Skip to content
 
Uni Watch

Field Hockey at the Olympics

By
netherlands


By Phil Hecken

Continuing the look at Olympic sports uniforms, today’s Olympic Correspondent is one of the oldest and truest members of Uni Watch, and the President of the Hockey Wing, the man we all know as “Teebz”. You know Teebz for his occasional featured articles on UW, always dealing with hockey — and today is no exception — except this hockey isn’t played on ice, but on a “field.”

What you’re aboot to read is thoroughly researched and quite in-depth — so I’ll quit my yakkin’ right here, and turn the remainder of the lede over to the man who lives and breathes hockey…

. . . . .

Field Hockey at the Olympics
By Teebz

Field hockey has been played at the Olympics since 1908, but the women didn’t get an event until 1980 in Moscow. Since that time, the women have actually become, in my opinion, better players than the men as they combine grace and power on the pitch. Today, we’ll take a look at the women’s side of the competition in London.

There is one notable team that did not qualify for the London Olympic Games, and we’ll look at that fact towards the end of this article. In saying that, one surprise team made it in, and we’ll see if that team has the momentum and/or the firepower to carry them into the medal round. In any case, here are the twelve women’s teams that qualified for the 2012 London Olympiad.

WOMEN’S TOURNAMENT

GREAT BRITAIN: The three countries of England, Scotland, and Wales will join forces in trying to secure the gold medal on home soil. The British women have only participated in four of the five tournaments, and they have just one medal to show for their efforts. Since 2000, they have not finished higher than sixth-place, so the British women may find themselves in tough against some of the more experienced teams. They need a boost from the home crowd if they want to find their way onto the podium.

Colors: red, white, and blue.
Medals: 1 bronze.
FIH World Ranking: n/a (England – 4th, Scotland – 18th, Wales – 27th).

CHINA: The 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China saw the home nation qualify for the Olympics in November 2010. The Chinese women only began playing field hockey on the Olympic stage in 2008 in Beijing, but it was a successful debut as they came away with the silver medal. The Chinese play a very structured and sound game defensively, and capitalize on chances when they are presented. While they may not be a medal favorite, the Chinese could prove dangerous in London.

Colors: red, white.
Medals: 1 silver.
FIH World Ranking: 5th.

KOREA: The Korean women’s team hails from South Korea. The Korean women also qualified at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, and they were the first team to qualify that had participated in every Olympiad since 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. Like the Chinese team, the Koreans play very composed in the defensive zone, and capitalize on chances when presented. Since 2000, however, the Koreans have seen some poor Olympic showings as they have finished no higher than seventh-place. They’ll be looking to improve on that standing in London.

Colors: red, blue, white.
Medals: 2 silvers.
FIH World Ranking: 8th.

NETHERLANDS: The Netherlands were the first European team to qualify through the 2011 EuroHockey Nations Championship in Mönchengladbach, Germany in August 2011. The Dutch women are simply one of the best squads on the planet. They score, they can defend, they move the ball well, and they look poised to add another medal to their impressive Olympic haul. Since the 1984 Olympiad in Los Angeles, the Netherlands has only missed the podium once. That kind of execution can’t be overlooked in London.

Colors: orange, white, navy blue.
Medals: 2 gold (1984, 2008), 1 silver, 3 bronze.
FIH World Ranking: 1st.

GERMANY: The German women are mainstays in the women’s tournament, but they tend to rise to the occasion before taking steps back. They have won a medal three times, but have missed the podium four other times, finishing from fourth-place to seventh-place. While wildly inconsistent in their finishes, it’s hard to determine which German team will show up in London. However, if they play as well as they did in qualifying through the 2011 EuroHockey Nations Championship, the podium may not be out of their reach.

Colors: red, black, yellow.
Medals: 1 gold (2004), 2 silver.
FIH World Ranking: 3rd.

NEW ZEALAND: The New Zealand women were one of the earliest teams to qualify in 2011, but they couldn’t actually claim their berth in the tournament without playing the games in the 2011 Oceania Cup in Hobart, Australia in October 2011. After Fiji dropped out due to financial difficulties, only two teams remained from the Oceania region, giving the “Black Sticks” one of the two spots. New Zealand won the Oceania Cup, and they look to build on that win going into the London Olympics. The Black Sticks have never finished higher than sixth-place in the Olympics, so they’ll need to work hard to move past that ranking this time.

Colors: black, gray, white.
Medals: none.
FIH World Ranking: 6th.

AUSTRALIA: The “Hockeyroos” have consistently been one of the better teams in women’s field hockey, but they have been caught by a couple of countries. The Hockeyroos qualified through the 2011 Oceania Cup in Hobart, Australia in October 2011. It’s feast or famine for the Hockeyroos at the Olympics – gold or nothing. That being said, I can’t see the Australians moving on with the way their season has gone. Unless the Hockeyroos show up and play inspired, the famine will continue for the Australian women at the Olympics.

Colors: yellow, green, brown.
Medals: 3 gold (1988, 1996, 2000).
FIH World Ranking: 7th.

UNITED STATES: The US women qualified by winning the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico in October 2011. The American women might be in over their heads in London. This is the first time they have qualified for the Olympics, and is only the second time they will participate. They have won medals in lesser competitions, but they will be overwhelmed in London unless they play some incredible hockey. I just don’t see that happening with the teams that have qualified for the London Olympic Games.

Colors: blue, red, white.
Medals: 1 bronze.
FIH World Ranking: 10th.

SOUTH AFRICA: The South African women qualified by winning the first Olympic Qualification Tournament in New Delhi, India in February 2012. The South African women had actually qualified earlier by winning the 2011 African Olympic Qualifier in September 2011, but they felt they needed to qualify against more challenging opponents and actually rejected the Olympic spot at that time. In New Delhi, they certainly proved they deserved a spot in the Olympics. In London, though, they may be overwhelmed as they have only participated in the last three Olympiads, and have finished no higher than ninth-place. There may be room for improvement, but a podium finish seems impossible.

