One of my favorite holiday rituals is the annual arrival of a package from Uni Watch pastry chef Elena Elms, who always comes up with some sort of baseball uniform-themed cookie concept. In past years she’s done stirrup-clad feet, caps, jerseys, baseball patterned shortbread, and even gingerbread ballplayers.
This year she’s rendered the large stirrups you see pictured above, each of which is about seven inches long (here’s a closer view), along with a handy decoder sheet. Bonus points for the Liberty Bell on the Phils cookie! And doubleplusbonus points for making the A’s design, which matches a lot of my wardrobe. Thanks so much, Elena — you’re the best.
New ESPN column today. The subject is a more in-depth look at a phenomenon we’ve discussed lately here on the site: cross-dressing. Here’s the link. — Paul
There I go again, bashing Nike and giving everyone else a free pass: As you may have heard yesterday, Maryland is in the market for a new football coach, and they supposedly have their eye on former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach. What does that have to do with uniforms? Check out this quote from that article (which reader Colin Sherrod pointed out to me): “Leach has already had discussions with potential members of a Maryland coaching staff and has the strong support of Under Armour, the Baltimore-based athletic apparel company run by a former Maryland player, sources said.”
That’s funny, I thought Under Armour worked for Maryland, not the other way around. Seriously, can someone explain to me why the fuck Under Armour (or Nike, or Adidas) should have even the teeniest say in who coaches a given school? Why are they even mentioned in that article? I don’t care if Kevin Plank is a Maryland alum — if he’s qualified to have a say in this, then let him coach the team. Otherwise, he and his company should get out of the way and stick to making shoes and jerseys.
I’ve been saying it all along, people, and I’ll keep saying it: The corporate uniform manufacturers have way too much influence in these football programs. The whole thing reeks, and then some.
Collector’s Corner, by Brinke Guthrie
Last CC of the holiday season. We’ve made the list and checked the URLs twice — the rest is up to you:
• Submitted by some fellow named Lukas: a 1948 Boston Braves Santa ornament.
• Shoot some hoops with a 1950s Mr. Basketball game.
• Get your 1940s “Bee Hive NHL Team Shields” here.
• This 1960s Atlanta Falcons poster is terrific.
• Reader Matt Mallonee sent in this great Chicago Fire decanter, circa 1974.
• Great patch from the 1979 MLB Japan tour.
Okay, here’s hoping Santa treats you right. From the entire staff of Collector’s Corner (wait — that’s just me), Merry Christmas!
Seen something on eBay that you think would make good Collector’s Corner fodder? Send your submissions here.
Culinary Corner: Made some killer roasted pork belly on Sunday, which I cut into little cubes. Imagine a club sandwich, only instead of bread, turkey, and lettuce, it’s made from layers of pork, fat, and skin — that’s what the little cubes were like. The recipe was somewhat involved, but it was totally worth it. (If you want to try it yourself, read this and then click through the step-by-step instrux that begin here.)
Since the pork is so rich, it’s good to pair it with something light. Or you could just say, “Screw that, I’d rather make some Parker House rolls,” which is what I did (here’s the recipe for that). Mmmm — protein, fat, and starch. All your major food groups, except for the ones that, y’know, are really boring.
(Special thanks to Kirsten for the photos and sous chefery.)
Year-end giveaway reminder: Remember, the annual reader-appreciation giveaway is now in progress. Details here.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Speaking of coaches and sportswear outfitters, Mount Union, which paraticpated in the D-III title game last weekend, is a Nike-outfitted school, but coach Larry Kehres was wearing Under Armour gear on the sidelines. “He did wear a Nike cap, however,” says Tom Pachuta. ”¦ Yesterday I asked if anyone had a shot of Ahmad Bradshaw playing with his mouthguard atop his helmet, and Ryan Perkins came through. ”¦ Ryan is also one of several readers who’ve noted that the Schutt logo appears to have been scraped off the neck bumpers of several Giants’ helmets. ”¦ Interesting article about the Giants’ World Series rings (thanks, Brinke). ”¦ If you’re gonna airbrush Carl Crawford into a Red Sox uniform, couldn’t you at least get the helmet logo right? (As noted by Ryan Harrington.) ”¦ Check out this super-convoluted sleeve logo. That’s a member of the 1910 Female Professional Giants, an old women’s team, so I think the sleeve insignia is NYFG, for New York Female Giants (great find by Mike Hersh. ”¦ Latest phenomenon in Gumballville: NFL mini-trucker’s hats (as reported by Randy Williams). ”¦ Wouldn’t it be cool if the first down line we see on TV could also be seen at the stadium? It turns out someone’s been working on that (with thanks to