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Uni Watch Profiles: Conor Clougherty

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Conor Clougherty works for Honig’s, a company that specializes in uniforms for umps, refs, and other sports officials. He’s also a big Uni Watch fan, so we recently spent some time going over some of the finer points of officiating attire. Read and learn:

Uni Watch: What is your job there at Honig’s and how long have you worked there?

Conor Clougherty: I graduated from North Carolina State in December of 2005. My parents had started this distributorship out of Raleigh about six years ago…

UW: For all sporting goods, or just for officials?

CC: Strictly for officials — baseball, basketball, football, lacrosse, wrestling, soccer. Any sports that have officials, we sell their uniforms.

UW: So this distributorship that your parents run — that’s not Honig’s, right?

CC: Right. Honig’s was started by a gentleman named Dick Honig. He’s out of Ann Arbor, Michigan. He was a Big 10 football official, and also officiated collegiate basketball. He knew my father, who was an NCAA basketball official too…

UW: Ah, so this is in your blood.

CC: Yes. My brother is a basketball official for the SEC, Big East, Conference USA. And now my father is a supervisor of officials for the ACC. So we’ve kinda been in the profession.

UW: What’s it like having a ref for a dad? Was he really strict?

CC: Nah, it wasn’t like that. It was really cool, because I got to see him on TV, and he took me to a bunch of games. For a few years I got to be a ballboy for the ACC tournament — one of those kids who wipes up the sweat. It was a great experience.

UW: So he didn’t, like, bring a whistle to the dinner table.

CC: No, and he didn’t make me do push-ups or anything like that.

UW: What about you? Have you officiated?

CC: Yes. When I graduated from NC State, I started immediately with high school football. This fall will be my third season.

UW: Which position are you?

CC: Back judge. I’m the guy in the way back, making the pass interference calls.

UW: Now at Honig’s, you do sales, right?

CC: Yes. See, Dick Honig and my dad knew each other, and I guess his sales were a little slow in the mid-Atlantic region, and so that’s how my father got started with this distributorship, to help out Dick Honig. So customers call, place orders. If you were going to, say, officiate basketball, you’d give us a call, or place an order from our catalog, and we’d outfit you with your stripes. We also have some walk-in business, from local guys.

UW: So you’re dealing directly with officials, not with retailers.

CC: Right. This office is just three people — my mom, my brother, and me.

UW: Are there lots of other companies that specialize in officials’ attire?

CC: Yeah, a few. You might have heard of Cliff Keen, although they also do a lot of team uniforms, and there’s also Gerry Davis. Those two and us are probably the three biggest in terms of officiating uniforms.

UW: What sorts of specific needs do officials have that the rest of us might not think about?

CC: Well, the big thing now is all these wicking fabrics. You saw that the NFL officials had new uniforms last season…
UW: Yeah, I was gonna ask you about that.

CC: That material is one of those high-performance wicking fabrics. We try to provide the same type of materials.

UW: So what was the reaction, in your office or in the industry at large, when the NFL came out with that proprietary stripe pattern?

CC: Some guys prefer the traditional look. Me, it kinda grew on me. I liked it when they put the NFL logo on the hat a few years back, too. I was not a fan of the cold-weather black pants, however. I just didn’t think it looked good. When I think of football officials, I think of knickers with striped socks. I don’t really understand why they went to that design. I mean, I’ve never officiated in Green Bay, but I don’t think my legs would be the problem in cold weather.

UW: Speaking of the black and white stripes, aside from the new NFL pattern, are the stripes pretty much the same for all sports? Or are they thicker for this sport and thinner for that one and so on?

CC: It’s pretty much the same. When we sell a lacrosse shirt, it’s the same exact shirt we sell for football. Now, the NFL, before they switched to the new design, they had a two-inch stripe — theirs was always wider than college. For college football, college and high school basketball, and most other sports, it’s a one-inch stripe.

UW: How come college basketball refs wear the stripes and the NBA refs don’t?

CC: I do not know. Actually, high school basketball officials in Maryland use gray shirts, like in the NBA.

UW: Really!

CC: And North Carolina has just gone to gray as well. College has gone back and forth several times, but I don’t know why. Now, wrestling and basketball use a V-neck; football and lacrosse still use the collar. Basketball switched from the collar to the V-neck I think in the late ’90s.

UW: I was looking at your web site, and I saw that some of the whistles that you sell have these padded or cushioned mouthpieces. Is that because your lips could get chapped, or you could chip your teeth, or what?

CC: If it’s just a hard plastic or metal whistle, you can chip your teeth when you bite down.

UW: Is that a new innovation?

CC: No, that’s been around for a while. I personally use the cushioned whistle myself.

UW: What are these green and red wrestling wristbands?

CC: Uh-oh. See, I’m a bad sales rep, ’cause I don’t know anything about wrestling.

UW: I wasn’t looking to stump you or anything.

CC: You know, honestly, I don’t have any idea. [Conor later wrote back in an e-mail: “The red and green wrestling wristbands are for the points for each match. I’m not sure how the point system works though.” — PL]

UW: What about this product called the Ultimate Belt? What’s that all about?

CC: That’s for a tailored look. Basketball officials, they wear Sansabelt pants, which means there’s no belt. So if they wear the Ultimate Belt [inside their pants waistband], all it does is just hold the shirt down.

UW: So does it go through the shirt or what?

CC: You would wear it below your waistline.

UW: Inside the pants.

CC: Right, inside the pants. Then you pull your trousers up over it. And whereas a regular belt would help keep your shirttail in while you’re running up and down the court, this keeps your shirt tucked in from the inside.

UW: So it’s sort of like sock garters for your shirt [actually not a very good analogy, but it’s what came to mind at the time — PL].

CC: Exactly. And we sell sock garters too!

UW: So it sorta goes around your hips.

CC: Right. And if I go to, like, formal outings, like a wedding or something where I have to wear a tuxedo, I’ll wear that Ultimate Belt.

UW [incredulous]: Really?!

CC: Yeah. Basically, if I want to look nice — which isn’t very often — or any situation where I want to make sure my shirttail stay in, I’ll wear the Ultimate Belt.

UW: Hmmm, so do you think sports officials look even better than the average person at formal occasions because they have access to this product?

CC: If they’re using the Ultimate Belt, they will look better, yes. If you don’t have your shirts tailored, it gives you that tailored look.

UW: I also liked the volleyball official’s net height measuring chain.

CC: Yeah, that’s just a little chain-style ruler, so they can make sure the net is regulation height.

UW: You know, speaking of chains, the chain gang at an NFL game is usually comprised of local college officials, and the college chain gangs are usually staffed by local high school officials, right?

CC: Yes. For NC State and the Duke games, our local high school association does the chains for them.

UW: So have you ever done that for one of the NCAA games?

CC: Yes, I did the chains for the UNC/Boston College game two years ago.

UW: And what did you wear for that?

CC: You wear your knickers and socks, and they provide you with a vest with the name of the conference, and they give you a hat.

UW: And did you have any occasions to trot out onto the field to do a measurement?

CC: I wasn’t working one of the stakes. I was working one of the alternate markers on the other side of the field.

UW: Were you wishing you were working the stakes? That’s always kind of a dramatic moment when they stretch the chains, y’know?

