Lots of ground to cover today, beginning with the excellent time I had last Friday at Giants Stadium, where I spent the afternoon interviewing equipment director Joe Skiba. This will end up as a video column on ESPN.com later this week, but here are some notable factoids:
• As you can see above, your typical NFL team has a lot — like, a lot — of facemasks on hand. (Here’s a larger view.)
• How tight are NFL jerseys these days? So tight that Osi Umenyiora’s jersey and pads fit fairly comfortably on me. Keep in mind that Osi outweighs me by over 100 pounds. For the record, Jared Lorenzen’s jersey was a big roomier.
• Speaking of Umenyiora, it turns out he likes to have his jersey partially untucked in the back (sort of like Wayne Gretzky), so Skiba has the back of his jersey tailored with a diagonal hem.
• Think the Giants’ blue helmet looks stupid with their red alternate jersey? Skiba has something in mind for you. I’m not allowed to talk about it, because team management hasn’t yet green-lighted Skiba’s idea, but let’s just say it would be a pretty revolutionary move if it came to pass. (And no, it’s not a solid-red helmet.)
• Skiba clued me in to a new footwear regulation I hadn’t been aware of: Prior to this season, a player’s shoes had to be predominantly black or white (depending on the team’s official shoe color) but could be accented with team colors. Since the Giants’ official colors are blue and red, this meant that some players’ shoes were black with red accents and others were black with blue. This year, however, the NFL has required each team to settle on one accent color. The Giants chose red (a mistake, in my opinion), so no more blue-accented cleats for Big Blue.
Big thanks to Joe for taking time out of his busy schedule to make himself available. On top of that, he turned out to be a real character in front of the camera, which should result in a very entertaining video. Joe, if you’re reading this, you da man and all that.
NHL Roundup: Meanwhile, a slew of additional NHL unveilings took place over the weekend. I’m just about NHL’d out (it’s only a 30-team league, but it seems like they’ve trotted out about 387 uniforms over the past two months), but protocol demands a full accounting, so here’s a quick rundown, in roughly descending order of quality:
• Coyotes: Plenty to like here — simple, basic, a classic in the making (lots of photos here). The only fly in the ointment: the way the panels and seams have forced the “C” and “A” designations to move too close to the crest.
• Blackhawks: Pretty true to the classic version. But this is probably the best example yet of how old-school waistline striping just doesn’t work with Reebok’s new rounded shirttail hem (additional photos here). Which brings up a question: What exactly is the rationale for the rounded hem? For all the chatter about the new uniform system’s innovative fabrics and streamlined tailoring, I’ve yet to hear an explanation for this particular (and particularly annoying) element.
• Ducks: As of my last writing, we had only seen this, but now a bunch of practice session photos have surfaced (additional views here). Yeah, the wordmark is weak and the stripes are a joke, but I still like the color scheme and the lack of extraneous bells and whistles. Whatever you thought of last year’s version, this update is certainly no worse.
• Stars: I actually love the road uni. And I don’t mind the simplicity of the home design (additional pics here). But like many other observers, I don’t understand why they’re highlighting the city name at home and the team name on the road. Feels like some promising ideas that weren’t taken to full fruition.
• Flyers: Road whites are silly but harmless; home design looks like a black tunic (additional pics here). Oh, and according to an item buried on this page, “Privately, some of the players said the new jerseys were too snug. So the Flyers are ordering them two sizes larger than usual for most players.” Nice to know the Edge system is being subverted before the season even starts.
• Thrashers: Pointless apron-striping (which has ruined what I once considered the league’s most underrated road jersey) plus the worst left sleeve in sports equals a mess. Additional evidence here.
• Oilers: Which one looks more like a practice jersey — home or road? Answer: both.
• Sabres: Looked like crap last year; looks like crap this year (further damning evidence here).
• Blues: For those who’ve been wondering, this is the design I knew about a few months ago (I got to see one of the jerseys when I was visiting the Liebe factory back in July) but wasn’t at liberty to discuss. Some people in the comments section have said they’re okay with it, which surprises me, because I think it’s a total train wreck. From the idiotic apron strings to the super-annoying Ree-box, it reeks of overdesign — especially when you factor in the way the apron strings are extended on the pants (additional pics here). Embarrassing.
In addition, we now have our first view of the Rangers’ new design on an actual human being. Compare that to this and the new wordmark looks awfully compressed, no? And again, the rounded hemline ruins the non-rounded stripes. I’m starting to think they would’ve been better off going back to the drawing board.
Fuck it, they should all just do this and get it over with.
