By Phil Hecken
He’s been a member of Uni Watch for a long time. You have undoubtedly heard of his wonderful blog (if you don’t already have that bookmarked, you really should). He’s probably met a few of you at a Uni Watch gathering. But today we’re really going to meet the man behind the Third String Goalie blog, and a man who gives new meaning to the term, “Hockey Jersey Collector.” Not only does he own and adore hundreds of hockey sweaters, which he’s been collecting for over 20 years, he writes about them all. An absolutely invaluable resource not just for fans of hockey, but for anyone who reads Uni Watch, dear readers, meet Jeff Barak:
Phil Hecken: When did you start collecting hockey jerseys?
Jeff Barak: I started by getting a North Stars jersey from the team souvenir stand at the old Met Stadium. It was a home white that I brought to a local sporting goods store to be customized. It came back without a name and the wrong font for the number. That’s a battle I’ve been fighting ever since. Where to get jerseys accurately lettered and in less than three to six months. Even when names and numbers are cut properly, they can sometimes be sewn on crooked. It’s the worst part of the hobby since you have so little control over it but have to live with it forever.
I added a Minnesota Gophers jersey that I asked for at Christmas. This was around 1987. The thing that really got me going was when some Soviet teams came over to play some exhibition games against the University of Minnesota and the North Stars in 1988 and 89. I got to see Dynamo Moscow play the Gophers. I stopped by the souvenir stand and, much to my surprise, the girl working there had some Soviet pins and small banners for sale. She told me that the Soviet players came by before the game and traded them to her for Gopher t-shirts and pucks. She then told me she even had a jersey, but she couldn’t sell it (to cover the cost of the stuff she gave them in exchange) fast enough because it stunk so badly! I was crushed at the thought that I had missed out not only on the chance to get Russian hockey jersey of any kind, but a game worn one!
After the game I hung out at her stand hoping the players would come back to trade some more. Sure enough, a player did come back and with hand gestures and a few basic words, I managed to communicate to him that I was interested in jerseys. He went back to the locker room and came out with a pair of home and away Dynamo Moscow jerseys and a stick in exchange for a pair of sweatshirts and a stocking cap, which I paid for.
Following that experience, I prowled the arenas every time a Soviet or Czechoslovakian team came to town and always got at least one jersey, and sometimes as many as five. From there I started to find NHL jerseys on sale at the Hockey Expo in St. Paul every year in conjunction with the Minnesota State High School Tournament. A few years after that, I was turned on to ebay and suddenly I had access to way, way too many options one could never expect to find in a retail store locally.
PH: In total, how many hockey jerseys do you now own?
JB: My collection is currently around 475. I’ve got at least one from each current NHL team, several defunct clubs, NHL All-Star jerseys, minor league jerseys from the IHL and AHL, international jerseys from 21 different national teams, foreign club teams and college jerseys.
I also patch every jersey I possibly can. 300 of mine have at least one additional patch of some sort on it. I really like how they tell a story of a championship team, anniversary season, memorial to a past player or unique tournament or event. It’s a bit like heraldry where the elements of a coat of arms can tell a story.
PH: What do you consider the best/worst jersey is of all time in the NHL? Do you own any of them?
JB: Since I’m partial to black and yellow, my idea of the best jersey of all time is a 1970-1990 era Boston Bruins black road jersey. I’ve got 3 of those. Also the 1991-92 Pittsburgh Penguins black road jersey with the 3 patches on it is another all time favorite.
The worst NHL jersey of all time has got to be the Anaheim Mighty Ducks Wild Wing alternate from 95-96. There was no dignity in that horrid thing. I can’t believe they asked NHL professionals to even wear it. I’ve got two of those in what I call my “Curious, Weird and Ugly” collection, along with a few other choice styles, like the Los Angeles Kings “Burger King” alternate from the same season. Those teams actually faced each other once each wearing theirs. It’s The Worst Dressed Game in the history of hockey!
PH: What is your all-time favorite jersey in your collection?
JB: After all this time, my favorite jersey is still my 1990-91 Soviet Red Army game worn CCM made jersey with the name on the back in Cyrillic. It’s an icon of an era when the Soviet Union was such a mysterious place and produced a machine-like team that steamrolled everything in it’s path. Plus it’s a really attractive, classic hockey jersey.
PH: Have you created any custom jerseys of your own design?
JB: I’ve done a couple custom jerseys. I made an alternate Ottawa Senators jersey using their 1920’s barberpole style only with modern logos and numbers that I thought turned out really nice.
I also made a fantasy alternate third jersey for the Hartford Whalers 1992-93 set. They wore blue on the road and white at home. I found a green blank with a tie-neck and sliver trim (neither of which were ever used with their original green jerseys) and put the modern logo on the front and the retro Pucky the Whale patches on the shoulders. I get a lot of positive comments on that one.
PH: Which jersey would you say is the most coveted in your collection?
JB: Coveted by me? Either my Red Army jersey or my 1996 Team USA World Cup of Hockey jerseys. The USA jersey is the design on the back of my Uni Watch membership card.
Coveted by others? My Martin Brodeur New Jersey Devils #29 rookie jersey, from when they originally wore red and green, probably generates the most comments. The Wild Wing, the Los Angeles Kings “Burger King” alternate and Tampa Bay Lightning “Sea Sickness” alternate are ones I get offers for more than any others. People love the ugly alternates. Take my advice and grab yourself a Dallas Stars “Mooterus” while you can. It’s the Islanders “Fish Sticks” jersey of the future. 10 years from now, everyone will want one. If it’s got a derogatory nickname, you know it’s a future classic.
PH: With all your jerseys, are there any out there you still want to add?
JB: Now that they are making them again, I’d like to add one of the 1980’s Hartford Whalers jerseys made with modern construction. The old replicas are so thin you can see through them!
A few others would be 1996 and 2004 Slovakia jerseys from the two World Cup tournaments. I have all the other countries from both those tournaments but Slovakia.
A 1980’s East German National Team would be fun to have. I was surprised they were mostly blue. You’d assume like the other communist countries they would have been mainly red, or even the black or orange from their flag.
My favorite player is Arturs Irbe from Latvia and the Carolina Hurricanes. Any player brave enough to man barricades against Soviet tanks gets my respect. A game worn jersey of his would be just fantastic.
PH: Any unique stories regarding any of your jerseys?
JB: Trading with the Soviets was probably the most unique. After several years of looking I was able to acquire a Nike Kazakhstan National Team jersey on ebay from a seller in”¦ Australia! To this day I still shake my head at that one. That is one well-traveled jersey.
PH: Where do you go looking for your jerseys?
JB: Despite the exponential rise of knockoffs on ebay, it’s still the world’s biggest garage sale. Just try sorting through the clutter of fakes and football jerseys on some place like Craigslist, and coming home to ebay and it’s search function, it doesn’t seem quite so bad in comparison.
PH: How did you get the idea to start your blog?
JB: I participate on a jersey collecting message board, JerseyCentral.org, which covers all the major sports. It’s a very knowledgeable group. There is a thread on there titled “What are you wearing today?” It’s a place to show off your collection outside of the “new arrivals” threads.
I found myself posting jerseys when I had a historical reason to do so, like wearing my 1980 USA Miracle on Ice jersey on the anniversary of the win over the Soviets or because a team was playing for a championship that day. My explanations of why I was wearing a certain jersey started getting a bit longer over time and then it occurred to me to start a blog to expand on the idea, share my collection with a wider audience and give me a project to focus on since I am currently out of work and have too much time on my hands. Since I’m not a fan of the new Reebok Edge jerseys and was out of work, it seemed like a good idea to focus on sharing what I had, rather than spending time, energy and money adding to my collection.
PH: What have you learned writing your blog?
JB: I’ve had a few eye opening moments. It was funny to learn the entire reason the NHL was formed was so the original four team owners could ditch a fifth owner, Eddie Livingstone, who none of them could stand from the previous National Hockey Association.
I’ve also learned just how maddening and wonderful YouTube can be. I can’t find any footage of Sidney Crosby from the 2005 World Juniors, but I can find an interview from a former US college hockey player with only 13 games of NHL experience on the day he arrived to play for an obscure second division club team in Sweden. Go figure.