CC: It would’ve been cool to run out onto the field to do a measurement, but I think I was a little too young for that responsibility.

UW: Now, as a football official, one of the coolest things, I’d imagine, is that you get to throw the flag.

CC: Absolutely.

UW: Do you practice that?

CC: Oh, yeah. Like, there’s different types of tosses for different types of penalties. There’s penalties where the enforcement is from the spot of the foul, so you have to throw it on the spot. But let’s say I’m on the sideline and there’s something that I consider to be unsportsmanlike conduct, you just throw it as high as you possibly can.

UW: And you practice all of these.

CC: Well, it’s pretty easy.

UW: But you must have practiced them at some point.

CC: Well…

UW: I bet it feels a little dorky to be out there by yourself on an open field practicing your flag throws, doesn’t it?

CC: Well, if you grow up in an officiating family, you’re pretty much around that stuff your whole life.

UW: And be honest with me here: Have you practiced your penalty calls in front of a mirror?

CC: Definitely. And any official who tells you he hasn’t done that is lying. It’s like in baseball, where the umpires all have their signature strikeout calls.

UW: But you can’t really distinguish yourself quite so much with football calls, especially if you’re the back judge.

CC: Yeah, the white hat [the referee] gets more camera time.

UW: Do you hope to be a referee one day?

CC: Eventually, yeah. A lot of times you have to be an official a long time before you can do that, but now a lot of young guys are white hats as well. But back judge is my favorite position — you can see the whole field.

UW: I notice you don’t even like to say the word referee — you just say white hat.

CC: White hat, that’s what we call him, white hat. All the officials I’ve ever talked to, that’s how you refer to him.

UW: Now, the white hat gets to signal the penalties, so what hand signals do you get to make? You get to signal incomplete pass, or out of bounds…

CC: Right, or waving my hands above my head to stop the clock.

UW: And you’ve practiced all of these in front of a mirror too, right?

CC: Oh, yeah. And we wind the clock — like on a kickoff, me and white hat are in the back, and as soon as the receiving team touches the ball in bounds, we wind the clock. Also, as the back judge, I’m in charge of counting the defense to make sure they have 11 men on the field. And we signal with a closed fist to the head linesman and the line judge that yes, they have 11. If there’s 12 men on the field, I’ll give a thumbs up, indicating that there’s one extra player. Or if they only have 10 on the field, which isn’t a penalty, I’ll give a thumbs down.

UW: Has anyone ever made the rookie mistake of doing clock-winding motion counter-clockwise?

CC [sounding as if he’s never thought of this before]: Hmmm…

UW: I mean, that’s something they must tell you right from the start, right? You can’t just wind it — you have to wind it the right way!

CC: We go over all that stuff in these clinics in July, where we go over rules, rule changes, all of that. And I’ve noticed that a first-year football official has no idea how to wear his uniform, what to wear, they’re coming out for their first scrimmages and they don’t know how to wear the socks, they don’t know how to pull the knickers up properly. So I’ve actually considered giving a uniform clinic — this is how you wear your hat, how you tuck your shirt in, and so on.

UW: Do you think you could maybe conduct a similar clinic for Major League Baseball players?

CC: They’re their own breed.

UW: What’s your favorite piece of the uniform? Probably the Ultimate Belt, right?

CC: I like the striped socks, and I’m not just saying that for you.

UW: Now, as all good Uni Watch readers know, high school and football officials wear socks with three white stripes, and but NFL officials’ socks have only two white stripes.

CC: Yeah, I don’t know why there’s that difference. I like the three-stripe myself.

UW: Maybe it was another case of the NFL trying to have a distinct design. Any other part of the uniform that you particularly like?

CC: I like the striped hat, the black hat with the white stripes. I think they look really good.

UW: But if you eventually get to be the white hat, you won’t get to wear that anymore.

CC: I’d be willing to give it up in that case.

———

Keen sense of priorities there. Big thanks to Conor for sharing his time and his expertise — much appreciated.

Uni Watch News Ticker: Lots of stuff you may have missed from Wednesday night’s comments (just getting around to them now because I missed them myself): An Indianapolis Star writer is lobbying to have names put on the back of IU hoops jerseys; there are some video shots of what the new Chargers, Gamecocks, and Oregon State unis might look like in action (here’s one more Oregon State shot); and the last question in this Q&A session finds Justin Verlander explaining why he wears No. 35. … Jeremy Brahm reports that the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters will have special uniforms for their August 17th-19th home series. … The Major League Lacrosse All-Star Game will feature camouflage jerseys to support the Wounded Warrior Project, a charity for severely injured military personnel and their families. Details here. … The St. Paul Saints recently had a great Negro Leagues throwback night. Instead of wearing an old uniform, the players wore lots of old uniforms. Full photo gallery here. … “I was just looking at the Australian Football League’s home page and this is their ‘Heritage Week,’ ” writes Jeremy Brahm. ” They have a display on the 22 worst football cards of the 1970s. They also have information on the throwbacks the teams will be wearing, and here‘s a story about the Adelaide Crows’ special jersey.” … There’s logo creep, and then there’s full-on logo assault (good find by Chris Flinn). … “Toffs is basically the Mitchell & Ness of soccer/football vintage jerseys,” says Peter Ripberger. “Lots of cool stuff.” Indeed. … Latest evidence that the Giants’ equipment staff is among the worst in the bigs: Pitcher Scott Atchison was called up on Wednesday morning but as of Thursday night still had no name on his road jersey, and no Rod Beck memorial patch, either. … Here‘s how the new Premier League logo fits on the shirt badges, as modeled by Fernando Torres (with thanks to Brian from Short Island). … Scotland has unveiled its Rugby World Cup jersey (courtesy of Eric Bangeman). … Reprinted from last night’s comments: Now that’s a uniform.

 
  
 
Comments (115)

    Oregon State’s new unis are hilarious. They look like black uniforms with orange bikini tops over them. All for bikini tops, but on the cheerleaders, not the players!

    “The red and green wrestling wristbands are for the points for each match. I’m not sure how the point system works though.”

    In American amateur wrestling (high school and college), each wrestler puts on either a red or a green ankle band before the start of the match. When a wrestler scores points during the match, the referee holds up fingers corresponding to the number of points, using the arm with the wristband matching the wrestler scoring points (if the red wrestler scores a one-point takedown, the referee holds up whichever arm he is wearing the red wristband on, with one finger up).

    They use the red-green system because the wrestlers wear their school colors on their singlets. It also matches up to the scoreboards used, whether electronic or vinyl flip card.

    In the Olympics, the wrestlers wear either a red singlet or a blue one, and the referee wears red and blue wristbands.

    [quote comment=”114461″]Paul, what’s the context for the Lillian Lee link?[/quote]

    According to the caption: “July 17, 1908. Actors field day benefit for the New York Home for Destitute Crippled Children. Lillian Lee at the Polo Grounds ‘as first base.'”

    Thanks for presenting the officials side of the uni story. As a baseball umpire I’m always looking to find the best way to present myself in my uniform. I think that you would get a hoot out of all the different items that we can use.

    With the ultimate belt, Honigs has started putting this type of thing into the pants to start with. They have a couple strips of rubber running around the waist band to hold in the shirt. It mostly to not allow the shirt to rise and untuck while moving.

