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Uni Watch

Because What This World Really Needs Is More Advertising

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Brinke Guthrie was looking at Australian Open photos yesterday when he came upon this shot of Casey Dellacqua. “Hmmm,” he thought, “Instant Sponsor? What the hell is that?”

Instant Sponsor, it turns out, is pretty much what it sounds like: a company that lets advertisers bid for space on athletes’ attire for very short time periods. In other words, the Instant Sponsor logo patch is like a “Your Ad Here” sign. Obviously, this is for athletes who don’t already have sponsorship deals, so this is primarily a vehicle for bottom-feeders.

So just what does it cost to place an ad on Casey Dellacqua’s breast (or wherever), and just who tends to bid for that privilege? Well, an anonymous bidder apparently spent $1500 to buy a sleeve patch on James Duckworth’s shirt for the first two rounds of the Aussie Open, but this photo of Duckworth’s second round match shows him wearing the Instant Sponsor logo, not an actual sponsorship patch, so maybe the anonymous bidder’s check bounced or something. Hmmmm.

A sleeve patch on Kevin Anderson’s shirt for the third round tomorrow will cost more — a minimum of $3200. It’s not clear if this is because it’s for a later-round match or because Anderson is a higher-ranked player than Duckworth. Either way, nobody has bid yet.

Brinke notes that “patch deals” have been common in other tournaments for years. Basically, some upstart nobody who’s about to face a top player in a televised match will be approached in the locker room shortly before the match by a sponsor (or a broker for several sponsors) and be told, “Here, wanna make a quick $1000 today? Wear this logo on your sleeve.” (There was once a really good ESPN.com story about this, but it has stubbornly resisted my Googling efforts. If anyone has the link, please pass it along.)

But Instant Sponsor takes things to a new level, because the auction format means anyone can slap their logo on Casey Dellacqua’s breast (or wherever), instead of just the insiders who’ve already prepaid for locker room access. There are still a few aspects of this that I don’t fully understand — for example, how big a cut of the cash do the athletes get? Does the athlete have any recourse if the high bidder turns out to be a business he or she doesn’t like? How does a bidder’s logo (presumably submitted as a jpg) get turned into a patch in time for the match?

Still, it’s an intriguing model — so intriguing, in fact, that I’m thinking of bidding myself. Imagine it: the Uni Watch logo on Casey Dellacqua’s breast (or wherever), right there at the Australian Open. Pretty sweet, right? Or instead of the UW logo, how about a patch that says, “Corporate sponsorship sucks.” Lots of fun possibilities here.

The only problem is that I don’t have a spare $3200 lying around. But if everyone reading this right now tossed in 25 ¢ — or, more realistically, if a relatively small number of you were willing to part with a Hamilton — we’d be good to go.

So what say ye, Uni Watchers — should we start an Instant Sponsorship fund? How much would you be willing to contribute? Go on, don’t be shy — put your money where my mouth is.

+ + + + +

Oh, and by the way, there’s be a new ESPN column today — a big slideshow of childhood uni photos. Some of them have previously appeared here, others are new. Enjoy.