It’s also been interesting tracking the various countries where hits to my blog have come from. I’m up to 83 different countries so far. I really have to wonder what the visitors from Bahrain, Ecuador, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Sri Lanka were looking for when they found me. I feel like I owe them an apology of some sort. It’s cool to see regular visits from the same people in Latvia, Finland, Taiwan and New Zealand nearly every day. I wish I had the ability to send those readers a thank you note.
PH: Where did the name Third String Goalie come from?
JB: That came from a Uni Watch ticker item! There was a link to an old Baseball Digest from 1956. There was a humorous glossary of terms, one of which was Third String Catcher, which meant “a fan in the stands wearing a jersey”. If that isn’t me, I don’t know what is. I immediately thought that would be a great name for a website and filed it away. Later when I got the idea for the blog, I simply changed it to Third String Goalie.
PH: Is there any money to be made blogging?
JB: Nope. None whatsoever. It’s a labor of love.
PH: Thanks Jeff!
Well now that you’ve met Mr. Hockey Jersey and have bookmarked his site, make sure you check it out every day, because Jeff will be highlighting a new sweater each day. I’ve always (sometimes begrudgingly) admitted that hockey uniforms and jerseys are the best looking of all the sports, and after seeing just a taste of what’s in Jeff’s collection, I can unabashedly confirm that. There is so much more to see than just the couple dozen or so jerseys shown on here today, so be sure to poke around and see what other wonderful looks you can find. Thanks again, Jeff!
Our “Special Edition Five Plus One” today brings us back to our man in the street, Jim Vilk, who presents you with his “Top 5” Best and one WORST college football uni matchup from all the Pre-New Year’s Day Bowl Games:
5. Hawai’i Bowl: Nevada/SMU — Welcome back to the bowl games, Mustangs, and a big mahalo for wearing those great unis.
4. Emerald Bowl: BC/USC — I’m nuts over this classic-ish matchup.
3. The Car Bowl: Pitt/UNC — Panthers in their best post-script look, while the Heels continue to look great.
2. Brut Sun Bowl: Oklahoma/Stanford — Wore some Brut in honor of this game, and it looked as good as I smelled.
1. EagleBank Bowl: UCLA/Temple — One of the newest bowls had the best look of the old year.
And my worst matchup: The Armed Forces Bowl: Houston/Air Force — Actually, it doesn’t look too bad to me, but if you’re color blind it’s not so great.
Happy New Year, everybody! See you next week for the final 5+1.
Guess The Game From The Scoreboard:This guest entry comes from the poster who prefers to go by the name “Leon.” It’s maybe a little tricky, and maybe it’s not. But he was at the game. Ready? Guess The Game From The Scoreboard. Want a hint? Here’s his ticket stub. Please link to you answer. And, as always, if you enjoy the game, please send me some new scoreboards! Drop me a line. Thanks!
Ah yes…broomball…when you absotively posilutely have to come up with ways to have fun on the ice. Here’s Rick:
You just never know who you’re gonna go up against in broomball. A bunch of former hockey players? A flask-toting bunch that’s falling down even before they hit the ice? Perhaps a small group of determined devotees who face the cold without fear? Or is it a group of small determined…?
Enjoy your Saturday Benchies.
As we enter the final weekend of the season, we begin with another set of NFL uniform tweaks/revisions/concepts.
First up today is Elliott Hunter, who, like many, is not happy with the current Bills uni-set:
Being a massive Bills fan I have been pretty disgusted with their uniforms over the past decade (as well as their play). I figured the best way to revamp them would be to throw a nod to their past, as I think their original AFL uniforms are probably the best they’ve ever worn.
For the colors, I decided that instead of using their old royal blue, to go back a choose a shade more similar to the color they wore in the 90s. Other than that, nothing incredibly revolutionary going on.
The logo is based on this.
I’ve always liked the look of the red standing buffalo, but I feel like it’s been played out a bit and is also a bit bland. Their current logo, which they’ve had for 35 years, makes me wince when I look at it, I have never liked it. So I came up with this logo to kind of revamp the standing buffalo.
Next up is Andrew Jent, who has some thoughts on the Rams:
Hi Phil,
I have been reading Uni Watch for the past few weeks and have been wanting to try to make my own uni tweek. I decided to do the St. Louis Rams. I started with a new logo by reversing the color scheme.
Now for the unis. With the home I once again reversed the color scheme on the helmet. I removed the ram on the sleeves and replaced it with horns on a blue background. The jersey was changed to gold. The road helmet also got revesed and the ram on the sleeve was replaced with horns on a gold background. As for the alternate I kept it the same but made the pants blue and made the helmet horns “invisible” with the blue on blue.
Our next submission comes from Chris Sewell, who feels the current Seahawks uniforms could use a tweak:
Phil,
First time submitting a uniform design and I thought I would start with one of the worst in the league, which is too bad because I am a Seahawks fan. I don’t mind the Seahawks colors but I think they use too much. I did not like the change in helmet color. In fact, I think the grey looked good but I think white looks even better. I like simple, dark tops, light pants for home and light top and dark pants for away. I did change the green to more of a grey green. I was hoping to find something similar to a vegas gold, like that in the Akron uniforms, with the green I chose but i probably needs a little work. I would love to see some people play with these colors to see what else they can come up with. Enjoy the blog and keep up the good work.
Chris
Moving along quickly, we have Jim Rigo, who suggests these simple changes for the Browns:
Since my beloved Browns are bent on having some sort of colored drawers (I despise the idea BTW), and since the new non-striped pant looks as if they were designed by Jacques Cousteau, I have attached some sensible options for the fans, and perhaps the team to consider. An old tyme NY Giant-like sand-knit option and a better (IMHO) brown option. Enjoy!
Jim Rigo
Closing out the show today is Wil Risinger, who I think went real old school with a flair pen for his Raiders tweak:
Feeling rather blasphemous on a slow business day, I decided the Raiders away uniform could use a simple tweak. Just as their home black jersey uniform conveys everything a gridiron menace should, feel the away whites are equally lame. Seems the silver pants wash out the white jersey ”“ therefore I simply blacked out the pants for what I feel is the much needed contrast all great uni’s have. Excuse the execution ”“ seems I am the Jamarcus Russell of Graphics and went all throwback on you.
Well, there you have it, another set of concepts. You can keep the NFL coming, but don’t hesitate to also send me NHL or (shudder) NBA concepts as well, since we’ll be moving towards those real soon. You can send them to me here.
And now we’re back with Teebz for a Winter Classic roundup. Here’s Teebz:
With the Neilsen’s people recalculating their numbers for the Winter Classic ratings, Phil has given me a chance to bring some images from the 2010 Bridgestone Winter Classic to your monitors. We’ll run through this quickly, but there are some good pictures in here.
* Lots of celebrities at the game including Wheel of Fortune icon Pat Sajak, and UW mainstays JTH and RPM.
* Claude Julien followed Mike Babcock’s lead from last year, and brought back some retro headwear for the game.
* Dan Carcillo and Shawn Thornton engaged in the first brawl at the Winter Classic. Historians don’t seem to care.
* Biggest cheers at Fenway went out for Tuukka Rask’s mask. The bear destroying the Yankees jersey seemed to energize the crowd for some reason.
* Danny Syvret scored Philadelphia’s only goal of the game in the second period.
* Mark Recchi and Marco Sturm scored the two Boston goals, both via redirections. Sturm scored at 1:56 of overtime to give the Bruins the victory – the first time a home team has won in three Winter Classic games.
* Tim Thomas’ day got better as he was announced as one of the goaltenders that the USA is taking to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Thomas’s teammates weren’t on-hand to get their jerseys, but the minor hockey players represented the NHL players well.
Overall, a very entertaining game, especially the last five minutes of the third period. As a hockey fan, I always tell people to stay until the final horn sounds, and the 2010 Winter Classic was a prime example of that. The Flyers had carried the play in the third period, but one late goal changed everything for the Bruins, and they claimed victory!
Where will the 2011 Winter Classic be held? Who will participate? Let the discussion begin.
