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Posts filed under 'Volleyball'
What’s been the biggest change in pro football over the past 30 years? A lot of things come to mind: modern training methods, the increased size of linemen, the overall increase in athleticism and speed, the advent of video review, the increasing dominance of African-American players, the disappearance of jersey sleeves, the utter joylessness of head coaches.
But if you ask me, the biggest development — and easily the most underrated one — is the ubiquity of gloves. Almost everyone wears them now, even quarterbacks, and it’s no exaggeration to say that most of the acrobatic catches you see receivers making these days wouldn’t be possible without them. Yeah, some players in the pre-glove era wore stickum, but I saw Lester Hayes and Fred Biletnikoff in their primes, and they couldn’t make any of these one-handed catches that you routinely see guys making today. Gloves have completely redefined the passing game.
All of which came to mind during yesterday’s Cowboys/Eagles game, which featured something I’d never seen before: Philly WR Kevin Curtis took a spill along the sideline, and at first it looked like his glove had come off during the play. But as he got up, it became apparent that the glove had actually fallen apart — the upper part was still on his wrist while the lower part had been ripped right off of his hand, much to Curtis’s own confusion.
In other developments from yesterday:
• Jason Taylor’s captaincy patch was coming loose by the end of the Dolphins/Ravens game.
• As has been noted here several times in recent weeks, the “Ravens” wordmark has been missing from Willis McGahee’s black jersey in recent weeks, but it was present and accounted for on his purple jersey yesterday.
• The Redskins usually wear these socks with their burgundy pants, but they went with these — ugh.
• Now that’s a football game. But if Derek Anderson was playing with a sewn-in pocket, why did he need an oven mitt?
(Big thanks to Chad Todd and Randy Williams from the Kevin Curtis screen grabs.)
Research Project: My ESPN colleague Mary Buckheit is working on a piece about women’s volleyball uniforms — why they’re so skimpy, why some players have issues with them, why they’re so different from the men’s uniforms, whether they’re so revealing that they’ve actually led some players to develop eating disorders, that sort of thing. Here’s a note from her:
The sport of volleyball has seen it all — unitards, mesh shorts, bun huggers, long sleeves, racerback jerseys, tall socks, no socks — what’s the deal? What is the functionality of volleyball uniforms, specifically the super-short spandex? Are women really inhibited by “cumbersome” traditional athletic shorts? You know, the ones that are perfectly suitable for soccer and basketball. Do the minis really make you perform better? Would men’s statistics spike if they dared ditch their mesh or board shorts in favor of a biker boxer brief type uni? Would they tally more digs that way? C’mon.
When you see volleyball on TV, do you stop and watch for an extra second to scope out the 6-foot college coeds in 3-inch spandex shorts? If so, any feelings on what it would be like as a father of a high school volleyball player knowing guys in the gym are doing the same thing to your 16-year-old sophomore setter?
If anyone has any thoughts on this, please feel free to contact me. Thanks!
I know at least a few of you know a lot more about volleyball than I do, so please share your knowledge with Mary. Thanks.
Raffle Reminder: In case you missed it on Friday, I’m currently raffling off a bunch of stuff. For details, scroll down to the middle of Friday’s entry. As always, you can increase your odds of winning by joining the Uni Watch membership program.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Check out this photo of Lou Gehrig, Tris Speaker, Ty Cobb, and Babe Ruth. Odd to see that the insignia on Ruth’s jacket is “N.Y.,” but on Gehrig’s it appears to be just “NY” — no periods (with thanks to Bruce Menard). … A member of the Winthrop women’s hoops team has changed her uni number to honor her late fiancé (as forwarded by Jonathan Carone). … A reader who prefers not to give his real name has gotten some good pics showing exactly how the Rangers are hemming their jerseys. … Yikes. … Northwest Missouri State safety Aldwin Foster-Rettig (who already has a lengthy NOB) tore his jersey on Saturday, leading to a rather makeshift repair (with thanks to Chris Wheeler). … Michael Poplawski reports that German Bundesliga club Werder Bremen modified their jersey crest to look like a Christmas tree on Saturday. Here’s a closer view. … Reprinted from Sunday’s comments: Wisconsin-Whitewater’s jerseys have a “Warhawks” wordmark, but it was missing from Justin Beaver’s jersey. … The Dayton hoops team has unveiled some alternate throwbacks (with thanks to Todd Herzog). … This has resulted in this. … More NFL fines assessed here. … Doug Weight, making his Ducks debut last night, was wearing a pair of Brad May’s gloves (good catch by Alex Warner). … Remember the recent Ticker item about the missing stripes on Bill Guerin’s jersey? Here’s a follow-up (with thanks to Michael Schuerlein).
December 17th, 2007
My friends, yesterday marked the end of an era. For the first time this season, every member of the San Diego Chargers was wearing an American flag helmet decal.