Raffle-O-Rama: Speaking of the NHL, here’s a little tale that speaks volumes: About 10 days ago I got a note from a PR guy working for the NHL. This wasn’t one the league’s staff publicists — it was a guy from a PR agency that had apparently been retained by the league. He wanted to make sure I knew all about the league’s exciting new uniform system, with its high-tech fabrics and innovative tailoring. Then he asked if I’d like to have one of the jerseys so I could see for myself, and of course I said yes. He didn’t ask which team I preferred, and I didn’t make any special request, but I figured it’d probably be either a Rangers or Islanders jersey — y’know, since I live in New York and all.
A few days later, a package arrived. Can you guess what was inside? Take a look.
I don’t mean to sound ungrateful — it was nice gift, after all. But you’ve gotta admit, it takes a special kind of cluelessness to send me a jersey from the one team that features the one color I can’t stand. This kinda sums up everything wrong with the NHL these days, no? (So does this: You’d think a video game would gain its legitimacy from the sport, not the other way around.)
Anyway, I’m gonna raffle off the jersey, and I won’t even make fun of whoever wins it. Specs: Size 52; includes all tagging; blank on the back. And since winning a Kings jersey brings to mind a bunch of old vaudeville jokes (”First prize is a week in Philadelphia; second prize is two weeks in Philadelphia”), I’ll make it more interesting by tossing in some extra goodies: The first prize winner will have a choice of the Kings jersey, a Capitals T-shirt (size L, blank on the back), or a bunch of MLB sleeve patches. A second-place winner will have a choice or the remaining two prizes, and a third-place winner will get the remaining prize.
To enter, send an e-mail to uniraffle at earthlink dot net (please note that this is not the regular Uni Watch address) by this Thursday, September 20th, 10 p.m. eastern. I’ll announce the winners on Friday. I won’t be reading the e-mail entries, so please don’t include messages or attachments. One e-mail per person, but all enrollees in the Uni Watch membership program will automatically get three bonus entries.
Speaking of membership, the recent server snafu put a damper on news from that front, but Scott and I have kept working on applications. With two exceptions (hang in there, Joseph Mays and Charlie Hildbold — we’ll get to you soon), every enrollee should now have his or her membership kit. If you haven’t received yours, let me know. And for all you folks who recently told me you were planning to sign up once the server issues were settled, I look forward to receiving your orders.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Nike and Ohio State have struck a huge deal. And it includes some penalties for swoosh obstruction. … Reprinted from Thursday’s comments: Awesome Yellowknife jersey at the beginning of this photo gallery. … Good article here about the Astros’ visiting clubhouse manager, who has a huge bobblehead collection (with thanks to James Poisso and Kevin Gee). … While researching something else, I came across this photo of Paul Hornung wearing a college all-star jersey — apparently the same design shown in that Mitchell and Ness video that Vince linked to last Friday. … From 1921 through 1951, the Cubs held spring training on Catalina Island, a small island off the California coast that was owned by William Wrigley. Joaquin Jang has provided me with a link to an excellent half-hour video about the Cubbies’ history on the island, and it’s filled with tons of great visuals plus some nice little uni-related factoids (the Cubs used to leave behind their spring training uniforms each year for the island’s high school team to use, e.g.). The only catch is the size of the video file — my computer took over two hours to download it. But it’s worth it, so just start the download before you go to bed or something like that. The link is here. … AJ Brandt reports that U.S. Airways has been creating a fleet of NFL-themed jets, with liveries honoring the Eagles, Cardinals, Steelers, and Panthers. Not sure if the flight attendants have to dress the part, but I wanna make it clear right now that I’ll travel on a leaky raft before I fly on a Bengals plane. … Tyler Kepner wrote a nice little item at the bottom of this page about Ian Kennedy’s stirrups. … The Padres wore 1990s throwbacks on Saturday — the last installment of their season-long throwback program. … Small uni number switcheroo for the Mets. … Things have been suspiciously quiet over at Oregon, but Clark Farrand says that may be changing soon: “On the radio pregame show for the Oregon/Fresno State game, they had a guest ‘insider’ (whose name/title I didn’t catch) who said that the white helmets announced last year were ready and that they should be broken out in the next few weeks. Interestingly enough, they were considered for the Michigan game last week, but the team wanted the focus to remain on the game and not have helmet hype overshadow anything.” … Todd Davis notes that Pitt is now in the unusual position of having the exact same wordmark on its jersey and helmet. … Interesting note from Alejandro Macri (writing all the way from Buenos Aires), who notes: “The South African rugby national team is using green and yellow mouth protections as part of their uni