+ + + + +

Uni Watch News Ticker: Lots of underwear debate in the world of skiing. ”¦ Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: The Devils marked Patrick Elias’s 1000th game by giving him a No. 1000 jersey. … Word through the grapevine is that the next college basketball team to go gray will be Syracuse, in a few weeks. … Oh wait, yet another team going gray: Penn State (from Gerry Dincher). … The excellent Remember the Aba site has put together its own assessment of the NBA’s new ABA throwbacks (from Bill Jones). … Here’s a really interesting little article about how Jews have pioneered gloves in several different sports (from Seth Horowitz). … This is interesting: Johnny Damon bats and throws left-handed, but he golfs right-handed (good spot by Lou DeGeorge). … What if every Chicago sports team had a jersey sponsor? The answer might be something like this. Okay, it probably wouldn’t be like that after all, but that’s what they came up with (from Bob Dlotkowski). … Wanna design your own cap? Now you can (from Mike Lindsay). … Spalding has formed “a strategic partnership” — as opposed to all those non-strategic partnerships — with Sports Specialties, a sports construction company. … This isn’t exactly a “kids in uniform” photo, but check out this shot of Muhammad Ali. “The little white guy is me,” says John Waddill. “It’s one of my prized possessions.” … Speaking of kid shots, Susan Freeman sent in a shot of her dad from 1954, when he was 13. My god, look at the size of that shoulder patch! It was for something called the Junior Optimists, an organization that still exists. … Jeff Barak was doing some photo research on former NHL ref Andy Van Hellemond and came across something he (and I) had never seen before: Van Hellemond with an NHL logo on his orange armband. “I’m wondering if it might have been for an All-Star game, or maybe something like a Canada Cup tournament,” says Jeff. Anyone know more? … Speaking of the NHL, longtime hockey journalist Howard Berger has listed his picks for the top NHL uniforms of various eras. … New helmet storage room for Cal. “The helmets without the gold stripe are some of the practice helmets, and the ones with the stripes are game helmets,” explains Kyle Mackie. … John Waddill attended the first Dallas Mavericks game ever played, on Oct. 11, 1980 — an easy date for him to remember, since he and all the other fans in attendance received this commemorative medallion. “The basketball was the authenticity tag,” he says. “Here’s the back of both and the nice pouch that they came in.” … New flag-desecration jersey for the Pensacola Ice Flyers (from Ryan Bohannon). … Yesterday’s post about belt buckles reminded Tracy Ruckel about these Royals buckles in her (his?) collection. … New spring training logo for the Orix Buffaloes (from Jeremy Brahm). … Also from Jeremy: If anyone’s in the mood for translating, here’s an interview with Majestic’s Japanese manager. If you want the highly imperfect (but often highly amusing) Babelfish translation, that’s available here. … Michigan and Michigan State went color-vs.-color last night (from Jackson Nock). ”¦ As you can see from that last photo, Michigan was wearing blue shoes and socks with the maize unis. Sometimes they wear “>white socks. Either way, as James Bernard notes, they’re no longer adhering to the Fab Five’s protocol of black shoes and socks. … Here’s the Hamilton Bulldogs’ jersey for the AHL Winter Classic. … Hey, here’s a great bargain! If you pay $25 for a Florida license plate that gives free advertising to the Miami Heat, you’ll also be giving free advertising to American Airlines. If you scroll down to the “Professional Sports” section on this page, you’ll see that no other Florida specialty plate offers this unique two-for-one douchebaggery (from Brendan Dwyer). … Remember when Ohio football went BFBS and the players all acted like 14-year-old girls who’d won a date with, uh, whoever 14-year-old girls fantasize about? They’ve done it again, this time with the basketball team. But here’s the best part: In a perfect confluence of two idiotic trends, this game was black vs. gray (from Johnny Bruno). ”¦ Swoosh Inc.’s favorite media mouthpiece is promising “big Nike news” today, oh boy (thanks, Brinke). ”¦ This is awesome: Oilers QB Dan Pastorini wearing a ski mask under his helmet on a cold 1977 day in Cleveland. That’s from a great little video clip that I fully recommend for your viewing pleasure (major thanks to Bill Kellick):

 
  
 
Comments (213)

    wow surprised that it took this long to get NewEraByYou.com to be mentioned here. if i would have known that i would have sent that in a while ago

    speaking of New Era, looks like they have a new “retro” line coming out. one thing that stands out to me is that they are actually doing a pill-box pirates hat

    link

    Funny how aside from the Pirates pillbox, none of those are actually retro caps. Note to New Era: The Minnesota Twins did not go undefeated in 1972.

    The New Era By You is spendy, but a lot of excellent UW-posted uni tweaks could be turned into reality with it. Shame that the Marlins and other new-for-2012 logos aren’t available.

    “Tempting.”

    It is? Almost double the price (almost $60 for a cap, seriously?! Now THAT’S obscene.) lack of options, New Era logo on the side, no flat embroidery. I do like the option of nothing on the back, tho.

    Gimme a 39thirty option and I’m in. I’m a big fan of the 39thirty, but I would love a way around the hokey BP cap design New Era offers.

    I keep making a Nationals hat in the tri-color Expos color scheme, but that price is just too steep for me right now.

    Though, I could also get a ’74 Red Sox panel cap.

    I’d be much more interested if they could replicate the front panel curve:

    link

    Or if they could just make any Cooperstown Collection cap correctly. But until then, they can have their pink & neon green and solid-black Yankees caps.

    No offense, but that looks like a clown cap. The only thing missing is a propeller & a kid named Scooter under it.

    “This isn’t exactly a “kids in uniform” photo, but check out this shot of Muhammad Ali…”

    That’s so awesome!
    I was lucky enough to meet Ali in NYC back in 1983, we shared a similar moment (sadly, there was no camera around).

    … This isn’t exactly a “kids in uniform” photo, but check out this shot of Muhammad Ali. “The little white guy is me,” says ohn Waddill. “It’s one of my prized possessions.” …

    That would be John Waddill, no?

    You’re right BS: that photo is fantastic. Made the morning.

    “You’re right BS: that photo is fantastic. Made the morning.”

    Indeed. His energy for giving people an “Ali moment” knew no bounds. (I did get his autograph btw. One of his entourage/security produced a beautiful 8×10 which he signed and dated. It’s easily the best autograph in my collection).

    Couldn’t reply to Matt below but here goes. No Photo Shop. I am almost 50, therefore, I know nothing about Photo Shop. I really met him and while we were taking the picture he was saying, “Don’t you mess with me, boy!” If you look at my face you can tell I couldn’t believe what I was getting to do. He was speaking at my dads’ (he was the principal) elementary school in Dallas, probably in ’72 or ’73. This was backstage. It was awesome. The picture is messed up because he signed the back and we couldn’t affix the hardback that came with it to preserve it. Thanks.

    not tryin to be a debbie downer, but gotta be honest my first impression was photoshopped. Great pic if real though!

    Me too!!! If we could get 100 UWers at $20 a pop!… ONLY if it def says something AGAINST Corporate Sponsorship of course…

    So you villify some uni watch readers for making comments about women at uni watch gatherings but you have no problems making continuous obscene comment about this particular woman’s breast? Because this is relevant to what you’re discussing today?

