As most of you know, I’ve been trying to compile a visual catalog of hockey red line designs. It’s an interesting project, because the blue lines are always solid blue, but red line styles are all over the map. It’s sort of a stealth design element on the sports landscape.

How did we end up with such a multiplicity of red line designs? A hint comes from reader Matthew Clement, who recently sent me the following note:

The red lines were originally broken up with white in order to differentiate the red line from the blue line on black and white TVs. Perhaps this is common knowledge, but I only figured it out last year when Montreal played in Colorado and the local sports station broadcast the second period in black-and-white as a tribute to the old days of hockey.

I had never thought about that, but it makes perfect sense. Interestingly, now that we live in a color TV world, some red lines have gone back to solid red. You can see that in some of the photos linked in the following alphabetical list of arenas, which features all of the current NHL rinks along with some minor league and college facilities. I’ve tried to show current designs as much as possible, although I probably missed the mark in a few cases. And that’s fine — I’m mostly interested in showing the range of red line possibilities, past and present.

So:

• Air Canada Centre (Toronto): Checked.

• American Airlines Center (Dallas): Red stars on a white background. A few years ago it was checked.

• BankAtlantic Center (Sunrise, Florida): The home of the Panthers uses white panther pawprints on a red background (here’s another view), which is a reverse-field version of their previous design.

• Bell Centre (Montreal): Checked.

• General Motors Place (Vancouver): A diagonal check.

• Giant Center (Hershey, Pennsylvania): The home of the Hershey Bears is using little white Calder Cup outlines on a red background. You can see the arena’s crew actually creating the red line in this video clip.

• Gwinett Center (Duluth, Georgia): This is the home of the ECHL’s Gwinett Gladiators, so the red line features little white gladiator swords.

• Honda Center (Anaheim): This season they’re going with large, inward-pointing white arrows. But in the past they’ve had smaller outward-pointing arrows (or are those supposed to be duck footprints?), interlocking triangles (additional views here and here), and solid red.

• HP Pavilion (San Jose): Checked.

• HSBC Arena (Buffalo): Checked.

• Jobing.com Arena (Phoenix): Worst arena name ever, but I really like their northwestern-striped red line.

• Joe Louis Arena (Detroit): Checked>

• Kohl Center (Madison, Wisconsin): This year it’s white diamonds on a red backgound. Last year it was target circles.

• Madison Square Garden (New York City): Checked.

• Mellon Arena (Pittsburgh): White diamonds on a red background.

• Nassau Coliseum (Uniondale, New York): Checked.

• Nationwide Center (Columbus): Lots and lots of little white stars. A few years back it was a simple checked treatment.

• Olympic Center (Lake Placid): When the Miracle on Ice took place in 1980, the red line featured red diamonds on a white background>

• OSU Ice Rink (Columbus): White stars on a red background. That’s the fourth design in as many years, because the past three seasons have featured white parallelograms (2008-09), block “O” logos (2007-08), and solid red (2006-07).

• Pengrowth Saddledome (Calgary): Diagonal checks. Used to be standard rectangular checks.

• Pepsi Center (Denver): White diamonds on a red background.

• Philips Arena (Atlanta): Remember that row of arrowheads that used to run along the bottom of the Thrashers’ jerseys? They’re not on the jerseys anymore, but they’re still on the red line.

• Prudential Center (Newark, New Jersey): Checked.

• RBC Center (Raleigh, North Carolina): Black dots on the red background, just like their lower-jersey pattern. Used to be solid red.

• Rexall Place (Edmonton): Red diamonds on a white background.

• St. Pete Times Forum (Tampa): White lightning bolts on a red background.

• Scotiabank Place (Ottawa): Checked. Used to have a different design, although I can’t make out what it was.

• Scottrade Center (St. Louis): Solid red.

• Sommet Center (Nashville): Looks like it’s diagonally checked. Used to be solid red. And I’m not sure what was going on here — are those diamonds?

• Staples Center (Los Angeles): Checked, but it used to be solid red.

• Tate Rink (West Point, N.Y.): The home rink of the Army hockey team uses white stars on a red background.

• TD Garden (Boston): This year they’re going with lots of small white diamonds on a red background. Other designs in recent years have included solid red, checked, and a modified checked pattern in which the white checks alternated with spoke-B logos. I’m not positive, but I think the white checks have also been shaped like the NHL shield.

• United Center (Chicago): Last year solid red, this year long rectangular checks.

• Verizon Center (Washington, DC): When the Caps play, it’s white stars on a red background. But they apparently use a more conventional treatment for non-Caps games.

• Wachovia Center (Philadelphia): Three parallel red lines.

• Winnipeg Arena (Winnipeg): Back when the Jets were still playing, the red line was more white than red.

• World Arena (Colorado Springs): Three red parallel lines.

• Xcel Energy Center (St. Paul): Long, rectangular checks.

And that’s it for now. Do you know of other designs floating around out there? Let’s have ’em.

And it seems to me that we have a few questions worth answering:

1) Is Matthew Clement’s info about white-checked red lines being a response to black-and-white TV accurate? If so, were red lines routinely solid red in the pre-TV era?

2) And if that turns out to be true, which was the first team to go with a non-solid red line?

3) Were there any solid-red holdouts, even in the black-and-white TV era?

4) Which team was the first to use a non-checked design?

I love this — more than 10 years’ after Uni Watch’s debut, we’re just now exploring a whole new branch on the athletics aesthetics tree.

(Big thanks to everyone who contributed photos and info, including Daron Jones, Rob Leavell, Kyle Speicher, Jeff Emhuff, J.D. Vercett, Mike Vanne, Ryan Yanoshak, Rich Canulli, Jon Strauss, David Kendrick, Philip Krawec, Matt Hiett, Mike Bielen, Zak Kapotes, Michael Kearney, Vincent Vignola, Kevin Zdancewicz, Nicole Haase, and Bryan Grupp.)

Culinary Corner: I don’t drink coffee — never learned to like the taste. But I love the smell of coffee, I love coffee ice cream, I love coffee shakes and malts, I love coffee milk (the official state drink of Rhode Island, don’tcha know), I even like making coffee for Kirsten in the morning. Basically, I like everything about coffee except coffee.

Maybe that explains why I like instant espresso powder so much. I’m told it makes crappy espresso, but that doesn’t matter because that’s not what I use it for. Here’s what I do with it:

• I put about a 1/4-cup of it in my brownie batter, thereby transforming my brownies into mochies. (This pretty much works with any chocolate-based baking recipe — cupcakes, cookies, frostings, whatever.)

• I dust it on ice cream, where it provides a nice bitter counterpoint and a hint of micro-granular texture. (Kirsten actually keeps some in a salt shaker for this purpose.)

• I put a few tablespoons of it into the spice rub I use for steak, pork, and chicken. Adds a complex undercurrent to the proceedings.

I’ve read that espresso powder is also good in stews, but I haven’t tried that yet (maybe this weekend). Anyway, just get some and mess around with it — it’s surprisingly versatile, sort of like Joe McEwing.

