Gimme Fives

Paul (and P.J. Mallardi),

Thanks for addressing the patch on the Tennessee hoops uni. That was going to be my first question this morning after seeing a pic of Candace Parker in the McPaper.

While I appreciate schools paying attention to the student part of student-athlete, in today’s era of rampant grade inflation is a GPA of 3.0 really an accomplishment?

link on the set of the George Clooney/Renee Zellweger flick, Leatherheads. I sure hope they aren’t using that ball in shots for the movie. I do not think the swoosh had yet to grace our society in 1925.

[quote comment=”63727″]While I appreciate schools paying attention to the student part of student-athlete, in today’s era of rampant grade inflation is a GPA of 3.0 really an accomplishment?[/quote]
Its been a while since I walked into a college classroom, but I thought that inflated grades and the possibility of having a GPA greater than 4.0 was limited to high schools.

[quote comment=”63736″][quote comment=”63727″]While I appreciate schools paying attention to the student part of student-athlete, in today’s era of rampant grade inflation is a GPA of 3.0 really an accomplishment?[/quote]
Its been a while since I walked into a college classroom, but I thought that inflated grades and the possibility of having a GPA greater than 4.0 was limited to high schools.[/quote]
At my high school you can get a 6.0 GPA. A GPA of 3.0 is equal to a 4.0 at my school (Why you get a 1.0 if you fail, I don’t have a clue). So in order to get the patch you would need to be smarter than a little over half the class. Shouldn’t they make it a little tougher to get that patch on the jersey. For Tennessee’s mens team there wasn’t a time when less than three players had the patch.

“trickiest one for me is this one — love the stripes, hate the color scheme.”

Yeah, that yellow just doesn’t work with the rest of it ;-)

[quote comment=”63734″][quote comment=”63723″]Continuing the Alaska discussion from friday, the midnight sun jerseys do indeed refer to the Midnight Sun Game, played in Fairbanks nearly every year since 1906. It starts at 10 pm and is played completely without artificial lights. link picture is from midnight.

Also, LOADS of players have gone through the league, including Randy Johnson, Dave Winfield, Bret Boone, and you might recognize link (or maybe not, the steriods have changed him quite a bit.)

Finally, Pauls new link also came up to play under the midnight sun. Check out link for a lot more cool pics and history.[/quote]

Not really uni-related but an aesthetic point is that Alaska baseball field. It looks like artificial turf and the infield looks to be colored as if it is made of clay?!?!? with real dirt around the bases. i know they were trying for a more realistic look to the field, but they ended up looking pretty awful.[/quote]
haha yeah, everyone hates it up here. theres been lots of talk about putting real grass in, but its not like the team is loaded with cash

A 3.0 gpa is a “B” average. Considering the schedule of a college athlete, that’s not that bad. Sure, it doesn’t sound as impressive as a 4.0, but be realistic. There aren’t many students who could put up a 4.0 while also going to 2 practices a day plus weight training. And travel.

As far as the HS kid goes, most high schools use the same scoring system as colleges: A=4,B=3..F=0…
BUT, they add some bonus points for Honors or, at my HS, Advanced Placement classes. An A in AP is worth the 6.0, a B is 5.0. Honors only gets one bonus point. So my inflated GPA of 5.2 in High School was the result of a B+ average in the hardest classes. AFAIK, it is intended to separate the GPA’s of an entire class of students. And to reward taking harder courses.

[quote comment=”63754″]I like the link (even though it should say 40th season), but I have only one little problem.

The stripes inside the logo are not long enough and, somehow, didn’t end up as straight vertical lines. :P[/quote]
The patch pretty much matches the Bengal’s helmet design.

[quote comment=”63754″]I like the link (even though it should say 40th season), but I have only one little problem.

The stripes inside the logo are not long enough and, somehow, didn’t end up as straight vertical lines. :P[/quote]
You beat me to it. I thought that they should have something to better represent the players, too.

Paul, what’s messed up about link? If it’s because the #15 on the helmet doesn’t match the #3 on his back, he’s probably just borrowing another helmet.

If it’s because the number is sewn on to a white rectangle and then the whole thing is sewn to the jersey, that’s normal. All Japanese high school teams do this, and I’m pretty sure that national regulations insist that the squares be white even if the jerseys are another color. Shiga prefecture’s leading team, link, has the same situation with their (great-looking) pale blue uniforms, which have never changed ever since baby blue’s heyday in the 1970s. (It’s the color of Lake Biwa, the prefectural symbol.)

