I’m joined today by longtime UW reader John Okray, better known by his nom de post “Johnny O.” I had been wanting to collaborate with Johnny for a long time, and we were supposed to get together last weekend during the U.S. Open, since, aside from Johnny’s passion for everything Milwaukee, he’s also an avid golfer and a club pro. Which means that if I ever do hit the links with him, I’m leaving my wallet at home. Johnny’s also getting married in like a week so I want to offer to him, in advance, my deepest condolences heartfelt congratulations. You da man, Johnny! While he was going to write on John Daly’s lower body stylings, I was going to take you with me on my little sojourn to the U.S. Open.

Unfortunately, Johnny had a personal matter which precluded our getting together last weekend. But, like the man whose stylings we’re about the hear about, Johnny has come back strong and we’re going to be hearing from him now. So without further ado (but with apologies and a tip of the cap to Ed McMahon), heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere’s Johnny:

I started playing golf when I was nine years old, I started working at a golf course when I was 15, and now I am an assistant golf pro at Glen Erin Golf Club in Janesville, WI … so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that I follow the PGA Tour regularly. Something took me by surprise a month or so ago, when I noticed John Daly’s name all over the internet again. And this time it wasn’t because he did something stupid. It was because he was playing half way decent over on the European Tour (He was playing across the pond because he was suspended from the PGA Tour for six months).

Something else caught my eye about Big John Daly. It was the way he was dressed. On May 3rd, Daly was wearing some pretty funky pants at the Open de Espana.

Kind of strange? Yes. But certainly nothing too out of the ordinary when it comes to the dress of some guys on the Tour. And my personal favorite.

Anyways…getting back to Daly, this look was strange for him, but nothing alarming. It wasn’t until the later in the week that Daly really put it into high gear with the fashion. For the next few days of the event, Daly wore this and this. In the words of my birthday buddy Keith Jackson… “Whoah Nelly!”

What in the world are you wearing Big John? Did you get dressed in the dark? I thought this occurrence might be a one week thing. I was way off. Turns out, the next week at the Italian Open (Daly finished in a tie for 2nd place) Daly wore these outfits: this, this, this, and this.

You will notice in that last photo, the belt buckle on Daly looks like an “L” and an “M”. So, I did some digging and found out that John Daly is now being sponsored by a company called Loud Mouth Golf. When perusing the site, you will find that Loud Mouth Golf not only features funky-style golf pants, but they make them in European fit, American fit, big and tall, shorts, belts, hats, and even sport coats.

Taking this quote from former Brewers announcer and now Padres announcer Matt Vasgersian … “Santa Maria!”

Over the next few weeks on the Euro Tour, Daly dressed up in many combinations from the folks over at Loud Mouth Golf. Some psychedelic examples can be found here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and finally, here.

And if that weren’t bad enough, here is what Daly wore to try and qualify for the U.S. Open on June 8th.

Coming from a golf pro’s point of view, I think this is a cool thing for Daly to do. He has dropped 40 pounds, and supposedly gotten things together mentally, and with his golf game. He even started a trend a few weeks ago to support awareness when Amy Mickelson was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was Daly’s idea to wear pink for support (not that he invented the idea or anything) and it was the PGA Tour who did the same thing the following Saturday.

I think the fashion on the PGA Tour has been kind of bland in the past decade or so. I think it is great that more and more guys are expressing themselves through their clothing. Even Ricky Barnes (who entered the final day of play sitting on top of the U.S. Open Leaderboard) has a cool sense of style.

Getting back to John Daly, his six month suspension was lifted last week at the FedEx St. Jude Classic, where Daly played on a sponsor exemption, made the cut, shot +1, and tied for 59th. Daly didn’t let up on color combinations either.

I would love to hear other opinions on the new style of Daly. I know it’s kind of off the wall, but I kind of like it. Since Daly’s sponsorship, I have had at least three guys come into the pro shop with Loud Mouth pants on. I always ask if they know that John Daly has been wearing those brand of pants, and they reply, “Oh yeah, that’s why I got them. If he can make them look good, so can I.” The pants go for $90, come in a ton of colors and patterns, and have cool names associated with them … what’s not to love?

Thanks, Johnny. Lord knows, golf has never been known for loud pants, although Daly may be breaking new ground in that area, that’s for sure.

So, I was lucky enough to attend both a practice round and the second rain-delayed first round of the U.S. Open last week, located in Bethpage, New York, a scant 10 miles from my home. Ya can’t bring a camera to the “real” golf, but they let you take pics at the practice round. Of course, Tiger plays at like 6:00 am, so by the time I got there, he’d finished up his practice round. Did catch him on the practice green though, where he flashed those Tiger whites after sinking a long one. After Buick went belly-up, Tiger is now sporting AT&T on the bag.

They sold these huge giant golf balls in the merch tent. Why would you need a huge giant golf ball? The better to get autographs of course. Most of the players were pretty accommodating. This dude wanted to sign my camera. Actually, he was signing one of these flags, which were also apparently hot sellers.

Moving on to the course, I followed Sergio Garcia for a few holes. If you weren’t aware who he has a clothing contract with, all you had to do was check out his belt loop. The Long Island crowds were actually pretty nice to him considering in 2002 he flipped him the bird. And check out that photo (first one in the article). Then compare it to this one (like so). Yeah…I’m in the wrong business.

Angel Cabrera, the Masters Champion, was also on the course. What a nasty SOB. Didn’t smile, didn’t sign autographs, walked right by little kids with those big balls and flags. This was him teeing off on the 208 yard 17th. Nice swing. Douche bag.

It’s a big course. In fact, it’s like 7,426 yards long, and I think I walked every foot of it. I actually used to play this course back in the early 1990’s. And yep, they had that sign back then. Greatest golf moment in my life came on this course, when I missed aceing the 8th by a foot.

Caught Rory Sabbatini for a hole. While perhaps more famous for his ‘feud’ with Tiger (and why I personally believe he’s no longer with Nike), Rory now has Nerf as a sponsor. He’s also famous for some really crazy belt buckles, although when I saw him, he was much more reserved.

Former Masters Champ Mike Weir was also on the course. He was pretty cool, getting into it with the crowd. Astute hockey fans, are we Long Islanders, even if we don’t have a professional team, and the fans good naturedly chided him with “how about them Penguins?” (Weir, a canadian, is a huge Wings fan). He’s cool (oh yeah, I already said that).

There were like 900 merch tents scattered throughout the grounds, selling all kinds of stuff. Considering a hot dog was $6, a water was $3 and a brewski was $9, this was a relative bargain. New Era, are you paying attention???

Not sure why I took this picture, since I don’t recognize who’s teeing off, but if you notice the volunteers all have pink sweatbands, a nice gesture towards Phil Mickelson’s wife, Amy. Here’s another shot with those same volunteers, this time with boy wonder Rory McIlroy jacking a drive.

It really was a beautiful course, with lots of deep rough. Lots of deep bunkers awaited errant shots, strategically protecting greens.

All in all, a good day, as I went the only two days (practice rounds and actual tournament included) that didn’t have a drop of rain. Caught a few more notables, including two-time defending British Open Champ, and PGA Champ Paddy Harrington. Caught Brent Snedeker on the practice green, as well as former Masters’ champ Zach Johnson. Out on the range, caught former US Open champ Jim Furyk and Ryder Cupper Kenny Perry (who is taking what looks like an Al Czervik swing, but drilled that particular one about 300).

Good times. Good times. Took about 350 photos, and I’m sure there are some I should have included besides these, but that’s what I uploaded. Only regret was not seeing Phil Mickelson during the practice round, because he didn’t arrive until the following day, but I made up for it on Friday, when I followed his group (which included Ernie Els and Retief Goosen) for about 9 holes.

