02.07.07 10:07 am |
Found this site and thought a few people could dig it.
http://www.nhlunifor...
#16 by Teebz on 02.07.07 10:10 am |
The Lake Erie Monsters story broke on January 26th. I blogged about it myself.
The thing I find interesting is that the Colorado Avalanche will be the club’s NHL affiliate. Why is that some NHL teams afilliate themselves with teams that are thousands of miles away? I’ve never understood the reasoning for this.
#17 by Teebz on 02.07.07 10:12 am |
It’s been linked on the right for about a year now. It’s been used in many hockey uniform/jersey discussions.
#18 by Joe on 02.07.07 10:13 am |
yea i just found that. my bad people
#19 by Jonathon on 02.07.07 10:13 am |
Under Armour is hopping the pond. They’ve inked a deal with an English Premier League club, Reading, and a rugby club in the UK. Reading is currently outfitted by Puma. No pics, but this is an interesting development. Here’s the news link:
http://www.bizjourna...
#20 by Jonathon on 02.07.07 10:15 am |
I’m also curious to see what Under Armour has in the way of baseball unis. Auburn opens this Friday against Hofstra. The team will wear Under Armour unis and cleats. Auburn previously wore Russell jerseys, Nike cleats and TPX (Louisville Slugger) hats.
#21 by Teebz on 02.07.07 10:17 am |
With Under Armour being a US-based company, founded in the US, why was the spelling of Armour done in the Canadian/English way? Armor is the correct spelling, according to the American way. It goes along with these instances:
color/colour
favor/favour
neighbor/neighbour
There are many more, but I find it puzzling. Was there a patent on “Under Armor”?
#22 by DJL on 02.07.07 10:21 am |
I don’t know about anyone else, but from my desk, I can see that Lake Erie is most certainly freezing. Just as it did the year before, and the year before that.
#23 by Joe Hilseberg on 02.07.07 10:25 am |
The name is based on a celtic word, ‘ündrarmoür’, hence the spelling.
#24 by Robert on 02.07.07 10:28 am |
I think that he stopped wearing sleeves on hot days at the end of his career. Here is a photo.
http://cgi.ebay.com/...
#25 by Elwood on 02.07.07 10:31 am |
The Sharks wore white at home last night. Travel reasons? They have a Tuesday/Wednesday home-and-home with Anaheim.
#26 by Anthony Verna on 02.07.07 10:33 am |
I remember Bobby Clarke talking about the success of the Flyers-Phantoms relationship one time. He cited the closeness of the teams (across the street) helping to grow the minor league players. The teams can practice together once in awhile, the scouts can meet easily, etc., etc.
#27 by Patrick O'Donnell on 02.07.07 10:34 am |
Aston Villa of the EPL is going to be Nike sponsored starting next year.
Link.
#28 by Anthony Verna on 02.07.07 10:35 am |
That’s how they do it. Look at what I found.
http://www.underarmo...
I’m surprised, too.
#29 by Matt B on 02.07.07 10:37 am |
Aston Villa just signed a deal with Nike. I can’t find any photos. Maybe they can tweak the jerseys so I can tell AV and West Ham apart?
#30 by Jared on 02.07.07 10:39 am |
Sure… rip on Lake Erie… it’s so easy. C’mon lake Erie is cleaner now than it ever has been. By no fault other than the horrible Zebra Mussel that has infested its waters. They may clog up every pipe and tube leading into ships and out of the city, but the buggers clean the water beautifully. I fact the cities along the lake hire people to rake out the lake grass and algae that grows so quickly becaus ethe water is so clean.
Back to fish mascots though have we seen this one before:
#31 by Jared on 02.07.07 10:43 am |
Sorry here is the link:
Muskies
#32 by Cannon on 02.07.07 10:48 am |
More fish mascots … Muskies again
#33 by Tony The Tiger on 02.07.07 10:56 am |
There’s a little place in between Buffalo and Cleveland called Erie, PA. Its where I’m from. We have an Ontario Hockey League team here called the Otters. I have always thought the name was really stupid, but I think it coincided with the opening of an otter exhibit at Mike Birbiglia’s favorite zoo.
I’d like to give Cleveland a big handshake for picking a name that is not only clever but sort of makes it OUR team too.
I think that picture from the the poster was from the Tom Ridge Environmental Center, no?
