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Uni Watch Book Club: The Hockey Sweater

New ESPN column today tomorrow (my bad, I thought it was gonna run today).

Meanwhile: With all the recent fuss about the new NHL uniforms, several readers have mentioned a Canadian children’s book called Le Chandail De Hockey, or The Hockey Sweater, by Roch Carrier. Published in 1979, it’s already considered a classic in Canada, where it’s apparently required reading and is sometimes viewed as an allegory for the country’s French/English cultural divide.

I just got myself a copy of the book’s English translation, and it’s pretty great. It tells the story of Carrier’s youth in the mid-1940s, when he and his French-Canadian friends all wore Montreal Canadiens sweaters with Maurice Richard’s number. When his sweater gets too old and threadbare, his mother orders him a new one from the Eaton’s catalogue. But when the package arrives, it’s a Maple Leafs sweater instead of a Canadiens model, much to Carrier’s horror. His mother convinces him not to make her return it because, as she puts it, Monsieur Eaton “is English and he’s going to be insulted because he likes the Maple Leafs.”

So Carrier wears his Toronto sweater down to the local rink, where everyone makes fun of him. When the ref calls a penalty on him, he blows his stack and complains that he’s being persecuted because of his sweater. The ref ejects him and sends him off to church to pray for forgiveness. So Carrier heads off to church where — and this is my favorite part — “I asked God to send me right away, a hundred million moths that would eat up my Toronto Maple Leafs sweater.”

And that’s it. The end. No happy conclusion, no uplifting moralizing — just a bitter, pissed-off kid refusing to learn his lesson and unrepentantly praying for a heavenly pestilence to destroy something he hates. Now that’s a children’s book.

Jonathan Goupil, who lives in Montreal, was one of the readers who mentioned Le Chandail De Hockey to me. Here are some of his thoughts on the book:

Every French-speaking kid in Quebec knows this book. We get to read it in school, as it reflects what our society was like at many levels. To French-Canadians, Maurice Richard was a hero, a semi-god. At the time, French-speaking people were more or less cheap labor for big American industrialists who made huge profits running mills and such. Richard was the guy next door who kicked the English-speakers’ butts every night, inspiring the poor and abused French crowd.

This web site has some great pictures from the Eaton’s catalog. I love their Fall-Winter 1948-49 front cover. And looking at this catalog page made me realize how much I love the original six teams’ jerseys. Kind of makes you love them even more. That said, I was surprised to see “replica” jerseys that didn’t quite replicate the real ones. I usually want a replica jersey that looks like the real thing, but in this case I can make an exception. I just love the childlike logos! [Note how these logos match the ones shown on the catalog depicted in the book. — PL]

Merci beau coup to Jonathan for that info, and to everyone who mentioned this book to me. Now if we could just come up with some good uni-related children’s books for American kids to read.

Le Chandail De Hockey was also made into a really wonderful animated film. It’s 10 minutes long, and you can view it here.

Brooklyn Party Update: I’m happy to report that there will be two drink specials available at Saturday’s Uni Watch party at the 12th Street Bar (3pm; 12th St. & 8th Ave., Brooklyn; F train to the 7th Ave. stop). One will be a bloody Mary-esque concoction called a bloody jersey — ask for it by name. And if you identify yourself as a Uni Watcher, you can score a Bud for $2. Bartender Miles Seligman, Uni Watch’s original editor back when he edited the Village Voice sports section, will take good care of you. Remember to take care of him too.

Uni Watch News Ticker: I asked the NHL why the two refs in that Sens/Caps game the other night — Eric Furlatt and Brad Watson — were both wearing No. 27, and here’s what I got back: “Apparently, Watson [who normally wears No. 23] worked the Montreal game the night before but misplaced his jersey. Although each rink keeps an extra sets of generic referee uniforms on hand, Furlatt [who wears No. 27] had an extra set with him and Furlatt’s fit better than the generic set, so Watson chose to wear Furlatt’s extra set.” ”¦ In a related item, yesterday’s comments included a link to this great article about Kerry Fraser recently having to make due with borrowed gear after his luggage was lost on the way to Edmonton. ”¦ More info on the Bears helmets on the Chicago Art Institute lions, including a video clip, here (with thanks to Jeff Wilk). ”¦ Two guys from MLB.com came over to Uni Watch HQ yesterday to shoot some interview footage of me discussing uniforms, facial hair, and a few other things. I’ll let you know when it’s up on their site. ”¦ The Hanshin Tigers have unveiled their new unis (additional views here and here, all courtesy of Jeremy Brahm). ”¦ Amit Mistry reports that Gilbert Arenas started last night’s Wizards/Raptors game wearing black shoes with gold stripes, “but then, with about then minutes left in the second quarter, he switched to plain white shoes.” ”¦ Another NBA report from last night, this time from Brian Thompson: “I was watching the Mavericks/Grizzlies game and noticed that Mike Miller has the Grizz logo on his mouthpiece. He was playing with it in his mouth, very annoyingly, during one of the last timeouts and you could see the light blue bear head on the black mouthpiece. Now DeAngelo Williams has some company.” If you squint a bit, you can almost convince yourself that you can see Miller’s mouthguard logo here. ”¦ In the quasi-uni-related department, please stop whatever you’re doing and go directly to Bear vs. Colt, which features very short video smackdowns between a guy in a bear suit and a guy in a horse suit (the one where they compete at Dance Dance Revolution is total fucking genius). It’s sort of like Itchy & Scratchy meets Sesame Street, and not to be missed.