These white rectangles are called ‘zekken’ — no one seems to known the etymology of the word — and they’re heavily regulated. Always black printing on a white background, always the same font, and only numbers 1 through 16 for the national tournament. Most importantly, the numbers themselves are basically set in stone. The starting nine wear their positions on their backs (see Matsuzaka’s 1 link in the 17th inning of his legendary 250-pitch CG), the first two backup pitchers are 10 and 11, the backup catcher is 12, and then the other reserves fill out the rest of the numbers.

Players don’t have numbers sewn to their jerseys normally; only the people selected for a given tournament will get the ‘zekken’ on their backs. This means that the typical high school freshman will never get the chance to have a number despite having a uniform, and will dream of someday being issued a single digit, meaning that he’s a starter.

Keep your eye on those high school games if you like stirrup socks as every team wears them. Plenty of good-looking uniform designs too.

[quote comment=”63746″][quote comment=”63736″][quote comment=”63727″]While I appreciate schools paying attention to the student part of student-athlete, in today’s era of rampant grade inflation is a GPA of 3.0 really an accomplishment?[/quote]
Its been a while since I walked into a college classroom, but I thought that inflated grades and the possibility of having a GPA greater than 4.0 was limited to high schools.[/quote]

This is true, and it is nice to see a school place some emphasis on athletes and their grades. There is always the question of whether athletes are graded properly, though.[/quote]

I applied to the University of Tennessee in 1995 (my god that long ago?) and the application was literally multiple choice. I swear to god one of the questions was;

“How well do you thing you will do at UT?”
a. Mostly A’s and B’s
b. Mostly B’s and some C’s
c. Mostly C’s and some D’s
d. More D’s than C’s

And yes smart ass I got in, although I did not attend.

i totally disagree with having the “academic award” patch on the uniform.

first, i totally agree with completing your academic requirements, maintaining the necessary GPA, etc, etc.

and yeah, it is neat to say, wow, its nice to see that “xx” gets good grades!

but if im someone who falls below that standard and i dont get to wear that patch, i feel like shit! because they have a different uniform than me.

i graduated college with over a 3.0. but for the better part of my college career, i was below that. i considered myself a good student, and so did my family, parents, friends, etc.
but i wouldnt have been able to wear that patch for almost all my career. then by playing athletics at tennessee, and my football/M&W basketball teams get national exposure and are on tv all the time, the nation can look at me and judge me because i dont have a patch.

i think its a nice gesture to recognize academic achievement, but not when its at the expense of others.

I was looking for some photos of the Japanese HS BB tournament. I was hoping to find more pics of the pink socks school. (I actually think it might be his own knee brace or something). Anyway, found this link with lots of good pics. Japanese HS ballplyers have a different idea of how to wear a baseball cap.

[quote comment=”63768″]Paul, what’s messed up about link? If it’s because the #15 on the helmet doesn’t match the #3 on his back, he’s probably just borrowing another helmet.

If it’s because the number is sewn on to a white rectangle and then the whole thing is sewn to the jersey, that’s normal. All Japanese high school teams do this, and I’m pretty sure that national regulations insist that the squares be white even if the jerseys are another color. Shiga prefecture’s leading team, link, has the same situation with their (great-looking) pale blue uniforms, which have never changed ever since baby blue’s heyday in the 1970s. (It’s the color of Lake Biwa, the prefectural symbol.)

These white rectangles are called ‘zekken’ — no one seems to known the etymology of the word — and they’re heavily regulated. Always black printing on a white background, always the same font, and only numbers 1 through 16 for the national tournament. Most importantly, the numbers themselves are basically set in stone. The starting nine wear their positions on their backs (see Matsuzaka’s 1 link in the 17th inning of his legendary 250-pitch CG), the first two backup pitchers are 10 and 11, the backup catcher is 12, and then the other reserves fill out the rest of the numbers.

Players don’t have numbers sewn to their jerseys normally; only the people selected for a given tournament will get the ‘zekken’ on their backs. This means that the typical high school freshman will never get the chance to have a number despite having a uniform, and will dream of someday being issued a single digit, meaning that he’s a starter.

Keep your eye on those high school games if you like stirrup socks as every team wears them. Plenty of good-looking uniform designs too.[/quote]

Is is common for Japanese baseball to be played on all dirt infields? Or in the case of some of those pics, all mud infields? Looks like true hops would be few and far between on those fields

Alongside the Joe Rogers article should be Dan Blackburn. I know Paul has mentioned him before due to nerve damage that caused him to wear link.