Colors: green, yellow.
Medals: none.
FIH World Ranking: 12th.

BELGIUM: The Belgian women pulled off a stunning upset in the second Olympic Qualification Tournament in Kontich, Belgium in March 2012. Belgium defeated 11th-ranked Spain by a 1-0 score on a goal in the second minute of the match, and then held on to finish atop the standings to qualify for their first Olympic competition by outscoring Ireland in the goal differential by 21-13 margin. Belgium is certainly an underdog going into these Olympic Games, but they proved that they can defeat some of the higher-ranked teams. Medals are doubtful, but an upset or two will help to promote the sport within Belgium’s borders.

Colors: red, black, white, yellow.
Medals: none.
FIH World Ranking: 16th.

JAPAN: The third Olympic Qualification Tournament in Kakamigahara, Japan in May 2012 was won by Japan. The Japanese women are in tough in London, having only qualified for the Olympic competition twice before. They finished eighth-place and tenth-place in their previous two tournaments, so there is hope the team will finish in a higher standing this time. However, a medal is certainly out of reach for this emerging squad in London.

Colors: red, white, light blue, blue.
Medals: none.
FIH World Ranking: 9th.

ARGENTINA: The Argentinian women made it in due to South Africa winning a spot in the qualification tournament in February. Argentina is a powerful team with many prominent stars from their club league in Argentina. The team is nicknamed “Las Leonas” – the Lionesses – and they tend to play as aggressively as the animal they are named is when hunting. Argentina will certainly be a medal favorite after being accepted into the tournament based on their world ranking.

Colors: light blue, white, black, blue.
Medals: 1 silver, 2 bronze.
FIH World Ranking: 2nd.

Pool A will feature the Netherlands, Great Britain, China, Korea, Japan, and Belgium. In looking at this pool, it seems almost elementary that the Netherlands and Great Britain will emerge as the top-two teams. China and Korea could cause some problems, but I expect the Dutch and British ladies to advance to the medal round.

Pool B sees Argentina, Germany, New Zealand, Australia, the United States, and South Africa do battle. There are a number of good teams in this pool, but it seems realistic that Argentina and Germany would advance from these teams. New Zealand and Australia will most likely be the challengers to a spot, but I can’t see them knocking off one of Argentina or Germany.

There are your twelve teams that will play in London as part of the women’s field hockey event. There are some excellent teams in this event, and I really hope Canadian broadcasters and/or American broadcasters show this event. While it may not be appealing to most at first, the game is actually quite exciting! Here’s hoping you can catch a game or two!

~~~

Wow. Thanks Teebz. Awesome job.

~~~~~~~~~~

olympics-london-2012

More Olympics:

This section will feature updates, lesser news, and reader submissions from the XXXth Olympiad — keep the Olympic news coming in! (Usually in the order in which I receive them — think of it as an “Olympics Ticker”.)

. . . . .

More observations from Uni Watch faithful, and a scandal to rival the Black Sox:

* “Ahead of the August 5 men’s 100m final at the London 2012 Games, Tyson Gay will be wearing a pair of patriotic adizero Prime SPs, personalized with an American flag-inspired design and his daughter’s name, Trinity, embroidered on the tongue.” (Margaret Bourne)

* “Just a thought re. the backwards flags on some US swimmers’ caps: are they reversed for a backstroke race, when the swimmer is facing the other direction? I don’t know the answer, so obviously more research is needed. Scott mentions Missy Franklin specifically, and two of her four individual races are backstroke. Here’s Missy after the 100m backstroke (with “backwards” flag). And here she is (scroll down to third photo in the article) after the 200m freestyle (with “correct” flag). Obviously, this doesn’t mean that all the swimmers have had it right for every race, and I’ll keep watching for it, but at least it shows that my theory might be correct.” (Matthew Walthert)

* Here’s a great parody ad for Olympic sponsors. (Adam Walter)

* Wow. There is a scandal brewing on the badminton courts. I have to say I did not see this coming. It’s “rocking” the ‘sport.’ Eight women out.

~~~~~~~~~

NUA_Logo_5

#NoUniAds Campaign…Day 14

This will be a regular feature on Uni Watch until the NBA rescinds its incredibly offensive and stupid proposal to place corporate advertising on uniforms.

And now, a personal note from Paul:

It’s important that we keep making our voices heard: Call the NBA’s publicly listed phone number (212-407-8000), ask for Adam Silver’s and/or David Stern’s office), e-mail deputy commissioner Adam Silver at his his publicly listed address (asilver@nba.com), and tweet to @NBA with the hashtag #NoUniAds. Do it now.

~~~

More of your letters to the NBA

Alex Giobbi:

I am an 18 year old NBA fan who has followed the league since 2005. When I heard that the NBA was planning on putting ads on uniforms, I was very upset.

I know that the economy is horrible, and any source of revenue will aid the bottom line, but for the love of God, is nothing sacred?

Let me explain. I’m sure you’ve heard this before many times. Imagine a team like the Lakers, who have practically worn the same jersey, albeit with a few changes, suddenly prancing onto the court with a Farmers insurance logo above the heart.

Aside from the revenue, what is this going to accomplish? Are you expecting us to drop whatever we’re doing and sign up for a policy? No! What you would be doing is offending a lot of fans.

You will lose jersey sales, public opinion will continue to go against you (not that it’s been positive as of late) and the league’s reputation will take a fall. You might as well have another lockout.

I implore you to listen to us, the fans. Put yourself in our position. Think about the people you serve. You were a child once, would you want to see your heroes suddenly sell out for a few extra bucks?

Just keep this in mind, when it comes to running a business, the customer is always right. By allowing ads on uniforms, you will violate that rule and will be in a worse position that you were before.