Thanks Teebz, for the wrap. Conventional wisdom says the next one will be in Yankee Stadium, probably featuring the Rangers (duh). Their opponent? Whatever team the NHL feels has the biggest draw. What say you all?
And now…a Uni Watch Deep Freeze announcement:
Paul will be making an official announcement on Monday on the date and location of the “2010 Twin Cities Deep Freeze” gathering. Stay tuned.
Of course — (and thanks Ricko, for the ‘cartoon’) — that won’t be nearly as apropos if the Vikings are eliminated from the playoffs by the time the Gathering takes place.
And for the final entry today, I’m bringing back everyone’s favorite uniform critic, and a man “who’d wear that” for just about any uniform, Jim Vilk. We’re going to do a wrap up of yesterday’s Bowl games, all of which were inappropriately named.
The We Didn’t Fake It As Well As Meg Ryan Bowl: (Northwestern/Auburn)
JV: Lots of mistakes, but a wild game. Nice unis, and I love overcast days, so this game looked very good to me.
PH: Did this one end yet?
The JoePa Is Older Than Mud Bowl: (Penn State/LSU)
PH: You know I love PSU’s unis, but the silver pants worn especially for this game was a nice touch.
JV: So much to love here — a timeless coach, great throwback conditions, fantastic unis…THAT is football.
The Bobby Bowin’ Out Bowl: (Florida State/West Virginia)
JV: Nice feel-good story here. That, and the great color contrast, eased the pain of this sort-of Mountaineer fan.
PH: I wonder if Bobby Bowden pretended the logo was T.K. Wetherell.
The Every Rose Has Its Thorn Bowl: (Ohio State/Oregon)
JV: And the Ducks’ unis were the thorn. At least the Oregon band matched up well against the Buckeyes.
PH: OK. Note to those left to play their games: Ditch the white helmets — like, yesterday.
The No Sugar Tonight in my Coffee Bowl: (Cincinnati/Florida)
PH: Alternate names: “The ‘I Got Your Messiah Right Here’ Bowl” or “The Dusty Springfield Bowl.”
JV: Instead of white helmets, the Bearcats should have come out with a white flag.
That’s all for this fine Saturday boys and girls. Big ups again to Jeff Barak for the fantastic interview, and Teebz and Jim and Ricko and Leon for their contributions as well, plus the latest round of uni-tweakers.
I’m off tomorrow, so you can look forward to a much shorter entry on Sunday. Have a great day everyone.
Guess the Game Scoreboard: link
So, I’m half awake, watching Sports Center and I realize…
Yeah, we had some disagreements here at UW yesterday but, rooting interests and detail-debating aside, on balance it what a great, great New Year’s Day. Maybe one of the all-timers, taken in toto.
I’m gonna miss a few things, but we had…
NW QB Mike Kafka throwing for damn near 600 yards in a game that just didn’t seem to want to end, but finally did on a swinging gate trick play.
Joe Pa getting a victory in the mud and the blood and the beer.
Bobby Bowden going out with a win in a fabulous-looking garnet vs. athletic gold game.
Tim Tebow finishing big in Urban Meyer’s last game before some type of rest period (against a team with its own coaching issue).
A home-team walkoff in hockey at Fenway’s WC3, an event that hopefully will be become just another fun and entertaining element of every NYD.
A pretty good Rose Bowl, with another impressive individual performance, this time from Terrell Pryor.
Even the NBA had Kobe launching a buzz beater.
And, all of it on super day for uni matchups and super color combinations (with not a bit of Pro Combat gear in sight).
So, to anyone I jousted with, I apologize. Was just a fun, fun day for Channel Surfing. You almost couldn’t go wrong no matter where you landed.
—Ricko
Jeff Barak:
I really enjoy 3rd String Goalie, especially the copy about each jersey’s significance/history. One thing I’ve wondered about (hopefully not something you have discussed in the past that I missed) is the visual presentation of each sweater. Do you take the photos yourself? I was wondering if you could expound a little on that process. Let me echo the sentiments expressed by Phil here today on your blog:everyone should give it a look.
I find it ironic that in the game between Auburn and Northwestern, Auburn was the only team wearing “Northwestern stripes” on its jersey.
link
How can NU have one of the all-time classic uni designs named after them, but wear total crap uniforms? And have a Mickey Mouse offense, too? If you cannot run the ball, you cannot win the game.
link
[quote comment=”369776″]Jeff Barak:
I really enjoy 3rd String Goalie, especially the copy about each jersey’s significance/history. One thing I’ve wondered about (hopefully not something you have discussed in the past that I missed) is the visual presentation of each sweater. Do you take the photos yourself? I was wondering if you could expound a little on that process. Let me echo the sentiments expressed by Phil here today on your blog:everyone should give it a look.[/quote]
btw, we’ve heard from Jeff B that he’s gonna be around for the UW Deep Freeze.
Another great reason to stop by (the others being Paul, Phil, Teebz, rpm, JTH, Traxel, Nichole Haase and on and on…)
—Ricko
Kudos lads for the Guess Who and “Son of a Preacher Man” references.
(As an aside, Phil, late last nite I was referring to this:
“by LI Phil on 01.01.10 10:01 pm”)
Poor job of expression on my part.
[quote comment=”369777″]I find it ironic that in the game between Auburn and Northwestern, Auburn was the only team wearing “Northwestern stripes” on its jersey.
link
How can NU have one of the all-time classic uni designs named after them, but wear total crap uniforms? And have a Mickey Mouse offense, too? If you cannot run the ball, you cannot win the game.
link
You’re point is well-taken, but—correct me if I’m wrong—NU didn’t exactly get blown out.
I mean, Auburn gets five picks and still has to hold on to win? Something’s amiss there.
And, just because someone at a uni company christened those stripes “NW” doesn’t mean the Wildcats are obligated to wear them forever. It’s an identifier, a reference…not a team trademark.
There are, for example, sock striping patterns we could ID as “Red Sox”, “Cardinals” or “Packers” and everyone here would know what we meant…but that doesn’t mean those particular teams are stuck with wearing them.
—Ricko
[quote comment=”369778″][quote comment=”369776″]Jeff Barak:
I really enjoy 3rd String Goalie, especially the copy about each jersey’s significance/history. One thing I’ve wondered about (hopefully not something you have discussed in the past that I missed) is the visual presentation of each sweater. Do you take the photos yourself? I was wondering if you could expound a little on that process. Let me echo the sentiments expressed by Phil here today on your blog:everyone should give it a look.[/quote]
btw, we’ve heard from Jeff B that he’s gonna be around for the UW Deep Freeze.
Another great reason to stop by (the others being Paul, Phil, Teebz, rpm, JTH, Traxel, Nichole Haase and on and on…)
—Ricko[/quote]
I’m planning to attend at least one of the Deep Freeze events, hopefully the bar gathering. Are there further details available yet? Is it Phil that we should email? I live in MSP so don’t need hotel info.
Be glad all it is not this weekend… -15 currently. Not windchill, temp.
TC Mark
[quote comment=”369781″][quote comment=”369778″][quote comment=”369776″]Jeff Barak:
I really enjoy 3rd String Goalie, especially the copy about each jersey’s significance/history. One thing I’ve wondered about (hopefully not something you have discussed in the past that I missed) is the visual presentation of each sweater. Do you take the photos yourself? I was wondering if you could expound a little on that process. Let me echo the sentiments expressed by Phil here today on your blog:everyone should give it a look.[/quote]
btw, we’ve heard from Jeff B that he’s gonna be around for the UW Deep Freeze.
Another great reason to stop by (the others being Paul, Phil, Teebz, rpm, JTH, Traxel, Nichole Haase and on and on…)
—Ricko[/quote]
I’m planning to attend at least one of the Deep Freeze events, hopefully the bar gathering. Are there further details available yet? Is it Phil that we should email? I live in MSP so don’t need hotel info.
Be glad all it is not this weekend… -15 currently. Not windchill, temp.
TC Mark[/quote]
According to The Weather Channel, it’s now -19F downtown with a wind chill of -36F.
So don’t go shirtless downtown this Sat. a.m.
