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Archive for February, 2008
Fidel Castro resigned the Cuban presidency yesterday. In so doing, he also relinquished the coveted title of WMBOD, which of course is short for world’s most baseball-obsessed dictator — a lofty perch for which he had no serious competition.
Although Castro dabbled in a number of sports, including table tennis, basketball, golf, and boxing, his first love was always baseball. The oft-repeated story about him supposedly having gotten a tryout with the Washington Senators is total bunk, but it’s true that he long harbored a fantasy of playing for the Yankees (where El Duque and Jose Contreras would no doubt have greeted him by saying, “Dude, did you defect too?!”).
Baseball-related photos of Castro — and there are a lot of them — break down into three primary categories:
1. Castro in a baseball uniform. Most of these date back to the late 1950s through the mid-’60s. As you can see, his stirrup style left a bit to be desired, and I think we can safely say he wasn’t doing steroids, but dig those eyeglasses! And El Presidente had the whole facial hair thing going on long before before Rollie Fingers’s ’stache was a glimmer in Charlie Finley’s eye.
2. Castro in military fatigues. Loads of these pics floating around. Fidel loved to throw out the first pitch or take the ceremonial first swing (a quaint Cuban custom, not unlike slaughtering a chicken upon the birth of your neighbor’s first child). El Comandante also appears to have gotten some actual game action whilst attired in olive drab, as seen here, here, here and here. (Those last two shots, of course, are from Castro’s little-known beatnik phase, when he was prone to reciting painfully bad poetry and reading Jack Kerouac.)
3. Castro looking like your grandfather who belongs on the shuffleboard court, not the baseball diamond. More recent photos document El Jefe Maximo’s descent into baseball self-parody. Like a meddling team owner who can’t resist the urge to play dress-up, he’s donned all manner of embarrassing get-ups, sometimes while in the company of other world leaders. If only the Bay of Pigs plan had succeeded, we could have been spared this.
(It’s worth noting that Fidel also tried his hand at managing the Cuban national team in an exhibition game against Venezuela in 1999. But as reader Eric Trager points out, “Of course, among Latin American dictators, Castro barely holds a candle to Hugo Chavez, who pitched four semi-stirruped inings in that same game.” A rematch in 2000 was embarrassing for all concerned.)
Two best Castro pics I found: Fidel checking out a young prospect, and checking out a really young prospect. I believe he was telling the tyke, “No signing bonus for you, kid — that’s only for capitalists. And don’t even bother learning the words ‘free agency.’ ”
Smoke ’Em If You Got ’Em: Yesterday’s entry on smoking prompted a flood of good responses. The very first one came from Todd Radom, who pointed me toward this game-used Earl Weaver jersey, complete with a little cigarette pouch sewn into the inner lining! “Examine photos of him over the years and you’ll see the seams on the exterior of his jersey,” says Todd. Later on, Paul Wiederecht sent this shot, with the pack of coffin nails visible in Earl’s inner pocket.
Turns out this was a Baltimore phenomenon: Eric Stengel sent pics of a Cal Ripken Sr. jersey with the same pocket accessory and clearly visible outer stitching. Eric also notes that according to a small note on this page, Jimmy Dykes used to have a cig pocket as well, which means at least three O’s skippers had this secret compartment. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Baltimore, humidor to the American League.
Also of interest: T.J. Zaremba checked in to inform me that Mexican soccer coach Ricardo Lavolpe’s smoking habits actually earned a FIFA rebuke in 2006.
Meanwhile, here’s a whole respiratory ward’s worth of additional smokers (many featured in yesterday’s comments): Red Auerbach, Dave Parker, James Hunt, John Daly, Angel Cabrera, Pirates-era Jim Leyland, Babe Ruth (rolling his own!), some unidentified cyclists, a rogue’s gallery of MLBers, Paul Hornung (and holy shit do I want that jacket!), Roger Maris again (I’ll take that Yoo-Hoo T-shirt, too), Jerry Coleman, Bob Cousy, Mario Cipollini, Derek Sanderson, Sparky Anderson, Vince Lombardi, Arnold Palmer and Ben Hogan, Ricardo Mayorga (who I mentioned yesterday, but I didn’t have a photo), Nellie Fox (who appears to be smoking while also chewing!) Joe Torre, Phil Bengtson (could someone please get me that patch?), Pee Wee Reese, Jack McKeon, Ugueth Urbina, Yogi Berra, Bobby Cox, Fuzzy Thurston, Miikka Kiprusoff and Dion Phaneuf (”as well as a few puck bunnies,” in Jeff Ives’s words), and Frick and Frack.