Anyway, the logo is awesome and I will definitely be buying this jersey. :)
One more thing, Robert (#7) don’t cancel your trip - even if you got eaten by the Lake Erie Monster, wouldn’t it be a great story to tell everyone in heaven? ha ha ha…
#34 by Tony The Tiger on 02.07.07 10:59 am |
whoops… Mike Birbiglia’s favorite zoo.
For those unfamiliar with Mike’s stand up, he once called our zoo “the place where the old man in town has the most pets…I swear the fish exhibit was like looking into a can of tuna fish.”
#35 by Mark in Shiga on 02.07.07 11:00 am |
Non uni-related question, but why is it that a two-game set where each team has one home game and one road game is called “home-and-home”? It’s “road-and-home” for one team, and “home-and-road” for the other.
When I was about 12 years old and just getting into hockey, this word had me totally confused, and I went so far as to check team schedules to make sure that the phrase didn’t really mean what it looked like, which was two games in the same team’s home arena.
Must be one of those “you park on a driveway, but drive on a parkway” kinds of things.
#36 by Jonathon on 02.07.07 11:03 am |
In memory of Lew Burdette, who passed away yesterday, don’t be surprised if the Braves wear a memorial patch this season. It would probably be similar to the one worn for Warren Spahn. Burdette was MVP of the ‘57 World Series, going 3-0, posting a 0.67 ERA, and throwing 3 complete games, including the game 7 clincher. Burdette wore #33. No player currently on the Braves’ 40-man roster wears #33, but it has not been officially retired by the club.
Burdette article:
http://atlanta.brave...
Warren Spahn patch:
http://cgi.ebay.com/...
#37 by John Kuczaj on 02.07.07 11:04 am |
The Lake Erie Monsters!
I Love it!
Now I have a new favorite AHL team and logo since the Lowell Lock Monsters tragically became the Lowell Devils last year.
#38 by Teebz on 02.07.07 11:16 am |
Because you play at one team’s home rink, and the other team’s home rink. Hence, a “home-and-home” series. It’s not viewed as a “road-and-home” because the two-game series is viewed as one item. Same two teams in their respective home rinks = home-and-home series.
#39 by Dave Kaufman - The Extra Point on 02.07.07 11:22 am |
I can’t believe pitchers and catchers report already. The Superbowl just ended, didn’t it?
My favorite spring uni stems back from baseball card collecting days, Mike Schmidt in Philly Green for St. Pat’s Day.
Thanks to UniWatch for reminding me about Pitchers and Catchers reporting. I blogged it.
#40 by Alex on 02.07.07 11:45 am |
its frozen…its not frozen…can we get a decision here? someone go out there and chuck a good size rock, if it sinks to the bottom of that sucker then its not frozen…
maybe us CA guys will just never understand
#41 by Philly Bill on 02.07.07 12:14 pm |
All this talk of the Lake Erie Monsters and no one has suggested adding a little fire to that logo? C’mon now!
(Yes, I know it was technically the Cuyahoga River that caught fire in the infamous Cleveland Bottled Water Party of ‘69, but as you can see from that last photo, it was right near the mouth of Lake Erie.)
#42 by Joe on 02.07.07 12:18 pm |
I just stumbled across this picture from the NBA Development league, taken a week ago.
Any idea why they’re still using the synthetic ball? Did only the NBA change balls?
http://sports.yahoo....
#43 by Nolan on 02.07.07 12:21 pm |
I’m all for College Baseball, but I am not however ready for the pit stained jersey to reappear.
#44 by Jeremy on 02.07.07 12:23 pm |
A home and home is called a home and home because each team has a home game. That means it’s a home team for each team on back to back nights. Now that I think about it, it does sound kinda strange, but it’s one of those words that have been used for so long, that it’s just accepted.
#45 by Original Jim on 02.07.07 12:30 pm |
For most of its existence, the AHL was based in Eastern Canada and the Northeast US. And for the most part, the league has stayed in that general area. The recent Westward expansion came mostly from the folding of the IHL into the AHL.
The AHL is based out of Springfield, MA. and having many of the teams close to each other cuts down on travel expenses. In Lowell, for example, there are about 6 or 7 teams within a 3-hour drive. That makes it more convenient for travelling (at least in New England).