(somewhere, Paul is in panic mode)
—Ricko
seen in NYC yesterday:
link
Maybe I missed it, yet, what uniform did the Clarksville Wildcats end up selecting?
I noticed this during the US Olympic Hockey team announcement. They butchered Jamie Langenbrunner’s name on the jersey.
pic here:
link
I noticed this during the US Olympic Hockey team announcement. They butchered Jamie Langenbrunner’s name on the jersey.
link
Under Armor high school all american unis look Under Armorish and High Schoolish.
As they should.
I aint hatin’.
[quote comment=”369788″]Under Armor high school all american unis look Under Armorish and High Schoolish.
As they should.
I aint hatin’.[/quote]
I love how the “white” team has black helmets, and the “black” team has red ones. Brilliant!
White helmet, I still love you. Solely because you were apart of this link
[quote comment=”369789″][quote comment=”369788″]Under Armor high school all american unis look Under Armorish and High Schoolish.
As they should.
I aint hatin’.[/quote]
I love how the “white” team has black helmets, and the “black” team has red ones. Brilliant![/quote]
UA CEO Kevin Plank just interviewed live: Apparently the words “Digi-Camo” will be kicked around a lot on this blog in 2010.
If you’re in the Twin Cities, public TV is showing Pond Hockey tonight at 11 pm. It’s on 2.3 which is TPTLife and used to be KTCI or channel 17.
It’s light on the uni but think of it as a warm up for the Deep Freeze.
on te rose bowl glad oregon kept it classy didnt break out carbon fiber helmets highlighter yellow anything. well done being an ohioian you know i loved that game flat out great victory for tOSU. i did also notice a lack of bcs helmet stickers for both teams thank god that sticker sucks!!!!!
also having issues with wfws (white for white sakes) just stop this before it gets out of hand oops it already has sugar bowl sucks and they did have those horrible bcs stickers.
[quote comment=”369784″]Maybe I missed it, yet, what uniform did the Clarksville Wildcats end up selecting?[/quote]
you didn’t miss it…
marc walls shot me an email about a week ago that he’s narrowed it down but doesn’t have a winner (for either uni or logo) chosen yet, but soon
as soon as he does (i believe he’s contacted or tried to contact every participant as he may need some color or other slight changes) he’ll let me know and i’ll announce it shortly thereafter
[quote comment=”369788″]Under Armor high school all american unis look Under Armorish and High Schoolish.
As they should.
I aint hatin’.[/quote]
What??? That doesn’t stand for “US Army”???
(giggle)
That’s the game where they give prize recruits national face time to announce their college selection, right…at least half of which we’ll probably never hear of again? (one of numerous reasons I refuse to watch the damn thing)
“Look at me, haven’t even finished high school and I’m a star, a celebrity of the highest magnitude (built on nothing but potential, of course), but surely adoring fans and media will follow me all the days of my life.”
—Ricko
[quote comment=”369793″]on te rose bowl glad oregon kept it classy didnt break out carbon fiber helmets highlighter yellow anything. well done being an ohioian you know i loved that game flat out great victory for tOSU. i did also notice a lack of bcs helmet stickers for both teams thank god that sticker sucks!!!!!
also having issues with wfws (white for white sakes) just stop this before it gets out of hand oops it already has sugar bowl sucks and they did have those horrible bcs stickers.[/quote]
UniWatch blog now with streaming consciousness
I keed – good post. I agree on the wfws
You think the culture of celebrity isn’t out of hand? Saw a bit on TV news in the past ocuple days about 12-year-olds being surveyed regarding what they want to be when they grow up.
Number one answer?
“I want to be famous.”
—Ricko
LOL
Of course, I’ve also seen THIS great line:
“In the era of the Internet, everyone will be famous for 15 people.”
—Ricko
South Florida in White Helmets/White Jersey/Green Pants while Nothern Illinois in Black Helmet/Red Shirt and Black Pants.
Interesting to see if the white helmet curse continues north of the border.
the world is a better place today now that Ohio State has made us all safe from the University of Nike and its minions in the Rose Bowl….
[quote comment=”369779″]Kudos lads for the Guess Who and “Son of a Preacher Man” references.
(As an aside, Phil, late last nite I was referring to this:
“by LI Phil on 01.01.10 10:01 pm”)
Poor job of expression on my part.[/quote]
yeah…i got it this morning…btw, i let vilk “name” the other bowls, but the guess who was mine (was thinking of just “no sugar tonight” (or, alternatively, “new mother nature”) but figured probably no one would get them…and nice grab on the dusty ref…i figured for sure that would be obscure
;)
[quote comment=”369799″]South Florida in White Helmets/White Jersey/Green Pants while Nothern Illinois in Black Helmet/Red Shirt and Black Pants.
Interesting to see if the white helmet curse continues north of the border.[/quote]
The overall look for USF is pretty sweet. Unlike Oregon, the white brainbucket looks like it goes with the uni.
NIU has worn red over black going back to the Michael Turner days at least. Not liking the drop shadow on their numbers – there should be a general black outline to go with the shadow. Meanwhile they have a pretty busy helmet logo, but it doesn’t “pop” at all.
[quote comment=”369782″]According to The Weather Channel, it’s now -19F downtown with a wind chill of -36F.
So don’t go shirtless downtown this Sat. a.m.
(somewhere, Paul is in panic mode)
—Ricko[/quote]
It’s fair to say that I breathed a BIG sigh of relief 30 seconds ago when I saw that temps are supposed to be back in the 20s a week from now (not that I actually trust long-range forecasts, but it’s good to know that it’s at least *possible* for the weather to be non-toxic when I’m gonna be in town).
You know Paul:
That UW cartoon can be recycled the next time you come to Seattle too… everytime I see UW used in the blog I first think of the University of Washington and laugh at the prospect that the abbreviation for the blog is the same as a school who’s primary color is PURPLE! But then you are probably in denial and think it’s the same as a school that sues young kids for using their “Action W”
Mizzou ‘Beast Mode’ gray helmet up for auction: link
Northern Illinois quaterback has eyeblack patches with the addias logo on them.
Jeff, as you probably know (or maybe not), Arturs Irbe was demoted by the Carolina Hurricanes to the ECHL for the 2003-04 season. His assignment was to none other than my hometown Johnstown Chiefs. He only played like 10 games, but was a fan favorite. The guy was really cool with all the fans and kids when his past NHL success could have seen him be a total diva. I think he was even named an all-star starter but couldn’t play due to injury.
He eventually was called back up to the Canes that season.
Although the chances might be slim, I still have a few Johnstown hockey connections that might be able to help us locate a game worn jersey. I know he only was around for 10 games, but you know how these minor league teams are. There might have been a few special jerseys, etc.
I know it’s ECHL, not NHL, but if this is something you’d be interested in drop me an email and let me know what you’d be willing to pay and maybe I could help you out. (you can find my email from my website homepage).
No promises, but I’ll do what I can.
[quote comment=”369805″]Mizzou ‘Beast Mode’ gray helmet up for auction: link[/quote]
isn’t that powers’ kitchen?
[quote comment=”369800″]the world is a better place today now that Ohio State has made us all safe from the University of Nike and its minions in the Rose Bowl….[/quote]
In the four BCS bowls and the national championship game there are only two non-Nike schools (Cincy got destroyed in Adidas and GT is wearing Russell against Iowa). Either Nike makes the most awesome football uniforms on earth or their college recruiting budget is massive. I’ll have to crunch the numbers and find out the direction of causation is.
[quote comment=”369782″][quote comment=”369781″][quote comment=”369778″][quote comment=”369776″]Jeff Barak:
I really enjoy 3rd String Goalie, especially the copy about each jersey’s significance/history. One thing I’ve wondered about (hopefully not something you have discussed in the past that I missed) is the visual presentation of each sweater. Do you take the photos yourself? I was wondering if you could expound a little on that process. Let me echo the sentiments expressed by Phil here today on your blog:everyone should give it a look.[/quote]
btw, we’ve heard from Jeff B that he’s gonna be around for the UW Deep Freeze.
