By Phil Hecken
Last Sunday we had the greatest day in the NFL — the Conference Championships — and next Sunday brings us the biggest spectacle: the Super Bowl. So, how do we fill the hours on the weekend between the Championships and the Bowl? Why, with the NHL All Star Game and the NFL Pro Bowl Game, of course.
OK, so their combined viewership won’t even approach either event (or even a late night showing of Poker Stars on ESPN), but still, it’s a big day when two of the biggest sports in North America hold their all star extravaganzas on the same day. For those who didn’t stay up really late to watch the Mens Finals of the Aussie Open (which repeats on ESPN2 this morning), and even those who did — it’s pretty much a nonstop day of non-contact sports. I’ll have a brief review/preview of the Pro Bowl in a bit, but first, I’m joined by the President of the Hockey Wing, the Premier of the Great White North, the Big Teebowski himself, Teebz, who is here to bring you his breakdown of the NHL’s big event. Teebz & I didn’t get together last year for the All Star review/preview, because there was no game. Not that you would have noticed. (I KID…I KID — there was no game because last year the NHL shut down for two weeks so the teams could send their players to the Olympics.)
So, when the NHL recently announced there’d be a “new” format for the game (kind of an old-school captains choose sides thingy), I knew Teebz would have something to say. And when we got our first look at the All Star Sweaters, I knew he wouldn’t be pleased. At least the good folks in Raleigh are excited about hosting, since we all know that’s Teebz’ favorite NHL town. But don’t let me spoil the review for you, I’ll let Teebz give you the rundown in his own words. In the words of Carl Weathers, “Here we go!”
The 2011 NHL All Star Game
by Teebz
It’s that magical time of year when hockey gets back to its purest form and… alright, who am I kidding?
The NHL All-Star Game goes today, and there’s something that has me excited about the game, but a number of things that do not. The NHL All-Star Fantasy Draft took place on Friday night, and we’ll look at possible uniform numbering situations as it has been reported that players will be allowed to wear their regular numbers regardless of who else may be wearing that number. And before we wrap up this little NHL All-Star Game primer, we’ll take a look at some of the more garish NHL All-Star Game jersey designs in a MotherVilker-style 3+1 view, and I’ll look back on a few of my favorite images from past All-Star Games. Let’s get this review underway using the Paul Lukas “is it good or is it stupid” test!
The NHL decided to allow Reebok to push the envelope in their designs this year for the two teams, and I’m sorry to say that I don’t like the look the NHL chose. There’s nothing good about random striping that cuts off at the seam of the sleeve and then randomly begins on the back of the sleeve and end at the elbow on the front. Honestly, what is the point of these random lines? If this is some new gradient technology that Reebok has come up with, we’ve been there, done that, moved on. Stop trying to add flair ”“ it just doesn’t work! Random lines that do nothing for the aesthetics of the uniform are just dumb. STUPID.
Have you actually looked at the front of the jerseys? There’s just way too much stuff on the front with the NHL All-Star shield logo, the number below the collar, the captaincy designation, and the NHL shield logo. Does anyone actually look at these jerseys before signing off on them? Are there no prototypes made? The easiest solution is to remove the “feature” that the NHL apparently insists on having on the front ”“ the number. The jersey would be much less busy, and would look fairly good if you overlook the random lines all over the sleeves. However, that number can’t be overlooked. STUPID.
The font used on the jersey for names and numbers is legible, so that’s a plus, but we run into a problem with the numbers on the back of Team Lidstrom’s jerseys. Again, what’s with the random lines? Do we really need these lines on the numbers? The rear numbers clearly do not match up with the sleeve and chest numbers as it appears those numbers don’t have lines, so this might be the first time in NHL history where back numbers don’t jive with TV numbers. So that automatically makes this STUPID.
Now you’re probably saying, “Teebz, you’re such a downer,” due to my three “stupid” ratings in a row. There are, however, some things I do like about the NHL All-Star jerseys.
For starters, I love the colour used by the teams. Have you noticed that the black on these jerseys is as minimal as can be? The blue is bold, and the home team is wearing white! While I’m not completely sold on the shade of red being used, the game should look good and the fans, for the first time in a long time, will be able to cheer on the good guys in white! GREAT!
I’m guessing that Team Staal will be skating left-to-right tomorrow because the NHL All-Star Game logo is on mirrored shoulders for the two teams. I get that the NHL wants the logo showing in promotional pictures during the ceremonial face-off and stuff, but will anyone not know that this is the NHL All-Star Game? I can’t call it dumb because it serves a purpose, but when you combine that with the individual team logo of each player on the opposite shoulder, this one becomes a PUSH.
Overall, not the worst-looking All-Star Game in history (we’ll see those in a second), but the NHL really needs to go back to their star design or a much more simplified design. The KISS rule always seems to work best.
Teebz’s All-Star 3+1
Not much needs to be said here, but these are certainly the worst looks seen at the NHL All-Star Games over the years. The “+1” will be my favorite NHL All-Star Game look of all-time. Enjoy!
3. 1982 NHL All-Star Game ”“ Wales Conference vs. Campbell Conference. I like the colours, but how many stars do you need on a jersey?
2. 2003 NHL All-Star Game ”“ Eastern Conference vs. Western Conference. The Western Conference jersey looks good in colour, but the TV numbers on the front left hip for these teams are useless. The Eastern Conference jersey looks like a ripoff of the Mighty Ducks’ jersey. Not a fan of these jerseys. They just don’t say “all-star”.