Or at least I assume that was the case. One thing I know for sure is that LaDainian Tomlinson was wearing one. No surprise there, since he’d also worn the flag decal for San Diego’s two previous games. The big news is that Chris Chambers, who’d been flag-free for the past new weeks, was properly flag-accessorized yesterday, marking the first time this year that Tomlinson and Chambers were both wearing the decal. As for the other fifty-some players on the Chargers’ roster, I’m gonna take it on faith that they were all flag-clad. If anyone knows otherwise, speak up.
In other NFL notes from yesterday:
• Chad Johnson dusted off his orange chinstrap.
• The Jets retired Curtis Martin’s number.
• Hard to know what looked worse in the Jets/Steelers game: the Jets or the slacks-clad officials.
• The officials in the Bears/Seahawks game were wearing the cold-weather slacks too, as you can barely see here.
• Radically distinct sock stylings here. Here, too.
• That’s a right purty game right there.
• There, too.
• Several readers reported that Roy Williams of the Cowboys had a yellow dot on the back of his helmet, similar to the green dot that the QBs wear. No photo yet. If we can get visual confirmation, I’ll ask the team for an explanation.
• I’ve said it before and I’ll keep on saying it: This is the league’s most underrated design, and a classic in the making.
Uni Watch Calendar: Lots of opportunities for gatherings and such over the next few weeks. Here’s the breakdown:
• November 27th: I’m going to be in Austin, Texas. Is there any Uni Watch readership to speak of in that town? If so, any such readers should get in touch. If the response is large enough, I’ll set up a gathering for that evening.
• December 6th: Marc Spears of the Boston Globe and I will be guests of a media seminar class at Boston University. I’ll convene a Uni Watch party at 8:30 that evening at Boston Beer Works, which is right across from Fenway Park. Meanwhile, if anyone wants to attend the seminar class, which begins at 6:30, the professor tells me he can probably accommodate a few extra people. If you’re interested, get in touch and I’ll fill you in.
• December 10th: The completely wonderful City Reliquary, of which I am a proud card-carrying member, will be holding its annual benefit gala at the Automotive High School Auditorium, and I’m one of the two featured speakers this year. I’ll be doing a Power Point presentation on some topic or other (might be uni-related or might not — haven’t decided yet), but the real attraction is the other speaker: Lawrence Weschler, author of such crucial must-reads as Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet of Wonder and Boggs. In other words, I’m like some puny little indie band opening for the Rolling Stones. The evening will feature lots of additional stuff, including a short documentary film, a live samba band, and dinner at Bamonte’s (one of Brooklyn’s oldest and best red-sauce Italian restaurants). Full details here.
Uni Watch News Ticker: I’m a week late with this, but it’s still pretty funny (with thanks to Jeremy Brahm and Timothy Sheehan). … Speaking of the intersection of fan and uniform, David Soline sent along this. … Reprinted from Friday’s comments: Really interesting article here about Cal’s recent throwbacks. … Chris Mycoskie notes that Louisiana-Lafayette’s women’s hoops team has some, uh, innovative uniforms. … Photo archivist David Eskinazi has come up with something interesting: a 1911 photo of the Wichita Falls Irish Lads. “I found it very unusual that they chose to have EVERYTHING spelled out on their jerseys — team nickname, city, and state,” he writes. “Quite odd, especially for a pro team.” … Good catch by Andrew White, who notes that UNC’s walk-on players were all photographed wearing the same jersey, as seen here, here, and here. … Here’s our first look at the Indians’ new throwback alternate uni. Additional views here. … The CBA’s Albany Patroons had to play in practice uniforms on Friday night because their new unis weren’t ready yet. … Really great two-minute audio slideshow here about the Indiana equipment staff prepping the helmets for last Saturday’s throwback game. … And speaking of that game, there’s a good photo gallery here. … Brazil has a new soccer kit. Note that the five stars, representing the team’s five World Cup championships, are shown not only on the chest but also on the socks. Details here and here. … Matthew Strauss noticed something odd: According to SI.com, this photo was taken during a Cowboys/Redskins game in Dallas. But the ’Skins are wearing white, so was Dallas wearing blue at home? The turf looks artificial, which would seem to support the notion that the game was played at Texas Stadium, not at RFK. Can anyone shed more light on this? … Lots of solid-red action on the gridiron on Saturday, as Minnesota and FSU went monochromatic. … Casey Hart reports that Harvard’s nordic skiing team uniforms feature a map of the Harvard area. … Speaking of Harvard, someone on the Chris Creamer board spotted Crimson head football coach Tim Murphy wearing an NFLL pullover on Saturday. … Interesting critique of presidential campaign logos here. … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: I went to a European advertising conference and a hockey game broke out. … USF is switching to Under Armour. … I’ve listed lots of uniform typos in my recent ESPN columns. But Matt Lindner found something you don’t often see: a typo on a replica jersey. … Latest analysis of the NHL jersey debacle here (with thanks to Doug Mooney, who also reports that South Georgia Tech’s men’s and women’s hoops teams wore a “W” patch on Saturday in remembrance of instructor Willy Mathis). … New sleeveless unis for the American men’s volleyball team (as reported by Jeremy Brahm). … Two soccer notes from Jeremy as well: new uniforms for Germany, and quite the flamboyant ball during the U.S. vs. South Africa friendly match.