Guess The Game From The Scoreboard: I have a feeling I’ll never be able to stump you guys. But I’m going to try once again. There are clues on the scoreboard (shouldn’t have much trouble figuring out WHERE they’re playing this game). As always, please include the location, date and final score, all of which can be found by linking to Baseball Reference or Baseball Almanac. Good luck. Ready? Guess The Game. As always, if you guys have any scoreboards you’d like to submit for this game, drop me a line.

Have a good Saturday, folks!

[Editor's Note: Although intern emeritus Vince Grzegorek has moved on to greener pastures, he's still going to contribute occasional entries -- like today's, for example.]

By Vince Grzegorek

A few weeks ago, there was a mention in the Ticker of the Slipstream cycling team’s search for a new uniform for next season. They invited fans to submit designs, leading to over 600 entries, including some, er, interesting versions (Drew McKay’s favorite). The important thing here is that Slipstream is pretty famous for its use of argyle patterns, going so far as to call their fanbase the Argyle Armada, so almost all of the proposed versions included variations on this design motif.

All of which got me thinking: How often does argyle show up in uniforms? As Slipstream shows, it can look pretty sharp. I figured there had to be some great examples in other sports.

First, a word on the origins of the pattern itself. According to Wikipedia, “The argyle pattern is said to have been derived from the tartan of Clan Campbell, of Argyll in western Scotland.” It was basically a re-appropriation of the pattern that gave birth to argyle socks and, in turn, argyle sweaters, hats, vests, and the whole preppy wardrobe. The elite began to wear the style in their leisure activities, which included sitting around at their clubs, watching horses, and playing golf, marking the evolution of argyle from casual dress to (somewhat) active dress.

When it comes to uniforms, golf is a great place to start, since it that was the sport that brought argyle into the mainstream in America. According to legend, the president of Brooks Brothers saw golfers in Scotland wearing argyle socks and began selling them back on our side of the pond. Argyle socks went from fashionable links attire to a trendy and dressy hosiery option for the masses.

Of course, argyle is still a common sight in golf today (although not as common as it once was). It’s also made its mark in a variety of other sports — and not just in predictable country club pursuits like tennis and horse racing.

In fact, it seems that virtually every sport has dallied with argyle at one time or another. Given all the emphasis on handsome hosiery during the early period of baseball, for example, it’s no surprise that this 1874 Ontario team was sporting argyle hose.

Over on the soccer field, we’re all probably familiar with this example of argyle socks, thanks to a concerted effort by Boca Juniors to bring back classy. But would you guess that argyle socks also showed up in track and field? American sprinter DeAna Carson wore argyle socks while running the 200-meter dash at the Simplot Games in 2006, garnering my nomination for Best Dressed Female Athlete of the Year (the ESPY’s should include this, no?).

On the hardcourt, the most obvious example is the UNC basketball uniform, which in 2000 began featuring an argyle pattern running down the sides — a classic look. While looking for UNC photos, I stumbled upon this gallery — check out Shaw University’s uniforms! More argyle!

I couldn’t find a football example, but I’m betting there’s got to be one out there waiting to be found. I think there’s another database in our future. Post any suggestions in the comments section or e-mail them our way.

Unfinished Business: (Shivering) Working for Paul Lukas has been good. He is a nice man. Um. I never felt overworked. And every task he assigned me was worthwhile and rewarding. Yeah. The last year has felt like being imprisoned in research hell it went by in the blink of an eye. (Nervously looking over shoulder.)

Seriously, everything was great — Paul was a blast to work for on every project, I loved what I was doing, and whether he admits it or not, he had a lot to do with the progress I made over the last year that has now translated into a full-time writing job. Due to the new employment, the holidays, and an ill-timed and lengthy internet outage at my house, I never got a chance to say that. One other thing I never got to say was congrats to Bryan, who is obviously filling my massive size 10s quite well.

I’m not going anywhere, and as you can see I’ll still be contributing material, at least as much as I can. You guys have been too great and this has been too fun to just stop all together. So, consider me your Senior Assistant Editor (at least that’s the title I’m going to demand if Paul asks). In short, or, at this point, long — thank you for all the support and patience you’ve shown me over the past year.

Call for Research: I’m working on a piece about CFL uniforms and would welcome any suggestions on what to cover. Neither Paul nor I have much expertise in that domain, so any input would be appreciated. One specific question: Anyone know when and why the Canadian flag started showing up as a helmet decal? Pre/post 9/11? E-mail all contributions to me at vincegrzegorek [at] gmail [dot] com. Thanks.

And now over to Paul for the rest of today’s material….

Pennant Grace: Victory Pennants, one of the fine vendors hyped in yesterday’s ESPN column, is offering a 15% discount to readers of this site from now through next Friday, the 14th. When checking out, use the coupon code “UNIWATCH001.” Big thanks to company prexy Morris Levin for extending this benefit to Uni Watch readers.

Boston Reminder: Remember, Uni Watch party tonight, 8:30 p.m., at the Boston Beer Works.

Uni Watch News Ticker: Check out what Mississippi State’s football uniform used to look like (great find by Scott Turner). … The Mets and White Sox will be playing the Civil Rights game next March 29th. Let’s hope the uniforms are better than last time around. … Big package on goalie masks in yesteray’s USA Today. Look here, here, and here. … Tons of great old White Sox photos here (with thanks to Eriq Jaffe). … Excellent question from Jon Blake, who writes: “This article ranks Floyd Mayweather’s ‘five key fights.’ For his 1998 matchup with Genaro Hernandez, it says, ‘Mayweather, at 17-0, was challenging for his first world title (WBC super featherweight) and was so cocky that he wore a WBC championship patch on his trunks into the ring.’ My question is, who else has worn something commemorating an achievement yet to happen? My friend and I recalled Clemens wearing the ‘300 Wins’ patch against Boston when he got yanked in the 3rd, but who else has done something similar?” Please, let’s not have a jillion comments about “Buffalo Bills Super Bowl Champions” post-game T-shirts and the like — this question is about things worn during the game or match. Anyone..? … The Celtics and Sixers wore throwbacks last night. Note that Boston appeared to have matte jerseys and shiny shorts, just like back in the day. Plus there were retro shooting shirts (complete with retro Adidas logo) and championship patches on their warm-up jackets. … Double play from Frank Mercogliano, who writes: “Pocatello High School [in Idaho] is wearing new racer-back jerseys from Russell, so I snapped a picture of #4 on the bench, who has a horrible off-center number. Sorta like killing two birds with one stone. The JV game was funnier because one of the girls attempted to iron her shorts and burned a huge imprint of the iron on the back of her red shorts. It was priceless.” … The Royals will unveil their powder blue alternate jersey today.

Housekeeping Note: I’ll be off the grid for most of today and tomorrow. If you have any site-related issues (abusive comments, spam filter problems, etc.), please e-mail Bryan. Ticker contributions can still come to me.

We’ve been so busy with team sports over the past month or so (stretch-run baseball, the start of the NFL and college football seasons, the relentless flood of new NHL designs) that I completely ignored the U.S. Open tennis tourney. And that’s a shame, because we happen to have a bona fide Open operative right here in our midst: Gabe Ganot, who’s been working as a ballboy — okay, ballperson — at the Open since 1999, giving him an ideal vantage point for uni-watching. That’s him in the photo shown above.

Gabe sent me a good rundown of observations a few weeks ago, which I’m finally getting around to sharing with the rest of you. Check it out:

Almost all players wear one outfit per tournament. But Federer this year had two — a “day” and “night” selection. The night attire featured the “Man in Black” look with a black headband, black shirt, shorts, socks and sneakers. This as opposed to the day outfit, with a blue shirt, white shorts, white sneakers, and a blue headband. People were wondering what he was going to do for the final, because it was scheduled to start in the late afternoon and it was still light out. I think he was quoted as saying since the lights would eventually be on, he would go with the Johnny Cash look. Note that his sneakers have the three Swiss flags commemorating his three U.S. Open wins the last three years (I think it also says something on the tongue). Roger also has the tendency to constantly brush imaginary hair from his forehead and adjust his headband.