Uni Watch News Ticker: As a few thousand of you informed me yesterday, Maryland and South Carolina will be wearing camouflage-accented uniforms (and cleats!) for their games on Nov. 14th (not against each other), as a post-Veterans Day gesture. Lots of additional info and photos here, here, here, and here. … Packers kicker Mason Crosby went to high school in Georgetown, Texas — which, as it happens, uses the same helmet logo as the Pack (good spot by Ken Singer). … What’s worse than a lacrosse team dressed in pink? An opposing team dressed in lime green plaid (blame Jim Atherton). … Latest step in Nike’s nefarious world-domination scheme: a robot that graffitis the roadway (thanks, Kirsten). … Yesterday I said that the Broncos’ yellow striping looked like the lone color element in an otherwise black-and-white photo. Nathan Haas decided to take that concept literally. … Best Halloween costume ever? (As submitted by my ESPN colleague Dave Schoenfield.) … Remember this photo of Boomer Esiason with a No. 63 helmet? Steve King says it was a tribute to veteran Bengals tackle Joe Walter, who was waived during that season. Esiason also wrote the number on his helmet with a marker. … Who’s that in the helmet hat? It’s Doug Keklak’s brother, with a young Kek himself in the background, circa early 1980s. … Expect to see lots of Kinesio tape in Boston this season (with thanks to AJ Chalifour). … “While at the farmers’ market in Los Angeles, I happened upon a small exhibit in a glass case about Gilmore Field (home of the Hollywood Stars) and Gilmore Stadium,” writes Patrick Woody. “Both buildings were located adjacent to the Market, and Gilmore Stadium sat on the site of what is currently CBS Television City. Anyway, there were some cool items in the case. Sadly, there were no Stars shorts.” … Mark Maxwell says this poster has been appearing on campus at Ohio University — looks like an upgrade from last year’s road uni. … “Not sure what this is, but it was on the camera in the dugout during Yanks/Halos,” says Matt Harris. … “Meet the Raiders of Rider High School in Wichita Falls, Texas,” writes Andy McNeel. “You’ll notice the gorgeously simple and strong ‘ROHO’ logo on their helmets, which stands for ‘Ride On, Honorable Ones.’” … Andy also sent along this photo — note the unusual NOB. “It makes my brain hurt to try to think about what ‘P.R.I.D.E.’ stands for, or why it deserves NOB status,” he says. “I swear, all of these high schools are within about a 70-mile radius of Wichita Falls. Fans of uniform oddity-watching (much like bird watching) need only go to Wichita Falls on any given Friday night, point their wagons any which direction toward any given set of stadium lights on the horizon, and they will not be disappointed.” … The term “in perpetuity” is almost never a good thing, but it seems particularly depressing here. … Here’s another high school that uses Bucco Bruce — with one slight modification, as Matt Lanzoff explains: “I attended that school in the late ’90s and was a junior the year of Columbine massacre. In the wake of that incident, the school chose to remove the sword from the logo (in order to fight school violence) but keep Bruce.” … And here’s a college that uses Bucco Bruce. Background, from Ben Teaford: “In fact, they got into trouble with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers over the use of the logo. Tampa Bay told them they couldn’t use it anymore, so the school’s president challenged Tampa to a game to decide who got to use the logo. Tampa refused the challenge and soon after changed their logo. I remember reading about it in Sports Illustrated at the time (just one of those small blurbs towards the front).” This account is confirmed in the fifth graf here.

You ignored it before, you can ignore it again: I’ve put another big batch of old indie and punk singles up on eBay, including some serious rarities. You know what to do.

By Phil Hecken, with Uni Watch Hockey Wing President, Teebz

We begin with a some words from Teebz:

As some of you have seen on this blog, I have railed on certain NHL teams for their unbelievable and seemingly ridiculous jersey designs. I’ll admit that I like the way hockey looked before Reebok got their grubby mudhooks all over the game, but corporate dollars are what they are, so who am I to criticize business decisions? In speaking with Phil, bench boss for Uni Watch Blog, we wanted to take a look at the NCAA’s jersey choices, but there are literally hundreds of teams when you include both the men and women. So, instead, we decided to focus on the 16 best men’s teams in the NCAA. Those would be the 16 teams participating in the 2009 Frozen Four in Washington, DC. Before we get started, here’s Phil with a couple of paragraphs on how this collaboration started. — Teebz

Earlier this week, a reader commented on whether or not there would be a review of the “Frozen Four” Hockey Uniforms. UW President Teebz immediately expressed interest and so, as is my wont, I approached him to assist me with what follows. Basically, the “Frozen Four” is the hockey equivalent of the NCAA basketball tournament, with a few differences. Rather than a field of 65, the Frozen Four includes the top sixteen college teams, broken up into four regions (East, Northeast, Midwest and West), who face off (pardon the pun) against each other until a champion for each region is decided. We then have the “Frozen Four,” which is taking place this year in Washington, D.C. Additional information on the Frozen Four can be found at the always trusted Wikipedia site.

Since I don’t know much about hockey, but I do know unis, I have entrusted the aid of Mr. Teebz in preparing this article. It will focus almost exclusively on the uniforms of the sixteen teams in the Tournament, as they were ranked coming in (#1 through #16 — although they are seeded as #1 through #4 in each region). Teebz will take the reserved, measured, studied look at each team’s uniform, from a hockey historian and player perspective, while I will pretty much just tell you what I think about them. I have often said that of the four major sports, hockey uniforms are without question the best from a variety and color perspective. Lets see how the college puck unis stack up. Without further ado, then, we begin our uni-examination. — Phil

Boston University Terriers: Home, Road, Alternate White, Alternate Red.

Teebz: Boston University is the Detroit Red Wings of the NCAA. They have timeless uniforms that stand out with their solid colour and striping scheme. The only major drawback that I can see are the number of swooshes displayed by the players. There are four on the knees and thighs alone. And do you really need four jerseys? C’mon, BU, that’s ridiculous.

Phil: Well, if BU is the Red Wings of the NC2A, then why do they have two alts? FAIL. However, I’ll concede the regular home and away are gorgeous. I love the armband with the different color opposing color numbers, and that font is a keeper. The Nikeified alts aren’t garish, but they aren’t necessary — the shoulder stripes add NOTHING. I do, however, like the lace-up collar. (In Nike’s defense, Rbk did begin the shoulder wings.)

Notre Dame Fighting Irish: Home, Road, Alternate.

Teebz: The home and road jerseys are solid. I like the colour scheme used, and the font makes the jerseys feel a little more traditional. The alternate, however, is not something I would want to wear often. While it could be used either on the home or road, I’m not fond of that particular shade of… whatever that colour is.

Phil: As far as the ‘regular’ home and away: The font kicks ass! Nice socks, good color scheme of blue, gold and white. Nothing superfluous. These look like hockey sweaters. Gold helmets are a nice matte finish. Quite frankly, I’m surprised the three stripes could pull off something as nice as this. I could do without the drop shadow on the numbers, but I guess that’s kind of a puck tradition. Now…those gold alts — I don’t hate them, but I’d have preferred they stuck with the same elements found on the home and away unis.

University of Denver Pioneers: Home, Road, no alternate.

Teebz: When scouring the Interwebs for photos of the Pioneers in action, nearly every photo had them in their white home uniforms. And that’s ok because they look pretty sharp. But they really need to wear their crimson jerseys more often. They’re pretty sharp with the gold accents.

Phil: That’s burgundy crimson? Looks like maroon to me. Either way, I’ll agree with Teebz here. That’s another solid uni — it looks like a hockey uniform (ignoring the many swooshes on pant and knee). But Nike didn’t crap it up with a “Bettman Bib” and pit stripes and such, so commonly found on NHL unis. Beautiful socks with stripe design echoed on the sleeve. Good stuff here.

University of Michigan Wolverines: Home, Road, Alternate.

Teebz: The white is traditional, and looks very classy. The blue is very much a Michigan colour, and looks great against the ice. The yellow maize jersey is hard on the eyes. A skating beacon doesn’t work so well. Leave the alternates, and stick with the white and blue, Michigan. The helmet design? I suppose I can give that a pass as it is distinctly Michigan.

Phil: Three different font styles (two with actual words, one with a big “M”) for three different jerseys. Really? But I gotta say, I do like the home white. Nice vertically arched wordmark, lace-up collar, and three blue stripes sandwiched in between two maize … wait. Aren’t these made by adidas? Could have fooled me, perhaps that’s some subliminal advertising? Nah. Well, it’s still a solid look. I’ll give adidas and Michigan a pass and say the three stripes were purely coincidental. The blue sweater with the big “M” … meh. It does look old school — old school like a football uni should look. I actually prefer the diagonal lettering on the maize alt and that’s totally Michigan’s color, so that would really work for me as a home and not an alt. I say, pick one style and stick with it, but that’s just me. I like consistency throughout the uni and well, this ain’t that. As far as their ‘iconic’ helmet design? It looks best on their football squad. Let’s keep it that way, and lose it on every sport that isn’t football, k?

Yale University Bulldogs: Home, Road, no alternate.

Teebz: Yale appears to be the Toronto Maple Leafs of the NCAA. The traditional blue-on-white home jerseys and white-on-blue road jerseys are classy and timeless. The best part of Yale’s ensemble might be that there are no sponsor logos all over the uniforms.

Phil: These guys, according to a conversation I just had with Teebz, appear to be a “non sponsored” school, meaning they’re not outfitted by any particular manufacturer. That would explain the swoosh on the breezers, the Bauer stick, and the three stripe sock pattern — I may be naive, but I doubt a Nike school would permit socks like that with their unis. As far as the unis themselves, I like them. Y’all might find them “boring” but they’re staid and understated, and far from boring. Typical Ivy smugness (or maybe traditionalism) is evoked by this uni set. It’s like, “We’re fucking Yale, deal with it.” Still, it’s a solid, if unspectacular uni. No major complaints here.

University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs: Home, Road, Alternate.

Teebz: Overall, these are pretty decent jerseys. The home jerseys are a clean white with minimal flair. The road jerseys are similar in their crimson design. The alternates, however, are beacons again. The one thing that saves the alternate jerseys, though, is the striping across the chest. I like the colour scheme.

