Got an interesting note the other day from reader Matthew Strauss, who attended last Sunday’s Pats/Titans game. I’ll let him explain:

I was lucky enough to get field-level seats right next to the tunnel where the Patriots ran in and out of. After the game, when the team was running off the field, I felt something go splat next to my foot. When I looked down, it was a game-worn glove from one of the players. Naturally I scooped it right up. The only catch is that I have no idea whose it is.

This is the glove model in question. The two players I could immediately recognize running off the field around the time I grabbed it were Julian Edelman and Junior Seau, but it wasn’t from either of them. I didn’t see any RBs, LBs, or WRs wearing anything quite like it. It’s a size 5XL, so I’m assuming it came of a pretty big dude.

I’d be curious to see if we can narrow down where it came from. Perhaps the collective power of Uni Watch can solve the mystery of the glove’s owner, given the size, style, color, etc.

Now, I could cheat by asking a few people at Reebok, who could probably give me the answer in 20 seconds. But where’s the fun in that? Get crackin’, people — I’ll give a free membership card to the first person who can solve the mystery of the Matthew’s glove.

Membership Update: Speaking of memberships, new batch of cards mailed out yesterday, including Alan Borock’s Dolphins treatment, shown at right. Somewhat incredibly, this is the first card we’ve done with Miami’s current aqua design. Surprised it hasn’t been requested more often.

As always, you can see the full gallery of card designs here, and you can sign up to get your own card here.

Uni Watch News Ticker: Some patent applications are more interesting than others (big thanks to my buddy Jon Hammer). … Want to vote on the best hockey mask in the NHL? Do it here (with thanks to Tim O’Connor). … Major historical find by Dan McCue, who sent along this item about the first football game west of the Mississippi, played in 1889 between Grinnell and the University of Iowa. Look at those hats! … Oh. My. God. Further info on the Trail Smoke Eaters here (big thanks to Ryan Connelly). … Very odd two-tone shoes being worn by Kevin Durant the other night (with thanks to Matt Mitchell). … Titans coach Jeff Fisher wore a Peyton Manning jersey while introducing Tony Dungy at a function. … Congrats to webmaster John Ekdahl and his wife Amy, who just got back from their honeymoon in Ireland. Lots of pics here. … The Cowboys have added a practice jersey sponsor (with thanks to Mitchell Goodman). … Craig Dodge wore his vertically striped socks to the Broncos/Pats game two Sundays ago. That photo is from his full-on game report. … Powerful article about the Redskins’ sideline mascot here — recommended reading. … Here’s a Halloween costume idea worth stealing: You can go as the ghost of Ted Williams. Note the throat scar and icicles (as modeled by Adam Fritzen). … Oregon will reportedly be going with this look on Saturday. … Pacific will wear a special “Stockton” jersey on December 9th. “As a Pacific alum, I’m not a fan of this,” says Aaron Davis. “It seems like a desperate attempt at fixing a rift between a community and the university it houses, a relationship that’s always been strained in Stockton.” … Check out this photo — simple but gorgeous. “My buddy took the photo during Expos spring training West Plam Beach in 1982,” says Joel Kirstein. “Pretty funny seeing a very young Terry Francona and a very young Cal Ripken Jr., both with full heads or hair!” … Phillies prospect Dominick Brown has been playing for the Scottsdale Scorpions in the Arizona Fall League, and boy does he Get It™ (with thanks to Josh Miller). … Wow, look at that gorgeous sea of green gridiron. That’s from Vince Lombardi’s first game as Packers head coach in 1959. … What does this helmet logo stand for? Jacob Reed explains: “This is the helmet for Cherokee High School in Cherokee, North Carolina. The school system is operated by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, a sovereign governing nation (susceptible to Federal Laws, and some state laws). On their helmets, they use the Cherokee syllabary. The letters on the helmet are pronounced tsa-la-gi (roll the t and s together), so it sounds like sssa-la-gee. It means Cherokee.”

Weekend Update: Uni Watch will be closed on Friday in memory of my friend Charlie, whose funeral I’ll be attending tomorrow afternoon. As soon as the services are over, I’m off to Louisiana, where I’ll be spending the rest of the weekend reporting an ESPN story that I think you’ll all enjoy once it’s finished. Phil will be running things over the weekend, as usual, and I should be back by Monday (which, incidentally, is when my annual NBA season-preview column will be running on ESPN). See you then.

I only caught the last few minutes of the Hall of Fame Game last night. Fortunately, thanks to the magic of internet photo galleries, I can bring you the uni-related highlights anyway:

• In recent weeks, it had looked like the Bills were gonna go with this pants stripe pattern. But they ended up going with this instead.

• The Titans’ much-discussed Steve McNair memorial decal is innocuous enough. And Tennessee’s coaching staff wore memorial collar pins.

• Take another look at that helmet photo. Notice anything? No NFL logo! In fact, the NFL shield was absent from both teams’ helmets. That’s nothing new for the Bills, whose throwback helmets have been shield-free for years now. It’ll be interesting to see if the Titans — and/or other teams partaking in the AFL throwback series — continue to eschew the league logo.

• Now go back to that Jeff Fisher shot. See how the logo on his shirt is all faded? That’s not a glitch — both coaching staff wore shirts with “distressed” emblems. I hate that faux-vintage approach (if you want a beat-up old Bills shirt, spend some time in thrift stores like I do), but I do find it interesting that they’d use that look for the coaches — a much more casual look than the usual coaching attire.

• The officials looked so damn great. A few people in last night’s comments were griping about the socks or the uni numbers not being fully accurate, but AFL officials had a wide range of looks over the years — they didn’t have just one standardized number font, e.g. I’m perfectly fine with how they’ve handled this.

• The red gloves that were worn by members of both teams reeeaaaally don’t belong in a throwback game.

• Bills owner Ralph Wilson wore his Hall of Fame blazer. But hey, Ralph, we gotta talk about those sneakers.

I’m sure there was a whole lot more that I missed, but I was busy catching the world debut of the Pedestrians. More on that later. For now, enjoy the onset of football season try not to melt today.

Raffle Reminder: I’m currently raffling off 10 free copies of Bill Henderson’s amazing MLB jersey guide. To enter, send an e-mail to the raffle address by 7pm tomorrow. One entry per person, except for Uni Watch Membership Program enrollees, who can send four separate entries. I’ll announce the winners on Wednesday.

Research Project: We’ve all long lamented the fact that there’s no online database for NBA uniform history. Now reader Chuck Myron wants to do something about that. He’s willing to do the archival research, but he’ll need help creating the illustration templates and the web site itself. If you’re interested in helping him out, contact him here. Thanks.