November 19th, 2007
It was another one of those Uni Watch red-alert moments last night, as about a dozen readers e-mailed me all at once and another half-dozen or so posted all at once in the comments section. The cause? Jason Strudwick of the Rangers got in a fight and his nameplate came loose during the fisticuffs, revealing some nasty-looking adhesive residue on the underside.
All of which is very entertaining. But here’s my question: Since when have the Rangers been using nameplates? I always thought they used direct-sewn NOBs. NHLuniforms.com has always shown them that way (compare that treatment to this one), and so do most pre-2007 game photos (here’s another) and game-used jerseys (the most recent of which that I could find is from 2003-04 — definitely no nameplate there). Hell, we’ve even made sure to go nameplate-free when designing Rangers-themed membership cards.
But if you look at photos from this season, sure enough — they’ve suddenly got the telltale fabric strip. It’s on the white jersey, too. Is this a previously unnoticed additional reason to loathe the new Reebok jerseys? Have other teams made similar switches? If anyone knows more about this, please fill us in.
And as if the deficiencies of nameplates weren’t already clear enough (extra seams, loose threads, puckering, etc.), now we can add an additional problem to the list: They come loose during fights.
Meanwhile, speaking of the Rangers, the story of their re-hemmed jerseys has finally been picked up by a local beat writer. For the full scoop, scroll down to the “Hems stops haws” section of this page.
And in further NHL news, Rich Eakin reports that the Penguins will be giving new, non-moisture-repellant jerseys to all of their players — not just to the select few who ask for them. For details, scroll down to the “Replacement jerseys” section here.
(Special thanks today to Matt Harris and Doug Walton for their Strudwick screen grabs, and to Aman Loodu for pointing out the hemming story.)
And Next Week We’re Installing a Hot Tub: Lots of new site-related developments to report today. For starters, for those of you who are into the social-bookmarking thing, you’ll find buttons for Digg, Del.icio.us, Facebook, Furl, Spurl, Newsvine, Technorati, and YahooMyWeb at the bottom of each post. And in response to reader demand, we’re now offering a full RSS feed, instead of a partial feed.
But the biggest news is that my new right-hand man has been chosen. It’s Bryan Redemske, whose name is probably familiar to many of you because he’s a longtime Ticker contributor. He also wrote most of this entry about the College World Series back in June. The depths of his Uni Watch-ishness can be measured by a note he sent to me last night: “Be sure to mention that all of my cycling T-shirts have ‘Bryan’ embroidered on the left sleeve.”
Bryan is, if anything, overqualified for the position. He works in the sports department of the Omaha World-Herald, where he does some copyediting, some page layout, and a bit of writing (and where his ready access to wire-service photos will no doubt come in handy). In other words, he’s already a seasoned media professional, so I can’t very well call him my “intern.” We’ll have to come up with a new title for him, like research monkey assistant editor or something like that. By any name, he’ll be easing into the job over the next two weeks or so, and his first lead entry will probably run later this week. Please join me in welcoming him to the Uni Watch team.
The timing of Bryan’s hire is perfect, because intern Vince Grzegorek has some big news, too: He’s scored a staff position with Cleveland Scene, the city’s alterna-weekly paper, and will be starting there in two weeks. He says he’ll still contribute Uni Watch entries, which will be great if he can swing it (I suspect his new bosses will be keeping him pretty busy). Here’s to you, Vince — big congrats on your new gig.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Yesterday I linked to this photo of Tamba Hali’s chinstrap popping off. That prompted Doug Simpson to send me what he described as “the mother of all chinstrap blowups,” from September’s ’Bama/Western Carolina game. … In another follow-up, yesterday I asked why Remembrance Day poppy pins had switched from green-centered to black-centered in recent years, which led Lorne Giesbrecht to send me to this page, which has lots of good info (and also led Jeff Ingalls to send me a photo of his poppy tattoo). … Also from yesterday: I asked what was up with these leg sleeves, prompting this follow-up from John Simmons: “He appears to be wearing a cut-off version of Adidas Powerweb shorts. You can even slightly see the yarn at the bottom of the calf sleeve from where he must have cut it.” … Brent Hardman notes that UGA captain Knowshon Moreno’s captain’s “C” suffered from a bit of a tight squeeze on Saturday (additional views here and here) — a problem not shared by teammate Matthew Stafford, because his single-digit uni number allows for more space. … New Mexico wore practice jerseys for a recent exhibition game because their new unis weren’t ready yet (with thanks to Rob Montoya). … Decal impresario Chris Willis reports that Marshall will wear this memorial helmet decal this weekend. In addition, he says CFL teams may wear poppy decals this weekend. … I know I’ve mentioned this before, but Louisiana Tech sure does have small nameplate typography. … Chris Drouin notes that the Oakland Christian High soccer team in Michigan has “Christian” on their shirttails. … The FIVB has worked with Mikasa to produce a new volleyball for the Beijing Olympics. Details here (courtesy of Jeremy Brahm). … Kenn Tomasch recently visited Max’s Sports Bar in Glendale, Arizona, which claims to have the nation’s largest collection of football helmets (including some real doozies). He’s put together a fantastic account of his visit here. … Indiana coach Bill Lynch was wearing a National College Football Day pin — nearly lost among a sea of logos — the other day (with thanks to Todd Usher). … Man, Joe Torre’s cap at his press conference yesterday was right off the shelf (additional holographic view here). And Bryan Redemske, paying immediate dividends, notes that Torre’s dress shirt had “Joe”-monogrammed cuffs. … Yet another player with an upside-down 8: Ryan Gomes (with thanks to Josh Feldman). … Mike Raymers found something interesting: a Roanoke Valley Rebels jersey from the Eastern Hockey League, circa 1970s. I think it’s safe to say that logo would never get off the drawing board today. … Want to make cake shaped like a jersey? Then you’ll want this (genius find by Ryan Thompson). … I could definitely get used to this. … Check out the nameplates in Pakistan.