Phil: OK, these rank pretty low on the list, lowest so far. Maybe it’s me, but I’m not really a fan of cartoon characters as the crest. The colors aren’t bad, and the yellow (gold) is certainly more muted than Michigan’s maize. Home uniform is at least not crapped up with a lot of superfluous shit, while the road is essentially a mirror image of the home, which I like. Doesn’t mean I like the uniform, just the uniformity of the uniform. I get what they’re trying to do with the alt, but it’s not really working. What I think they’re trying to do is evoke a very old-timey feel (never saw what their old unis looked like, so maybe this is some kind of throwback). Just don’t like the burgundy and white stripes on a gold uni. Sorry. Not working for me.

Northeastern University Huskies: Home, Road, Alternate.

Teebz: The Huskies are the Chicago Blackhawks of the NCAA. While I’m not saying they are using the Blackhawks’ jerseys, they look awfully close. In any case, the Huskies look good in their uniforms. My only advice would be to lose the black alternate. It’s unnecessary when the red and white jerseys look so good.

Phil: I’m inclined to agree with pretty much everything Teebz said above. Without prompting, my first thought was “Blackhawks” ripoffs. Except that the Blackhawks use a red alternate, and not a black one. Now, these colors are nice and the unis themselves are pretty solid. Not a huge fan of the cat’s paw on the shoulder blades, but it’s not bad either. What? That’s a dog’s paw? Gotcha. Anyway, I am a big fan of the socks and jersey striping echoing one another, and the lace-up collar is a bonus. The road red is much nicer than the black alt, and since alt’s are pretty much unnecessary in my mind (although in hockey, they are much more preferable to baseball, where an alternate is completely unnecessary). Plus, they’ve put the dog on the alt and not the “N” and that’s kind of not my cup of tea. Otherwise, though, a nice, solid uni set.

University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux: Home, Road, Alternate.

Teebz: First off, they will always be the Fighting Sioux. Political correctness isn’t necessary when speaking about UND’s storied hockey program. Green and white simply cannot be overlooked as a gorgeous combination for hockey. It shocks me to think that the one NHL team who used green, the Minnesota Wild, opted to stick with red. The black alternate looks decent as well. Green really does make a difference, though.

Phil: OH BABY. My absolute favorite, at least for the road uni. I’m prolly one of the few folks on UW who prefers the Celtics alternate to their regular uni (I know, shoot me), but that’s also why I love the Fighting Sioux road uni. For some reason, this is the only shade of green which looks great when accented with black (in fact, it’s prolly the only COLOR that looks good when accented with black). That Sioux sweater and sock combo, with the black pants, helmet and gloves, I donno — it just looks great! I could do without all the damn swooshes, and the font is not the best, plus the drop shadow is unnecessary…but damn, that can’t stop the power of the green and black. As far as the home and alt — take ‘em or leave ‘em (especially leave the alt). But that road green is just freakin’ sweet.

University of New Hampshire Wildcats: Home, Road, Alternate.

Teebz: I’m not sure why this is, but the Wildcats seem to play almost every game in their white jerseys. I scanned through their website, and all the pictures of the Wildcats team were in white jerseys. The white and blue jerseys look similar to Yale’s uniform set, but that grey/silver alternate is slick. I’m not overly impressed that the socks don’t match the colour of the jersey, though. Huge oversight on UNH’s part.

Phil: These kind of suck. But that’s not to say they don’t have some redeeming qualities. The font sucks. The stripes are great. At least, if you removed the wordmark (initialmark?) they’d be pretty solid unis. The alts are a travesty, however. Cartoon crest, non matching socks, side panels. Phooey. If there was ever a team that didn’t need an alt, at least if that’s what they’re gonna come up with, this is it.

Cornell University Big Red: Home, Road, no alternate.

Teebz: Cornell shows that traditional two-colour uniform schemes work well. The red-and-white scheme worked well for Boston University, and Cornell is no different. Classy, simple, and a very good look. If I could change one thing, I’d add a shoulder yoke. That’s it. Otherwise, Cornell’s look is nearly perfect.

Phil: OK, I like these, but they’re not my faves, although they’re pretty close. I’m prolly partial to Cornell because my pop’s an alumnus, and I always had an affinity for, and knowledge of, Big Red unis growing up. You can’t get much more basic than these, and that’s not a bad thing. Home and roads echo each other, which you know I like. And, well, they’re Big Red, so of course there is only going to be red and white in the uni. You may call it bland and boring, I call it classic and traditional. No extraneous striping, piping and bibs, just a workman-like uni. It works.

Princeton University Tigers: Home, Road, Alternate.

Teebz: Princeton looks like an ivy-league school in these uniforms. I love the shield logo on the front, and it really sets the rest of the jersey off. The striping is done well, and the orange-and-black colour scheme, like a tiger, fits to a tee. Unfortunately, the orange alternate jersey does make the Tigers look like moving pylons, similar to what the New York Islanders faced a few years back. There needs to be a white shoulder yoke to break up all that orange.

Phil: (*removing sunglasses*) If this were any team but Princeton, I’d prolly hate it, but since they make black and orange somehow look great, I’ll give it a solid grade. The home is pretty good, and while I’m not generally a fan of the shield (or any symbol) on a college hockey jersey, the Princeton shield works. The black and orange fat stripe circling the jersey and repeated on the sleeve (with the number inside the stripe too!) looks pretty neat. Road uni = home uni mirror? Check. Now … onto that alternate … It’s not the worst uniform I’ve ever seen, but it’s not … it’s not good. It’s just too much orange. Like … WAAAAAAY too much orange. I’m not advocating for the shoulder yoke like Teebz, but maybe, I donno, not having an alternate would work. I don’t hate orange as a color, in fact it’s one of my favorites, but not this much. This is overkill.

University of Vermont Catamounts: Home, Road, Alternate.

Teebz: Green and yellow is such an iconic look. The NFL’s NFL’s Green Bay Packers wear it, and they are known for that colour combination. Vermont looks very classy, and I am a huge fan of their road uniform. What I don’t understand is why they would go black on the road when they had an incredibly beautiful green road jersey in 2008. Vermont took steps backwards with their road choice this season.

Phil: Green and yellow is an iconic look … for Green Bay … and the Green Mountain State too, I guess. These are pretty nice unis, nothing slick and sassy, just pure, simple mapley-syrup goodness. Solid font, nice radial arching on the wordmark. Good color scheme. The alternates are pure shit unnecessary. That’s all I’m gonna say about that.

U.S. Air Force Academy Falcons: Home, Road, no alternate.

Teebz: The Falcons wear, ironically, Air Force Blue as their main colour, and mix in some grey for a pretty decent look. The one thing that bothered me was the lightning bolt on the breezers of the player in the road uniform. Why is that lightning there? What purpose does “ass lightning” serve?

Phil: Great colors, horrible font. What do they want to evoke with that? A sense of flying or something? I’m not a fan of the lightning bolt on the side of the breezers, but they may use it on some other stuff they have, so I’ll give it a free pass. While this uni is slightly more “modern” in appearance than some of the others, it’s not ‘badly’ modern. Nice stripes on the bottom of the jersey and the socks (which match!) but I could do without the extra stripes on the shoulders. Still, not a bad uni at all. Thankfully there is no alternate.

Miami University (Ohio) RedHawks: Home, Road, no alternate.

Teebz: You know how when something works, everyone tries to copy it? Red-and-white work well as a colour combination. Miami-Ohio looks solid in their jerseys. Clean, crisp, and very well-dressed. Exactly what a hockey team should look like.

Phil: Who even knew they played hockey in South Florida? Certainly not Panther fans. What’s that? Miami is in Ohio? Who knew? All kidding aside, these are pretty solid unis. Seems like a lot of hockey teams wear red and white. Prolly because it’s a great color combo for a hockey uniform. Nice and basic, it’s very workmanlike. I like the smaller stripes on the jersey sleeve on both home and away, although the outline around the numbers and wordmark isn’t really necessary. It’s not bad either. Damn fine uniform here. And no alternate, which is a bonus.

Bemidji State University Beavers: Home, Road, Alternate.

Teebz: Bemidji State goes green and white as well. These two-colour uniform schemes seem to be a very good mix for teams. I’m not sure if it’s the lighting in the road jersey picture, but Bemidji could use less dark green/black and a little more white in there. Mix it up a little, Beavers!