Uni Watch News Ticker: Some guy on eBay is selling some really great baseball-themed Cuban pin-up posters. I just bought this one, and there are additional examples here, here, here, here, and here. … Bizarre coincidence: In last week’s ESPN column, I mentioned that I’d met a collector named Michael Ono, who’s been collecting USC alum autographs. Got a note from him on Friday, thanking me for including him in the column, with a twist: Turns out that he’s been the creative services manager for the A’s for nearly a decade (”I thought I was the only one who knew about the various discrepancies in our logo,” he says) and even designed their 40th-anniversary patch last year. So when I interviewed him at the convention, I was talking to a professional logo guy and didn’t even realize it. Small world and all that. … Red Sox third base coach DeMarlo Hale appears to be wearing the same flapless Wilson helmet design worn by A.J. Pierzynski (good spot by Andy Chalifour). … New logo for GW hoops (with thanks to Dan Franko). … Whoa, check this out: a black Ohio State hoops uni. The design was never worn on the court (thankfully), but it’s still interesting (with thanks to Dylan Glickman). … Small change for Iowa football, where the chest wordmark has been replaced by a collar logo (with thanks to Matthew Nelson). … The Raiders have posted a bunch of archival photos, many of them spectacular, on their web site. Check out image No. 9 and you’ll see them playing against a decal-less Broncos team. Preseaon, perhaps? (Major thanks to Mako Mameli.) … Didn’t know AT&T Park had a Giants uni display until Brinke Guthrie sent me these pics. … I might actually watch soccer if it was played by kangaroos. That’s the logo for the bidding for the 2018-2022 World Cups in Australia (with thanks to Jeremy Brahm). … Those Adidas college football practice jerseys, first seen on Tennessee, are also being worn by other schools, including Notre Dame, Kansas, and Indiana. … New football uniforms Louisville. In addition to the new striping, Louis Samuels notes that the QBs already have hand-warmer pockets — odd for August, no? … And according to the very last sentence on this page, Pitt will be unveiling new Nike uniforms today (with thanks to CJ Giannuzzi). … Here’s a NickNOB. That’s Yuji Nakazawa of the Yokohama F Marinos in the J-League (with thanks to Jeremy Brahm). … Matthew Hiett notes that Braves first base coach Glenn Hubbard still has the 4ALS decal on his helmet. … Lots of good shots of Babe Ruth as a pitcher here (with thanks to Chad Todd). … Scott Little sent a bunch of scans from a Tokyo Giants mag. Among the highlights: a guide to the uniforms worn by the stadium staff at the ballpark and some sort of “design the uni contest” (look here, here, and here). … Also from Scott: Maybe the best “Official [whatever] of the [league]” sponsorship ever and some killer furniture. … Ricko sent me scans of a ticket brochure from the old Minnesota Buckskins of World Team Tennis. “I was league PR director and a minority owner in the Buckskins,” he explains. “I didn’t do the paintings, but I did design the unis and the logo (well, drew the intentionally unisex character and my dad did the lettering, by hand). Note that the women are shown wearing two different colors — brown was to be the road uni. Men’s road would have flip-flopped the brown and gold on the uni shown. All moot, though, cuz the majority owner didn’t wanna pop for the custom unis.” … Super-cool interactive map on old Indiana basketball gyms here (great find by Ben Traxel). … Dr. John C. Barnes notes that UNLV appears to have changed their black helmet stripe to a red stripe. … Mark Teixeira was missing the 2 on his helmet last night (as spotted by Mike Lafferty). … “This watch ad ran in various football game programs, including those at Dartmouth, in the late ’70s and early ’80s,” says Tris Wykes. “It ran with the image reversed year after year, and they failed to correct it. That’s Columbia at Harvard, in case you’re wondering. Interesting that the helmet logos weren’t airbrushed out.” … Reprinted from last night’s comments: Chris Cooley’s latest blog entry is all about uniform fines. … Check out this completely amazing vintage SF Giants apron! It’s available for sale here. … The Cowboys have been engaging in some haircut-based rookie hazing. … The long-rumored new Arizona State jerseys look like this. … Ladies and gentlemen, your new Philadelphia 76ers. … Someone on the Chris Creamer board showed a small scan showing that Broncos-style vertically striped socks were briefly featured in the Wilson catalog.

By Phil Hecken … with Dave Ribar and Mike Engle

In yet another interesting bit of serendipity, last weekend’s “What Is Your Uni Secret?” column generated so much ‘buzz,’ I was approached, separately, by two readers, both of whom had remarkably similar ideas. Inspired by the ‘guilty pleasure’ of liking a uniform which generally meets with disdain and ridicule on these boards, both Dave Ribar and Mike Engle emailed me with their thought that a fun column might be basically the opposite of the guilty uniform secret — that being, a uniform which is generally lauded and loved by the UW readership, but which they secretly detest. I’ll let each explain, based on their E-mail contact with me. We’ll start with Dave Ribar who first approached me with the idea:

I enjoyed your Saturday topic of guilty pleasures. I thought it was a great weekend discussion topic — something simple and light that kept the comments section flowing.

That got me to thinking. Maybe you already have this planned, but it would be interesting to devote a future weekend post to the anti-guilty pleasure uniform. I don’t know what you would call it (Emperor Has No Uni?), but it’s the case where you dislike a uniform that nearly everyone else considers a classic. Maybe you hate the entire uniform, or maybe there is just one detail that drives you crazy and ruins the whole thing. To set some rules, the reason for disliking the uni should be uni-based (none of this “I hate the Yankees uniforms because I’m a Red Sox fan” – that adds nothing to the conversation). Another rule would be that the uniform must be considered great by a clear majority.

Next was Mike Engle, who ’spearheaded’ last weekend’s guilty pleasure column. His E-mail to me was as follows, slightly more concise, but the exact same sentiment:

How about a jersey we’re afraid to say anything bad about?

And with that, both of these fine gentlemen proceeded to launch into diatribes bemoaning one or more uniforms. Since Dave approached me first, we’ll get to his selections momentarily. But he wanted to give us this small taste of a biography: “As for me, I’ll keep things short. I enjoyed Paul’s early ESPN columns, and I started reading Uni Watch from the very beginning. I’m originally from Pittsburgh, and I like all of their teams. Because of this, I root against the Browns, Penn St.. and Notre Dame. I am looking forward to the NHL returning to white at home. I have no information on this, but it seems obvious and long overdue.”

Thanks Dave. And now on to Dave’s “Anti-Uni Secrets”:

Now, for the fun part. Here are my unis for the topic…

Bears: The numbers are too skinny for me and don’t look right.

Cubs: I don’t hate the uniforms, but I’ve always thought of them as Little League, with the giant (and simple) chest logo. As for the road unis, they have tried many different things and come up empty each time.

Mets original: Not sure if this is a “classic”, but … I don’t think there is enough contrast between the blue and orange, and the Mets script is ok, but not great — maybe because it’s too short a name. And the interlocking NY is second rate to the Yankees. Lastly, this is another team that never got the road uni right.

Red Wings red: The white sweaters look really good, but the reds do nothing for me. The white stripes look too thick and the uniform is just too red and too plain, even with the great detailed chest logo … Also, sports with shoulder pads shouldn’t use arched names on back, even if it is the (overhyped on this site) vertically arched kind. Straight names on back look much much better in hockey and football.

Brewers ball in glove: Maybe not considered a classic, but definitely overrated. I like the colors, but from the neck down, these uniforms are horribly plain. And the cartoonish glove (4 fingers?!?) takes away from the double-meaning (although it is still a fun logo).

Wow, Dave. Thanks for that. I’m sure a LOT of folks aren’t going to agree with you, but you gave solid reasons for your dislike of these “classic” unis, and I for one can not only respect your opinions, but they definitely may cause others to look at them in a different light.

Next up is Mike Engle, who was on the same wavelength as Dave and who provided me with two unis he loves to hate. Here’s Mike:

The original Philly Flyers (recently reprised as an alternate): Now I’m not saying I prefer what they have now, but these orange uniforms just aren’t that good. The orange sleeve numbers creeping onto the orange body? Not good. The white nameplate? Glad to see it not fixed (it’s an essential throwback detail), but I still don’t like it. The socks? Not good at all. Now I know what the defenders will say: they’re just the Red Wings’ socks, in orange. Now here’s why the Flyers fail here. The Red Wings have two colors. Red and white. Not an ounce of anything else, except for sticks and skates, but I consider that players’ equipment, not the uniform. So while the Red Wings’ socks are REALLY simple (one thick band of color over the other color), it’s the best they can do, so it looks good. The Flyers have THREE colors. Orange, white, and black (really, black, not BFBS). Doubt me? Look at the number trim, the gloves, and the logo. That’s a lot of black. Been there since the Barry Ashbee era. Now look at the socks. Somebody forgot to put a team color on the Flyers’ socks. Either that, or the Flyers really did accept the Red Wings’ rejected laundry. So there you go. This is why I can’t join the “The Flyers look GREAT in their throwbacks!” chorus. Because they don’t. It’s their best uniform they can currently wear, but I just don’t like it.