Nadal, I’m pretty sure, has the worst OCD of anyone on the tour, and not just uni related. Before he serves, just about every point, he has the David Wright-esque habit of picking his wedgie. The other ballpersons and I wonder why he continues to wear the capris if he has to adjust his pants every point. He also adjusts his hair/headband with the same frequency. Other examples of his OCD include placing his drink on the same exact spot during every changeover, and sprinting out to the baseline for warm-ups.

You’d think that the folks at Lacoste would make Andy Roddick a nice-fitting shirt. Instead he has to constantly adjust it, nearly every point, to make the shoulders drape correctly (similar to the way most volleyball players do). This has been happening for several years now. He also has taken a liking to wearing his hat a little sideways, à la Pokey Reese or Mike Cameron. It’s not an accident — I’ve seen him take it off and be very particular about the way he puts it back on.

Its also interesting see how doubles teams dress. Sometimes, teams go all out and match every single part of their outfits, down to the sneakers, like the Bryan brothers. Other teams wear what they would normally wear if they were playing singles, while others come up with a completely different outfit, like Justin Gimelstob in his mixed doubles team with Ashely Harkleroad. Speaking of Gimelstob, he apparently sweats like there’s no tomorrow, so he tends to change shirts around five or six times a match. And speaking of sweating, some players are obsessed with the towel. Nadal, for instance, asks for it pretty frequently on a hot day, and Roddick can be the worst. This ballboy would like to see some sort of integrated towel technology, like certain wide receivers have.

The women have different issues than the men. For starters, many of them wear makeup and jewelry while on the court. I think Jelena Jenkovic even puts her watch on before playing.

It’s also been interesting to note the ball-holding technology for women over the last decade (insert sex joke here). When I first started being a ballboy, most women just asked for one ball to serve instead of two like the men (men have pockets, so they usually ask for two and put one in their pocket in case they fault on their first serve). Some women would ask for two and just shove one of them into the bottom of their underwear, and after a game I’d have to go pick up a slightly damp ball. Others went with the plastic ball holder (famous example: Arantxa Sanchez Vicario), which was essentially a belt that had a little plastic thingie that sat right on top of the butt. These days, the women have slightly longer undergarments, kind of like the compression shorts basketball players wear. These have pockets, so that makes my job a little easier.

When I first started, almost all women wore the simple tennis skirt and some sort of top. Then Serena hit the scene, and now we get horror stories, like look at Bethanie Mattek’s outfit from this year’s Open. She does something like this at every tournament. It also seems like the ladies have a contest to see who can wear the shortest skirt and the like.

It’s also kind of weird to see some players who aren’t sponsored and end up having different parts of their outfits from several manufacturers. I forget who, but someone this year had something like an Adidas shirt, Nike shorts, and Champion socks.

With regards to equipment, there’s nothing too crazy, but some funny stuff. For instance, instead of the traditional shock absorber that most players have on their racket, some players use an ordinary rubber band. Not sure why. No player I saw wore regular glasses, only a handful had sunglasses on (Arnaud Clement and Alexa Glatch come to mind), and a few went with the bright sunscreen on the nose. Also, while most players bring at least five or six rackets with them to the court, I noticed that Mark Knowles liked to just tape on a new grip instead of going with a new racket. Not sure the reasoning for that.

As for our Polo-brand ballperson uniforms, they’re a welcome change from the Fila garbage we had several years ago, which were in outlandish colors and make us look ridiculous (plus you try running around in 90-degree heat in a thick cotton polo that’s too large, shorts that are too tight, and sneakers that can literally blow up if you plant too hard). The new ones are a nice moisture-wicking material with a good form-fitting shape (we don’t have to tuck in anymore!). But we are essentially walking advertisements — in addition to the 6-inch Polo logo on the chest area, we have a full 12-inch logo on the back, making us look like real product whores. Additionally, with around five days to go in the tournament we were mandated to begin wearing Polo wristbands, which was odd, because they never told us to where on the arm to wear them, unlike everything else which is by the book. The only change the Polo unis have had over the years is that they change the color of the vertical striping on the shirt and and shorts (this year it was yellow; in the past it’s been red and white).

Big thanks to Gabe for all that info. Still want more? Vince (who provided several of the photos links above) notes that this tennis blog has lots of fashion coverage.

Research Reqeust Request: I’m working on a column devoted to uni-related typos. I’ve got all the classics covered (Angees, Torotno, Nayv, Nigger Ilsand, etc.), along with the assorted nameplate misspellings that have periodically been called out here on the blog. If you know of any others, old or now, that we haven’t discussed, please let me know. Thanks.

Fall Back (into bed): The annual moving of the clocks is still a month away, but Uni Watch likes to be ahead of the curve, so…. As those of you in the Eastern Time Zone are well aware, I usually get the day’s entry up by 9 a.m., which is an arbitrary deadline that I set back in the site’s early days. Well, not completely arbitrary — I was trying to (a) motivate myself and (b) get you folks used to the idea that you could depend on fresh content being ready for you at the start of each day.

After a year and a half of this, during which it’s now become routine for me to be eating my breakfast in front of the computer while frantically making last-minute changes to the Ticker, I’d like to reclaim a bit of breathing room for my mornings (and, by extension, for my late-night hours). So beginning next week, my new arbitrary self-imposed daily deadline will be 10:15 a.m. Among other things, this should make it much easier for me to catch up on the previous night’s comments, deal with Ticker contributions that come in overnight, and so on.

I know some of you eastern folks have grown accustomed to starting your day (read: goofing off at work) with Uni Watch, but I have faith in your abilities to find other productive uses for the 75-minute window that fate has just handed you. Just pretend I moved to Chicago or something, OK? OK.

Uni Watch News Ticker: Lots of good stuff currently available on eBay, including this patch, this ad, this uniform, and this jersey. … Latest schools to go with the System of Dress: Maryland and Miami (with thanks to Jose Frontanes and Mike Alper, respectively). … Another new NHL mask: Marc Andre Fleury. … Good overview of the NFL captains’ patches — including a shout-out to Uni Watch — here. … Interesting article here about the Rochester Amerks new uniforms. Key quote, from team prexy Steve Donner: “RBK is integrating vertical striping into the jersey, and they wanted to do away with all horizontal striping. It wasn’t our suggestion to remove the stripes.” … Bizarre purple/green/yellow color scheme exhibited by Waukegan High in Illinois (with thanks to AJ Brandt). … Ouch. … Tons of old high school team photos, from a wide range of sports, here (with thanks to Brendon Yarian). … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: The LPGA has changed its logo from this to this, which strikes me as a major improvement. Details here. … Also from yesterday: The NHL and Reebok held a conference call on Tuesday to address the growing chorus of player complaints about the new uniforms (the latest of which can be found in the middle of this article). Details here. … Good article here about the Sharks’ goalie masks. … Still more All Blacks soap operatics (with thanks to Caleb Borchers). … Reprinted from last night’s comments: The people at New Era are really, uh, outdoing themselves. … Dan Schulman, who’s doing ESPN Radio’s play-by-play for the Bosox/Angels series, mistakenly stated during last night’s game that Jason Varitek is the only current MLB captain to wear a “C.” Schulman forgot about Mike Sweeney.

So I was looking through the membership card gallery the other day, and I was suddenly struck by something I’d never noticed before: Most of the drop shadows and block shadows fall down and to the right — call it the five o’clock shadow.

As I started looking at photos, I realized that five o’clock shadows are standardized throughout most of the sports world. The primary exception among current teams is the New York Rangers, whose block shadows go down and to the left (a protocol that holds for all their jerseys). For everyone else, it’s down and to the right, down and to the right, ad infinitum.

