Relatively quiet day in the NFL yesterday, but there were still a few noteworthy items. To wit:

• Joe Skiba had promised me that the Giants would wear their road gray pants if forced to wear their blue jerseys on the road this year, and sure enough, that’s what they did last night. Personally, I like it.

• Brandon Jacobs’s left-shoulder Reebok logo was sort of ghosted last night. The entire Giants team wore those sotto voce logos in the first preseason game last month, but since then the logos have been white. Not sure that’s all about — I’ll ask Skeebs, but he probably won’t tell me (at least not on the record), because anything involving Reebok is super-touchy.

• It’s official: The Giants’ new jerseys, with their fancy high-tech fabric, are a disaster. (For details on the fabric, look here.) I don’t know if they’re too stretchy or what, but there were all sorts of situations like this and this. Those two shots are both of Jacobs, but I noticed similar problems with other players. A bad scene. (Screen shots courtesy of Phil — thanks, buddy.)

• Meanwhile, the Cowboys unexpectedly (to me, at least) wore a stadium patch, based on this logo. Not sure if they’ll be wearing it at home all season or if it was just a one-game thing — will investigate.

• Those Falcons throwbacks were the bomb, no? Additional images here and here.

• NFL nameplates usually run the full shoulder-to-shoulder wingspan, even for short surnames. But not in San Francisco, where the Niners are using short nameplates for short names.

• Speaking of the Niners, here’s a small detail I’ve been meaning to mention: For the past several years, the Reebok logo on their pants has been black, but now it’s white — much nicer.

• Anyone know what that logo is on Maurice Stovall’s sock?

• Chris Johnson had his belt unbuckled.

• Stupidest move of the day: Many of the coaches were wearing polo shirts with their division noted along the sleeve or shoulder (on the left side for NFC coaches, on the right for AFC coaches). Because hey, nothing says cool like “NFC West” or “AFC West,” right? What a load of crap.

• Even weirder: Jim Zorn’s shirt wasn’t division-specific — it was conference-specific.

• And speaking of coaches, Brad Childress was wearing this rinky-dink headset instead of the usual Motorola rig. Anyone know what that was about?

Raffle Reminder: Today’s the last day for the SoccerPro.com raffle. Details here.

Just Sayin’: Awesome work by Phil over the weekend. In case you missed it, he’s running a cap design contest, plus he and Ricko have proposed an innovative solution to the NFL’s sleeve problem. Great stuff.

Uni Watch News Ticker: Buried on this page is the news that the Browns are going with the chocolate pants on the road all season. Interestingly, the lack of a stripe is cited as a comfort issue (with thanks to Charles Ryals). … New hoops uniforms for Nebraska (with thanks to David McGee). … New mask for Steve Mason (with thanks to Matt Lesser). … Also from Matt: Former Penguins goalie Mathieu Garon is now with Columbus, but he’s still wearing his Pens mask, at least for now. New design presumably forthcoming. … More new NHL masks, this time for Vesa Toskala and Chris Mason (courtesy of Matthew Gahm). … Good observation from Ben Beattie, who writes: “Georgia Tech’s Demaryius Thomas is using a ‘B’ first initial. According to his profile on the GT athletic site, his nickname is Bay-Bay, though he could be doing some sort of dedication to his father, who is named Bobby. Last year he had no initial.” … Got a spare five grand laying around? You can buy yourself over 50 old jerseys. … Other good eBay stuff: a tennis jacket, bowling sweater, basketball warm-up shirt (additional hoops warm-ups here, here, and here), track and field jacket, and baseball jersey (here’s one more). … Wait, here’s one more basketball warm-up. Look at that chest logo! … New hoops uni for Cincinnati. Here’s the rear view. … Those were some weird-ass trunks that Floyd Mayweather wore on Saturday night — fuzzy on the sides and dimpled in the front. … New AHL uniforms for the Texas Stars, Bridgeport Sound Tigers, and Abbortsford Heat (with thanks to Kevin Wright). … Now that’s a geeky look for tossing out a first pitch. “I think it was a game-used Bob Gibson jersey,” says Elena Elms. … Steve Johnston was at Comiskey on Saturday night and spotted this kid with a converted Joe Crede tee. “His sister did the same thing with her Nick Swisher T-shirt but she taped over the whole thing to turn it into a #15 Gordon Beckham tee, but I didn’t get a photo of that one,” says Steve. … Oh man, check out all these awesome NFL lunchboxes! … Steve Mandich has posted more pocket schedules from the Seahawks and Mariners, plus he’s begun compiling paperback book cover designs from a seminal category I’d forgotten all about: Bill Gutman’s sports biographies. … Reprinted from last night’s comments: According to this interview with Jeffrey Loria, the Marlins will have new uniforms and colors for their new stadium in 2012.

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.

Two interesting moments during last night’s Yanks/Braves game in Atlanta.
One of them came during the top of the 9th, when Mariano Rivera got a rare turn at bat — only the second regular-season plate appearance of his career, and only the fifth overall. So this was a very unusual chance to see him in a batting helmet.