 
  
 
Comments (111)

    If “legendary” franchises like the Canadiens keep retiring numbers, we may have to look at this in the years ahead:

    link

    Just caught up with yesterday’s piece. Nice mention of the Baseball Bunch. I worked at Major League Baseball Productions in the early 80’s and one of my jobs was to write the Bunch. Great fun. Whenever we were stuck and needed something clever, we’d just write…”Chicken does something funny”, and Ted never let us down. Too bad I don’t have my Jacket anymore.

    [quote comment=”50035″]black
    link

    white
    link

    Thanks! Those pics weren’t available yet when I went to bed last night, and I forgot to check for new ones this morning. I’ll add them to the text right now.

    I’ve seen a lot of goofy shit on the internet, but bear vs. colt is the funniest thing I have ever seen!

    A quoted from that great book is on the back of our five dollar bill. I could find a clear image of it, but this link explains a little more about the bill itself. I don’t have a fiver handy, but if I remember correctly, it says something along the lines that our winters were spent in three places, school, church and the hockey rink, but our real life was on the hockey rink.

    Sigh, this entry made me homesick for my home and native land. I think that two things about the hockey sweater are notable:

    1. this is such a part of Canadiana that it is featured on the back of the link.

    2. if I’m remembering correctly, there is also an Anglophone version called My Leafs Sweater. Comparisons are there, but it’s a different story.

    Funny that Le Rocket’s height and weight are given in inches and pounds on the poster in the artwork. I figured the Québécois would be on SI units.

    My uncle bought me this book when I was little along with a dozen other hockey books. I wish I still had it. I’ll have to add it to the list of thing I wish I kept from my childhood along with my Whalers sweaters/jerseys, and the dozens of NHL and NFL Starter Jackets.

    [quote comment=”50044″]A quoted from that great book is on the back of our five dollar bill. I could find a clear image of it, but this link explains a little more about the bill itself. I don’t have a fiver handy, but if I remember correctly, it says something along the lines that our winters were spent in three places, school, church and the hockey rink, but our real life was on the hockey rink.[/quote]

    The quote on the back of the $5 bill is as follows:

    “The winters of my childhood were long, long seasons. We lived in three places – the school, the church, and the skating rink – but our real life was on the skating rink. – Roch Carrier”

    I’ve link on which you can find the writing.

    [quote comment=”50052″][quote comment=”50044″]A quoted from that great book is on the back of our five dollar bill. I could find a clear image of it, but this link explains a little more about the bill itself. I don’t have a fiver handy, but if I remember correctly, it says something along the lines that our winters were spent in three places, school, church and the hockey rink, but our real life was on the hockey rink.[/quote]

    The quote on the back of the $5 bill is as follows:

    “The winters of my childhood were long, long seasons. We lived in three places – the school, the church, and the skating rink – but our real life was on the skating rink. – Roch Carrier”

    I’ve link on which you can find the writing.[/quote]
    Are there any other currencies that feature a sport on them? I think it would be kind of weird for the U.S. to have the national pastime on there when a strong case could be made for American football. I would imagine that any soccer, excuse me, football-loving country might have one.

    The guy in the first Hanshin picture (bottom left) totally looks like a mannequin. Just sayin’.

    Paul, did you watch the senior bowl? Tyler Palko had the PITT script logo instean of the standard PITT logo. They also had the helmet stripes from the old desing. Any news on PITT going back to the script?

    Last night had another color on color game. Alabama at LSU. Bama in road Crimson, and LSU in their yellow jerseys. “>

    Chris Murata has just sent me a link where you can watch the link of The Hockey Sweater. It’s 10 mins. long and really wonderful. I’ll add the link to today’s text, too.

    Anyone else notice that the music on the Dance Dance Revolution clip of Bear vs. Colt is the same music that they play at the “Blue Oyster” gay bar in Police Academy?