1. 2000 NHL All-Star Game ”“ North America vs. World. Count the number of different jerseys you see. If you see four different jerseys, you’re right. The goaltenders for each team wore jerseys that were different from their teammates. Aren’t uniforms supposed to be, y’know, uniform? This is the dumbest idea seen at an NHL All-Star Game yet.
+1. 1992 NHL All-Star Game ”“ Wales Conference vs. Campbell Conference. There is something to behold about the 1992 NHL All-Star Game: the colour, the throwback designs, and the overall aesthetic. These uniforms are absolutely gorgeous, and some NHL team should look at bringing a design like this to life.
There are also a number of pictures that make the NHL All-Star Game special. These are some that I’ve liked for various reasons.
There’s something to be said when you see NHL stars not giving out clichés for a living and just being themselves. That’s Grace Doan hugging her dad, Shane, at the 2009 NHL All-Star Game Skill Competition.
PK Subban caused himself a little uniform controversy when he skated out in Jeff Skinner’s Carolina Hurricanes uniform. Subban definitely won the crowd over with that move at this year’s Skills Competition.
Terence Kearns informed me that he likes when the players wear their gloves from their normal teams in contrast with the NHL All-Star jerseys. Here are Vyacheslav Fetisov, Steve Yzerman, and Brendan Shanahan doing just that at the 1997 NHL All-Star Game.
Everyone knows Bobby Orr wore #4, but the 1968 NHL All-Star Game saw Bobby don a new number as he skated in the game wearing #5!
That’s all for today! Enjoy the NHL All-Star Game from Raleigh, North Carolina!
Thanks, Teebz. I know I speak for everyone when I say how excited we are that All Star Hockey has finally returned.
And then…there’s the Pro Bowl
As the nineteen of you who actually care about the Pro Bowl know, it’s tonight. Yeah — the NFL Pro Bowl. Like last year, the NFL decided viewership might increase if they played it before the Super Bowl, and they’re doing it again this year. Unlike last year, when they played the game in Miami, this year they’ve returned the game to Hawai’i, where it belongs. I guess the players and their families/guests decided that an all-expense paid trip to South Beach wasn’t quite the same as an all-expense paid trip to Diamondhead.
Last year, ESPN had the game, but this year, it’s FOX’s turn — and it’s a prime time affair, beginning at 7:00 EST. Hopefully the beautiful weather will help a lot of us around the States (and in the rest of the world, too, actually) forget about the crummy winter it’s been for most of us.
The uniforms are new this year. The AFC will be wearing its usual red, and their jerseys will look like this. The NFC will be in white tops with blue sleeves. As far as jerseys go, these are not bad — certainly better than last year’s moderately annoying offerings. Looks like the AFC will be wearing white pants — even angry homeless man looks like he approves.
Of course, the uniforms, like the game, have gotten progressively worse since the first “current” Pro Bowl (1971) was played, right after the merger — although the NFC has always worn a majority blue and the AFC has always worn some form of red. As you may remember, I did a fairly extensive post on the Pro Bowl last year — so I won’t go into any of the history or facts and figures today — if you really care, feel free to read that at your leisure.
However, since I’ve now got this super-sweet new iMac — I spent a few hours yesterday creating what I hope will be the first of many multi-media projects for UW. Basically — it’s the 40 year history of the Pro Bowl since the merger — and you can see how the uniforms have gotten progressively worse. Some pretty good players have partaken in the spectacle — some you’ll know, some you’ll remember, and some you probably will ask yourself, “HE was in the Pro Bowl?”. Sit back for a few minutes and enjoy (I hope). Please let me know if you like this sort of thing and would like to see more of it on UW. Any criticism is also appreciated, as I hope to more fully explore different types of multi-media (hey, I think I learned something so far in J-school). Let me know what you think, good, bad or indifferent, k? Thanks.
So, without further ado — here’s a look back at 40 years of the Pro Bowl:
Best of Benchies
It’s Pro Bowl Sunday, a day I’m sure most of look forward to almost as much as the first day of school or the day taxes are due. But hey — the game’s back in Hawai’i and it’s a week before the Super Bowl, so people still have some interest, right? You know, sometimes the defense just isn’t all it should be in a given game. Need to be careful in such circumstances not to let your mind go a little wild. Just ask Mick.
(And if that’s a tad too small to read, here’s that Benchies in glorious full size color.)
Uni Tweaks
Lots and lots of tweaks keep pouring in, so obviously this is a popular feature. A bunch new to get to today. If you have a tweak, change or concept for any sport, send them my way.
Remember, if possible, try to keep your descriptions to ~50 words (give or take) per tweak. You guys have been great a keeping to that, and it’s much appreciated!
Got a big set of tweaks today…so lets get right into it:
Starting off the show is Kevin Clifford, with a BFBS USC tweak:
Hello, my name is Kevin Clifford, and after seeing the tweaks about BYU uni’s, i remebered how sweet it would be if USC wore black home uniforms. I checked out what stores have produced and made my own tweaks, and this is what i came up with.
Next up is Alex Acosta, who has a whole set of WLAF (that’s the World League of American Football, kids), and it’s pretty cool:
Dear Phil,
As every spring football nut knows, 2011 would’ve been the 21st season of the original WLAF. In light of all the Nike ProCombat mania as of late, I have created some ProCombat concepts of every WLAF and NFLE team (in alphabetical order).