Mark Peterson:

I am a 34-year old Chicago Bulls fan & I am greatly displeased that the NBA is thinking about putting advertisements on the uniforms. Putting ads on uniforms looks very European; very Minor League; very Little League because that is who has ads on their uniforms. Not only is it ugly, it looks obscene and tacky & it cheapens the sport to the point that it looks like it is extremely poor and vastly underfunded.

If ads on uniforms comes to light, not only will I stop buying NBA merchandise, I will stop watching the NBA altogether and actively boycott whomever sponsor appears on a Bulls jersey. You can not possibly think advertisements on uniforms is good for the parity of the sport. In fact it will do the exact opposite: there is no way small market teams like the Bucks or Grizzlies can get deals anywhere close to the Lakers, Knicks, Heat, etc. Even if ad revenues were put into a pool & evenly distributed, it still looks tacky & like a two-bit chump league.

Worst of all, it comes off as GREEDY. Not everything is for sale & every single space does not need advertising. If the NBA needs the money so badly, then stop paying the players so much salary.

Matthew Walthert:

I have just heard that the NBA is planning to introduce ads on game jerseys for next year. Fans are already subjected to the ridiculousness of the BMO Harris Bradley Center and Time Warner Cable Arena. Please do not ruin the jerseys, too. Fans want to buy jerseys to support their teams…not to be walking billboards for international corporations.

Thank you for your consideration.

Thanks for keeping the faith readers! We can stop the NBA if we can keep up the pressure.

#NoUniAds!

Thanks to Tim E. O’Brien and Chris Giorgio for the image in the upper right of this section!

~~~~~~~~~~

Screen Shot 2012-06-24 at 10.32.36 PM

“Benchies” first appeared at U-W in 2008, and has been a Saturday & Sunday feature here for the past two years.

. . . . .

Bet you really hope the next line isn’t, “Whatever you say, deer”…

8-2-12 d-bush

Click to enlarge

~~~~~~~~~~

ticker 2

Uni Watch News Ticker: Kicking the ticker off today (pun firmly intended) is our soccer football correspondent, George Chilvers, who lets us know Wigan Athletic has a new third kit. What? … Joel Manuel notes a “report aired on the local Baton Rouge news last night. Apparently some parents bought uniforms for the upcoming school year “too early,” because the schools then changed their logos, and some of the parents can’t return the old polos, and can’t afford new ones. An update said the kids would be allowed to wear either logo-less shirts or the old logos.” … Chris Mahr thinks Penn State changing unis would be a huge mistake. He also thinks it’s time for Pitt to revive their old logo. … The National Hockey League and Quiksilver have entered into a multiyear merchandising partnership for “co-branded NHL boardshorts” (whatever that means). … The photo is a ways down on this blog, but Reds prospect Didi Gregorius apparently was wearing a sticker on the underside of his cap bill (thanks to Brice Wallace). … The Dunedin Blue Jays (Class A-Advanced affiliate of Toronto Blue Jays) had a throwback game last weekend. Here are some photos. Many done with sepia tone or black and white, but some full color as well. They turned out beautifully (hat tip to Nate Kurant). … According to Leo Strawn, “The USA Freedom (womens national squad) and USA Revolution (mens national squad) will be playing their Canadian national squad Australian Rules Football counterparts (womens – Northern Lights, mens – Northwind) this year in Dublin (Columbus), Ohio on Saturday, August 4. The annual match is known as the 49th Parallel Cup. Both the Freedom (with Lady Liberty on the front) and the Revolution (with Eagle) will be sporting new jumpers.” … John Romero found a bunch of these new Manning jerseys at Invesco (I still call it Mile High) at the Broncos team store. Authentic Reebok Manning jerseys. Hmmmm. … Jordan Woodson has another UNC equipment segment, “This time, an article from InsideCarolina regarding the equipment staff’s prep for the season – this time, the shoes.” … Clint Richardson thinks this football practice is taking ‘biker shorts’ “to a whole new level!” I would agree. … Louis DeGeorge found a “ticker-worthy picture of Andre Reed wearing, of all things, a Miami Dolphins t-shirt. Maybe this was at the Pro Bowl and he lost a bet or something?” Readers, any ideas? … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: pretty amusing article on college football uniforms. … Also from the comments, this gallery of patent drawings at wired.com features some real beauties, including a football helmet with face guard. … Good question from Nick Orban, who writes, “The Nationals were in their All-American uniforms (the navy with the America flag inside the curly W) last night. Am I completely unamerican, or am I forgetting an significant American date?” Anyone? … Ladies & Gentlemen, your 2012 Army Home Uniform. … Jose Coria thought it was amusing Tuesday that the SFGiants were already advertising Hunter Pence’s jersey for sale before he even arrived at the park! As fate would have it, Hunter requested 7, 8, or 39, and it’s now been confirmed that he will be wearing #8, not #2. Oops! … David Greenwald saw Mark Sanchez, who is a man of many hats, sporting a new one at the start of training camp. Here is a still image link to it and it shows up again in the Jets’ team video (NYJets). … This one time, Dustin Semore was at band camp…and well: “With the new football uniforms: the Famous Maroon Band (of which I am an alum) have new uniforms as well. To be worn with maroon pants.” … During the last two games, recently acquired Reed Johnson (#11) has been borrowing Dan Uggla’s (#26) shoes ”“ and wearing stirrups, nonetheless! Since the Cubs wear blue shoes and the Braves wear black, he has to wait for his new stock to arrive (thanks to Jim Misudek). … Looks as though the Maple Leafs are reaching back to their earliest years for a jersey to be worn at the Bridgestone Winter Classic next season (from John Muir). Flyin’ Hawaiian: Ryan DeFilippi found a picture of outfielder Shane Victorino, who was traded yesterday from the Phillies to the Dodgers. In the picture, Victorino is still using his red Phillies batting gloves instead of blue Dodger ones. … “What genius! What dedication!” exclaims Marc Bauche. Why so exuberant? He observed a Japanese photographer shooting Ichiro, and “noticed that he had the game box-score taped around the lens of his back-up camera. The lens of his back-up camera was so huge, he had the full letter-size sheet stuck on there. And he had even been keeping score with every at-bat!!!!” … Lest we forget, the team that currently plays its baseball in Warshington was born in Montreal. Guinness Rider says, “Dunno but this guy’s personal collection is nuts.”

~~~~~~~~~~

That’s it for this fine Thursday. Thanks to Teebz and all the fine Uni Watch readers and commenters, and especially all those of you who have taken up the #NoUniAds cause. We will stop this. Back tomorrow with Morris Levin and another outstanding article. Till then, cheers!