    You have an interesting concept of “obscene.” In any case, what I find interesting is that she wore that patch on her breast, rather than higher up on the strap. Wondering if that was her idea or Instant Sponsor’s.

    As is so often the case here, you’re so eager to play “Gotcha” that you’re not thinking things through.

    Because I responded shortly after you posted this blog post? Rest assured I read every word of it and then formulated my opinion.

    This post consistently pointed out to her breast (I think it’s pretty obvious by the picture), which is obscenity in itself. And that particular location for corporate logo is pretty common in women’s tennis. I don’t believe it to be lower than usual.

    But no I don’t think I’ll be donating money, thanks for asking.

    “An obscenity is any statement or act which strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time, is a profanity, or is otherwise taboo, indecent, abhorrent, or disgusting, or is especially inauspicious.”

    Clearly Fred lives in 17th century MassachusWHITCH! BURN HER! BURN HER!

    Going by FCC regs (for what that’s worth), Paul’s comments would possibly be considered indecent, but certainly not obscene.

    If the word “breast” is inherently obscene, than this clip is not only one of the funniest thing ever aired on television, it’s the greatest obscenity in human history:

    link

    Do not click on the link unless you can commit to watching the full 28 minutes; the payoff is in the last 10. Shadayim!

    It seems that every once in a while someone comments on here, up in arms about something Paul has said. Since it hasn’t been said said yet, I figured I’d be the one to point out that this is Paul’s blog, and he can write whatever he damn well pleases on here. If you don’t like it, don’t read it. But nobody goes to your blog, Fred, and points out what we do or don’t want to read. It’s a blog, not a newspaper, not a scientific journal, a blog. That means he can be obscene (not that it was) if he wants to.

    I’m disgusted by today’s obscenity, which I cannot even repeat here, but i do take solace knowing I cannot see that woman’s wantonly flirtatious ankles. Even a Berka acknowledges a woman has eyes – sinful, sinful eyes – my hope is that one day women have the right to be forced to wear giant black burlap sacks.

    There is a difference between saying that “the logo is on her breast” and “Check out the tits on her…I wouldn’t mind being that logo…how much for my hand to be the logo?”. Paul is using the term “breast” as a point of location, not to objectify the woman attached to said breast.

    Let’s all keep in mind what Supreme Court Justice Porter said, “I know it [obscenity] when I see it.” This simply doesn’t pass that test.

    “I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description; and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it, and the motion picture involved in this case is not that.” – Justice Potter Stewart

    How are those comments obscene? The logo is on her breast, and he’s just remarking you could put the logo there or wherever you want… That’s not obscene by any stretch of the imagination.

    Yeah, so we fed the troll. But that’s ok, we can kill it later and harvest its fat to make potions.

    In regards to Johnny Damon, it does surprise me a little that he bats left handed but golfs right handed. Most people do both in the same direction.

    But as a former teaching professional, it’s a huge advantage to be a lefty playing golf right handed (full disclosure- I am such a person). Having your dominant side in the “front” of the golf swing makes it easier to have the solid front side necessary in a good, repeating swing.

    I think saying Johnny Damon “throws” at all regardless of hand is the definition of creative license.

    Sorry couldn’t help it.

    In my case, I do most everything right-handed, including throw and hit left-handed. The only exception for me is golfing, in which I hit right-handed. When I started golfing, my swing was so bad because of years of just playing baseball, I hooked or sliced everything terribly.

    Between that and financial necessity (using my dad’s RH clubs,) I found that although I may be hitting about 80-90% strength, the ball was going straighter on a more regular basis. So to this day, I still golf RH, but hit a baseball LH.

    I don’t really see a difference between that and ads on city buses, with the exception of the “someone think of the children!” factor. It’s not like the ads are inside the buses or on the side of the school.

    It really isn’t much different… but who says ads on city buses are a good thing?

    Billboards and TV commercials really ought to be enough, don’t you think? We really don’t need to have advertisements on every god damn flat surface we look at, do we?

    No, there is a pretty clear difference. No citizen is required to use a city bus. Children are required by law to attend a school, and if their parents do not enroll them in private or home school, then they are required by law to attend public schools. To which they will be transported by the government on these buses.

    When considering the propriety of any government action, the question of whether the individuals affected are required by law to participate is kind of a fundamental issue. Under the First Amendment, courts have held that no citizen may be required by the government to participate in expressing any opinion; thus states must make available license plates that do not bear slogans like “Live Free or Die” to anyone who does not agree with the slogan. Advertising on a school bus isn’t quite a black-letter equivalent of the license plate issue, but it’s awfully close.

    What’s to say that once ads are on the buses, that outside the school isn’t next? Or inside the buses? Or inside the schools, for that matter? Once the “It’ll raise money for schools” card is played, it can’t be put back.

    Exactly. Certain things should never be for sale, and the public education system is one of them. Kids need to be INSULATED FROM advertising, not exposed to more of it.

    Little Johnny and Janey will have to fight to see who gets to sit on the Nike seat and who has to sit on the New Balance seat on the bus.