    [quote comment=”50048″]Funny that Le Rocket’s height and weight are given in inches and pounds on the poster in the artwork. I figured the Québécois would be on SI units.[/quote]
    According to link (I know), the use of the metric system in Canada didn’t really start until the early 1970’s.

    [quote comment=”50037″]If “legendary” franchises like the Canadiens keep retiring numbers, we may have to look at this in the years ahead:

    link

    Dare I say it… but maybe the Maple Leafs have the right idea about number “retirement”… the only sweater numbers the Leafs have actually retired (they don’t use anymore) are Bill Barilko’s #5 and “Ace” Bailey’s #6. Barilko died in an off-season airplane crash after scoring the Stanley Cup-winning goal in what became the last game he ever played, while Bailey’s career ended (and he nearly died) after an on-ice attack from Boston’s Eddie Shore.

    There are plenty of other Leafs remembered in the rafters with “honoured numbers”… but those jersey numbers remain in use by current players. So even though Turk Broda and Johnny Bower have banners with their faces, names, and number, current Leafs goalie Andrew Raycroft is allowed to wear #1.

    Sometimes teams retire numbers well after
    the fact… by the time the St. Louis Cardinals got around to retiring Enos Slaughter’s #9, that number had been worn with distinction by Roger Maris, Joe Torre, and Terry Pendleton. (Bob Uecker also wore #9 while with the Cardinals, but that’s another story…)

    Just wanted to give a plug for the video of “The Sweater”. Even if you’re not a hockey fan, take the time to watch it – beautifully crafted little animated short that captures the spirit of the book. It’s a Canadian classic.

    And bearvscolt – hilarious.

    [quote comment=”50063″]Paul, did you watch the senior bowl? Tyler Palko had the PITT script logo instean of the standard PITT logo. They also had the helmet stripes from the old desing. Any news on PITT going back to the script?[/quote]

    It wasn’t Tyler Plako, it was H.B. Blades, although it may have been both. I saw Senior Bowl pics with Palko wearing the block Pitt, but clearly remember seeing Blades with the script. I could not find a picture though.

    [quote comment=”50054″][quote comment=”50052″][quote comment=”50044″]A quoted from that great book is on the back of our five dollar bill. I could find a clear image of it, but this link explains a little more about the bill itself. I don’t have a fiver handy, but if I remember correctly, it says something along the lines that our winters were spent in three places, school, church and the hockey rink, but our real life was on the hockey rink.[/quote]

    The quote on the back of the $5 bill is as follows:

    “The winters of my childhood were long, long seasons. We lived in three places – the school, the church, and the skating rink – but our real life was on the skating rink. – Roch Carrier”

    I’ve link on which you can find the writing.[/quote]
    Are there any other currencies that feature a sport on them? I think it would be kind of weird for the U.S. to have the national pastime on there when a strong case could be made for American football. I would imagine that any soccer, excuse me, football-loving country might have one.[/quote]
    IF my memory is correct hockey isn’t Canada’s national pastime lacrosse is.

    [quote comment=”50083″][quote comment=”50081″]More Bears link in Chicago.[/quote]
    why the orange one???[/quote]

    link (Scroll about halfway down)

    [quote comment=”50087″]
    IF my memory is correct hockey isn’t Canada’s national pastime lacrosse is.[/quote]

    It’s an ongoing debate in this country.

    [quote comment=”50072″]Along with $250 million dollars… David Beckham will be helping to design the LA Galaxy’s new kits for next year.

    Beckham to help re-design LA’s kit[/quote]

    The link link from the Beckham story offers an interesting look at some dreadful colour/pattern choices of (mostly) English FA clubs. Warning, please exercise care in viewing if you’re squeamish.

    Has anyone else seen this logo for Super Bowl XLI? It was in an e-mail I got today, and I had not seen it used before. I assumed when promoting the Super Bowl, you used the Super Bowl logo.

    link

    Just adding my .02 on Bear vs. Colt. It was great. I really liked the one on the treadmill where the girl wins. It was so funny to see them both fall off the treadmill. I laughed out loud.

    Hey Paul,

    Just read a thing on ESPN about Super Bowl Rings and what they meant to the owners … blah blah blah. It would have been a lot cooler to read your take on each of those coveted accessories. At least tell us which one is your favorite and which one sucks bells.

    Sir Jock Strap

    [quote comment=”50087″]
    IF my memory is correct hockey isn’t Canada’s national pastime lacrosse is.[/quote]

    They changed it, in the last ten years or so, so that lacrosse is our National Summer Sport, and Hockey our National Winter Sport

    [quote comment=”50093″]Has anyone else seen this logo for Super Bowl XLI? It was in an e-mail I got today, and I had not seen it used before. I assumed when promoting the Super Bowl, you used the Super Bowl logo.

    link[/quote]

    The NFL has been promoting the supoer bowl as being in link, not Miami, I assume because ths Stadium that Joe Robbie Built is not technically in Miami.

