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Uni Watch

What, No Turkey Gritting His Teeth?

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My annual college football season-preview column is up now on ESPN. Of all the designs featured therein, the most intriguing one is this Virginia Tech “Fighting Gobblers” helmet, which the Hokies will wear on Sept. 8 against Austin Peay. It’s nobody’s idea of a good design, but it’s impressive to see a high-profile school pull a uni-related move that isn’t rooted in intimidation, militarism, machismo, BFBS, comic book costumery, and so on (all of which perhaps explains why they didn’t have a kid posing with the helmet while trying to look all rough and tough, or flexing his muscles, or any of the other stock poses that have grown so tiresome). In short: It’s a bad design, but at least it’s not bad in all the usual pathetic ways, and you know all the lunkhead morons out there will absolutely hate it. I actually count this as progress.

Speaking of college football, my ESPN colleague Dave Wilson recently asked all the SEC coaches for their thoughts on the current state of uniform design. The answers are illuminating.

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My adoring public: As you might expect, last week’s Uni Watch Power Rankings project generated no small amount of hate mail, much of which was rather amusing (the guy who said, “You are everything that is wrong with America” was particularly entertaining). It had slowed to a trickle by Monday and had pretty much stopped by yesterday, but then last night I received the following note, which is too good not to share:

you’re an asshole. i hate you and your job as a jersey analyst is complete bull shit. I hope you lose you job. you look like you have had facial surgery done by a blind dog. your beard looks like my ass hair. you have a simple job that you did terribly. ill keep emailing you until you respond. thank you for your time

If there’s one thing I like, it’s a polite, respectful hate mailer (even if he knows what his own ass hair looks like, which is pretty creepy).

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Show & Tell update: Show & Tell, the monthly storytelling series I’ve been hosting here in Brooklyn for nearly two years, now has its own web site, whoop-whoop!

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Uni Watch News Ticker: The Knicks will unveil their new uniforms next Thursday. I’ll attend the event, but there isn’t much suspense, because the new design will reportedly match what we saw last week in those video game leaks. ”¦ Here are this season’s Premiership rugby kits. “As you can see, the away kits do not always resemble the home kits and can be completely different colors,” sasy Josh Jacobs. ”¦ A fast-“food” chain is now producing a Ragin’ Cajuns-branded burger (from Tom Mulgrew). ”¦ USA Hockey has unveiled the uniforms for the Top Prospects Game (from Erik Sundermann). ”¦ Because We Can Dept.: That company with makes all the fancy-shmancy helmets has produced a gold Jags helmet (from Theo Manning). ”¦ England’s soccer kits will now be made by Nike, not Umbro. Yes, I realize they’re the same company (from Mark Emge). ”¦ Check out this trucker-style Astros cap. Must’ve been a spring training photo (good find by Mike Hersh). ”¦ Bizarre cross-sport, cross-city turf news from A.J Frey, who writes: “The Charlotte Copperheads of the new indoor Professional Lacrosse League apparently managed to find the old New York Titans carpet that was used at MSG and the Nassau Coliseum to put down on their floor, at least for now.” ”¦ Bethanie Mattek Sands’s latest, uh, unusual look on the court included red high-tops, eye black, and — although it’s hard to see — a green ponytail. ”¦ A’s beat writer Susan Slusser still calls it the Jake — in her byline! (Great spot by John English.) ”¦ The Boston College hockey jersey now has five stars on the back, to reflect the school’s five national titles (from Dave Levy). ”¦ Ron Roza is (a) our contact at StickerYou, the company that makes the membership card stickers, and (b) a huge Chicago Bears fan. So he recently decided to make himself a Bears-themed bike helmet. “I added the Payton tribute and the SBXX logo, but other then that I tried to be a true to the current helmet decals,” he says. ”¦ Matt Lesser notes that Joey Votto went high-cuffed in his first rehab game with the single-A Dayton Dragons, which is odd, because it doesn’t look like the whole team goes high-cuffed.

For our readers in and around southern Louisiana, Phil and I hope you’re all okay today. Hang in there, and if you have a free moment, let us know how you’re doing.

 
  
 
Comments (152)

    With the way Nike design international football jerseys it’s a dark day for English football

    I agree!

    I despise the swoosh. I used to be a fan of England and their Umbro kits. I would even get one. If I could, I’d move my teams to Umbro. Class gear.

    Nike and Umbro may be the same company, but there was a report out not too long ago that Nike is trying to sell Umbro. Are they just cannibalizing Umbro’s biggest assets before they sell the brand (Premier League Champs Manchester City and now England, which has been Umbro’s flagship for all of time)?

    It certainly looks that way. Nike has had Umbro on the market for a while, but apparently there are no takers. It’s a shame because the “tailored by…” line Umbro brought it is fantastic and Nike (France notwithstanding) has been producing crap for a while now.

    “…and Nike (France notwithstanding) has been producing crap for a while now.”