Although it doesn’t actually show any athletes smoking, this 1959 Marlboro commercial features some truly amazing NFL content. If you haven’t already seen it on the Kissing Suzy Kolber site, where it was recently featured, stop whatever you’re doing and watch it right now. Trust me.
And as a bonus, here’s a young Ernie Banks lighting his father’s stogie. Hell, it’s such a nice day, let’s smoke two.
(Big thanks and an iron lung to the many readers who contributed pics on this one.)
Uni Watch News Ticker: More than a decade after the fact, the Ravens’ original logo is still generating litigation. … Andy Chalifour notes that Clay Buchholz has the Texas flag inside the heel of his glove. … Bizarre line of helmet-styled woolen ski hats available here (with thanks to Andy Castle). … The Chicago Rush are looking for fan input on a new uni design (with thanks to Matt Olson). … Sean Millican plays on an adult baseball team with Colt .45s-inspired uniforms. He says they’re getting white jerseys this year. … The Army hockey team traditionally wears white at home and black on the road, but on Friday they wore a gold third gold jersey,” writes Ryan Yanoshak. “The three stars on the sleeve and the star on the shoulder are different than the home and away jerseys, as is the third logo on the chest. Director of Hockey Operations Tom Doran and Head Coach Brian Riley helped design the unis.” … Lots of interesting details in this photo of the Judge Memorial Catholic High School girls’ hoops team in Salt Lake City, as described by Jon Alviani: “First, it says ‘Catholic’ underneath, which isn’t on any of the school’s other uniforms. Second, there’s the cross at the neckline. Next, the ‘WE’ on the waistband. And finally, No. 25 either has a well-placed fold or she’s missing an ‘I.’ ” … An old pair of Pepper Martin’s pants is Cooperstown-bound (thanks, Vince). … Cool. … Took me a while to find photos of this, but the Sabres wore green buffaslug helmet decals on Sunday, as part of an environmental initiative. … Classic spring training sights: Josh Fields wearing one of those little no-pocket gloves, to improve his fielding skills (with thanks to Scott Schaaf), and Ian Kinsler wearing one of those paddle mitts. … Matt Englander’s parents recently dug up an old summer camp photo of him wearing a Phillies jersey and an Expos cap. “Be kind with your comments,” he says, “those were some awkward years.” … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: As you know, MLB base coaches will have to wear helmets this season. According to the “Helmets” section of this page, they’ll have the option of wearing earflaps or going flapless. … Another MLBer wearing someone else’s glove: Francisco Cordero, with glove on loan from Juan Castro (good spot by Michael Smith). … Sharks goalie Evgeni Nabokov took a slapshot in the mask the other night, which broke part of his cage (here’s an isolation view) and left him with a gash on his nose (screen grabs courtesy of Paul Cook). … The Capitals will be wearing autism awareness jerseys on Sunday. Details here (with thanks to Michael Alper). … Yesterday’s Ticker item about military ribbons reminded James Yeh of an unusual element in British military uniforms: the stable belt, as seen here. … I really hate the prevealing trend of animal mascots being depicted in fierce, brow-furrowed poses. Case in point: South Dakota State’s new logo, which was unveiled yesterday. I mean, come on — a tough, badass jackrabbit? Just make him look cool and smart (like Bugs Bunny!) and call it a day. Actually, that’s what the old logo looked like. … Jean Beliveau is auctioning off an old jersey (with thanks to Jon Hanson) … Yankees without pinstripes! … According to a little quiz that ran on NPR’s All Things Considered the other day, the first U.S. president to wear trousers instead of knee breeches was James Madison, which means we may ultimately have him to blame for the pajama look on the baseball diamond. … Here’s a good close-up view of this year’s Giants sleeve patch (with thanks to Mark Snider). … From yesterday’s comments: Check out Gregg Zaun’s backplate. … The Mavs’ new players will wear these numbers. … I was looking at some photos of old ballparks the other day and noticed an odd zigzag-ish chalk pattern in between the baselines and the dugouts in several of the images. Check out these shots of Crosley Field, the Polo Grounds, and South End Grounds — what is that? It’s sort of like an exaggerated coach’s box, but the contours make no sense. Anyone..? … Ontario Hockey League teams are wearing an “18″ memorial decal in honor of Windsor Spitfires captain Mickey Renaud, who died on Monday. Details here (with thanks to Brian Thompson). … Jason Maggiora scored a pair of Nick Swisher’s cleats at a memorabilia charity sale. “It seems the A’s had to take a decidedly low-tech approach to customizing their trademark white shoes,” he writes. “As you can see in these close-ups, they used a yellow marker/highlighter to color in the trim.” … The Texas Rangers, who’ve never been able to decide whether their primary color is red or blue, are considering going back to red, at least according to the third major item on this page. … Ben Nickerson and I both want to know what the deal is with the weird little black-and-white sideway NBA logo shoulder patch that appears on many NBA practice jerseys. … The new $5 bill goes into circulation later this month. Click on the “See back” link and you’ll discover why I’ll be using five singles instead of a fin from now on (that depressing news brought our way by Marcus Ramsey, who adds, “Remember when money was green?”).