Phil: I like the colors, and the home and road uniforms are both damn fine. I’m not a fan of breaking up the “Bemidji” and “State” with a number, however. I guess with a name that long, it’s hard to make it look good, but it’s just not visually appealing in this instance. Also the vertically arched “Bemidji” and the horizontal “State” somehow doesn’t look right. But that’s a small complaint. Nothing obnoxious about either the home or road uni, and the stripes are perfect. The alternate is not one of the worst I’ve ever seen, and despite the cartoon beaver, I LOVE the crest. That circular logo is sweet, but I’m not a fan of the odd sleeve pattern. They just need to figure out what to do with that beaver.

THE Ohio State University: Home, Road, Alternate.

Teebz: I don’t mind tOSU’s home and road uniforms. They are distinctly Ohio State, and the red and white colours are used again. The grey alternates, however, leave something to be desired. I’m not liking this uniform at all. Bland? You bet. Why waste the effort?

Phil: Lets start with the homes. Pretty solid uni, although the striping on the sleeves has gotta go. Colors are totally tOSU. Nice job except for the sleeves. Onto the roads. Despite the “mirror” quality of the road (which I like), it’s TOO MUCH red. I know they can’t wear white pants, but they look like the Cuban baseball team or something the US sent home in 1980 in Lake Placid. It’s not a bad look (excepting, again, the sleeve stripage), but it’s overkill on the red. Now those alts … another example of me “getting” what they’re “doing” but it’s just not working for me. It tries for that old time feel (a good thing) but it just doesn’t look right — especially in gray. The modern “Buckeye” wordmark, the helmets, the Nike swooshes — it just doesn’t work for a throwbackish feel.

Honestly, I don’t hate any of these jerseys per se, but I’m not fond of college teams having alternate uniforms. It just reeks of selling out, and, since you can’t get a player’s name on the back from the university team due to stupid NCAA rules, is there any point to making an alternate? For the most part, though, all of these teams have very good colour schemes, and all of them look pretty sharp. – Teebz

Well, there you have it. The final 16 teams (some of which have already been eliminated) in the Frozen Four. If you think I’m off the mark, or was a little harsh or whatever, let me know. After all, they’re just opinions, and even though mine are right you may feel differently. Tell me aboot it. – Phil

By Phil Hecken

It’s that time of year again. The annual barrage of teams wearing pink in support of breast cancer research and funding, or in support of The American Cancer Society, with proceeds used for cancer research. The prevailing trend now though, is Think Pink, which seeks to raise breast cancer awareness.

Just Google “pink uniforms” and you’ll see page after page of stories on teams who dress themselves in the color pink to promote some form of cancer prevention, research, or other endeavor. Especially with the recent passing of Kay Yow, many of the “Think Pink” cancer prevention efforts are now moving to to raise awareness for the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund. Worthy causes, all. And in all seriousness, who would be against cancer funding and awareness raising? But, does every team (seemingly) have to don pink? Is the trend getting to be, if not counter-productive, certainly watering-down the whole ‘uniqueness’ of the cause? That’s debatable of course, but lets focus instead on the actual uniforms and the myriad and sundry accoutrements surrounding the pink phenomenon.

Of course, wearing pink as an accent color has been around since at least the 1990s, and of course Andre Agassi, the ‘rebel’ himself, was at the forefront. At the time, though, there was no ’cause’ associated with it. Other athletes in non-team sports are still quite fond of pink, including Paula Creamer, self-proclaimed “Pink Panther”, who not only wears pink outfits but is also the only professional golfer to stroke a pink ball.

Moving onto team sports, however, the sartorial splendor of pink-clad squads is debatable. Again, for the purpose of this exercise, we will not debate the rationale or cause behind the donning of the pink, but merely the performance and appearance of the uniform and accessories. Kind of a skewed take on the Uni Watch dictum of “Is it good or is it stupid?”. In this case, the qualifications are merely, “Is the uniform good or stupid just really pink?”.

It seems like women’s college hoop teams are the primary wearers of pink. Personally, I don’t mind this, although there are certainly different shades of pink to be worn (which is nice — I’d hate to think they were all just one shade). I’m definitely less fond of the lighter pink sported here (yet, with different lighting, it appears slightly darker) or here. The brighter, hotter and deeper pinks seem to jump out more (since they’re less akin to pastels), and when accented with black, stand out. Course, it could just be the lighting, but this looks less pink and more ’salmon’ to me. And don’t forget to match the sneakers to the uniforms.

Women’s basketball is far from the only sport which has jumped into the pink craze. Both men’s and women’s hockey have entered the fray. “Pink at the Rink” is the new battlecry, featuring pink ice, pink-accented unis, pink sticks, pink-accented gloves, and, of course, pink uniforms for both the ladies and the guys. Even the refs have gotten into the act. Not a big fan of the pink at the rink myself, although it looks much better when the socks are coordinated with the sweaters, and the pants are in a complementary color.

Both men’s and women’s soccer sport the pink uniforms (although the Sevilla player is wearing, I believe, a change kit, and certainly not anything related to breast cancer causes) as well. Palermo also sports pink, as do several women’s colleges, with the latter donning the pink for cause-related reasons. Of course, you gotta start ‘em young.

In other, somewhat “individual” sports such as the triathlon and cycling, pink can always be found. Other semi-team sports like gymnastics will also find the pink in small numbers. Not to be forgotten, USA Softball has also gone pink for a good cause.

OK, that’s enough of the uniforms, but what about the accessories? The NFL got into the act by having the refs don pink ribbons to support breast cancer awareness week in October. Nice touch. Not to be forgotten outdone, the AFL used a pink-accented ball. I’m not sure this is official, but the Cowboys seem to have dabbled in pink, and this is always a welcome Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. But will her boyfriend QB ever slip on a pair of these?

You already they manufacture pink golf balls, but you gotta put your balls on one of these, right? Of course, if you’re gonna play with pink balls, well then, shouldn’t you stroke them with pink clubs? And what better place to keep your clubs than in a pink bag? Of course, tennis players can also hit a pink ball too.

And what of those soccer players? Well, the pink clad ones can certainly kick a pink ball with their shiny pink boots. And the sport of boxing? Sure, why not use pink gloves.

Coaches and fans? Sure, dye your hair pink or put on some pink Chucks. May as well pile on the pink bodypaint for the cause, too.

But surely, surely, the greatest sport of all, which gives millions of dollars to multiple charities, supports many causes, and provides entertainment for millions, would never resort to a gimmick? Surely, baseball would never resort to the pinkification of sport, would it? I think you know the answer to that question. At least they haven’t introduced pink gloves…yet. But they’ll never make the uniforms pink, right? You never know — once you stop taking roids, nothing is out of the question.

Happy Valentine’s Day. Remember, think pink.

Well, that was fun while it lasted.

Last Tuesday I agonized over whether I should FedEx an American flag decal to Ladainian Tomlinson (for those who’ve been under a rock, his helmet has been flag-free all season). I never did send it, and now Tomlinson has made the matter moot, because he finally wore Old Glory in yesterday’s game against the Vikings, thereby ending the NFL season’s most entertaining uni-related storyline and bringing our weekly “Will he or won’t he?” game to a conclusion.

But a new game may be afoot. Several posts in yesterday’s comments section reported that Chargers wideout Chris Chambers was flag-free yesterday. No pics yet, but I’m looking. Not sure if Chambers wore a flag last week (which was his first game of the season), but it sounds like someone on the Chargers’ equipment staff is either asleep at the switch or else has a good sense of humor.

In other NFL notes from yesterday:

• Remember this? Something vaguely similar happened yesterday to Kansas City defensive lineman Tamba Hali, who delivered a big hit that sent part of his chinstrap sailing through the air. Not quite as cool as the flying number decal, but still something I’ve never seen before.

• Randy Moss’s numeral 8 was upside-down again.

• What do you get when you combine artificial turf, one team wearing solid black, and another team wearing solid black below the waist? Pretty much the ugliest game ever.

• The Eagles wore white at home last night to force the Cowboys into their “bad luck” blue jerseys. Didn’t quite work out the way they drew it up.

(Special thanks to Randy Williams and James Wortham for their Tomlinson screen grabs and to Blaine Williams for the Hali pics.)

Big Papi? No, Little Poppies!: With November 11th approaching, Canadian-born coaches and coaches of Canadian teams are starting to wear poppy pins on their lapels (for futher info on this phenomenon, look here). As it happens, I was in Toronto over the weekend for a wedding and saw lots of poppy-clad people all over the city. At one point I was talking about the poppies with one of my Canadian friends, and she mentioned something very Uni Watch-ish: The current poppy pins have a black center, but until a couple of years ago they had a green center.