Chris Fox). ”¦ It’s hard to be sure based on one screen shot, but Jacob Reed says Chris Chambers of the Chiefs was using an atypical fabric for his jersey on Sunday. “Wasn’t mesh, wasn’t the super-stretchy material the Giants are using,” he says (and he’s right about that — the super-stretchies have a paper towel-like textured surface). Hmmmm. ”¦ New cycling kit for Quick Step (with thanks to Sean Clancy). ”¦ Counterfeit jersey bust in Minnesota (with thanks to David Teigland). ”¦ White vs. gray is fine on the baseball diamond, but on the basketball court? That’s a new one on me (good find by Jonathan Mayer). ”¦ The Hershey Bears are the latest minor league hockey team to “honor” the holiday season with a really ugly jersey (with thanks to Mike Rucki). ”¦ The Binghamton Senators did a little better with their Festivus jersey (big thanks to Joe Schmidt. … Speaking of holiday gestures, Werder Bremen — that’s a German soccer team — modified their crest to look like a Christmas tree last weekend (with thanks to Jeremy Richardson). ”¦ Another soccer note from Jeremy: Here’s a look at the development of the new Orlando City crest. ”¦ I’m not sure why Ron Gardenhire and Tsuyoshi Nishioka wearing Justin Morneau snuggies, but it sure makes for an amusing photo (with thanks to Eric Davis). ”¦ Tim Lincecum wore a neon-green Seahawks jersey while raising the team’s 12th Man flag the other day (with thanks to Jay Winkler). ”¦ Matt Bonner’s sneaker came apart on the court the other night (big thanks to Leo Thornton). ”¦ Not sports-related, but here’s a really cool interactive slideshow on the evolution of spacesuit design. Somehow they missed the Astros’ groundskeepers (awesome submission by Jim Santel). ”¦ Looks like Colorado football is bringing back either black or gold road pants (as noted by William Sour). ”¦ Soccer note from Timothy O’Malley, who writes: “Manchester City player Pablo Zabaleta had a head injury, so he had to get stitched up and switch jerseys — only for his wound to open up again, getting blood on his blood jersey. He ended up wearing this jersey — his third of the game.” ”¦ Very nice story about a journeyman MLB pitcher’s jersey from the 1960s being returned to his widow (with thanks to Dan Cichalski). ”¦ I live a few blocks away from a very important wall. It was (probably) part of Washington Park, the ballpark where Brooklyn Superbas — the forerunners of the Dodgers — played, prior to the construction of Ebbets Field. The wall has been the subject of various preservation efforts, which I fully support, even though it’s just a wall — there’s nothing about it that suggests, y’know, ballpark-ness, so you kinda have to imagine how it used to look. But no amount of imagination prepared me for the photo that Peter Capolino sent me last night. Never seen that one before. To repeat: That’s just a few blocks from my house! ”¦ Peter also sent along this truly spectacular Eagles scan from 1964. I initially thought it was an LP cover, because of the polka reference. “Wow,” I thought, “that’s the greatest sports-themed polka LP cover ever! Okay, so that’s probably a somewhat limited category, but still.” Slightly disappointing to realize it was just a magazine cover. Still really nice, though. ”¦ Dayton debuted their powder blue alternates last night — that was expected. The unexpected part is that the blue alts were part of a color-on-color game (with thanks to J. Cristiano). ”¦ Several broken decals in the Vikes/Bears game last night, although the only photo I got was one of Matt Forte’s slightly chipped “C” (screen shot courtesy of Mark Epstein).
I’m pretty sure Kevin Plank is on UMD’s board of trustees. In which case, *yes* I believe it is newsworthy that a boardmember supports a potential major university hire.
Bad of that article to not include that information though.
I think he was also on the AD search committee as well.
He is on the board, according to an article in the newspaper yesterday. However, Paul is right. And I guarantee that Maryland will have field turf next year too; field turf and Under Armour seem to go together like peas and carrots. At least Under Armour has its uses, but any kind of artificial turf ruins the game.
The article doesn’t say Plank is in favor of hiring Leach; it says UNDER ARMOUR is in favor of it.
And that’s messed up.
Then that is bad editting by the mothership. Although Plank is the founder, Underarmour is a brand. Just like when reporters say “The White House indicates…” The White House indicates nothing, the administration or President indicate.
You don’t know that.
Substitute “Boise State” for Maryland, and “Nike” for Under Armour, and imagine the same scenario. Seems plausible (and heinous), right? Seems just as plausible (and just as heinous) here.
FWIW, the Wash. Post has been pretty consistent in reporting that Leach has a close relationship with Plank himself and that Plank also founded UA. I wonder if some writers/editors just equate a company head with the company. Just like Jobs with Apple or Knight with Nike.