    Another thing you might like is the different pant options that we have. We can use plate pants that have bigger legs, almost bellbottomish so our shinguards fit under without being tight. These pants also have more room in the crotch and also have an extra layer of material in the seat for moisture control and also split protection.

    Also we have a boat load of mask/facial protection choices.

    Hope you enjoyed learning about the third team. Thanks

    As a University of Kentucky basketball fan, I would like to apologize to Conor Clougherty’s father (I’m assuming it’s his father and not his brother). Over the year’s I’ve yelled at him on more than one occasion through my TV. It was just a few misunderstandings that I hope he can forgive me for.

    Now that that’s out of the way, I loved this interview. It’s always interesting to hear about the little nuances involved in any uniform, i.e. The Ultimate Belt. It’s one of those things that you would never know existed unless someone told you about it. Great stuff as usual, Mr. Lukas.

    Kitbag.com is a bigshot online retailer of football(soccer) gear and has emailed out Uni Watch-style roundups of some of the new styles for the 07/08 season:

    We thought it was time to give you all a bit of an update from the football side of life here at Kitbag. There is so much happening at the moment we felt compelled to keep you abreast of all the latest developments.

    The stripes are back again for the mighty Liverpool FC, the fantastic new Liverpool Away Kit is available to buy now, our unrivalled range includes kit for all ages, click here now to order yours link.

    You’ll certainly be seen if you are a Chelsea fan next season, the dramatic new Away Shirt is out now, click below now to set yourself apart link.

    The 125th Anniversary Home Kit for Tottenham Hotspur has just been launched, be one of the first to get this collectors shirt by clicking link.

    If you follow the Gunners, you still have time to pre order the new white Away Kit by clicking link.

    —

    My favorite is the Arsenal kit which recalls the one they wore in their last season at Highbury. Arsenal are one of the biggest teams in the world and had a supporting role in the book and original film version of “Fever Pitch.” A must see for all xenophobes who can’t help themselves from laying out the ignorant “soccer is boring” argument whenever they think that (World) Football is threatening American Football.

    loving that photo gallery from the St. Paul Saints…they even managed to throw the House of David in there…

    First, I do believe the Ultimate Belt will be a staple in every Uni Watchers wardrobe after this interview – especially those of us who have a little protrusion in the gut area that pulls our shirts up more than we would like…

    Paul, Conor does not do hockey officials, huh? I’m starting officiating this year, and after reading this, I wanted to patronize his business for my hockey officials gear. Guess I’ll have to go somewhere else.

    Re: the Ultimate Belt.
    As a longtime baseball umpire, this thing is a godsend. A crusty veteran umpire told me this once. You can have five things against you when you walk on the diamond. If you wear glasses, if you are out of shape, if you are young/old, if you are a female, or if your appearance is sloppy. I took those words to heart, and was always spit-shined and creased when I umpired.
    With the Ultimate Belt, you looked as fresh at the end of the game as you did for the first pitch, esp. behind the plate, where you have to make calls every pitch. I would like to add another player in officials equipment, +POS. Awesome stuff and real innovators in chest protectors, though the West Vest was my personal choice.
    For the uninitiated, that is the one developed by Joe West, major league umpire. Instead of strips of plastic covered by foam (like a catcher’s chestie), it utilized an extoskeleton (sp?).
    Lastly, liked the interview, but I thought the guy would know a little more about his products and how they were used by the third team in all sports.

    conor,
    your pop has done some pretty big games over his illustrious career with the whistle, and i would say he worked his way to being one of the most respected in the game…

    perhaps your pop and hank nichols can get together and put that coach in durham in his place somehow.

    other items,
    since pics of those red, white and blue a’s uni’s were so hard to come by, maybe they should be linked at the side? or at least saved in PL’s flickr vault…

    interesting how LT is wearing reebok in that screen grab…

    how is a shirt with the nike trademark, coupled with a pair of nike’s considered logo assault? or logo creep for that matter? the kid has only 2 swooshs on his visible person in that photo… i guess i just dont understand logo creep in all areas…

    also, anyone get find a pic of the red twins alternates? or at least the year they wore them?

    Wondering about the red/green wrestling wristbands… would this be a problem for people with red/green color blindness or is that not how it works?

    [quote comment=”114479″]conor,
    your pop has done some pretty big games over his illustrious career with the whistle, and i would say he worked his way to being one of the most respected in the game…

    perhaps your pop and hank nichols can get together and put that coach in durham in his place somehow.

    other items,
    since pics of those red, white and blue a’s uni’s were so hard to come by, maybe they should be linked at the side? or at least saved in PL’s flickr vault…

    interesting how LT is wearing reebok in that screen grab…

    how is a shirt with the nike trademark, coupled with a pair of nike’s considered logo assault? or logo creep for that matter? the kid has only 2 swooshs on his visible person in that photo… i guess i just dont understand logo creep in all areas…

    also, anyone get find a pic of the red twins alternates? or at least the year they wore them?[/quote]

    I think the term logo assault, as used here, refers to the size of the logo creep, not frequency.

    I caught part of a new ESPN Classic documentary last night on the history of The Palestra in Philly. Lots of archive pictures and footage of the top college basketball teams from 1927 and on.

    My favorite was a Penn basketball jersey with a giant P in the middle, and a small capital B on each side.

    As a volunteer firefighter, this time of year is parade season. Our dress uni pants have the ultimate belt in them. A godsend! Try marching 2 miles in polyester pants with a polyester shirt and see how well you stay tucked in without it!

    Especially with the, ahem, “protrusion in the gut area” as mentioned by Banker Bill.

    [quote comment=”114475″]Paul, Conor does not do hockey officials, huh? I’m starting officiating this year, and after reading this, I wanted to patronize his business for my hockey officials gear. Guess I’ll have to go somewhere else.[/quote]

    Actually if you go to Honig’s Website, they do have a nice selection of hockey officials gear (Shirts, pants, whistles), including some on CLOSEOUT. (this is Not a paid advertisement)

    [quote comment=”114483″]I caught part of a new ESPN Classic documentary last night on the history of The Palestra in Philly. Lots of archive pictures and footage of the top college basketball teams from 1927 and on.

    My favorite was a Penn basketball jersey with a giant P in the middle, and a small capital B on each side.[/quote]

    my first trip was for some early round A10 tourney games when i was in my teens.
    john feinstein (who i think is a total head case and cant stand) said it best when he said, for sports fans who want to watch certain essential sports events, see a big 5 game at the palestra (or something to that effect). although i cant stand you john, i agree.

    The ‘ultimate’ belt was good when baseball/softball used the regular dress link shirts, but I have found them unnecessary since everyone went to the link, they tuck real nice into the link with a banded belt line.

    There are many independent distributors of officials gear too – like link, and link

    I usually end up getting my basic unis (shirts and pants) from ASA, and my other gear from whomever has what I need the cheapest! There very few, if any, rip-off artists in this field.

    [quote comment=”114490″][quote comment=”114483″]I caught part of a new ESPN Classic documentary last night on the history of The Palestra in Philly. Lots of archive pictures and footage of the top college basketball teams from 1927 and on.