That raised lots of questions: When exactly did the color change, and why? And who makes that decision? Like, is there an executive poppy committee somewhere in the governmental bureaucracy, or did the pin manufacturers just run out of green felt? Also, since real poppies have black centers, why was green ever used in the first place? What about the other British Commonwealth nations, which also wear poppies — do they go with the black or the green? My Canadian pals couldn’t answer any of these queries. Anyone..?

Other things I learned about the poppy pins: They tend not to stay on very long, because they have no backing clip; the lack of a clip also makes it fairly common for the wearer to get pricked; and apparently it’s customary to pick on the dorkiest kid in the class by covering him with as many poppies as possible.

I had hoped to buy a poppy pin myself (I was told to look for “the oldest, stooped-over-est old man you can find — he’ll probably be selling them”), but I didn’t come across a vendor during the course of my weekend. Dang.

Sock Summit: Longtime readers know I’m a huge fan of the pseudonymous sock savant known as Witesock (whose admirably obsessive web site is here, plus there’s a lengthy interview with him available here). So it was a big thrill for me, after years of false starts and missed connections, to finally meet the man himself over the weekend. I’m happy to report that he’s a peach of a guy. Over plates of chicken teriyaki and bibimbap (which he generously paid for), we spent the better part of two hours talking about socks, collecting, travel, socks, work, socks, and more socks. We probably could have kept going for a few hours more, but he had to get back to work.

Naturally, we compared socks: I was wearing my usual basic striped tube socks while Witesock had a twofer: black rugby hose over a pair of Miami Dolphins socks (to go with the jersey he’d worn for the occasion). “But doesn’t wearing two pairs of socks make your shoes a bit too snug?” I asked. To which he replied, “Oh, I usually buy my shoes half a size too big, to allow for that.” Now that’s dedication.

Uni Watch News Ticker: Interesting primitive facemask on display in this 1930 photo (with thanks to Kevin S. Whisman). … Speaking of primitive facemasks, look what Jared Wheeler found up for auction. … Interesting bit of uni lobbying on display here (as forwarded by Jacob Reed). … Ewww. … Now here’s a uniform category you don’t often see: Iranian women’s rugby. Details here (with thanks to Peter Chambers). … “Converse has resurrected its 1933 All-Star, which was the team shoe of the legendary Harlem Renaissance basketball team,” writes Steve Eschenbach. “They had to resort to eBay to get an original to work off of.” Details here. … Andy Enright, who says he works in the sporting goods biz, contributed a mother lode of insider info the other day: “Both the Schutt Ion and XP will not be offered in XL for 2008. Schutt does have the capability to make XL for NFL and college players when needed. Both helmets are fitting a little smaller than their counterparts, the DNA and Air Advantage. All Schutt large helmets are sized to fit 7 to 7-1/2, but I tried both helmets on today, size large, and both were a little tight, even though I wear a 7-3/8. The molds for these helmets cost about $200K each, so Schutt is waiting for public demand before moving forward on the XL size, probably late 2008 or 2009. Also, Eli Manning will wear the new helmet probably next year or later this year. They are having issues installing the radio earpiece. Schutt will also have a signature shoulder pad featuring Reggie Bush as well as Eli Manning, for use at the youth level. The individual pads will be in Saints and Giants team colors. Also, I’ve attached some pictures of LT’s new cleats to hit stores in April ’08, both the molded as well as the detachable. Didn’t take Nike long to replace Vick.” … Interesting logo creep placement here (as spotted by Jeremy Brahm). … Take a look at this (which was sent my way by David Soline). Did the Bulls really wear pink warmup jackets? … The Pacers debuted their yellow alts on Friday. … These high school football socks would be awesome if not for, y’know, obvious reasons (big thanks to Michael Orr, who also sent along a rare high school example of FNOB). … I’m sure his parents are proud. … The Islanders brought Al Arbour back to coach one last game on Saturday night — the 1500th of his career — which occasioned lots of uni-related news items: (1) The team wore white at home. (2) They wore a special jersey patch. (3) As Mike from Queens points out, the patch caused a logjam with the “A” and “C” designations. (4) Arbour’s “retired number” banner, which had been No. 739 (his number of coaching wins) was replaced with a new banner. (5). Since the Isles won, the new banner will reportedly be replaced with yet another banner — No. 740. … Good info on the UMich hockey uniforms here (courtesy of Craig Barker). … Florida went with solid blue on Saturday. … And Oregon realy outdid themselves. But here’s a confession: As a big yellow/green fan, I kinda liked what the Ducks were doing on Saturday. All the diamondplate nonsense still rankles, natch, but I thought this was one of their better mix-and-match combos. … Great article here about a guy who works in Riddell’s helmet-testing facility (with thanks to Matt Lindner). … NHL jersey update here (with thanks to K.C. Kless). … In happier hockey news, good update on the NHL Winter Classic here (as forwarded by Sean Leahy). … And the Rangers continue to look much better with their straight-hemmed jerseys. Kudos to whoever made the modification decision. … I used to think the Quad Cities Swing were the only team with unevenly sized numerals (well, unless you count this), but that was before Blair Hough pointed me toward this photo of two ringette players. … Doug Linder spotted UCLA’s Luc Richard Mbah a Moute wearing some very unusual leg sleeves during a preseason game Friday night. Also, some of the UCLA cheerleaders suffered from Adidas logo creep, while others did not. … Reprinted from last night’s comments: Nice ad in yesterday’s Boston Globe. … I’m going to be busy until at least mid-afternoon. Vince will be minding the store until then.

A few weeks ago I ran an entry about players who’ve worn their full names on their jerseys (or FNOB, short for “full name on back”). That post prompted so many contributions that I’ve decided to do a follow-up entry today.

The most interesting case study comes our way courtesy of Les Holmlund, who wrote in to tell me that the WHA’s Alberta Oilers — forerunners of today’s Edmonton Oilers — had the entire team wearing FNOB during their inaugural 1972-73 season. Now, that Oilers team was already uni-notable for a few other reasons. According to WHAUniforms.com (usually a pretty dependable resource), they began the season wearing “ALBERTA” on their backs and then switched to round-cornered nameplates with an unusual font. But there was nothing on the site about them wearing FNOB. Fortunately, Les came up with several photos to back up his point, as seen here, here, and here. So there you have it: The Alberta Oilers, who began by wearing PNOB (province name on back) and then switched to FNOB, almost certainly making them the most eccentrically nameplated team in sports history.

As for additional FNOB examples (aside from those already listed in my previous FNOB post), I’m only listing them if we have photos confirming them. I realize the list is still very incomplete, but here are the latest additions:

Football: Todd Johnson, Andra Davis (also shown here), Andre Davis, Dexter Reid, and Rob Moore.

Hockey: Ron Sutter (with the Flyers, too), Rich Sutter, Bobby Smith, Neal Broten (from his U. of Minnesota days), and Aaron Broten (ditto).

Soccer: Derek Young and Darren Young.

Finally, a few related categories that aren’t quite FNOB but still belong in this discussion:

• Several readers suggested coming up with a separate list for players who wear more than their first initial but less than FNOB, like Michael and Martellus Bennett. If anyone wants to contribute additional examples, I’m game.

• And here’s a unique situation, as explained by reader Roy Ellingsen: “Norwegian former hockey star Carl Oscar Bøe Andersen’s name was so long that he prefered to wear just his initials on the nameplate.”

Big thanks to all who’ve contributed — we’re building a nice little nameplate database here. And if anyone wants to start building a physical collection instead of a virtual one, look what’s up for sale on eBay.