Another great reason to stop by (the others being Paul, Phil, Teebz, rpm, JTH, Traxel, Nichole Haase and on and on…)
—Ricko[/quote]
I’m planning to attend at least one of the Deep Freeze events, hopefully the bar gathering. Are there further details available yet? Is it Phil that we should email? I live in MSP so don’t need hotel info.
Be glad all it is not this weekend… -15 currently. Not windchill, temp.
TC Mark[/quote]
According to The Weather Channel, it’s now -19F downtown with a wind chill of -36F.
So don’t go shirtless downtown this Sat. a.m.
(somewhere, Paul is in panic mode)
—Ricko[/quote]
Yikes. 51 here by The Bay and now that feels like a heat wave.
Papajohns.com bowl
South Carolina in white helmet/white jersey/red pants. U Conn in blue helmet/blue jersey/white pants.
pizza bowl on
sc in white helmets
of course, i picked them in my pool, so you can pretty much guarantee UCONN will win
dammit tod ;)
Cotton Bowl
Mississippi in blue helmet/blue jersey/gray pants.
Oklahoma State in white helmet/White jersey/Orange pants
[quote comment=”369813″]dammit tod ;)[/quote]
Sorry Phil.
[quote comment=”369814″]Cotton Bowl:
Oklahoma State in white helmet/White jersey/Orange pants[/quote]
every time i see mike gundy interviewed, i feel the need for a cold coors light
[quote comment=”369810″][quote comment=”369782″][quote comment=”369781″][quote comment=”369778″][quote comment=”369776″]Jeff Barak:
I really enjoy 3rd String Goalie, especially the copy about each jersey’s significance/history. One thing I’ve wondered about (hopefully not something you have discussed in the past that I missed) is the visual presentation of each sweater. Do you take the photos yourself? I was wondering if you could expound a little on that process. Let me echo the sentiments expressed by Phil here today on your blog:everyone should give it a look.[/quote]
btw, we’ve heard from Jeff B that he’s gonna be around for the UW Deep Freeze.
Another great reason to stop by (the others being Paul, Phil, Teebz, rpm, JTH, Traxel, Nichole Haase and on and on…)
—Ricko[/quote]
I’m planning to attend at least one of the Deep Freeze events, hopefully the bar gathering. Are there further details available yet? Is it Phil that we should email? I live in MSP so don’t need hotel info.
Be glad all it is not this weekend… -15 currently. Not windchill, temp.
TC Mark[/quote]
According to The Weather Channel, it’s now -19F downtown with a wind chill of -36F.
So don’t go shirtless downtown this Sat. a.m.
(somewhere, Paul is in panic mode)
—Ricko[/quote]
Yikes. 51 here by The Bay and now that feels like a heat wave.[/quote]
It is a balmy 4 degrees in lovely Clarkston, MI
holy shit was that a fantastic catch by kashif moore!
[quote comment=”369807″]Jeff, as you probably know (or maybe not), Arturs Irbe was demoted by the Carolina Hurricanes to the ECHL for the 2003-04 season. His assignment was to none other than my hometown Johnstown Chiefs. He only played like 10 games, but was a fan favorite. The guy was really cool with all the fans and kids when his past NHL success could have seen him be a total diva. I think he was even named an all-star starter but couldn’t play due to injury.
He eventually was called back up to the Canes that season.
Although the chances might be slim, I still have a few Johnstown hockey connections that might be able to help us locate a game worn jersey. I know he only was around for 10 games, but you know how these minor league teams are. There might have been a few special jerseys, etc.
I know it’s ECHL, not NHL, but if this is something you’d be interested in drop me an email and let me know what you’d be willing to pay and maybe I could help you out. (you can find my email from my website homepage).
No promises, but I’ll do what I can.[/quote]
I have a Latvian jersey waiting to be customized, but it’s going to have Ozolins #18 on the back.
If you have any contacts for any Chiefs jerseys, Kek, gimme a shout.
[quote comment=”369814″]Cotton Bowl
Mississippi in blue helmet/blue jersey/gray pants.
Oklahoma State in white helmet/White jersey/Orange pants[/quote]
And Pat Summerall calling the action! That makes six decades in which he’s called a game.
I miss the old Cotton Bowl, though.
A 1980’s East German National Team would be fun to have. I was surprised they were mostly blue. You’d assume like the other communist countries they would have been mainly red, or even the black or orange from their flag.
The East German flag, like that of West Germany, was black, red (not orange), and gold. And East Germany’s athletic color was always blue. Prussian (or Berlin) Blue, I believe.
link
These days, unfortunately, the term is more associated with that loathesome white-supremacist teenybopper duet.
[quote comment=”369801″][quote comment=”369779″]Kudos lads for the Guess Who and “Son of a Preacher Man” references.
(As an aside, Phil, late last nite I was referring to this:
“by LI Phil on 01.01.10 10:01 pm”)
Poor job of expression on my part.[/quote]
yeah…i got it this morning…btw, i let vilk “name” the other bowls, but the guess who was mine (was thinking of just “link” (or, alternatively, “new mother nature”) but figured probably no one would get them…and nice grab on the dusty ref…i figured for sure that would be obscure
;)[/quote]
Yeah, the Dusty Springfield reference went over my head. Is she Rick Springfield’s big sister?
By the way, Phil was supposed to give you a break from my garish Christmas outfit by throwing back to this Christmas classic: link
[quote comment=”369780″][quote comment=”369777″]I find it ironic that in the game between Auburn and Northwestern, Auburn was the only team wearing “Northwestern stripes” on its jersey.
link
How can NU have one of the all-time classic uni designs named after them, but wear total crap uniforms? And have a Mickey Mouse offense, too? If you cannot run the ball, you cannot win the game.
link
You’re point is well-taken, but—correct me if I’m wrong—NU didn’t exactly get blown out.
I mean, Auburn gets five picks and still has to hold on to win? Something’s amiss there.
And, just because someone at a uni company christened those stripes “NW” doesn’t mean the Wildcats are obligated to wear them forever. It’s an identifier, a reference…not a team trademark.
There are, for example, sock striping patterns we could ID as “Red Sox”, “Cardinals” or “Packers” and everyone here would know what we meant…but that doesn’t mean those particular teams are stuck with wearing them.
—Ricko[/quote]
Where did I say they were “blown out?”
To sum up – Northwestern lost, and their uniforms are terrible.
[quote comment=”369822″]the Dusty Springfield reference went over my head.[/quote]
im surprised you know dusty was a female
/mary isabel catherine bernadette o’brien for those keeping score at home
Jeff Barak, you made my wife’s eyes light up today…when she saw your Moose jersey: link
She’s more of a hockey fan than I am, but I’d wear several of your jerseys. I, too, would like that ’04 Slovakia jersey. Good luck with your search, and thanks for showing us your great stuff.
[quote comment=”369823″][quote comment=”369780″][quote comment=”369777″]I find it ironic that in the game between Auburn and Northwestern, Auburn was the only team wearing “Northwestern stripes” on its jersey.
link
How can NU have one of the all-time classic uni designs named after them, but wear total crap uniforms? And have a Mickey Mouse offense, too? If you cannot run the ball, you cannot win the game.
link
You’re point is well-taken, but—correct me if I’m wrong—NU didn’t exactly get blown out.
I mean, Auburn gets five picks and still has to hold on to win? Something’s amiss there.
And, just because someone at a uni company christened those stripes “NW” doesn’t mean the Wildcats are obligated to wear them forever. It’s an identifier, a reference…not a team trademark.
There are, for example, sock striping patterns we could ID as “Red Sox”, “Cardinals” or “Packers” and everyone here would know what we meant…but that doesn’t mean those particular teams are stuck with wearing them.
—Ricko[/quote]
Where did I say they were “blown out?”
To sum up – Northwestern lost, and their uniforms are terrible.[/quote]
’tis true, guess I took “can’t win” to mean “don’t have a chance to win”.
Snarky comment retracted.
NU unis aren’t that bad. Sort of a one-color-and-white take on USC (but for the thin black edge on the numbers). As such, an interesting experiment. Not saying love or hate them, just that they at least are easy to recognize quickly cuz it’s a look no one else has.