His comeback attempts were short-lived, though. He last played in 2004-05 for the Victoria Salmon Kings in the ECHL for 12 games.

[quote comment=”63778″]i totally disagree with having the “academic award” patch on the uniform.

first, i totally agree with completing your academic requirements, maintaining the necessary GPA, etc, etc.

and yeah, it is neat to say, wow, its nice to see that “xx” gets good grades!

but if im someone who falls below that standard and i dont get to wear that patch, i feel like shit! because they have a different uniform than me.

i graduated college with over a 3.0. but for the better part of my college career, i was below that. i considered myself a good student, and so did my family, parents, friends, etc.
but i wouldnt have been able to wear that patch for almost all my career. then by playing athletics at tennessee, and my football/M&W basketball teams get national exposure and are on tv all the time, the nation can look at me and judge me because i dont have a patch.

i think its a nice gesture to recognize academic achievement, but not when its at the expense of others.[/quote]

We have a related debate at the school where I teach. Many people want to do away with the “honor roll” (which requires a 3.0 or better, and often includes 60-70% of students) because publishing the names of the people who do well in school is embarrassing to the students who do not do as well and don’t appear in the paper. I guess I just can’t see these patches as “embarrassing” to the people who don’t get to wear them. Embarrassing would be forcing all players to wear a patch with their GPA on it or, instead of an honor roll, publishing all students grades for everyone to see. In my opinion, a 2.75 is nothing to be embarrassed about.

[quote comment=”63781″][quote comment=”63778″]i totally disagree with having the “academic award” patch on the uniform.

first, i totally agree with completing your academic requirements, maintaining the necessary GPA, etc, etc.

and yeah, it is neat to say, wow, its nice to see that “xx” gets good grades!

but if im someone who falls below that standard and i dont get to wear that patch, i feel like shit! because they have a different uniform than me.

i graduated college with over a 3.0. but for the better part of my college career, i was below that. i considered myself a good student, and so did my family, parents, friends, etc.
but i wouldnt have been able to wear that patch for almost all my career. then by playing athletics at tennessee, and my football/M&W basketball teams get national exposure and are on tv all the time, the nation can look at me and judge me because i dont have a patch.

i think its a nice gesture to recognize academic achievement, but not when its at the expense of others.[/quote]

Good logic here. Along the same lines, I suggest that we stop announcing who has won games, since it would probably make the team that didn’t win feel bad.

I mean, every time I say that Florida won the BCS championship, just think about how many teams I am saying didn’t win…[/quote]

your sarcasm compares apples and oranges dude. you dont get it.
im not talking about any of the other teams that compete against them or in the ncaa. im talking about within a team. it shows no solidarity within the team.

using your sarcastic remark, a comparison here would be to say, all players who have a 3.0 or higher get a national title ring, the rest of you get to remain on the team, bust your ass and not get recognized.

guys, im not saying, “dont acknowledge or recognize those who attain outstanding academic achievement”. i totally think more of an emphasis needs to be placed on the STUDENT part of student-athlete.
all i’m saying is to do it on the uniform of the sports team is the wrong place for this recognition.

I agree with most of you guys that while it’s great that UT is doing that, an average 3.0 student at UT would not be considered a “scholar” by any means. Slightly above average would be generous. Why a 3.0 athlete is by any means more of an accomplishment is just giving the athletes more of an excuse than they already have.

Not to mention, with the increase of online classes available in colleges across the country, it’s not unrealistic for these guys to not have any actual classes to attend. At my school, the Dean’s List doesn’t start until 3.5. But the athletic teams like to brag about how many 3.0 students they each have. Half the school has a 3.0!

Rant over…

[quote comment=”63805″]I agree with most of you guys that while it’s great that UT is doing that, an average 3.0 student at UT would not be considered a “scholar” by any means. Slightly above average would be generous. Why a 3.0 athlete is by any means more of an accomplishment is just giving the athletes more of an excuse than they already have.

Not to mention, with the increase of online classes available in colleges across the country, it’s not unrealistic for these guys to not have any actual classes to attend. At my school, the Dean’s List doesn’t start until 3.5. But the athletic teams like to brag about how many 3.0 students they each have. Half the school has a 3.0!

Rant over…[/quote]

I see what you mean. In reality, shouldn’t other students have stuff going on that could interfere with their studies? In college, I was a volunteer EMT, a newspaper photog, and a radio DJ, and I was expected to perform at a high level (I didn’t, but that’s another story lol). While 3.0 is good, it does lower the bar a bit. If they want to have the bar lowered a little, they should at least do the equivalent of an A- (3.33 or something, it’s been a while) to qualify for a patch. Seems like a fair compromise.