February 20th, 2008
The new issue of SABR’s Baseball Research Journal has an incredible photo of Billy Martin on the back cover, dating back to his early-’70s stint managing the Tigers — check it out.
That pipe is just amazing, no? It may end up replacing this as my brain’s reflexive go-to image whenever Billy’s name comes up (although the go-to words will always be “Ed Whitson” and “marshmallow salesman”). It also got me thinking that the Tigers’ current manager is known to be a smoker, too. And that in turn got me thinking about images of sports figures and smoking.
Leyland and Martin are hardly the only managers and coaches who’ve been known to light up. Back in the 1970s, Earl Weaver nicknamed erratic Orioles closer Don Stanhouse “Full Pack,” because that’s how many cigs Weaver nervously went through during one of Stanhouse’s tight-wire appearances. And I know I’ve seen pics of NFL coaches smoking, although I can’t find any at the moment.
Much more interesting are shots of smoking athletes. Nowadays, of course, it would be unthinkable for an player to appear with a cigarette dangling from his lip, but that wasn’t always the case. A quick search of the blog’s archives turned up the following:
• One of the classic SI covers of all time.
• What did Don Meredith do after losing the Ice Bowl? He lit up, of course.
• Roger Maris smoked during his epic 1961 season.
• Here’s a postgame celebration from the Kansas City Chiefs’ AFL days (not sure which year). That’s Sherrill Headrick with the coffin nail.
• Not sure who this curler is, but his use of the broom was particularly apropos.
I’m sure I’ve also seen pics of Guy LaFleur and Keith Hernandez smoking, but I can’t find them at the moment.
As for today’s athletes, I know Marlins pitcher Scott Olsen smokes, as does boxer Ricardo Mayorga, but I’ve never seen either of them — or any other current athlete I can think of — photographed with a cigarette. But cigars are apparently more acceptable — so acceptable, in fact, that even Mr. Wholesome White Boy himself, David Wright, appeared with a stogie after the Mets clinched the N.L. East title in 2006.
Sports and tobacco have a long, intertwined history. Most early baseball cards were promotional giveaways to boost sales of tobacco products. History’s most famous baseball card, in fact, owes its scarcity to the fact that Honus Wagner was a non-smoker and didn’t want his likeness used to promote tobacco, so he had the card taken out of production (or at least that’s the prevailing rationale — there are some competing theories as well).
Later on, tobacco companies used sports imagery in their print ads — sometimes just generic illustrations but more often in the form of celebrity endorsements by famous baseball or football players. As for broadcast media, I’m just barely old enough to have seen televised cigarette ads before they were banned, although I don’t recall athletes appearing in the televised spots. Anyone know more about that?
It’s also worth noting that loads of athletes smoke weed, although former Mets pitcher Grant Roberts is the only one I can think of who’s been stupid enough to get photographed in the act. (Roberts shouldn’t be confused with former Mets Tony Tarasco and Mark Corey, who had to admit that they’d been smoking pot shortly after a 2002 game when Corey went into a seizure and collapsed, leaving Tarasco to face the EMTs who asked, “Did he ingest anything unusual in the past hour or so?” Since Corey was still, like, convulsing on the floor, Tarasco figured he’d better tell the truth instead of blaming it on a bad oyster or something like that.)
Of course, there’s also the issue of baseball players who chew tobacco (easily identified by the telltale round canister in their back pockets), but that’s another topic for another day.
Research Project: Yesterday I linked to a photo of Jim Kyte blow-drying his hearing aid. That led to a handful of really interesting notes — some in the comments section, some e-mailed to me directly — about deaf athletes and their specialized equipment needs, a topic I’d never thought about before.