November 6th, 2007
Well, that was fun while it lasted.
Last Tuesday I agonized over whether I should FedEx an American flag decal to Ladainian Tomlinson (for those who’ve been under a rock, his helmet has been flag-free all season). I never did send it, and now Tomlinson has made the matter moot, because he finally wore Old Glory in yesterday’s game against the Vikings, thereby ending the NFL season’s most entertaining uni-related storyline and bringing our weekly “Will he or won’t he?” game to a conclusion.
But a new game may be afoot. Several posts in yesterday’s comments section reported that Chargers wideout Chris Chambers was flag-free yesterday. No pics yet, but I’m looking. Not sure if Chambers wore a flag last week (which was his first game of the season), but it sounds like someone on the Chargers’ equipment staff is either asleep at the switch or else has a good sense of humor.
In other NFL notes from yesterday:
• Remember this? Something vaguely similar happened yesterday to Kansas City defensive lineman Tamba Hali, who delivered a big hit that sent part of his chinstrap sailing through the air. Not quite as cool as the flying number decal, but still something I’ve never seen before.
• Randy Moss’s numeral 8 was upside-down again.
• What do you get when you combine artificial turf, one team wearing solid black, and another team wearing solid black below the waist? Pretty much the ugliest game ever.
• The Eagles wore white at home last night to force the Cowboys into their “bad luck” blue jerseys. Didn’t quite work out the way they drew it up.
(Special thanks to Randy Williams and James Wortham for their Tomlinson screen grabs and to Blaine Williams for the Hali pics.)
Big Papi? No, Little Poppies!: With November 11th approaching, Canadian-born coaches and coaches of Canadian teams are starting to wear poppy pins on their lapels (for futher info on this phenomenon, look here). As it happens, I was in Toronto over the weekend for a wedding and saw lots of poppy-clad people all over the city. At one point I was talking about the poppies with one of my Canadian friends, and she mentioned something very Uni Watch-ish: The current poppy pins have a black center, but until a couple of years ago they had a green center.
That raised lots of questions: When exactly did the color change, and why? And who makes that decision? Like, is there an executive poppy committee somewhere in the governmental bureaucracy, or did the pin manufacturers just run out of green felt? Also, since real poppies have black centers, why was green ever used in the first place? What about the other British Commonwealth nations, which also wear poppies — do they go with the black or the green? My Canadian pals couldn’t answer any of these queries. Anyone..?
Other things I learned about the poppy pins: They tend not to stay on very long, because they have no backing clip; the lack of a clip also makes it fairly common for the wearer to get pricked; and apparently it’s customary to pick on the dorkiest kid in the class by covering him with as many poppies as possible.
I had hoped to buy a poppy pin myself (I was told to look for “the oldest, stooped-over-est old man you can find — he’ll probably be selling them”), but I didn’t come across a vendor during the course of my weekend. Dang.
Sock Summit: Longtime readers know I’m a huge fan of the pseudonymous sock savant known as Witesock (whose admirably obsessive web site is here, plus there’s a lengthy interview with him available here). So it was a big thrill for me, after years of false starts and missed connections, to finally meet the man himself over the weekend. I’m happy to report that he’s a peach of a guy. Over plates of chicken teriyaki and bibimbap (which he generously paid for), we spent the better part of two hours talking about socks, collecting, travel, socks, work, socks, and more socks. We probably could have kept going for a few hours more, but he had to get back to work.