    Where is Mrs. Thompson’s class? Oh shes in the Microsoft room.

    Time for the McDonald’s Pledge of Allegiance brought to you by Best Buy on the Bose PA system. Please rise…

    “I pledge allegiance to the arches of McDonald’sâ„¢, and to the Coca-Colaâ„¢ which it serves, one Extra Value Mealâ„¢, supersizedâ„¢, where I’m lovin’ itâ„¢, with seasonally available McRibsâ„¢ and a Dollar Menuâ„¢ for all.”

    And just think of the new verses we could have for “The Wheels on the Bus”: The ads on the bus say Wii Wii Wii, Wii Wii Wii, Wii Wii Wii / The ads on the bus say Wii Wii Wii / All day long.

    I don’t really see a difference between that and ads on city buses, with the exception of the “someone think of the children!” factor.

    You make it sound like that’s a minor difference. But in fact it’s a HUGE difference. The idea of putting more advertising in front of children — including six- and seven-year-olds, who are extremely impressionable — is vulgar. It also sends the very bad message that our civic institutions are for sale. Bad news all around.

    While the term “private opulence and public squalor” was coined by Galbraith, and the policy conclusions he drew are, um, debatable, it’s well worth taking a stroll through the first few chapters of Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire to see where the kind of private underwriting of public services Galbraith was talking about gets a society. It ain’t pretty.

    Plus – and aside from the slippery slope arguments of if a school bus, why not a school, or why not police cars, or why not advertising on the walls of local courtrooms – selling advertising on school buses puts the government in direct competition with private businesses like billboard operators, newspapers, TV stations, and so forth. I get that elected officials may sometimes be too cowardly to do their jobs and either raise the taxes necessary to pay for services, or cut services to meet existing revenue, but do any of those proposing this actually think that what we really need is more government intervention in the free market to reduce private business profits? If this is really such a great idea, why not simply have the government take over the entire advertising industry and use the profits to fund schools and fire departments and whatnot? Think of all the taxes we could cut if the government would just take over the local TV stations and sell the advertising!

    Or maybe, just maybe, the government should stay out of the advertising business and stick to, you know, governing.

    Or maybe, just maybe, the government should stay out of the advertising business and stick to, you know, governing.

    I dunno, at least if they’re focused on advertising, they aren’t focused on gradually shredding the constitution…

    Was Elias permitted to keep the painting or was it immediately seized for auction to pay creditors?

    What can I say, when you’re on, you’re on.

    I should wake up this early everyday.

    (and yes, that was my term that I just made up which you are free to use [after a significant licensing fee])

    Holy hell Paul – you gotta give us some warning when you post a Catch of the Day like that. Just the “Crossroads” section means I am not getting any work done with the amount of uni enjoyment in there.

    And I thought the correct medical term was “major league yah-bos”, Tim.

    About Damon batting and throwing left while golfing right – I am in the same boat. The main reason is that it was rather expensive to get left-handed golf clubs way back when my father taught me to golf. I believe I am the same age as Damon (late 30s), so that could be a factor in his learning to golf righty. Anyone else in this boat?

    saw that right after i posted my theory … i guess it pays to read all of the comments before posting

    I’m naturally left handed and so I write and throw left handed, but I switch hit and can shoot a pistol ambidextrously. For some reason though, I bowl, shoot rifles, and shoot pool right handed.

    Ah, but with Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo among our number, we’re particularly attuned to aesthetics, athletic and othewise. Plus, isn’t Paul left-handed?

    Interesting Lefty note, the other night, the Red Wings only had one Righty (Ian White) in their lineup, excluding goalies. Never seen Lefties outnumber Righties so drastically.

    If you’re a lefty, you’re supposed to shoot right in hockey. Your top hand is your power hand so that when you release the stick to play defence, your power hand controls the stick.

    I’m a righty, and I shoot left. It’s completely normal in hockey.

    Wayne Gretzky shot left – 894 NHL goals & 46 WHA goals.
    Mark Messier shot left – 694 NHL goals & 1 WHA goal.
    Joe Sakic shot left – 625 goals.
    Bobby Orr shot left – 270 goals.
    Phil Esposito shot left – 717 goals.
    Bobby Hull shot left – 610 NHL goals & 303 WHA goals.
    Mike Modano shot left – 561 goals.

    I’m in pretty lofty company with some legends. ;o)

    But the best passers usually shoot left.

    It also affects where your dominant eye is. Dominant hand on top puts it in a better position to watch the play, dominant hand on bottom puts it closer to where you’re shooting from and helps your shot. Not to mention that you’ll have a harder shot because you can generate power better with the dominant hand low.

    It’s one of those things that’s entirely personal preference. I personally shoot right.

    gordie 801 (playing 100 years should do that)
    hull (the annoying one, not the golden one) 741
    dionne 731
    gartner 708 (for TK)
    stevie y
    le magnifique
    shan-a-hammer
    andreychuk
    dino
    teemu
    jari
    ovi
    the flower
    bossy

    …there ya have it… all the best goal scorers to ever play the game :-)

    I’m right-handed, but I bat left-handed. When I first picked up a wiffleball bat as a three-year-old, I looked at home plate from behind and figured the right side was for right-handers. I’m sure someone tried to correct me, but I felt comfortable there (plus Willie Stargell batted the same way), so that was that.