Birmingham Fire: Similar to what they did wear, albeit flames on pant leg.
As a bonus, I’ve created a handful of fictional teams that could be part of another WLAF incarnation:
Birmingham Hammers: (WARNING: Intense gradients) If I brought back the league and had to pick between the two Fire teams I’d pick Rhein.
Los Angeles Villains: An ideal rival for the old Surge.
Mexico City Aztecs: A team that should’ve been.
Portland Pranksters: A silly name, yes, but something fresh and different.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Alex.
Finally, we have Alex Cloutier, who is back with the Dolphins and the Falcons:
Miami Dolphins: I gave the dolphins a complete makeover, lessening the amount of teal that they use was mostly what I was aiming for… but in the end they look kind of like Syracuse…
Atlanta Falcons: With the falcons I got a little wild. 3 Purely Mono colored unis. (yes even 3 different helmets)
That’s it for the tweak show this week. Back next week with more.
And with that, we’re done here. Please don’t tell me whether Djokovic or Murray won the Australian Open, since I’ll be watching the replay this morning. No, seriously. Big thanks to Teebz for the NHL section, and I hope you folks enjoyed that Pro Bowl “video” — please do give me some feedback — good or bad. I know it won’t get you to watch the game, but it may remind you that it was once, and could be again, a good looking game. It’s only a week till the Super Bowl, and then it’s on to pitchers and catchers. Can we just skip the rest of the winter, please?
Wilt Chamberlain hated being called “Wilt the Stilt”, he preferred the “Big Dipper” and his family even called him “Dippy”. On the other hand, maybe “The man with 10,000 notches in his belt” is more appropriate. — Mike Edgerly
Teebz, excellent work on the NHL writeup. The different jerseys for the goalies reminds me of what soccer teams do. Mayhaps they were trying to show some love to their goalie-sport cousin.
Phil, that video is great. And welcome to the wonderful world of Macintosh. You will never regret your decision. :)
Alex Acosta, great work on the WLAF uniforms. I miss that league and my beloved Scottish Claymores.
Teebz, excellent job. I am against this years all-star game from the draft to the uniforms. Those things are fugly, I miss the All-Star games of my youth between the Wales and Campbell conference. My favorite game was 1980, because Gordie Howe played in his last All-Star game and it was in Detroit. The only thing that would have made it better is if it were at Olympia.
There was a major uniform item in that game as well, AFLFAN.
It was the only time in his career that Mike Bossy didn’t wear a helmet on the ice. Bossy played the entire game with his hair flowing free!
I actually watched that game on TV the other night. Gordie still looked good despite being 80 or so. LOL
Nice work on the Pro Bowl video, Phil.
I miss the pants with stars down the legs.
Had forgotten about the ones with the big ass football shape on them, with good reason, I guess.
Get to see Terry Bradshaw wearing #11, too.
Is a bit of brain teaser, which is fun. Took me a moment to figure out the Saint shown early-on is Chuck Muncie.
—Ricko
I agree, nice video. I think I’m the only one who misses the green Jets helmets … at least until they went BFBS.
Kudos, Phil!
And Flip, those first green Jets helmets were great.
Let’s see now, if the defenses are half-assed in the Pro Bowl and NHL All-Star games, that would mean twice as much offense. Right?
So, cumulatively, that’s four times the offense today. Let the fireworks begin.
Like a video game. Cool.
—Ricko
Oh, and…
Great design eye on the WLAF unis, Alex.
Outrageous in some cases but, hey, that’s the “combat” look, and which doesn’t appear to be going away.
What you’ve shown is it that time and thought applied to it can result in some damn good looking unis…especialy compared to a lot of the stuff we’re seen actually worn, which looked like it was created by the “This Is All We Could Think Of” Remedial Group at the Home of the Inherently Clueless.
—Ricko
that’s a fantastic template and an outstanding skill on those
but … those designs (im speaking more to the WLAF originals, not so much what alex did with them) were … not so great
pro combat, aka “ricko comp sleeves,” as a design element, if properly used, could really salvage a lot of bad NFL (and college) sleeveless wonders
Those comp sleeves don’t look as good in reality as they do in the renderings, in my opinion.
link
Positioning is critical, to be sure.
To me they should be an inch or two higher than the Oregon State version, distinctly around the bicep, not just above the elbow.
Would like to see that in reality.
—Ricko
that’s the one big problem with comp sleeves — compliance
this still looked ok when the guys went sans sleeves…
but looked fantastic when worn properly both in the long sleeve and short sleeve editions…
it’s just when they were worn on one arm only or cut off at the stripe that they looked shitty
but you get the whole team (i know, lotsa luck with that) to wear them properly and they’ll be sharp
I really, really liked the Amsterdam and Barcelona Unis… great job Alex
Anyone else remember when Madden would include these teams in their games in the 90’s… man, I feel like I put up a minimum of 60 points everytime I played them.
You were supposed to play AS those teams against the NFL, ya lame fool. :P
/using team Sugarbuzz in the Cereal Bowl stadium with the milk covered field was much more fun anyway
Come on Jeff, I’ve made it very clear I’m a Jets fan… I didn’t have much choice for opponents in the 90s if I wanted to actually win hahah
I had Madden 08, and the remaining Europa teams were in there. I personally loved the Admirals unis.