But hey, what’s with the “91″? It was on the back of the helmet, too — apparently Rivera had to use Alfredo Aceves’s helmet. Granted, closers don’t bat very often, but are you really telling me that the spare-no-expense Yankees couldn’t be bothered to have a helmet for a Hall of Famer? Next you’re gonna tell me that Derek Jeter’s range isn’t what it used to be. (For the record, Rivera flied out, stranding three runners. Clutch performer my ass.)

The more interesting tidbit occurred in the bottom of the 8th, when Brian Bruney came in to pitch. Turns out he didn’t have the Yankee Stadium patch on the back of his cap. No biggie there — as we’ve previously noted, Jeter and Robinson Cano have also gone patch-free lately. But they’ve at least had the MLB logo on his cap, while Bruney did not have it last night.

I did a little checking and discovered that Bruney’s cap was also plain-backed during his two previous appearances, on June 19th and June 16th. His last appearance before that was on May 19th (he spent several weeks on the DL), and in that game he had the stadium patch. So his no-frills cap appears to be something he’s worn only during his latest stretch of activity.

Here’s the thing: Where can you even find an authentic Yankees cap without either the stadium patch of the MLB logo? Bruney might just have a collector’s item.

(Thanks to everyone who sent submitted info and screen shots, including Doug Keklak, Terrence O’Donohue, Jesse Ghiorzi, Chris Merce, Brian Harvey, and of course Phil.)

Raffle/Redemske Reminder: I’m currently raffling off four pairs of Wilco tickets and taking up a collection to help out former Uni Watch bench coach Bryan Redemske, who broke his back in a cycling accident last week. Full details on both of these projects here.

Last Chance to See That Thing You Never Cared About Anyway: This is the last weekend that the Candela Structures exhibit will be up at the City Reliquary. Also, I’m giving a private showing of the exhibit to a couple of people at noon tomorrow. If anyone wants to get in on that, let me know.

Uni Watch News Ticker: The Brooklyn Cyclones became the Baracklyn Cyclones two nights ago. Photo gallery here. … Brian Schulz reports that former Vikings player Randall McDaniel had some interesting things to say during a radio interview yesterday: “He said he was going to give Canton his shoulder pads, which he was issued on day one as a Viking and wore his entire career. They also asked for his practice jersey, because he had only used ONE practice jersey his entire career as well. He said it was so patched and stitched up that it barely resembled a jersey any longer, and that the only way you knew it was purple was because the end that tucked into his pants was still a brighter purple, while the other parts of the jersey was a mismatch of lavender and white stitching. He went on to say that it’s currently hanging in his home and that he told Canton no, they couldn’t have it.” … Pawtucket and Durham recently held a Negro Leagues night, and Peter Romano took a bunch of photos. … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: The 76ers didn’t quite revive their old logo exactly intact — they slightly altered the 6. … A few days ago I mentioned the Spaghetti Bowl. Turns out there’s a bunch of photos of it in the Life archives (with thanks to Lance Smith). … Interesting ESPN branding/style guide here (good find by Alan Borock). … Amazing old jersey available here (with thanks to Kevin Marks). … NOBs are being restored to Utah’s basketball uni. … According to this story, UNC “will wear throwback uniforms in a number of games that honor a championship team from the past” for the upcoming season (with thanks to Chris Warfford). … Mike Hersh reports that the College Vault folks have branched out into horse racing, as well as non-sports topics. … You know how Phil and several other readers are tracking various teams’ records by uniform? The Mets are doing that too (with thanks to Greg Michelena, who took that shot prior to last night’s game at Shea). … Georgia Tech’s hoops team will wear throwbacks through the 2009-10 season to honor the anniversaries of the 1960, 1985, and 1990 teams. According to this item, the team’s home whites will resemble the 1960 uni, and the road golds will be patterned after the 1985 and 1990 designs (with thanks to Glynn McGehee).

I’d be the first to agree that I’m in no position to criticize anyone for having a tattoo of a brand, although I think the Brannock Device tat on my right arm is a lot cooler than Marcin Gortat’s Nike/Jordan calf tat, shown above. And as a bonus, I’ll never have to worry about a rival foot-measuring company telling me to cover up my tat, which is what Reebok has told Gortat to do. Much like the Nike/Adidas tennis spat a few years back, the tattoo situation highlights the real problem when you mix sports and sponsorships: Everyone ends up behaving like children.

You can expect to see a lot more of these conflicts as advertising encroaches on uniforms. If Player X has an endorsement deal with American Express and then his team starts wearing a MasterCard sleeve patch, how do you think that’s gonna play out? Just one more reason to keep ads off of uniforms.

And hey, speaking of ads on unis, Scoop Jackson and I debated the merits of that very topic yesterday on ESPN. Most of my arguments will be familiar to those of you who read the blog regularly, but it’s still an interesting dialogue.