    And in my golf and street hockey days, I was a lefty, too.

    I do everything left-handed (and left-footed) except golf. Don’t think I ever saw left-handed clubs growing up, much less had access to them. But swinging a golf club right-handed has always felt just as natural to me as swinging a bat left-handed, probably because it’s the only way I’ve ever done it.

    Thats me…lefty for everything except golf. No lefty clubs available when my dad introduced me to the game a s a youngster in the late 70s

    By the mid-to-late 80s, you could get a lefty starter set for around $100. I still use it for the rare times I get to play now. The only addition has been a one-iron my aunt found for me a few years ago.

    Yeah, I feel like a jockey in a room full of power forwards when I golf, but I don’t care. As long as I play a respectable round, I’m just out there for fun.

    In minor uni-news, Mizzou baseball has unveiled their new alternate caps:

    link

    As the text claims, apparently the final version won’t be highlighter-yellow. But between this and the Orioles’ new caps, is this going to be a trend? Is baseball moving back to caps with different color fronts than the rest of the cap?

    If so, I hope Mizzou, and not the Orioles, are the model people follow. With rare exceptions, white does not work for panel caps. (The exception being the Expos, and that’s a pinwheel, not a true panel cap.) It’s gotta be an actual color. A white panel is just a cheap foam trucker’s hat, no matter how cute the cartoon bird on it is.

    Clearly I’m the man of the morning. (Everybody should watch 12 Angry Men).

    But moving on to a new subject- I was watching the Celtics game last night and last night was Veteran’s Night. A question was posed to a veteran they were talking to, “How can we show our appreciation for you guys from back home?”

    Answer: Shake hands with any veteran you see and thank them personally, especially the ones who served in Vietnam. If they just moved into your neighborhood, help them to get acclimated by inviting them to BBQs and such. For those serving overseas, help out his/her family a bit more. And that was all he had to say about showing our appreciation. No ribbons, no uniforms with camo patterns, no field/arena decorations. We’ve definitely went in the direction of relying on empty handed gestures and throwing around fireworks and thinking it’s good enough. Current athletes who may have noble intents when wearing shoes or gloves to honor America should take notice. Like actually um, go out there and meet them?

    A convenient rhetorical trick for any situation when you’re in the distinct minority. But let’s see if you end up persuading the rest of the jury, as No. 8 eventually did.

    I doubt it.

    So lets say the athletes and team administrators and sponsors go out there and meet and befriend veterans and invite them to their barbecues, etc.

    And then the player decides that hey, I want to honor the military in general by wearing camo gloves and shoes.

    Or an athlete goes around to Breast Cancer awareness events and does a bunch of walks and what-not, and then decides to don a pair of pink gloves for a game in october.

    Is that so wrong? Are we aware of every event that every athlete attends? Or are we saying that hey, even the $15 bucks that the gloves cost could have gone toward a better use?

    Why does this athlete feel the need to honor the military on the field? Why does it need to be a LOOK AT ME! I’M HONORING THE MILITARY WITH THESE SWEET CAMOUFLAGE GLOVES – CHECK OUT HOW AWESOME AND PATRIOTIC I AM? Huh?

    But does it matter to the military folks that the athlete in question is wearing that equipment? Paul says this is a “look at me!” tactic that they use that garners attention for themselves rather than the said cause they’re in favor for. But you’re right, people don’t pay nearly enough attention to what the athletes are doing in their communities. And really, it’s not as genuine to the viewers if the media knows about it, because it casts the question of whether the person is doing it for attention or if he/she truly cares about them.

    “THE BLACK JERSEY, ABOVE, MAY BE THE GREATEST IN NHL HISTORY.”

    Seeing the Phoenix Coyote jersey on that list AT ALL boggles my mind. And as THE greatest?!? Giving the benefit of the doubt, maybe he meant the best jersey with black in it, but still, the Kings and Blackhawks have had better black jerseys.

    Howard Berger has proven to be senile a number of times over his career. The man has a vast knowledge, but he comes off as daft occasionally.

    In a vacuum, considering the design elements alone, it’s interesting… but I always thought it looked ridiculous out on the ice. The brick-red unis are generally classier looking (probably because the three-stripe design is reminiscent – to me, at least – of the mid-30s Montreal Maroons). And the green jersey being in the top 10 of all-time alts? GAH!

    Though seeing the Isles’ black unis on the 10 worst alts helped to redeem the list a little.

    Interesting, yes. Great descriptor.

    BEST!?! Not a word I would ever have come up with. I agree with the rest you write, too. I just couldn’t get over “best.”

    The Kings, Blackhawks, Bruins, Penguins, Lightning, Stars, Hurricanes…

    Hell, the Yotes’ current black alt is better than the one he mentions as possibly the best ever.