I did put up 60 points playing AS them, once, against the Jets. XD
I miss the advertisements.
As much as I loved the Orlando Thunder unis, I think I liked the Skyhawks and Riders’ even more. The Surge looked pretty good, too. Loved Hamburg’s colors, but wasn’t crazy about the logo.
that dolphins tweak may be the worst ever.
I think it was bad, but not the worst…
I like the use of the Catalan flag on the Barcelona Dragons undershirts. Nice touch.
Check this out…
link
—Ricko
This guy’s still working in Texas.
link
Phil, that is one sweet video of the Pro Bowl. Thanks for sharing!
Plus, I must know the musical piece used with the video!
Here’s a tidbit. In the pre-historic Pro Bowls of 1938-1942 (seasons, not years), in a two year span (1941-1942), every player wore their own uni, much like the baseball all-star game. It was Bears v All-Stars in 1941 and Redskins v All-Stars in 1942. So if you thought navy vs navy (Bears-Packers) might have been a little confusing, how about burgundy vs navy, blue, black, red, etc.???
Anybody have pictures of those games? Or where can we find them?
link
link
Mike Edgerly’s comment that Wilt hated “The Stilt” is fact. As for his nickname suggestion of “The man with 10,000 notches in his belt” – that many notches would sure explain why Chamberlain’s pants were so difficult for him to keep on. . ..
Great job Phil! The video was great, glad to see you’re taking to the Mac well!
Good job on the video Phil, I half-expected to hear John Facenda doing a voice-over. And I’m probably the only one here who misses the green NY Jets helmets. This years Pro Bowl unis are quite decent, in fact I’d give them a B+. Positive in my eyes: no AMERICAN or NATIONAL wordmark above the front uni number. That always looked like something out of a Sears catalog. The stars/lei around the collar really reinforces that this is the Pro Bowl in Hawaii, where in my mind, it rightfully belongs.
You can add me to the list of people who miss the Jets green helmets.
I kinda like how goofy some of the Pro Bowl uniforms have been in recent years. It’s like an experiment in uniform design, without screwing up any of the regular teams.
Count me in as a Green helmet supporter. As a kid my peewee football teams had something similar to the Jets unis so I’ve always been biased..
…Would love the 80s-90s jets logo on a white helmet though
Too bad the Jets can’t use both helmets, because I can’t decide which one I like more.
What about this uni with the green throwback helmet?? remember this:
link
(Interesting side note, that’s Lou Benfatti, my Middle School Gym teacher who is now the Middle School Principle)
Nah, and I count THAT as the most lame-ass throwback attempt ever.
I just always thought this was a good, clean look link
um…
it’s NOT a throwback if you’re never worn it before
But it was an attempt.
I am going to be watching the NHL All Star Game, and completely ignoring the NFL snooze fest. At least the NHL is daring, and tries new things, the Pro Bowl is stale as hell. As for the NHL sweaters; they could have been better, but I have seen MUCH worse.
Keep an eye out for uniform numbers today, Diggerjohn. There could be duplicate numbers on the ice of the rumor holds true.
Team Staal – Dan Boyle and Daniel Sedin – #22
Team Staal – Cam Ward and Henrik Lundqvist – #30
Team Staal – Corey Perry and Patrick Sharp – #10
Team Lidstrom – Steven Stamkos and Brad Richards – #91
Team Lidstrom – Dustin Byfuglien and Henrik Sedin – #33
It really is two-for-one in the NHL All-Star Game!
I love the WLAF tweaks. My favorite ones were the Knights (because I’m a sucker for the Saints colors) and the Aztecs. I wanna see the NFL bring back the Europa league.
Check the price on this baby…
link
—Ricko
749!? That is a lot of money for a jersey. Any jersey, in fact.
Not sure if I’m the only Comic book fan of the bunch but I’m catching up on some of my unread material and am laughing out loud at a unirelated moment…
.. The Flash gets a new uni thats BFBS and comments “Kids these days can’t tell the difference between just plain old and classic”
Nerdy I know, but I thought you guys would get a kick out of it.
Phil,
Excellent job but it made me sad that some of my favorite helmets are gone
Houston – link
Denver – link
New England – link
Rams – link
Eagles – link
It was nice to see a shot of Eddie Murray.
Again, excellent job Phil and yes I would like to see more.
Do I get a point for noticing the backwards image at 2:15?
Was that the one of Neil Lomax?
Tod, the first comment I made to Phil when I saw this was, “An Eddie Murray sighting!”
I agree with you about those helmets. You forgot the Bucs:
link
I’m not sure what I like better – when the helmets complement the unis link or when they clashed like the old Bucs. I’m leaning towards the latter.
Y’know, I really love the Pro Bowl trophy/emblem thingy. It’s a hollow football, matching up perfectly with the fact that it is a hollow football game.
It sort of looks like the…um…socket to the Super Bowl trophy’s…um…plug.
hey…
i just noticed the sedin’s are on different teams today…what are the odds of a daniel vs. henrik fisticuffs?
has there ever been a *fight* (more like a pro wrestling fake) in a ASG before?
also, why is the game on versus? i assume the NHL feels it’s already maxed out viewership, so why bring the casual fan in
NBC must have really wanted to air that figure skating which is airing in the same timeframe.
I guess Versus is the analog to the NBA’s TNT, which is airing the NBA all-star game… but TNT is much more widespread. Ugh.