    My favorite was a Penn basketball jersey with a giant P in the middle, and a small capital B on each side.[/quote]

    my first trip was for some early round A10 tourney games when i was in my teens.
    john feinstein (who i think is a total head case and cant stand) said it best when he said, for sports fans who want to watch certain essential sports events, see a big 5 game at the palestra (or something to that effect). although i cant stand you john, i agree.[/quote]

    Todd, what’s your quarrel with John Feinstein? I’ve read some of his books and enjoyed them immensely. Not trying to pick a fight or anything — just wondering.

    Now as for names on the back of IU jerseys, I hope this never happens. That’s one of the remnants of the Bob Knight era I’d like to hang on to. No names is almost as sacred to me as the candy-striped warmup pants.

    When former coach Mike Davis floated the names-on-jerseys idea a year into his tenure, the negative backlash was swift and intense from IU Nation. His record is the main reason Davis isn’t there anymore, but suggesting names on the jerseys sure didn’t help matters.

    [quote comment=”114494″]Todd, what’s your quarrel with John Feinstein? I’ve read some of his books and enjoyed them immensely. Not trying to pick a fight or anything — just wondering.
    [/quote]

    One of Feinstein’s nicknames is “Junior,” despite not having the suffix in his name. The name was given by fellow Washington sportswriter and commentator Tony Kornheiser because of the similarities in his temper to John McEnroe.

    Which we all knew, of course, without needing to look at Wikipedia (despite the cut-and-paste).

    Seriously, Feinstein is a well-informed, erudite, thoughtful, reasoned writer. I’d listen to him speak or read his words any day.

    Nice Q&A, it got me thinking about something I saw recently. I was at a Rochester/Charlotte AAA double-header a few weeks ago. The game that was being made up was from April when Rochester got the blizzard, so the Wings were the home team in game 1 and the road team in game 2. Of course, the Knights wore their road unis for game 1 and the home pinstripes for game 2.

    What I immediately noticed when game 2 started was that the umps had changed unis too. They wore navy tops for game 1 and sky blue for game 2. Being late June in the Carolinas, I’m sure their clothes were sweaty as hell after game 1 (which begs the question, why didn’t they wear the darker color at night). I’ve seen umps in different styles before but never on the same day. Anybody know anything about International League umpire unis?

    When I used to wear a uniform in college ROTC we called the ultimate belt a suck strap. Great way to keep your shirt tuck looking good all day long. You wear it below the rear and above the gear.
    Some guys would wear shirt stays (long elastic bands with clips that would connect from the shirt tail to the socks), but I never liked the idea of elastic and metal near my boys.

    [quote comment=”114494″][quote comment=”114490″][quote comment=”114483″]I caught part of a new ESPN Classic documentary last night on the history of The Palestra in Philly. Lots of archive pictures and footage of the top college basketball teams from 1927 and on.

    My favorite was a Penn basketball jersey with a giant P in the middle, and a small capital B on each side.[/quote]

    my first trip was for some early round A10 tourney games when i was in my teens.
    john feinstein (who i think is a total head case and cant stand) said it best when he said, for sports fans who want to watch certain essential sports events, see a big 5 game at the palestra (or something to that effect). although i cant stand you john, i agree.[/quote]

    Todd, what’s your quarrel with John Feinstein? I’ve read some of his books and enjoyed them immensely. Not trying to pick a fight or anything — just wondering.
    [/quote]

    his pen is fine… no problem with that… in fact his book, “the last amateurs” is one of my favorites.

    at the preseason NIT, a few of us were behind the backboard, and of course having a few adult beverages.

    dook was in that years tourney (mind you this is like almost 10 years ago).

    we started this DOOK SUCKS chant. this man walks by and looks at us, and without saying anything, whips us the finger and just keeps walking.

    a split second later we all look at each other and are like, “holy shit that was feinstein!”
    who as we, in my group, all knew was a dook alum.

    all of us are in utter amazement that a well known author and contributor to espn’s ‘the sports reporters’ would do this in a public stage.

    it didnt surprise me then, when 2 years ago, on a live navy football broadcast, he said, “fucking officials” when questioning their call.

    the guy is known for his temper.

    I just wanted to say that I enjoyed the interview today. That sounds like such a fun job he’s got, and he’s quite a character.

    Much respect

    Al

    [quote comment=”114504″][quote comment=”114494″][quote comment=”114490″][quote comment=”114483″]I caught part of a new ESPN Classic documentary last night on the history of The Palestra in Philly. Lots of archive pictures and footage of the top college basketball teams from 1927 and on.

    My favorite was a Penn basketball jersey with a giant P in the middle, and a small capital B on each side.[/quote]

    my first trip was for some early round A10 tourney games when i was in my teens.
    john feinstein (who i think is a total head case and cant stand) said it best when he said, for sports fans who want to watch certain essential sports events, see a big 5 game at the palestra (or something to that effect). although i cant stand you john, i agree.[/quote]

    Todd, what’s your quarrel with John Feinstein? I’ve read some of his books and enjoyed them immensely. Not trying to pick a fight or anything — just wondering.
    [/quote]

    his pen is fine… no problem with that… in fact his book, “the last amateurs” is one of my favorites.

    at the preseason NIT, a few of us were behind the backboard, and of course having a few adult beverages.

    dook was in that years tourney (mind you this is like almost 10 years ago).

    we started this DOOK SUCKS chant. this man walks by and looks at us, and without saying anything, whips us the finger and just keeps walking.

    a split second later we all look at each other and are like, “holy shit that was feinstein!”
    who as we, in my group, all knew was a dook alum.

    all of us are in utter amazement that a well known author and contributor to espn’s ‘the sports reporters’ would do this in a public stage.

    it didnt surprise me then, when 2 years ago, on a live navy football broadcast, he said, “fucking officials” when questioning their call.

    the guy is known for his temper.[/quote]

    Thanks for filling in that blank. Perhaps Feinstein learned his temper from Bob Knight?

    Not only do the Giants have the worst equipment managers (going all the way back to ’87 when Kevin Mitchell joined the team on the road) but the worst PR dept. as well.

    I sent an email wondering why Rod Beck gets a memorial patch but Jose Uribe (died Dec. 2006, starting SS for the better part of 9 seasons) does not. In return I got a form ‘Thank you for your inquiry – your input is valued’ crap response.

    Before this season, I inquired whether the team would be celebrating their 50th season in SF (this year) like they had celebrated their 25th, 30th and 40th seasons. The response: We have decided to celebrate the 50th anniversary next year (’08). No explanation.

    I’ve about had it with them.

    [quote comment=”114471″]Kitbag.com is a bigshot online retailer of football(soccer) gear and has emailed out Uni Watch-style roundups of some of the new styles for the 07/08 season:

    We thought it was time to give you all a bit of an update from the football side of life here at Kitbag. There is so much happening at the moment we felt compelled to keep you abreast of all the latest developments.

    The stripes are back again for the mighty Liverpool FC, the fantastic new Liverpool Away Kit is available to buy now, our unrivalled range includes kit for all ages, click here now to order yours link.

    You’ll certainly be seen if you are a Chelsea fan next season, the dramatic new Away Shirt is out now, click below now to set yourself apart link.