And speaking of ESPN, I’ll have a new column up today — look here. — Paul

A few other items of note: Want to catch you up on a few things:

• Kirsten and I will be appearing on the radio this morning at 10:40am (not at 11:40am, which is what I had written in a previous update). We’ll be talking Candela, Uni Watch, and “I’m Calling It Shea.” You can stream the live audio here, and the segment should be archived on that page later in the day.

• As you may have noticed, we have a new sponsor in the right-hand rail: Cooperstown Collection caps from Dugout Memories. Glenn Gough, the president of Dugout Memories, is one of the nicest, most gracious people I’ve ever dealt with — please take a look at his site, and continue to support all our advertisers.

• Speaking of our sponsors, Sports Propaganda artist Chris Speakman has come up with some great new screen prints, featuring Jimmy Rollins, Chipper Jones, Ichiro, and the Cubbies. Full details here.

• Although this could change, for now I’ve decided that the Uni Watch party in Baltimore next week is still on. So we’re still good to go for next Wednesday, June 17th, 7pm, at the Hillendale Bowling Center.

• And my continued thanks to all of you who’ve said such nice things about Monday’s entry and who’ve expressed support during a very stressful period. You’re all aces.

Uni Watch News Ticker: Sharp eye by Cameron Norris, who noticed that the 1995 “World Champions” sign at Turner Field has an upside-down N. “One of those things where it really sticks out once you notice it,” he says. … Jim Mellett has provided 10 more scans from The Professionals, which I’ve added to this gallery. I’ll keep adding more images as he sends them to me. … Stirrup Nation Update: Yancy Yeater, who works for the minor league Washington Wild Things, reports that three of the team’s players have been looking my-t-fine lately. … Have you seen this year’s All-Star Game BP jerseys? I can live with the A.L. design, but check out the N.L. version — woof! Who had the bright idea of putting that powder blue trim on the collar? Gonna be one ugly home run derby this year (with thanks to Christopher Leopardi). … This is so weird, on several different levels (good find by Adam Brodsky). … I’ve previously reported that Robbie Cano’s cap hasn’t had the Yankee Stadium logo on the back, and now Erik Montgelas reports that Derek Jeter’s cap was logo-free last night as well. Sorry, no photo. … Think Salty has a long surname (14 letters)? The Bosox chose this guy (15 letters) in the MLB draft, and the Braves picked this guy (18 letters, plus the hyphen). … Check out the dotted i on Adam Everett’s road jersey. Jay Winkler says it’s been missing the top navy layer of fabric for several weeks now.

Remember that April Fool’s joke I pulled exactly two months ago? Maybe it wasn’t a joke after all. Or maybe it gave somebody some ideas.

That’s the question floating around the web at the moment, because a Madden video preview released on Friday shows the Seahawks wearing the same neon green jersey design that we had whipped up for the April hoax. I got a ton of e-mails about this over the weekend, and it’s also attracting attention in the blogosphere.

So is it real? Personally, I don’t think so. I’m not aware of this design being in the works for on-field use, plus unusual alternate jerseys have shown up in Madden before, plus-plus this particular design has already been for sale as a fashion jersey, so it wouldn’t be such a leap for them to plug it into Madden. Still, I’ll try to contact the Seahawks today and see if they’ll comment on this, just in case.

As dire as a green Seahawks jersey would be, something potentially worse is unfolding in a league most of us don’t pay much attention to: The Arizona Replublic is reporting that the Phoenix Mercury — that’s a WNBA team — has inked a seven-figure sponsorship deal with an identity-theft security company (which I won’t name, cuz why should I give them free publicity unless they give me a seven-figure sponsorship deal?). The crux of the deal is that “Phoenix” and “Mercury” will no longer appear on the team’s jerseys. Instead, the jerseys will carry the name of the corporate sponsor, much like a European soccer team. All of this will supposedly be announced today at 1pm. Other WNBA are reportedly pursuing similar deals.

I realize this move probably says more about the WNBA’s desperate financial straits than anything else. I also realize the WNBA isn’t exactly a trend-setter that sets the bar for other pro leagues. Still, it’s disturbing to see professional basketball team — one backed by the NBA’s muscle, at that — going this route. It would be one thing if they were just wearing ad patches, but the full jersey-sponsorship routine? Feels like a small but telling breach in the wall between North American sports uniforms and advertising.

I’d call for a boycott, except nobody reading this attends WNBA games anyway.

Raffle Reminder: Today’s the last day for the SportsCrack.com T-shirt raffle. Details here.

Gross Research Request: John Maine and Brad Penny have both vomited in between innings within the past week, and now I’m trying to compile a list of athletes who’ve tossed their cookies during a game. I’ve already got Donovan McNabb, Cade McNown, Jahvid Best, Pete Sampras, David Beckham, Larry Holmes, Dorenzo Hudson, Tom Gordon, Jay Buhner, Ray Oyler, and Glenn Hall (pregame, but close enough). If you know of other examples to add to the list, please get in touch. Thanks, and apologies to anyone skeeved out by this topic.