    [quote comment=”50096″][quote comment=”50087″]
    IF my memory is correct hockey isn’t Canada’s national pastime lacrosse is.[/quote]

    They changed it, in the last ten years or so, so that lacrosse is our National Summer Sport, and Hockey our National Winter Sport[/quote]

    1994: I found the info link

    Hey, i got a quick question. Its nothing dire, i’m just curious. In the first half of his rookie season, Andre Iguodala wore number 4. When the team acquired Chris Webber, he then switched to #9. Anyways, does anyone know if he’s switched back with Webber’s departure, or if he has any plans to do so?

    [quote comment=”50074″]So even though Turk Broda and Johnny Bower have banners with their faces, names, and number, current Leafs goalie Andrew Raycroft is allowed to wear #1.[/quote]
    That alone sounds like reason enough to change the policy!

    -Ricardo

    [quote comment=”50096″][quote comment=”50087″]
    IF my memory is correct hockey isn’t Canada’s national pastime lacrosse is.[/quote]

    They changed it, in the last ten years or so, so that lacrosse is our National Summer Sport, and Hockey our National Winter Sport[/quote]
    what about curling? what about spring? what about fall?

    [quote comment=”50083″][quote comment=”50081″]More Bears link in Chicago.[/quote]
    why the orange one???[/quote]

    So, Urlacher just loaned them one of his spares? ;-)

    [quote comment=”50093″]Has anyone else seen this logo for Super Bowl XLI? It was in an e-mail I got today, and I had not seen it used before. I assumed when promoting the Super Bowl, you used the Super Bowl logo.

    link[/quote]

    My guess is that they’re not “official” so they’re not allowed to use the official logo.

    Another possibility… could it be from the host committee? Super Bowls now have host committee, responsible for events, accommodation etc. surrounding the game. These are formed well in advance of the NFL designing a logo for the game itself. There’s probably a logo somewhere for the people in Arizona organising next year’s but the NFL don’t have a logo for SB XLII yet.

    [quote comment=”50093″]Has anyone else seen this logo for Super Bowl XLI? It was in an e-mail I got today, and I had not seen it used before. I assumed when promoting the Super Bowl, you used the Super Bowl logo.

    link[/quote]

    I would think it’s not official. No mention of “Super Bowl” or NFL.

    This dodgy link reminds me of my high school soccer uniform. I’m working on getting pictures of my jersey collection for everyone, and my soccer uniform will be included.

    Colt will ultimatly win because it’s being filmed in Indy. I recognized the Indianapolis Zoo, Gameworks @ Circle Centre Mall and the cop scene was at the University of Indianapolis (check the cop’s license plate, it’s a UIndy plate).

    [quote comment=”50107″]This dodgy link reminds me of my high school soccer uniform.[/quote]

    I don’t care how garish it is — if it’s sponsored by Commodore, it’s okay by me. That brings back so many memories of the great games I used to play on our Commodore 64 (and later, our Commodore 128!).

    If “legendary” franchises like the Canadiens keep retiring numbers, we may have to look at this in the years ahead:

    link

    I’d love a jersey with pi on the back. The other one I always though would be cool (and easier) would be infinity… basically you just need a sideways 8.

    I’d love a jersey with pi on the back. The other one I always though would be cool (and easier) would be infinity… basically you just need a sideways 8.

    Yeah, we had a donkey basketball game for a fundraiser where I teach. I was number ‘infinity’ and a buddy was number ‘pi’. Someone else was number ‘i’. We had negatives, fractions, the whole nine yards.

    [quote comment=”50096″][quote comment=”50087″]
    IF my memory is correct hockey isn’t Canada’s national pastime lacrosse is.[/quote]

    They changed it, in the last ten years or so, so that lacrosse is our National Summer Sport, and Hockey our National Winter Sport[/quote]

    That’s almost as lame as the fact the State of Maryland’s official sport is jousting (not the kind in movies, it involves rings) and recently they made lacrosse the official TEAM sport.

    [quote comment=”50074″][quote comment=”50037″]If “legendary” franchises like the Canadiens keep retiring numbers, we may have to look at this in the years ahead:

    link

    Dare I say it… but maybe the Maple Leafs have the right idea about number “retirement”… the only sweater numbers the Leafs have actually retired (they don’t use anymore) are Bill Barilko’s #5 and “Ace” Bailey’s #6. Barilko died in an off-season airplane crash after scoring the Stanley Cup-winning goal in what became the last game he ever played, while Bailey’s career ended (and he nearly died) after an on-ice attack from Boston’s Eddie Shore.