“Substitute “Boise State” for Maryland, and “Nike” for Under Armour”
Well, you can’t really. Because – as written above – Plank is an alum on the board of trustees and given access to power within the athletic department. It’s a sponsorship arrangement and a personal one. Do you have the same criticism of T. Boone Pickens having a lot of say at Oklahoma State – do the oil and hedge fund industries have too much say at that school? (Sure, that might be the case)
You can’t really give someone that amount of power and then tell them not to use it. And this really doesn’t seem like a shoe/uniform/clothing power play – it’s more one influential alum vs another (Friedgen vs Plank) in an effort to steer the program in their direction. And I know a lot of other wealthy alums side with Plank on removing Friedgen.
I don’t know how this helps Under Armour as a company, but Plank thinks that this will help Maryland as a football school. The whole thing is really a mess and not done in the way that any university would want – and for that the AD, President and Plank should be kind of ashamed.
Paul-
I agree that the wording is messed up. Who’s fault it is, I don’t know. When I read those quotes I tend to think that they are referencing Plank because he is also a big booster. It would be like Phil Knight having some say (which he does) over potential hirings at Oregon. He may not have the last word, but it is probably good business on their end to clue in the biggest donors to make sure they don’t completely object to the hiring (and thus pulling donations).
Is it right? No. Is it far more common than people believe, yes. This time the booster happens to be a clothing company.
Besides, UMD consistently reminds applicants that Kevin Planck is a Maryland alum. It seems it is a symbiotic relationship.
Do you have the same criticism of T. Boone Pickens having a lot of say at Oklahoma State — do the oil and hedge fund industries have too much say at that school? (Sure, that might be the case)
~~~
fair question…think back to your school(s)…how many buildings on campus are named for some alum benefactor…i know on mine, about 1/2 of them are (the other half are for famous alum who may or may not have ponied up $$$)
does anyone have a problem with a library named for a famous alum? what if said alum dicatated the books that would be stored there? what if said alum was an author and only permitted his books to be kept there?
think about north dakota’s ralph englestad — gave the school $100M for a state of the art hockey arena on the one condition that the team would forever be called the fighting sioux…that’s a lot of money to leave on the table, right?
so…think about those — different paradigms sure, but how much different is this from a wealthy alumnus benefactor who just happens to have struck it rich in the apparel market “donating” an arena or a building…or having a say in the decisions of the athletic department???
just how many rich alumni sit on every college & university’s BOT and make campus wide decisions? is plank a trustee (yet)?
not saying *any* of this is right or wrong…just saying we shouldn’t be kidding ourselves about the influence of wealthy alumni benefactors…including the guy who happens to make UA
If you’re going to question the wording in the article, then EVERYTHING is suspect, and you can end every discussion by questioning an article’s wording.
I think its disgusting, but considering how close manufacturers and schools have gotten, I absolutely 100% believe that they stick their noses in hiring and firing decisions.
Take Oregon and Nike. Nike makes a lot more money when Oregon does well. Oregon does well when they have good coaching. Put two and two together.
I just saying journalist have gotten lazy with the identification of sources. The White House is a building, it can’t talk; but people who work in the White House can; just like UA. If it was Planck who supports Leach (which he does) then say it, don’t hedge the quote by naming the corporation.
Another factoid…the Fridge’s buyout (and the new coach’s salary) does not come from the university, it comes from the athletic department’s budget which is it’s own entity. And guess where most of that money comes from….KP @ Under Armour and other boosters/sponsors.
Not saying I agree with this happening, but I understand it.
That’s pretty standard down here in SEC country.
Mark Richt at UGA gets a “small” salary from the university (about $250K), but most of his income (radio/TV shows, bonuses, etc) comes from the UGA Athletic Association and Nike (clothing, personal sponsorship, etc).
I recommend last week’s Tuesday Morning Quarterback column on espn.com, which discusses this very issue. In particular, it notes that Vanderbilt did away with a separate Athletic Department a few years ago and it has not affected Vandy’s athletic success.
You can make all the jokes you want about the Vandy football team’s lack of success, but you cannot joke about their record in many other sports
In particular, it notes that Vanderbilt did away with a separate Athletic Department a few years ago and it has not affected Vandy’s athletic success.
You can make all the jokes you want about the Vandy football team’s lack of success, but you cannot joke about their record in many other sports
That was done when Gordon Gee was president of Vanderbilt. If that was such a brilliant, progressive idea, why did he not repeat the procedure when he returned for his second tenure as President of Ohio State?
The Bears wear 40s throwbacks vs. teams that didn’t exist then, and pass up a golden opportunity to go classic white-over-white on the frozen tundra last night. At least the Vikes “got it”…jeez…
And how much better would it have been if that game had been played on grass?