Players don’t really move around that much from the NHL to the AHL during the course of a season, so it’s more beneficial to have the minor league teams close to each other than it is to have the NHL and AHL affiliaites close by. If they are close, even better, but it’s not that much of a prerequisite.
#46 by Metsfan AZ on 02.07.07 12:39 pm |
Big reach here but that’s how my mind works. Someone mentioned earlier about College Baseball starting up (and the Wildcats are 4-0 btw). Well college baseball got me thinking of aluminum bats and how i like hearing the ping sound in person but not on TV. Then I was wondering if minor league baseball teams use aluminum for cost reasons. So I kind of tied the two together, NBA D-League and minor league baseball with the New Coke ball and aluminum bats. Thank you I’m done I need to take my meds now.
#47 by Brian from Short Island on 02.07.07 12:50 pm |
Looks like our previous Mexico jersey pictures are inaccurate… here’s what they’ll actually wear (or the white version thereof) tonight.
Why leave Nike? They don’t like the US!
#48 by Tony on 02.07.07 12:54 pm |
The official Super Bowl XLII logo was unveiled yesterday in Glendale, AZ. Have a feeling this will clash with most team colors.
#49 by Dave on 02.07.07 12:55 pm |
Excellent point. I’ve always wondered why Villa’s badge has stripes on it, but their unis don’t.
#50 by Metsfan AZ on 02.07.07 1:02 pm |
That’s the first link that I’ve been able to see at work, darn filter. Anyway, what I don’t like and it’s probably been mentioned, is the blue star which I assume represents the NFC. But the AFC star is the same salmon/pink color as the logo colors. By this logic the NFC star should be baby blue like the color in the logo. Pink?? Baby blue??? Are we sure this isn’t for the lingerie bowl????
#51 by The Gov'Nah on 02.07.07 1:08 pm |
Maybe it’s a homage to what could have been called “Pink Taco Stadium”. lol
#52 by Matthew S. on 02.07.07 1:13 pm |
I’m pretty sure that aluminum bats have never been used in minor league baseball. Some amatuer and semi-pro leagues allow aluminum bats, but
the minor league system and most independent leagues only permit wooden bats.
http://en.wikipedia....
Maybe, I’m misunderstanding you?
#53 by Metsfan AZ on 02.07.07 1:21 pm |
Yeah, I guess that was part of my post. I’m not sure I understand it myself, so thanks for taking a stab and for the info.
#54 by ACC (the Brain) on 02.07.07 1:21 pm |
I agree with the first guy. Home and home sounds stupid. It should be home-and-away - or away-and-home depending on the perspective of the team.
#55 by Metsfan AZ on 02.07.07 1:25 pm |
Keep it uni related, “We’re playing a white and color against the Rangers tonight and tomorrow.”
#56 by Mike Miller on 02.07.07 1:25 pm |
At various points, Aston Villa has had stripes in their jersey, last in 1999-2000. I think it’s a better look and sets them apart.
West Ham will be relegated the way they’re playing, so there will only be one claret/sky blue team in the premiership next year.
#57 by Broker75 on 02.07.07 1:31 pm |
No doubt February is a pretty boring month for sports, but the NHL is in top flite right now, anybody catch the Penguins and Canadiens’ past two games, can we say, new rivalry..! Don’t leave Pittsburgh Mr. Penguin.
College Baseball definitely deserves some regularly scheduled TV time, maybe I’ll talk to ’some people’…
#58 by Broker75 on 02.07.07 1:37 pm |
I caught the Florida Panthers on the NHL Network in their one and only Stanley Cup run in 1997? I think it was?, anyways, the fans were nuts about their team, I guess I forgot that there is actually hockey fans down there. It was the year when the fans through rats on the ice whenever the Panthers scored., it since has been banned, and so has throwing octupus in Detroit when the Wings were playing playoff hockey. man the NHL rocks.
#59 by Ron on 02.07.07 1:39 pm |
On the telecast last night, they mentioned that the Sharks will wear their dark jerseys, the Ducks their whites when the game shifts to Anaheim tonight.
We shall see.
#60 by ACC (the Brain) on 02.07.07 1:39 pm |
Not sure I agree.
Now that the Super Bowl is a Feb. event there’s a major championship in the month with the unis taking center stage.
NCAA baseball, NCAA basketball, NBA, NHL that’s a lot of games each night with uniforms to digest.
Plus the only exhibition games are all-star games and a few harmless MLB baseball games at the the end of the month. February is not boring to me at all for the American sports fan.