[quote comment=”63801″][quote comment=”63796″]On a unrelated note, on ESPN I’ve noticed an ad for ESPN Fantasy Baseball. Featuring John Kruk and Peter Gammons singing in a rock band. But I noticed that John Kruk was covered in tattoos, I had no idea he had any. Unless he got them for the comericial. Anyone got any info on this one?[/quote]

I think the basis of the commercial is that Kruk looks sometimes undistinguishably like rock star(?) Meat Loaf, so the tattooes were probably added to aid the idea of the commercial.[/quote]

I’m like 97% sure the tats are fake, but then again, it’s John Kruk, so I guess you never know. I love that commercial, though, with Arroyo on guitar, Sheffield on drums, and some Cleveland Indian I didn’t recognize on link.

[quote comment=”63754″]I like the link (even though it should say 40th season), but I have only one little problem.

The stripes inside the logo are not long enough and, somehow, didn’t end up as straight vertical lines. :P[/quote]

Hater! :-( I love my Bengals, but it’s really out of hand…

On last night’s “To Catch a Predator” (or, “To Catch an Identity Thief), Chris Hansen was wearing a home Detroit Tigers cap.

[quote comment=”63816″][quote comment=”63801″][quote comment=”63796″]On a unrelated note, on ESPN I’ve noticed an ad for ESPN Fantasy Baseball. Featuring John Kruk and Peter Gammons singing in a rock band. But I noticed that John Kruk was covered in tattoos, I had no idea he had any. Unless he got them for the comericial. Anyone got any info on this one?[/quote]

I think the basis of the commercial is that Kruk looks sometimes undistinguishably like rock star(?) Meat Loaf, so the tattooes were probably added to aid the idea of the commercial.[/quote]

I’m like 97% sure the tats are fake, but then again, it’s John Kruk, so I guess you never know. I love that commercial, though, with Arroyo on guitar, Sheffield on drums, and some Cleveland Indian I didn’t recognize on link.[/quote]
And the commercial finishes with Rush lead singer/bass player Geddy Lee, who is a HUGE baseball fan…nice touch.

[quote comment=”63778″]i totally disagree with having the “academic award” patch on the uniform.

first, i totally agree with completing your academic requirements, maintaining the necessary GPA, etc, etc.

and yeah, it is neat to say, wow, its nice to see that “xx” gets good grades!

but if im someone who falls below that standard and i dont get to wear that patch, i feel like shit! because they have a different uniform than me.

i graduated college with over a 3.0. but for the better part of my college career, i was below that. i considered myself a good student, and so did my family, parents, friends, etc.
but i wouldnt have been able to wear that patch for almost all my career. then by playing athletics at tennessee, and my football/M&W basketball teams get national exposure and are on tv all the time, the nation can look at me and judge me because i dont have a patch.

i think its a nice gesture to recognize academic achievement, but not when its at the expense of others.[/quote]

Then how do you feel about the helmet stickers that reward on the field achievements? Don’t they ruin solidarity of the team?

-Steve!

[quote comment=”63799″]but, i wouldn’t instantly think that someone is dumb b/c they don’t have a patch on their jersey. a 3.0 gpa isn’t easy, whether you play sports or not. i see myself as pretty smart, but i have almost no way to graduate from college with a 3.0 gpa.(then again its no easy feat here at Case Western, Paul should know where it is) Speaking of which, our wrestling team won the academic national title. do this make every other team in D3 feel dumb? i doubt it. i think the patch is a much better reward than the helmet stickers of football.[/quote]

We have a THIRD Case-affilliated person here!?

Wow. (Class of ’99)

[quote comment=”63843″]Way out of left field on this post, but if link had their shirts tucked in, their unis would be amazing.[/quote]

We like them way out of left field around here!

[quote comment=”63834″][quote comment=”63778″]i totally disagree with having the “academic award” patch on the uniform.

first, i totally agree with completing your academic requirements, maintaining the necessary GPA, etc, etc.

and yeah, it is neat to say, wow, its nice to see that “xx” gets good grades!

but if im someone who falls below that standard and i dont get to wear that patch, i feel like shit! because they have a different uniform than me.

i graduated college with over a 3.0. but for the better part of my college career, i was below that. i considered myself a good student, and so did my family, parents, friends, etc.
but i wouldnt have been able to wear that patch for almost all my career. then by playing athletics at tennessee, and my football/M&W basketball teams get national exposure and are on tv all the time, the nation can look at me and judge me because i dont have a patch.

i think its a nice gesture to recognize academic achievement, but not when its at the expense of others.[/quote]

Then how do you feel about the helmet stickers that reward on the field achievements? Don’t they ruin solidarity of the team?