    There are plenty of other Leafs remembered in the rafters with “honoured numbers”… but those jersey numbers remain in use by current players. So even though Turk Broda and Johnny Bower have banners with their faces, names, and number, current Leafs goalie Andrew Raycroft is allowed to wear #1.

    Sometimes teams retire numbers well after the fact… by the time the St. Louis Cardinals got around to retiring Enos Slaughter’s #9, that number had been worn with distinction by Roger Maris, Joe Torre, and Terry Pendleton. (Bob Uecker also wore #9 while with the Cardinals, but that’s another story…)[/quote]

    I had to look this up to alleviate my own confusion:

    link has his number retired by the Leafs; link was killed in the 9/11 attacks.

    I also wanna give an endorsement to the folks at Distant Replays. I ordered a hockey sweater and a couple t-shirts from there last week, and one of the t-shirts was missing from the shipment. I was wary of a “your word versus mine” situation (I’m sure this comes from growing up in the No Customer Service Zone known as the Northeastern US), but they called me back immediately, took my word for it, apologized, and sent me the t-shirt.

    [quote comment=”50153″][quote comment=”50096″][quote comment=”50087″]
    IF my memory is correct hockey isn’t Canada’s national pastime lacrosse is.[/quote]

    They changed it, in the last ten years or so, so that lacrosse is our National Summer Sport, and Hockey our National Winter Sport[/quote]

    That’s almost as lame as the fact the State of Maryland’s official sport is jousting (not the kind in movies, it involves rings) and recently they made lacrosse the official TEAM sport.[/quote]

    I actually worked in the Maryland House of Delegates for a while, and we’d actually get letters from people in favor of, or opposed to, changing the official state sport. (Cue link on ‘Saturday Night Live’…)

    [quote comment=”50123″]Is it just me or does it look like these Habs unis don’t have a logo?

    link[/quote]

    A few years back there were some short commercial-type vignettes on Canadian history running on Canadian TV stations. One of them was about Jacques Plante being the first goalie to wear a mask regularly. I can’t be sure, but I think that’s an image from that vignette just before “Plante” takes a puck to the face and retires to the dressing room, only to return with the mask after being stitched up. If you look closely, the goalie isn’t actually Plante. I’ll see if I can find a link online.

    That book brought back memories of my Middle School French class! I remember both reading the book and then seeing the film. Ahhh memories…

    This looks like the link organizer’s logo, or more acurately, the host state… since the city of Glendale is not mentioned very prominently in their promotions, you even see (University of) Phoenix more often

    I don’t see a Super Bowl logo itself anywhere.

    [quote comment=”50105″][quote comment=”50093″]Has anyone else seen this logo for Super Bowl XLI? It was in an e-mail I got today, and I had not seen it used before. I assumed when promoting the Super Bowl, you used the Super Bowl logo.

    link[/quote]

    My guess is that they’re not “official” so they’re not allowed to use the official logo.

    Another possibility… could it be from the host committee? Super Bowls now have host committee, responsible for events, accommodation etc. surrounding the game. These are formed well in advance of the NFL designing a logo for the game itself. There’s probably a logo somewhere for the people in Arizona organising next year’s but the NFL don’t have a logo for SB XLII yet.[/quote]

    [quote comment=”50125″]Bear Vs. Colt is a total ripoff of the rivalryguys.com concept. check it out[/quote]

    rivalryguys.com is a COMPLETE rip off of the Apple Vs. PC adds and is not similar in the least to the bearvscolt.com site. Way off there.

    [quote comment=”50166″]That book brought back memories of my Middle School French class! I remember both reading the book and then seeing the film. Ahhh memories…[/quote]

    Yep, that was in my French textbook freshman year of high school. I suppose I hadn’t realized at the time that there was no comclusion because I was so busy trying to figure out exactly what I was reading. Good story; if not for the uni-centric part, then for the pure realism it conveys (kids making fun of each other, biased referees, tantrums ending in broken sticks…great stuff!)

    I found linkat the NBA Store.
    Are they actually going to play the Allstar game with that ball? Or is it just novelty?

    “Are they actually going to play the Allstar game with that ball?”
    I sincerely hope not…

    Pro cycling is unique in the extent to which jerseys are awarded as prized for major accomplishments. National champioships in particular are raced for the privledge of wearing the nation’s jersey for the next year. That does however lead to some odd team photos with non-uniform uniforms, pretty easy to pick out the link in this photo of Toyota United Pro. Or Allan Johanse, champion of link, riding for CSC. Now which two national champs are pictured link(hint, neither one is the Italian National Champ).