If you want a second “secret gripe” from me, here’s one now — the white (and only the white) Buffalo Sabres, before they went black/red/silver batshit insane. Check out this picture. It’s a great uniform from a distance, but zone in on the stripe details. The bottom jersey hem goes yellow-blue-yellow, just like the socks. But the sleeves go blue-yellow-blue. There can’t be a good reason for this flip-flop. It’s just a STUPID design decision that drives me crazy every time I think about it, and proof that the Sabres REALLY should have gotten it all right the first time. Because no matter what happens to the socks, it looks all wrong for eternity, as seen about seventeen months ago.

Lets flash back to the 2008 Winter Classic. By this time, the Sabres had abandoned the black/red/silver batshit insanity in favor of the idiotic Buffaslug. I was almost looking forward to the break from that thing for a logo, but the special uniform was more of the same problem, but slightly worse. In what was supposed to be a straight throwback (the problem is that the socks aren’t double-triple striped like how they used to be), the Sabres found another way to fuck up their “timeless look.” You can see the new “wrong socks” have been flip-flopped to match the sleeves, leaving the bottom hem as the mismatched element. If I had to choose one or the other, I’d rather the sock stripes echo the bottom jersey hem, but I shouldn’t have to make that choice: all three components should match.

I love this crest, I think the colors are good, I adore the double-triple stripes of old, and the old all blue look is very good, but this really could have used a decent editor’s eye. Now it’s too iconic of a throwback, which means the stripes will never get fixed, and I’ll be stuck with this gripe forever, and I’ll never fully like the old-time Sabres in white.

Well thank you Michael. That’s a lot of “anti-love” for a couple of what many consider “classic” puck kits. I’m sure there are some who read who will take umbrage with your thoughts, but like Dave, they were well articulated and certainly thought-provoking.

What say you, Uni Watchers? Got a uniform that’s “so classic” or “so good” that you just can’t stand? Remember, you can’t hate the Yankees uni just because you’re a Red Sox fan (or vice versa), and the uniform must be thought of as a true ‘classic.’ You need a legitimate beef with what many of us consider a real solid uniform. Let’s hear it.

Guess The Game From The Scoreboard: You guys are obviously getting too good at this game. So, you shouldn’t have any problems guessing this one either. But then, maybe you will. Remember, if you get it, DON’T POST THE ANSWER in the comments, but instead, go to Baseball Almanac or Retrosheet and copy the URL of the game that’s about to follow. Just say something like “I GOT IT” and post the link as your “answer” in the comments. As a special “weekday edition” we’ve got TWO scoreboards today, so you must find the answer to BOTH. Final Score, Date & Location required. Ready?

Guess The Game, Pt. I

Guess The Game, Pt. II

Uni Watch Ticker: Reader Johnny Griswold writes, “I saw your post today (Saturday) about recoloring of new logos to their traditional colors and I wanted to point you to a design project that I’ve been working on for a month or two. It’s called Totally 80’s Redesign, where I take the five most deserving/modern NHL teams and redesign their uniforms as though they were around in the 1980’s.” You can view Johnny’s latest creation here — All of the other team redesigns can be seen by clicking the banners in my right sidebar of the site. Johnny continues, “Additionally, I’ll be creating a Totally Reebok concept, where I take defunct NHL teams, bring them back to life, and modernize them to the new Reebok Edge jerseys.” … Welcome back to the Black … Jeffery Waszak found what looks like an interesting drink — not quite the ‘official’ Mets’ script, but close … Hey Pirates! This is what a trophy looks like — and how brilliant were the schedule-makers to have the Buccos playing Detroit? … I believe these photos may have been posted in the comments on a previous day, but Steven Wojtowicz writes, “Here’s Carrie Underwood at the 19th Annual City of Hope Celebrity Softball Challenge. I can say without a doubt in my mind that this is the first time I’ve ever had any sexy feelings about women’s softball.” … I stumbled on this photo of France vs. Turkey playing hoops — for a second, I thought it was a WNBA game … It seems we haven’t seen the last of pink in sport, as Craig Costello points out in this article about players dye facial hair pink to support Women In League, and also this one, which remarks on the facial stylings of someone known as “Wolfman” … The Pirates and Tigers did the throwback thing yesterday in Pittsburgh, with each team donning 1909 vintage unis, and Pittsburgh again showed Detroit who’s boss, celebrating like they did 100 years ago … Pacific Rim and Asian Baseball Correspondent Jeremy Brahm checks in with this “Pillbox” video — go about 50 seconds in and you can see the Pacific League pitchers for the Nippon Ham Fighters and Kintetsu Buffaloes wearing them for the 1979 All-Star Game. And even his Central League teammates as well. About 3 minutes in and you’ll get another shot of some of the hats. … The Mets have finally called for backup … Zevi Lowenberg found a great article on MLB.com Sunday morning about one pitcher that now sprints to the mound when he called in. … Got a note from Josh Neisler who writes, “you’ll find a few photos of a jersey Honus Wagner wore as a hitting instructor for the Pittsburgh Pirates. The jersey belongs to the collection of the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory (where I work part-time as a tour guide) and was acquired at auction last November. Wagner is important to Louisville Slugger because he was the first player to sign an endorsement contract with the company (he first signed in 1905) and to have his name and likeness appear on Slugger retail models (see bat in photos). Wagner played for the Louisville Colonels until that team merged with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1900. The jersey is white with red letters outlined in blue, and also has red and blue piping around the neck and down the front, in keeping with the Pirates’ color scheme in the first half of the 20th Century. Here’s the text on the placard next to the jersey: Honus Wagner wore this 1946 Pittsburgh Pirates jersey. Wagner was a hitting instructor from 1932 through 1952, and was credited with aiding in the development of players such as Ralph Kiner, Pie Trayno, Arky Vaughan, and Kiki Cuyler. The tag says, ‘Gold Smith, Made in U.S.A., A Preferred Product.’ The size is 48 and Wagner’s last name is stitched just below the tag.” … West Coast correspondent Brinke Guthrie checks in with Chein Ming Wang’s baseball inspired kicks — says Brinke, “I kinda like these. I think.” … Dan Lamothe writes, “Even when I travel on business, I can’t get away from this stuff.” What stuff? Fake Yankees gear, of course. … Ditch the black? Why that’s a novel concept for the Jays and Mets. Thanks to Ben Walsh for the find … Fortunately Paul is on vacation and didn’t have to witness the purple-clad LA Lakers capture the NBA championship, after which they got to wear these nifty caps & t-shirts. Of course, coach Phil chose to don a gold and purple “X” cap (for his 10 NBA titles as a coach), while the Lakers t-shirt said “15x Champions”. Kobe got all the hardware, clad in his 3 stripe swag. And somewhere, soon, in Somalia, small children will proudly walk around thinking the Magic & Red Wings are the World Champs.

By Phil Hecken (with a big assist from Ricko)

There are certain things certain athletes always do (or did) — or almost always do (or did) — in the way they wore their uniforms, or the way they dressed for their sport. In some cases, they were the first to do what they did. In others, it was just them, and their way.

Beyond that, there isn’t much need for introduction, so here we go. We’ve numbered the athletes, and included a picture of their ‘trademark.’ The hint and the picture will hopefully lead you to guess at the star. Keep track, and the answers will be at the end. Good luck!