-Steve![/quote]

the helmet stickers are given with a specific criteria in place designed by the coaching staff of the team. it recognizes individual on field achievement while wearing the uniform… it does not recognize an out of uniform accomplishment.

[quote comment=”63849″][quote comment=”63834″][quote comment=”63778″]i totally disagree with having the “academic award” patch on the uniform.

first, i totally agree with completing your academic requirements, maintaining the necessary GPA, etc, etc.

and yeah, it is neat to say, wow, its nice to see that “xx” gets good grades!

but if im someone who falls below that standard and i dont get to wear that patch, i feel like shit! because they have a different uniform than me.

i graduated college with over a 3.0. but for the better part of my college career, i was below that. i considered myself a good student, and so did my family, parents, friends, etc.
but i wouldnt have been able to wear that patch for almost all my career. then by playing athletics at tennessee, and my football/M&W basketball teams get national exposure and are on tv all the time, the nation can look at me and judge me because i dont have a patch.

i think its a nice gesture to recognize academic achievement, but not when its at the expense of others.[/quote]

Then how do you feel about the helmet stickers that reward on the field achievements? Don’t they ruin solidarity of the team?

-Steve![/quote]

the helmet stickers are given with a specific criteria in place designed by the coaching staff of the team. it recognizes individual on field achievement while wearing the uniform… it does not recognize an out of uniform accomplishment.[/quote]

You have changed your logic here. First you claimed that you don’t like the patch because of how it would negatively affect those not good enough to get one.

Now it seems to be about something else. According to your original logic, helmet stickers should be eliminated because it might make the lesser players feel bad.

if i play football, i wear a football uniform for my team. if i play basketball, i wear a basketball uniform for my team, etc.

it is for the purpose of identifying me as a member of a team while playing a sport.

i have no problem with accomplishment rewards (ie helmet stickers) when they recognize me for performance in the area for which i am wearing the uniform in the first place!

how i do in my classes has everything to with being a college student and whether i am eligible to even wear a football uniform. but it has nothing to do with what my football uniform looks like.

[quote comment=”63859″]

Come on – the best part is at the end – Geddy Lee of Rush![/quote]
Honest to God, I thought that was Eric Karabell dressed up as Geddy Lee.[/quote]

Rush tickets go on sale saturday for Nissan Pavilion!!!

[quote comment=”63864″]if i play football, i wear a football uniform for my team. if i play basketball, i wear a basketball uniform for my team, etc.

it is for the purpose of identifying me as a member of a team while playing a sport.

i have no problem with accomplishment rewards (ie helmet stickers) when they recognize me for performance in the area for which i am wearing the uniform in the first place!

how i do in my classes has everything to with being a college student and whether i am eligible to even wear a football uniform. but it has nothing to do with what my football uniform looks like.[/quote]

I’ve been following this all day to this point, and Todd, while I understand your argument, I just can’t agree with it. These players are student-athletes and I see no problem with recognizing their academic achievements in the athletic venue. If the others on the team feel disheartened because they don’t get to wear an academic sticker/patch that others on the team do, it seems to me that they should be that much more inspired to focus on their studies as they do on their basketball/football/baseball careers. I think that recognizing an athlete’s achievements off the field, especially today when so many high school athletes are more inclined to do a ‘one and done’ (i.e. pull an Oden/Durant and attend one year of school before jumping to the big league), is especially important. I wish more teams would do something like this. Perhaps Ohio State would graduate more than 10% of it’s basketball players if their grades were little more transparent.

What do you guys think about white people wearing Negro Leagues/Black Fives merchandise? I think some of it looks very cool, but I worry that it might look inappropriate somehow on a red-headed white girl. I’m pretty bleeding-heart, though, so I’m almost certainly overanalyzing it.

[quote comment=”63869″][quote comment=”63799″]

We have a THIRD Case-affilliated person here!?

Wow. (Class of ’99)[/quote]

Class of ’09[/quote]

How frightening! 0=)

Check out my website and send an e-mail and let me know which profs you have. See if my profs are still there (I know some are).