design. It’s very disturbing to see green and yellow in these men’s teeth, but it may be the beginning of a new trend.” … Everyone got a kick out of this over the weekend. … You probably know Jason Varitek has “TEK” printed on his chest protector collar. But did you know he also has it inscribed on his mask? (With thanks to Corey Paske.) … Also from Corey: This is a shot of Wisconsin hockey coach Mike Eaves. Anyone know what the “SP” tag logo on the jersey is for? … Garrett Malcolm reports that last week’s Derek Lee bobblehead giveaway at Wrigley Field depicted Lee with a gray underbrim. … Dave Lewellen notes that Trent Green’s sleeves had stripes for Miami’s Week 1 game against the Redskins, but the rest of the Dolphins were stripe-free. … Wish I’d been near a TV for Saturday’s Iowa/Iowa State Game. The Cyclones wore gorgeous throwbacks (lots of additional pics here and here), and the Hawkeyes added an “ANF” decal (that’s for “America Needs Farmers,” don’tcha know), much nicer than the one originally worn during the Hayden Frye era (with thanks to Matthew Lepke for the decal screen grab). … Awesome collection of game-worn hockey jerseys here (with thanks to Joe Hilseberg). … Advertising on NFL uniforms? It’s already happening, if you count the Vikings’ cheerleaders. … The Nationals wore a sleeve patch over the weekend to mark their final homestand at RFK Stadium. … Speaking of the Nats, great article here about how the team’s script “W” logo is imprinted onto the outfield grass. … Attention A.J. Connelly (and anyone else interested in chinstraps): At the 49-second mark of this video there’s a shot of 1942 Heisman Trophy winner Frank Sinkwich wearing a really weird chinstrap. Jeff Lindquist, who brought this to my attention, also found another view, though not as good, here. Anyone know more about this? … Steven Wyder notes that Julio Lugo usually has a light brown smudge on his left sleeve/shoulder area, a phenomenon that dates back to his days with the Dodgers and Devil Rays (tough to see, but it’s there). “I think it’s pine tar — he must rest the bat there in the on-deck circle or something,” says Steven. … True, I loved striped socks — but I might make an exception for Billy Corgan (disgusting find by Nate Gruz). … Speaking of non-sports socks: “I live in Calgary,” writes Steve Francis, “and one of the attractions here is the Family of Man statue downtown. As a part of an arts festival currently underway, one of the artists has knit socks around the legs of most of the statues.” Seems more like leg-warmers, actually, but still pretty cool. … Derek Lowe risked a fine the other day by wearing a red jersey during warm-ups the other day, to signify “no contact.” Details (plus a revelation about Grady Little being cited by MLB’s uni police) toward the end of this page (with thanks to Eric Borer). … The Bills wore Kevin Everett T-shirts under their jerseys yesterday. The tees will be auctioned off for charity. … The Steelers wore their throwbacks yesterday — and sure enough, for the first time since Super Bowl XL, Willie Parker was wearing an American flag decal, although it remains to be seen whether it’ll be there on his regular helmet next week. … LaDainian Tomlinson’s helmet flag, however, was still AWOL. … Another black chinstrap for Chad Johnson yesterday. … Several readers have noted that the Longhorns have switched their uni numbers screen-printed to tackle twill this season. … Good catch by Jesse Gavin, who spotted Jon Kitna wearing a crucifix necklace yesterday.
#1 by DJ on 09.17.07 8:53 am |
I came across this photo of Paul Hornung. Not sure what jersey that is — might be from an early Pro Bowl, but Hornung looks really young there. Could it be some sort of college all-star uni?
Yes. The College All-Star Game used to be played every summer at Soldier Field between the defending NFL Champions and an all-star team made up of newly-graduated ex-college players.
#2 by Ed on 09.17.07 8:59 am |
Say it ain’t so. One less member of the “correct” baseball pant wearing brigade…Ryan Garko of the Indians.
http://www.cleveland...
(You might need to register to see the item, it’s at the end of the article.) Sure enough, his pant cuffs were low over the weekend.
ed
#3 by Mike on 09.17.07 9:05 am |
“Some people in the comments section have said they’re okay with it, which surprises me, because I think it’s a total train wreck.”
C’mon Paul…I know that most people on this blog will go along with just about anything you say…you don’t have to flaunt how everyone is basically your bitch. It surprises you that people don’t agree with you? I find it refreshing.
#4 by Original Jim on 09.17.07 9:06 am |
SP is a hockey uniform manufacturer out of Quebec. The AHL teams wore SP-branded uniforms from the late 90s up until a few years ago, then switched to Reebok.
http://www.spapparel...
That stain on Lugo’s uniform probably is pine tar. One of his batting habits involves reaching across with his right hand and pulling on his left sleeve before every pitch, so the smudge is where he touches the sleeve.
#5 by Chris on 09.17.07 9:08 am |
I like the dark Stars jersey, but the white one puts me to sleep. It needs more color–maybe a bigger stripe pattern on the sleeves. I also hate the shoulder patches on the white jersey. I’ve hated it since they came to Dallas, and was really hoping they would use the redesign to come up with something new.