Uni Watch News Ticker: Here’s one of the greatest panoramic team portraits I’ve ever seen. That’s the 1909 Browns — not sure which I like better, the caps or the sweaters (courtesy of Bruce Menard). … Josh Hamilton has an interesting way of personalizing his batting gloves (with thanks to Nick Hanson). … Two good shots from the NASA archives: First, German-turned-American rocketry whiz Dr. Verner von Braun visits the Huntsville Boys Club, and here’s a shot of the 1943 Glenn Research Center team (with thanks to Zac Neubauer). … Former Lions player Terry Barr died last week, and Matthew Earle notes that his uni number often appeared to be off-center. … Umpiring note from Brian Profitt, who writes: “I recently attended a PCL game in Las Vegas and noticed a chest protector-shaped patch, with ‘CC’ in the middle, on the umpires’ left sleeves. I’ve been to numerous games this year and this is the first time I’ve noticed this.” Anyone know the story behind this? … The Mets traded Ramon Castro over the weekend, just as Ed Hoyt had noticed something interesting about his catching gear: “Older photos show him wearing his name and number on the collar of his chest protector. But in this more recent photo, taken on May 27th, his collar reads, ‘BMNM 11.’ He apparently has worn this before, as seen in this shot from when Willie Randolph was still managing the team. The only meaning behind that abbreviation that we at the Crane Pool Forum [a Mets discussion site] were able to find were (1) Bimini Capital Management, which trades under BMNM, and (2) ‘Barcollo ma non mollo,’ which translated from the Italian I think means ‘I stagger, but I don’t give up.’” I have a hunch that neither of those is the right answer. … Pretty wild Canucks sweater here (with thanks to Greg Buchanan). … Marlins pitcher Chris Volstad discusses his pants and socks here (with thanks to Nathan Eberhardt. … Noel Basnight sent along some really cool cartoons devoted to specific ballparts, including Metropolitan Stadium, County Stadium, and Shea. … Frank Albanese was watching the 1980 NLCS and noticed that Joe Morgan appeared to have a C instead of a G on his NOB. … Cool Wisconsin throwback helmet decal set here (as spotted by Nicole Haase). … Jason Dulin found this Pirates jersey at a thrift shop for $5. The tagging suggests that it’s the real deal, as does the ghost of the now-removed nameplate, suggesting the jersey had been recycled in Pittburgh’s minor league system. … Why bother having striped socks if you’re gonna wear the socks so low? That’s the Chicago Machine lacrosse team (with thanks to Steve Johnston). … Tim Graham says this is what he wore to Friday’s night’s Orioles game. … Possibly the most nauseating instance of stirrups ever can be found three seconds into this video clip (no thanks to Johnny Garfield). … Good hockey jersey site here. … As several readers have pointed out, the Magic will probably scrap their anniversary patch to make room for the O’Brien Trophy patch in the NBA Finals, just as the Lakers did last year. … Boise State will unveil new football uniforms today. …

Tired of those unsightly Reebok logos on NHL jerseys? So is Michael Jordan! In fact, we could probably eliminate the Reebok mark from the NHL altogether if we just cloned a few hundred Jordans and used them to replace all the players currently on NHL rosters, because MJ ain’t wearin’ no vector.

What’s the deal? According to this column (helpfully sent my way by reader Rachel Bicicchi), Jordan happily donned a Blackhawks jersey at Friday’s ’Hawks/Wings game, “but only after team officials sewed a red patch over the maker’s company logo.”

This isn’t the first time Jordan has engaged in some impromptu uniform modification in order to please the Masters of Swoosh, and I think it’s safe to say it won’t be the last.

Enjoy your Decoration Day, don’t forget the sunscreen, etc., etc. — Paul

You all know how I feel about yesterday’s “Where’s Waldo?” promotion. But here’s an ironic twist: By the start of next season, the Reebok logo might be gone from all NHL jerseys.

That news comes from Moe Khan, who hosts a show on this Montreal sports radio station and also works at a major Montreal sports retail outlet that he’s asked me not to name. According to Moe (who says he’s gotten his info from the his retail store manager and from the store’s Reebok rep), Reebok’s vector logo will be eliminated from NHL jerseys next season and be replaced by — get this — the Reebok wordmark. As Moe explains it, this is just the latest step in the program that has seen the wordmark appearing with increasing frequency on goalie equipment, on the line markers on the boards, and on T-shirts. Moe says this is strictly an NHL thing — the vector logo will continue to be used on NFL gear.

I’ve tried to confirm this with the NHL and with Reebok. Unfortunately, they’ve been too busy with the holidays and the Winter Classic; I’ll follow up with them in the next week or so. But after speaking with Moe, and also checking in with our resident hockey expert, Teebz (who, as it turns out, has heard from one of his local sports retailers that the logo may be gone next year), I feel solid enough about this to share it with you here. For now I’m considering it an “unsubstantiated but plausible rumor,” so let’s beat the rush and start being pissed off about it now.