    1: boobs, that is all
    2: you people? What do YOU mean, you people
    3: today’s Nike announcement should be about their new toy; Nike+fuelband. It’s a bracelet people can wear to compare their workouts to others. It’s based on a point system.
    4. Would Fred find it offensive if I admitted I typed this whole comment sans pants?

    Can the Instant Sponsor patch say…

    Uni Watch

    Fucking
    Read it
    Every
    Day
    ?

    Probably not. That would be obscene.

    How about..

    Uni Watch

    A
    Fun
    Read
    Every
    Day
    ?

    Either way, I’m in for 20 bucks.

    I don’t think we need to give Fred that kind of glory.

    Of course I’m also the type to want the patch to say “SPONSOR LOGO GOES HERE”.

    Your idea reminds me of a Swooshy soccer ad I saw last night.

    Kids idolizing Chicharito Hernandez, wanting to be pros..one had a t-shirt that had “NAME” as NOB with a # where the number would go, and the front of the shirt had [“SPONSOR”] on it.

    All I can say is, I hope the Texas Institute of Technology doesn’t put its logo on that patch or we’ll never hear the end of it.

    Ricko, that would be obscene! Anyway, I was thinking maybe the University of South Carolina could advertise its varsity sports program there.

    Yet. Another. Cream. Hockey. Jersey. UGH.

    Can we quit with the fauxback cream in hockey already? It only works on a few occasions, paired with a light warm color (i.e. athletic gold) and in small doses.

    Seeing a jersey whose primary color is cream on a white playing surface just makes it look horribly dirty. Same thing goes for those who use the cream prominently with dark and cool colors (I’m looking at YOU, Blue Jackets!)

    The only hockey teams that really should be wearing a cream/tan/”sand”/”wheat” color are the teams that actually have such a color as part of their actual palette.

    Oddly enough, I’m fine with cream in baseball. For one, the unis don’t look dirty when the players are standing on the field (which is shades of green and brown), unless of course they actually get dirty during the course of the game (with, y’know, actual dirt).

    Think I used forms of “actual” enough in the above rant? Though, at least I didn’t start a sentence with “Actually”, right?

    Good rule of thumb: if you don’t know which one you’re supposed to use, don’t use either one.

    Probably should’ve just said “(athletic gold, for example)”… a few extra seconds to type, but none of the confusion you get with “i.e.”/”e.g.”.

    Too many initialisms… link

    i.e.: Latin for i est, which translates to “in other words.” e.g.: Latin for exempli gratia, which literally means “for example.”
    A completely invented example:
    When ordering an authentic Yankees jersey, please specify your size, i.e.: 40; 44; 48; 52; 56; or 60. For an additional charge, you may select a sleeve patch, e.g.: World Series, ASG, Inaugural Season.

    UTEP wore their Texas Western throwbacks last night. link

    Also, at halftime, they honored Antonio Davis as a Miner Legend. link

    His banner will go alongside the other Miner Legends’ banners. link
    These numbers aren’t retired, just honored. Retired numbers have different banners, such as Tim Hardaway’s which was retired Jan. 7th of this year. link
    Other retired banners are here link and here link
    Notice all the banners, whether retired #s or honored players all have the style from UTEP’s 1966 National Championship team when they were known as Texas Western.

    I love how the NBA is recognizing the ABA, but why no white trim on the Los Angeles wordmark and why was the word ‘miami’ included on the Floridians jersey? Who makes these decisions and why?

    Also, the Bobcats should’ve gone with this snappier version of the Carolina Cougars…

    link

    And the Timberwolves shouldn’t have chosen the plain Muskies uniform, but the sharper Pipers set (as worn by one C. Hawkins)….

    link

    White trim: No idea.

    “Miami”: You know exactly why they did this — because fans are more likely to buy the jersey if it has “Miami” on it, instead of just a number with no lettering.

    Still, as I mentioned in my recent ESPN column, I give the league and Adidas credit for some really nice production values (chain-stitching, chenille patches, etc.).

    Yes, the whole enterprise makes me happy and they’ve done the league justice.

    But it’s funny about the Floridians jersey: the very absence of a wordmark was so quintessenially ABA. Was is an artistic decision, were they too cheap, did they think it wouldn’t matter, did they care? I took notice of that jersey as a kid. The colors and racing stripes were outlandish and cool, but the what really made the look was: no wordmark.

    link

    …oh, well. As evidenced further by today’s lede, the $$$$ rules.

    Perhaps the decision was driven by the fact that the Floridians started life as the Minnesota Muskies and God only knew how long they’d call Florida home.

    The lack of “Miami” on the Floridians jersey of the time was, of course, because “The Floridians” went regional, playing a bunch of games in Tampa (as well as a few games elsewhere in Florida that first season they dropped the “Miami”). Though, they could have just put “Floridians” on there instead… it could’ve worked with that skinny font.

    Too bad there isn’t an NBA team in St. Louis to wear the Spirits jersey as a throwback.