#6 by Chris on 09.17.07 9:10 am |
I also agree that I was confused by having “DALLAS” on the home jersey and “STARS” on the road. Shouldn’t it be the other way around?
#7 by Mike on 09.17.07 9:13 am |
I got my Capitals season tickets in the mail the other day and at one game early this season they are having a “white out” day where they will wear the road whites.
#8 by Kim on 09.17.07 9:14 am |
Sad that the PR person sought you out, but didn’t bother to read a freakin’ thing by you. Otherwise, they would have seen your comments about the LA jersey, or maybe have a hint of your feelings towards purple.
Also, US Airways is taking up the tradition started by America West Airlines (which bought/merged with US Airways a couple of years ago). The four NFL teams mentioned are hubs of US Airways. Prior to the merger, there was only a Cards Airplane in the America West Fleet. They’ve also had some based on the Arizona, Nevada, and Ohio flags.
This all started when Southwest started the Shamu planes (followed by some state commemorative ones) some years back.
#9 by Kip Whiffle on 09.17.07 9:17 am |
I like the idea of the NFL-themed jets, but wouldn’t it only make sense to include the, uh, J-E-T-S?
#10 by sleepyfloyd on 09.17.07 9:21 am |
Doesn’t look like there’s a danger of a US Airways Bengals-themed plane. It appears they’re doing teams that call one of their hubs home (which are Philly, Pittsburgh, Charlotte and Phoenix - since they merged with America West). Reagan National is a de facto hub for them, though, so you’d expect a ‘Skins livery (unless there was concern about offending Native Americans).
You’re probably safe unless Delta decides to get in on the act (Cincinatti is one of their hubs, right?).
#11 by Kim on 09.17.07 9:21 am |
To me the Stars road white jersey should have a slightly larger logo placed further down the chest. Seems like a lot of white space down to the pants and a lot going on up top.
#12 by sleepyfloyd on 09.17.07 9:22 am |
I type too slowly…
#13 by ross on 09.17.07 9:33 am |
Wasn’t that jersey in the Mitchell and Ness video that our substitute showed on Friday?
#14 by JJD on 09.17.07 9:34 am |
This is purely speculation, but if the NHL switched back to home whites (which I KNOW they’ve said they aren’t, but there is always NEXT YEAR) those Dallas sweaters would make perfect sense.
#15 by Paul Lukas on 09.17.07 9:34 am |
I agree that dissent and debate are good, and that nobody should agree with anything I say simply because I said it. I’m just surprised sometimes when something that seems obvious to me doesn’t appear obvious to others. I’m sure you’ve sometimes had similar thoughts regarding an opinion of yours.
#16 by Jason on 09.17.07 9:38 am |
Also, I believe it’s spelled Umenyiora. I know this because he is one of only two players (I can think of off the top of my head) that have all 5 vowels in their last name. (Gouveia being the other one.)
#17 by Johnny X on 09.17.07 9:40 am |
In the Flyers photo, it seriously looks like Simon Gagne is wearing a black tank top over a white shirt. Very odd.
And what’s up with that weird white area on the back of the Blues home uni? It would be much better (if possible) without it.
#18 by Brad on 09.17.07 9:43 am |
Frank Sinkwich’s chin strap was to provide padding for a broken jaw. The helmet is on display at the Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall on the UGA campus. If I head to Athens one day besides a game day I will snap a picture.
#19 by cathy on 09.17.07 9:44 am |
Don’t forget America West’s Suns plane.
#20 by Morgan Doninger on 09.17.07 9:48 am |
I loved the phrase “the worst left sleeve in sports”! This is why I read Uniwatch, I mean where else are you gonna get a phrase like that?
Paul, you should come up with a hybrid uni combining all of the worst aspects of parts of uniforms, i.e. the worst cap/helmut, sleeve, hemline etc. We can call it the ultimate train wreck.
#21 by Kim on 09.17.07 9:49 am |
I knew I missed something! Good catch.
#22 by James P. on 09.17.07 9:51 am |
Glad I wasn’t the only Astros fan to hear the bobblehead story. I just wish there were pictures of the collection.
#23 by Boston Nick on 09.17.07 9:52 am |
My god…those facemask shelves are just beautiful. I’ve been obsessed with football facemasks for years, and seeing that up close would be incredible.
I wish I could get in there and just see if they had any spare leftovers from Amani Toomer’s previous facemask, my favorite one of all time. Steal that, paint it and buy a Michigan helmet to put it on and I’d be in heaven.
#24 by Mike on 09.17.07 9:53 am |
To you its obvious, but the question is over something TOTALLY based on opinion. I’m surprised when people still like George Bush, cause theres solid fact hes done so much to fuck up our country. But there are no ground rules for what people like in a uniform (although your original point is taken, the people on this blog definitely agree with you most of the time).