I’d like to explore this subject in more detail. If anyone knows more about it, please get in touch.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: Great article here about the guy who designed the leather football helmets for the upcoming Leatherheads flick. … Also from yesterday: Under Armour has gotten into the chest protector biz (which means they’re basically making outer armor). … First pics of the Giants’ starting pitchers wearing stirrups are here, here, and here. I’d prefer to see a lot more white showing, but it’s a good start (with thanks to Jamie Costello). … Some of the subtlest uniform branding I’ve ever seen was on Dale Ernhardt Jr.’s fire suit at the Daytona 500 on Sunday,” writes Greg Riffenburgh. “As you may know, he recently signed a contract to be outfitted by Adidas. But since so many other brands have their logos on the suit, Adidas used a triple-stiching quilt pattern.” … While researching something else, I came across a great site featuring military ribbon insignia — fun to click through. … Rutgers has unveiled new baseball uniforms. Note the distinction between the new cap logo and last year’s model (with thanks to David Berger). … The Pirates’ spring training 40th-anniversary patch is really, uh, subtle. … Lots of surprisingly interesting arena football helmet details available in item No. 18 on this list (with thanks to Neal Shaffer). … Christopher Drouin reports that Michigan State’s lacrosse team puts the players’ names on the back of the helmets. … Kenn Tomasch spent yesterday at Cubs camp, where he snapped this shot of Alfonso Soriano inspecting an unidentified teammate’s collar tag, while the teammate appears to be examining his shirttail tag. Odd. … Third question on this Q&A page features some news regarding Reds uni numbers (with thanks to David Sonny). … Interesting article here about high-tech performance gear in many different sports (as spotted by Patrick Baude).
February 19th, 2008
Disregard, for a moment, Dontrelle Willis’ crooked cap and Joel Zumaya’s questionable display of facial hair and take a look at the unis.
Note also it’s still spring training. And now sigh longingly. A team wearing its home uniform during early spring training, instead of those insipid BP jerseys and caps. Ahhhh … nice. (Even though the jerseys are Cool Base). Contrast that with what Jesse Crain of the Twins wore on Friday. Now, shake your head in a disapproving manner and go back to Willis and Zumaya.
Whew. Sunday is saved. — Bryan
February 17th, 2008
Looks like this fine specimen is getting ready for some good times on the diamond, too. I usually dig out my glove in February or March to see if my rotator cuff has healed over the winter. I know rotator cuffs in general take a good deal of time to recover, so I’m really holding out hope for this 10th year.
Anyway, our team should be … hold on … what? That’s Nick Johnson? Oh, OK, cool. Our team is full though, so he’ll have to just be a sub. Get his number.
OK, back to the squad — we should be pretty salty this year, what with Dave coming back from that triple bypass and … hang on again. Yeah, I know — Nick Johnson. Good for him. Wait, didn’t the Yankees used to have a guy named Nick Johnson? Oh, that’s the same guy? Geez, what happened to him?
Wow … that look may work for the Nats, but he’ll have to get some pants and a shave to play for us.
But get his number anyway, just in case the baseball thing doesn’t work out. And you know we’re gonna need a sub at some point. — Bryan
February 16th, 2008
By Bryan Redemske
In just more than a month, the pool of Presidential candidates has been whittled — nay, chopped — to just a precious handful. Iowans had their early say, Super Tuesday has come and gone, and states are doling out the remaining delegates like crazy.
We’ve heard about tax plans, health care plans, and Iraq. We’re heard about budgets and spending. But what about uniforms? Or, perhaps more accurately, if these candidates were on a sports team, would they wear the uniform properly or Manny-style? Would they opt for “comfort” or a timeless classic? Time to find out.
First off, it’s a shame John Edwards is no longer in the running. Trim, fit, and owning a nice head of hair, Edwards pulled off a late-July bike ride alongside Lance Armstrong with panache. The former candidate joined Armstrong for part of a day of RAGBRAI, the annual bike tour across Iowa. Edwards hopped on a loaner bike from Trek and hit the road. Note the properly worn helmet — just above the eyebrows — and also the confidence displayed by having a conversation while also moving forward. Many riders on RAGBRAI can’t do either without endangering everybody within 100 feet. Minor points subtracted, however, for going with baggy shorts over the standard ones. But no matter what he did, topping Howard Dean’s 2003 RAGBRAI ride was a given. And get a load of the calves on that guy!
Mitt Romney’s supporters were wearing little “mitts” that were actually gloves. And now his campaign is “suspended”? There’s a connection there somewhere.