Sportswear wordmarks on uniforms are not unprecedented. Back in the late 1980s, the Rawlings script appeared on the right sleeve of several MLB teams. And in the late 1990s, when the NFL uniform manufacturing contract was split up between Puma, Adidas, and Nike (this was before the whole thing was consolidated under Reebok), Puma and Adidas both used a wordmark in conjunction with a graphic icon. (Nike just stuck with the swoosh.)

But those makers’ marks, as irritating as they may have been, were tiny compared to the NHL’s giant vector logos, which are often housed in the super-annoying Ree-box. If the Reebok wordmark ends up being similarly large, this is going to set a new standard in logo creep offensiveness, and another black mark on Gary Bettman’s record.

But none of this is confirmed yet. Let’s see if it’s true. Stay tuned.

Steam of Consciousness: While the rest of you wusses were ensconced at your nice, warm New Year’s Eve parties, Collateral Gammage and I ventured out into the minus-5 wind chill to partake in a hallowed Brooklyn tradition: the ringing in of the new year via the steam whistles at Pratt Institute. They had a calliope hooked up to the steam feed and to a keyboard, so there was cool steam-driven music for an hour or so before midnight. Then, when the clock struck 12, they sounded all the big steam whistles. The whole thing was insanely loud and steamy, which met with everyone’s approval. (If you’re curious, check out some of the video clips here.)

Uni Watch News Ticker: The Chargers will be wearing their powder blue alts for tomorrow’s playoff game against the Colts — a tricky proposition, because they’d already sent their powder blues to the league office so they could be auctioned off for charity. Details here (with thanks to Shivaun Watchorn). … Speaking of the Chargers, several readers have noted that Antonio Cromartie was wearing black shoes (and no white socks at all) in last Sunday’s game. … Our latest DIYer: Brian Shane, who bought a plain black hoodie, ordered some patches from these guys, and created this. … Brad Spence got his grandfather a cool Xmas present: a 1966 Orioles treatment from Joe Hilseberg’s Jersey NameFrame. Here’s a shot of him opening the present, which Brad says was a big hit. … Pitt and Oregon State went color-on-color in the Sun Bowl, resulting in a penalty for the Beavers. … The Sun Bowl also featured two HNOB players: LaRod Stephens-Howling and Victor Strong-Butler. At one point, the latter tackled the former (all of this courtesy of Doug Keklak, who also provided a shot of Elena Della Donne’s double-decker NOB). … Very odd bowl patch placement for Vanderbilt at the Music City Bowl (with thanks to Joshua Linville). … Interesting the Winter Classic patches were even worn on practice jerseys the day before the game (with thanks to Dustin Burns). … Pretty amusing uni-related angle in this Alaska Airlines commercial (big thanks to Jeremy Brahm). … Great visual timeline of the Cincinnati Bearcat mascot here (with thanks to David Sonny). … Clemson wore solid orange in the Gator Bowl, plus backup QB Willie Korn had an NOB typo. … Georgia Tech’s blue jerseys finally made their on-field debut in some bowl game whose name is so corporate and stupid that I refuse to spell it out. … Best bowl uniforms of all: the USC Song Girls, as usual (with thanks to Michael Romero). … Ryan Brister sent along some photos from SI’s The College Football Book, including shots of Richard Todd with a shredded jersey, Navy wearing gold, and USC and Ga. Tech going color-on-color in 1969 (plus you can catch a partial view of the Trojans wearing the college football 100th-anniversary decal). … “We might walk out with a blank jersey. We have that option.” Who said that, and what was he referring to? Look here (with thanks to Paul Richard Cook). … “Jason LaBarbara played his first game for the Canucks last night, after being picked up in a trade from the Kings,” writes Steve May. “So you have a situation where the goalie has his old team’s mask and pads. But in this case, he also had his old team’s breezers and socks.” … James T. Huening attended the Winter Classic and took a bunch of photos, which you can see here.

Maybe it’s because I’m a Niners fan, maybe it’s because the San Francisco Chronicle posted a really big photo gallery, or maybe it was just a coincidence, but I spotted an unusually large number of uni-notable details in yesterday’s 49ers/Redskins game. To wit:

• Let’s start with the obvious things we always say whenever the Niners wear their throwbacks: The pants piping is too wide (just like it was back in the day), and the Reebok logo looks particularly egregious when it interrupts the sleeve stripes.

• The Niners’ throwback socks have three white stripes. So how did Joe Nedney end up with five stripes? Must’ve worn two pairs, but he did an unusually good job of getting the stripes lined up on both legs.

• Speaking of sock stripeage, the whole biker shorts thing looks particularly stupid when you’re wearing striped hose.

• Here’s something I hadn’t seen before: Vernon Davis wore red spats (and Under Armour cleats for those of you who care about that kind of thing).