[quote comment=”63885″]What do you guys think about white people wearing Negro Leagues/Black Fives merchandise? I think some of it looks very cool, but I worry that it might look inappropriate somehow on a red-headed white girl. I’m pretty bleeding-heart, though, so I’m almost certainly overanalyzing it.[/quote]
That’s a debate I wouldn’t mind hopping on. I think the only prerequisite for wearing that merch is that you have an idea about the league or team you’re wearing. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with “I think it looks cool, so I wore it” for a reason to wear it. But, I think you will undoubtedly get some questions from someone who recognizes what you’re wearing.

A few points on the UT patch discussion:

– I tried to find their grade distributions online this morning but failed in the few minutes I poked around. I did learn that they don’t give minuses. Thus grades are: A(4) B+(3.5) B(3) C+(2.5), etc.

– Secondly, while I respect that student-athletes put a ton of time into their sport I fail to see why we should shower them with accolades for essentially being average students. After all students-athletes ROUTINELY get private tutoring, special study spaces, help choosing classes and private study spaces. No such amenities are available for students involved in just as time consuming endeavors. In college I was in a marching band that rehearsed 8+ hours/wk and traveled with the team and a pep band that rehearsed less frequently but attended the games of 6-8 teams on campus and traveled to road hockey games.

-I’d like to see a patch or other designation for legitimate scholarship, perhaps across the country. It would help the image that many athletes are dumb jocks who don’t belong at these schools… or maybe it would hurt it more! And I couldn’t care less about embarrassing those who don’t make the cut, especially if it is designed to recognize the truly deserving.

– This whole discussion raises interesting questions about how the NCAA is now tying scholarships to academic performance (see OSU and Texas trying to keep Durant and Oden in class so they don’t get penalized for them dropping out mid-semester). These patches are almost like UT’s way of proving they have guys on the team keeping up the team GPA and not risking the future of the program.

Finally, in unrelated but more uni-related news, the UND Fighting Sioux (banes of the NCAA’s existence) will be in St. Louis at the Frozen Four next week and likely showing off their link on national tv.

[quote comment=”63885″]What do you guys think about white people wearing Negro Leagues/Black Fives merchandise? I think some of it looks very cool, but I worry that it might look inappropriate somehow on a red-headed white girl. I’m pretty bleeding-heart, though, so I’m almost certainly overanalyzing it.[/quote]

Its not a black or white thing. If I buy a book about Renaissance art does it mean I have to be Italian-American? Its just art, or in this case, culture.

Dear Uni-Watch,

Thank you for your thoughtful and well-researched blog entry about my business, Black Fives, Inc. (nicely entitled, “Gimme Fives”).

When I started this business in the 1990s, it was purely for the pursuit of knowledge that I felt others would also enjoy as much as I did. I was living in Brooklyn at the time and I felt it would be very cool to walk around in a tee shirt that said link on the front.

I have since learned that my passion and mission in life is to teach, train, and inspire others towards being, having, and doing all that they have ever dreamed.

So I researched and wrote and spoke about the history. My research is impeccable, and I can say without hesitation that my website is the most informative in existence, of any company selling sports, fashion, footwear, or vintage merchandise. Students visit my site every day to study for research papers and essays.

Eventually during the retro jersey craze I wondered if I could package this information (and accompanying logos and trademarks) into something of interest for a potential licensee. Mitchell & Ness considered it, but backed away citing that their plate was too full and that they didn’t know how to market such a new and unheard-of genre.

So I did it on my own. I am proud of what I was able to accomplish on my own without a backer, without a rap artist partner, without an advertising and marketing campaign, with little money, with no prior experience in production or importing, with no previous trips to Asia, with unsecured receivables … it took a lot, but I was determined. I created a line of jerseys and related gear, which made it into over 250 stores nationwide. Each jersey had its own collectible trading card hangtag that included the history of that particular team. I got a significant amount of resistance to this hangtag. The owner of one retailer in particular, a Chicago-based hip-hop clothing chain called The Lark, insisted, “black kids don’t read.” The Lark went out of business. Black Fives is still here. In a similar stand, SLAM Magazine refused to write about the Black Fives Era, citing that its readers were not intelligent enough to understand this history.

Nevertheless, I got massive media and editorial coverage, including articles in Sports Illustrated, The Source, ESPN the Magazi

[quote comment=”63902″][quote comment=”63789″]Alongside the Joe Rogers article should be Dan Blackburn.[/quote]

Teebz, my University of Michigan hockey knowledge is suspect at best, but I seem to remember a goalie named Dan Blackburn playing at Yost not too long ago. Is that the same one?[/quote]

The goalie at Michigan was Josh Blackburn. Dan Blackburn played for the Kootenay Ice of the WHL in the Canadian Junior Hockey League.