1. He spatted his shoes (as if didn’t look quick enough?).

2. He cut off his sleeves, super short, showing those guns.

3. He was the first to wear white cleats in pro football (well, Fred Williamson of the Raiders wore ‘em, too, in ‘64).

4. Wore knee pads (or were they huge elbow pads?) around his shins.

5. One of the first to have his pants tapered, and pull his stirrups up high.

6. Before George Scott and John Olerud, he wore his batting helmet playing defense.

7. First to wear a batting glove during regular season (a golf glove, actually).

8. The first great big man wore some great big knee pads.

9. Cut those sleeves off super short (Tommy McDonald did earlier, though).

10. White tape on baseball cleats, football-style, inspired by his facemask, evidently.

11. That one wristband, way up high. And he did rise above things.

12. In the 60’s, was totally color-coordinated, even his spikes.

13. Oh, them golden slippers.

14. Combined two pair of stirrups, leading the way to the high-stirrup era.

15. Short pants and stickum-covered socks. Stickum-covered everything, actually.

16. A houndstooth hat while prowling and growling the sidelines.

17. Just how much pine tar can one helmet handle, anyway?

18. This was the Afro of Afros, or probably the most remembered.

19. Oh, that’s just a doo-rag being…

20. Now, this mustache was a real “Schwinner”. Or did he sing barbershop on the side?

21. Somehow, he seemed bjorn to wear this headband.

22. “Well, sometimes it really hurts when the center snaps that pigskin.”

23. “Afterward, let’s, like, hang out at the beach and dig for, like, clams or something.”

24. Appropriately for the classic imagery of his “plus-fours”, at his funeral the bagpiper disappeared into the early morning mist.

25. Before his big NBA contract, he couldn’t afford new socks.

26. Two words: Sunday. Red.

27. Always hit the links in all-black or black & white.

28. Playing with her, you should never be so stupid as to ask, “You’re pink, right?

29. He liked white trim: kneehighs, wristbands and a drawstring on the fly…so to speak.

30. Old lady Voorhees’ kid musta been a fan of the guy who marked the stitches he woulda had.

So, how did you do? Some of them were, admittedly, quite tough, others were easy. Here’s the answers, by picture:

Answer 1.
Answer 2.
Answer 3.
Answer 4.
Answer 5.
Answer 6.
Answer 7.
Answer 8.
Answer 9.
Answer 10.
Answer 11.
Answer 12.
Answer 13.
Answer 14.
Answer 15.
Answer 16.
Answer 17.
Answer 18.
Answer 19.
Answer 20.
Answer 21.
Answer 22.
Answer 23.
Answer 24.
Answer 25.
Answer 26.
Answer 27.
Answer 28.
Answer 29.
Answer 30.

And now a quick word from Paul: Anyone out there ever submit an unsolicited uniform or logo proposal to a team? If so, did you ever hear back from the team’s front office (even if only via a “No thanks” form letter), or did you get no response at all? If you’ve any sort of experience of this nature, I want to hear from you. Thanks.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: The most important and most underrated change in the passing game over the past 15 years or so is the increasing prominence of gloves.

I usually talk about football gloves in the context of receivers (did you see Ronnie Brown’s TD catch yesterday?), but I was thinking about them over the weekend because of Kurt Warner, who wore gloves on both hands on Saturday. He’s been doing this pretty much all season long, even when warming up. In fact, the only bare-handed shot of him from this season that I’ve been able to find is this one — and as you can see, even in that shot, he’s holding his precious gloves in his left hand.

Warner apparently started going gloved last season (additional 2007 shots here, here, and here). But he went gloveless 2006 and 2005, and before that with the Giants and Rams.

Warner isn’t the only gloved QB out there, but it’s still something of a novelty. When David Carr started wearing gloves in 2007 (white ones on the road, black ones at home), it was such an eyebrow-raiser that he quickly gained a nickname that became the basis for a blog. That was apparently just a one-season thing: Carr had previously worn a glove on his left hand but not on his right, and this season he’s gone bare-handed.

A QB wearing gloves in a snow game is one thing, but wearing them in good weather doesn’t sit well with me, because it fundamentally changes the dynamics of passing. A baseball pitcher isn’t allowed to have anything between his hand the ball; why should a football passer? Am I the only one who thinks this?

Speaking of gloves, several readers noted that Alabama and USC had special glove designs for their respective bowl games. Some of the ’Bama players had houndstooth-patterned gloves (additional views here, here, and here), while USC wore a pattern modeled after Tommy Trojan’s kilt (additional views here and here). But no special gloves for Kurt Warner — yet.

Membership News: Thanks to a nice little run of recent orders (including Brian Russell’s Baltimore Claws-themed card, shown at right), the Uni Watch membership program is closing in on its 700th enrollee. As with all past century-mark multiples, the 700th member will have his or her card emblazoned with a special seal. My continued thanks to everyone who’s helped make the membership program so successful.

Holiday Raffle Update: Holiday raffle prizes will start mailing out today, and I hope to have all of them out the door by Wednesday-ish, so you raffle winners should watch your mailboxes, OK? OK.

Uni Watch News Ticker: Karlos Dansby lost his helmet and skullcap on a play on Saturday. … Jeremy Brahm reports that the International Cricket Council has unveiled a new centenary logo. … Also from Jeremy: Norway wore an interesting reverse bib design in the FIVB qualifying round. … And in what may qualify as Jeremy’s most obscure contribution yet, the Turkish Volleyball Federation has a new logo. … How has the U.S. military marked the turning of the calendar? By making their uniforms mosquito-proof (thanks, Phil). … Roy Helu of Nebraska had something written on his arm during the Gator Bowl. “Most likely ‘Delight in the Lord,’” says Brian Hansen. “That phrase is from Psalms 37:4, and Helu is a devout Christian.” … The Oregon State marching band uniforms remind David Muir of another kind of uniform. … Under Armour designed special shoes for Utah to wear in the Sugar Bowl. Additional photos here. … The girls’ hoops team at King’s Academy in Woodstock, Georgia, has some funny ideas about socks (with thanks to Kevin Marks). … The Chargers wore their powder blue alts on Saturday, which prompted a good question from Tim Fry: Aside from Niners in 1994-95, has any other NFL team ever worn alts or throwbacks during the postseason? I can’t think of any other examples. Anyone..?

In 37-ish years of watching baseball, I’ve never seen a big leaguer do what Adrian Beltre did during last night’s Mariners/Mets game. When Brian Schneider hit a soft liner over his head (sorry about the crummy image quality for all these shots), Beltre threw his glove up in the air, which is the sort of stunt usually reserved batting practice.

“You’re not supposed to do that,” mused Mets broadcaster Gary Cohen, a philosophical lilt in his voice. “You know, technically, if you throw your glove at the ball, it’s three bases. … I mean, it’s in the rulebook, if you throw your glove at the ball. Now, I’m sure the umpires will say, ‘Look, he wasn’t throwing his glove at the ball, he was just frustratedly throwing his glove in the air after the ball had already passed.’ And that’s true, but technically…”

And then his voice trailed off. But Gary Cohen, technically, didn’t know what the fuck he was talking about. As the umpires correctly ruled, there’s no penalty for throwing your glove at the ball (or anywhere else) as long as there’s no contact. The relevant section of the rulebook, which I highly recommend to Mr. Cohen, can be found here.

Note that a related section of the rulebook calls for one base to be awarded if a player touches pitched ball with his mask. I remember reading an article in the late 1980s about a catcher who’d blocked a ball in the dirt and then retrieved it by nonchalantly scooping it up with his mask. The opposing manager was Gene Mauch, who scurried out to argue that this was a one-base infraction. The umpire eventually agreed, so Mauch won the argument. The only problem is that his team was losing 11-1 or something like that, and this “Win the battle, lose the war” scenario was presented in the article as a microcosm of Mauch’s entire career.