Naturally, we compared socks: I was wearing my usual basic striped tube socks while Witesock had a twofer: black rugby hose over a pair of Miami Dolphins socks (to go with the jersey he’d worn for the occasion). “But doesn’t wearing two pairs of socks make your shoes a bit too snug?” I asked. To which he replied, “Oh, I usually buy my shoes half a size too big, to allow for that.” Now that’s dedication.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Interesting primitive facemask on display in this 1930 photo (with thanks to Kevin S. Whisman). … Speaking of primitive facemasks, look what Jared Wheeler found up for auction. … Interesting bit of uni lobbying on display here (as forwarded by Jacob Reed). … Ewww. … Now here’s a uniform category you don’t often see: Iranian women’s rugby. Details here (with thanks to Peter Chambers). … “Converse has resurrected its 1933 All-Star, which was the team shoe of the legendary Harlem Renaissance basketball team,” writes Steve Eschenbach. “They had to resort to eBay to get an original to work off of.” Details here. … Andy Enright, who says he works in the sporting goods biz, contributed a mother lode of insider info the other day: “Both the Schutt Ion and XP will not be offered in XL for 2008. Schutt does have the capability to make XL for NFL and college players when needed. Both helmets are fitting a little smaller than their counterparts, the DNA and Air Advantage. All Schutt large helmets are sized to fit 7 to 7-1/2, but I tried both helmets on today, size large, and both were a little tight, even though I wear a 7-3/8. The molds for these helmets cost about $200K each, so Schutt is waiting for public demand before moving forward on the XL size, probably late 2008 or 2009. Also, Eli Manning will wear the new helmet probably next year or later this year. They are having issues installing the radio earpiece. Schutt will also have a signature shoulder pad featuring Reggie Bush as well as Eli Manning, for use at the youth level. The individual pads will be in Saints and Giants team colors. Also, I’ve attached some pictures of LT’s new cleats to hit stores in April ’08, both the molded as well as the detachable. Didn’t take Nike long to replace Vick.” … Interesting logo creep placement here (as spotted by Jeremy Brahm). … Take a look at this (which was sent my way by David Soline). Did the Bulls really wear pink warmup jackets? … The Pacers debuted their yellow alts on Friday. … These high school football socks would be awesome if not for, y’know, obvious reasons (big thanks to Michael Orr, who also sent along a rare high school example of FNOB). … I’m sure his parents are proud. … The Islanders brought Al Arbour back to coach one last game on Saturday night — the 1500th of his career — which occasioned lots of uni-related news items: (1) The team wore white at home. (2) They wore a special jersey patch. (3) As Mike from Queens points out, the patch caused a logjam with the “A” and “C” designations. (4) Arbour’s “retired number” banner, which had been No. 739 (his number of coaching wins) was replaced with a new banner. (5). Since the Isles won, the new banner will reportedly be replaced with yet another banner — No. 740. … Good info on the UMich hockey uniforms here (courtesy of Craig Barker). … Florida went with solid blue on Saturday. … And Oregon realy outdid themselves. But here’s a confession: As a big yellow/green fan, I kinda liked what the Ducks were doing on Saturday. All the diamondplate nonsense still rankles, natch, but I thought this was one of their better mix-and-match combos. … Great article here about a guy who works in Riddell’s helmet-testing facility (with thanks to Matt Lindner). … NHL jersey update here (with thanks to K.C. Kless). … In happier hockey news, good update on the NHL Winter Classic here (as forwarded by Sean Leahy). … And the Rangers continue to look much better with their straight-hemmed jerseys. Kudos to whoever made the modification decision. … I used to think the Quad Cities Swing were the only team with unevenly sized numerals (well, unless you count this), but that was before Blair Hough pointed me toward this photo of two ringette players. … Doug Linder spotted UCLA’s Luc Richard Mbah a Moute wearing some very unusual leg sleeves during a preseason game Friday night. Also, some of the UCLA cheerleaders suffered from Adidas logo creep, while others did not. … Reprinted from last night’s comments: Nice ad in yesterday’s Boston Globe. … I’m going to be busy until at least mid-afternoon. Vince will be minding the store until then.
November 5th, 2007
My NFL season-preview column is now up on ESPN — here’s the link.
Meanwhile, let’s talk about the new NFL logo. By now you’ve all seen the new version, which will go into effect next year (and has already inspired several parodies). Let’s examine the changes and some of the league’s stated reasons for them:
• The old typeface was dated. Yeah, it probably was. It’s always felt very 1970s to me, and the curlicue on the end of the L has generally struck me as more kitschy than elegant. A modest tweak would have been fine by me.
That said, the new type treatment is a disaster. Remember how the Cardinals’ Turn Ahead the Clock insignia featured robotic birds? That’s how this type feels to me — a clunky, robotic take on the previous version. And as a few jillion people have already noted, the old lettering matched the contours of the shield, but the new version doesn’t even try. C’mon, people — even Larry Johnson’s tattoo does a better job of matching type to its surrounding environment than this new logo does.
• The 25 stars were too many for licensees to reproduce on a patch. Then maybe you should have your licensees talk to the people who make American flag patches. Fifty stars, easy as pie. And here’s a thought: Maybe you’d have more room to depict the stars if you didn’t devote so much of the neckline patch to the word Equipment.
• Yeah, but the eight stars represent the eight divisions — the old 25 stars didn’t stand for anything. Oh, please. The NFL didn’t even go to the eight-division format until 2002, so it’s not exactly a time-honored institution. In this era of expansion and relocation and reconfiguration, the lifespan of a given league format is about 15 years. Does anyone really doubt that they’ll be tinkering with the division structure again before long? And what will they do then — change the league logo again? (As an aside, do the stars in the NFC and AFC logos “stand for anything”? Quick, redesign those with four stars each, one for each division, before someone notices!)