• And speaking of red, the coach’s challenge flag doesn’t look quite as stupid when the coach’s team colors include red.

• Shaun Hill threw his wristbands into the crowd after the game. Anyone know if his does this on a regular basis, or was this a new thing?

• As promised, SanFran wore old-school moustaches, just like the Niners of old. Wait — what?

• And it looks like that big wooden cross will be around for a while.

Raffle Reminder: I announced the 32 winners of the holiday raffle back on Thursday. If you haven’t checked already done so, please check to see if you’re among the winners; if your name is on the list, follow the instrux to claim your prize. Thanks again to everyone for all your contributions over the past year — it’s my pleasure to give back a little something.

Uni Watch News Ticker: Haven’t run a Ticker since last Wednesday, so we’ve got lots of stuff to catch up on. I’ll skip the “As you’ve probably seen by now” proviso on all these items, but you’ve probably seen lots of them by now. … Notre Dame wore NOBs for their bowl game on Xmas Eve. According to a press release, this move “renew[ed] a tradition from the Ara Parseghian years, when Irish teams did not have names on the backs of their jerseys during the regular season but added them for bowl games.” … That game also featured one of history’s weirdest invocations of the term “golden shower.” There’s a nice screen-grab sequence of the helmet explosion here (with thanks to Jonee Eisen). … Lots of uni-notable NBA developments on Xmas Day: (1) All 10 teams playing that day wore a snowflake patch (although it was hard to see on white jerseys). (2) The Blazers and Mavs wore holiday colors (Portland was the home team). (3) The league’s normal footwear-color rules were suspended for the day, resulting in lots of special designs and red shoelaces (at least one pair of which was apparently worn untied). Or to put it another way, it was a big mish-mash. … Steve Johnston got a great Xmas gift: “My grandfather, who played football at Riverside-Brookfield High School in Illinois, passed away this past March. My parents came across some items from his playing days and got them framed for me.” … The Yomiuri Giants have unveiled a 75th-anniversary logo (with thanks to Jeremy Brahm). … Canada’s world junior hockey team is wearing memorial decals in honor of Luc Bourdon, who died earlier this year (with thanks to Nick Hanson). … Marcus Perkal was at the Nets/Bobcats game last Friday and noted that the Bobcats’ 5th-anniversary patch was not being worn by Gerald Wallace and Raymond Felton. … Hey, if you’re gonna steal, why not steal from the pros? That’s Central Bucks East High School in Pennsylvania (with thanks to Samantha Coren). … History’s coolest basketball warmup garb on display here (big thanks to Zac Neubauer). … Roman numeral on back. That’s Ralph Sampson III, who plays for Minnesota (with thanks to John Thompson). … Interesting article about sales figures of NHL third jerseys here (with thanks to K.C. Kless). … I didn’t watch the Real Sports year-end show. Good thing, too, cuz Bryant Gumbal wore a sportscoat that would’ve made Lindsey Nelson blush (with thanks to Brett Crane). … Check this out: Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in Notre Dame and USC football togs, respectively. Details here (with thanks to Frank Hanney). … Last Tuesday I mentioned that this program cover featured a stylized version of the NFL logo that I’d never seen before. Now Fleer Sticker Project prexy JC Helf has devoted an entire blog entry to this logo variation. Check it out here. … Tony Caliguiri notes that Josh Gorges of the Canadiens has been wearing heavy-duty skate protectors lately. … Greg Riffenburgh notes that Dan Marino is wearing two different shoes in this shot. “That’s a standard Nike Air Zoom Barracuda Stove on his left foot, but the right shoe is a VERY high-top version of a much older Nike football cleat (and colored very differently).” Greg also notes that the Jets used to have very large TV numbers — “and in the Red Sox font, no less.” … FNOB alert: Amdy Faye of Stoke City in the Premier League (big thanks to Shane Bua). … I have no idea what this, but it looks really cool. … The Capitals retired Mike Gartner’s number last night. Video of the ceremony is available here. … Reprinted from last night’s comments: The American world junior hockey team has a player named James vanRiemsdyk — an unusual name, which makes for an unusual NOB. … Al Haris may have set a new standard yesterday for how not to wear football pants and socks. … All the following is from Phil: A high school hoops game in Detroit on Saturday night was delayed when both teams showed up in white uniforms; the only thing better than winning eleventeen gold medals is being presented with one of the NBA’s ugliest jerseys; believe it or not, Udonis Haslem’s jersey was white before he suffered this cut; it’s not often you can see color-on-color, a clear facemask, and RNOB (roman numeral on back) all in one photo; something really, really (like, REALLY) needs to be done about this.

Got a note the other day from reader Casey Lute, as follows:

I was leaving the Oregon State men’s basketball game this evening when I walked by their sports workout facility, only to see this sign that I snapped a photo of. In case you can’t make out the words, it says, “Official Apparel Must Be Worn at All Times,” followed by Nike, Diadora, and Asics logos. I’m sure this is probably commonplace among sports teams and colleges, but I’d never seen such a sign before and thought I’d pass it along.