The way unis are today, Auburn holds a similar kind of uniqueness. Maybe that’s why I thought the game was a reasonably good uni-watch. Loved Auburn’s white shoes, btw. Bo Jackson. James Brooks. Freddie Wygand. Nice.
—Ricko
[quote comment=”369816″][quote comment=”369814″]Cotton Bowl:
Oklahoma State in white helmet/White jersey/Orange pants[/quote]
every time i see mike gundy interviewed, i feel the need for a link[/quote]
is there hoopla involved?
Ricko, was Bill the Cat in the penalty box?
[quote comment=”369820″][quote comment=”369814″]Cotton Bowl
Mississippi in blue helmet/blue jersey/gray pants.
Oklahoma State in white helmet/White jersey/Orange pants[/quote]
And Pat Summerall calling the action! That makes six decades in which he’s called a game.
I miss the old Cotton Bowl, though.[/quote]
decade isn’t till next year, chief, no matter how many people tell you otherwise. there was no year zero.
I almost forgot, here’s my submission in the GtGFtS for today:
link
Cool DIY Chargers backyard football field:
link
[quote comment=”369828″]Ricko, was Bill the Cat in the penalty box?[/quote]
Almost always.
—Ricko
Elliott, nice Bills unis.
Andrew, I like reversing the Rams colors, but no invisible horns, please.
Chris, that Seahawks uni really stands out. I’d prefer blue instead of black, but at least you kept the green.
Jim, I, too, would rather see white pants on the Browns, but your tweak is an improvement over the current Tootsie Roll look.
Wil, never thought I’d say this, but that’s a good Raiders tweak. Couldn’t bring myself to wear that uni, but it’s nice to look at it.
Thanks, guys!
[quote comment=”369829″][quote comment=”369820″][quote comment=”369814″]Cotton Bowl
Mississippi in blue helmet/blue jersey/gray pants.
Oklahoma State in white helmet/White jersey/Orange pants[/quote]
And Pat Summerall calling the action! That makes six decades in which he’s called a game.
I miss the old Cotton Bowl, though.[/quote]
decade isn’t till next year, chief, no matter how many people tell you otherwise. there was no year zero.[/quote]
Begging to differ: link
[quote comment=”369827″]
is there hoopla involved?[/quote]
generally
[quote comment=”369777″]I find it ironic that in the game between Auburn and Northwestern, Auburn was the only team wearing “Northwestern stripes” on its jersey.
link
How can NU have one of the all-time classic uni designs named after them, but wear total crap uniforms? And have a Mickey Mouse offense, too? If you cannot run the ball, you cannot win the game.
link
You can ALMOST win the game …. and if your kicker can actually make a kick, you can actually, probably win the game.
Let’s face it, Auburn had talent to burn, men vs. boys. NU had scholars smart enough not to commit facemask penalties on a game-ending 4th down or rough kickers on a second game-ending 45 yd missed FG attempts.
Such talent/brain matter miss-matches produce 3 pt. overtime wins – for the more-talented, less brained teams when the other team can’t kick a field goal with their “healthy” kicker. Oh yeah, and when you injure the only kicker on the other team and they can’t try a 20 yd. field goal to tie a game.
It was still entertaining to watch. Watching the game, I would have thought Auburn had changed their colors to Navy Blue, Burnt Orange, and Penalty Flag Yellow.
[quote comment=”369834″][quote comment=”369829″][quote comment=”369820″][quote comment=”369814″]Cotton Bowl
Mississippi in blue helmet/blue jersey/gray pants.
Oklahoma State in white helmet/White jersey/Orange pants[/quote]
And Pat Summerall calling the action! That makes six decades in which he’s called a game.
I miss the old Cotton Bowl, though.[/quote]
decade isn’t till next year, chief, no matter how many people tell you otherwise. there was no year zero.[/quote]
Begging to differ: link
alright then, a better argument would be that because centuries are ordinal and always referred to by their ordinal number, decades should be based off the ten decades within each century. and centuries do begin with year 1, not 0.
[quote comment=”369834″][quote comment=”369829″]
decade isn’t till next year, chief, no matter how many people tell you otherwise. there was no year zero.[/quote]
Begging to differ: link
how silly you are joe…if it’s on teh interwebs, then it must be true
/sorry jim…decade ends 12.31.10
[quote comment=”369826″][quote comment=”369823″][quote comment=”369780″][quote comment=”369777″]I find it ironic that in the game between Auburn and Northwestern, Auburn was the only team wearing “Northwestern stripes” on its jersey.
link
How can NU have one of the all-time classic uni designs named after them, but wear total crap uniforms? And have a Mickey Mouse offense, too? If you cannot run the ball, you cannot win the game.
link
You’re point is well-taken, but—correct me if I’m wrong—NU didn’t exactly get blown out.
I mean, Auburn gets five picks and still has to hold on to win? Something’s amiss there.
And, just because someone at a uni company christened those stripes “NW” doesn’t mean the Wildcats are obligated to wear them forever. It’s an identifier, a reference…not a team trademark.
There are, for example, sock striping patterns we could ID as “Red Sox”, “Cardinals” or “Packers” and everyone here would know what we meant…but that doesn’t mean those particular teams are stuck with wearing them.
—Ricko[/quote]
Where did I say they were “blown out?”
To sum up – Northwestern lost, and their uniforms are terrible.[/quote]
’tis true, guess I took “can’t win” to mean “don’t have a chance to win”.
Snarky comment retracted.
NU unis aren’t that bad. Sort of a one-color-and-white take on USC (but for the thin black edge on the numbers). As such, an interesting experiment. Not saying love or hate them, just that they at least are easy to recognize quickly cuz it’s a look no one else has.
The way unis are today, Auburn holds a similar kind of uniqueness. Maybe that’s why I thought the game was a reasonably good uni-watch. Loved Auburn’s white shoes, btw. Bo Jackson. James Brooks. Freddie Wygand. Nice.
—Ricko[/quote]
I too dig the Northwestern uni, except the really plain overthick Block font is a huge step backward from the fancier font worn 6-7 years ago, similar to the Ravens’ fancy font. That font worked well with the Purple/White – and certainly moved their uni forward from the “way too much Black” era unis following their Rose Bowl.
Interestingly, the same “fancy” font would look ruinous on USC’s Scarlet/Athletic Gold, which looks great with the simple, though sharper than NU, current Block Numeral Font.
[quote comment=”369838″][quote comment=”369834″][quote comment=”369829″]
decade isn’t till next year, chief, no matter how many people tell you otherwise. there was no year zero.[/quote]
Begging to differ: link
how silly you are joe…if it’s on teh interwebs, then it must be true
/sorry jim…decade ends 12.31.10[/quote]
When people start recognizing the day you were born as your first birthday, then I’ll agree.
[quote comment=”369838″][quote comment=”369834″][quote comment=”369829″]
decade isn’t till next year, chief, no matter how many people tell you otherwise. there was no year zero.[/quote]
Begging to differ: link
how silly you are joe…if it’s on teh interwebs, then it must be true
/sorry jim…decade ends 12.31.10[/quote]
in the hierarchy, phil > jim, right? thanks for the backup, buddy.
by the way, for the weathermen keeping score, it’s a cool 55 here in houston today.
Don’t know if it’ll make next week’s Top 5, but the International Bowl looked nice.
link
[quote comment=”369840″]When people start recognizing the day you were born as your first birthday, then I’ll agree.[/quote]
so how old was jesus christ on dec. 25, 0002?
Just what you want to do to a guy with heart problems, eh?
link
[quote comment=”369843″][quote comment=”369840″]When people start recognizing the day you were born as your first birthday, then I’ll agree.[/quote]
so how old was jesus christ on dec. 25, 0002?[/quote]
JoePa was there – ask him.
What’s the over/under on how many times Pat Summerall says “I beg your pardon” during the Cotton bowl telecast?
[quote comment=”369846″]What’s the over/under on how many times Pat Summerall says “I beg your pardon” during the Cotton bowl telecast?[/quote]
24, i think. you can also bet on the individual quarters. it’s 9-1/2 for the fourth.