I know it might open a can of worms here, but I really wish ESPN would just get itself into the new NHL TV contract. If the NBA can have two cable networks, so can the NHL.
ESPN is officially out.
Because Comcast and NBC are joining forces, the NHL will not return to ESPN. NBC is their partner, and Comcast has made no effort to hide the secret that NBC will rival ESPN as THE place to get your sports fix in the US.
NBC Sports and Dick Ebersol will take the reins of Versus and the Golf Channel. Rumor has it that it will be rebranded to an NBC brand, they’ll use NBC talent on the station, and will pump money into the network. Basically, they are hitting ESPN right where it hurts: television rights deals and their wallet.
With the NHL being a “preferred partner” of NBC, guess who stands to benefit?
The problem, though, is that the ESPN wants in on the NHL again. The Winter Classic and the NHL Playoffs are extremely lucrative buy-ins, so ESPN can stomach the weaker regular season matchups if it gets full rights to everything in the US.
Where ESPN may lose out is due to their programming. The NHL doesn’t want to be wedged in with Duck Hunting, Poker, and the Westminster Dog Show as “filler”. They want front-and-center coverage like the other major sports get, and NBC has delivered on that front with their superb coverage of the Winter Classic and NHL Playoffs, including free advertising.
With lockouts coming to the NFL and NBA, the only major sport being played next winter is the NHL. Guess who stands to benefit from a bidding war?
The NHL will be the featured product on NBC’s new channel. Make no mistake about that. And ESPN will have to pay through the nose if they want a sniff of the ice.
With the NHL being a “preferred partner” of NBC, guess who stands to benefit?
~~~
im guessing ESPN
Sure, if they want to pay the NHL a boatload of money. The NHL will take it, I’m sure, but it will have to be extravagant.
I’d think ESPN would want to pay, especially with the threat of no NFL/NBA this coming fall. And Bettman would be insane not to want an increased profile for his league. And NBC and Versus can still get the choice games, while ESPN would get a few other games. And all three can share the playoffs.
If you’re convinced that Comcast has its hand too far deep in the NHL’s pocket, I’d really hope they branch out to USA as a third network. Don’t they say it’s one of the most popular networks on cable? And it already airs sports programming, such as golf and the Olympics. Imagine airing the All-Star Game there.
Your point is well made, but don’t rag on the Westminster Kennel Club show (which airs on USA Network, by the way). If you love dogs (like we do), its an awesome 6 hours of TV in the doldrums of February.
I have a dog, Mike. Dogs are good.
However, it’s not a sport. Why is it on ESPN? They don’t show fashion shows from Milan, so why are they allowing the parading of dogs?
it’s NOT on espn, it’s on USA…there is a big difference
espn actually doesn’t have all that much fluff programming anymore (yes, they do have poker, but that and bowling both outdraw hockey on versus)
Most likely because NBC has the U.S. Figure Skating Championship today.
Hey, my grandfather finished third in 1923.
Let’s not be totally dumping on figure skating.
link
—Ricko
THE julius nelson?
holy crap
Was only year he could afford to go and compete.
Actually, he won it, but they dropped him to third because he’d accepted $5 for skating an exhibition somewhere along the line.
Bernie Swanson, then Sports Editor of Minneapolis newspaper, called him, “The father of figure skating in the northwest.”
Three of his daughters (one of them my mom) joined with a cousin as “The Nelson Sisters,” a feature act in the original 1936 Ice Follies.
The cousin’s husband became a coach, and was Doug Ramsey’s coach. He and Ramsay were among those killed in the 1961 plane crash near Brussels that claimed the entire U.S. Figure Skating team.
link
There’s a movie about it coming out soon (saw a trailer recently at a theater.)
—Ricko
And get this…he was 34 years old in 1923.
Born in 1889.
—Ricko
Now, you want to talk about the Sports Illustrated “jinx?”
Laurence Owen was the U.S. Figure Skating hopeful at the time.
This is the SI issue that hit the stands two days before the crash…
link
—Ricko
they dropped him to third because he’d accepted $5 for skating an exhibition somewhere along the line.
~~~
so…he was kinda like the sCam newton of figureskaters then, eh?
Fisticuffs are rare, so don’t expect the Sedins to have a family brawl.
In 1948 in his first All-Star Game, Gordie Howe got into a fight. You read that correctly – Howe fought in the All-Star Game. Howe squared off with Maple Leaf Gus Mortson in the first fight, which was followed by a Ted Lindsay-Teeder Kennedy scrap in the same game! And these weren’t just slap-fights… real punches! The All-Stars played the reigning Stanley Cup champion Maple Leafs, and won the game 3-1.
Mike “Shaky” Walton was Howe’s other combatant in 1968. Toronto had won the Cup the year before, so they played the NHL All-Stars again. Howe and Walton dropped the gloves at 14:42 of the third period, but only received roughing minors for their bout. Toronto beat the All-Stars by a 4-3 score.
As for Versus, NBC didn’t buy the rights, and Versus did. Sorry ’bout that. If you get TSN or CBC, they both have the feed as well.
According to my late grandpa who use to watch Gordie live at the Olympia, “Gordie Howe was on tough son of a bitch. He would use his elbows in the corners and wasn’t afraid to drop the gloves.”
If I were the NHL, I’d bury the All-Star game as deep as I could on the dial. Any non-fan who happens across it by mistake will probably never tune in again.