That was particularly interesting in light of a note I’d recently received from another reader, who wishes to remain nameless:

I worked for Adidas over the summer, teaching at a sponsored sports camp, and one of my co-workers was a Notre Dame athlete. Most large universities have exclusive workout facilities for their varsity athletes that are not accessible to the general public or the general student population, and Notre Dame is no exception. He and another of my colleagues, who was an athlete at Minnesota, were having a discussion about the dress codes in theese private athlete weight rooms.

Apparently at Minnesota, each article of clothing being worn in the varsity weight room must bear either an approved school logo OR a Nike swoosh. This includes shirts, shorts, shoes and socks, plus any wristbands, headbands, etc. A fairly ridiculous policy for a facility that’s off-limits to the public. Now apparently, at Notre Dame, each article of clothing must display both a Notre Dame logo AND an Adidas logo, with the exception of shoes and socks, which do not require an ND logo. My co-worker was telling me that he has actually been asked to leave the varsity lockerroom and change because he was wearing a Notre Dame shirt (in the Notre Dame varsity weight room, as a Notre Dame athlete) that did not have an Adidas logo on it.

Again, this commitment to branding came in an environment that was completely closed off to the public, and where Adidas therefore derives almost literally zero advertising benefit, since anyone allowed in would already be a Notre Dame employee or a Notre Dame athlete (and thus would already be the beneficiary of hundreds and hundreds of dollars’ worth of free Adidas gear).

I could go on a long rant here about precisely what degree of corporate bullshit this all represents, but let’s just cut to the chase, shall we?

Oh, and it’s good to see that Notre Dame’s devotion to Adidas even extends to mascot hosiery. Whoo-hoo, great branding job, big Christmas bonuses for everyone, wheeeee!

Uni Watch News Ticker: Interesting Wikipedia note on the Bills’ uniforms: “[I]n 2002, the Bills’ white uniforms went through a radical change. The white uniforms include a red stripe on the sides and are dark blue along the shoulders of the uniforms, likely to mimic CFL uniforms designed in a similar manner due to the team’s large fan base in Canada as a result of Buffalo’s proximity to Canada.” As Austin Gillis notes, unattributed Wikipedia quotes are suspect by definition, but the CFL connection at least sounds plausible, no? … Japan’s uniforms in the World Baseball Classic will look like this (with thanks to, of course, Jeremy Brahm). … Now that’s a basketball uniform. Mike Burke found that photo while skimming through the L.A. Library photo archive. … According to a small item buried in the dot-dot-dot section of this article, LeBron James “was called for delay of game [on Saturday] because he was wearing three undershirts that he had to take off when checking into the game” (thanks, Vince). … Is Nike making slingshot attire now? Nope — that’s a protester from the recent riots in Greece. Full gallery here (with thanks to Harold Mellor). … Here’s something you don’t often see: a Cincinnati Swords sighting (with thanks to Adam Pratt). … The football team at Escondido High School in California wears black helmets — except for a designated “team leader,” who gets to wear an orange helmet. Details here (with thanks to Mike Hersh). … Pretty damn thorough video treatment of Orioles jersey history here, with the team’s cap history covered here (big thanks to Jack Krabbe). … Good spot by Doug Keklak, who notes that Petr Sykora apparently wears his wedding ring under his glove. Is this common among hockey players? … Tons of great vintage print ads on display here (with thanks to Carrie Klein). … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: The “A” designation on the Flyers’ third jersey has changed typefaces. … Someone needs a sports bra. … Reprinted from last night’s comments: Instead of color-on-color, how about gray vs. white? That’s O’Connell and Bishop Ireton in DC high school basketball action.

Everyone loves the NHL’s annual Winter Classic game, and who wouldn’t? The outdoor setting, the throwback uniforms, the rare national broadcast coverage, plus the whole thing takes place on New Year’s Day — it’s a blast. You’d have to work awfully hard to ruin something that’s so much fun.

But here’s one way: Turn the game into a corporate branding spectacle.

That will be the situation in a few weeks, when all fans watching the game, both live and on TV, will be encouraged to spot the one player whose uniform is not emblazoned with a Reebok logo. It’s all part of some lame-o contest, the lucky winner of which will get a hand job from Sidney Crosby or something (nauseating details here). Of course, all the other players will be wearing the logo, so the practical effect of this promotion will be to focus everyone’s attention on a corporate mark that doesn’t belong on throwback uniforms in the first place. And now all fans will have a renewed awareness of that logo in subsequent games. What a lovely way to ring in the new year. (And in case that’s not enough corporate bullshit for you, take another look at that last link and you’ll see that the NHL is appending a little “TM” on the term “Winter Classic.” Beautiful.)