As for Beltre last night, here’s the kicker: When his glove came back down, he booted it. Rather incredibly, this guy is the A.L.’s reigning Gold Glover at third base. When I mentioned this to my ESPN colleague Jim Caple, who lives in Seattle and therefore sees Beltre play way more than I do, he responded, “He can be a little playful from time to time. If he knows he won’t confuse another fielder, he’ll occasionally try to deke the cameraman just for the fun of it.” Interesting, but it still seems pretty bush to me.

Research Project: I’m trying to compile a timeline of interesting uni-related moments in MLB All-Star Games. I’ve previously listed a bunch of such episodes here, I devoted an entire ESPN column to the 1934 uniforms, and I’ve got plenty of additional examples (Johnny Callison winning the ’64 ASG while wearing a Mets helmet, Reggie Jackson wearing a Mariners uni for the A.L. team photo in ’79 [see left], Larry Walker wearing his helmet backwards while facing Randy Johnson in ’97, etc.), but I want more. If you know of additional instances of notable uni-related moments in all-star history — or notable all-star moments in uni-related history, as the case might be — please get in touch.

Uni Watch News Ticker: Forgot to mention yesterday that the media kit from Monday’s MLB press conference included this lapel pin. Nice of them to slap the trademark symbol on a flag-based design, no? … When you’re as tall as Richie Sexson, shouldn’t they try to center your uni number a bit better? That’s a lot of acreage between the number and his waistline (with thanks to Eric Distenfeld for the pics). … That Big Brown photo with the loose horseshoe is pretty fascinating. … Interesting Japanese baseball tidbit from Jeremy Brahm: “In 1979, the Central and Pacific Leagues had their 30th anniversaries and came out with pillbox hats for each team. From what I can find, these were only used in the 1979 and 1980 Central and Pacific East-West All Star games after the season.” … Did you know Spain has an “unlucky” yellow jersey? Details here (with thanks to Patrick O’Donnell). … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: Check out this Indians vs. Indians shot, presumably taken during a spring training intersquad game. … Maria Sharapova’s tuxedo-patterned top has real buttons and pleats — not just printed graphics, which was what I’d been expecting. Details here, here, and here, plus more Wimbledon coverage here. … The USA hoops team’s uniforms will look like this and this. … Ryan McGhee reports that the Tacoma Rainiers and Oklahoma RedHawks of the Pacific Coast League will wear special jerseys next week and auction them to benefit the Limbs for Life Foundation, which buys new prosthetic limbs for amputees who can’t afford them in the United States and takes donated limbs to foreign countries like the Dominican Republic. … “The State Farm ad on the Wrigley Field dugout railing was apparently taped over or something on Sunday night,” notes Matt Bennum. … Paul Wiederecht sent along one of the best photos I’ve ever seen of the Golden Seals’ white skates. … Also from Paul: Great page here devoted to ballpark organists, “but nothing about Fernand Lapierre from Montreal, seen playing ‘Les Expos Sont Là’ here.” … My mention of the unusual basketball jersey crotch extension yesterday prompted this response from sporting goods impresario Terry Proctor: “While I was at Ruby’s in Rochester, we sold a set of basketball uniforms with supporter bottoms to Geneseo High School, which is about 35 miles southwest of Rochester. We got the uniforms from Powers Mfg. Co. in Waterloo, Iowa. The players HATED the supporter bottom. Needless to say, the next uniforms Geneseo bought a couple of years later were from SandKnit, sans the supporter bottom. … While searching for something else, I came across this shot of Carlton Fisk wearing some killer striped hose. I’d forgotten about that design. … Also discovered two shots of Chet Lemon wearing some interesting windbreakers under his jersey: First, check out the collar here. And then dig this shot — looks like he’s got two windbreakers on, plus the big-collared jersey. … Nice to see that my question at Monday’s MLB press conference became the basis for the last graf of this AP item. … Doug Mooney found still more photos from the 1968 World Series showing Tigers with their uni number on the left sleeve instead of the right. First there’s this shot — that’s Bill Freehan in the background but we already knew he had the left-sleeve number. Who’s that in the foreground, though — is it Jim Northrup? That’s definitely Northrup in this shot, which appears to show a left-sleeve number as well. … Tyler Kulasza just took his annual trip to Cooperstown and sent along pics of Honus Wagner’s brim-mounted flip-down shades, a pair of gorgeous Cardinals jackets (here’s a close-up), and A.J. Burnett’s no-hitter cap (what did he have written here and here?). … The Pirates and Rays will be wearing Negro Leagues throwbacks this Saturday, honoring the Pittsburgh Crawfords and Jacksonville Redcaps, respectively (with thanks to Jerry Wolper).

Reader Jared Wheeler works for Mitchell & Ness, where he conducts historical research to help ensure that the company’s reproductions are as accurate as possible. I’ll be conducting an interview with him soon, but for now here’s a bunch of killer hockey photos he recently sent my way:

• “Here are some photos of the first ‘all-star’ game in 1934, which was a benefit game for Ace Bailey of the Maple Leafs,” says Jared [this was 13 years before the first 'official' NHL All-Star Game -- PL]. “Check out how the Leafs wore ‘Ace’ on their jerseys. And here’s a shot of Bailey himself after two brain surgeries. After he was hit from behind on December 12, 1933, in a game against the Bruins, some of the B’s started wearing protective headgear.”

• “Here’s Bobby Orr wearing No. 5 in an All-Star Game with his No. 4 gloves, and wearing No. 27 — with No. 37 gloves! — in an exhibition game prior to his rookie season.”

• “Another All-Star Game shot, this one from the 1976 ASG in Philly. Both teams wore the bicentennial patch, which was also worn by the Steelers and Cowboys in Super Bowl X.”

• “This is a is a 1937-1938 photo of Milt Schmidt wearing a crude mask. Here’s a later photo of Schmidt — look how his captain’s C is between the two numerals. Both photos ran in Sport magazine in 1948.”

• “Here’s a shot of the Red Wings’ diamond-shaped captaincy patches. And dheck out the in a diamond-shaped sleeve designation here. The ‘R’ team, by the way, is the amateur New York Rovers. This shot was taken at training camp in Lake Placid in 1948.”

• “Two interesting World War II-era shots here: The Red Wings wore a ‘V’ patch, for victory (you can see it on both sleeves), and some Maple Leafs players prepared for war in their sweaters.”

• “Here are some great old sweaters: Seattle Metropolitans, circa 1919 (here’s a tight shot of the crest), New York Americans, mid-1930s (plus a rear view), and Philadelphia Quakers, circa 1930. We got these shots from the Hall of Fame.” [As an aside, what's the deal with that little collar ribbon on the Seattle sweater? -- PL]

• “Two Rangers wearing improvised facemasks: Ivan ‘Ching’ Johnson, circa 1930s, and Walt Tkaczuk, 1977-78.”

• “Look at the two jersey logos in this shot. It appears that the face on Hull’s logo is much darker.”

• “Some random old stuff: the Montreal Wanderers, circa 1914; the 1928 Detroit Cougars; and the first indoor arena game, which was in Quebec in 1893.”

• “Is that a back pocket on the player at far right?”

Awesome stuff. And in the non-uni category, Jared even found another shot of an athlete smoking (and baling hay): That’s Bobby Hull.

Signal Flare: Do you work for Under Armour? If so, I have a quick question for you. Please drop me a line here. Thanks.