I was curious about how this phenomenon became so entrenched. Was it because we read from left to right? Was it because the sun sets in the west, casting an eastward shadow? Was it a something designers consciously considered when coming up with uniform designs, or did they just reflexively go with the five o’clock format without even thinking about it?

I posed those questions to Todd Radom and Scott M.X. Turner, both of whom have designed a few uniforms in their day. Here’s an edited version of their responses:

Todd Radom: Agreed, drop shadows traditionally fall off to the bottom right, and I can only assume that this is a logical function of [our culture's] left-to-right thing. Are there any drop shadows in the new Israeli baseball league that go from right to left? [I don't think so. -- PL]

My 2 cents: Bottom-right is the way to go. And the shadow should be connected to the top layer of lettering, as opposed to just being set off. Also, I think any drop shadow should be darker than the layer on top, so white drop shadows on a black background, for instance, make no sense at all.

The 49ers numbers achieve drop shadow perfection for my money.

Scott M.X. Turner: What Todd said, basically. The Rangers’ bottom-left look has become so iconic that it doesn’t strike me as odd (though it does feel counterintuitive when I do Rangers treatments for Uni Watch cardbacks).

I agree block shadow is a better idea than drop shadow. … I’m not as sold that the bottom layer needs to be darker, however — the St. Louis Browns stuck orange under brown back in the ’40s, and Cleveland did it in 1970 with red under navy [and let's not forget this -- PL]. I guess it depends on whether you’re trying to convey a shadow or a block. If it’s a shadow, then Todd’s right, should be darker; block, then most anything goes.

Unlike the well-documented histories of pinstripes, certain colors, and logos, I’m not sure there’s a way to know for sure why shadows came out lower-right. Just that most of us designers agree that’s the way it feels right. And nine times out of ten, the feel’s more important than the math.

Todd also pointed out what may be the oddest configuration of all: the one used by the late-1950s Washington Senators, whose block shadow ran up and to the right. I’m unaware of any other team having done this. But then again, until a week or so ago I hadn’t given much thought to this topic to begin with.

And that’s the thing — once you start thinking about a subject like this, all sorts of things start jumping out at you. With my “shadow radar” more finely tuned in recent days, I’ve suddenly noticed a few more left-leaning shadows. During my recent visit to Lelands, for example, I turned over this New Jersey Knights jersey and immediately fixated on the nameplate. And when preparing yesterday’s ESPN column about “one and done” designs, I was got a little rush of excitement when I saw the shadow configuration on Wisconsin’s one-day design from 1995.

My feeling is that while drop and block shadows often look good (especially on a membership card), they can also add unnecessary clutter to a design. And while I haven’t done a formal tally, my sense of things is that more teams are employing shadows these days than in the past, because they’re so easy to execute digitally. I’m fairly certain teams like the Mets, Dolphins, and 49ers, all of which added drop shadows within the past decade, wouldn’t have done so if it hadn’t been so easy for a designer to call everyone over to his computer and say, “Look, what if we just did this…” I’m not saying there’s no place for shadows, but most of them these days come with the distinct echo of “Because we can.”

Raffle Results: I’m happy to announce that the winner of the Helmet Hut raffle for a free college football helmet is Vertically Arched member Mike Brodsky. Mike, please get in touch with me pronto to claim your prize.

Thanks to all who entered. And I can absolutely promise, incidentally, that next month’s raffle is gonna be a mind-blower.

Uni Watch News Ticker: Creepy Nike product placement of the day — and one of the best ever — here (with mega-thanks to Chris Dominiak). … The Jets, who were originally known as the Titans, will be having a, uh, Titanic throwback game on October 14th. Lots good Titans info is available here (and be sure to check out the JetsTV video link, which features some fantastic Titans footage — special thanks to Mike from Queens for that link). … Cool-sounding exhibit of military uniforms currently on display in Delray Beach, Florida. Details here (with thanks to Jeff Fishman). … Speaking of military unis, check out this. … Yesterday Todd Radom e-mailed me an article about various lowlights in Phillies uniform history (it’s not web-accessible, alas), and one passage in particular caught my eye: “June 10, 1972. Trying to inject some life into a 19-29 club at the start of a homestand, gimmick-obsessed team vice president Bill Giles suggested that, since the Phillies had been playing better on the the road than at home, they ought to try their road uniforms at the Vet. Giles’ plan bombed. The Atlanta Braves’ 15-3 victory included Hank Aaron’s 649th home run, a grand slam.” The Braves were wearing the “feather” design on the road that year, so it wasn’t gray-vs.-gray, but still — two teams wearing road uniforms? I’d never heard about this before. Anyone else? … When not serving me cocktails, doing my laundry, and changing Tucker and Caitlin’s litterbox, Uni Watch intern Vince Grzegorek moonlights at a dental office. And who should come in for a root canal yesterday but a VP of Sales for Reebok. “He was dressed head to toe in Reebok stuff,” reports Vince. “Shorts, shoes, socks, and the logo was EXTREMELY prominent.” While he was in the chair, Vince slipped him some nitrous oxide and nabbed this Cleveland Browns cap from his briefcase. Then he put a Uni Watch temporary tattoo on his arm, etched a Nike swoosh onto one of his front teeth, and doubled his bill. All in a day’s work. … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: Major hosiery development Wednesday night, as Esteban Loaiza was wearing special stirrups with the A’s logo on the side. Best photo so far (provided by Roger Faso) is here — you can just barely make out the logo on Loaiza’s left ankle. Anyone got a better shot? I can’t do screen grabs from my backup computer (main machine’s still in the shop, grumble-grumble), but I’m told that there were some close-up views in the first inning. … Here’s a quote for the ages: “It was an interesting lesson to learn in how quickly a fire can happen.” To appreciate the full context, look here (with thanks to Peter Bliao). … The Trenton Thunder unveiled a new identity system yesterday. … And Cleveland State unveiled a new logo (as noted by Josh Yetmar). … Golf report from Dan Sherman, who writes: “At the first round of the FedEx cup, close to 50 golfers were wearing blue belts with silver buckles inscribed with ‘IFF,’ for ‘Ian and Friends Foundation.’” Details here. … I’d heard about the Denver Bears’ “strike zone uniforms” before, but I’d never seen them — until now (with thanks to George McClure). … Can someone please tell the Mariners to stop wearing their BP jerseys in actual games? They did it again last night. … Here’s one I hadn’t been aware of: As you know, the Steelers switched from block numbers to their current font in 1997. But for the first game of that season — and only the first game — they kept their old block lettering for the nameplates, before switching to their now-familiar rounded font in Week 2. … Tired of seeing your favorite team’s baseball cap rendered in all sorts of weird colors? You’re not the only one (good find by Dave Miller). … Latest MLBer to wear toe socks: Brendan Ryan of the Cardinals. This and several other uni-related tidbits can be found in the last four paragraphs of this article. Meanwhile, the second text section of this piece reports that Ryan has some unusual taste in eyewear. (Both items sent my way by Elena Elms, who I’m pretty sure has a crush on Ryan.) … Mike Lowell has been wearing a Jeff Bagwell-style padded batting glove lately. “It was made by using an old piece of catching equipment, an idea conceived by the Red Sox trainers,” says AJ Chalifour. … Got an e-mail last night from Jay Gordon, who’s the editor-in-chief of Uniforms magazine (!), which features lively columns like “The Uniforms Laboratory” and “Ask the Uniforms Guy” (who, for some inexplicable reason, isn’t me). Granted, none of the uniforms are sports-related, but it still looks pretty damn cool. … Jason Cruz notes that there sure seems to be a lot of stuff going on on Lauren Jackson’s shoes. Anyone know what the “153″ is for?

New ESPN column today — here’s the link.