Uni Watch News Ticker: Many readers wrote in last night to report that Virginia Tech’s Victor “Macho” Harris’s left-sleeve uni number was orange last night, while his right-sleeve number (and all his teammates’ sleeve numbers) was white. No photo yet. Anyone TiVo the game? … I’ve written before about umpires being forced to wear civvies after their uniforms got lost in transit. Now Richard Koh has come up with a video clip of Eric Gregg struggling to find adequately sized gear during just such a situation. Bill Murray’s doing the color commentary, too. … Minnesota’s women’s hockey team will wear a memorial helmet decal for the rest of this season in honor of equipment manager Bonnie Olein, who recently passed away. Details here (with thanks to Mike Nachreiner). … Andy Head notes that the Saskatoon Blades wear uni numbers is a very unusual spot (plus they’ll be wearing one weird-ass jersey for Emergency Services Night next month). … Drew McKay reports that the Slipstream cycling team recently invited fans to submit designs for next year’s uniform. The team is apparently for its argyle motif, so most of the submissions were very argyle-centric (including this one, which is Drew’s favorite). You can see all 613 submissions here. … The Trenton Thunder have unveiled a 15th-season patch (as forwarded by Ted Kerwin). … Much better, even if the stirrups are backwards. … And you can see the stirrups’ laundry tag peaking out here. … When it comes to baggy pants, like father, like son. … Remember when Mike Timlin (who probably thinks the term “World Series” is a U.N. plot) wanted to wear the American flag patch on his cap full-time? He lost that battle, but he’s got a flag on his BP cap — closer view here (great catch by Bryan Redemske). … Steve Necaster reports that the Sabres will be wearing white at home for several games in November. … Further evidence here and here of the Rangers having apparently modified their hemlines to eliminate Reebok’s scooped shirttail. … The Mid-Atlantic Hockey League recently unveiled new uniforms for the Indiana Ice Miners (dark, white), Jamestown Vikings (dark, white), Mon Valley Thunder (dark, light), Valley Forge Freedom (dark, white), and Wooster Warriors (dark, white). “We all know the MAHL is minor league hockey, but I’ve seen roller hockey uniforms that look more professional,” says Zak McGinniss, who provided the links. … “At the Mellon Arena they have a High School Hall of Champions,” writes Doug Keklak. “It’s a hallway in the arena adorned with framed high school hockey jerseys, mostly from western PA schools but there are a few West Virginia schools included in the mix.” Doug’s taken photos of many of them, which you can see here. … The Devils’ new arena opened last night with a Bon Jovi concert, and Chris Flinn noticed something interesting in the men’s room: “Every single urinal had the Devils logo engraved into the metal.” I’m not sure which is more embarrassing — admitting that you attended a Bon Jovi concert or taking a photo in the bathroom, but either way let’s all salute Chris for his devotion to the Uni Watch cause.

Very uni-unusual day in college football on Saturday, with all sorts of anomalies running rampant on the gridiron. Let’s start with Notre Dame’s 1977 throwbacks. Personally, I prefer this green-and-gold combo better than the one they wore on Saturday. But oh, those sock stripes — you know I loved those, although it was distressing to see how many players left their socks at ankle-level.

A sampling of other uni observations from Saturday:

• Oregon went solid white, which looked kinda chalky. Better than their usual visual carnival, natch, but the green helmet was the one really good component of this uniform — here’s hoping they go back to it next week.

• Oklahoma State wore solid orange, although it’s a shame Nike didn’t give them an orange helmet to complete the effect.

• Pitt wore solid navy.

• West Virginia wore gold tops with blue trim, which reminded lots of readers of Cal but reminded me of this.

• Florida wore a memorial decal for walk-on defensive back Michael Guilford, who died in a motorcycle accident last week (and whose nickname was Sunshine).

• Florida State wore a red “BV” helmet decal in honor of team videographer and cancer victim Billy Vasini, who’s currently in hospice care.

• No photo, but Vince says Michigan State’s Peter Clifford “pulled an L.T. and wasn’t wearing an American flag decal on his helmet” (a handy coincidence, since the Chargers had a bye this week, so we all might’ve gone through missing-decal withdrawal if not for Clifford).

• Graham McCulloch says that Michigan’s Mario Manningham’s surname was direct-sewn onto his jersey, instead of being on separate nameplate. I couldn’t find a good rear-view shot of Manningham, although this photo suggests that the lettering may indeed have been direct-sewn. If so, it would mark a change from how Manningham’s name has been applied in the past.

• Tracy McGrady was made an Houston Cougars honorary captain (with thanks to Seth Harris).

Things were a bit more sedate in the NFL, unless you count Julian Peterson’s neon-snot footwear, which will hopefully draw a hefty fine.

Intern Update: In case you missed it last week, Vince will soon be moving on to greener pastures, so I’m in the market for a new intern. For further details, scroll down to the “Help Wanted” section of last Wednesday’s post.

For those of you who’ve already applied, hang tight. I can’t acknowledge everyone, but I’ll be getting in touch with a handful of finalists soon. And my sincere thanks to all applicants — it’s humbling to see how many people want to work on Uni Watch.

Uni Watch News Ticker: Iowa State’s official logo specs and identity standards are available for viewing in this PDF file (with thanks to Brian Castile). … Andrew Flynn was recently at the Packers Hall of Fame, where he snapped a shot of the team’s 1962 yearbook cover. Obviously, they tinted those facemasks in the photo (colored facemasks didn’t debut until over a decade later, with the 1974 Chargers), although it’s hard to fathom why they would’ve done that. … Always good to start ’em young (good find by Jay Kuperstein). … Mike Orr noticed a bunch of interesting South Carolina high school football quirks over the weekend: (1) Chester High uses some really big-ass rear helmet numbers. (2) One of the Chester players has a helmet number that doesn’t match his jersey. (3) Lugoff-Elgin uses the biggest TV numbers I’ve ever seen. (4) The Lugoff-Elgin QB is apparently a Sean Taylor fan. … Victory Pennants prexy Morris Levin just scored this excellent postcard showing the Phillies’ uniform history (here’s the other side). Interestingly, the player images on the front of card are also used on the Phils’ web site. … If Curt Schilling’s gonna insist on wearing a Cool Base jersey, could he at least stop saluting the crowd, so we wouldn’t have to look at that stupid underarm mesh insert? … Good article here on the NFL’s latest uniform cop. … Dave Madison says Kevin Youkilis had the Majestic wordmark — instead of just the Majestic logo — on the left sleeve of his road jersey during Games 4 and 5 of the ALCS, suggesting that he might have been wearing a replica jersey. I don’t see any wordmark here, here, here, or here, but it does look like he might have had a wordmark under the logo here. I’m trying to get that photo enlarged so we can get a better look. … I reported lat week that Wisconsin would be wearing this throwback outfit on December 3rd, but the auction for the unis is already underway (with thanks to Nicole Haase). … Mark Coale reports that the Hershey Bears wore 70th-anniversary sweaters on Saturday. A nice idea, except the crest looked like a glorified sleeve patch. … Reprinted from Sunday’s comments: Adalius Thomas has been wearing one red glove and one blue. Additional views here and here. … I don’t care how many field goals you kick — this is still a really bad look. … The Devil Rays’ uni-unveiling event is gonna be a real, um, barn-burner (as noted by Morris Levin). … Dave Eskenazi, who’s contributed many Pacific northwestern baseball pics in the past, has now provided some gorgeous old hockey photos from that same region, as seen in these shots of the Portland Rosebuds, Seattle Metropolitans, Victoria Aristocrats, and Vancouver Millionaires. That’s Lester Patrick — “Yes, that Lester Patrick,” as Eskinazi puts it — here. … The Saskatchewan Roughriders wore throwbacks yesterday (with thanks to Garry Sum). … Two weeks ago I reported that the Wisconsin women’s hockey team was using this design. What I hadn’t noticed in that photo — but what Andy Seeger has now pointed out — is that the “C” and “A” designations are stacked under the uni numbers, which looks awful-and-a-half. … Matthew Lepke notes that Bryce Salvador is wearing Blues-branded boot protectors. … Reprinted from last night’s comments: The Broncos’ socks are supposed to have just a thin band of orange between the navy and white areas, but Brandon Marshall apparently wore navy leggings and white sanitaries with orange tape in between (additional pics here, here, and here, and the tape he uses is probably something like this). … And we conclude with a nice little video report on USC’s equipment staff (as provided by Ryan Whitacre):

The big uni-related news in the NFL yesterday had nothing to do with the players. It was the pink ribbons being worn by most coaches, owners, and other sideline personnel (although a few coaches went ribbon-free, including one guy who obviously didn’t want a ribbon messing up his carefully manicured look). The officials got involved too, wearing pink wristbands (here’s a closer look) and ribbons, although the zebras’ ribbons didn’t have the litle NFL logo pin.

Speaking of which: Isn’t a little offensive to turn cancer into a branding opportunity? Like, why use that NFL logo pin in the first place? MLB does this with their Mothers Day and Fathers Day ribbons, too. Similarly, despite what this decal says, hockey doesn’t fight cancer — chemo and radiation do. Why not have a decal that says, “Find a Cure” or “Support Cancer Research,” instead of a message that’s essentially self-aggrandizing?

Meanwhile, in non-cancer developments:

• Can’t say I was in love with the Titans’ blue-on-blue look, but I didn’t hate it either. The more of it I saw, the more it started to grow on me. Hmmmmmmm.

• The Rams, on the other hand….