Imagine someone who’s never seen football starting with the Pro Bowl.
Snowing here in TC today. Tends to make watching the Pro Bowl from Hawaii more appealing.
Now, when I say “snowing,” I mean maybe 2-4 inches by tomorrow night. Not like in nne of those snow capitals like New York or Philadelphia, where you’d think they’d have domed football stadia, for pete’s sake.
—Ricko
I think it has already been proven that domes do not necessarily help against snow.
Besides, football is better when it is played in the elements.
I know, I know. I hate the damn things. I was zinging any east coasters who have for so long have thought of the Twin Cities as if it typically got as much snow as Donner Pass.
“Who’s got the snow NOW, gang?”
;)
—Ricko
I am one of those crazy Southerns who moved farther north in order to get snow. Who knew that Charlotte would be the only spot in this part of the state with an anti-snow force field around it?
Have the NHL or NFL ever had players wear their team uniforms, like MLB, for the all-star/pro-bowl games?
All-Stars, no.
NHL Stanley Cup Champions, yes.
I’m off to hockey myself. Be back later!
I should clarify – the NHL Stanley Cup Champs from the previous season used to earn the right to host the NHL All-Stars. The Champs wore their uniforms, the All-Stars wore all-star uniforms.
“I’m off to hockey myself.”
TMI man, TMI!
If you look at my post at 8:44 AM, you will find the answer regarding the Pro Bowl.
Thanks, timmy b.
I wish the NHL would go back to creating a special logo for the All-Star game. I loved this one. link
Bring back the orange too. I’m sick of red, white and blue.
The paint looks like it’s peeling a bit.
Teebz, great call on the ASG jerseys. I’m especially pleased that the 1992 throwbacks were your +1… those are personal favorites of mine, too.
Eh, got distracted while searching, and hit the submit a bit early… anyway, I’d say one of the weirder NHL ASG designs came out link I was trying to search for photos, but haven’t turned up any yet (even though I’ve seen pictures of them in the past).
That 1960 treatment, to me, falls squarely under “What the crap were they thinking?”
I had forgotten about Mark Bolding having a Pro Bowl site, so after looking thru all his pics I decided just for fun to make an all-time Pro Bowl 5&1.
5. The late 60s look with the gold NFL helmets:
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Yeah, it’s pre-merger, but it’s still a Pro Bowl.
4. The 2005 look:
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Restrained modernity.
3. The early 70s look:
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As happy as I was when they switched to team helmets, I did like this set.
2. The early 90s look:
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Even though I think an all-star uni should have stars on it…
1. The 80s look:
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…there was just something so right about this simple yet bold matchup.
And my bad one: The last two years:
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The different colors on the fronts and backs annoys me even more than these link and these. link
As for hockey, I haven’t seen enough examples, so I can’t really go there. I do like Teebz’ favorite, and I also liked when the NHL used the league’s colors…even though they closely resemble the dreaded Flyers.
This year’s Pro Bowl unis look pretty good. May have to alter my all-time Top 5 list to include them. Gotta see pics of the game first, though.
For someone who used to love this game (even contemplated painting an electric football Pro Bowl one time), I just don’t know if I’m going to watch tonight. We’ll see.
So odd to see Tarkenton in a white helmet.
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Yeah, wore silver at Georgia, but just not that many images of that out there.
—Ricko
Or Johnny Unitas NOT in a white helmet…
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—Ricko
Johnny U. in a gold (not yellow) lid:
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Both of those Johnny U shots are good looks. Amazing that players once wore long sleeves and played well.
Having nothing to do with anything that’s been talked about so far…..
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This was in a posting a couple years ago about the fate of the old MECCA floor. Just wanted to update by saying that last Monday I took a tour of the US Cellular Arena (formerly the MECCA) for a grad school class and the floor is, in fact, still stored there.
“It’s only a week till the Super Bowl, and then it’s on to pitchers and catchers. Can we just skip the rest of the winter, please?”
Some of us love snow and basketball, so you just hush, L’il Phil. NBA doubleheader on today!
If uniform design was a religious or political ethos. My philosophies would liken me to Rand Paul or Osama Ben Laden. I’m practically amish.
I believe that this is possibly the most beautiful uniform in all of sport:
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Having said that, I sort of like that a meaningless, once a year, game has been a place to showcase unis that would (hopefully) never see action sunday after sunday.
let the designers go apeshit once a year.
yeah, this looks like a gaping laceration that will need several hundred stitches:
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and were this template ever adopted by a team, i’d laugh and laugh at the misfortune of its fanbase:
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but once a year, in a meaningless game, bring it hard. Kinda the way it’s ok for girls to dress up all slutty on halloween. Just don’t wear it to work on monday.
that’s how i feel, and this year’s NFL unis are kind of a disappointment. i was hoping for sluttier costuming.
As simple as that Lions uniform was, I too liked it a lot.
link
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Adam’s next to last paragraph is quote of the day.
Ive always been interested in what the SB field looks like & it appears the crew is being a bit lazy on the GB endzone this year. Id like to see a hunter green paint job in the background like past SBs.
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looks like theyre still painting in the pics, so i bet they’ll get to it.
They’ve done a couple thing with the endzones for the Packers over the years. They’ve done forest green, yellow or plain turf. I don’t think they’d go yellow since thats covered in the steelers side so my money’s on it going green
My money’s on plain turf.