    [quote comment=”50182″]I’m not sure if this has already been mentioned or what not but are
    link the ProBowl jerseys?[/quote]
    Nobody said anything about red pants!! Holy Texans!!

    [quote comment=”50175″]I found linkat the NBA Store.
    Are they actually going to play the Allstar game with that ball? Or is it just novelty?[/quote]

    I doubt they’d use that ball. To me, that looks like the synthetic ball that they just phased out on 1/1/07.

    [quote comment=”50181″]Minna, again I found link for you today.[/quote]

    Banker B., aw, thanks. It’s nice to know you guys are looking out for me.

    I really liked The Sweater video, and it’s totally realistic. Are there any Canadians on board that haven’t read the book or seen the video? I think I am going to buy the book for my niece and nephews.

    [quote comment=”50175″]I found linkat the NBA Store.
    Are they actually going to play the Allstar game with that ball? Or is it just novelty?[/quote]

    It’s just a commemorative ball — they do one of these every year. They’ll use a conventional ball for the game.

    Those Hanshin uniforms are throwbacks; they wore them in the 1960s, though there were no names on the backs, no garish black side panels, and the number font is a bit different from the link, (and is being used at home for the first time).

    Also, of course, there was no “Joshin” advertising patch before about 2004.

    They are already being sold, for you online auction buffs:

    link

    What inspired the Tigers to make these changes was the popularity of the link used in the interleague games in the last few years.

    I’d get one of the new ones if they ditched the side panels and surnames. The originals were fantastic. Now if they could just start writing “Osaka” again instead of the general area/railroad name “Hanshin”.

    The Colorado Rapids are changing their name?

    For a few minutes this afternoon, a link was live here:

    link

    The new logo was accidentally posted there (same thing, just says “Arsenal” instead of “Colorado”), and new posted says the identity will be revealed on Feb. 23, 2007.

    Looks like someone there let things slip…

    [quote comment=”50203″]OH MY LORD! Bars is Canada are the coolest…they have link![/quote]

    i still cant stop looking at this site…
    as i read the message she conveys on her shirt, i nominate her to be “da eagles” … oh, did i mention i’ll be first in line? gotta go slummin sometimes.

    sometimes you just need to go slummin’.

    [quote comment=”50197″]Some better shots of “F*@k Da Eagles” girl. I think you guys will enjoy this.

    link

    my bad, was quoting this post, not the other one…

    Paul – LOVE the blog. One question – how come there always seems to be so much confusion on your part as to when your new ESPN column is going live? Those turkeys at ESPN jerking you around?

    That Pillow Fight League was in Brooklyn either last weekend or the weekend before. They were playing to a sold out show of 200 people. I checked out the chicks on the website (they all have funny names like Boozy Suzy, Sarah Bellum, Polly Esther, etc), but they’re really not much to look at.

    I was a big fan of this organization in the 80’s: link

    [quote comment=”50213″]That Pillow Fight League was in Brooklyn either last weekend or the weekend before.

    They were playing to a sold out show of 200 people.

    I checked out the chicks on the website (they all have funny names like Boozy Suzy, Sarah Bellum, Polly Esther, etc), but they’re really not much to look at.

    I was a big fan of this organization in the 80’s: link

    I was a fan as well, but….

    Wrestling = Been there, done that

    Pillow fighting = New, exciting, curious?

    [quote comment=”50093″]Has anyone else seen this logo for Super Bowl XLI? It was in an e-mail I got today, and I had not seen it used before. I assumed when promoting the Super Bowl, you used the Super Bowl logo.

    link[/quote]
    What was the e-mail for? There are link link link out there…but only 1 link. The others appear to be related to ticket brokers, travel agents and the link.

    On a side note, while looking for the various logos floating around for XLI, I came across link about the design process of the “Houston: Host to Super Bowl XXXVIII” logo. I thought it was pretty interesting. He shares some insight into the thought process behind designing sports logos as well as the refining process of the logo before it is publicly release.

    [quote comment=”50202″]The Colorado Rapids are changing their name?

    For a few minutes this afternoon, a link was live here:

    link

    The new logo was accidentally posted there (same thing, just says “Arsenal” instead of “Colorado”), and new posted says the identity will be revealed on Feb. 23, 2007.

    Looks like someone there let things slip…[/quote]

    Wouldn’t be all that surprised. I’ve been hearing rumors of the Rapids becoming Arsenal for a while now. I want to say there is an Armory or Military base right by thier new stadium.