    The 125th Anniversary Home Kit for Tottenham Hotspur has just been launched, be one of the first to get this collectors shirt by clicking link.

    If you follow the Gunners, you still have time to pre order the new white Away Kit by clicking link.

    —

    My favorite is the Arsenal kit which recalls the one they wore in their last season at Highbury. Arsenal are one of the biggest teams in the world and had a supporting role in the book and original film version of “Fever Pitch.” A must see for all xenophobes who can’t help themselves from laying out the ignorant “soccer is boring” argument whenever they think that (World) Football is threatening American Football.[/quote]
    Kitbag doesn’t use authentic player-size Lextra lettering, so I don’t know how any UniWatcher could buy from them.

    Subside is the place to go.

    In other news, apparently Spurs’ shirt link… it says “TOTTENHAM HOTPSURl//125 YEARS 1882 2007” all over it

    Great interview Paul, and thanks for sharing, Conor. For me, the name “Honig” has been synonymous with link, and now, official’s uniforms. It’s good to see another Dutch name on the site other than link.

    And BCrisp, I seem to remember you’re the resident Aggie, you said you wore the Ultimate Belt with your “college ROTC” outfit. Were you a member of the Corps of Cadets?

    [quote comment=”114524″]Campbell University will have a football team in 2008 & this is what their link will look like[/quote]
    Go Camels!

    I was just on the Philadelphia Flyers’ website, and it says nothing about them unveiling their new uni design in September.

    “There’s logo creep, and then there’s full-on logo assault (good find by Chris Flinn). ”

    That’s just a shirt with a large logo on it. It’s a normal t-shirt, not a uniform. I really don’t see that as logo creep. I consider logo creep to be where logos start to appear where they shouldn’t be. If somebody wants to buy a shirt with a large logo – go ahead and let them be walking billboards. It is not like that huge nike logo was on the uniform.

    i’m not sure if it was mentioned yesterday and i don’t have the time to check, but the kings officially signed spncer hawes yesterday and he finally has a number.

    link

    [quote comment=”114552″]i’m not sure if it was mentioned yesterday and i don’t have the time to check, but the kings officially signed spncer hawes yesterday and he finally has a number.

    link[/quote]

    wow, check out the difference in the numbers on the home and road jersey…
    looks like the home jersey is done with a bold typeface…

    Check out the shot of the Statue of Liberty from the vegas file photo on an article about a guy shooting up a casino.

    link

    [quote comment=”114538″]I was just on the Philadelphia Flyers’ website, and it says nothing about them unveiling their new uni design in September.[/quote]

    If you go to their site and click on the “Reserve your new 2007 Flyers jersey!” link you will see where it says that the jersey will be released in mid September. Additionally all season ticket holders received an email about purchasing a new jersey which had the date of September 16th on it.

    [quote comment=”114522″]I did not know UA had a deal with the Homestead Grays…

    Yep, the Grays also have deals with link and link.[/quote]

    I really like those Homestead Grays uniforms. On August 4th the Pirates are doing a Grays “jersey” giveway. It looks like they are simply giving away a tshirt made to look like the Grays jersey.

    So, an umbrella question for the group: Is it frowned upon for me, as a white male, to wear Negro league jerseys or hats (even though MLB teams like the Pirates have giveaways featuring Negro league team items)?

    Re: Red and Green Wristbands for Wrestling.

    All referees wear one of these on each wrist during a match. And each wrestler wears a red or green velcro-closure strip over an ankle. Then when one wrestler or the other, the referee holds up the corresponding hand and signifies the number of points and the signal for the scoring move to the scorer (2 for a takedown, 1 for escape, 2 for a reversal, 2 or 3 for a near-fall, etc.)

    Crap, I skimmed the posts originally and didn’t see the explanation that DJ provided in Comment #3. Mea culpa.

    Feinstein also made some disgraceful comments about the exonerated Duke lacrosse players, even after their innocence was well-established by everyone.

    That’s the only problem I’ve ever had with him, though, and his other writing is fine.

    [quote comment=”114525″]Great interview Paul, and thanks for sharing, Conor. For me, the name “Honig” has been synonymous with link, and now, official’s uniforms. It’s good to see another Dutch name on the site other than link.

    And BCrisp, I seem to remember you’re the resident Aggie, you said you wore the Ultimate Belt with your “college ROTC” outfit. Were you a member of the Corps of Cadets?[/quote]
    That’s right. I was a member of the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band. For those of you who don’t know that also makes me a member of the Corps of Cadets.

    [quote comment=”114483″]I caught part of a new ESPN Classic documentary last night on the history of The Palestra in Philly. Lots of archive pictures and footage of the top college basketball teams from 1927 and on.

    My favorite was a Penn basketball jersey with a giant P in the middle, and a small capital B on each side.[/quote]

    I also saw that great documentary (no more debate on J. Feinstein, please). My personal favorite of the old-time Penn jerseys was one with “PENNSYLVANIA” between bold horizontal stripes. I’ve always liked that “PENNSYLVANIA” spelled out on all their jerseys through the years.

    [quote comment=”114481″]Wondering about the red/green wrestling wristbands… would this be a problem for people with red/green color blindness or is that not how it works?[/quote]Not usually. By rule, the green wristband is worn on the right hand and the red wristband is worn on the left.

    Usually the “green” side is the home team and the “red” side is the visiting team, though this can be changed if the team’s uniforms deem it necessary (for instance, if the home team wears red and the visiting team wears black, the home team will be “red” for the match.)

    Here’s the pic of John Maine from today’s NY Post, with his black Nike undershirt showing:

    link

    [quote comment=”114567″][quote comment=”114481″]Wondering about the red/green wrestling wristbands… would this be a problem for people with red/green color blindness or is that not how it works?[/quote]Not usually. By rule, the green wristband is worn on the right hand and the red wristband is worn on the left.

    Usually the “green” side is the home team and the “red” side is the visiting team, though this can be changed if the team’s uniforms deem it necessary (for instance, if the home team wears red and the visiting team wears black, the home team will be “red” for the match.)[/quote]

    Ah so like with traffic lights there’s also a secondary cue beyond just the colors. Thanks

    full uni’s are not cheap…
    even just jerseys…
    where do these farm clubs consistently find the cash to do one “uni night” after another?
    it has been well documented here that the st. paul saints have many of these “nights” as well as the fresno grizzlies and many other teams. where does the cash come from?

    [quote comment=”114571″]full uni’s are not cheap…
    even just jerseys…
    where do these farm clubs consistently find the cash to do one “uni night” after another?
    it has been well documented here that the st. paul saints have many of these “nights” as well as the fresno grizzlies and many other teams. where does the cash come from?[/quote]

    And since they rarely ever re-use them, why don’t they make them available to fans? I’ve been scouring the St. Paul site for an auction, and there’s nothing.

    I was disappointed enough a couple weeks ago to see the Australian World Rugby Cup jersey. To see the Scottish jersey today and see that it is all just a template is downright depressing.

    [quote comment=”114563″]Feinstein also made some disgraceful comments about the exonerated Duke lacrosse players, even after their innocence was well-established by everyone.

    That’s the only problem I’ve ever had with him, though, and his other writing is fine.[/quote]

    Not guilty, yes. Innocent, no.