Watching last night’s game, and looking at the standing in the paper, reminded me that this is the perfect time for the regular season to end and the playoffs to begin. The NFL season is too long and they are talking about making it longer. Sheesh.
The game wasn’t special for the Bears, they play outside in snow all the time.
Besides, the dark pants are just as classic as the white ones – they look better, and they’re far easier to see on a snow covered field.
As for era-appropriateness, the Vikings throwback uniform, with the lack of sock stripes, basically covers ’68-’95, other than the facemask color, so the Bears navy pants which first came out ’84 are perfectly fine. Even if you count the facemask, it’s only ’79 vs ’84 which is much closer than when they wore the 40’s throwback against a modern team.
The navy pants look fine, but the white ones look better. White pants in football almost always look better, in fact, home or away.
If you say so… something eye something something beholder…
I don’t think a team should wear white pants with a white jersey unless they have white helmets or side panels that only match if the uniform is all white, like the Broncos. I think the Bears, Chiefs, Ravens, etc all look better in dark pants.
Right. And only on alternate Tuesdays when the wind chill is 16 or below and their record is at least one game above .500, and only on the road and during daylight and only in alternate years. And yak yak yak. . . . You have a home jersey and a road jersey. White pants go with both and they look great. Nobody ever looked better than Gale Sayers.
Just saying Bears outside in Minnesota=white pants. Historically.
How did those players go without sleeves?!?!
bet there’s a lot of skin left on the frozen carpet this morning
I was thinking the same thing. I thought the fans were a little crazy too, but I’m from SoCal. My brother used to live in Minneapolis and manage a TCF branch. Even he thought the fans were a little crazy for sitting on aluminum bleachers in 9-degree (wind chill) weather.
I loved how some of the guys would hit the ground and just slide.
Bears actually wore navy pants with white jerseys in 1939 and 1940. Including the famed 73-0 pasting of the Redskins in the 1940 NFL Title game. So that classic look goes well beyond 1984.
UMD Alum for the record.
As stated above, Plank is just more then an alum that is sticking his nose in. He is a major booster and the AD has looked to the boosters for assistance in this situation. The new AD was saddled with a rediculous deal in the Football program with a 1 million dollar penalty due if the “coach in waiting” wasn’t coaching by next year. Fridge hasn’t put butts in the seats for 3 years now, and the University just upgraded the stadium with Luxury seats they can’t sell. A new, young, exciting HC may boost ticket sales, which is the bottom line since only FB and Men’s BB are revenue producing programs at UMD. Bring on Mike Leach.
Aren’t they off that hook because franklin took the head coach job at Vandy?
It’s a chicken and egg thing. Franklin took the job before any of the Friedgen buyout/firing went down. Franklin leaving destabilized Friedgen’s position – because he’s need a new offensive coordinator and successor going into the last year of his contract. The powers that be at Maryland knew that majors changes would have to come and they decided to make them immediately instead of leaving Friedgen a lame duck with a new coordinator next season.
On top of all that, Franklin was the best recruiter for UMD so with that loss, Fridge would have to glad-hand 17-18 y/os; the part of the job he hates the most.
Never seen that font before that Urbana’s using in the white v. gray game.
It appears to be the same font UAB has on those new unis.
It appears to the same font UAB has on those uni’s that had the #s you could not make out.
link
Re: white vs. gray basketball game–I worked at the White/Columbia/Navy school (Champaign Centennial) and my wife worked at the Gray/Orange/Black school (Urbana). I definitely preferred Centennial’s colors.
can someone explain to me why the fuck Under Armour (or Nike, or Adidas) should have even the teeniest say in who coaches a given school?
~~~
how soon before we just stop this charade of “amateur” athletics in the college ranks and we just set up separate “academies” where all you have are athletics programs run completely by the apparel companies, giving the kids shiny shoes and “recruiting” them with wardrobes instead of fancy cars?
or have we already crossed into that category and all our protestations are for naught?
The part of all of this corporate d-baggery that bothers me the most is that these companies can come in, line the pockets of the schools and the athletic departments, but don’t pay the players. That would, ya’ know, be wrong. It would destroy the amateur tradition of college sports, and all that.
The LA Times recently ran a column by Bill Plaschke saying that colleges can’t pay players because it would kill the academic side of the collegiate athletics. It isn’t dead already? Pay the players.
*facepalm*
Oh hell no. The fact of a free or reduced tuition & board just because they’re an athlete, and you want to PAY them MONEY?? Hell no.
Other than the “ran by apparel companies”, that might be better than the mess we have with college football now.