My favorite thing about the outgoing logo is how the football is positioned over the stars, partially obscuring some of them. It creates a sense of lots of stars, almost like a waving flag — very spangle-y, almost glittery, like fireworks. But the new football just sits in between the two quartets of stars, and you can almost feel the dull thud that resulted when they put it there. Again, it feels robotically club-footed compared to the previous version.
• The new football is more realistic, plus it evokes the Lombardi Trophy. Oh really? The actual Lombardi Trophy shows eight laces on the ball — same as on a real football. The ball in the old logo also has eight laces. But the new logo shows a ball with five laces, which means it’s not true to the trophy or to a real-life football. Minor point? Maybe, but it speaks to the heavy-handedness and lack of fine detail in this new design.
So let’s ask the standard Uni Watch question: Is it good or is it stupid? I think it’s clear where I’m coming down on that one.
And please, I don’t want to hear anyone saying how I’m resistant to chnage, how I hate anything new, blah-blah-blah. Like I said, I’ve never been in love with the old logo’s typography and definitely think it offers room for improvement. But this ain’t it.
OK? Good. Now get off my lawn.
O Canada: Anyone else getting exhausted by all these NHL unveilings? Just when you think you’ve caught up, they throw a few more at you. I’m tempted to call it Sisyphean (in part because it’s true, but mainly because I just like saying, “Sisyphean”).
Quickly, then: The Canadiens have gotten it right. My only two concerns: (1) The white jersey’s hemline stripes look a bit thinner than before. (2) As someone astutely noted in yesterday’s comments, the Habs created the illusion of a straight hemline by positioning the new jerseys on a flat surface, thereby hiding Reebok’s new shirttail-style hem, which continues to be the problematic. (Additional pics are here, and additional info is here.)
The Flames have gotten it wrong. Seriously, what the hell is this? And this? And while I’m generally in favor of flags on uniforms, the Alberta flag’s color scheme looks awful on the home jersey. What a mess. They did get one thing right, however: I think the rounded shirttail hem is better suited for stripes that are flush against the edge, instead of floating a few inches above the hemline.
Mail Call: Several people have mentioned to me that they’re no longer receiving e-mail notifications when a new ESPN column goes up, even though they’re on the mailing list. Of course, the blog itself functions as a notification system, since I always link to new ESPN columns from this site, but still, I want the mailing list to function properly. If you’re on the list and haven’t been getting notices lately (or if you’re not on the list but want to join), let me know and I’ll make sure you’re signed up.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Contrary to some rumors that were floating around last week, the 49ers will not be wearing their Montana-era throwbacks for the entire season. They’ll still wear them for their first game, as has been the plan all along, but that’s it. … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: Burger King is giving away mini-jerseys. … That Nike commercial featuring LaDainian Tomlinson running wild on the Bears’ defense wasn’t received very well in Chicago. … Kris McInnis sent along three excellent Auburn pics: this shot of the school’s infamous orange jersey, which was worn one time apiece in 1978 (against Georgia), ’79 (Miss. State), and ’80 (Georgia again); this shot of Shug Jordan in an Alabama Poly. Tech. practice jersey with painted on letters and numbers, taken two years before the school officially changed its name to Auburn; and this shot of a tearaway jersey from 1980, plus a rare glimpse of Auburn using merit decals. … According to this article in the Charlotte Business Journal, the Bobcats’ navy uniform will be worn 20 time this season (up from 12 in 2006-07) and will eventually become the team’s primary design, and the franchise emphasizes blue and reduces the role of orange. … You have got to be kidding me (blame Vince). … Ethan Rowley and his wife were recently at a Nebraska volleyball game, where Mrs. Ethan noted that many of the ’Huskers had their shorts tags sticking out. Upon going home and doing a bit of investigative work, Team Rowley discovered that this had happened before — several times, in fact. And other schools do it too! Could some volleyball-savvy reader please fill us in on this highly disturbing trend? … Speaking of volleyball, let’s go out on a high note: Cory Wright reports that the girls’ volleyball team at Sullivan Central High in Blountville, Tennessee, has been wearing some completely amazing socks.
September 5th, 2007
New ESPN column today — here’s the link. Plus I also have a review of last night’s No Mas event on today’s Page 2 index page.
Meanwhile: Great little uniform-related episode in the 4th inning of Tuesday night’s Cubs/Rockies game, when Chicago pitcher Ted Lilly was due to bat but was momentarily AWOL, leading to some good uni-centric chatter from Cubbies announcers Bob Brenly and Len Kasper:
Brenly: Because Felix Pie [the previous batter] swung at the first pitch, Ted Lilly’s not ready to take his at-bat right here. Takin’ care of some business up the tunnel there, in the Cubs’ clubhouse. [Lilly emerges from the dugout and hustles up to the plate.] Now he’s gonna sprint up there.