Meanwhile: My Wednesday evening got completely derailed when Tom O’Grady posted a really interesting find in last night’s comments section: this jersey, supposedly a game-worn Don Meredith model. I say “supposedly” because I was having a hard time coming to grips with that wraparound-styled collar. I mean, shit, look at that thing! I couldn’t decide if it reminded more of this or this.

But within half an hour Tom had found this photo of Meredith, which seemed to confirm the odd collar style. Further evidence came when I found this photo (which I know I’ve seen before, and probably even linked to, but I never noticed the collar). Turns out Dandy Don was indeed quite the dandy!

Note that these photos all show Meredith wearing the Cowboys’ “stars on the shoulders” jersey design, which the team wore from 1960 through 1963. The next step, I figured, was to look at other Cowboys photos from this era (there’s a slew of them available at this site). And that’s where things get seriously weird: Some players appear to have had collars that were very much like Meredith’s (here’s one more). For other players, the collar’s crossover/wraparound effect was less pronounced. And some players just had a fairly normal-looking collar — pretty similar to this, right? There was also one collar that was extra-severe, with the crossover seam running all the way down to the uniform number. (Naturally, none of these variations were incorporated into the throwback version of the early-’60s jersey.)

We’ve examined collar styles before, but never anything like this. It’s such an odd design for an athletic jersey — plus it creates some unfortunate pucker patterns. Can’t believe I never noticed it before. Anyone know of any other football teams that wore anything like this?

The wraparound collar appears to have bitten the dust when the Cowboys switched to their current jersey design in 1964. (As an aside: In 1964 and ’65, the sleeves had three stripes. The switch to two stripes didn’t come until ’66.)

Senatorial Protocol: The Senators unveiled their new uniforms last night (there’s a gallery here). I always thought the soldier’s eyes looked way too big, like he was possessed or hypnotized or something, so I vastly prefer the new rendition of him. Like everyone else, I love the shoulder patch. Can’t say I’m thrilled with the rear view (especially the sock stripes, which are patterned after the ones used at the All-Star Game) but at least it’s better than this. All in all: Could’ve been worse.

Last-Chance Raffle Reminder: Today’s the last day to enter the raffle for the free college football helmet from Helmet Hut. If you haven’t already entered, send an e-mail here. One entry per person, but all Uni Watch Membership Program enrollees get three bonus entries — and that includes anyone who signs up today, up to 10 p.m. eastern, which is the deadline for the raffle. I’ll announce the winner tomorrow.

And speaking of members, I’m now inclined to think there are three enrollees (not two, as I thought yesterday) who’ve inadvertently been left off the roster. So again, if you’ve signed up for membership, please check the roster and make sure you’re on it. If you’re not, let me know.

Uni Watch News Ticker: Although the best Nike product placement ever remains the Heaven’s Gate mass suicide, this comes close (thanks, Vince). … Someone has created a ingeniously simple photo blog devoted to pics of people wearing jerseys on the street. Looks like it only launched a few weeks ago, but it has the makings of potential brilliance (great find by Josh Berliner). … Speaking of brilliant, check out this composite of the Canucks’ logos. … Eric Wisthoff sent me this photo with no explanation. I noticed that the URL indicated it was from Chance Michaels’s site, so I asked him to fill us in: “It’s from Halloween 1994, the Packers beating the Bears at Solider Field in monsoon-like conditions. Ken Ruettgers was goofing around in the holiday spirit, having some fun with the rather plain Packers throwback helmets. I don’t know if he ever actually wore it on the field, or if the decals were taken off before the game started. I suspect that they were — can’t imagine that the NFL would have been too happy with such a modification.” … Can you believe Alonzo Mourning has his own signature golf glove? (Good find by Chris Flinn.) … You Can’t Make This Stuff Up Dept.: The Portland Beavers are letting fans vote to help choose the team’s new name (or to keep it as is, which is the only acceptable outcome), and one of the choices is the Portland Wet Sox. Really. Depressing details here. … I don’t usually like the look of Livestrong-style bracelets, but on Tuesday night I was given this one, and I may never take it off. It was part of this amazing event (look closely and you’ll see me in one of the photos). … Latest cancer-fighting color: teal, which will be worn by Callaway-sponsored golf pros next month to raise awareness of ovarian cancer. Details here (with thanks to Seth Horowitz). … Jeff Bethune checks in with a follow-up to last Friday’s shoe-cutting discussion: “Cubs announcer Bob Brenley suggested tonight that shoe cutting and alterations happen in baseball as well. After Benjie Molina was hit in the toe with a foul ball, and Brenley — a former catcher — said how painful that is, and that with the swelling of the big toe, you sometimes need to cut a hole in the toe of the shoe to give extra room to the swollen toe.” … Speaking of footwear, add Yadier Molina to the list of MLBers wearing modified sneakers with cleat plates (as noted by footwear fetishist specialist Mark Mihalik, who almost made me spit out my Diet Coke by sending me this). … I assume everyone knows that the Cubs use an embroidered felt logo appliqué on their batting helmets, rather than a decal (it has actual depth). That distinction apparently came up in last night’s Cubs game, as Adam Collins explains: “In Henry Blanco’s first at bat in the top of the 10th, the ‘C’ patch on the front of his helmet appeared to be wrinkled in the middle and the upper portion was falling off. Interestingly, Cubs TV play-by-play man Len Kasper actually acknowledged this. He said something along the lines of, ‘It looks like Blanco needs some glue for the sticker on his helmet.’ He then went on to clarify that ‘the “C” is not actually a sticker, well it is, but it is made up of stitches.’ The discussion moved on further as Cubs color man Bob Brenley gave some props to Cubs equipment managers by saying he was certain they would take care of the situation. As if the story weren’t already interesting enough, Blanco successfully laid down the suicide squeeze to put the Cubs up 4-2. Could Giants pitcher Patrick Misch have been too focused on Blanco’s patch flap?” … Don Zimmer will be back with the Devil Rays next season, and you know what that means.

Gratitude Dept.: Literally dozens of you answered my call for “one and done” examples for today’s ESPN column. I’m grateful to everyone who contributed ideas and leads, but especially to Dave Kendrick, Chad Stegemiller, Vince DeMarco, Matthew Campbell, Mark Mayall, Chance Michaels, Jon Eisen, John Eick, Adrian Brashier, Paul Pokaski, Nate Gruz, Todd Radom, Brian Carroll, Mark Lackinger, Jeffrey Israel, Todd Krevanchi, Frank Mercogliano, Mike Miller, Pedro Naranjo, Mark Divine, and of course Uni Watch intern Vince Grzegorek. Could I have written this column without you guys? Yeah. But would it be as good? Not even close. Thanks again.

As you can see, the ticket stub shown at right is from 34 years ago, almost to the day. That date happened to be Father’s Day, 1973 — a day that my family spent at the ballpark.

Looking back, this could not have been much of a treat for my father. Egged on by one of those “Take Dad to Shea for Father’s Day!” ads, I had gotten the bright idea that I would pay for his ticket. But I was so pleased with myself for ponying up the entire $2.75 (no small sum for a nine-year-old whose weekly allowance was a quarter and who wasn’t yet big enough to make extra cash mowing lawns around the neighborhood) that I neglected to consider that he still had to pay for my ticket. And my Mom’s ticket. And parking, and gas, and hot dogs. Plus he had to deal with holiday traffic, which must have been a real bitch. Pop, if you’re reading this, I’m sorry — my heart was in the right place, honest. I just hadn’t thought it all through.

Anyway, the Mets won, thanks in part to recent call-up named Ron Hodges, who hit his first major league homer. I remember reading in the paper the next day that Yogi Berra — then the Mets’ manager — said, “The kid’s got some pop, he’ll hit some more of those,” or words to that effect. And he did — exactly 18 more over the course of a 12-year career, to be exact. To this day, I still don’t understand how such a marginal player managed to stay on a big league roster for more than a decade.