#61 by Broker75 on 02.07.07 1:41 pm |
yeah but, where can you pick up NCAA Baseball?
#62 by Mark in Shiga on 02.07.07 1:50 pm |
This “home-and-home” thing is nonsensical. The perspective shifts in mid-phrase! I could see it if it were a full explicit sentence (”We’re going to play them at [our] home, and then they’re going to play us at [their] home.”) …maybe.
You might as well call it a “visit-and-visit” since one team will be visiting and then the other team will.
Now this is the way to do it! Uniform sweaters save the day!
(…wait, do they wear color at home now, or white? ^_^;)
#63 by Stuby on 02.07.07 1:52 pm |
Car…Door. Possibly the worst SB logo ever, narrowly beating out this year’s and last year’s designs.
Found this site with all the logos (except this year’s). As you can see, they started out with just the typography, then moved into a red, white & blue period. Since about SB XXVII, different color schemes have been incorporated. I think the high-point of design was probably SB XXXI and XXXII; great logos that incorporated local flavor. We are now in a down period.
#64 by Richard on 02.07.07 1:52 pm |
on Fox Sports channels in your area.
#65 by Metsfan AZ on 02.07.07 1:54 pm |
Yup, pretty sure I was wrong as soon as I “said it”.
#66 by Teebz on 02.07.07 2:00 pm |
I disagree. There are player movements all the time. Toronto has its NHL and AHL affiliates in Toronto, and Chris Newbury has moved up and down all season long. However, the trip between Manitoba and Vancouver is a much longer one, and the trip for Manitoba to go to Rochester is also a long one.
That was the idea behind the Edmonton Oilers buying the old Roadrunners IHL franchise, and moving them to Edmonton from Phoenix. It made for easier and far less travelling between the big clubs and their AHL teams. It’s the same reason for the Marlies being founded in Toronto, the Phantoms being founded in Philly, and why the Grand Rapids Griffins are Detroit’s AHL affiliate. It makes better business sense to keep call-ups close.
As for the AHL being founded in the East, I accept that for the teams who are based in the East. Approximately two-thirds of the NHL teams are based east of Minneapolis.
However, Dallas is far closer to San Antonio than Phoenix is. The Blackhawks play in Chicago, but the Wolves are Atlanta’s AHL affiliate. Portland, Maine is home to the Pirates, AHL affiliate of the Anaheim Ducks who play on the opposite side of the continent. Omaha, Nebraska is home to the Ak-Sar-Ben Knights, but Calgary is their NHL affiliate.
I realize there’s a business relationship there, but the distance to call players up to the big team makes zero sense to me. The NHL schedule right now doesn’t have the Ducks entering the northeastern United States, so why have a team in Portland, Maine affiliated with the Ducks?
#67 by Teebz on 02.07.07 2:04 pm |
Um… hate to bring up this point, but it’s a home-and-home for both teams since both teams play one at home, and one away. Your “visit-and-visit” would make the team saying it the road team twice. That’s called a “road trip”. :o)
#68 by Jason on 02.07.07 2:14 pm |
I think the high-point of design was probably SB XXXI and XXXII; great logos that incorporated local flavor. We are now in a down period.
At least the Super Bowl, World Series and, to some extent, the Stanley Cup Finals take the opportunity to change their logo from year to year. The NBA has been stuck in this rut for several years now. Something needs to be done here.
#69 by Jason on 02.07.07 2:16 pm |
yeah but, where can you pick up NCAA Baseball?
on Fox Sports channels in your area.
Except of course, in Chicago, where said channel doesn’t exist. Not that I have a hankerin’ for Big Ten baseball.
#70 by Burrill on 02.07.07 2:19 pm |
How about a two-day hospitality exchange?
#71 by Matthew S. on 02.07.07 2:22 pm |
And the Houston Aeros are the minor league affiliate of the Minnesota Wild….that could actually work for a road trip, does I-45 go all the way north to Minneapolis?
#72 by Teebz on 02.07.07 2:31 pm |
Wouldn’t the current Iowa Stars be a better choice for Minneapolis? Why don’t Dallas and Minnesota just swap affiliates?