Let the NFL run it and set it up with, I dunno, 64 mostly regional teams… maybe 2 32 team levels sorta like minor league baseball with affiliated teams, scout & recruit at high schools, but also have open tryouts for anyone 18-22 years old with a high school diploma… pay ’em enough to live on, and the stars go on the NFL.
But why would the NFL or NBA do this? Running a professional minor-league system costs money. Letting colleges run unpaid-labor plantations for you is free. It’s basic business accounting: Externalizing a cost center increases profits.
So the pro leagues have no economic interest in changing the status quo. And neither do the schools, who make scads of money and earn unquantifiable publicity on the backs of the unpaid labor on their football and basketball plantations. So if there is to be a change, it must come either from federal legislation, which ain’t gonna happen as long as conservatives control any of Washington’s three elected bodies, or from the NCAA, where a rule along the lines of saying that no athletic program may require more than 16 hours of an athlete’s time in any given week would destroy the current system and restore true amateurism to varsity programs. But the NCAA isn’t an independent body; it’s controlled by the schools, who have no interest in changing the current system.
So athletic plantations, not paid minor leagues, it is and will continue to be.
Well the NBA does have the D-league… but, yeah, it ain’t gonna happen. It was just sort of a random thought that popped into my head after reading Phil’s post.
The players (and I was one of them) do, you know, get a degree. The vast majority will not be professionals and the vast majority of schools (FCS and FBS)would get crushed financially if they paid the players.
Also, they get free room, board, housing, and degrees. That is a pretty good payment. For someone at Notre Dame they are “getting compensated” the equivalent of over 250K in education that most would not otherwise be able to afford
Exactly. That’s why I remain opposed to any additional compensation for players.
not all players get a degree…
and (although i don’t think this was in response to my original post) where did i say anything about paying players?
i’m just saying that they may as well be…since the current system (much like the current BCS) is a complete mockery of a sham…
either we go back the way it was — players actually, ya know, stay four years and get a degree (or we just have a whole mess of bowl games) OR we drop the charade and just start establishing sports universities (a full playoff where a national champeen is actually determined fairly)…
but the way it is now…with only having to stay a year or two (or attain the age of 19 or whatever the NBA rule is)…ain’t workin’
I am replying to this one only because I couldn’t reply to your latest.
Yes, not all the players get a degree, the have to earn it. Just like everyone else or playing in the NFL. They do however receive the opportunity free of charge. If they bust a knee, they still get to go to school for free.
Not necessarily. Most scholarships aren’t guaranteed. If you aren’t playing, you most likely will be paying.
Paul – I think you will need to have a “kosher” culinary corner on your OYKeah website….
yesterday:
Check out the NFL logo on Tom Coughlin’s postgame interview cap. Looks like a hybrid of the old and new logos – new football and stars, old lettering.
Seems the same inconsistency on the NFL shield patch here:
Jacob Reed says Chris Chambers of the Chiefs was using an atypical fabric for his jersey on Sunday. “Wasn’t mesh, wasn’t the super-stretchy material the Giants are using,” he says (and he’s right about that – the super-stretchies have a paper towel-like textured surface).
Looking at that picture, I’m not as confident as you that those are the old letters.
On a logo that small the only noticeable letter difference would be the L, and that picture definitely isn’t clear enough to make that distinction.
“… Check out this super-convoluted sleeve logo. That’s a member of the 1910 Female Professional Giants, an old women’s team, so I think the sleeve insignia is NYFG, for New York Female Giants (great find by Mike Hersh. … ”
***
I have no idea who Mike Hersh is, but he sure is turning in some cool old stuff…
>>I have no idea who Mike Hersh is…
link
Wow. What an archive.
Mmmm – protein, fat, and starch. All your major food groups, except for the ones that, y’know, are really boring.
C’mon, Paul. Everybody knows there are FOUR food groups: protein, fat, starch and BOOZE. I’d recommend pairing the pork belly with a nice malty Strong Scotch Ale such as Dark Horse’s Scotty Karate (if you can get it in NYC) or, if you’re feeling adventurous, a malty smoked lager like Schlenkerla Ur-Bock. You can’t put that much effort into the food and then slip up on the libations. ;-)
Booze is the most essential food group. Not sure that means sticking to non-distilled malt beverages, though. If one feels like vino, a Malbec would go well. link, link, or even link of the thoughts that hit me when I read “strong Scotch” would also apply nicely.
I always thought the four basic food groups were:
Alcohol, caffeine, nicotine and refined sugar.
And I did wonder about the Oriole stirrup cookies being orange and blue…then I started thinking, Yeah, I guess we don’t see a lot of black frosting, do we.