    Although I’m not a ref, I’ve often contemplated getting a black with white piping refs hat because, like Conor, I think they look pretty badass.

    [quote comment=”114571″]full uni’s are not cheap…
    even just jerseys…
    where do these farm clubs consistently find the cash to do one “uni night” after another?
    it has been well documented here that the st. paul saints have many of these “nights” as well as the fresno grizzlies and many other teams. where does the cash come from?[/quote]

    That’s a great question. I wonder whether the Minor Leagues are no longer run on a shoestring budget, and this is one of the ways that they spend their extra cash.

    [quote comment=”114577″][quote comment=”114563″]Feinstein also made some disgraceful comments about the exonerated Duke lacrosse players, even after their innocence was well-established by everyone.

    That’s the only problem I’ve ever had with him, though, and his other writing is fine.[/quote]

    Not guilty, yes. Innocent, no.[/quote]

    Isn’t it innocent till proven guilty…therefore if you are proven not guilty you are by default still innocent.

    [quote comment=”114538″]I was just on the Philadelphia Flyers’ website, and it says nothing about them unveiling their new uni design in September.[/quote]

    I didn’t say it was mentioned on their web site; I simply said it would happen.

    Geez….

    [quote comment=”114580″][quote comment=”114571″]full uni’s are not cheap…
    even just jerseys…
    where do these farm clubs consistently find the cash to do one “uni night” after another?
    it has been well documented here that the st. paul saints have many of these “nights” as well as the fresno grizzlies and many other teams. where does the cash come from?[/quote]

    That’s a great question. I wonder whether the Minor Leagues are no longer run on a shoestring budget, and this is one of the ways that they spend their extra cash.[/quote]

    Having worked for a minor league team for years, I can assure you the shoestring is fully intact. Most of the one-night unis were a mesh replica style jersey, thereby cutting down on some of the cost. Then we’d auction off the game-worn jerseys to cover the expense, with the rest of the profit going to charity. In addition, we often went in on a set of non-team-specific promo unis (i.e. the Negro league uniforms) with two or three other teams. We’d all share the expense and then take turns having our teams wear the unis over a two or three year period.

    The Joliet Jackhammers (of the independent Northern League) do a similar event in regard to Negro League unis as the St. Paul Saints. In fact, their game was last night. You can see a couple pics here:

    link

    Isn’t it innocent till proven guilty…therefore if you are proven not guilty you are by default still innocent.

    That’s mixing up the concepts. It’s the prosecutors burden to prove an accused person guilty. He has the burden of production (presenting witnesses and physical evidence) and the burden of persuasion (convincing a judge or jury that the evidence proves that the accused actually committed the crime), and must prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.

    To put it another way, OJ was found “not guilty.” Do you think he is innocent?

    [quote comment=”114583″][quote comment=”114577″][quote comment=”114563″]Feinstein also made some disgraceful comments about the exonerated Duke lacrosse players, even after their innocence was well-established by everyone.

    That’s the only problem I’ve ever had with him, though, and his other writing is fine.[/quote]

    Not guilty, yes. Innocent, no.[/quote]

    Isn’t it innocent till proven guilty…therefore if you are proven not guilty you are by default still innocent.[/quote]

    Those kids were not away at a Promise Keepers convention that night. They were piss drunk at a frat house trying to have sex with a couple of strippers. That’s the best case scenario for them. If you want to apply the term innocent to that, go ahead, but not guilty of a crime is a much better description, legally and morally.

    The Giants’ latest link to put a player’s name on the back of a road jersey brings me to ask: Is there still a National League rule requiring all teams to wear names on their road uniforms?

    [quote comment=”114498″]Nice Q&A, it got me thinking about something I saw recently. I was at a Rochester/Charlotte AAA double-header a few weeks ago. The game that was being made up was from April when Rochester got the blizzard, so the Wings were the home team in game 1 and the road team in game 2. Of course, the Knights wore their road unis for game 1 and the home pinstripes for game 2.

    What I immediately noticed when game 2 started was that the umps had changed unis too. They wore navy tops for game 1 and sky blue for game 2. Being late June in the Carolinas, I’m sure their clothes were sweaty as hell after game 1 (which begs the question, why didn’t they wear the darker color at night). I’ve seen umps in different styles before but never on the same day. Anybody know anything about International League umpire unis?[/quote]

    Generally minor league umpire unis mirror the major league crews. It is generally up to the crew which colors they want to wear. Not aware of any instances of the league mandating the unis they wear accept of course ensuring that they have patches or logos for their specific league

    [quote comment=”114602″][quote comment=”114583″][quote comment=”114577″][quote comment=”114563″]Feinstein also made some disgraceful comments about the exonerated Duke lacrosse players, even after their innocence was well-established by everyone.

    That’s the only problem I’ve ever had with him, though, and his other writing is fine.[/quote]

    Not guilty, yes. Innocent, no.[/quote]

    Isn’t it innocent till proven guilty…therefore if you are proven not guilty you are by default still innocent.[/quote]

    Those kids were not away at a Promise Keepers convention that night. They were piss drunk at a frat house trying to have sex with a couple of strippers. That’s the best case scenario for them. If you want to apply the term innocent to that, go ahead, but not guilty of a crime is a much better description, legally and morally.[/quote]

    I really didn’t want to drag this on any longer…but, those kids were innocent of the the crimes they were accused of comminiting, i.e. rape, sexual assault and kidnapping. Now were they being perfect gentlemen, most likely no, but that is not a crime. They were just spending their weekend like most of the rest of this country’s college population, drinking and partying.

    And to respond to DJ, OJ is a totally different situation. He still paid a settlement which is pretty much admitting guilt. The Duke kids if anything will sue Nifong and they could sue the accuser, but they probably won’t because she wounldn’t be able to give them anything.

    [quote comment=”114603″]The Giants’ latest link to put a player’s name on the back of a road jersey brings me to ask: Is there still a National League rule requiring all teams to wear names on their road uniforms?[/quote]

    The DH rule notwithstanding, there are no more National League and American League rules. No more league offices, no more league presidents, no more separate N.L. and A.L. umpiring crews.

    And no more rule about names on jerseys. As recently as last year, the Dodgers had no names at home or on the road.

    With regards to minor league teams and one-night uni specials… you’re forgetting that EVERYTHING is sponsored in MiLB, hence covering a lot of the expense. And like the above posted stated, the specialty unis are not always the same “quality”. I also used to work in the biz.

    The first thing I thought when I saw that Scotland rugby jersey was that it, with all those lines, it looked like batman’s batsuit, except in jersey form…now all they need are the nipples…

    [quote comment=”114616″]With regards to minor league teams and one-night uni specials… you’re forgetting that EVERYTHING is sponsored in MiLB, hence covering a lot of the expense. And like the above posted stated, the specialty unis are not always the same “quality”. I also used to work in the biz.[/quote]

    nonetheless, it just seems that every team from A through AAA has these uni nights multiple times throughought the season. most with a minimum of say 4 different themes. all those levels, all those teams, all those players, all that textile. inexpensive or not, that is a heckuva cost!