[quote comment=”369843″][quote comment=”369840″]When people start recognizing the day you were born as your first birthday, then I’ll agree.[/quote]
so how old was jesus christ on dec. 25, 0002?[/quote]
Since most experts beleive he was born in the Spring of 5 BCE he would have been almost 6.
[quote comment=”369847″][quote comment=”369846″]What’s the over/under on how many times Pat Summerall says “I beg your pardon” during the Cotton bowl telecast?[/quote]
24, i think. you can also bet on the individual quarters. it’s 9-1/2 for the fourth.[/quote]
It’s not easy calling the game when your sloshed…
Actually he sounds pretty good.
[quote comment=”369792″]If you’re in the Twin Cities, public TV is showing Pond Hockey tonight at 11 pm. It’s on 2.3 which is TPTLife and used to be KTCI or channel 17.
It’s light on the uni but think of it as a warm up for the Deep Freeze.[/quote]
Or you could just watch it on hulu.
link
Hey! It made it up to 0F today!
link
I just love this hockey jersey
ECU in their Purple Pajamas against the Hogs. Hogs in white over white w/ usual red hats.
Incredible collection Jeff has. Neat story on the start of his collecting too.
I envy him.
[quote comment=”369853″]ECU in their Purple Pajamas against the Hogs. Hogs in white over white w/ usual red hats.[/quote]
they need some gold trim to break up those unis. white over white is the only monochrome scheme that works with no interruption.
I know it’s Soviet, yet, it’s really SO Japanese.
link
[quote comment=”369852″]http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2734/4231916104_7a0e305127_o.jpg
I just love this hockey jersey[/quote]
As do I.
Contacted local NBC affiliate inquiring about whether any Nielsen’s wer available yet from yesterday’s Winter Classic.
Here’s the response…
“I haven’t seen anything yet. If numbers aren’t released today, they could be made public on Monday.
“Sorry I couldn’t be of more help.”
Patrick O’Shaughnessy
Sports Producer
KARE-TV, Minneapolis – St. Paul
—Ricko
Although the Nielson’s from New Year’s NIGHT are available…
link
—Ricko
[quote comment=”369844″]Just what you want to do to a guy with heart problems, eh?
link
Check this out about George Allen:
Allen’s death may have been indirectly caused by a Gatorade shower. Allen died on December 31, 1990 from ventricular fibrillation in his home in Palos Verdes Estates, California at the age of 72. Shortly before his death, Allen noted that he had not been completely healthy since some of his Long Beach State players dumped a Gatorade bucket filled with water on him following a season-ending victory over the University of Nevada, Las Vegas on November 17, 1990.
The sports editor of the Long Beach State newspaper, the Daily Forty-Niner, was on the field that day and remembers that the temperature was in the fifties with a biting wind. Coach Allen stayed on the field for media interviews for quite a while in his drenched clothing, and boarded the bus back to Long Beach State soaking wet. However, he had promised a winning season to a football program on the verge of collapse, and in his final game delivered on his promise. His players gleefully hoisted him on their shoulders as photographers snapped away, and Allen went out a winner. Allen said his season at Long Beach State was the most rewarding of his entire career.[5]
After his death, the soccer and multipurpose field area on the lower end of campus was dedicated in his honor, George Allen Field. A youth baseball field in Palos Verdes Estates is also named after him.
Not uni-related but another observation from watching too many games:
Does anyone make any ads anymore that are not comparing their product or service to AT&T, Verizon, Comcast or Direct TV?
Did you know that the Chevy Tahoe Hybrid gets better mileage than Verizon? Or that Michelob Light has fewer calories than Direct TV?
[quote comment=”369831″]Cool DIY Chargers backyard football field:
link
That is awesome! I built the kingdome in my basement when I was a kid. Didn’t come close to the brilliance of this snowy Chargers field.
An E-coin toss? Really? Is tossing a regular coin the flipping hard!
[quote comment=”369855″][quote comment=”369853″]ECU in their Purple Pajamas against the Hogs. Hogs in white over white w/ usual red hats.[/quote]
they need some gold trim to break up those unis. white over white is the only monochrome scheme that works with no interruption.[/quote]
this may be vilk’s worst of the NYD and beyond bowls…
at least the hogs won (one of the few i picked right)
Michigan State in all white with green helmets, Texas Tech Black helmets and pants with red jerseys.
[quote comment=”369865″]Michigan State in all white with green helmets, Texas Tech Black helmets and pants with red jerseys.[/quote]
sparty looks great (as always)
/hope that’s not a bad thing tod
From the other side of the pond, I wanted to share this photo gallery of FA Cup action today. One of my favorite parts of the FA Cup is that you get to see teams (and uniforms) that you don’t think of very often.
link
By the way, loved the post today. My personal favorite jersey would be a set. Matching home and road Winnipeg Jets jerseys (originals, not modern remakes)!
[quote comment=”369866″][quote comment=”369865″]Michigan State in all white with green helmets, Texas Tech Black helmets and pants with red jerseys.[/quote]
sparty looks great (as always)
/hope that’s not a bad thing tod[/quote]
Not in my book. Plain white over plain white is not great – only JoePa St gets a pass on this. Sparty had some nice Northwestern stripes for years – and some pants stripes. They look like they are dressed for a Thursday afternoon practice.
Texas Tech looks like they got dressed in Adam James’s dark shed.
[quote comment=”369862″][quote comment=”369831″]Cool DIY Chargers backyard football field:
link
That is awesome! I built the kingdome in my basement when I was a kid. Didn’t come close to the brilliance of this snowy Chargers field.[/quote]
How did I not see this earlier? That is simply amazing! I’ve lined my back yard and had goalposts before, but not to that extent. Wow, great find, Komet17.
[quote comment=”369864″][quote comment=”369855″][quote comment=”369853″]ECU in their Purple Pajamas against the Hogs. Hogs in white over white w/ usual red hats.[/quote]
they need some gold trim to break up those unis. white over white is the only monochrome scheme that works with no interruption.[/quote]
this may be vilk’s worst of the NYD and beyond bowls[/quote]
Don’t forget the Fiesta Bowl…
[quote comment=”369869″]
Texas Tech looks like they got dressed in Adam James’s dark shed.[/quote]
his daddy was a no-talent pussy, but at least he listened!
chin up O fans, you have a respectable program, and will be back. fellow Tosu’ers, let’s be reasonable. for tyhose of you saying we will be in the title game next year, we were lucky everything went right. by my accounts aesthetically Tosu won 3~1. we win uniform(white helmet was a poor choice when you have 30 helmets to choose from against a team with a 1/2 silver 1/2 white helmet, band(casual wear is not a band uni), and cheerleaders(classic nut and leaf motif).O won the battle in the stands, as they had less adult clowns in face paint. you can wear stupid duck hats, and buckeye necklaces, bit you can’t be a cowboy with a cape(revoke his tickets!), and face painting is for students. i am ashamed to be an alumnus when i see fat olde men in face paint, and when i read cocky posts be title entitled alumni, i find that disconcerting too. good game O.
I just remembered I forgot to rent a car.
[quote comment=”369866″][quote comment=”369865″]Michigan State in all white with green helmets, Texas Tech Black helmets and pants with red jerseys.[/quote]
sparty looks great (as always)
/hope that’s not a bad thing tod[/quote]
Sparty is fine as long as they are not playing Michigan. Ohio State is NEVER a good thing.
[quote comment=”369869″][quote comment=”369866″][quote comment=”369865″]Michigan State in all white with green helmets, Texas Tech Black helmets and pants with red jerseys.[/quote]
sparty looks great (as always)
/hope that’s not a bad thing tod[/quote]
Not in my book. Plain white over plain white is not great – only JoePa St gets a pass on this. Sparty had some nice Northwestern stripes for years – and some pants stripes. They look like they are dressed for a Thursday afternoon practice.
Texas Tech looks like they got dressed in Adam James’s dark shed.[/quote]
Speaking of Tech what the heck is up with that black patch of material just above the name on the back of the Red Raiders uniform. Just look goofy.