• As discussed in yesterday’s comments: Although it’s not a new thing for him, John Kasay was wearing a watch and his wedding band while kicking yesterday.

• The Falcons logo on Alge Crumpler’s left sleeve was facing the wrong way (it should look like this.

• No photo yet, but LaDainian Tomlinson’s American flag decal was still missing. (In a related item: The Bills will be wearing their throwbacks tonight, and I’m wondering if their helmets will be completely blank in the back, as they were last year).

Research Reminder: I’m still very much in the market for examples of typos and misspellings on uniforms. In particular, I’m having trouble finding a photo of Wayne Gretzky from his first game with the Rangers, when he wore “Gretkzy” on his back, but non-superstar typos are fine too. Thanks.

Uni Watch News Ticker: Several readers have noted that Jimmy Rollins wears a Cool-Flo hemet when batting right-handed but a conventional lid when swinging from the left side. … Ryan Purdie notes that the TV numbers on Utah’s uniforms have been doing a slow fade. In 2005 they were on both the home and road unis; in 2006, still on the road set but not on the home design; and this year, they’re missing from both the home and road unis. … Mike Alper notes that the Blackhawks’ sleeve numbers seem to have been cut rather sloppily, without enough white space. Additional examples here, here, here, and here. … Marquette will have some rad throwback alternate jerseys this season (with thanks to Jon Aubry). … Reprinted from last Thursday’s comments but still worth a look: A surprisingly in-depth article devoted to Cole Hamels switching undershirts during Game 1 of the Phils/Rockies series. … Remember last week’s discussion of negative space? Markus Kamp found another good example in this Seahawks 12th man pin. … The National Federation of State High School Associations has enacted a bunch of new lacrosse uniform regulations (with thanks to Ryan Burns). … The Islanders’ Stanley Cup stripes were missing from Bill Guerin’s shoulder the other day (good spot by Tim Hudson). … Not truly uni-related, but there’s a spectacular slideshow devoted to photos of old Comiskey Park here — highly recommended (great find by Michael Gargano). … Check out the unsightly gap between Daniel Sedin’s right sock and pant cuff (as spotted by Daniel Sherman). … Marhsall’s basketball team has entered NikeWorld (that depressing news courtesy of Jake Keys). … “During Friday night’s Pens/Ducks game, the announcers were talking about these special pads that hang over the laces of the skates,” writes Nate Budziszewski. “They said most players don’t like to wear them because they’re embarrassed, so they wear a more cosmetic version that’s hidden under the laces.” … The NFL has enlisted Chelsea FC to help promote the upcoming Giants/Dolphins game in London. First visible evidence of this: Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora wearing Chelsea jerseys. … Jeff Tripodi found a 1987 SportsCenter highlight clip in which George Hendrick is referred to as “He With the Long Pants.” … Manny Pacquiao and Marco Antonio Barrera both wore red trunks for their super featherweight title bout Saturday night. … Reprinted from Saturday’s comments: Illinois players are wearing “Team” on their nose bumpers — a staple of Ron Zook-coached teams. … Bugs and baseball? Nothing new about that. … Hey, speaking of Friday’s bug-a-thon, here’s some recommended movie viewing for Yankees fans and Joba Chamberlain: Them (1954), which features huge nuclear-irradiated ants, and Starship Troopers (1997), in which the military forces of Earth wage intergalactic war against giant alien bugs. Both offer comforting reassurance that humans really can overcome insects. … Auburn’s 1957 throwbacks didn’t do much for me, given that they left so much contemporary clutter on the jersey’s upper chest. … Kent State University wideout Derek McBryde’s right TV number has been backwards for the team’s past two home games (good catch by Brad Foster). … The Japan Basketball League has introduced a new mascot. And his name — I kid not — is Hoopy. This is so fucking great, I don’t even mind that he’s not wearing striped tube socks (big thanks to Jeremy Brahm). … Our own Vince Grzegorek was quoted extensively in this article about the Indians’ uniform history, which ran in yesterday’s Cleveland Plain Dealer. The printed article included additional quotes from Vince, plus photos, so Ohio readers should fish their copies of the Sunday paper out of the recycling pile. … The striped belt phenomenon has trickled down all the way to high school (good spot by Jack Krabbe). … Susan Freeman attended the Stars’ home opener in Dallas on Friday and reports that “the new slimmer jerseys [kept getting] caught in the shorts, leaving half the numbers obscured” (but she didn’t mind so much cuz she got a pair of jersey beer cozies). The next day she checked out the traveling “Baseball as America” exhibit and took dozens of photos, which are available in a slideshow here. … Wisconsin’s women’s hockey team has won two national championships wearing this design, so Nicole Haase was surprised to attend a game on Saturday and see the team skating out looking like this, which is essentially the same design that the men’s team wears. “I asked a girl who was working the bench about the jerseys,” says Nicole, “and she said they were new and she thought they were permanent.” … During the preseason, the Lightning’s road jerseys had uni numbers on the front but the home jerseys didn’t. Now that the season has started, the numbers are appearing on the home set as well. According to a small item buried on this page (sent my way by Doug Mooney), “The team decided to make the change near the end of the preseason and sewed the numbers on after getting permission from the league.”

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.

If you’re a regular reader of this site, I’d say there’s a pretty good chance that you used to doodle uniforms or at least logos in the margins of your notebooks back in junior high. No shame in that — I did it myself, and so did uniform designer Todd Radom. But when it comes to uniform doodling, we’ve all got nothing on Marty Hick.

I met Marty a few weeks ago at the Uni Watch party in St. Louis (he’s the one who wore the super-cool St. Louis Cardinals necktie). At one point during the party he went outside and then returned carrying a cardboard box. When I asked him what was in it, he was all noncommittal. “I’m can’t show you yet,” he said. “I need a few more drinks before I’ll be ready for that.”

A few beers later, I asked Marty if he was ready to give me a peek at his stash. Still a bit wary but now clearly eager to share, he hauled the box onto the bar, reached in, and pulled out a big stack of notebooks — notebooks filled with amazingly detailed uniform drawings.

I flipped through the notebooks as Marty explained that he’d been making these drawings for years. But I soon stopped listening to him, because I was too busy engrossing myself in the drawings, which were incredible. There were stripe patterns and studies, comparative pants concepts, logo redesigns, Olympics uniforms, baseball sleeve treatments, all-star designs, NFL sock comparisons, some bizarre corporate brand uniforms, and more. It was a mother lode of obsessive-compulsive uniform illustrations.

The most interesting artistic trope in Marty’s drawings was his habit of combining home and road designs in the same drawing (additional examples here, here, here, and here), which created a weird In-Betweener or Lokai and Bele effect. When I asked him why he did that, he replied, “To save ink.”

By this time Marty’s initial reticence had given way to exuberant self-promotion. “Look, look at that!” he said as I flipped the pages. “Look, a logo on the Bears’ pants! Who else would think of doing that? Nobody! Look at that Islanders concept! Look at that Rams redesign! And look, here’s where I reconfigured the American and National Leagues in three divisions each — years before they actually did it themselves!” Somehow this all came off as charming instead of egotistical. I mean, really, how could you not be charmed by this? (You can see even more of Marty’s work in this slideshow.)

It was pretty obvious to me that Marty didn’t create all this artwork because he wanted to; like all creative visionaries, he did it because he had to. So I got his address and then, when I got back to my hotel room, I immediately ordered him a copy of Blackstock’s Collections, the book of obsessive “visual lists” that I reviewed a few weeks back. In the spirit of Blackstock’s work, as well as his own, I hope he’s doodled a few drawings in the margins.

Membership News: Lots of cool new stuff in the membership gallery, with lots more to come in the next few days. Remember, you can click on your card’s icon to explain what the design is based on and why you chose it, and you can also leave comments for anyone else’s design.

Meanwhile, every enrollee should now be listed on the membership roster. If you’ve signed up and don’t see your name listed, please let me know and I’ll make things right.

I’m happy to report, incidentally, that we’ll soon have a very special raffle — one that will make all you glad to have those three bonus raffle entries that come with membership. Details soon.