    What is wrong with Chelsea these days?
    Arsenal, on the other hand, made an awesome improvement on the new road kits over the old yellow/blue ones

    [quote comment=”114552″]i’m not sure if it was mentioned yesterday and i don’t have the time to check, but the kings officially signed spncer hawes yesterday and he finally has a number.

    link[/quote]

    aww is that mom and pops with him? thats cute. did mommy make a snack for the mid press conf. break?

    [quote comment=”114624″]What is wrong with Chelsea these days?
    Arsenal, on the other hand, made an awesome improvement on the new road kits over the old yellow/blue ones[/quote]

    You mean you don’t like to see your favorite Premier League team dressed up like tennis balls? No, neither do I.

    [quote comment=”114616″]With regards to minor league teams and one-night uni specials… you’re forgetting that EVERYTHING is sponsored in MiLB, hence covering a lot of the expense. And like the above posted stated, the specialty unis are not always the same “quality”. I also used to work in the biz.[/quote]

    The sponsorship that you mentioned wouldn’t apply to independent league teams, would it?

    [quote comment=”114634″][quote comment=”114616″]With regards to minor league teams and one-night uni specials… you’re forgetting that EVERYTHING is sponsored in MiLB, hence covering a lot of the expense. And like the above posted stated, the specialty unis are not always the same “quality”. I also used to work in the biz.[/quote]

    The sponsorship that you mentioned wouldn’t apply to independent league teams, would it?[/quote]

    Independent…affiliated…it doesn’t matter. If the team can find a way to stick a sponsor’s logo on it, they’ll sell it! Just check out the wall behind them in the link

    Yes, I’d like to return your, quote-unquote, “link“. Sorry, that’s all I’ve been able to think about all day.

    [quote comment=”114570″][quote comment=”114567″][quote comment=”114481″]Wondering about the red/green wrestling wristbands… would this be a problem for people with red/green color blindness or is that not how it works?[/quote]Not usually. By rule, the green wristband is worn on the right hand and the red wristband is worn on the left.

    Usually the “green” side is the home team and the “red” side is the visiting team, though this can be changed if the team’s uniforms deem it necessary (for instance, if the home team wears red and the visiting team wears black, the home team will be “red” for the match.)[/quote]

    Ah so like with traffic lights there’s also a secondary cue beyond just the colors. Thanks[/quote]
    I have a friend who is red/green colorblind (and I find it fascinating). Apparently they know what green and red “should” look like and can not tell the difference when they’re adjacent to one another. So if a R/G color blind person sees the color (even though its not what you and I consider red or green) they should be able to discern what it is. That’s how it was explained to me.

    Oh and Paul, the Dodgers wear names at home now. At least they have been the past 4 nights.

    [quote comment=”114658″]
    Oh and Paul, the Dodgers wear names at home now. At least they have been the past 4 nights.[/quote]

    Yes, but what he said was that last year, they didn’t wear them at home or on the road.

    [quote comment=”114658″]
    Oh and Paul, the Dodgers wear names at home now. At least they have been the past 4 nights.[/quote]

    That’s why he said “As recently as last year, the Dodgers had no names at home or on the road.”

    [quote comment=”114647″][quote comment=”114634″][quote comment=”114616″]With regards to minor league teams and one-night uni specials… you’re forgetting that EVERYTHING is sponsored in MiLB, hence covering a lot of the expense. And like the above posted stated, the specialty unis are not always the same “quality”. I also used to work in the biz.[/quote]

    The sponsorship that you mentioned wouldn’t apply to independent league teams, would it?[/quote]

    Independent…affiliated…it doesn’t matter. If the team can find a way to stick a sponsor’s logo on it, they’ll sell it! Just check out the wall behind them in the link[/quote]

    You’re right. I apologize, I misread your original post.

    Re: Toffs

    Has anyone, particularly Peter Ripberger, ordered anything from here? I’m sure its on the up and up, it would really have to be to be producing things for the big clubs/countries… my question is more about the quality/material… are these made of cotton? synthetics? And for numbers, should I be expecting an era approriate # or will i get a modern looking #10 on my pele cosmos jersey? And also, the lack of pictures is annoyiong… I was looking at the US jerseys, and they only have one picture, and it is folded as if it were on a shelf in a store…

    I ordered two Arsenal shirts from Toffs a few years ago. They are made from a very thick cotton (think rugby shirt material).

    I didn’t have numbers put on, so I can’t address that. The ones I have seen out and about were all English First Division shirts, and they all had the simple number font used at the time.

    [quote comment=”114663″][quote comment=”114658″]
    Oh and Paul, the Dodgers wear names at home now. At least they have been the past 4 nights.[/quote]

    That’s why he said “As recently as last year, the Dodgers had no names at home or on the road.”[/quote]
    Ah, you and Chance are correct. Sorry, I’m at work and was skimming.

    When I started football officiating in Northern Virginia 9 years ago, we did have a night in our training class where were were taught how to put on our uniforms and knickers. Believe me…that helped a lot! You start out on a sour note with the coaches if you don’t look sharp. Looking professional goes a long way in selling your calls.

    [quote comment=”114678″]I ordered two Arsenal shirts from Toffs a few years ago. They are made from a very thick cotton (think rugby shirt material).

    I didn’t have numbers put on, so I can’t address that. The ones I have seen out and about were all English First Division shirts, and they all had the simple number font used at the time.[/quote]

    sorry, but at the time do you mean “the 1950 jersey had font that was used on the original jersey in 1950?” Thanks for the info, i dont want a 1950 US jersey with 2007 silk screened font on it.

    [quote comment=”114698″][quote comment=”114678″]I ordered two Arsenal shirts from Toffs a few years ago. They are made from a very thick cotton (think rugby shirt material).

    I didn’t have numbers put on, so I can’t address that. The ones I have seen out and about were all English First Division shirts, and they all had the simple number font used at the time.[/quote]

    sorry, but at the time do you mean “the 1950 jersey had font that was used on the original jersey in 1950?” Thanks for the info, i dont want a 1950 US jersey with 2007 silk screened font on it.[/quote]

    I mean that the only ones I’ve seen were accurate – they were shirts from the 1930s and 1940s using the simple number font that the English First Division used in the 1930s and 1940s. Beyond that, I cannot vouch for their numbers.

    The shirts themselves, however, are beautiful.

    [quote comment=”114479″]conor,
    your pop has done some pretty big games over his illustrious career with the whistle, and i would say he worked his way to being one of the most respected in the game…

    perhaps your pop and hank nichols can get together and put that coach in durham in his place somehow.

    other items,
    since pics of those red, white and blue a’s uni’s were so hard to come by, maybe they should be linked at the side? or at least saved in PL’s flickr vault…

    interesting how LT is wearing reebok in that screen grab…

    how is a shirt with the nike trademark, coupled with a pair of nike’s considered logo assault? or logo creep for that matter? the kid has only 2 swooshs on his visible person in that photo… i guess i just dont understand logo creep in all areas…

    also, anyone get find a pic of the red twins alternates? or at least the year they wore them?[/quote]

    Didn’t read through all the comments, but here’s link

    [quote comment=”114696″]best all-star uni link in the past 25 years[/quote]

    What made it even better was that the broadcasters had literally just shown the replay of the All Star game a few years before in watch Randy Johnson had sailed a fastball over John Kruk’s head. They couldn’t believe Randy had done it again at that very moment with Larry Walker in the batter’s box.