—Ricko
Chop the pork belly into cubes. Boil in a pot of water, adding oregano, garlic, and lemon ( or sazon goya ). Turn heat up on high until water evaporates. Fry in its own rendered fat until golden crisp. Slice green bananas ( platanos ) and fry in same rendered fat. Dust fried bananas in garlic.
You will feel you arteries clogging with every delicious crunchy bite….but you will happily go to heaven with coronary!!!!!
The best decal loss last night Olin Kruetz…by the end of the night, his left “C” was essentially gone (sorry, no screen grabs…hopefully someone can help).
If memory serves, I’m thinking in the old ABA, the Pittsburgh Condors wore a plain gray road uni in 1970-71. I think I remember that from a The Sporting News January 1971 cover shot of Dan Issel of the Kentucky Colonels.
If anyone can confirm/deny, that would be great.
are you sure it was gray and not vegas gold (or something approaching that)?
fascinating writeup on the condors here from the great remember the aba website
No. I’m pretty sure it was gray. That’s what triggered the memory bank. It looked gray with “PITTSBURGH” on standard b-ball blocked vertical arched lettering.
The white home outfit that year had a red condor holding an ABA ball on its talons with a lower-case yellow “condors” inside the bird above the front numbers.
is this the issue you’re thinking of?
YEP!!
Just wish the scan was a little bigger and clearer, though.
Thanks for the dig, Phil!
here ’tis a lil bigger…the guy in the left hand part of the shot — that’s the “gray” condor?
and bigger still
sure that’s not vegas gold, timmy?
Well, from the looks of it, I stand corrected.
Ends a near 40 year old mystery.
Than Q.
For what’s it worth, I know the trim colors on the Condors’ home whites in ’71 were Red and Athletic Gold. Saw them play the Virgina Squires (and Julius Irving) in November that year. Had to be ’71 because my partner and I stopped in Pittsburgh on the way back from the WHA introductory new conference, et al, in New York. Have the game program at home somewhere.
—Ricko
Ricko,
Was link your game? (Too bad there’s no photo; those Condor uniforms were good-looking.)
For the record, newspaper coverage of Condor away games was terrible.
Don’t have a cite (or site, for that matter) handy, but I saw a note in one of the local papers this week that new Colorado football coach Jon Embree has said the Buffs will wear black pants on the road, gold at home.
Does the first person who can produce a game-action photo (a photo NOT from the Internet) of Jon Embree from his NFL playing days get a prize or anything? :)
—Ricko
Paul, that’s so cool that you are just down the street from something so old and historic! The historic-preservationists are seriously outnumbered and outgunned in this country.
Not sure the Post has all of its facts straight, though. (Wait for it …)
Hall of Famer Ty Cobb played his last contest there and fellow Hall of Famer Casey Stengel had his major league debut there.
Casey played his first six seasons (1912-17) with Brooklyn, so that makes sense. But Cobb was an American Leaguer from start to finish; if anyone finds a record of an American League game played in Brooklyn during Cobb’s era, please speak up.
Wow – that Gowanus Wall is amazing.
I’ve spent many hours with my sons in J.J. Byrne Park, wondering what the place was like when it was a ballpark. Never knew that any piece of the park still lived.
Brett Favre had his number on his towel, but I think the ink seeped through, making it look like it was written backwards
link
The 4 on the towel was intentionally backwards.
link
Today’s ESPN column is up:
link
nice interview
Nice article and good interview. Just have one thing to point out: Peter Cech doesn’t wear that rugby helmet because of concussions. He got his skull fractured by a guy sliding in for the ball. Saw pictures of the MRI once, could see a clear cleat pattern with the holes in his skull
“protective soccer headgear”
Wait… there’s headgear in soccer?
Yes, headgear is permitted to prevent repetitive concussion syndrome.
The funny part about that headband thing is its not marketed to prevent concussions. They sell it to soccer moms by saying it’ll prevent potential brain injuries due to heading the ball, nothing about getting hit with elbows, knees, or heads.
link
Here is the protective headgear for soccer.
The story Dan Cichalski submitted is all about thoughtfulness, kindness and generosity…
link
Nice.
I’m so close to that Gowanus Wall/Washington Park that a long foul ball could have ended up on my front stoop. Or a home run, since I’m not sure which way the field was oriented. And my building dates to 1910, so it actually may have happened.
As for the Bears navy pants, when they brought them out in ’84, I remember thinking it was a cool, startling retro look – because photos of the ’40 championship & those navy pants were so engraved in my mind.
However, like Geeman and a quickly vanishing number of other fans, I prefer white pants for almost all teams all the time.