    No way in hell the NBA would ever see a Spirits of St. Louis throwback. Betcha the NBA still has a grudge against the Spirits owners, who managed to sign a contract guaranteeing NBA revenue in perpetuity in exchange for not being accepted into the NBA merger class. (Thing is, though, the NBA had to sign that contract too! You’d think they’d be happy with their money and tell the Spirits guys not to spend all their money in one place…)

    On the topic of uni-tykes and school buses and whatnot, what do people think about raising your kids to root for your old hometown team(s) instead of their hometown team(s)?

    When I was a kiddo, late 1970s, early 1980s, it seemed pretty normal for bairns to root for their parents’ football teams. Seemed more naturally tribal for families to pass football loyalty to the next generation regardless of current residence, so my classmates in Philly were as likely to be Colts or Steelers fans as Iggles backers. But other sports, it seemed like kids mostly cheered for the home team, and parents – dads, really – went along with it even if in their heart of hearts they still pulled for the Yanks or the Cardinals or whatever.

    Yet in the last few years, suddenly everyone I know has kids about to enter kindergarten, and darn near all of them are being brought up to root for mom or dad’s old hometown teams, not their local squads. It just seems wrong to me, somehow, for kids born and raised in, say, Denver to be taught to cheer against the Rockies and for the Phillies instead. But then again, it doesn’t seem crazy to me for a kid in Washington, DC, to be raised cheering for the Patriots and against the Redskins.

    “You’ve got to be taught,
    before it’s too late,
    before you are six,
    or seven, or eight,
    to hate all the people your relatives hate.
    You’ve got to be carefully taught.”

    I generally agree with you. But I think a big part of this is that sports media coverage used to be regional, if not local — you only got to see the home team(s) on teevee, except maybe for the one national game of the week. So you rarely had any choice but to follow the home team(s). As a 49ers fan growing up on Long Island in the 1970s, I can tell you it was very difficult to follow my favorite team prior to the Montana era!

    Now, thanks to satellite packages, the internet, wall-to-wall ESPN coverage, etc., you can pretty much have access to any team at any time. So parents don’t necessarily abandon their childhood loyalties when they move to a new locale — they can stick with their lifelong rooting affiliations, and they pass that on to their kids.

    Or at least that’s my theory.

    I think that’s absolutely the case.

    Shoot, there was a time when people were devout fans of teams they’d never actually SEEN play, even the “hometown” team.

    All they had was games on the radio and newspaper accounts.

    Ricko, I’m not sure whether your account weighs for or against Paul’s theory. But you’re absolutely right. My dad was a boy in Iowa during WWII, and he was a lifelong Yankees and Cardinals fan because those were the teams whose games he could listen to on the radio as a boy. The Cardinals were effectively his “home” team, but he claims the Yankees were more regularly broadcast nationally.

    When I was young, we lived in Iowa, then Philly, then Minnesota. That meant first that the Cubs were the only team I could watch or listen to regularly – sometimes we’d go driving at night just to listen to the Cubs on WGN radio, since you could usually get reception in the car – then the Phillies and Twins were my hometown teams. And bless him, I never knew my dad was a Cardinals fan until years after the ’87 Series, or a Yankees fan until just before he died. Whatever the team was that I could watch and follow and get to know the players, as far as I ever knew, that was his favorite team too.

    Ah, yes, car radio reception.

    I vividly remember sitting in the driveway in our 1957 Chrysler for half an hour after we got home from my grandparent’s house because I’d tuned the radio to the Braves game en route.

    See, the Pirates’ Harvey Haddix had this perfect game going, and…

    Arr, it depends on how big a fan the parent is, and how old the children are. Sometimes, you hear stories about the child switching their loyalty back to their hometown team when they reach the teenage years. I feel it would be worse to expect the parent to force any child to root for a team just because they happen to live in that area. If the child watches the parent root for a different team, then one can understand that child also being a fan of that particular club.

    This question is also related to our changing society. In the past, more people stayed in one location with one company over a longer period of time. Those days are gone now.

    Let’s not forget that most people don’t actually have a truly local professional team. Teach your kid the history of the game and let them pick their own team. Team allegiances aren’t really formed until around age 12 anyway.

    Team allegiances aren’t really formed until around age 12 anyway.

    I think a lot of people here — myself included — would strongly dispute that assertion.

    Absolutely.

    Went to my first White Sox game at age 7. Wore the 1980 style hat to kindergarden. And I know 1983 was a huge deal for me (I was 8).

    Pirates fan since I was three years old. I’ve switched allegiances in other sports, but not baseball.

    That has come to mind a few times. Personally, there’s nothing better than rooting for your team surrounded by fellow fans and that’s how loyalties are etched into the kid’s mind. I grew up in a heavy Patriots environment and that’s made for great memories growing up with the team. Paul’s right, nowadays it’s easier to follow your teams on TV but there’s still that unique connection you have with the fanbase that really solidifies your loyalty to the team.

    Back to the original topic, I would encourage the kid to root for the team that the family is currently at. It’s a great way to create an identity for the kid. Not a big one, no but a small one. You can always have two favorite teams anyway, your hometown team and your new city team. But then you don’t have that father/kid connection through sports. Hmm, tough question.

    I’m really sympathetic to both sides, but in the end I guess I slightly favor the idea that the best solution is for the parent to swallow his pride a bit and build the father/kid connection by adopting the kids’ hometown teams.