~~~

“When my oldest kid was in Boy Scouts, the Scoutmaster got the brilliant idea to hold a Flag Retirement Ceremony on the 4th of July…as horrified passersby who weren’t familiar with flag etiquette looked on, we burned those flags, one by one. On the 4th of July.”

–Cort McMurray

 
  
 
Comments (159)

    So… why exactly does Great Britain get to be one entity for the Olympics, but 3 separate ones for other international events?

    Also, Lest we forget, the team that currently plays its baseball in Warshington was born in Montreal

    Warshington? Is that intentional?

    That used to be how most Washingtonians said it. Sen. John McCain, for example, mostly grew up in DC, and he calls it “Warshington” People in Missouri – that is, “Missurah” – used to have a very similar almost-Southern-but-more-nasal accent. Pretty much disappeared; most Baby Boomers and younger folks pronounce it without the “R”.

    I’ve heard plenty of people in Northern Virginia pronounce it that way over the decades. I still hate it. There have been times I’ve told people, “There’s no ‘r’ in ‘Washington’.” Especially given that the city is named after out first president, I think he deserves the proper pronunciation.

    Because they’re our sports, we invented them, and if we want three teams in we will – and if you don’t like it we’ll take our ball home. So there!

    In the early days of a lot of modern sports, the home nations entered separately. AFAIK there’s not been a lot of moves or hope for separation with the IOC.

    btw it’s four, not three, the full name is Great Britain & Northern Ireland

    Technically not. Team Ireland represents the whole island, so our (GB) team is in fact just Great Britain. However, Northern Irish athletes are allowed to compete as Great Britain due to some being unwilling to compete under the tricolour. 25% of the Ireland team are from Northern Ireland.

    Add> The likelihood is that rather than Great Britain being asked to compete as separate countries in the Olympics (and why would they – it’s one country) other organisations, particularly FIFA and UEFA may ask why there are four countries in their competitions.

    That’s why Scottish and Welsh FAs were very unsupportive of a Great Britain footall team, reckoning it provided a precedent that may in the future be used to prevent Scottish and Welsh involvement in tournaments.

    Don’t most Marylanders (Murlanders?) say “wash” as “warsh” or “wersh” makes sense then that DC would be Warshington. Then again my friend’s ex-fiance moved to North East Pa from Washington STATE and she would make fun of the way we said “Oregon”. She always laughed at us and told us it’s pronounced “Ore-gun” or “Organ”. Then we’d have her try to say some of the NEPa towns and laugh at her.

    On my way to work this morning and saw “awareness” taken to a whole new level. Color me aware…

    link

    Okay, given all the outcry over the possible Penn State switch, I was wondering, what have been the GOOD uniform switches? There have to have been some.

    There’s plenty of good uniform changes… it just usually takes a little while before people realize they’re good.

    Just a few off the top of my head:

    The Tampa Bay Bucs going from orange to pewter.
    The White Sox going from blue to black.
    The Raiders going from black & yellow to silver & black.
    The Bills going from white helmets to red ones, and then going from navy jerseys to their current uniforms.
    The Packers switching from navy to green.
    The A’s switching from navy to green.
    The Bengals switching from those lame-ass “BENGALS” helmets to the tiger stripes.

    I think the good uniform changes, as far as how they were received, have historically been made either by bad teams looking to change (Bengals, Buccaneers) or by teams that had nowhere to go but up because their uniforms were universally panned (Angels, White Sox).

    I think a lot of NBA teams should be on that list going from the god awful uniforms of the 90’s and early 2000’s to today
    Cavs, Wizards, Sixers, T-Wolves, Warriors, Hawks, etc.

    Has there ever been a league that had so many teams completely change identities over a decade and change again? I know MLB of the 70’s had a few teams in this category due to the advent of pullovers and sansabelt unis. But not nearly the percentage that the NBA had in the 90’s

    Makes me somewhat thankful that link aren’t on the list of Hardwood Classics for this year.

    Though, it would’ve been nice for just one game, when the Pistons had theme night Fridays this past season, to wear them for 90s Night. They could’ve worn the link for 70s Night (which also would’ve been a great night for the Grizzlies to break out their ABA throwbacks), and 80s Night would’ve been link.

    You are, The.

    Actually, they weren’t that bad, but they were a step down from what they had. Even though I couldn’t stand watching Laimbeer and Thomas play, at least they’re unis looked good.

    What looked even better, was this:
    link

    I think you’re thinking of this,
    link
    which was after the bolt unis…probably when they first moved to the Silverdome?

    Possibly. I could swear I’ve seen images of a silver lightning bolt Pistons uniform, but my Google-Fu is failing to find any today.

    Jeff, my memory is a bit fuzzy on that, but I seem to recall something about the Pistons having some funky uni materials in the early 80s that tended to discolor to a gray/silvery color.

    Jim, I actually have a Ben Wallace lightning-bolt throwback.

    It seems to me that a lot of NBA teams went through a cartoonish phase in the 90s. Those original Grizzlies and Raptor unis, as well as the silly Rockets uni (where the rocket had a face) highlight this well.

    Why did they go from celebrating the 70s ABA throwbacks right to the cartoonish 90s throwbacks? Aren’t you forgetting one fine looking decade in between?

    #No90sThrowbacks

    I wish others would take lowering ticket prices just as seriously as they would preventing ads on jerseys…just wondering which would actually have a bigger effect…

    What the hell is that supposed to mean?