The ticket stub, as you can see, is light blue, which happens to be MLB’s designated Father’s Day color (to promote prostate cancer research, don’tcha know). Among yesterday’s highlights:

• Players have been wearing light blue sweatbands on Father’s Day for years now (I first recall seeing it in either ’99 or 2000), but I think this is the first year that the sweatbands were “DAD”-inscribed — sometimes lengthwise, sometimes crosswise.

• Big Papi really outdid himself with the wristbands: one on the left and two on the right (with a bracelet in between the latter two).

• Many umps wore the blue wristbands too.

• The blue ribbons are old hat by now, but I was mildly surprised to see that they even put one on Terry Francona’s pullover.

• Intern Vince Grzegorek (who took his dad to yesterday’s Indians/Braves game) spotted something I don’t recall having seen before: Santiago Casilla wore a ribbon on his cap.

• As has been the case for the past couple of years, several players also wore blue ribbon temporary tattoos, including Manny Delcarmen, J.D. Drew (who had them on both arms), and Hector Carrasco. (Big thanks to Kelly O’Connor for linking to the Drew and Delcarmen pics in yesterday’s comments.)

That’s all nice enough. But the best thing about this promotion has always been when players wear eye blue instead of eye black. The king of that style yesterday was Felix Pie. If that doesn’t stop prostate cancer, nothing will.

Capital Idea: Here’s a cool opportunity for someone in the DC area. The Capitals will be unveiling their new uniforms this Friday, June 22nd, at the Kettler Capitals Iceplex in Arlington. The event begins at 5:30 pm, with the actual unveiling slated for about 6:40. I’ve been invited to attend but am unable to make it, so Caps media director Nate Ewell has very graciously consented to allow a Uni Watch representative to attend in my stead.

The surrogate in question will be permitted (indeed, required) to take photos and notes, and will then prepare a summary report that I’ll post on the blog the following Monday. If you’d like to represent Uni Watch at this event, send me a note explaining why you’re the right person for the job. Please include your full name, address, phone number, and age. Thanks. No more applications, please — member Mike Forgy, a longtime Caps season ticket holder, has been selected for the job.

June Raffle: I’ve got an extra copy of the 2001 MLB Style Guide, which shows the official specs and colors for each team, and I’m going to raffle it off for free. This particular copy has a great history: It was raffled off once before, at the 2006 Uni Watch Athletics Aesthetics Party in Brooklyn, where it was won by Mets by the Numbers impresario Jon Springer, but he recently gave it back to me so I could give it away again. Since then, the cover has gotten some light scratches from Uni Watch mascot Tucker (I think he was expressing his displeasure with the Rockies’ solid-purple alternates), which is sort of the Uni Watch office equivalent of a grass stain on a game-used jersey.

This is a free raffle: Just send an e-mail to uniraffle at earthlink dot net by 10 pm eastern on Thursday, June 21st. One entry per person. But everyone who’s signed up for membership by 9 pm Thursday will automatically get three extra entries. If you’re a member and don’t bother to e-mail an entry to the raffle address, you’ll still get three entries. I’ll announce the winner on Friday, OK? OK!

Speaking of membership, Scott is busily catching up on the next batch of cards, and I should be able to add the rear designs to the roster page within a few days. I’ve also created a gallery of all the current back-card designs, which will be updated as Scott creates each new one.

As for the actual cards, just about everyone in the first batch should have received their cards by now. If you still haven’t received yours by, say, Wednesday, let me know. The new batch should start shipping out by the end of this week.

We’ve also decided upon a little bonus benefit that will come into play down the road: All members who join by the end of July will have a special “Charter Member” designation added to their cards when they renew next year.

Uni Watch News Ticker: A few of my recent ESPN columns have mentioned Chuck Kinder, who wore No. 100 for WVU in 1963, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of West Virginia’s statehood. Now Craig Mullen has turned up a video clip about Kinder — nice find. … Really interesting note from Chad Stegemiller, who writes: “Friday’s Indianapolis Star had an article about the 40th year of baseball having a state championship. They included a photo showing Arlington High School and Jasper High School playing in the 1967 state semifinals. I immediately noticed the Jasper players having ‘Jasper’ on their back instead of numbers (plus I am sure you will like their choice in hosiery). Unfortunately, there are no front views of Jasper’s jerseys.” … Reprinted from Friday’s comments: Good article here about the history of NASCAR uniforms. … Andrew Daull found some great Cooperalls footage at the 3:10 mark of this video. … On Friday I asked if anyone knew about the little gold circle on the back of Bobby Abreu’s belt. An inside source from an American League clubhouse responded thusly: “It’s a Phiten titanium disc that has become very popular around clubhouses. I’m not sure how well they would work being on the belt (and thus having several layers of clothing between it and the skin) but many players seem to like it, and I even know one photographer who has two on his elbow to help with some pain he was having — he says the stuff works.” And in a related item, several MLB players also believe in Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, and Barry Bonds’s negative drug tests. … Faaaaascinating note from Ryan Hemminger, who writes: “As I was sitting in the gallery at the 10th hole at Oakmont watching Tiger Woods line up a shot on the green, I noticed that he was wearing one black sock and one white sock. I thought that it was odd, and I figured it must be some sort of superstitious thing he does. However, later in the afternoon, at hole number 5, I noticed that Vijay Singh was also wearing two different colored socks — one navy blue and one white [as you can sort of see here -- PL]. I can’t confirm with photographic evidence (the USGA is VERY strict about not allowing cameras on the course), but is this some sort of trend among pro golfers, or just an odd coincidence?” Anyone know more about this? … Lots to like in this photo of Dunbar High (Kentucky) baseball team (with thanks to Scot Williams). … Bizarre scene at Steelers fantasy camp, where one of the participants was an amputee with a prosthetic leg, which was emblazoned with a Steelers logo (nice find by Dennis O’Neil). … Redskins long snapper Ethan Albright gave up his uniform number to a teammate in what this article describes as a “private barter transaction” (with thanks to Tim Nichols). … Speaking of the ‘Skins, when Chris Cooley played with his fly unzipped last year, I figured it was an honest mistake. But having now seen the hot pants that he’s wearing during Redskins minicamp, I’m convinced that the guy is a serious fetishist (with thanks to Stewart Snelson). … Kudos to Chris Manes, who found this great old photo of the Suns’ 1960s cheerleading uniforms. … According to the second paragraph on this page (forwarded by Rory Gustison), the Patriots are considering “wearing the team’s throwback red jersey and old helmets for at least one game” in 2009. Yes, three seasons from now. … Very odd scene in Japan, where Warren Cromartie — who first played baseball for the Expos and then for the Yomiuri Giants in Japan — recently participated in a pro wrestling event and wore a Giants-style uniform for the occasion (it said “Samuraiman” across the chest). Afterward, he held a press conference, where, as Jeremy Brahm puts it, “he looked almost just like he did when he played in Japan.” … Fernando Rodney’s cap tag was sticking out yesterday. … Very odd find by Patrick Sharon, who was recently at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton and noticed that a Lee Roy Selmon jersey on display had one orange letter. Just a hunch: I’m guessing that the original heat-pressed white letter peeled off, leaving some discolored fabric in its wake.

Got two interesting notes over the weekend, both of which call for reader input. The first came from Ryan Burns, as follows:

I’m going to be president of my local lacrosse officials’ association next year. One of the common complaints is about our uniform. The uniform is black shoes, white socks with black tops (the width of black part varies widely, which drives me nuts), white shorts, black belt, black hat with white piping, and a shirt.

The shirt is supposed to have black and white stripes, black collar and cuffs, ¼-zip, pocket, and, for our high school, no patches. The reason for no patches is that for college games you’re supposed to have an American flag above the pocket, a sleeve patch, and a number on the back (that’s a whole other story) and the feeling is that if you have any patches in a high school game and your partner does not, then you would be showing him up. Here’s an example of proper dress, but you can see black snaps on the back (for a number) and sleeve (for a patch). And here’s me. My numbers and sleeve patch attach by Velcro, but my flag patches are sewn on, so I wear them even though I’m not supposed to.