[quote comment=”369875″][quote comment=”369866″][quote comment=”369865″]Michigan State in all white with green helmets, Texas Tech Black helmets and pants with red jerseys.[/quote]
sparty looks great (as always)
/hope that’s not a bad thing tod[/quote]
Sparty is fine as long as they are not playing Michigan. Ohio State is NEVER a good thing.[/quote]
That said, I need them to go down tonight to have any chance of saving my bowl pool.
[quote comment=”369874″]I just remembered I forgot to rent a car.[/quote]
Alamo has better coverage than AT&T.
[quote comment=”369878″][quote comment=”369874″]I just remembered I forgot to rent a car.[/quote]
Alamo has better coverage than AT&T.[/quote]
I remembered midway throught the last game it was time to change my spark plugs.
[quote comment=”369878″][quote comment=”369874″]I just remembered I forgot to rent a car.[/quote]
Alamo has better coverage than AT&T.[/quote]
Actually, Valero is the sponsor of the Alamo Bowl which is named such because it is in San Antonio, remember?
I have also bookmarked Third String Goalie and is now on my list of daily stops on the internet. Great blog. Love the old Seals, jersey.
[quote comment=”369880″][quote comment=”369878″][quote comment=”369874″]I just remembered I forgot to rent a car.[/quote]
Alamo has better coverage than AT&T.[/quote]
Actually, Valero is the sponsor of the Alamo Bowl which is named such because it is in San Antonio, remember?[/quote]
Don’t remember the Alamo – but I’ll never get over Macho Grande.
[quote comment=”369876″]
Speaking of Tech what the heck is up with that black patch of material just above the name on the back of the Red Raiders uniform. Just look goofy.[/quote]
the shit on the back is just a continuation of the horns on the front
/bumperstickers
//the superfluous rear color is the equivalent of which part of this doesn’t belong…
[quote comment=”369883″][quote comment=”369876″]
Speaking of Tech what the heck is up with that black patch of material just above the name on the back of the Red Raiders uniform. Just look goofy.[/quote]
the link is just a continuation of the link
/bumperstickers
//the superfluous rear color is the equivalent of link…[/quote]
Well, whoever designed that should be locked in the electrical closet and not let out.
[quote comment=”369882″][quote comment=”369880″][quote comment=”369878″][quote comment=”369874″]I just remembered I forgot to rent a car.[/quote]
Alamo has better coverage than AT&T.[/quote]
Actually, Valero is the sponsor of the Alamo Bowl which is named such because it is in San Antonio, remember?[/quote]
Don’t remember the Alamo – but I’ll never get over Macho Grande.[/quote]
Looks like I pick the wrong week to stop sniffing glue.
[quote comment=”369884″]Well, whoever designed that should be locked in the electrical closet and not let out.[/quote]
in america, we have laws…laws against killing, laws against stealing — and it is just accepted that as a member of american society, you will live by these laws…
in lubbock, texas, there is another society which has it’s own laws…football is a way of life
So I’m going to leave and come back tomorrow and forget all the shit-talking about my beloved Texas Tech ever happened. Haha.
LarryB & aflfan,
The interesting detail about my Cleveland Barons jersey is the Barons did not wear names on the back of the red jerseys their first season when they used the essential state of Ohio patches on the sleeves, except… I found a picture of Gilles Meloche with just such a pairing – the Ohio patches with the name on the back playing against the St. Louis Blues. It was determined on another forum that the names were added for an NBC TV game and then removed afterwards! So, I did my jersey up with the name on the back as worn just for that one game.
JimV19 – I actually found a pristine white Moose jersey within the last year at a second hand clothing store. My best ever thrift shop find! I’m glad she found something she liked.
DJ – I guess when I said “orange” I was referring to the gold on the flag. I’ve seen it reproduced in varying shades online and thought it was too reddish to be called gold. Interesting to know they picked Prussian Blue for athletics though. I was caught off guard when I saw they jersey for the first time and it certainly didn’t fit my mental picture of what I was expecting.
Kek – It was sad to see Irbe, or any NHL professional, get sent to the ECHL at that stage of his career. Not to slag the Chiefs, but that would be a slap in the face to any veteran and he handled it with the utmost class possible. I never pursued a Chiefs jersey at the time since I’m not sure I wanted to commemorate the whole affair at the time. Nevertheless, that was a very attractive jersey style and logo to be certain.
leon – Thank you very much. You made my day. I have taken all the photos of the jerseys I own. I happen to be a professional photographer. I highly discourage anyone from taking photos against a white background like I have chosen to do. Cameras are actually quite dumb. They assume every scene is an equal mix of black and white, or at least light and dark tones, and strive to make everything average out to grey. When you shoot a white jersey on white, or someone outside in the snow, the camera will underexpose the scene to make the picture average out to grey. I paint out all the backgrounds to pure white in photoshop. It’s quite time consuming, but gives a nice, clean look. It also helps when the photos I use are from other sources. I paint out those backgrounds as well, which gives all my shots a consistent, clean look. That way I don’t have a mix of carpet, wood and tile surfaces in the pictures I post.
When I sell anything on ebay, I use something that is a mid tone, like a wood floor, but if you were going to document your own jerseys I’d recommend something more bland like a grey or light beige carpet or tile floor. Then the camera is seeing a more balanced range of tones and gives you a nice exposure right out of the camera.
Thanks to everyone who read the interview and took a moment to visit Third String Goalie. It’s quite a rush to see my daily hits NINE TIMES my usual daily average. : )
Looking forward to meeting as many of you as possible at the “Deep Freeze”!
JeffB
[quote comment=”369867″]From the other side of the pond, I wanted to share this photo gallery of FA Cup action today. One of my favorite parts of the FA Cup is that you get to see teams (and uniforms) that you don’t think of very often.
link
Awww, Burnley didn’t wear the striped socks today! They still looked good, but those socks make them look great.
[quote comment=”369887″]So I’m going to leave and come back tomorrow and forget all the shit-talking about my beloved Texas Tech ever happened. Haha.[/quote]
With any luck, they will be done playing by morning.
going to bed – midnight and the 3rd qtr is just ending.
oh crap phil…
“who are you to refuse my sugar, who are you to refuse me anything.”
i are dumb.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
[quote comment=”369882″][quote comment=”369880″][quote comment=”369878″][quote comment=”369874″]I just remembered I forgot to rent a car.[/quote]
Alamo has better coverage than AT&T.[/quote]
Actually, Valero is the sponsor of the Alamo Bowl which is named such because it is in San Antonio, remember?[/quote]
Don’t remember the Alamo – but I’ll never get over Macho Grande.[/quote]
Buddy was a rock! Andy lost his nerve.
[quote comment=”369886″][quote comment=”369884″]Well, whoever designed that should be locked in the electrical closet and not let out.[/quote]
in america, we have laws…laws against killing, laws against stealing — and it is just accepted that as a member of american society, you will live by these laws…
in lubbock, texas, there is another society which has it’s own laws…football is a way of life[/quote]
the rest of texas thinks they take football too seriously in lubbock. what does that say?
Not sure if you were joking, but Penn State didn’t wear silver pants. They wore their regular white pants, which quickly changed color in the muck.
Yankee Stadium is not an option to host the Winter Classic until at least January 2015 due to the Big East/Big 12 bowl game scheduled for the week between Christmas and New Years for the next 4 seasons.
Citi Field could be an option, though I’ve heard that the stadium is not winterized (the underground plumbing as well, unlike Fenway), so it may be unsuitable.
If Citi Field can’t host it, I just don’t see any good NY area options within the next few years. New Giants Stadium will likely be in use for a week 17 NFL game, and who knows if the NHL wants to use a facility that seats 82k (over 10k more than Ralph Wilson). Red Bull Arena (a stone’s throw from the Devils home in Newark) will be open, but it doesn’t seat many more than an indoor venue (25k). Rutgers Stadium could work, but it’s not nearly as sexy. (Though, really, nothing can top Wrigley and Fenway for sex appeal.)
And of course, Yankee Stadium is the only building that’s actually on Rangers turf. Giants, Red Bull, and Rutgers are all in NJ, and Citi is on Long Island.
Being a Devils fan, I’d love to see them in the game, and I could see a Devils vs. Capitals matchup (likely in DC) if those teams wind up in the Conference Final and get good national ratings.