#25 by Minna H. on 09.17.07 9:54 am |
Well, I am not Paul’s bitch, but I agree that the Blues’ unis are a train-wreck. The wavy stripes have got to go. In general, wavy stripes are not pleasing to my eye. I hate the Ree-box Edge system in hockey–good thing I get a game a week on my cable-less TV and that I actually like the Wild!’s unis this year.
The Family of Man statue needs to eat a good meal or two. The Steelers throwbacks look much better in pics than they did on TV (to reiterate my point from yesterday).
Kip Whiffle, good point about the J-E-T-S being the perfect team to have its own plane, especially as they are in NY. I wonder why that hasn’t happened yet.
#26 by Josh on 09.17.07 9:54 am |
Seeing the Rangers sweater on Chris Drury, it looks like the Kids Medium I had when I was 7 years old.
#27 by Johnny O on 09.17.07 10:01 am |
I could have sworn that LT had the US Flag on his helmet last night, because I remember commenting to one of my friends that it looked stupid because it was overlapping his “bolt” on his helmet. Does anyone have this game recorded or can find a shot of him from earlier in the game? Again, I could be wrong, but I remember making that comment last night and now I see the pic that was posted on here, so it is kind of weird.
#28 by Teebz on 09.17.07 10:04 am |
Hey, everyone.
SP held the contract for all minor league teams until Reebok bought the contract for all NHL teams and their AHL affiliates. SP’s jerseys weren’t of the same quality as that of CCM, Nike, Bauer, or Pro Player, but they did the job. I believe they are still outfitting the ECHL teams, as well as some of the NCAA teams (as seen in the picture).
You can check out their website here. They make jerseys for almost every sport.
#29 by Ian on 09.17.07 10:06 am |
I don’t think this needs to be posted every day, but I’m beating DW to it.
A. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers wore the odd font numbers on their practice jerseys only.
They are not for regular game use.
B. The new NFL logo starts NEXT year, in 2008.
C. The green dot on an NFL players helmet means there’s a radio in the helmet.
D. If you think you are posting a new jersey here for the first time; no, you are not 99.999% of the time. Somebody has already beat you to it and we are seeing it for the 100th time. Very seldom is there “Breaking News” here in the Comments.
E. The home NHL jerseys/sweaters this year will be the dark jersey, not the white one. And NHL teams won’t have a third jersey this year.
F. For Hispanic Tribute Nights around MLB, the Giants wore uniforms with Gigantes on them. The Mets wore Los Mets on theirs, the Rangers wore Los Rangers on theirs and the Brewers became the Cerveceros. The Padres wore camafloge uniforms as a tribute to the military population in San Diego.
G. The black strip worn by ACC football teams this year is for Virginia Tech.
H. What was once known as Division I-AA is now The Championship Subdivision.
I. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays will be dropping the “Devil” from the name and the new colors HAVE NOT been officially released yet.
J. When the Toronto Maple Leafs unveiled their new Reebok uniforms, they also had a player from their AHL affiliate modeling the Toronto Marlies (Marlboroughs) white jersey with the McDonald’s patch. They are owned by the Leafs, and the parent company apparently “bundles” them together for hockey fans.
K. Numbers are owned and assigned by NASCAR. Teams can request a specific number. No numbers are retired in NASCAR but there are no plans for the #3 (Dale Earnhardt) or the #28 (Davey Allison/Texaco/Robert Yates Racing) to be used.
#30 by Justin on 09.17.07 10:07 am |
I have a game-worn college basketball jersey (from a team sponsored by adidas) but the tag also has a different manufacturers name on it. I can’t remember who it is though, but this seems to be a fairly common practice.
#31 by tivonia on 09.17.07 10:10 am |
If you scroll through the Flyers slideshow, you will some great shots of Bernie Parent, wearing classic Flyers ORANGE, which only highlights how stupid the black jerseys look.
#32 by BDiamond on 09.17.07 10:11 am |
I don’t remember this being mentioned but last night it looked like Joe Torre was wearing a pin on the back of his warm up jacket below the MLB insignia.
#33 by Teebz on 09.17.07 10:11 am |
Stop the insanity then.
#34 by Art Mah on 09.17.07 10:13 am |
As mentioned earlier, SP is a maker of hockey jerseys out of Quebec - they make the jerseys for quite a few teams - nothing professionally anymore, unless you count the gong show that is the Quebec Sr. League.
Since adidas doesn’t make hockey jerseys per se, I imagine that the athletic dept went with them. Funny that the material of the jerseys they produce are an awful lot like the old Bauer Flo-Knit. I wonder if they were spun off once Nike went to the Swift jerseys
#35 by Tim on 09.17.07 10:13 am |
As for the Dingle/Berry pic, I’ve been waiting for that one for 3 weeks now. Thank you!