    Has the NBA said ANYTHING AT ALL about lowering ticket prices if they put ads on the jerseys? I don’t think they have. (Seriously, have they?) Sure, there’s this assumption that jersey ads will mean lower prices, but there seems to be absolutely no evidence at all to support the idea that it will actually happen that way. The NBA claimed they were going to do this to “remain competitive in the global market” or whatever… which means they see it as *additional* revenue, not a reason to let fans pay less.

    No way would the NBA ever lower ticket prices as a result of uni ads. First of all we are only talking about 3.5 million per team, per year. That adds up to a contract of a typical 6th man. Second of all, when has any organization ever used increased revenue streams to make things cheaper for it’s customers? Maybe they will sell it as a way to prevent RAISING prices, but even that would be a joke.

    The only time teams lower ticket prices is because they are drawing so few fans and are desperate. And that is rare. Again, the usual course of action is to announce that prices aren’t going up.

    My point being, there is more outrage over this and a unified rally to keep these jerseys ad free than there is when something hits your pocket, however, in my opinion, this kind of outcry would seem to be more productive if the same effort was to keep other things in check in the sports world such a ticket prices and concessions…that’s what I meant Jeff…

    But an increase in ticket prices is a minor change in degree. Adding advertisements to uniforms is a major change in kind. As such, we are seeing proportionate and thus appropriate reactions in each case. The minor local change produces minor local reaction, and the major league-wide change produces major league-wide reaction.

    Further, “more productive”? Fans frequently make a hue and cry over increased ticket prices. Ticket prices are never, as a result, lowered. But there are examples of fan outcry causing leagues to drop plans for new advertising types. So if by “productive” you mean, “likely to achieve the desired outcome,” then no, in point of fact, expending the same amount of effort to protest rising ticket prices would not seem to be more productive.

    I think it’s pretty uncalled for to imply, with the use of mocking quotations, that badminton is not a real sport. Say it about auto racing, say it about chess, but I have no idea why you would say that about a game like badminton which requires serious levels of stamina and motor skills when played at a high level.

    So does alligator wrestling, but I don’t see it as an Olympic sport. Maybe lawn darts, though.

    Lawn darts would make for an awesome Olympic event, as long as they used the right set of rules. Each competitor must chug a beer before throwing their darts, and there’s a small house between the players and the target, which the darts must be thrown over.

    Does Paul know you wrote a piece about a sport that effectively makes playing left-handed illegal? For shame.

    Funny — I golf right handed. But I’d be mighty pissed if left handed clubs were outlawed. Solidarity!

    i am probably some abomination but i do everything right handed-ly except shoot pool

    “The Nationals were in their All-American uniforms (the navy with the America flag inside the curly W) last night. Am I completely unamerican, or am I forgetting an significant American date?” Anyone?

    Yesterday was Francis Scott Key’s birthday…maybe that’s why they wore the flag-based alts?

    I noticed that, too. I just thought that maybe they felt like breaking it out just for kicks or because they were bored. Or maybe someone didn’t do the laundry. Or maybe they wanted to get out of their hitting slump from the night before. (If it’s the last case, it didn’t work, unfortunately.)

    Announcers said it was a special military appreciation night at Nationals Park. I guess Iraq and Afghanistan vets got free or discounted tickets.

    You can generally assume this explanation if you see the Nats do anything out of the ordinary on a Wednesday night.

    Does anyone notice that “I’m Still Calling It Mile High” is now corporate douchebagged by Sports Authority?

    I admit that I read through the article quickly. Did I miss something? Which team did NOT make it into the Olympics for field hockey? Which was the surprise team?

    Spain was ranked as the 11th best team in the world. They were upset by the Belgians in one of the qualifying tournaments, making them the only top-12 team not to qualify for the sport’s biggest tournament.

    Despite this being a rather obvious statement, the Indian women don’t have the same legacy or ability that the men do, George. They were in the qualifying tournaments, but they just couldn’t get out of them with a qualifying spot. The Indian women’s program is advancing, but China, Korea, and Japan are advancing much more rapidly than the Indian women in Asia.

    Ignore the seriously bad article text here, and check out the great photos of decorated fencing masks:

    link

    That, for me, is the most interesting uni action at the Olympix.

    Leon Paul is the manufacturer of those masks; they’re a sponsor of the British and American teams.

    An additional point is the painted sabre masks; because the head is a valid target in sabre, any paint used must be electrically conductive. Of course, with the clear visors, there isn’t too much paint to put on.

    A couple of observations about the field hockey:
    1. NBC is televising every one of the U.S. women’s games live, in real time, on either the MSNBC or the NBC Sports Network. It’s also televising several other games, including all of the medal round ones.
    2. In addition to getting a host country bid in 1996 (and winning bronze), the U.S. women qualified in 2008 as well as this go-round.
    3. As of right now, the B pool the U.S. is in appears to be up for grabs. Germany and Argentina have both dropped games already (the latter to the U.S., who always gives them a tough time).
    4. Though unlikely to advance to the medal round, the U.S. women have a distinctive, physically demanding style. They play at a frenetic pace, pressing their opposition higher up the field than most every other team in the competition – which is an extremely high-risk strategy given that there’s no offsides rule in field hockey. They’re by no means an elegant team – workmanlike is more like it – but seeing their fitness level and the amount of effort they expend is rewarding in its own right.

    Good observations, Scott.

    I don’t have the NBC Sports Network in Canada, but most people aren’t hitting the remote to find field hockey. Thanks for the update on that.

    You’re correct on the three appearances for the USA. I didn’t technically count the host entry as “qualifying”, and then decided to forget that entry from the number of appearances altogether. So you are correct in seeing the USA play three times, and good catch on that. :o)

    I like how Team USA plays the game, but that workmanlike effort takes its toll on the players as well. I’m hopeful they can shake the tournament up. If anything, they and New Zealand would be the two teams I’d expect to knock off a powerhouse due to how they play the game.