Ok, it’s not that easy, but you know what I mean. :o)
#73 by Stuby on 02.07.07 2:32 pm |
I like the term ‘play-dates’
#74 by specs on 02.07.07 2:38 pm |
I’m not sure I follow your logic. If a “visit-and-visit” makes the team saying it the road team twice, then a “home-and-home” would make the team saying it the home team twice. I grew up saying “home-and-away”, which makes the most sense to me, because no matter which team’s perspective you’re looking from, it remains accurate (and consistent, as Mark in Shiga pointed out).
#75 by Mark in Shiga on 02.07.07 2:42 pm |
Teebs, this comment was rhetorical — “visit-and-visit” is equivalent to, and just as illogical as, “home-and-home”. The “white-and-color” thing is sounding pretty good, but “home-and-away” makes the most immediate sense to a neophyte.
Is there any other English phrase that reverses perspective right in the middle like that? It’s like (to get back on topic) those Raptors jerseys that are one color on one side and another color on the other side.
#76 by DRob8785 on 02.07.07 2:46 pm |
That’s the jersey I’ve posted a few times. Dissapointing design…from a unique kit to a boring template. Blah.
It’ll make it that sweeter when the USA lays some smackdown in Arizona tonight.
U-S-A!!
#77 by Scott Held on 02.07.07 2:52 pm |
Couldn’t agree more. A Super Bowl in Arizona is begging for some kind of cactus or other desert imagery … though nothing close to those NBA All-Star unis from about 10 years ago.
#78 by Teebz on 02.07.07 3:07 pm |
The logic is that it is a home-and-home for both teams. Since both teams play at home between two consecutive dates, it is a home-and-home series. The two dates are viewed as one entity or series. It is not just called “home-and-home games”; the complete term is a “home-and-home series”.
And Mark, I knew what you were saying. I was playing with the “visit-and-visit” perspective. No worries there, man.
Another term that swaps perspectives in the middle is “sweet-and-sour”. It can’t be both.
#79 by Travis on 02.07.07 3:38 pm |
Have a question about NBA All-star game unis. I recall a few years back, it was when Jordna was still playing for the Bulls during their second run of three straight NBA titles, that the All-Star game was in NY at Madison Square Garden, and a huge deal was made out of the fact that Jordan would be going against Kobe.
Little if anything was made of the fact that all players in the game wore their regular team unis, not special all star unis.
I know stuff like that is common for the Rookie/sophmore game, but this was the actual All-Star Game.
Anyone know what the deal was, ie; why there weren’t special all-star game unis that yera?
#80 by Jamikel on 02.07.07 3:42 pm |
Silly me, I always thought it was a reference to the overly-visible armpits that athletes wearing such form-fitting equipment are known for.
#81 by Philly Bill on 02.07.07 3:58 pm |
Philly, Washington and Baltimore don’t have Fox Sports Net either; they have Comcast SportsNet like Chicago does. FSN doesn’t have much market presence in the northeast.
“Intrastate 45” doesn’t even leave Texas, as a matter of fact. You’d have to switch over to I-35 in Dallas and follow that all the way to the Twin Cities.
#82 by Larry C on 02.07.07 4:01 pm |
I like the name “Lake Erie Monsters.” It’s one of those names that becomes twice as cool when the location (”Lake Erie”) is mentioned beforehand. A city name — like say “Cleveland Monsters” — wouldn’t work at all.
It’s very reminiscent of a name like the New Jersey Devils (in refernce to the Jersey Devil myth),the Buffalo Bills, and the St. Louis Blues.
#83 by Richard on 02.07.07 4:10 pm |
FSN has no market presence in the Northeast? That’s why there’s Fox Sports New England…home of the Boston Celtics (no matter how many games they lose they still look good in those uniforms). And I was in DC for school and still watched some college baseball games - they might not be live, but Comcast used to have some games on delay from Florida - mostly Miami, UF, and FSU games.
#84 by Patrick Gaughan on 02.07.07 4:13 pm |
I can’t believe everyone is hating on the home-and-home. It means each team gets a home game. If one team had back to back home games, you wouldn’t think to call it a home-and-home, you would say home stand, and road trip if you played multiple games on the road. I understand your logic, but that is just how it is and it makes sense. I think that one poster is correct, it is like the driveway/parkway example. Just accept it for what it is.
#85 by Ron on 02.07.07 4:26 pm |
If you have DirecTV you may be able to pick up college baseball games on CSTV, ESPNU or any of the regional Fox Sports Net channels.