#36 by Shaftman on 09.17.07 10:14 am |
Nice list…perhaps Paul would be kind enough to develop another FAQ section that deals with the topic for the site (uniforms) and not for the site itself.
#37 by Minna H. on 09.17.07 10:15 am |
Oh, and I forgot to add:
As much as it pains me to admit it, the black Flyers uniforms look horrid, especially with the black pants. The jerseys look like women’s tank tops over long-sleeved shirts–not a good look on anyone, much less a hockey player.
Plus, I like the Giants’ choice of red accents with their black shoes rather than blue accents, but that’s only because I like red better than blue.
#38 by Paul Lukas on 09.17.07 10:18 am |
I’d like this to stop, please. People who ask “common knowledge” questions are just as welcome here as people who already know all the answers. In fact, we should be MORE welcoming to people who ask “common knowledge” questions, because they’re probably new to Uni Watch, and new readers are a good thing. If a question about the green dot or the Bucs’ practice numbers makes you roll your eyes, fine — roll away. But please do it privately.
#39 by DarkAudit on 09.17.07 10:21 am |
I’m done being polite. What part of “No fucking way” don’t you understand? The announcers that typically go along with the corporate naming conventions have balked at this one. No one’s buying this one. It’s I-A and I-AA. Period. End of discussion. Again.
#40 by Casey on 09.17.07 10:23 am |
Southwest Airlines had a whole line of NBA planes a couple years ago; I remember riding on one. The overhead bins had team logos; the plane was really ugly…
http://images.usatod...
And not to be overly nitpicky, but isn’t John Kitna wearing a simple cross necklace and not a crucifix? It’s kind of small, so it’s hard to see; I’m not 100% sure from just that picture. The difference is that a crucifix has a cross with the body of Christ still on it, and is more common among Catholics, while Protestants generally shy away from the crucifix and wear just an empty cross. I don’t think Kitna’s Catholic, but I could be wrong.
#41 by Casey on 09.17.07 10:27 am |
here’s a clearer kitna pic…definitely not a crucifix…
http://sports.yahoo....
#42 by Rich on 09.17.07 10:28 am |
“I’d like this to stop, please…”
aw, and I wanted to see it go all the way to “Z”!
#43 by Kevin M on 09.17.07 10:32 am |
Didn’t like the new Blues duds at first, but seeing them in person on Saturday, they are starting to grow on me. My least favorite part is the vertical yellow stripe though, I agree that should go. It would improve the jersey a bunch.
#44 by Ed C on 09.17.07 10:43 am |
I noticed the brown smudge on Julio Lugo’s jersey a few weeks ago when I was sitting behind the Red Sox’s dugout in Chicago. When he is in the on deck circle, he takes pronounced warm up swings that end with him hitting his shoulder. I assume he has pine tar far enough up the bat where it comes into contact with his shoulder.
On a side note, I noticed back in July at a Brewers game that the 80’s era Brewers logo on Damian Miller’s left sleeve was rotated clockwise about 30 to 45 degrees. I thought this was an error until I noticed one of the Pirates’ catchers in a game against the Cubs with the same logo rotation on his left sleeve (they were wearing the vests, so the logo was on the undershirt). Is this standard so that when the catcher is in the crouch position the logo appears more level?
#45 by DW in Tampa Bay on 09.17.07 10:43 am |
People who ask what the Championship Subdivision questions are just as welcome here as people who already know all the answers. In fact, we should MORE welcoming to people who ask what the Championship Subdivision is, because they’re probably new to Uni Watch, and new readers are a good thing. If a question about the Championship Subdivision is makes you roll your eyes, fine — roll away. But please do it privately.
#46 by Jim on 09.17.07 10:45 am |
Did anyone notice the NFL switched back to it’s old logo this week?
;)
#47 by My name is not Earl on 09.17.07 10:45 am |
Casey: right on. A crucifix is a cross with a corpus on it (in christianity, it’s usually the cross with the crucified Jesus on it). What Kitna is wearing is just a cross as it has no corpus on it.
#48 by Giancarlo on 09.17.07 10:46 am |
Two reasons:
1. There’d be too many missed connections
2. It would probably get intercepted
#49 by Pat on 09.17.07 10:49 am |
Thank you. Nothing has annoyed me more, on this site, over the past week or 2.
#50 by RJK on 09.17.07 10:51 am |
Surely I am not the only one hoping that the Steelers plane has the logo only on one side of the tail wing. How sweet would that be?
Southwest Airlines used to let its employees wear NFL jerseys and other apparel on Sundays during the season… Not sure if its still the case though.