    I think any reason to avoid using Cougars/Wildcats as a mascot name is a step in the right direction. It just lacks any imagination. (tho “Chargers” is pretty half-assed too as well as all their other half-assed choices).

    Realistically, I think they’d probably reject that. Haven’t gone thru all the fine print yet, but I assume they have the right to turn down certain ads….

    So if we do a Uni Watch ad — can I put you down for, say, $98?

    Re the “Spirits” jersey, that would be cool. You would probably have to redo the agreement with the Silna’s though.

    I was thinking about the patch on Casey Dellacqua’s, um, “chest-al region”. It appears in other photos of Miss Dellacqua that she link for some tournaments, but link in other events.

    Three days ago, however, it appears that link and has no sponsor logo on it whatsoever.

    So my questions are these: wouldn’t the Instant Sponsor patch cover over her current sponsor’s insignia or logo? For example, if she is contracted to wear Nike clothes (as seen on her hat), would she not be contracted to wear their shirts as well? If yes, wouldn’t the IS patch violate the contract with Nike?

    I need details on her clothing deal to feel good about this turn of events.

    I don’t she has a deal with anyone. TYPICALLY, shoe deals go together with clothing…IE, adidas, nike, reebok. Some co’s do the whole deal..Babolat makes clothing/shoes/racquets. If she has no clothing deal she can wear anything.

    James Blake has a Fila clothing and shoe deal but hates the shoes so he wears Nikes with a big hunk of electrical tape on the side. Looks classy.

    link

    “BUT I’M STILL PUZZLED AS TO WHY THE TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING CHOSE SUCH A DREARY COLOR SCHEME (ABOVE) UPON JOINING THE NHL IN 1992. PLAYING IN THE “SUNSHINE” STATE, COULDN’T THE CLUB HAVE CREATED SOMETHING A BIT BRIGHTER AND MORE APPEALING TO THE SENSES?”

    Because lightening happens during storms ya dumbass!

    As stated above, Howard Berger has proven to be senile a number of times over his career. The man has a vast knowledge, but he comes off as daft occasionally.

    As proven by the fact that he was down on the Lightning’s regular unis, but liked the sublimated-printing mess that was their late-90s alternate. “Inconsistent” is the best way I can describe that one – blue body, black sleeves, dull gray shoulders, and the lightning bolts down the sleeves clashed with the stylized bolts on the pants.

    “What the heck is up with all the lefties here?

    Aw, c’mon, I thought we were gonna keep politics out of our discussions.

    How the hell did Grey Flannel Auctions get Robert Parish’s 1997 Bulls championship ring? I hope the Chief isn’t broke.

    Maybe he just didn’t have a sentimental attachment to it because he was kind of a bystander on that Bulls team.

    We’ve probably already exhausted ourselves from bashing the sponsorfication of anything that moves today, but I was just reading link and thought I’d pass it along.

    The gist of it is, there will be more “apps” coming to the ‘Book that will allow you to post nauseating self-congratulatory garbage like “I just booked my trip to Ghana via TripAdvisor!”. Everything will seemingly be done via some kind of product or service.

    Paul would especially love the author’s comment: “The extra advertising is a pain, sure, but we have to deal with it, because it’s free.” Otherwise, he’s pretty well on point.

    All that being said, Facebook sucks and I rarely use it anymore. I’d pull the plug on my profile if not for it being a great tool to stalk my potential dates. And don’t hate, you know you all do it too. Sigh. Hopefully The Twitter can somehow stay away from coporatization.

    Good to see that “I want to punch someone in the face” is the runaway leader, with the distant second-place choice “I don’t like it” getting more votes than the positive and neutral responses combined.

    New shirts for the LA Galaxy, to coincide with Beckham’s re-signing:

    link

    I’m not a big fan of sashes, but this one is slightly less School Crossing Guard than the last one.

    file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/User/My%20Documents/Downloads/49ers-v.-Giants-(3).jpg file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/User/My%20Documents/Downloads/49ers-v.-Giants-(3file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/User/My%20Documents/Downloads/4f1598af7eabd.image.jpg2).jpg

    Looksie… Do you see what I see?

    rups, yes…

    it’s also a giants/niners color on color game…or something approximating it

    I came across the absolute definitive NFL Films music cut. It will blow up your speakers- perfect for cranking this weekend. Anyone want, email or tweet directly.

    brinke

    can you send it to me pls…it might come in handy for sunday’s post

    Miami Heat wearing their new black alts at home against the Lakers in gold. No sir, I don’t like it.

    I believe the patch Andy Van Hellemond was wearing was the initials of John McCauley, who was the NHL’s director of officiating when he passed away in 1989. He was also an NHL referee from 1970 to 1981.

    You are exactly right. Nice work! Here’s an auction for a different jersey with the same patch visible in greater detail, which was placed higher up the arm that Van Hellemond’s was.

    link

    It’s also confirmed in the auction’s description.

    Jeff

    Paul,

    Love the site.

    However, it always makes me laugh to hear someone who works for ESPN talk about ‘corporate douchebaggery’ and complain about advertisements.

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