Though he’s currently getting blasted, Mike Huckabee is a viable Uni Watch candidate. Once a very large man, Huckabee is now a smaller man who runs. A lot. Like, every day, in almost every town. Aside from playing bass with pretty much anybody who will let him plug in, Huckabee favors photo ops that feature him running. Here he is finishing up in Des Moines (at Gray’s Lake, where I once contemplated dropping out of a marathon, only to realize I’d still have to walk to the car anyway — might as well get a medal while I’m at it). South Carolina outfitted him here. You have to admire the guy’s routine, and also his adherence to basic running style. What’s basic running style, you ask? Bring your shorts, your shoes, and a comfy shirt, and go. Huckabee has it.
Hillary Clinton … um, pass. And pick a damn hat while you’re at it. At least get a little more bend in that bill.
Barack Obama seems to be kind of like Edwards — always well put-together, never lacking a certain class. Obama’s game is basketball, though he has been known to take some cuts now and again. He seems to be a fine Uni Watch candidate given the evidence at hand. Some stripes on the socks would be nice, but the rest of the uni is hard to argue with. He did fine throwing out a first pitch at a White Sox game in 2005, though a harsh rebuke is due to the club. Replica gear? Give out the good stuff! Here’s a gallery of a one-on-one game with an SI writer in scenic Spencer, Iowa, in late December. It would be nice to get a feel for his socks — to see if his stance on tall socks or stripes has changed — but the Zorro look is sleek. And I bet he can still dunk. [Also, based on the Chisox photo, note that Obama is a southpaw, as were four of the last six presidents. Hmmmm. -- PL]
Finally, there’s John McCain. He’s getting up there, with a skin cancer history and some lingering issues due to injuries sustained during a 5.5-year vacation in Vietnam in the late 1960s. McCain hasn’t done much to distinguish his uni-based credentials of late. He does have a uniform history, however, as a naval pilot. And Navy pilots look cool.
So here’s where we stand: We have a flip-flopper, a guy who can’t go out in the sun, a guy who wears running shorts an awful lot, and a guy who may or may not be able dunk on other world leaders.
Choose wisely.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Paul here. Two nice Shorpy finds by Bob Andrews: First, there’s sooooo much to like in this photo of the 1925 Hine Junior High School girls’ basketball team, and check out the 1921 Gallaudet hoops uniform (I’m assuming the two “B”s stand for “basket ball”). … Kevin Brotzman reports that his recently launched NumerOlogy site, which is devoted to Orioles uni number history, recently got a communiqué from former O’s pitcher Dick Hall, whose grandson had showed him the site. “Dick informed me that one of the games played in the O’s bullpen during blowouts involved picking a uniform number and attempting to list all the players around the league who wore the number at that time. Apparently Milt Pappas had the best head for numbers.” … UCLA and USC will both wear home uniforms, just like in the old days, for their annual football matchup this year. For details, including how the schools plan to get around the penalty for the road team not wearing white, start reading at the fifth paragraph of this story (with thanks to Art Kerdmanee). … MLB’s two most famous batting helmet modifications are probably Brooksie’s shortened brim and Yaz’s enlarged earhole (along with improvised masks, natch, but that’s a whole separate category). Now Paul Wiederecht has spotted a new one: Check out Glenn Beckert’s earflap, the front edge of which appears to have been scooped out to provide better visibility. … Interesting find by Bob Kemp, who writes: “Check out this picture, which was from Gene Smithson’s time as the coach at Illinois State. The shorts and the jersey’s side panel have the letters ‘MTXE’ — that’s for ‘Mental Toughness, Extra Effort.’ Smithson later brought this slogan to Wichita State, but I’m not sure if he put the letters on the uni. Have any other teams had these sorts of slogans on them, and is it possible that teams can still do that, or is it a violation of NCAA rules?” Good questions — anyone..? … Hobart College’s hockey team will be wearing camou uniforms tonight, as part of a fundraiser for the Wounded Warrior Project. … I believe this is Uni Watch’s first-ever motocross item, courtesy of Mike Lindsey “The Motocross Supercross was in San Diego last weekend, and Chad Reed wore a Chargers replica MX helmet, complete with his number on the back. Reed has won five of the last six races held in San Diego and apparently loves the city.” … Good catch by Bryan, who spotted Erik Bedard wearing someone else’s glove. … Second item on this page tells the amusing story of Esteban Loaiza’s career-long quest to wear No. 25 (with thanks to Eric Borer). … I know Nike will go to great lengths to get the swoosh as much exposure as possible, but this is a bit much (gold star for Ken Singer). … Speaking of Nike, two years ago the Swooshkateers told me that they didn’t put a black helmet into Oregon’s mix-and-match uni system “out of respect for Oregon State.” I guess their respect has run dry, because a black helmet is now supposedly on the way (good spot by Dave Anderson). … Mother lode of great old Cubs and Chisox spring training pics here (thanks, Bryan). … Earl Pettis of Rutgers was missing an “S” last night (big thanks to Tim Nichols). … Jeremy Brahm reports that the French LNB (Ligue Nationale de Basket) uses a black basketball. … Also from Jeremy: There’s something weird about receiving a gold medal while wearing a rifle, no? … Odd photo here of Dodgers prospect Clayton Kershaw wearing a USA uni and a Dodgers cap (as forwarded by Brian McCrodden). … The Kansas hoops team will wear 1988 throwbacks against Colorado tomorrow (with thanks to Jeff Mazzapica).