I agree, looks like they’re pretty much done with GB’s paint. That sucks too, it looks like they half-assed their endzone. Ol’ Jerry’s cuttin’ corners every which way possible huh?
Rams and Steelers both had yellow end zones when they played.
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Bills and Cowboys both had blue.
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Packers could still be yellow.
If Bobby Orr was relegated to wearing #5 in that all-star game, I wonder who got #4?
Jean Beliveau
Jean Beliveau
I know the whole white-jerseys-win-the-Super-Bowl discussion was had here in the comements last week, but before that I’d already planned on having a tongue-in-cheek post on that on my site (in fact, I wrote the first draft before the announcement that the Packers would wear green), which I’ve now gotten up for the non-UniWatch audience.
If you want to see it: link
p.s. I’d already had the yellow vs. gold idea before that side discussion erupted as well. Just for the record.
Lakers in throwbacks?
Lakers in throwbacks.
What year are these Lakers throwies with the white numbers from? I only ever think of these unis with purple numbers. And those shorts look ridiculous with the modern baggy fit. They’re also missing the little cutout on the bottom, too, I think.
The first gold set…
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the last royal and white set…
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—Ricko
That’d be Elgin Baylor, who came west with the Lakers from Minneapolis.
Gee, he was fun to watch. One of the first to drive, spectacularly, the lane.
Saw him play a number of times here in Minneapolis. Friend of mine’s oldest sister would get courtside seats through where she worked.
—Ricko
First of all, when it comes to the Lakers, it’s Forum Blue, not Purple. Just sayin’.
Secondly, going by Chris Creamer’s newly-designed sportslogos page, it looks like they’re throwing back to the 1966-1972 uniform.
Shouldn’t that be Staples blue now?
’66-’67 makes sense cuz that’s when the Kings came into being, and Jack Kent Cooke, who owned the Lakers and Kings, decided to outfit both in “Forum Blue” and Gold…so the Royal, Columbia and White the Lakers had brought with them from Minneapolis went bye-bye.
—Ricko
The “Fabulous Forum,” of course, actually didn’t open until the Kings’ second season (Dec. 12, 1967)…
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That’s some big “L” on that Toronto Maple Leafs baseball jersey, huh.
—Ricko
I love the story of how Cooke came to buy the Lakers. He called Laker owner Bob Short, who was having trouble finding an arena where his team would get first priority (they kept getting bumped from the Minneapolis Auditorium at playoff time for things like the Boat Show).
Short didn’t particularly want to sell, and the franchise was worth, most everyone estimated, about $500,000. Cooke said, “Gimme a number.”
Short, thinking he’d get rid of the guy, said, “Five million.”
Cooke said, “Done.”
And that was that.
—Ricko
Which came first, the name of the color, or the name of the arena?
Likely the name of the arena, which Cooke had plans to build even before he was granted the NHL franchise.
—Ricko
@Jonee: I would guess the name of the stadium.
No, the Lakers wear purple, and call it purple. Once Jerry Buss bought the Lakers, he went with the name “royal purple.”
Absolutely, and pretty sure the observation was facetious.
Although, in reference to the ’66-’67 throwbacks would be fair (and accurate) to mention that at the time it was called “Forum Blue.” Not for the sake of some kind of precise accuracy, but because the story behind such marketing (or owner) nonsense is worth noting.
—Ricko
Chick Hearn would comment during road games “The Lakers are wearing Forum Blue, but don’t adjust your sets folks, it’s purple.”
Looks like Jonas Hiller is wearing an entirely black goalie mask today.
He wears that mask normally during the season.
Ah, I did not know that. I do not follow Anaheim and I do not think I have seen them play Pittsburgh this year.
I do like the simplicity of it.
Best mask in hockey, hands down.
I am also a fan of the mask that Chris Osgood wears. It is a shame that he is the last one who gets to wear that style.
He doesn’t have to be. The up-and-coming goalies just prefer the hybrid mask to the birdcage. Dan Cloutier used to wear the birdcage, and Hasek and Osgood wore different variations of the birdcage when they were together in Detroit.
Eff the haters. I like these NHL All-Star unis. The front center number isn’t really that bad. Probably the only thing I don’t like is how low the NOBs/numbers are.
The Pro Bowl unis aren’t bad either, aside for the wacky star-lei. But still, less gaudy than the other Reebok-era Pro Bowl unis.
I just think they’re too busy on the front. I love the colours of the uniforms today, though.
10 hours late, but have to throw in. Front numbers on a hockey jersey are always “that bad.” They serve no purpose. From any angle in normal gameplay, including straight on, you can make out the players number from the sleeve stripes. It’s pointless and, like Teebz said, is too busy.
the guardian project?
really?
did stan lee declare bankruptcy somewhere along the way? did he lose a bet? is this part of a divorce settlement?
That has, unfortunately, been going on all season…
I think Stan Lee just refuses to give up.
Pro Bowl observations: looks like the jerseys are made from the same toilet paper stretch-mesh fabric that makes up the whole Jints and Jaguars unis. I wonder how it’ll look on Peyton Manning…
Overall: could be worse. They can do without the stripes though…
looks like the pro bowl unis are superstretchies
no belly stars either… or i just cant see em
Plus the pants are SUPER long on some players like Mike Vick and Larry Fitzgerald (sp?). That solves the problem of biker shorts, but now the players look like they’re wearing double-knit-style baseball pants. Looks more leotardy than ever.
see below.
lol
They’re like tights.