Josh is was a 5th-round pick of the Phoenix Coyotes in the 1998 Entry Draft. He retired in 2005 from hockey at the age of 26 after spending the season with the Central Hckey League’s Corpus Christi Rayz. He retired when he and his wife welcomed their first child. He currently lives in Michigan where his wife works as an aeronautical engineer.

In October of 2001, Blackburn appeared in an outdoor game at Michigan State in front of a world record crowd of 74,554, opposite current NHL star and Barney Rubble Hairpieces’ goalie Ryan Miller.

[quote comment=”63910″]
Josh is was a 5th-round pick of the Phoenix[/quote]

That is was should have had a / between them. Poor grammar… I am ashamed.

Thank you, Teebz. I knew I remembered a Blackburn, but I couldn’t remember his first name.

I think after Michigan’s rollercoaster adventures with Billy Sauer this season, I’m trying to fondly remember Blackburn’s time in Ann Arbor.

[quote comment=”63875″][quote comment=”63796″]On a unrelated note, on ESPN I’ve noticed an ad for ESPN Fantasy Baseball. Featuring John Kruk and Peter Gammons singing in a rock band. But I noticed that John Kruk was covered in tattoos, I had no idea he had any. Unless he got them for the comericial. Anyone got any info on this one?[/quote]

David, can you link to this ad or tell me how to find it (or anybody else who has seen it)? I am sure it’s totally obvious, but I am brain-fried today.

Teebz, I have no female friends who have the slightest interest in sports, let alone unis. That’s why I post here![/quote]

Here you go! Enjoy.

link

I’m still confused if they are fake or real. If we could get a photo of Kruky with shortselves on we could figure it out.

[quote comment=”63836″][quote comment=”63816″][quote comment=”63801″][quote comment=”63796″]On a unrelated note, on ESPN I’ve noticed an ad for ESPN Fantasy Baseball. Featuring John Kruk and Peter Gammons singing in a rock band. But I noticed that John Kruk was covered in tattoos, I had no idea he had any. Unless he got them for the comericial. Anyone got any info on this one?[/quote]

I think the basis of the commercial is that Kruk looks sometimes undistinguishably like rock star(?) Meat Loaf, so the tattooes were probably added to aid the idea of the commercial.[/quote]

I’m like 97% sure the tats are fake, but then again, it’s John Kruk, so I guess you never know. I love that commercial, though, with Arroyo on guitar, Sheffield on drums, and some Cleveland Indian I didn’t recognize on link.[/quote]

Come on – the best part is at the end – Geddy Lee of Rush![/quote]

My bad — I was so busy looking for a keytar pic that I forgot all about Geddy! A thousand apologies.

Is anyone going to watch the USMNT game tonight? they’re wearing the pinstriped third jerseys today if im not mistaken.

Damn!

Did anyone notice the Cards wearing their link with the road unis today?
I hope that is a sign of things to come.

Gotta disagree a little bit on Paul’s baseball myths 1 and 4.

Myth 1 – A long AB has all sorts of benefits. Here’s what Lou Pinella has to say about them:

“We’ve talked to our catchers about getting them out on three or four pitches instead of working the count. Not too many good things can come from long counts. First of all, you’re letting the hitters see all your pitches. Second of all, your infielders aren’t going to be as attentive and they’re not going to make as many good plays. Third of all, you have pitch counts and these guys will be out of the game sooner than you’d like to see them […] the manager’s not going to be very pleased.”

I’d rather have a 1st pitch double than a 10th pitch groundout, but I’d also rather have a 10th pitch groundout than a 1st pitch groundout.

Myth 4 – Batting average is inadequate in capturing the affect a “smart hitting” pitcher can have. One thing that both Glavine and Maddux do well is bunt. Looking at a “sacrifice hit average” (let’s say its (SH+SF)/PA), Rey Ordoñez has a SHA of .027. Maddux’s is .100, and Glavine’s is .132. So if Maddux or Glavine are coming up in a situation where it makes sense to have a sacrifice hit, the entire defense needs to be more on alert. If you look at the link, you see that Glavine and Maddux are in there.

us mens soccer team is wearing the blue pinstriped jersey with white shorts tonight against Guatemala. It goes better with the top than the blue shorts. I’m just still not sold on them. Looks sloppy when untucked.

The white shorts is a huge improvement. I like it.

USA soccer uni’s link in this combo!