#51 by J.J. Carton on 09.17.07 10:55 am |
Cant wait for the video’s from the Giants Locker Room!!!! BTW I know this is blasphemy, but I’m kinda excited about the Oregon white helmets. When I saw them in all white against Michigan I was hoping that they’d break out the white. As much as it sucks I’d still be cool to see them SHAKE-IT-UP!!!!
And I bet the Giants Alternate secret is a red facemask on the blue helmet with blue pants!!!sssshhh!!!
#52 by 12US26 on 09.17.07 10:57 am |
Thanks for including the Ticker item about the Cyclones (Iowa State). Some of those Unis were auctioned off by the Athletic Dept. Winners get the jersey, pants, and helmet. One such set is coming my way.
Some ISU fans want the team to keep wearing the Unis because of the “luck” they brought the Cyclones on Saturday with their win over Iowa, FWIW. All in all, a great weekend for this Cyclone and Uni Watch member.
#53 by josh on 09.17.07 10:58 am |
Steelers throwbacks with white shoes?…..lame.
#54 by Eric on 09.17.07 11:00 am |
Damn you Paul!! I can’t watch the NFL anymore without noticing the players wearing shorts. One or two actually were showing bare knees (I think one was a kicker). Sorry, no screen caps and I can’t remember which player/games they were.
I can tell you my area had Ten/Indy and NYG/GB for the early games, NYJ/Bal for the late game, and we got the OT period of Den/Oak.
#55 by josh on 09.17.07 11:01 am |
• Blackhawks: Pretty true to the classic version. But this is probably the best example yet of how old-school waistline striping just doesn’t work with Reebok’s new rounded shirttail hem (additional photos here).
Does the new Edge System call for flip flops on the road and crocs at home?
#56 by Paul Lukas on 09.17.07 11:02 am |
Mike Menner just e-mailed me the Nationals’ patch design (referred to in the Ticker).
#57 by eg on 09.17.07 11:02 am |
I’d like this to stop, please. People who ask “common knowledge” questions are just as welcome here as people who already know all the answers. In fact, we should MORE welcoming to people who ask “common knowledge” questions, because they’re probably new to Uni Watch, and new readers are a good thing. If a question about the green dot or the Bucs’ practice numbers makes you roll your eyes, fine — roll away. But please do it privately.
HEAR! HEAR!
If the sniping at new participants doesn’t stop, this site is going to quickly turn into a small group of geeks talking amongst themselves.
#58 by The Checking Line :: A St. Louis Blues Blog » Blog Archive » Uniwatch hates new Blues jerseys on 09.17.07 11:05 am |
[…] Bruins Fan Uniwatch hates new Blues jerseys by Chris DeGroat // September 17th, 2007 Uniwatch: “Some people in the comments section havesaid they’re okay with it, which surprises me, because I think it’s a total train wreck.” […]
#59 by Kevin from Ohio in Virginia on 09.17.07 11:06 am |
Paul,
I would like to mindlessly agree with you. In fact, I don’t even know what your comment was or what it was related to. It could have been about the benefits of killing cute little kittens and then eating raw kitten meat for all I know. But I don’t care, because I agree with you, Paul. I agree with you.
PS - Lighten up, Mike. You might have noticed that most of the people are here because they like classic uniforms, so when Paul trumpets the cause of classic uniforms, it’s not exactly shocking that there are plenty of folks who see things his way. If this was a communist blog, I wouldn’t be here because I think commies suck. Similarly, people who don’t get it (little “R” inside a circle) don’t read this blog. Expect plenty of agreement, but please feel free to disagree anytime, and please allow Paul to feel free to disagree anytime, because after all, this isn’t a communist blog, comrade.
PPS - I’m not calling you a commie. I’m calling you “comrade.” You know - in uniforms.
**DISCLAIMER: The author’s tongue was planted firmly in his cheek for the duration of this comment, except for when he said commies suck. The author does, in fact, think that commies do, in fact, suck. Thank you.**
#60 by Karl Anderson on 09.17.07 11:06 am |
Interesting note about Twins’ manager Ron Gardenhire. It looks like MLB must have sent out a memo to all managers and coaches after the Terry Francona issue in New York because now Gardenhire is wearing his jersey under his pullover/winder breaker. While looking at older photos as late as August 27th he still had a t-shirt under the pullover. I noticed it with other Twins’ bench coaches as well. Has anyone seen this with other MLB teams?
#61 by Brent Bollmeier on 09.17.07 11:08 am |
It has been mentioned by some Blues fans that — especially on the Blue sweater — that the yellow piping outline, when combined with the location of the surname resembles a tombstone….
and they’re right.