Uni Watch News Ticker: Oklahoma will have player names on the jerseys this season. … Reprinted from Friday’s comments: Although not truly uni- or logo-related, this is really, really cool. Details here. … Dennis Hurley has created a gallery of Cork City FC uniforms. … Brandon Roberts notes that Kentucky appears to have a new white helmet stripe this season. … College hockey report from Tom Konecny, who writes: “Though no official announcement from the school, the top two pics on this page appear to be the new Bowling Green State University hockey jerseys.” … The Bengals have once again published their jersey schedule for the upcoming season. Why can’t every NFL team do this? … In a vaguely related item, Chris Gilligan reports that this year’s N.Y. Giants season tickets show the team’s uniform history (additional images here and here). … Despite what you might think, I had nothing to do with this video (but Vincent Barone says his sister did). … Remember how we all noted some inconsistencies in the shoulder lightning bolts on the Chargers’ new uniforms when the design was unveiled a few months back? Check out this commercial, which shows the new uniforms in action. Not only do the bolt styles vary from player to player, but compare this view of LT to this view — and it’s the same play! … The Lakers have a new 60th-anniversary logo. … The Nats and Cards wore Negro League throwbacks on Friday. Interestingly, the Nats had throwback caps but cheated by using their navy road helmets, even though it was a home game. … Justin McGrail notes that the Celtics are plastering Kevin Garnett’s image everywhere in a numberless jersey. … Chaminade University is sponsoring a logo design contest (with thanks to Chris Chaussee). … “The Ottawa 67s of the Ontario Hockey League wore special jerseys during pregame warm-ups to honor longtime coach Brian Kilrea’s 2000th back in February,” writes Joe Dunman. “Luckily they didn’t all wear the jerseys during the actual game — the play-by-play guy would have gone crazy.” … Several readers have asked about this photo, which recently ran in SI and appears to show Hank Aaron wearing a two-digit number starting with 5. Now, the Hammer actually wore No. 5 when he first came up, later switching to his familiar 44, but I can’t find any info about him wearing fifty-something (or fifty-anything). Joe Hilseberg notes that neither of Aaron’s minor league teams was called the Braves, so that rules out that possibility. Anyone know more about this? … Might just be the lighting, but it looks like the Wizards are changing their trim from bronze to gold. … Willie Randolph added a “B.R.” inscription to his cap the other day, in memory of Bill Robinson. … Interesting NHL logo-o-rama site here. … Syracuse has unveiled a helmet revision, and if you squint a bit and break out the magnifying glass, you might just notice it. … Matthew Hackethal recently came across some old 1986 Topps stickers that show some of the Braves wearing really shitty-looking mesh-backed caps. “The photos appear to have been taken during batting practice (Dale Murphy’s shows him leaning against a batting cage),” he writes. “I’m wondering if this was just a spring training thing or did it continue in to the regular season.” Anyone..? … This always cracks me up. … In fact, it cracks me up so much I’ll show another example. … Not quite uni-related, but an interesting superstition. … Chosen logos (nice find by Matthew Scher). … The batting helmet from Bonds’s 755th homer is heading for the Hall of Fame (thanks, Vince). … June Jones apparently has some unorthodox coaching methods (thanks again, Vince). … Here’s something you don’t often see: an NHL/NASCAR connection (the trifecta for Vince). … Someone has tracked Florida State’s record by uniform combo (with thanks to Bob Jordan). … Rutgers has apparently tweaked their football jersey (compare to last year’s version). … The following item was buried in yesterday’s column by Newsday’s Ken Davidoff: “The commissioner’s office issued a memo last month to remind teams that proper uniform tops are to be worn at all times. That means that managers such as Boston’s Terry Francona can no longer go with the sweatshirt look.” I’ll believe that when I see it. … We’ve seen the Steelers’ 75th-anniversary logo before, but here’s how it looks on their jersey. … Several readers reported seeing a green dot on the back of many players’ helmets during yesterday’s Steelers/Saints Hall of Fame Game. Haven’t been able to find a photo. Anyone know more about this? … This site got an insane number of hits over the weekend, and I can’t figure out why. Not complaining, mind you — just mystified. Links from my Friday ESPN column account for some of the increased activity, but there’s gotta be more to it than that. Did some big mainstream site link over here without my being aware of it?

We all know about the Negro Leagues. But what you might not know about — or at least I didn’t until reader Jordan Woodson recently brought it to my attention, although it wouldn’t surprise me to hear that everyone else was already clued in — is the Black Fives, a term that loosely and collectively refers to early all-black basketball teams between 1900 and 1940.

We don’t think too much about how basketball was segregated in those days, in part because even white basketball leagues were pretty ragtag and small-time back then (and maybe in part, let’s be honest, because the game is so overwhelmingly black today), but now a company called Black Fives is documenting and celebrating — which means, of course, merchandising — the history of this overlooked chapter in sports history.

And man, they’ve got some awesome logos and uni designs to work with. It makes for some really nice merch, much of which the company has produced in partnership with Nike. I love the two-tone design here, the classicism here, and the simplicity here and here (”IPC” stood for — get this — Independent Pleasure Club, a team that wore some killer accessories). They’ve got some nice long-sleevers and jackets, too. They even appear to have made a T-shirt just for me.

The only thing I don’t get: the line of “retro” footwear that Nike created to go along with the apparel. I mean, what exactly is retro about this? Okay, I can see they tried a little harder here, but you don’t have to hate the swoosh as much as I do to say that it just doesn’t work for a collection that’s supposed to evoke the 1920s. Kinda feels like they were doing all the shirts and jackets and just said, “Let’s do a sneaker line too, because we can.” An unfortunate lurch onto the wrong side of the “Is it good or is it stupid?” divide.

While writing this entry yesterday, I sent a note to Uni Watch design director Scott M.X. Turner, who I figured would know a lot more about Black Fives than I did. And sure enough, just before I went to bed last night, he sent this:

Black Fives was formed by Claude Johnson, an African-American entrepreneur during the hip-hop-loves-throwbacks rage a few years ago. He researched a lot of predominantly black colleges and black semi-pro basketball teams, then put out jerseys, fashion coats, and caps. That’s the good part. The bad part is that the jerseys, although all based on teams from before World War II, were all made of modern synthetics and sized like all the other maternity-dress jerseys that rappers like to wear.

I always liked what he tried to do — expose people to the history of pre-WWII black basketball. But I thought his clothing sucked. It always pains me to see history highjacked for fashion profits. I know the argument — if we can interest kids in their history by spoon-feeding them clothing, that’s a positive step. The Negro League Museum in Kansas City is more than happy to license crud, and I mean CRUD, with all sorts of made-up logos, jerseys, jackets, and caps. It’s pretty Faustian, if you ask me.

Also, kind of condescending. It assumes that authentic, fairly priced, historical apparel is beyond the intellectual and cultural grasp of black consumers who might be interested in black sports history that goes back further than Michael Jordan.

Hence, on the one hand, Black Fives is an interesting and positive thing. On the other, it’s just the latest cynical manipulation of history for profit.

Now, keep in mind that Scott actually works in the throwback uniform industry. This means his opinions are pretty authoritative, but it also means his standards may be a bit tougher than everyone else’s. Personally, I’m really disappointed to hear that Black Fives uses synthetic fabric, and I did notice that the size availability runs heavily toward the XXXL end of the spectrum, but I almost never buy throwback apparel anyway, so none of that is a make-or-break issue for me. For now, I’m happy to have learned a bit more about a historical juncture that I hadn’t known much about.

Uni Watch News Ticker: An inside source reports that this will be the Bengals’ 40th-anniversary logo (which, among other things, indicates that teams still can’t grasp the difference between a 40th anniversary and 40th season — but then that’s nothing new for this particular team). … This book looks worthwhile (as spotted by Eric Stangel). … Third paragraph of this page confirms that the Washginton Capitals will definitely be switching to red, white, and blue next season. … Reprinted from Monday’s comments: The annual spring training story about the utility guy with a shitload of gloves. … P.J. Mallardi notes that Tennessee’s men and women are both wearing VOLScholar patches (awarded to players who achieved a 3.0 GPA the previous semester). … Jeremy Brahm appears to have found a photo of the world’s longest bat. … Also from Jeremy: Lots of interesting tidbits from the Japanese Invitational High School Tournament, including low-rider sock stripes, pink socks, a very messed-up uni number (Update: See today’s comment #21 for lots more info on this), a catcher who’s somehow keeping his mask in his back pocket, serious brim foldage, and a macron (that’s the overbar above the O). The trickiest one for me is this one — love the stripes, hate the color scheme. … Fascinating article here about Joe Rogers, a college hockey goalie who wears a special catching mitt because the fingers on his right hand didn’t grow properly. … And then there’s the other end of that spectrum. … Wise guy. … Ria Cortesio, a female ump who works in the minors, will work tomorrow’s Cubs/Dbacks game (making her the first woman to ump a spring training game since Pam Postema). According to this article, Cortesio originally wore No. 5, because she was professional baseball’s fifth female ump, but more recently she’s worn No. 15.