Some people complain about the high socks, some complain about black hats (heat), some complain about white shorts (get dirty easily), some complain about patch restrictions and having to separate shirts (both long and short sleeve) for high school and college games. I’m thinking we should have the black and white spiral instead of vertical stripes and have advertisements all over, or else button-down shirts with bow ties. But short of that do you have any ideas on how we could improve our uniforms?

First and foremost, Ryan: Don’t change those socks. Love the color block look.

I’m kinda fascinated by the whole snap-on number and patch thing — didn’t realize such a thing existed. And I’m always amazed by the ongoing cross-sport ubiquity of zebra stripes (the origins of which are discussed here).

As for the rest, what say ye, Uni Watchers? Any suggestions for our lacrosse officiating brethren?

But wait, before you deal with that, check out the note I got from Brent Marcus, who contributed the following:

Don’t know if you’re familiar with the show “Ninja Warrior” (airs daily on G4 TV). Massive, ridiculously difficult obstacle course. Competitions are filmed in Japan and the contestants are incredible amateur athletes.

Anyway, here’s the relevance to Uni Watch: Some of the best athletes show up dressed in their everyday work garb. For example, there’s a gas station manager who shows up in his gas station manager’s uniform [you can see him in this video clip]. His choice of khakis and polo shirt has no obvious impact on his performance. … You’d think these athletes would wear [performance clothing that would] allow the greatest flexibility, range of movement, etc. But they don’t. They wear corporate clothing and street attire, to no ill effect.

I’m sure this is just one example of non-uniform athletics, but to be honest, I couldn’t think of many others. I thought an overview of sports where there are no uniforms at all might make an interesting topic. I’m sure there must be several other examples. Historically, there are plenty — before we entered an age of Lycra and breathable mesh.

Interesting topic. Not sure it has legs, but I’m willing to open the floor to discussion. Your thoughts..?

Membership Update: The first batch of Uni Watch membership cards and fridge magnets went out in Saturday’s mail, so members should watch their mailboxes. Unfortunately, my printer chose Friday to go on the fritz, so I wasn’t able to enclose a cover letter with each card/magnet shipment, as I’d originally intended to do. If I’d been able to enclose such a letter, it probably would’ve looked something like this.

If your uniform number isn’t yet clickable on the membership roster, it means your card hasn’t been designed yet. We’ll get started on the second batch during the next week.

Incidentally, it has been suggested that we offer referee zebra stripes as the design option for the back of the card — an excellent idea that we have enthusiastically embraced. So if you’re a ref and want your card to be designed accordingly, speak up and we’ll be happy to accommodate you.

My continued thanks to all enrollees. If you’d like to get on board, full sign-up details are available here.

Uni Watch News Ticker: Stop whatever you’re doing and take two minutes to watch this completely amazing video about the guy who’s in charge of the jockeys’ silks at Belmont Park (with a lifetime’s worth of thanks to Tim McLaugh). … Nice eBay find here, courtesy of Todd Krevanchi. … More eBay-ism from Mike Engle, who notes that this guy appears to have every conceivable patch for sale. … Patrick Ryan reports that the University of Wisconsin at Green Bay has a new logo (which kinda looks like a Rorschach splotch to me). Details here. … Reprinted from Friday’s comments: The Blue Jackets will unveil their new uniforms on June 22nd. … Murvin English notes that the Majestic web site includes a section devoted to National Pro Fastpitch softball uniforms — home, road, and alternate. … Fun little piece here about history’s worst Bay Area uniforms (with thanks to Brian Catlett). … Not uni-related, but reader Christopher Falvey has created a baseball-related project that’s really, really cool. Check it out here. … Rather bizarre volleyball socks here (as spotted by Scot Williams). … Odd situation in the recent college baseball super regional series between North Carolina and South Carolina, both of which wore “Carolina” across their chests (good observation by Alex Benezra). … Reds equipment manager Rick Stowe put some pretty big expectations on rookie pitcher Homer Bailey when assigning him uni No. 34. For details, scroll down to the “Numerology” item at the bottom of this page (nice find by Steven Huelskamp). … In a break with tradition, Notre Dame has announced that they’ll be wearing their very beautiful green jerseys (which in the past have been worn without any advance notification, as a surprise) against USC on October 20th. … You know those clubs that play “base ball” according to the old rules, with period uniforms, etc.? Turns out there’s something similar for golf. You can’t even use a tee. Full details here. … Interesting thread on the Chris Creamer board about team-based lottery tickets in Missouri. … Bizarre multi-tone unis — colored in front, white in back — being worn by the Harlingen South Hawks in the Texas 5A state baseball championship tourney. “Pretty much the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen,” says Nick Zajicek. … “The NHL can’t catch a break,” writes RJ Charles. “They struck a deal with Sling Media (makers of Sling Box) for a video clip sharing deal, but Sling Media didn’t use the current NHL logo on their web site when announcing the deal.” … Single-digit pitcher, of sorts, in Friday’s Marlins/Rays game. Tampa was getting blown out, so in the bottom of the 8th they put infielder Josh Wilson on the mound. … Kevin Kelsey notes that the Women’s College World Series sleeve patch was inconsistently applied by both Arizona and Tennessee, with some players wearing it on the right sleeve and some on the left, as seen here, here, and here. … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: Big memorabilia sale at Lambeau yesterday, including — get this — a shitload of Packers nameplates (here’s another shot, and dig the tat on that dude’s arm!). … Matt Ryburn was at Saturday’s Dodgers/Jays game and got good pics of rookie Tony Abreu inviting a fine (and, more importantly, looking like total crap) by wearing his pants under his heels.

I have a book review up on the left side of today’s Page 2 index page — look here.

Meanwhile: As most of you probably know, the Reds used an odd format for their road jerseys in the mid-1990s: Instead of putting the uni number on the left, as most teams do, they put it on the right, which always looked kinda weird. They started using this design in 1993 and maintained it through 1998, as you can see here.

But reader Louis Griffel has noticed something interesting: If you look through the pictorial record, you’ll find that there were some Reds who had their numbers on the “normal” side. He came up with several examples, and I then went and found some more (additional examples here and here). I even found one shot that shows one player with the number on the left and one with the number on the right, as seen here.

Pretty amazing to see such an obvious mistake repeated so many times. I guess the team’s stitcher just couldn’t get used to the “wrong”-side format.

Incidentally, as you may have noticed in some of those pics, the ‘97 Reds had a lot of uni-related quirks, beginning with their really short sleeves. That’s because Deion Sanders cut his sleeves short (supposedly to honor Jackie Robinson, although Jackie never really wore his as short as Deion did), which drew a rebuke from the league prexy, who said everyone on the team had to wear uniform-length sleeves. So the rest of the team went super-short-sleeved as a gesture of solidarity to Sanders. This had the effect of pushing the road jersey’s two sleeve patches (team logo on the left, Jackie Robinson 50th-anniversary logo on the right) up onto the shoulder area. And since the Reds’ home jersey during this period was a vest, the Jackie Robinson patch appeared on their chest that season. Can you imagine if this web site had existed back then? We would’ve had a field day with that team.