Thanks, G. There are exceptions, though. I think Colorado will good in black or gold pants.
i never get to eat them, but i absolutely looove cookie day, and i can’t be the only one. nothing puts me quite in the wassailin’ spirit like a batch of elmseos…
deck the halls with 5″ stirrups….
lajoie to the the world, the rup has come….
phillup the long island weekend-guy, had a very shiny nose…
i’m dreaming of a colour on colour christmas…
we three submissions of jeremy brahm are…
deck the team that wears pro-combat, fa la la la la…
and who can forget that all time classic sung by children throughout the world…
(think silver bells)
cuyahoga pÄ…czki, uni pÄ…czki.
dressed with snot-green style
in the air
there’s a feeling
of vilk-er
children laughing
people pointing
meeting smile after smile
and and at every swensen’s you’ll hear
mothervilker, mothervilker
it’s snot-green time west of tallmadge
ring a ling, hear them sing
soon it will be sun bowl day
five “best” match-ups
even dee three
blink a bright snot-green
as mothervilker picks
uni treasures
hear my brain-pan crunch
see the children punch
it’s a five and one scene
and above all this bustle
you’ll hear
mothervilker, mothervilker
It’s snot-green time south of stow
ring a ling hear them sing
sooooooon it will beeeee sun bowl daaaaaaaaaay
________
notes:pÄ…czki is pronounced punchkey. and swensen’s is a little string of drive-in burger joints around akron that serves the best rickey’s(the california!) and burgers(the galley boy) anywhere. i thought of dropping a hamburger station or a dinner bucket into the song, but went swensen’s, because like the mothersunbowlker, it is my favourite. sorry jim, i am both a jerk and passionate, holiday hugs and holiday kisses.
________
i’m dreaming of a colour on colour christmas…
~~~
i think i just pissed myself
Mothersunbowlvilker…Marshall…What is wrong with us?
i am going to cut a baritone audio of snot-green bells for someone who has computer audio programs to mess with. sooooooon it will beee suuun bowl daaaaaaaay.
oh, and to answer your question…plenty.
how could i not write one for jth? i think this works. dream yourself an indiana rose bowl…
dream yourself an indiana rose bowl, it may be your last,
since sixty-eight you live in the very distant paaaaast
dream yourself an indiana rose bowl, and babies come from a stooooork,
the hoosiers might as well try eating soup with a foooooork.
No good times like the olden days, happy golden days of yore,
Faithful hoosiers who were dear to us, will be near to us no more.
But at least we all will root together, if the Fates allow,
we can agree on a big ten badger win somehooooooow.
So, dream, your, self, an indiana rose bowl, nooooooooooooooow.
it may be from last years comments when i was going back and fourth with greengoblin, but i already have link
What is this bowl of roses of which you speak?
it’s the oaken bucket, but filled with pretty roses.
Right back at ya, Robert. Those are sublime.
I’m feeling inspired…
chicago tomorrow! chicago tomorrow! i freaking can’t wait, it has me manic.
Eat soup with a fork…that might be my favorite Marshall comment so far.
it might be to cynical for a christmas parody, but the intention was to do a powers shoe thing, then my inner hate came out and, well, niketown rock. so rather then just scrap it, here…
niketown, niketown, niketown rock
nike-swosh swing and nike-swosh bling
destroying unis just for fun
Now the nike hop has begun.
niketown, niketown, niketown rock
niketown registers chime in niketown time
cross training with nike flair
got to get a pair.
right at bowl time, it’s the right time
for pro-combat all the away.
bowing to nike is a swell time
and throw every non-nike design away.
Giddy-up to niketown, what a marvelous beat
nike around the clock
destroy and pillage to get nike on my feet
That’s the niketown,
That’s the niketown,
That’s the niketown rock.
corn. “too”
CAN SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME
What is going on with the NHL shield on Briere’s jersey in this photo. It seems the “points” of the silver outline of the shield are either curled under or have been cut off:
link
Compare that with the crisp-pointed shield on Carter’s jersey:
link
Danny’s patch is starting to fray or wilt from repeated washings of the jersey and Jeff’s sweater hasn’t been washed as many times so the patch is in better condition?
But on the Briere it looks like the silver bottom layer was never originally cut precisely (i.e., sharp points) on the top of the NHL shield and also the bottom. It looks almost circular.
Regarding the bare-arm look in freezing temps:
We all know it’s a bad ass thing, “look how tough I am”. Wouldn’t it also negatively affect performance? Seems like having your arms covered with long cold-weather compression sleeves in bitter cold would be not only sensible, but have an obvious benefit as far as playing better. And I would think this would especially be true for a quarterback – I couldn’t believe Joe Webb was playing bare armed! Put on your long sleeved undershirt, jackass!
It’s even more strange when you watch certain players in long sleeves in the summer practice drills.