Heinous marketing machinations notwithstanding, there’s another issue to consider here: This is a regular season game, not some preseason exhibition or skills contest. By turning the game into a “Where’s Waldo?” exercise, the NHL is basically telling the world not to take this game — or, by extension, the league — seriously. Or to put it another way, this is the kind of promotion I would expect from the Wilpons. My big worry now is that they’ll try to copy it.

There was a long thread in yesterday’s comments about how Canadian fans aren’t eligible to participate in the contest, and how this insulting to the sport’s Canadian fan base and/or a stupid marketing move by Reebok. But really, no self-respecting fan — American, Canadian, or otherwise — should be participating in a contest that spotlights and legitimizes the Reebok’s influence on the game. The whole thing smells. Boycott the contest, and watch the game under silent protest. Or maybe not-so-silent.

Get Your Kicks, Continued: Yesterday’s post re: the Phillips 66ers prompted Doug Mooney to do some archival research. First he sent me this link. Just like in yesterday’s photos, all the players are wearing double-numbers (55, 11, and 66), except for Bub Kurland, who somehow got away with wearing No. 90 (although this time he’s got mis-numbered shorts). Then he sent me this, which shows still more 66ers, all wearing double numbers (also note the bead-striped basket rim).

“So it would seem that the double-number thing was a play on the double sixes,” said Doug. “But then you see stuff like this.” Hmmmmm….

Uni Watch News Ticker: I’ve been aware of the AstrosDaily blog for years, but until yesterday I wasn’t aware that it included a Astros uniform history page. If you scroll down a bit on that page, you find this tequila sunrise prototype, which I’d never seen before. Can’t believe this was sitting there on AstrosDaily all this time without my realizing it (big, big thanks to Clint Loerwald). … The Canadiens have removed the 100th-anniversary center-ice logo from the Bell Centre and replaced it with an All-Star Game logo (with thanks to Jim Thorburn). … Speaking of center ice logos, Todd Morss and Terry Proctor say this, from 1949, may be the first one ever applied to a faceoff circle. … I don’t know nothin’ ’bout no footwear, but Mike Pratt says Tony Romo was wearing new cleats on Sunday. … So when a school switches from, say, Nike to Adidas, what happens to all the old gear? Here’s one answer (with thanks to Mitchell Pinta). … Fun discussion thread here on the topic of baseball people wearing jackets and ties (with thanks to David Brown). … Excellent piece here on Willie Mays wearing No. 14 as a rookie (great find by Dave Grob). … Lots of cool sports-related T-shirts here (with thanks to Skott A. Wade). … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: The “Dial-a-Down Tuf-Wear” logo, which used to be visible underneath the down numeral on the Dial-a-Down thingie, has been absent from NFL sidelines this year. Guess they didn’t want to pony up some sort of fee. … Interesting NOB note from Randy Smith, who writes: “In the under-17 world hockey championships, there are five teams from Canada, so they wear their region on their nameplates, which can either be a province or a geographical area.” … Dave Lawllr notes that the orange-to-white ratio on the Islanders’ throwback pants is inconsistent. Compare this, for example, to this. Both versions are shown here. … Really nice sleeve patch here. Here’s the full eBay listing. … Remember this book? Here’s an article about the guy who wrote it (thanks, Vince). … The Red Sox will unveil some new uniform elements this Thursday. I can’t tell you all the details, although this alternate cap has already leaked. … New uniforms for the Columbus Clippers. … Very cool old uniform available here. … Everyone loves BYOB — that’s Brigham Young on back (with thanks to Bryce Christensen). … Two good finds by Andy Chalifour: (1) Terry Pendleton appears to have been wearing a soccer shinguard on his forearm. (2) We can add Jeff Tackett to our list of MLB catchers who’ve worn a brimless helmet. Andy thinks it’s actually a modified hockey helmet, although I’m not so sure — opinions? … Truly bizarre new uniforms for the Yokohama Bay Stars. The Y-neck collar is for Yokohama, natch, and the sleeves have a little notch (which I like). And look, they’ve even got logo-emblazoned scarves. Oddest of all: The home and road uniforms were designed by two different outfitters (all this courtesy of Jeremy Brahm). … Interesting book of basketball portraits here, and an interview with the author here (Vince again). … Under Armour is getting into the footwear game. That sound you just heard was Matt Powers’s head exploding. … OK, so it’s not very big, but that there is a Quebec Nordiques baseball jersey, worn by Michel Bergeron in a charity game (with thanks to Gabe Kleinfeld). … Look, a uniform in a box! What’ll they think of next? … Greg Riffenburgh notes that Jeff Gordon was wearing a Hendrick Motor Sports lapel pin at the NASCAR awards ceremony in New York. … Good spot by Stu Taylor, who writes: “I noticed Matt Schaub had a sideline jacket emblazoned with ‘QB’ on the chest.Is this normal? I’ve never noticed it before, and I didn’t see any other position-designated jackets on the Houston sideline.” … The Greene County Tech (Ark.) girls’ hoops team has some interesting socks (with thanks to Brian Rosener).