Kasper: Y’know, I wonder if he changed his jersey, which I know Carlos Zambrano does. [Lilly fidgets with his uniform as he steps into the batter’s box.] Kinda grabbin’ his top button there. We only know about Carlos because of the brawl against the Padres — he came out and didn’t have his belt buckled.
Brenly: We were probably fortunate the brawl didn’t happen, say, five minutes sooner. No telling what Carlos would’ve been wearing as he came out of the tunnel. Or not wearing. [Camera offers a close-up of Lilly’s midsection.]
Kasper [chuckling]: Belt buckle’s fine. Does Ted normally wear batting gloves? [Yes. — PL] For some reason he just looks different than I’m used to seeing him at the plate.
Brenly: I’m not so sure he has any undershirt on at this point. [Camera shows that Lilly, who’d been wearing a white undershirt in the top of the inning, now appears to be undershirt-free. He continues to fidget and fuss with his jersey.] Usually you can see the collar of the undershirt right there in the nape of the neck, but it doesn’t look like he has an undershirt on right now. May have been interrupted in mid-change. You know, it’s not unusual for starting pitcher, Len, to change undershirts three or four times in the course of a ballgame. You start to perspire out there on the mound, as hard as you’re working. The undershirt gets heavy and wet, restricts your movements a little bit. [Lilly grounds out and fidgets with his jersey one last time.]
Kasper: Well, Ted Lilly might go back and get dressed again.
This reminds me of Game 5 of the 1969 World Series, which featured a slight delay when Frank Robinson was due to bat (I’m fairly certain it was the 6th inning) but was nowhere to be found. He eventually popped out of the dugout while still tucking in his jersey, with his shirttail tag clearly visible. This game shows up on TV from time to time. Anyone got it on video?
(Special thanks to John Lanctot, who brought the Lilly sequence to my attention.)
Uni Watch News Ticker: The President isn’t the only one who gets free uni-related swag — Chief Justice John Roberts got an MSU hockey jersey during the team’s recent visit to DC, which I guess means he has to recuse himself from any college hockey-related cases that reach the Supreme Court (with thanks to Christopher Drouin). … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: Buddy Bell and the rest of the Royals coaching staff will wear No. 22 on Sunday, as a tribute to Negro Leagues stalwart Buck O’Neil. … Check out the gorgeous ribbed collar and cuffs in this shot of Ernie Banks. No wonder he wanted to play two! … I swear, is there something in the Shea Stadium water or what? From yesterday’s New York Times: “Several players wore orange T-shirts beneath their jerseys [Tuesday] night that featured a likeness of Bozo the Clown and the words, ‘Enough!’ on the front and ‘There ain’t a big top big enough for this circus’ on the back.” As I’ve said too many times before, why not just dress the team like clowns and get it over with already? … Brinke Guthrie notes that Roger Federer is wearing signature sneakers at Wimbledon. The four Swiss emblems represent Federer’s four staight Wimbledon titles. … I get my health insurance through these guys. As you can see, their web site is very plain-looking, as are all their mailings and other graphics. So I was surprised to see them running this ad on the subway yesterday. I mean, geez, does it remind you of anything? … Great article here about managers’ and coaches’ attire (with special get-well thanks to Tessa, who sent in this contribution from her hospital bed). … From yesterday’s comments: Bill Belichick appears to have initial-inscribed shorts. … Aqua Paradiso is an Italian mineral water with a winged-angel design motif. They also sponsor a volleyball team, whose players are forced to wear the wings in an unfortunate location (nice find by Jeremy Brahm). … Manny’s latest stunt (as reported by Jere): wristbands in honor of hs hairdresser (yes, the numbers don’t match, but the name does — maybe they couldn’t make a three-digit wristband). … Interesting, if somewhat outdated, find by Ethan Rowley: Some teams in the IWFL — that’s Independent Women’s Football League, dummy — have used old uniforms donated by NFL teams. And if you think NFL uniforms are too big to be worn by women, think again.
June 28th, 2007
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.
June 11th, 2007
I don’t mean to pick on Giants equipment manager Mike Murphy — he’s been with the team for nearly 50 years, and he probably has his hands full finding caps to fit Barry Bonds’s ever-enlarging cranium — but the team had some major slip-ups on the uni front last week. First, as reported here last week, Dan Ortmeier’s left-sleeve team logo patch was missing; then Fred Lewis’s right-sleeve All-Star Game patch was similarly unaccounted for. The kicker came on Friday, when Randy Messenger made his Giants debut with no name on his jersey.
Messenger had been traded late the night before, so the Giants had less than 24 hours to prepare a jersey for him. And yes, the trade happenedjust as the team was leaving New York and heading to Philly. Still, it shouldn’t have been that hard to get a jersey lettered and ready to go. Couldn’t they just have gotten one made at the local Sports Authority or something? Messenger didn’t pitch on Saturday or Sunday (no doubt due to embarrassment), so it’s not clear if his jersey has finally been brought up to code.
Interestingly, the Messenger nameplate snafu took place almost exactly a year to the day after the Giants misspelled Eliezer Alfonzo’s name on his jersey. Maybe the team should just take a week off every season during this time of year.