Uni Watch News Ticker: Great socks on this sprinter from James Logan High in Union City, California (as spotted by Tim Erney). … And speaking of socks, check out the Highland Park girls’ golf team at the Texas State Tournament, plus they also wore temporary “HP” facial tattoos (with big thanks to Nolan Brett). … Still more sock sensations: Sporting Lisbon (additional views here, here, and here, courtesy of Thomas Galvin). … Latest example of illustrators instinctively including stirrups when depicting a baseball uniform: yesterday’s Page 2 comic. … Some of you scoffed when I took Rudy Giuliani to task for wearing so much Yankees gear. But now his campaign may be in hot water because it turns out that he accepted four World Series rings from the Bombers and then paid for them long after the fact at way below market rate, which may be an ethical or even legal violation. Full details here. … The Players Championship logo is changing from this to this (with thanks to Sam Mitchell). … Bryan Redemske notes that the elastic in Sammy Sosa’s sleeve cuffs appears to be much looser this season. In some shots, in fact, it looks like he may have ditched it altogether (draw your own conclusions here, here, here, here, and here). … Jeff Knepper notes that Jered Weaver has the initials “EHH” embroidered onto the back of his glove. “According to Wikipedia (for what it’s worth), he also writes these initials on the back of the mound,” Knepper writes. “It’s in honor of his deceased grandparents, Ed and Helen Hamlin.”

Like a lot of Americans, I don’t really follow horse racing but still get a kick out of the Kentucky Derby, mainly because it’s a good excuse for a party. So on Saturday I baked a derby pie, put Uni Watch designated raceday tomato Amanda Madden on my arm, and headed over to Watch Your Back impresario Brian Corrigan’s pad, where a TV/BBQ party was in full swing. In between bites of grilled chicken and swigs of beer (no mint juleps for me this year), I made the following observations:

• The jockeys’ silks were a mixed bag. My favorites were the ones worn by Shaun Bridgmohan, who was riding Zanjero.

• Winning jockey Calvin Borel looked fairly sharp, bow tie and all. I kept wondering what happened to the propeller on his beanie, though. Also: I know it was muddy out there, but why did he have four pairs of goggles (here’s another view)? Was he switching them on the fly during the race? If anyone knows more about how this works, fill us in.

• I liked how the tape on some of the horses’ ankles created the equine equivalent of striped socks.

From there I headed over to the Mendez Boxing Club in Manhattan, where I joined No Mas principals Dave Larzelere and Chris Isenberg to watch the Mayweather/De La Hoya bout. It was a pretty raucous scene, never more so than when Floyd donned that big-ass sombrero for his ring entrance. He also wore the Mexican colors on his robe, trunks, and shoes, plus his cornermen were wearing “Mexico Loves Mayweather” T-shirts, all of which seemed like an obvious ploy to steal De La Hoya’s Mexican-identified mojo. Since turnabout is fair play, I was hoping Oscar would come out in blackface and some gangsta tattoos, but wit has never been the Golden Boy’s strong suit. Anyway, it was way too loud at the Mendez for me to hear any explanation that Jim Lampley or Larry Merchant might have offered for Mayweather’s Mexican-themed attire. Did they discuss it?

Meanwhile, anyone know the story behind the little portraits appearing on Mayweather’s WBC belts? Like, are they the faces of the current champions in the various weight divisions? The faces of fighters Mayweather beat to win his titles? If anyone knows, kindly fill us in.

Missing Persons Dept.: Hey, Ben Nickerson, if you’re reading this, please get in touch asap. Thanks.

Uni Watch Midwestern Road Trip Update: I’m happy to announce that the venue for this Saturday’s Uni Watch Chicagoland party will be the Montrose Saloon. So the weekend party itinerary is now set: We’ll be convening in Minneapolis this Friday evening, 7:30pm, at the very wonderful Nye’s Polonaise Room. And then, precisely 24 hours later, I’ll see all you Chi-town folks at the Montrose. Looking forward to it.

Uni Watch News Ticker: Not sure how we all missed this until now, but someone on the Chris Creamer boards alertly noticed that the Mariners have switched from using nameplates (that photo is from last season, and so are this, this, and this) to direct-sewn lettering (as additionally seen here, here, here, and here) — a major improvement. … Good slide show here on the history of sponsorship in the German Bundesliga soccer league (with thanks to Jeremy Brahm). … Interesting eBay items here, here, here, and here. … The Giants did the Gigantes thing for Cinco de Mayo. … Interesting note from Kel Hinkle, who writes, “I was at my daughter’s softball game on Saturday and the opposing team’s pitcher wore a mask.” Yikes — looks like Hannibal Lechter on the mound! … Bit of golf attire commentary here (as spotted by Seth Horowitz).

As most of you are aware, the big news in the uni world is that the Braves finally called up Jarrod Saltalamacchia yesterday, which means the MLB record for most letters in a surname has just gone from 13 to 14. I’ve written a short item about this for ESPN.com — scroll down to the lower-left portion of this page.

Meanwhile: Got a note the other day from reader Alan Chewning, who said he was slated to be a volunteer for this year’s U.S. Open at Oakmont and had just received his uniform. “Would you be interested in pics?” he asked. Yo, does vertically arched lettering kick radial arching’s ass? Of course I’m interested!

Chewning went above and beyond by providing a very informative rundown of the whole situation regarding U.S. Open volunteers. Here’s his report:

I decided to volunteer after reading a Wall Street Journal about how the USGA operates largely because of volunteers. There will be over 12,000 volunteers that work for the USGA this summer, with 5,000 of those working at the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club in Pittsburgh. In order to volunteer, you have to apply online and. if selected, pay $150. This fee covers the cost of the uniform. You can apply to volunteer for all sorts of positions, from course marshall to merchandise to hospitality services to driving the players back to their hotels at the end of the day. Since I’m a first-timer, I’ll be volunteering as a cashier in the merchandise pavilion (there are actually more than a dozen different positions just within merchandise). Each volunteer is scheduled for a five-hour shift each day of the tournament. Volunteers then have the rest of the day to do what they want (watch golf, stay home, etc).

On to the uniform: I received two shirts (here’s a closer view), a jacket (front, back, zipper), and a cap (front, back, side). The first thing that struck me was the inconsistency in the logos. They change the color scheme to match whatever garment or surface it’s being applied to — sometimes with great detail, sometimes not.

Ashworth is the manufacturer for everything except the water bottle, but there’s absolutely no logo creep. Their logo is inside of everything but not outside, so bonus points for that. (I should note, however, that they put the Open logo on EVERYTHING in the box — even the shirt cardboard.)

Weirdest part of the uniform: The sleeve patch of the shirt says “USGA 2007″ and is rendered in gold, black, and green. There’s no other part of the uniform that features gold and black. I assume it’s an understated nod to the sports franchises of Pittsburgh.

Most assinine aspect: the “Important Information Enclosed” envelope. There was nothing important in it — just a swatch to let you know what color khaki your khakis need to be, a diagram on how to fold your jacket into a pocket and carry it around like a fanny pack, and a sheet of paper that was a manifesto for the things within the package.

All in all, I dig the uniform and the colors. Some years, the uniforms are out of control–remember what the players wore in the 1999 Ryder Cup?

Pretty interesting stuff — big thanks to Alan for all the info. But if a squirrel doesn’t scamper onto the fairway and make off with Tiger Woods’s ball at some point during the tournament, I’m gonna be way pissed.

Uni Watch News Ticker: Pretty amusing blog entry here about the uniforms in those Esurance ads. … I’ve been getting a lot of queries about this photo, which is currently running in a gallery at SI.com. Everyone wants to know what’s up with the guy wearing the inside-out jersey and the blue shorts. Answer: The player in question is Mike Gale of the Spurs. He uniform was somehow lost in transit as the team traveled to Washington, and there was no backup uni for him, so the Bullets gave him a road uni to wear. … There’s a somewhat similar inconsistency going on here — note the two Boston players. Anyone know the story behind this one? … Another college baseball team with striped hose: UConn (with thanks to Eddie DiPrimio). … Dominic J. Litten reports that lots of new English Premier League soccer jerseys have just been unveiled (or leaked), including Blackburn, Bolton, Arsenal, Everton, and Tottenham. … Surprising mistake here, as the first sentence erroneously suggests that the Yankees’ pinstripes are black (rather than midnight blue).