And you should’ve seen the notes that came in from Tom Tancredo and Lou Dobbs: Of all the reactions to yesterday’s entry about Los Spurs and Los Suns (most of which were posted in the comments section, although a few readers e-mailed me their thoughts directly), the most interesting and thoughtful one was an e-mail from Pablo Souki. Check it out:

I grew up in Venezuela, speaking Spanish. Of the American major sports leagues, I followed MLB very closely, the rest not at all. Some of the team names were always translated back then, like Cerveceros and Gigantes, who seem to have gotten it right. Others were not. The Yankees were always the Yanquis (phonetic translation, I guess, but nothing else), the Phillies were always the Filis, the Dodgers were the Dodgers.

I get the feeling (no hard evidence of any kind here, just me remembering my childhood) that the ones who were translated were the ones who had a literal translation: The Reds were the Rojos, the A’s the Atléticos, the Blue Jays the Azulejos, and so on. This seems to have changed with the Marlins, though — there was an actual translation for Marlins, but I don’t remember ever using it.

If I had to guess, I would say that the other translations had happened at earlier times, when we had no access to U.S. broadcasts of games, only translated ones. Cultures were less intertwined, and names were translated. By the time the Marlins and Rockies appeared, we could watch games on satellite TV and were more used to English terminology. However, this theory is destroyed by the fact that the Devil Rays were always the Mantarrayas. So maybe “Peces Espada” was just too cumbersome a translation for “Marlins.”

Two other notes: First, Spanish is spoken so differently in terms of syntax and jargon from country to country (the word used in Venezuela for “receipt” is used in Argentina for “pastry”, for instance, and words that are perfectly common in one country are terrible swear words in others) that I would be hard-pressed to believe that my childhood experiences hold true elsewhere. ESPNdeportes.com itself has such a variety of nationalities that the inconsistencies from one column to the next are huge. As a matter of fact, some writers use the “Los” article before team names, others don’t. All of this just illustrates the point that “Latino” encompasses so many nationalities that it is very hard to get something like this right. But we have been all thrown in the same group, whether we like it or not.

Second, I have never seen a Latin team wear “Los” on its uniform., The Caracas Lions don’t wear “Los Leones,” just “Leones.” The La Guaira Sharks only wear “Tiburones,” no “Los.” So maybe that is the best reason to not add the “Los” to any team’s shirt.

Uni Watch News Ticker: The web site Improbable Soccer is running a series on team crests. The first installment is here. Expect new updates every day or two. … Did you know Navy once wore this helmet? Details here. … Unlikely stirrup alert: There’s a TV commercial currently running for the MLB 2K8 video game. Just past the 30-second mark, the voiceover (Denis Leary, I believe) says, “I wanna have the most fun you can have with those funny baseball socks on,” accompanied by a shot of the ’67 Cardinals in all their striped-stirruped glory (nice find by Chris Flinn). … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: Jerry Rice doesn’t mind if the Niners unretire his number so Isaac Bruce can wear it. … Gonzaga pitcher Cory Powell wore a helmet/mask combo the other day. “He recently took a comebacker in the orbital bone,” writes Matt Camino, who sent me the photo (which was taken by his fiancé, Meghan Moran). “He apparently wore a plastic mask like the ones NBA players wear after he first got hit, and now he wears the helmet and facemask to prevent it from happening again.” … Thing of beauty. … Excellent column here about a baseball card photographer who works for Topps (with thanks to Minna H.). … Just what the world needs: Billy Crystal in pinstripes. … Reprinted from last night’s comments: The A’s wore a way snazzy jersey patch yesterday. … Interesting note from Brian Vigue, who writes: “I played high school football in the mid-’60’s — and I wore a leather helmet! It wasn’t left over from the ’40s but was supposedly the latest technology at the time. There were at least three different helmets used by team members: the leather helmet, a suspension bubble-type thing, and an oblong close-fitting plastic job that kind of looked like Otto Graham’s. Many schools we played at the time also used the leather helmet.” … If you click on this link, you’ll download a PDF of a daily tournament update from the International Baseball Federation. Most of it is very official-looking, except for this amusing handwritten addendum from the Canadian coach. Also of uni-note: Check out the second numbered item here (with thanks to Bob Timmerman). … “Montreal’s going to have a new junior hockey team next year and they introduced their new jerseys today,” writes Paul Richard Cook. Full details here, and there’s a video clip that includes some previous Montreal junior hockey logos here.

What’s been the biggest change in pro football over the past 30 years? A lot of things come to mind: modern training methods, the increased size of linemen, the overall increase in athleticism and speed, the advent of video review, the increasing dominance of African-American players, the disappearance of jersey sleeves, the utter joylessness of head coaches.

But if you ask me, the biggest development — and easily the most underrated one — is the ubiquity of gloves. Almost everyone wears them now, even quarterbacks, and it’s no exaggeration to say that most of the acrobatic catches you see receivers making these days wouldn’t be possible without them. Yeah, some players in the pre-glove era wore stickum, but I saw Lester Hayes and Fred Biletnikoff in their primes, and they couldn’t make any of these one-handed catches that you routinely see guys making today. Gloves have completely redefined the passing game.

All of which came to mind during yesterday’s Cowboys/Eagles game, which featured something I’d never seen before: Philly WR Kevin Curtis took a spill along the sideline, and at first it looked like his glove had come off during the play. But as he got up, it became apparent that the glove had actually fallen apart — the upper part was still on his wrist while the lower part had been ripped right off of his hand, much to Curtis’s own confusion.

In other developments from yesterday:

• Jason Taylor’s captaincy patch was coming loose by the end of the Dolphins/Ravens game.

• As has been noted here several times in recent weeks, the “Ravens” wordmark has been missing from Willis McGahee’s black jersey in recent weeks, but it was present and accounted for on his purple jersey yesterday.

• The Redskins usually wear these socks with their burgundy pants, but they went with these — ugh.

• Now that’s a football game. But if Derek Anderson was playing with a sewn-in pocket, why did he need an oven mitt?

(Big thanks to Chad Todd and Randy Williams from the Kevin Curtis screen grabs.)

Research Project: My ESPN colleague Mary Buckheit is working on a piece about women’s volleyball uniforms — why they’re so skimpy, why some players have issues with them, why they’re so different from the men’s uniforms, whether they’re so revealing that they’ve actually led some players to develop eating disorders, that sort of thing. Here’s a note from her:

The sport of volleyball has seen it all — unitards, mesh shorts, bun huggers, long sleeves, racerback jerseys, tall socks, no socks — what’s the deal? What is the functionality of volleyball uniforms, specifically the super-short spandex? Are women really inhibited by “cumbersome” traditional athletic shorts? You know, the ones that are perfectly suitable for soccer and basketball. Do the minis really make you perform better? Would men’s statistics spike if they dared ditch their mesh or board shorts in favor of a biker boxer brief type uni? Would they tally more digs that way? C’mon.

When you see volleyball on TV, do you stop and watch for an extra second to scope out the 6-foot college coeds in 3-inch spandex shorts? If so, any feelings on what it would be like as a father of a high school volleyball player knowing guys in the gym are doing the same thing to your 16-year-old sophomore setter?

If anyone has any thoughts on this, please feel free to contact me. Thanks!

I know at least a few of you know a lot more about volleyball than I do, so please share your knowledge with Mary. Thanks.

Raffle Reminder: In case you missed it on Friday, I’m currently raffling off a bunch of stuff. For details, scroll down to the middle of Friday’s entry. As always, you can increase your odds of winning by joining the Uni Watch membership program.