To be fair, the Giants aren’t the only MLB team with uni-related problems lately. As noted in Friday night’s comments, the Brewers’ right-sleeve anniversary patch was missing from Jeff Suppan’s jersey on Friday.
And whatever quality control issues MLB teams are having, it’s nothing compared to what’s happening to the Philadelphia Soul of the AFL. Reader Rob W. was at Philly’s Friday-night game and snapped pics of several players with numerals that had peeled off, as seen here, here, and here. First time I’ve seen anything like that since the Colts’ 2005 opener, when lineman Corey Simon had one of his numerals ripped off of his jersey (an oddity I no longer have a photo of, unfortunately, although I do have shots of of Miguel Tejada with the “1″ coming off of his jersey after a head-first slide in early 2005 [he played the rest of that game as No. 0]).
(Special thanks to Chris Shastid for the Messenger screen shot.)
Uni Watch News Ticker: Colorado’s new football uniforms, unveiled over the weekend, will look like this and this. Additional pics, info, and video links here, and still more pics here, here, here, and here. … Amusing teal manifesto here (with thanks to Rob McCallum). … Check out Softbank Hawks pitching coach Tadashi Sugimoto, who appears to be wielding the world’s longest fungo bat (with thanks to, of course, Jeremy Brahm). … “I found my old high school volleyball practice shirt the other day,” writes Jeff Bethune. “I never really liked them, but now looking back I see it’s because of the extreme radial arching. I don’t know what my coach was thinking.” Actually, I think that looks pretty sharp, except for the uni number, which looks way clunky. … Great catch by Uni Watch intern Vince Grzegorek, who notes that the MLB logo at the base of Mike Rabelo’s mask is patterned on the American flag (here’s a close-up from the All-Star web site) — never seen that treatment before. … More from Vince: (1) Serious decal crowding on the back of the Northwestern softball team’s helmets. (2) Josh Beckett appears to be wearing everything but a noose. (3) Trevor Hoffman’s trophy room, complete with jerseys on the wall. … The guy in the center of this photo is a young Barack Obama, shown on the JV hoops team of his high school in 1977. Here’s another shot, from 1979. … Maybe the reason Carlos Zambrano took a swing at Michael Barrett the other day is that the “C” appliqué on Barrett’s helmet was peeling off, a uni transgression that might move anyone to violence. … Looks like Jorge Posada was wearing white-out on his nails on Friday night (good catch by Mike Foreman). … “Found this picture from this gallery of an American football (as opposed to soccer) team in Germany,” writes Tom Langan. “Note the team names (in English) on the backs of jereseys, what appears to be No. 57 memorial sticker, and some logos on the bottom of the jersey numbers, à la the EPL.” … Todd Burus and Chris Mahoney both note that Wily Mo Peña, who wears uni number 22, is wearing No. 26 wristbands — perhaps a holdover from his days with the Reds. Plus Burus adds that Manny has been wearing his skullcap backwards, with the MLB logo facing front. Not only that, but the Red Sox logo on the back is backwards, which means either he’s also wearing it inside-out (although it doesn’t look that way, because the backwards logo looks raised) or else it’s yet another quality-control issue. … Brinke Guthrie recently stopped in at McCovey’s Restaurant and snapped a buncha pics of the many jerseys on display. Check out his full slide show here. … Anyone know what Troy Glaus was wearing on his leg while running the bases in the 7th inning of last Monday’s Yanks/Jays game? David Chisholm says Glaus wasn’t wearing it while batting, but he apparently strapped it on once he reached base. … Interesting commentary here about how the Trail Blazers need to start fresh with new uniforms (with thanks to Aaron Wiens). … Latest volley in the discussion of the Orioles’ road uniforms can be found here (kudos to Zach Smith). … See that tiny white-ish smudge on the left edge of Terry Francona’s cap brim? You can’t tell from that photo (or from any other that I’ve been able to find), but on TV it clearly appears to be a small “11,” apparently a shout-out to former Sox player Doug Mientkiewicz, who was injured in that collision with Mike Lowell on Saturday night. … Looks like Johnny Damon picked up a first baseman’s mitt on the way to the ballpark last night (with thanks to Michael Basu). … Actual quote from Cincy pitcher Kyle Loshe, when told May 28th could be his day, since he wears No. 28 and the Reds were playing home game No. 28: “I hate my number. I’d rather be 21, 22 or 23.” (Nice find by Jeff Barak.) … Faaaaascinating reminiscence from Paul Hirsch, who writes: “When I was a ballboy for the 1974 Angels, we wore pants without belt loops. However, there was a pocket on the inside of the waistband where a belt could be snaked through, using a special plastic tool that guided the belt through. Not everyone used it, but it was available and it did help keep one’s pants up.” … John Moist reports that Saturday was Price Is Right Night in Fresno, with the Fresno Grizzlies wearing some truly bizarre jerseys. Additional pics here and here. … More minor league zaniness, this time from Matt Nelson, who notes that Memorial Day found the Binghamton Mets using red, white, and blue jersey insignia and bases.
June 4th, 2007
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