    Dennis Franchione, head coach at Texas A&M, stated on his weekly Friday message that there has been no formal unveiling of the new uniforms because the school is still under contract with Nike. They are under contract until summer camps end., which is in about a month.

    [quote comment=”114652″]Yes, I’d like to return your, quote-unquote, “link“. Sorry, that’s all I’ve been able to think about all day.[/quote]

    “Wow, a fat sarcastic Star Trek fan! You must be a devil with the ladies!”

    LOL! :)

    [quote comment=”114475″]First, I do believe the Ultimate Belt will be a staple in every Uni Watchers wardrobe after this interview – especially those of us who have a little protrusion in the gut area that pulls our shirts up more than we would like…

    Paul, Conor does not do hockey officials, huh? I’m starting officiating this year, and after reading this, I wanted to patronize his business for my hockey officials gear. Guess I’ll have to go somewhere else.[/quote]

    Honigs has a Canadian office in Hamilton, I believe.

    [quote comment=”114475″]First, I do believe the Ultimate Belt will be a staple in every Uni Watchers wardrobe after this interview – especially those of us who have a little protrusion in the gut area that pulls our shirts up more than we would like…

    Paul, Conor does not do hockey officials, huh? I’m starting officiating this year, and after reading this, I wanted to patronize his business for my hockey officials gear. Guess I’ll have to go somewhere else.[/quote]

    Depeding where you live, Honigs Canada has a fine selection of hockey gear…

    link

    Todd K, I wrote the Saints to find out where they got the Negro League uniforms from, and how much they cost. Here’s Sean Aronson’s answer (he’s their PR guy):

    “The jersey’s were not ours. They were given to us by Victory Sports and they send them around to different teams. Hope this helps.”

    So they are worn and re-worn by multiple teams throughout the country. They kind of lose their lustre with this answer.

    [quote comment=”114742″]Todd K, I wrote the Saints to find out where they got the Negro League uniforms from, and how much they cost. Here’s Sean Aronson’s answer (he’s their PR guy):

    “The jersey’s were not ours. They were given to us by Victory Sports and they send them around to different teams. Hope this helps.”

    So they are worn and re-worn by multiple teams throughout the country. They kind of lose their lustre with this answer.[/quote]

    Fascinating nonetheless. Tremendous efforts on your part there!

    feinstein is a moneygrabbing jackass. Also, I think they should put names on the back of the IU jerseys. It would be fitting with the immediate decline of that program since Coach Knight left.

    [quote comment=”114806″]feinstein is a moneygrabbing jackass. Also, I think they should put names on the back of the IU jerseys. It would be fitting with the immediate decline of that program since Coach Knight left.[/quote]

    The program was in decline before Coach Knight left — no Sweet Sixteens in the last six years of his tenure with some pretty humilating NCAA exits to boot (anyone who watched the Hoosiers lose to Pepperdine in the first round of 2000 might have thought they were the No. 6 seed, not the No. 11).

    Paul, great interview.

    I can’t count how many times have called Honig’s for uniform supplies…they are excellent for customer service and they really know their products.

    Take it from a 3-sport official.

    :)

    As a follow-up to DJ (#3) and buckeyebrain (#44), I couldn’t resist joining the linkfest with some link to wrestling refereeing.

    Hey Paul, I’ve heard conflicting stories about the NHL unis for next year. I think I’ve seen you mention the color/white home/away switch on several occasions but none of link bloggers seem to think that we’ll be going to white for home games (which is a relief, in my opinion).

    If I’m considering getting an away jersey should I wait? How long until the teams are required to announce their unis for the upcoming season? How do I find the “official” buzz on this very important issue?

    [quote comment=”114848″]Hey Paul, I’ve heard conflicting stories about the NHL unis for next year. I think I’ve seen you mention the color/white home/away switch on several occasions but none of link bloggers seem to think that we’ll be going to white for home games (which is a relief, in my opinion).[/quote]

    Dark at home. Board of governors voted on this last month.

    Also, as far as the St. Paul Saints go, I was under the impression that they are not hurtung for money. Bill Murray is a part owner of the team. They also have amazing attendance for an independent league team.

    Hey guys, I need some help. I’ve been obsessed with uniforms for as long as I can remember and I was ecstatic when I found this website a little less than a year ago. back when I was in middle school I had this huge drawing book with different uniforms for imaginary teams that I had created. Three years ago (the summer before my Junior year of high school) my baseball coach was about to order a new set of uniforms so I let him borrow the 12 or so different designs that I had created (which, incidentally were never returned to me). He did not use any of my specific designs, but he did use parts of a few of them and I can admit that we had some pretty nice looking unis (link. The following year my coach even asked me to draw up a yellow hat so he could see a visual before deciding whether or not he would order them. Anyway, lately I have been looking for a way to continue with my hobbie in a more “professional” way. About a year or so ago I found an advertisement in the back of a Rawlings catalog (I believe) for a computer program that allows you to design uniforms. I have, however, been unable to relocate the advertisement and my recent searches on the internets have also failed to produce any results. I was wondering if anyone knew of a program like this that I would be able to purchase. Thanks.

    The San Diego Chicken just put on a shark ‘uniform’ and molested Braves 3rd base coach Brian Snitker. I mean, the chicken had Snitker in the grass and was just hunchin’ away at him. Though it was pretty disturbing, I somehow managed to laugh uncontrollably about it for at least 10 minutes and it’s made me use the word ‘hunching’ for the first time since ’94. So maybe all this late-night baseball on the west coast is getting out of control….

    It’s ONLY a summer league game, but I am unimpressed with the Sonics choice of white shirts and green shorts. Ick.

    [quote comment=”114517″]Not only do the Giants have the worst equipment managers (going all the way back to ’87 when Kevin Mitchell joined the team on the road) but the worst PR dept. as well.

    I sent an email wondering why Rod Beck gets a memorial patch but Jose Uribe (died Dec. 2006, starting SS for the better part of 9 seasons) does not. In return I got a form ‘Thank you for your inquiry – your input is valued’ crap response.

    Before this season, I inquired whether the team would be celebrating their 50th season in SF (this year) like they had celebrated their 25th, 30th and 40th seasons. The response: We have decided to celebrate the 50th anniversary next year (’08). No explanation.

    I’ve about had it with them.[/quote]

    At least they get aa anniversary celebration. This is the A’s 40th in Oakland, but not a peep about it.

    The program was in decline before Coach Knight left — no Sweet Sixteens in the last six years of his tenure with some pretty humilating NCAA exits to boot (anyone who watched the Hoosiers lose to Pepperdine in the first round of 2000 might have thought they were the No. 6 seed, not the No. 11).

    Well, Terry Mark – I guess Brand did you a favor then. Coach Knight should have won 20+ NCAA championships rather than just 3.

    I couldn’t find pictures, but the Durham Bulls did a similar Negro Leagues tribute in June. All of the players, from both teams, wore assorted Negro League unis.

    Oh, so that’s how link does it. They develop Big Ten officials from Ann Arbor. No other way they could win all those games.

    Also, I’m shocked that his name was “Dick.” There are a lot of Dicks “Up North.”

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