I think some guys have there socks OVER them, too.
Looks like hell, either way.
I’d rather see the biker shorts, at least we have SOME idea where their knees are.
The danceline look is just…blech. They all gonna go work out at Curves later?
—Ricko
Bradshaw just now hammered the unis.
Don’t like these skin-tight PB unis @ all. Pass. Little House On the Prairie marathon on Hallmark. Seeya.
Some kind of near ankle length pants goin’ on, too.
Vick and others.
—Ricko
Well, past bottom of calf, anyway.
Or maybe mid-calf.
Easy to spot.
Has Joe Thomas always gone without a neck bumper? This is the first I’ve seen it. Also, Ray Lewis in red sleeves is probably uglier then the jerseys themselves
excellent job on that video phil!
if the big teebowski tells me it’s easter, i don’t ask questions, i start painting eggs.
Still one of my favorite images, RPM! I absolutely love that picture!
Count me as a fan of Phil’s video as well, and I really don’t care for the NFL until the playoffs start. I think the effort put into that video montage deserves some kudos, regardless of who is featured in it.
Well done, Phil!
well played teebowski, well played.
Fantastic This really is one of the most beneficial sites I’ve ever read on this subject.
wow, Terry Bradshaw might just “get it”
Terry Bradshaw just ripped on the Pro Bowl unis. LOL, and he has a right to with the uniform HE wore:
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Shoot. @ChrisOH beat me by a minute.
if rbk didn’t insist on blue socks with blue pants, which would provide some visual demarkation of the end of the pants…they probably would have had them tailored better
but yeah…some of these guys look like they’re wearing basketball shorts instead of football pants, they’re so long — or the rafa nadal look of a couple years ago
im wondering if the players have superstretchie pants too, but some of them didn’t want them…ya know….TOO tight, so they opted for a bit more room everywhere
This is turrrible…
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As I said, I prefer biker shorts to that.
That’s baseball pants.
Or George Blanda…
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—Ricko
it is pretty bad, it’s like they have exposed knee braces.
Ya know… this could actually be a GOOD idea. Let’s use the Packers in this example. Say the Packers had these pants for the Super Bowl; if the players put their socks over the pants, then there’s no chance of them wearing biker shorts, AND it’ll look normal (for the most part).
i respect you trying to make a silk purse of a sow’s ear.
It’s what I do. I’m nifty like that ;)
Wes Welker looks a little like he’s wearing a pair of Andre Dawson’s Expos pants.
—Ricko
NFL football, welcome to 1979 MLB.
Check out #63 from the Colts.
Looks like Greg Luzinski.
holy shit — was that the worst ever looking PAT/FG net you’ve ever seen?
not that i like the good hands in the college game…but c’mon — it’s the pro bowl — buy a new netting
They borrowed it from a nearby seafood restaurant.
Its normal job is “ambiance.”
—Ricko
Anhyone notice that long discussion about the Steelers while the players all were just standing around?
My educated guess? There’s been so much scoring and so many turnovers that they were out of commericals. Either tha or some yutz was on the field running around.
Will be ineresting to see if it happens again. Some spots are designated for final two minutes, though.
—Ricko
Yup, they’re out of commmercials.
First-half commercials, that is.
Well, if you took the AFC and 50 points, you’re still okay.
I partially take back what I said about the Pro Bowl unis now that I see how they’re the spandex-cut unis. Ack.
Because of the stupid form-fitting, the NOB nameplates never seem to align with the little conference logo above them. The little N or A always looks off-center.
And seeing Peyton Manning– a QB who regularly wears longer sleeves than most– in a near-sleeveless stretchy-top makes me kinda sad.
Strictly looking at the tops, the NFC’s jersey would be a HUGE upgrade for the Bills (minus the stars).
Those Pro Bowl Jerseys are nice, take the NFC’s change the blue to Navy, and boom New England Patriots uniforms, and if they wait until Nike takes over to make the change you won’t even have to deal with the addidas/reebok shoulder stripe issue. They’d have to get a different pant design though.
I flipped on the Pro Bowl for a minute. There’s a torn bolt decal on one of the Chargers offensive lineman’s helmets. I don’t know who it was, nor do I have a pic.
Alex Acosta great work!
Ignoring the stretchiness, and the awkward pants, I really like this Pro Bowl set. A clever way to bring in a star motif without soul crushing overkill. And as much as I’d like to agree with Vilk about the clashing helmets, it pains me every time they show a Cleveland Brown. KC, Buffalo and NYG are the only teams whose helmets look good in the Pro Bowl.
Just bookmarked this site. Useful news.
I really think the 10,000 notches thing although mathematically possible is still a bit of a joke.
This is getting a bit more subjective, but I much prefer the Zune Marketplace. The interface is colorful, has more flair, and some cool features like ‘Mixview’ that let you quickly see related albums, songs, or other users related to what you’re listening to. Clicking on one of those will center on that item, and another set of “neighbors” will come into view, allowing you to navigate around exploring by similar artists, songs, or users. Speaking of users, the Zune “Social” is also great fun, letting you find others with shared tastes and becoming friends with them. You then can listen to a playlist created based on an amalgamation of what all your friends are listening to, which is also enjoyable. Those concerned with privacy will be relieved to know you can prevent the public from seeing your personal listening habits if you so choose.