February 15th, 2008
New ESPN column today here’s the link.
Meanwhile: I’ve written several times about this photo of Stan the Man modeling the Cards’ 1956 home uni and holding a prototype of what was supposed to be the road grays (a better view of the photo’s caption is here, and a blog entry about the photo is here). The team ended up not using the road design, and the whole episode has become one of history’s classic “What might have been” prototype stories.
So I was intrigued when reader Bruce Menard recently got in touch to alert me to this auction, which is for a prototype salesman sample jersey that appears to be very similar to the one Musial was holding in the photo. The biggest difference is that the jersey in the Musial photo was button-front, while the one up for auction is zip-front. Other distinctions: The Musial jersey had a Slugger Bird left-sleeve patch, while the auction jersey doesn’t, and the auction jersey has red piping around the collar (but not down the placket, oddly) and at the sleeve cuffs, while it looks like the Musial jersey was piping-free.
The kicker is that the Musial photo was taken in 1956, while the auction listing describes the zip-front jersey as “1940s.” Could it be that the Cards were considering this design a decade prior to the Musial photo?
My go-to guy for Cardinals questions is Brian Finch, who runs the Cardinals Hall of Fame in St. Looey, so I got in touch with him. Here’s his response:
The quick answer is that I think it’s a 1956 salesman sample. … I wouldn’t get too worked up over it being a zipper-front. 1955 was the final year of the zipper-front jerseys for the Cardinals, so it makes sense that a sample made at some point prior to the ’56 season could have had a zipper-front.
I’ve seen and held the jersey at auction and it’s in wonderful condition. In fact it’s so minty, I don’t think it was worn. The corners of the numbers are sharp, there was no visible wear or pilling whatsoever, and the colors of the fabric, embroidery, and tagging were bold. All of these point to this being a sample.
As to why the auction company says it’s a 1940s piece — that’s beyond me.
So there you have it. Whatever the jersey’s provenance, it serves as an useful reminder that there’s some amazing stuff floating around out there.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Good article here about Minnesota’s hockey equipment manager (with thanks to Frank Mercogliano). … Holy crap! … Brian Schneider, who’s had one of the more interesting mask designs among MLB backstops, will apparently be wearing this with the Mets. Can’t say I’m in love with it, but at least it appears to be completely free of black (with thanks to Marc Rabinowitz). … Seth Engelbrecht reports that Illinois will wear Butkus-era throwbacks on September 6th. Details here. … The Maple Leafs held an outdoor practice the other day. Details here, and additional pics here (with thanks to Will Leslie). … Dayton wore throwbacks last night (”although that didnit stop us from shitting the bed yet again,” laments Tim Bennett). … Awesome Cali Golden Seals historical video clip, including lots of uni-related commentary, here (Frank Mercogliano again, plus he also came up with a very short video that should be a big hit at Teebz’s house). … “I was in the Towe Auto Museum (of all places) in Sacramento,” writes Larry Brunt, “and among all the cars they had a single display case of Sacramento-oriented uniforms. Included was this jersey, worn by the Muzio’s Bakery in the 1950s. As explained on this card, the uniforms were hand-me-downs from the 1940s Yankees. How cool to have worn one of those!” … Will Brinson reports that Steve Nash is wearing sneakers that are made entirely from recycled materials. … Well, that didn’t take long. … Best analysis so far of yesterday’s theatrics.
February 14th, 2008
My knowledge of competitive swimming is pretty limited: I know that Mark Spitz won a shitload of gold medals in 1972, that for a while you couldn’t talk about the East German women’s team without using the term “saliva test,” and that swimmers go through more razor blades than the average person.