I remember them talking about the sleeves during a pregame show years ago..a lot of players who touch the ball often don’t like to wear them because when they tuck the ball it slips out easier than it does when they are bare armed.
We have seen gray vs. white in high school basketball before.
link
This is from December 16, 2008.
link
Regarding the Giants neck bumpers and the Schutt logo being scraped off:
For a team that usually does everything by the books uniform-wise, I am surprised that Skiba and company resorted to such a tactic, especially since the bumpers come off very easily…they simply attach via velcro!
Or come up with a Giants sticker to place across it.
Come to think of it, Visanthe Shiancoe and Joe Webb was wearing a similar helmet last night to the one pictures sans the schutt sticker:
link
Webb, with a Vikings sticker on the Schutt neck bumper:
link
Paul, you mentioned Peter Cech wearing headgear in the ESPN article after suffering concussions. I’m almost positive it was after he had a horrific collision in a game that came seriously close to ending his life. Not necessarily concussions. From what I understand his injury was so traumatic that he had to wear the headgear if he ever wanted to play again. I could be completely wrong but I’m at least 90% sure that’s the reason.
You’re right, Pat. Couple corrections needed for that listing in Paul’s story. Petr Cech uses the rugby headgear because of a very serious collision in 2006 where Cech fractured his skull. link
Also, it’s Petr not Peter.
link,,10268~30593,00.html
Here’s video of Cech injury
link
On the topic of mini-trucker hats, I found collectible coins of various teams and such in Dollar Stores, but I don’t have any pictures.
I’m trying to find a good photo, but did the Vikes wear throwback helmets as well? The helmet horn differences are subtle, but I don’t like the new horns either.
How can we convince a team the current uniforms stink?
link.
But, as was mentioned in the comments last night, those throwback unis might actually look better with the link (the shells, at least) from a color-matching perspective.
Vikes go 0-2 in the throwbacks this year. I wonder if they’ll use that as an excuse to mothball them.
Nah, they’re still driving a lot of jersey sales. You see a ton of throwbacks with current player numbers and names around town.
A significant expression of many fans’ preference for the those unis compared to the current ones, I think.
—Ricko
They can still mothball the “bad luck” jerseys and sell link.
Wade “Whiskey” Wilson. Straight as a string, but got his nickname from the time he walked in to a bar in Mankato (site of Vikings’ training camp) with a bunch of teammates and shouted, “Waitress! Water for my horses and whiskey for my men!”
—Ricko
Nice NYTimes link about a 1950s women’s bball team that racked up 130-plus straight wins (top that, UConn or UCLA) with some prominent anecdotes and photos dealing with the unis. Good stuff.
well no wonder…
eric dickerson approves
thanks moose…
now i can’t get niketown rock oot of my brain~pan
~~~
on another note…
here’s what tcu should be wearing when they take down sconnie…
run, run, run for the roses…all good things in all good time (hoping a little jerry will get my mind off this…
nope)
I believe HornedFrogMan forgot his utility belt.
—Ricko
HornedFrogMan vs. The Badger….
coming this January from 20th Century Fox
(starring Matt Damon and Jack Black).
—Ricko
St. Petersberg Bowl. Mascot edge: A Golden Eagle would dominate a Cardinal in a battle of birds. Neither uni is great. Southern Miss has the better color scheme. Louisville have nice pants and a nice helmet but their jerseys are pretty awful with the thick shoulder piping. Advantage on unis goes to the Eagles.
Don’t mind the shoulder piping, just the teeth on the Cardinal. Lose those, and lose the side stripe on the Eagles’ jersey and this link could be a decent matchup.
The name of the bowl is the worst thing about this game.
such a fine line between stupid & clever
I could even handle keeping the pants stripe the same, but yeah, cleaning up that jersey makes a big difference.
Too bad they don’t us ebowl games to promote upcoming movie releases.
The Little Fockers Bowl.
The True Grit Bowl.
And, a couple of personal favorites…
The Time That Remains Bowl
The Every Day Bowl.
No worse than the Bucket o’Blood Bowl or whatever that one was tonight.
—Ricko
How about the Oliver Stone Bowl?
link
No the rug is the worst thing about the game. The worst toupee in the world is better than the rug they are playing on tonight.
Tuberville- Auburn to TTECH (Under Armor)
Leach- TTECH to Maryland (Under Armor)
“Reader Matt Mallonee sent in this great Chicago Fire decanter, circa 1974.”
Holy crap! A 20 game schedule? No wonder the WFL flamed out.
Ricko, Was this your game? (Too bad there’s no photo; those Condor uniforms were good-looking.) For the record, newspaper coverage of Condor away games was terrible.