    [quote comment=”50123″]Is it just me or does it look like these Habs unis don’t have a logo?

    link[/quote]

    If you look close enough at the Hab skater, you can make out the bottom-right corner of a “C” behind the Ranger player’s neck

    [quote comment=”50212″]Paul – LOVE the blog. One question – how come there always seems to be so much confusion on your part as to when your new ESPN column is going live?[/quote]

    Things are often slated to be published on a particular day but then get held, or moved up, or switched around. Happens all the time — not just to me but to everyone who works in media. Nature of the beast.

    [quote comment=”50196″][quote comment=”50181″]Minna, again I found link for you today.[/quote]

    Banker B., aw, thanks. It’s nice to know you guys are looking out for me.

    I really liked The Sweater video, and it’s totally realistic. Are there any Canadians on board that haven’t read the book or seen the video? I think I am going to buy the book for my niece and nephews.[/quote]
    Well, it is about sports so people who just don’t care about that might not have heard about it. And those same people might not be readers of Uni Watch. ;):p
    But like many said before, it is a classic here.

    [quote comment=”50239″][quote comment=”50196″][quote comment=”50181″]Minna, again I found link for you today.[/quote]

    Banker B., aw, thanks. It’s nice to know you guys are looking out for me.

    I really liked The Sweater video, and it’s totally realistic. Are there any Canadians on board that haven’t read the book or seen the video? I think I am going to buy the book for my niece and nephews.[/quote]
    Well, it is about sports so people who just don’t care about that might not have heard about it. And those same people might not be readers of Uni Watch. ;):p
    But like many said before, it is a classic here.[/quote]

    Vincent, there are people in Canada who don’t care about sports? Surely, you jest.

    Hey, Americans. I came into sports late in life (after college). Are there any equivalent American children sports’ books focused on unis?

    The Colorado Rapids are changing their name?

    For a few minutes this afternoon, a link was live here:

    link

    The new logo was accidentally posted there (same thing, just says “Arsenal” instead of “Colorado”), and new posted says the identity will be revealed on Feb. 23, 2007.

    Looks like someone there let things slip…

    Wouldn’t be all that surprised. I’ve been hearing rumors of the Rapids becoming Arsenal for a while now. I want to say there is an Armory or Military base right by thier new stadium.

    Look at the link entry. It’s about half updated with “Arsenal” and “Gunners”. As a fan of a certain team from the Highbury section of London, it makes me wanna barf…

    [quote comment=”50228″][quote comment=”50123″]Is it just me or does it look like these Habs unis don’t have a logo?

    link[/quote]

    If you look close enough at the Hab skater, you can make out the bottom-right corner of a “C” behind the Ranger player’s neck[/quote]

    Also, is it me, or does the net look significantly bigger than the ones used today? There’s been some outcry about the NHL’s recent interest in increasing the net size and about not messing with tradtion. Maybe tradition is a little different than many remember it

    [quote comment=”50271″][quote comment=”50228″][quote comment=”50123″]Is it just me or does it look like these Habs unis don’t have a logo?

    link[/quote]

    If you look close enough at the Hab skater, you can make out the bottom-right corner of a “C” behind the Ranger player’s neck[/quote]

    Also, is it me, or does the net look significantly bigger than the ones used today? There’s been some outcry about the NHL’s recent interest in increasing the net size and about not messing with tradtion.

    Maybe tradition is a little different than many remember it[/quote]

    I think it has more to do with the angle of the camera, the goalie’s hunched-over position, and the fact that he is not wearing as many pads/helmet, which balloon the size of the player. I can’t find anything on wikipedia, nor do I remember any hockey history, that talks about a reduction in the size of the net. Therefore, I assume that That net is the same as the current net.

    [quote comment=”50283″][quote comment=”50271″][quote comment=”50228″][quote comment=”50123″]Is it just me or does it look like these Habs unis don’t have a logo?

    link[/quote]

    If you look close enough at the Hab skater, you can make out the bottom-right corner of a “C” behind the Ranger player’s neck[/quote]

    Also, is it me, or does the net look significantly bigger than the ones used today? There’s been some outcry about the NHL’s recent interest in increasing the net size and about not messing with tradtion.

    Maybe tradition is a little different than many remember it[/quote]

    I think it has more to do with the angle of the camera, the goalie’s hunched-over position, and the fact that he is not wearing as many pads/helmet, which balloon the size of the player. I can’t find anything on wikipedia, nor do I remember any hockey history, that talks about a reduction in the size of the net. Therefore, I assume that That net is the same as the current net.[/quote]

    You’re probably right, but the width of the net is what caught my eye initially. It looks wider than the nets today, but it could be that it appears that way since he doesn’t have the typical gear that today’s goalies wear.