    Which physical toll the U.S. coach is trying to mitigate by (1) using more of the players on the roster, and (2) substituting players w/dizzying frequency. In one of their games the commentator marveled at the fact that the U.S. had made something like 66 substitutions.

    NI’m not saying the madness will succeed, mind you, just there’s a method to it at least.

    Not a huge Pitt fan, but I did love those uniforms from the Dorsett, Marino & Green era. Pitt should definitely switch back to that uniform. That look is much, much better than any of the other uniforms that have replaced that classic uniform!!

    I think Pitt needs to disband the football team and focus on basketball. They actually considered it back in the late 60’s-early 70’s when my cousin Dave Havern played for them. At least Pitt had fan support then with a far worse team than even the current mediocre squad can do. Like I said yesterday, if Pitt can’t get fans to see Florida State, Virginia Tech, and Maryland as well as old favorites Syracuse and Notre Dame without West Virginia and Pedophile State, then the football team needs to close up shop. The Steelers and Penguins are always sold out, Pitt basketball draws well, and even the Pirates are doing better in attendance. Something has to give.

    I think you’ll see Carnegie Tech return to football prominence before you see Pitt disband (or even de-emphasize) its team. Hell, when your cousin (who I remember) was playing, Steeler tickets were easy to buy.

    I have no reason to believe that the program can’t live with their current attendance levels, even if they’d like to increase them.

    And I’m surprised that Kek hasn’t shown up to express his support for script Pitt.

    The Marino-era Pitt uniforms were unique and pleasing to the eye. Everything they’ve worn since seems boring and derivative.

    Wouldn’t this be the perfect time for Pitt to expand its program? Penn State is reeling, Ohio State has had its rough spots — why not try to make yourself the school of choice for the region?

    Yeah not too many people know who I’m talking about when I say the name Dave Havern. He’s the head coach of Shady Side Academy these days.

    why not try to make yourself the school of choice for the region?

    There is already a school of choice in the region for kids who want to win link.

    Re: flags on swimming caps.

    I may have missed it, but it just seems that the Stars on all the flags are just on the left side of the flag in the picture. If there are flags on both sides of the head, I would expect one to have the stars on the right side if they were caring about the direction.

    Do swim caps have a front and back? The way old ones my wife has don’t. If they don’t have a front and back, then I would think it is just the same thing printed on each side

    Stars stripes
    stripes stripes

    Swimmer Name

    I don’t think these swim caps have a front and back. If that indeed is the case then the cap could easily get turned ‘backwards’ causing both flags to face the wrong direction.

    Again, according to more than 120 years of flag etiquette as codified generations ago in the US Flag Code, the union (the stars) always go on the left. Even on the right side of your head. So if a cap has a flag on each side, and both flags properly display the union on the left, then the flags will still display properly even if the cap is worn backwards. Whereas if one of the flags is displayed backwards, then putting the cap on backwards will make the other one backwards.

    A good reason to follow actual flag etiquette instead of making up one’s own rules. If you follow the actual rules of flag display, it doesn’t matter whether your swim cap is on forwards or backwards – the flags will always be correct.

    Jeff:
    According to link:
    A flag is anything “by which the average person seeing the same without deliberation may believe the same to represent the flag.” The words “flag, standard, colors, or ensign”, as used herein, shall include any flag, standard, colors, ensign, or any picture or representation of either, or of any part or parts of either, made of any substance or represented on any substance, of any size evidently purporting to be either of said flag, standard, colors, or ensign of the United States of America or a picture or a representation of either, upon which shall be shown the colors, the stars and the stripes, in any number of either thereof, or of any part or parts of either, by which the average person seeing the same without deliberation may believe the same to represent the flag, colors, standard, or ensign of the United States of America.
    Therefore, a flag includes any representation of it on any substance, with stars and stripes of any number.

    -The flag should never have placed upon it, nor on any part of it, nor attached to it any mark, insignia, letter, word, figure, design, picture, or drawing of any nature.
    -No part of the flag should ever be used as a costume or athletic uniform.

    I’d argue that a national Olympic team qualifies as a “patriotic organization,” which under the Flag Code would permit the wearing of the flag on the uniform.

    But it is never, ever appropriate to wrap oneself in the flag like a cape, not even if you just won a gold medal.

    I started wondering if the caps had a front or back, it seems as though the name and flag only appear on one side of the cap, so if it is designed to go on the users left side of the head and gets put on backwards, the design with backwards flag would end up on the right side. Although I would think there would be three things driving the fact that your cap is put on the right way, olympic rules, it’s design and superstition.

    They don’t have a front and back, but do have a left and a right side. Which is where I think the confusion is coming from. If you look at the pictures submitted today re: Missy Franklin and Michael Phelps, the flag is on the right side of Missy’s head in her picture and on the left side of Michael’s head in his picture. Therefore, if reading from Left to Right, the flag appears correct. Would be interested to see pictures from the opposite sides of Missy and Michael’s heads.

    From what I’ve seen, the American swim caps only have flags and names on one side. And, based on those Missy Franklin photos, some of the swimmers have more than one design of cap.

    I’m convinced that they are just printing it on with the stars on the left and there is no proper left or right side to the caps. Sometimes they put them on with their name on the left, Sometimes on the right.

    Until there is an image like this
    link

    Then this seems a non issue. I don’t think it is a case that one side has the stars on the left and the other on the right so they can both be forward similar to military uniforms.
    link

    If the Leafs are going to wear a throwback blue at Michigan Stadium, then it gives me optimism for the Wings’ look. I’d say they either go back to the 1934-56 style of white sleeves on the white jersey (likely with a throwback version of the winged wheel), or possibly a version of the 1927-28 “DETROIT” throwback worn in 1991-92 and at Chicago Stadium in 1994.