These things are terrible. For all the good JD has done, shame on him for allowing this…
#62 by Tim on 09.17.07 11:11 am |
Not sure if it was mentioned over the weekend or not, but the Odessa (TX) Permian Panthers (the school that the book & movie “Friday Night Lights” was based on) wore an “OPD” memorial decal on their helmets to honor 3 Odessa policeman who were killed in the line of duty. Their game was televised on Fox Sports Net.
#63 by Jim on 09.17.07 11:11 am |
HEAR! HEAR!
If the sniping at new participants doesn’t stop, this site is going to quickly turn into a small group of geeks talking amongst themselves.
Oh, no! Sniping at those who snipe at the newbies … I see the start of a civil war here (and somehow I have a feeling this group would get the details of the civil war uniforms correct before going into battle)
#64 by Tim on 09.17.07 11:12 am |
Link Here, sorry:
#65 by Tim on 09.17.07 11:12 am |
one more try….sorry.
http://www.mojoland....
#66 by MT in MT on 09.17.07 11:17 am |
…about brown smudges on Julio Lugo’s jersey.
#67 by SWC Susan (aka Tex) on 09.17.07 11:20 am |
My guess is that they knew exactly who you were and it was a bit of payback for the ripping we have done on the jerseys!
#68 by Brandon on 09.17.07 11:22 am |
The Julio Lugo comment is most likely pine tar. Although my assumption is that it is not from resting the bat. Befor every pitch at every at bat Lugo adjusts his left sleeve with his right hand while looking at the pitcher. I am assuming that is when the pine tar is transfered.
#69 by Zurk on 09.17.07 11:23 am |
Don’t see much about Ubaldo Jimenez - Rockies Pitcher - and his stirrups. Besides having a great first name he looks good also!
http://sports.espn.g...
#70 by SWC Susan (aka Tex) on 09.17.07 11:24 am |
Except for the fact that they are BLACK…
#71 by Brian on 09.17.07 11:25 am |
Are those all schutt facemasks? Doesn’t the NFL have a deal with Ridell?
#72 by Stuby on 09.17.07 11:26 am |
In baseball, you have Nelson Figueroa of the Giants. In the past, Ed Figueroa and for first names, Aurelio Lopez.
#73 by Jason on 09.17.07 11:28 am |
Finally was able to watch the Buckeyes this weekend (thanks, Big Ten Network) and I noticed everyone was wearing new red chinstraps.
They had them at home too, but I didn’t see them (thanks, Big Ten Network.)
#74 by GoTerriers on 09.17.07 11:29 am |
So as I was watching the race on Sunday (Had to do SOMETHING while waiting until Yanks-Sox and Pats-Chargers) they mentioned that Dale Jr. will be announcing on Tuesday that HMS has acquired the rights to the #88 car for next season. Could the trickle down of this (not the former driver Dick Trickle-Down . . . ) be that RYR will take the #28 out of the mothballs for the 2008 season?
#75 by Minna H. on 09.17.07 11:30 am |
Giancarlo, you are the man! That made me laugh aloud.
#76 by Kim on 09.17.07 11:32 am |
Someone ought to take the Nationals to task on this patch.
1. The Nats have played at RFK from 2005-2007. So the designation 1962-2007 doesn’t apply.
2. RFK will remain in use after baseball is done with it. DC United will remain at RFK for at least a couple of seasons, and MLS Cup will be played at RFK in November. So once again, the 1962-2007 designation does not apply.
#77 by SWC Susan (aka Tex) on 09.17.07 11:33 am |
Quite a moving half time tribute too.
#78 by Paul Lukas on 09.17.07 11:35 am |
Riddell is the official headwear brand of the NFL, but Schutt and Adams helmets are also used (they just can’t show their brand name). As for the photo, that shows only about one third of the team’s total facemask stash. THere were plenty of Riddell masks, believe me.
#79 by GoTerriers on 09.17.07 11:35 am |
No more phone calls please. We have our “Comment of the Day” winner.
#80 by Ben N on 09.17.07 11:39 am |
I have to say that the Nats patch looks pretty sweet. I also love those Padres pinstripe uni’s. The new ones are total ripoffs of the Brewers uni’s.
#81 by Joe Drennan on 09.17.07 11:41 am |
This is a team that black makes sence though as stars appear in the black night sky.
#82 by SWC Susan (aka Tex) on 09.17.07 11:42 am |
Even growing up in Midland, hating MOJO, even renaming Mojo potatoes at Shakey’s to Rojos, amidst the chant under my breath of “No mo Mojo, no mo mojo!,” that virtual museum is pretty sweet!
#83 by John in Athens on 09.17.07 11:43 am |
Steven Wyder notes that Julio Lugo usually has a light brown smudge on his left sleeve/shoulder area, a phenomenon that dates back to his days with the Dodgers and Devil Rays (tough to see, but it’s there). “I think it’s pine tar — he must rest