Also, thanks for chiming in, Claude. I almost want to shell out for some link (love that liner).

Two teams in Japan use all dirt infields and both play in the Central League.

One is the one mentioned before: Koshien Stadium, home to the big high school tournament as well as the home to the Hanshin Tigers.

Hiroshima Municipal Stadium, home of the Carp, also has an all-dirt infield.

Koshien keeps the field as all dirt mainly because of tradition. Since Japan gets a lot of rain, it was easier to get a field to drain if it didn’t have grass. And it was also cheaper to maintain. Nearly every Japanese stadium had all dirt fields until the 1970s when artificial turf hit the scene and most fields in Japan have it. At Koshien and Hiroshima, there is a fairly long break midway through the game when the grounds crew comes out and really reworks the field. The dirt at Koshien is a big deal and the high school players in the tournament will take home samples of the dirt.

Only Koshien and Hiroshima Municipal have grass now.

The Nippon Ham Fighters play in the Sapporo Dome, which has a retractable field. The baseball team plays on artifical turf, but when the local soccer team plays, a big field of grass is rolled in and the stadium is reconfigured.

Until 2004, the home stadium for the Orix Blue Wave in Kobe had a grass field that resembled a North American field. But then Orix merged with the Kintetsu Buffaloes and became the Orix Buffaloes and now play in the rather unattractive Kyocera Dome in Osaka.

One addition to Wes’s comment — nearly all amateur teams play on all-dirt infields. It’s a bit hard to get used to, since you can’t position yourself using the lip where the dirt would meet the grass, but I think the groundskeeping is indeed easier, especially since a lot of these fields are in use 8-10 hours a day.

Amateur teams also sport some nice uniforms — they really go all out with the quality.

REGARDING THE BLACK FIVES MERCHANDISE:

First, it is a VERY GOOD THING that Claude Johnson and his company, THE BLACK FIVES, has made the effort at producing jerseys of older basketball teams that would not have been available to anyone without his efforts. The items offered by his company expand and make available jerseys, jackets, and other items that would not be available to anyone if not made by his company. Further, in making these items available he offers detailed histories of the teams, players and era that would not be readily available anywhere else but for his efforts.

Second, while I too would like Throwback jerseys and other items made available in authentic, historically accurate materials, such as real durene jerseys, the fact is that it is too onerous to expect this from each company that makes these items. In fact, I am very willing to cut slack on a smaller company, like Black Fives -who in some cases makes a “run” of only 12 jerseys for a particular team – and are much more affordable, when their materials are no worse than the pathetic efforts of the much the larger Mitchell & Ness when it comes to football jersey materials, at $300.00 plus a jersey with hundreds manufactured !!! Just look at the pathetic AFL Chargers/Altworth jerseys put out by M&N in poly knit materials – they easily could have done it right and cheaply chose not to.

Third and lastly, the founder of Black Fives found a passion, early African American basketball history, and stepped up to try to spread the word as well as the fashion. So its not perfect, What is. The guy is a real Mensch for making the effort. When one of US hits the Lottery and still sells cheap stuff, then you can complain.

SPEAKING OF HISTORY, I’m in a sporting goods store in New Orleans looking at jerseys. a young rapper type is in the store with his posse and is buying jerseys, holding a wad of bills of at least $5,000.00. I am near him when he points up to a St. Louis Stars baseball jersey, and he asks out loud where it is from. I say to him that it was from the Negro Leagues, and I immediately offend the posse, who surround me while Mr. $5,000.00 gets in my face ready to throw down, all offended.

It took my explaining for five minutes and three employees agreeing with me to convince them that there actually was a real baseball league referred to as the “Negro Leagues” and that I was not trying to make it up just to use the word “Negro” out loud to “dis” him.

[quote comment=”64007″]USA soccer uni’s link in this combo!

Also, thanks for chiming in, Claude. I almost want to shell out for some link (love that liner).[/quote]

Thanks. The liner is inspired by old-school basketball knee pads.

[quote comment=”63782″]
Is is common for Japanese baseball to be played on all dirt infields? Or in the case of some of those pics, all mud infields? Looks like true hops would be few and far between on those fields[/quote]

Actually, when I was living there in 2003, all the baseball fields in my town had dirt infields and outfields. The public soccer fields were the same way. Japan is generally more resource-conscious than North Americans and that is reflected in choosing not to use a lot of water on grass sports fields. Even NPB (Japanese Major League) teams play on dirt infields. All the stadia in Japan except for Yokohama also use artificial turf outfields.