    More importantly, the suggestion that the Leafs would go back to a historical jersey leaves me optimistic that we won’t get a rather generic-looking fauxback like we did for both teams in 2012.

    whoa Pitt should totally go back to the Marino helmets

    and yes, penn state should get new uniforms.

    Am I the only one that finds it weird that Australia’s flag looks link but their national teams color scheme is link?

    Also, the Netherlands should make their flag blue, white, and orange, just because that’s more historically accurate (and I won’t confuse it with Russia or France or some other country with the same flag scheme).

    I’m not sure if you know this (and not to be condescending) but the Dutch national sports teams always wear Orange because the royal family is known as the Oranje-Nassau family, dating back to the 1600s. It is the color of the royal family, and therefore the teams wear it in honor of them.

    Also, to all of UW, thank you for calling it “The Netherlands” and not “Holland!” One of the most frustrating things as a Dutch citizen is seeing that done.

    I suspect Kyle’s point is that the Dutch flag originally used orange, not red, precisely because of the House of Oranje-Nassau. It’d look better if Netherlands went back to blue-white-orange.

    When I lived in NL a decade ago, crowds cheering the national team in Euro 2004 pretty much always referred to their side as “Oranje” or “Holland,” never “Nederland.” “Hup Holland Hup!” and so forth.

    Oh. Now that I reread Kyle’s comment, it seems I totally misunderstood what he meant. Sorry Kyle!

    And the one you should be really concerned about is Luxembourg: (link) vs NL (link)

    Nope – not identical.

    Indonesia’s flag ratios is 2:3
    Monaco’s are 4:5
    (although tbh often the Monaco flag is flown as 2:3)

    That’s the detail you get on this site :)

    I knew that the Indonesian and Monagesque flags are of different dimensions, George. But at the Olympics, the flag dimensions are standardized. Except for Nepal, which has a non-rectangular flag.

    I think they even turn the Swiss flag into a rectangle (it’s actually a square).

    Yes – you are ;)

    Seriously though – although many countries use their national flag colours others have traditional sporting colours. We have debated before the azzurri of Italy, but Australia’s neighbours New Zealand have black as their traditional colours. Spanish football has red shirts and blue shorts (I know they have some gold trim, but that’s a recent addition).

    Germany have white and black, and India tends to use light blue.

    It’s not rare.

    India uses light blue as it is seen as a “secular” color.

    Australia’s national/sporting colors are green and gold; their ancient heraldic colors are blue and gold (recently used as a change kit in soccer).

    Yes, and after the Dutch reclaimed New York in the 1670’s they named it New Orange before the English reclaimed it.

    The Italian soccer team wears blue, in honor of some northern duchy or something like that, if I remember right.

    Because it doesn’t take much to flip the stick over in your hands and wallop the ball with the flat side of the stick? :o)

    Because of the carnage that would ensue.

    In field hockey you don’t defend the opponent body-to-body, but rather “stick-to-stick”. Which, with both players using right-handed sticks, puts the defender’s body just outside the end of the offensive player’s stick. But if two players are using opposite-handed sticks, images like this would be commonplace. As would emergency room visits.

    link

    I contacted Andre Reed on Twitter in regards to the photo in today’s rundown where he had on the dolphins shirt and he direct messaged me the following:

    “It was the Pro Bowl. We all wore everyone else’s stuff as a sign of friendship.”

    One other interesting aspect of field hockey in London – smurf turf!

    link

    Also, according to the internets, (1) the artificial turf field is kept deliberately wet to make it slicker and prevent rug burns and (2) they use the old carpet-style artificial turf, rather than something like fieldturf with long fibres that mimic grass.

    A quick check of Wiki indicates that the field hockey federation is trying to come up with a hybrid sort of surface that combines the quickness of a water-based artificial surface, but which does not actually use water (for ecological reasons).

    I can appreciate the latter concern, but if the pitches were built with appropriate drainage that would return the water to the water table, or otherwise recycle it…

    Also, to repeat a question I asked yesterday, does anybody know when the ball for volleyball (the indoor kind) change?

    link…

    link…

    The last time I played competitive volleyball was in high school in 1982 and we used the all-white ball. It seems to me that the new ball would significantly change the game by helping the receiving team pick up the spin off the serve. With the old ball, when I played if you could disguise the spin you had a HUGE advantage serving. Is this advantage gone now

    Could it be that Manning is still tied to Reebok, and are somehow allowed to make those jerseys?

    By the way, no SB XLVII logo yet to be seen? Is the NFL changing their minds about standardized logos after two years?

    Thanks, kids!

    I have been watching the games with great interest. As I said, I much prefer the women’s game to the men’s game for how they play the game. There are equal parts grace, style, power, and finesse used throughout the game.

    As much as it is a foreign sport in Canada, I’d like it to catch on due to how great the game is.

    I have been out of school for a long time now, so long that I don’t remember public schools ever even having uniforms. But I’m shocked that they are requiring uniforms to be so specific that they have to have the school’s logo embroidered on the shirts in some places. Don’t people complain more? I guess $20 doesn’t sound like much for a shirt, but there seems like a lot of public school students who might not be able to afford this every year. Seems like if you’re going to enforce that rule, you should be giving out the shirts for free.

    All of our kids had to wear uniforms in elementary, intermediate, and middle schools.

    The uniforms generally consisted of khaki shorts, pants or skirts and a polo shirt, usually in the school colors. The rule did not apply to high schools.

    The rationale is that uniforms add to the sense of esprit de corps, and enhance the learning environment. Translation: “This is a mostly poor, mostly minority district, and we are terrified that kids will show up to school dressed in gang colors, which will lead to violence, which will get us on the news and cost us our jobs. By the time the kids hit high school, the bad ones have all either dropped out or ended up in jail, and besides, by high school they’ve quit listening to us, anyway.”

    The only good thing about it is we avoided a lot of fights about buying school clothes. And one of the schools used a green, gold and purple color scheme, so it always felt like Mardi Gras.