Uni Watch News Ticker: Check out this photo of Lou Gehrig, Tris Speaker, Ty Cobb, and Babe Ruth. Odd to see that the insignia on Ruth’s jacket is “N.Y.,” but on Gehrig’s it appears to be just “NY” — no periods (with thanks to Bruce Menard). … A member of the Winthrop women’s hoops team has changed her uni number to honor her late fiancé (as forwarded by Jonathan Carone). … A reader who prefers not to give his real name has gotten some good pics showing exactly how the Rangers are hemming their jerseys. … Yikes. … Northwest Missouri State safety Aldwin Foster-Rettig (who already has a lengthy NOB) tore his jersey on Saturday, leading to a rather makeshift repair (with thanks to Chris Wheeler). … Michael Poplawski reports that German Bundesliga club Werder Bremen modified their jersey crest to look like a Christmas tree on Saturday. Here’s a closer view. … Reprinted from Sunday’s comments: Wisconsin-Whitewater’s jerseys have a “Warhawks” wordmark, but it was missing from Justin Beaver’s jersey. … The Dayton hoops team has unveiled some alternate throwbacks (with thanks to Todd Herzog). … This has resulted in this. … More NFL fines assessed here. … Doug Weight, making his Ducks debut last night, was wearing a pair of Brad May’s gloves (good catch by Alex Warner). … Remember the recent Ticker item about the missing stripes on Bill Guerin’s jersey? Here’s a follow-up (with thanks to Michael Schuerlein).

Back when I invited people to apply for the Uni Watch intern’s position, one of the finalists was David Sonny. Although he didn’t make the final cut, he had already set up an interview with Bengals equipment manager Rob Recker, which I encouraged him to go ahead with. He readily agreed. Here’s how their chat went down:

David Sonny: How did you get to the position of Cincinnati Bengals equipment manager?

Rob Recker: Well, I actually started off as a trainer for OSU. While there I began to intern with the Browns, but I left for the assistant trainer job with the Bengals in 1991 and continued in that role until 2000.”

DS: And then you made the jump to equipment manager?

RR: Well up until then Tom Gray was the equipment manager and I was a guy who would help anyone out that I could. So basically in 1999 you could have called me the assistant equipment manager. After 1999, Tom Gray retired and Mike Brown offered me the promotion from assistant trainer to equipment manager.

DS: And so you took the job.

RR: Well yeah, when the boss tells you he’d like to move you from one area to another, promote you, and make you the head of a department, you don’t say no. Let me just say this, Mike Brown is a very intelligent man. He sees a lot… he sees everything. He really made it nice here.

DS: Nice? How do you mean?

RR: Well, I took over the first year we moved into Paul Brown Stadium, and at that time many people had very negative views of the franchise, which often happens when you lose. Mike Brown changed all that. There was a time when you would hear players complain about not getting a lot from the team, like clothes, shoes, gloves. Now we get players coming in from other organizations that come in and are wide-eyed in amazement about everything they get for free. I mean, players are actually shocked that they get all of this [referring to the seemingly endless amount of merchandise, from hoodies to gloves and anything else that can be ordered]. If I need anything for this department, I just have to ask Mike Brown, he has never once said no to anything.

DS: So what do you feel your goal is?

RR: For players to get everything they need to perform on the field. I need to do what needs to be done for us to win, whether that means getting a player the shoes he requests, gloves, pads, whatever makes that player feel comfortable on and off the field.

DS: What are your thoughts on the new NFL logo?

RR: It is what it is. I like the old NFL logo, it has a sort of classic look to it, but things change. I like the new one too; it is going to be a ton of work for me switching over, though. It’s on everything [begins pulling out business cards, jerseys, nameplates, helmets, stationery, etc.]. I have to make sure that all of the old logos are replaced by next year so that we’re in compliance.”

DS: What about other logos, such as Reebok?

RR: A big part of my job is making sure that product is on the field. Like I said, it is what it is, don’t underestimate just how much money that company makes, and puts into the game. It is my job to make sure that it looks its best.

DS: I’ve noticed that on the fieldwear and fanwear, the Reebok logo seems more toned down than in the past…

RR: Yeah, the logos seemed to get out of hand a while back. But the NFL is very strict and there are now more restrictions on logo size and placement.

DS: So what about the helmets? I have seen the decals for sale to make your own and such…

RR: We no longer use decals on our helmets. That was one of the first things I changed when I was promoted in 2000. It got to a point where we were just wasting time; I would have three or four guys out there repairing helmet decals for two or three hours straight the Monday after a game. The paint holds up better and looks better, now I just have a guy look over all the helmets after a game and anything that is too scratched or damaged we just send away to have painted. The helmets are my favorite part of the uniform, they are important to me.

DS: And the uniforms…

RR: I like the new uniforms; I liked the old uniforms as well. It’s funny, I had just developed new patterns [different tailoring cuts for different positions -- one for linemen, one for wide receivers, and so on] for all of the old uniforms and then we made the switch. I don’t think people realize just how tough that is; the patterns didn’t transfer over at all, so I had to make a whole new set. The new uniforms were not designed for football players though. Designers came in and came up with something that could be marketed to fans, which makes it difficult. The stripes on the sleeves, for example — I still am not satisfied there, because each pattern ends up affecting the stripes in a different way, which you just can’t get right. Take Justin Smith — he came to me early on and we sat down to discuss what he wanted in a uniform cut. Justin is very specific, he doesn’t want loose material and doesn’t want sleeves, so I basically have to butcher every one of his uniforms to get it right, and look at the stripes [laughs], count them.

DS: So you do most of the alterations yourself?

RR: I wouldn’t say that I do most of them. I will hem a jersey if a player comes to me, but there are times when you get 10 to 15 guys coming to you wanting their jersey to be hemmed — then I’ll send them out. It’s a time thing.

DS: But you do the custom jobs yourself, correct?

RR: Yeah, I’ll sit down with a player and go over anything he wants done and I’ll make most of those alterations myself.

DS: And what about repairs?

RR: I’ll do most of those myself. If something is ripped, I’ll just whip out the sewing machine and take care of it. I can usually just add a small amount of fabric behind the tears and stitch it up, but there are times when it becomes more extensive. When that happens, we weigh whether it’s worth the time fixing it or if we’re better off just getting a new uniform.

DS: And if a player gets a tear on the field [during a game]?

RR: Oh, I’ll just grab my needle and thread and stitch it up right on the sidelines, I did that for Rudi [Johnson] a couple games ago.

DS: And if the tear it too extensive to repair on the field?

RR: Well, we have a backup jersey on hand. If something were to happen, though, it’s either fix the uniform, get a new one on him, or he has to come out of the game. It’s as simple as that.

DS: How do you keep the jerseys so tight to the pads?

RR: We run strips of double-sided tape across the pads and pat the jersey down. Some teams use Velcro, but I prefer tape. It really adheres and keeps the jersey from moving around.”

DS: So who are the players who really care how they look out there?

RR: Carson [Palmer], Chad [Johnson] and Rudi [Johnson]. They are my fashion designers.

DS: While we’e on the subject of Chad, where did he get the black and orange chinstraps?

RR: Not from me, that’s for sure. He went out and bought them himself.

DS: And…

RR: And the NFL called me complaining about it. He’s a grown man, I supply him with the correct chinstrap, and he chooses whether or not to wear it. Chad is a smart kid, he knows what he is doing… and he is going to do it anyway.

DS: What do you think about it?

RR: I really like the look; I think the whole team would look great with them. If I could do it I would have the whole team wearing them.

DS: Anything else interesting about Chad’s uniforms?

RR: Before one game a couple of years ago he comes to me and says ‘I want sleeves.’ He wanted, you know, baggier, looser sleeves. It was a fashion statement. I told him ‘Chad, they’re going to be grabbing all over you if you go out wearing sleeves.’ But he insisted, so I made up a jersey with sleeves for him.