    I’m watching Hearns/Barkley II on Versus, and Hearns was wearing these really nice gold/teal trunks. I know, gold and teal doesn’t sound like a good thing, but see for yourself — link

    (The trim looks like powder blue in that photo, but it’s a bit more teal-ish on my TV.)

    Minna: I just caught up with the rest of yesterday’s comments (I have been running meetings for the past two days, so I haven’t been at my desk to check in with Uni Watch), and I wanted to let you know that I have a Bears rosary on the way. The local convent makes rosaries to raise money for missions, so I asked them to make a Bears one for me. I’ll post a picture on Sunday (when I will have access to my sister’s digital camera) or next week (depending on how long the inevitable depression lasts…).

    It will certainly be a better post if they win…

    [quote comment=”50292″]I’m watching Hearns/Barkley II on Versus, and Hearns was wearing these really nice gold/teal trunks. I know, gold and teal doesn’t sound like a good thing, but see for yourself — link

    (The trim looks like powder blue in that photo, but it’s a bit more teal-ish on my TV.)[/quote]
    Paul, have you ever explored boxing trunk styles in your writings?

    (…besides Toney’s pleats on 1/7/2007, that is.)
    I’m thinking of an examination of boxing trunks throughout history.

    [quote comment=”50308″]Minna: I just caught up with the rest of yesterday’s comments (I have been running meetings for the past two days, so I haven’t been at my desk to check in with Uni Watch), and I wanted to let you know that I have a Bears rosary on the way. The local convent makes rosaries to raise money for missions, so I asked them to make a Bears one for me. I’ll post a picture on Sunday (when I will have access to my sister’s digital camera) or next week (depending on how long the inevitable depression lasts…).

    It will certainly be a better post if they win…[/quote]

    tessa, I can’t believe you actually got a Bears’ rosary. Good on you. I only got my (used) digital camera a few weeks ago, but haven’t tried to upload yet, so you are not the last person on earth, etc., etc.

    Hate to break it to ya, but I am rooting for the Colts, even though I believe Chicago has the better unis. At any rate, can’t wait to see the pic of the Bears’ rosary. Think I should get a Vikings’ rosary for next year?

    Paul, from yesterday, if Santana and Morneau (great line from him, by the way) get sick and are unable to be their very best for spring training, I am going after New Era or whomever those caps are made by. The hats look stupid, and they are endangering the health of two of the best Twins players.

    [quote comment=”50317″][quote comment=”50308″]Minna: I just caught up with the rest of yesterday’s comments (I have been running meetings for the past two days, so I haven’t been at my desk to check in with Uni Watch), and I wanted to let you know that I have a Bears rosary on the way. The local convent makes rosaries to raise money for missions, so I asked them to make a Bears one for me. I’ll post a picture on Sunday (when I will have access to my sister’s digital camera) or next week (depending on how long the inevitable depression lasts…).

    It will certainly be a better post if they win…[/quote]

    tessa, I can’t believe you actually got a Bears’ rosary. Good on you. I only got my (used) digital camera a few weeks ago, but haven’t tried to upload yet, so you are not the last person on earth, etc., etc.

    Hate to break it to ya, but I am rooting for the Colts, even though I believe Chicago has the better unis. At any rate, can’t wait to see the pic of the Bears’ rosary. Think I should get a Vikings’ rosary for next year?[/quote]

    My best friend in the world has rooted against every team that I have ever loved (she is a bitter, bitter, bitter Philly fan), so I got over sports rivalries a long time ago. No hard feelings.

    If I like the work that the sisters do, I will commission a Vikings one for you. I will likely get a Yankees and a Pens version too. Once the nuns get you supporting their fund raisers, there is no getting away. To wit: I have more afghans, scarves, and pot holders than any 26-year old should own. :P

    [quote comment=”50319″]

    My best friend in the world has rooted against every team that I have ever loved (she is a bitter, bitter, bitter Philly fan), so I got over sports rivalries a long time ago. No hard feelings.

    If I like the work that the sisters do, I will commission a Vikings one for you. I will likely get a Yankees and a Pens version too. Once the nuns get you supporting their fund raisers, there is no getting away. To wit: I have more afghans, scarves, and pot holders than any 26-year old should own. :P[/quote]

    At least you have female friends who like sports. Hey, if it’s for a good cause and you like the work the sisters do, maybe I will ask for rosaries for my favorite teams, though I think the Vikings are beyond help. Can’t wait to see pics of the Bears’ rosary.

    Did anyone else notice the “Buffaslug” logo in the upper left corner of that last pic of the sweater story where the kid “blows his stack?” Maybe there’s a little history behind that thing after all.

    The front page of the tempo in the Chicago Tribune today talks about both team’s uniforms. I haven’t read it yeat, but on the front it has a quote from Paul.

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