But I know a whooooooole lot more about swimming today than I did a day ago — a lot more than I want to know, frankly. For starters, I know that Australia’s Leisel Jones has a bit of back flab. I also know that America’s Amanda Beard definitely isn’t living up to her name. And I learned three things about superduperstar Michael Phelps: 1) He’s got a Christ complex; 2) he’s got the Olympic rings tattooed onto his right hip; and 3) well, see for yourself.
I know all of this, and more, thanks to Speedo, which unveiled its new LZR Racer swimsuit all over the world yesterday. According to this article (which was accompanied by a photo that appears to have been heavily Photoshopped in at least one crucial aspect), the suit has 10% less passive drag than Speedo’s previous Olympic model. And let’s face it, it’s pretty obvious which body part is providing the drag.
More than 50 countries are expected to wear the suit at the Olympics later this year, but the suit will make its competitive debut this weekend at the Missouri Grand Prix. Which just goes to show another thing I just learned: Who knew there were swimming pools in Missouri?
It’s bad enough that they’re rolling out a swimsuit that leaves so little to the imagination, but the name “LZR Racer” surely sets a new standard for loathsome branding. So I was amused to see that the USA Today article kept referring to the suit as “Lzr,” with only one capital letter, which no doubt annoyed the crap out of everyone at the Speedo offices. Or at least I hope it did.
(Thanks to Jeremy Brahm and bench coach Bryan Redemske for their contributions to today’s entry.)
Uni Watch News Ticker: Yesterday I ran this photo, which led some readers to track down this page, which in turn led to some chatter in the comments section about $32 being a lot to pay for a T-shirt (which just goes to show that Jews really do hate to pay retail). And that in turn has led PopJudaica.com founder Sara Schwimmer to offer a $5 discount on the Jeter shirt to Uni Watch readers — just use discount code “J4J” when checking out, now through March 1st. … There’ll be one less captain’s “C” on the baseball diamond this year, now that Mike Sweeney has officially left the Royals. … Everyone knows how much I like stripes, but the Mayfield, Ohio, high school girls’ swim team is a bit much, even for me (thanks, Vince). … Matt Mitchell reports that the Royals are gonna hit the ground running with their powder blues. … Andrew Schall notes that Pitt’s Ronald Ramon, who was born in the Dominican Republic, has the Dominican flag on his socks, while his teammates just have the Adidas logo. … “Check out this pic from an interview with Devin Hester,” writes Brendon Yarian. He’s wearing Philly gear!” … I’m not sure what I like more about the 1937 movie Idol of the Crowd — that it features classic hockey uniforms, or that its plot summary on IMDB.com begins with “Johnny Hanson wants to make enough money to enlarge his chicken farm.” Full synopsis here (awesome find by Matt Mitchell). … “With the recent unsettled form of the England national soccer team, quite a few supporters from different clubs are touting their goalies as ‘England’s No. 1,’ ” writes John O’Neill. “But West Ham United’s goalie, Robert Green, was recently spotted wearing gloves with ‘England’s No. 6′ emblazoned on them.” … Gotta love this (nice find by Zac Neubauer). … Very good article and accompanying video here about the Sacramento Kings’ equipment manager (with thanks to Clark Farrand). … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: Excellent article about the United States seal available here. … Someone really ought to bid on this. … Really interesting jersey worn by the Myrtle team, who were 1904 amateur champions in Detroit (with thanks to photo guru Dave Eskenazi). … If you think the Lakers’ throwback short shorts were too revealing, check out the Seahawks’ 1981 training camp! That shot is taken from this awesome video clip (great find by Ricardo Almonte). … What is it about athletes wearing No. 32, even if it’s not their regular uni number? First it was Kirby Puckett, then Cal Ripken, and now Todd Krevanchi has turned up an old shot of Chris Webber wearing 32. “Is 32 a universally accepted jersey number for generic media shots?” he asks. Good question — anyone..?
February 13th, 2008
It remains one of the sports world’s enduring mysteries: Every year the NFL selects the best players at each position, gathers them together for an all-star game in Honolulu, and then humiliates them by dressing them in the most god-awful uniforms imaginable. I’m not gonna bother going over every unsightly detail of this year’s design, because it’s pointless — every new Pro Bowl uniform is the worst ever, until the next one is unveiled. It’s almost like the league is saying, “Yeah, okay, so you get your free trip to Hawaii, you get to party with hula girls, you get to drink piña coladas out of a coconut shell, but don’t think you’re gonna get out of this without paying a certain price.”