    Yesterday, Great Britain and Russia’s women’s basketball teams went blue vs. red:
    link

    Yo, China (and other countries I’ve seen do this),
    Design your sevens so you don’t need to put a line through them.
    link
    Well, I’ve finally found something nice to say about Bellotti Bold – at least you knew a 7 was a 7. Not a backwards F, or even a 1.

    Bellotti Bold is a perfectly readable font that should never rear its ugly head again.

    (fixed)

    that does it vilk

    you’re done with the 5 & 1 (assuming of course i relent and allow you one more NCAA list)

    I’m starting a new religion. You can do whatever you want and still get into heaven and you don’t have to go anywhere on the weekends.

    BUT we believe left handedness is a choice and a sin. You can’t get married and we will lobby against equality for leftysexuals.

    We know left handedness is a choice because my grandfather had it beaten out of him as a youth (ignore his lefty golf clubs).

    We know left handedness is a sin because it was a nun who beat it out of him.

    ALL PRAISE TO THE RIGHT CHURCH!!!!

    That wasn’t supposed to go here but… the right hand of God (our God has two right hands) placed-eth this here-eth and thyne Right Church never apologizes!

    If God had meant us to be left-handed then why are scissors shaped the way they are?

    Hm?

    My 14 year old dog recently had a bout of vestibular syndrome, where she constantly wanted to go left. I was very worried there for a while. She’s ok now though, staying between the ditches.

    You’re just hatin’ because us lefties are more creative and artistic ;)

    If it makes you feel better, we also die younger. The world is not made easy for us :(

    Gonna need more shots of the Danish team to determine if Orange is a good color for them.

    a flute with no holes, is not a flute…but a nederlander donut with no hole is a danish

    If people from Poland are called Poles, why aren’t people from Holland called Holes?

    While I care more about soccer than the average American (Paul and Phil included, although that’s not saying much), I had never heard of Wigan being called the “Latics”. Perhaps that’s due to the U.S. having the same five EPL teams shown over here. What is the meaning behind the nickname.

    I think it’s short for “Athletics”, an English version of America’s “A’s”.

    Right, George?

    Absolutely. It’s the Northern pronumciation of “Athletic” – “‘latic”. Oldham Athletic have the same nickname.

    I am a Latic Fanatic. :)

    Don’t know if this has been posted yet but based on the ready to be filled in places it looks like the Scranton/Wilkes Barre Yankees are almost ready to get to the next step of their renaming of the team.

    link

    The faster they get rid of “Yankees” the better as long as they don’t go back to “Red Barons”. I sent in my suggestion when they were taking them but doubt it made the cut.

    Good article on the women’s hockey programme.

    Just one thing: Argentina usually wears its “albiceleste” uniforms,but when they played America three days ago, they were wearing purple with a small red stripe on the back and a red Adidas logo.

    Also, the USA always tends to wear red kit in the Olympics with a white change strip (2008 Beijing, they had a red and a blue suit).

    People from bawmur hate going to warshington. Theyd rather sit in the front stoop, eat some crabs and drink some natty bo, hun.

    /mur-lin native

    Teebz

    Even though it is called Field Hockey at the Olympics most people down here (in Oz) just call it Hockey.

    The Hockeyroos have been the dominate force in World Womens hockey but are currently going through a lean patch… However the Kookaburras (the Men’s team) are the Real Deal.

    Also, you mentioned the Australian Colours as being Green, Yellow and Brown? In my lifetime I have never seen an Australian Sporting Team wear Brown.
    Yellow (Australian Gold) – Yes – 1 Day Cricket, Wallabies, Socceroos, Diamonds, Opals, Boomers,Hockeyroos, Kookaburras
    Green – Yes – Test Cricket (Baggy Green Caps), Kangaroos,
    Navy Blue – Yes – AFL International Rules, Socceroos alt shirt

    Brown??? We’ll leave that Colour to 1970’s, early 80’s New Zealand 1 Day Cricket Teams!

    While I respect the Australian culture in terms of what they call their sports, this site regularly refers to ice hockey as “hockey”. Field hockey doesn’t get much recognition in North America unless you’re part of an NCAA team or on a national team. Aside from that, it’s a fringe sport at best.

    The reason I wanted to write about it is because it’s a sport that the rest of the world loves. Much like cricket, it’s largely misunderstood here, and I wanted to shed some light that I feel should get more recognition for how good it is.

    As for brown as a color, I included it historically because there is another green and yellow team in the event in South Africa. Since none of the field hockey teams have a uniform unveiling that I’ve seen, I included it simply as a courtesy in case Australia decided to change things up a little and honor their roots.

    No offence meant in the color scheme, but one can’t be too certain when dealing in a sport that gets less coverage in North America than soccer. :o)

    Teebz

    No probs with you calling it Field Hockey (as that is what it is called at the Olympics).

    It’s like football down here.
    If you live in the northern States (Queensland, NSW) and you said you were gooing to a “Footy match” you would more than likely be talking about Rugby (either League or Union) but if you said you were going to a “Footy Match” in Victoria or the other Southern/Western States you would be talking about Australian Rules Football(AFL).

    …and Football is called Soccer everywhere.

    Not Confusing at all really!

    As far as the Brown, Navy has been the Australian change up colour of choice recently but never brown (even historically)

    If you go back far enough the first colour Australia wore in a Rugby Test Match against England in 1899 was Sky Blue.

    From the recent viewing at this Olympics the Aussie “third” colour is fluorescent yellow. Not good.

    “this site regularly refers to ice hockey as “hockey”. Field hockey doesn’t get much recognition in North America…”

    ~~~

    don’t feel bad timothy, ice hockey doesn’t get that much recognition on this site

    Can’t tell in the picture or not, but Army is supposed to be releasing a new shoe that looks a little like a combat boot (no joke) There is also a rumor that Nike is working on a uni for them that will revolutionize unis in the future. I hope that isn’t it…

Comments are closed.