DS: How did that work out for him?

RR: After the first few plays he came running to me on the sideline saying ‘Rob! Rob! They are grabbing all over the sleeves, I needs another jersey.’ I said, ‘No shit.’ That experiment lasted one drive.

DS: Anything else?

RR: Shoes, he has more shoes than he can ever possibly wear.

DS: Was there anything you tried during the uniform change that you still wish you could get right?

RR: Striped socks. Mike Brown and I both love simple striped socks. We tried really hard to get that to work, we were going for a similar sock stripe that the team used to wear. After some time we just decided that with the modern uniform the striped socks just looked out of place, especially with the Bengals’ stripes.

DS: One last thing before I go: facemasks.

RR: Oh yeah, we have tons of those, especially with all the new helmet styles and manufactures. For instance, look at the difference between the Revolution kicker’s facemask [left] and the standard kicker’s facemask [right]. The Revolution facemask attaches at the bottom, so it has a completely different look. It also has less eye protection and you could easily get your whole hand in there. Then look at Willie [Anderson]’s facemask — I’m surprised no one else wears it. It’s much lighter than most facemasks out there and provides great protection. It is the look, everyone is making a fashion statement these days, even with the facemask.

DS: Like L.T.?

RR [laughing]: Yeah, just like L.T. His facemask is a personal statement, just like a lot of these guys with shoes. It provides no more protection, but the look is what he wants.

=======

Speaking of the Bengals, David came up with an interesting story while doing research for the interview — look here.

Uni Watch News Ticker: The Phillies finally unveiled their new alternate uni yesterday, and it looks pretty damn sharp. My only gripe: Since the design is based on this, why did they use this font on the back? … Quite a week for memorials, as decal maven Chris Willis reports that the Browns will be wearing a “BW” decal for Hall of Famer Bill Willis, who died earlier this week. … Fun factoid: If the Cowboys had worn their usual white at home last night (instead of their blue throwbacks), the Packers would have had to remove their Lambeau Field 50th-anniversary patches from their green jerseys, because the patch is only meant to be worn at Lambeau. And then they would have put the patches back after the game. But since the Cowboys wore blue, the Packers wore white and didn’t have to fuss with the patches. Details here. … As expected, both teams wore a “21″ decal — which turned out to be huge — in memory of Sean Taylor. … Speaking of Taylor, check out what someone did to a McFarlane figure of him (nice find by Timothy Fesmire). … Texas prison guards are getting new uniforms (rare non-sports contribution from Brinke Guthrie). … According to this article, next season NFL players will have the option of wearing a new high-tech helmet design. The good news is that it offers a very high degree of head protection; the bad news is that it looks like a cheap Halloween costume. … Yesterday I imagined what sort of horn-based helmet design would be worn by a football team called the Unicorns. I was kidding, but Mike Stegemoller actually found a European team with that name. Unfortunately, they have a boring helmet design (and even more unfortunately, they wear the McDonald’s logo on their thighs).

See that photo of Jason Taylor over there? It’s not really him — it’s an “8-metre, animatronic version of [him], the biggest animated human figure ever made,” at least according to the photo’s caption. That photo and this one (also of the “animatronic version”) began circulating on the AP wire on Monday, in advance of this weekend’s Giants/Dolphins game in London.

As you can see in the pics, the jersey features a patch — presumably the one that the two teams will be wearing on Sunday. But I couldn’t make out the wording underneath the NFL logo until Tuesday, when the New York Times ran a much larger version of one of the photos. That’s when I saw this.

I knew Bridgestone was sponsoring the game, but would the teams actually be wearing the company’s wordmark this Sunday? If so, it would mark the first appearance of uniform advertising in an NFL game. Temples pounding, palms sweating, I checked with Giants equipment director Joe Skiba, who reassured me that the teams would indeed be wearing a patch similar to the one shown in the photos but that it would not feature the Bridgestone logo.

After I got back down off the ledge, I wondered why games played overseas always seem to present these sorts of problems. Remember, the only time advertising has appeared in MLB uniforms was when regular-season games were played in Japan — first in 2000, when the Mets and Cubs wore AIU sleeve patches and am/pm helmet decals, and then again in 2004, when the Yankees and Devil Rays wore the Ricoh logo on their sleeves and helmets.

The answer, of course, is that most other parts of the world are much more comfortable with uniform advertising than we are here in North America. Hell, the ad patches used in the now-defunct NFL Europe make that Bridgestone patch look almost quaint by comparison (additional examples here, here, here, and here).

I suppose you could say there’s a “When in Rome…” factor at work here, but I think it should be the other way around. The whole point of playing these games overseas is to help promote our culture in foreign lands, right? So as long as we’re teaching them about football (or baseball, or whatever), why not teach them that ads have no place on a team uniform — even when it’s on an 8-metre animatronic figure.

Uni Watch News Ticker: Big congrats to longtime Uni Watch contributor Joe Hilseberg, who recently got married and, as promised, prepared uniform-style vests for himself and his groomsmen. “And on my honeymoon in Aruba,” he adds, “we rode a party bus one night and you have to see the sock action on this crazy woman who was the guide!” … On Monday I passed along a reader query about Kevin Youkilis possibly having the Majestic wordmark under his Majestic sleeve logo. Upon closer inspection, however, it appears that it was just a shadow. … There’s been a discussion of helmet memorial decals over on the Chris Creamer board, including a link to something I had completely forgotten about: the Pete Rozelle memorial worn in Super Bowl XXXI. … The Nationals have unveiled a new radio network logo (with thanks to Kyle Donnelly). … Minor league hockey note from Jeff Seals, who writes: “I went to the Las Vegas Wranglers’ home opener on Sunday night and they broke out their new home jerseys. The front features a poker chip design with the individual player’s number inside the chip. On the outside of the chip it says, ‘Las Vegas Wranglers.’ What’s different is that the left shoulder has big TV numbers, but the numbers are non-existent on the right arm. The back of the jersey has a black nameplate with white lettering.” … Blake Meyer, who runs the superb TwinsCards.com site, informs me that several of his contributors have banded together to create the very similar (and similarly excellent) VikingsCards.com, which features all sorts of old cards, old photos, and so on. Highly recommended. … WFAN radio clown Chris Russo, who’s already shown himself to have a single-digit IQ on umpteen occasions, further undermined his own credibility yesterday when he opined that Joe Giarardi might not be the right guy for the Yankees managerial job because “he’s one of those managers that worry about how the players wear their socks.” … Sure is weird to see Big Papi with a glove. … Speaking of gloves, Kaz Matsui was using at least two different ones during yesterday’s workouts, as seen here and here (with thanks to Bryan Redemske). … Kudos to the Missouri State High School Activities Association, which recently determined that “it is evident there is a problem with numerous schools wearing illegally-styled uniforms” and then prepared “[a]n extensive power point presentation” to help address the problem. Details here (with thanks to John Vernickas). … Good roundup of San Antonio-area high school football helmets available for download in this PDF file (courtesy of Blain Fowler). … Reprinted from last night’s comments: Looks like some of the Rangers are having their rounded shirttails modified to straight horizontal hems. … Brian Schulz recently reminded me of a phenomenon I’d largely forgotten about: semi-pro football, a subculture comprising over 700 teams nationwide. Some of the uniforms and logos are simply copies from pro or college teams, but others are more original. You can access a bunch of semi-pro helmet designs here, and lots of additional semi-pro info is available here. … Those of you who think I engage in gratuitous Nike-bashing certainly won’t change your minds now (nice find by Jeff Farrell). … The Bears will be wearing their orange alternate jerseys this Sunday.