As you know, medical research has concluded that only 17 people on the planet have the gene required to watch the entire Pro Bowl without falling asleep (and five of them, perversely, are African tribesmen who don’t own television sets), so there’s a good chance you missed at least a few of Sunday’s more noteworthy details. Here’s a quick guide:
• By far the most significant development — and I haven’t seen anyone else mention this, boys and girls, either in the comments section or in e-mails to me — is that all the players were wearing a new pants design, with added seams and panels on the rear thigh (here’s the AFC version), kind of like a football version of MLB’s Cool Base jersey gussets. I’m not sure if this was for added flexibility, ventilation, or both, but man did it look like shit. Let’s hope this wasn’t a test drive for league-wide implementation next season.
• As many of you are already aware, Derek Anderson had quite a little adventure with his jersey patches. A few days prior to the game, he was photographed with his left shoulder patch upside-down. On game day it was fixed (or, more likely, he’d just switched to a different jersey) but now the patch on his right shoulder was askew. Not only that, but compare that last photo, which shows the facemask pointing down roughly to five o’clock, to this shot, which appears to show the facemask oriented more toward four o’clock. Just how many defective jerseys did Anderson wear in one week? (Big thanks to Dominic Atencio and John Boris for the screen grabs.)
• The Chargers’ official lightning bolt logo use to be white outlined in gold, but this season it was changed gold outlined in light blue and navy. So why were all the San Diego players in the game wearing the now-defunct white logo on their shoulders? Interestingly, the jerseys for sale at NFL.com got it right.
• Terrell Owens wore at least two different pairs of cleats: white trimmed with blue and silver (plus, as Nick Hanson notes, he also wore a cross necklace).
• Speaking of cleats, look what Tony Romo was wearing.
• That’s quite a pustule Peyton Manning had on his knee.
• No photo, but Osi Umenyiora still had the Super Bowl XLII decal on the back of his helmet. Anyone notice if the Patriots players had it too?
• The new NFL logo finally made its on-field debut, on the MVP trophy (although it looks like they used the old logo here). And it’s good to see that Adrian Peterson’s uni number gets gunked up in the Pro Bowl, just like in a regular game.
• And that’s finally that.
Next year, let’s have some throwbacks, shall we?
Uni Watch News Ticker: Check out who’s wearing striped socks — the astronauts who are currently up in space (with thanks to Rob B). … A nice selection of Karl Ehrhardt’s sign work is shown in this video clip (a forwarded by Matt Edwards). … Got an on-site query yesterday morning from Ryan Perkins, as follows: “I’m in a restaurant in Jackson, Mississipi, sitting by a huge picture of Kent Hull (who was from Greenwood, Mississippi). I can clearly read ‘Wet Rat’ printed on the tongue of each side of his Reebok Pumps. Did some Googling and found nothing. Any idea if this was on all the pumps or if this was custom-done for Hull? And either way, what did it mean?” Anyone..? … Wake Forest was wearing new kicks on Saturday. Lots of interesting details on these sneakers, including a very subtle Skip Prosser memorial — for the full scoop, check out this page, written by Uni Watch charter member Zach Smith. … Northern Kentucky’s women’s hoops team will be wearing 1970s throwbacks this Saturday. Full details here (with thanks to Steve Hensley). … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: Lots of coverage here about Rick Pitino changing suits in the middle of a game the other day. … The Aussie rugby team sure looks sharp — yes, even with that little purple ribbon on the guy’s leg. Anyone know what that’s for? … Good interview here with the principals of Plan B Branding, the San Diego-based design firm that’s responsible for a lot of current minor league uni designs (with thanks to Greg Victor). … The Staten Island Yankees have unveiled a new logo for every day of the week. Okay, not quite, but almost. “Looks like a cartoon version of the classic Yankee stuff,” says Tyler Kepner. “I’d actually like the block SINY thing, if it were for a sleeve patch and not a cap logo. Also: A short-season class A team with FIVE cap styles? That’s a little much, no?” Indeed. … Reprinted from last night’s comments: Fascinating college hoops game recently, featuring Grand Valley wearing throwbacks against Northern Michigan, whose jerseys have no lettering — just huge uni numbers fore and aft (and those aren’t throwbacks — those are their regular unis!). … Seth Horowitz spotted this at a Yankees game last year. … Doug Keklak reports that Penguins fantasy camper get to wear the team’s original scarf-clad penguin (although the color scheme is an odd choice).
February 12th, 2008
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