    I disagree. In fact, a lot of the Nike-outfitted national teams have been coming out with rather excellent uniforms this year. Examples include:

    -Croatia
    (link)
    (link)

    -Portugal
    (link)
    (link)

    -S. Korea
    (link)
    (link)

    Of course, France:
    (link)
    (link)

    And that’s just a few of the national teams. Maybe it’s time to stop looking at a good-looking uniform in any sport and shunning it because it’s made by Nike, and only shun it because it’s ugly, or boring, or whatever, no matter who makes it. For example: link.

    I actually like that Fighting Gobblers helmet, for all of the reasons you mentioned. Although when the footprints are isolated, it might not be that obvious what they’re supposed to represent if I hadn’t known the name of the team. They could be taken as arrows, airplanes, ghosts, etc.

    -Jet

    Maybe it would look better with just one footprint, so it doesn’t look like two birds flying in formation or something.

    -Jet

    Even better…a “helmet stripe” consisting of lots of little feet? Then you could still have the VT logo on the sides.

    I’m w/ Jet on this one. I like this “alt” helmet way more than the usual UA or Nike one-off, it’s clean, actually has the school colors, represents the mascot, and doesn’t require a whole new uni to work.

    I agree. It’s “fun”, instead of the faux-machismo Paul mentions that has become so tiring. I wish more schools would go this route if they have to do alternate uniforms.

    I do think it’s a bit humorous, though, that the Hokes are using this for a game against an FCS school. Not brave enough to do it in a game that will be televised outside the state of Virginia?

    Agreed, as an Alum of Virginia Tech, I’ll take this any day over the black pro combat helmets from two years ago. The tracks have been used all over campus since I was there starting 10 years ago, the athletic department started adopting them maybe 4 or 5 years ago on the sleeves of the women’s soccer team. I also like it because the white out game benefits a book program for local students, and the kid-like feel of the design works.

    I’m with Jet too. it’s something different. Off the top of my head, I can’t recall a helmet decal design like this. It’s an interesting use of space in a time when helmet space has changed, rendering old, tried-and-true design types ill-fitting.

    Something different that isn’t totally garish or comic? I’m cool with that.

    I’d love to see VT use tiny little turkey feet as reward stickers like FSU uses the tomahawks. I also don’t think the helmet is that horrible. Maybe it’s because all the other alt unis are so dang bad…

    Paul, what else happens at those Show and Tells? I see 10 partcipants at 3 minutes each, that’s a half hour. Allowing for introductions, etc., that’s 45 minutes. Are there questions about the items, discussion, etc? Sounds like a short evening.

    -Jet

    1) There were more participants than those pictured.

    2) I usually get things started with an introduction that takes a good 10 minutes or so.

    3) There’s an intermission, after which I do another spiel (usually shorter).

    4) After each presentation, there are questions from the audience. This often takes more time than the 3-minute presentation.

    The whole thing usually ends up running about 90 mins — sometimes a bit longer.

    Mr. Lukas – to your interlocutor’s dismay, you’ve got a doppelganger. My better half and I were having lunch at a fave local link on Saturday and a party of six sat nearby which included a fellow who not only looked like you, but was wearing a Kansas City Athletics cap.

    I dont know if the swoosh can design an england football kit as awful as the Team GB kits designed by sir pauls daughter.

    I will retract that if they designed that new Barca kit. :)

    The “My Adoring Public” section of this post is hilarious! Great response, Paul. We LOVE you and that’s all that matters, right?!?

    Crucial to hanging out with this crowd (I know, I know… a mixed blessing, at best) is the mature realization that your favorite uniforms probably are not worn by your favorite team.

    my money is on a resident of Pennsylvania.

    that’s the reaction you get when either the Steelers/Penguins aren’t ranked #1 in a poll, or the Flyers/Philles.

    Should we use “ass hair” in the comments section from now on as a benchmark for bad in honor of said troll?

    As a Blackhawks fan, I pray that this wasn’t one of my brethren. If this person is a Hawks fan, can’t we disown him/her due to their complete inability to spell, punctuate or capitalize correctly?

    No, no….I’m standing my ground…..not a Hawks fan.

    The company that made the gold Jag helmet is also responsible (good or bad) for the Fleather (faux-leather) Redskins helmet to be seen later this year.

    Take at look at some of their other patterns. I predict some attrocious helmets in the near future!!

    link

    That gold Jags helmet was the first high-profile helmet I saw from them.

    They also finished the Giants helmets from last year’s Super Bowl, a disaster which showed every single mark.

    But I’m kinda hoping that when the Packers bring back the blues, they try Washington’s leather pattern.

    That steel pattern design would actually look great on a Steelers uniform in small doses. For example, the shoulder pad area or pant stripe.

    GOLD JAGS HELMET ….

    The Gold Jaguas helmet, I believe, is a one-off going away gift that was presented to original Jags owner Wayne Weaver as he attended his last home game of the 2011 season and transferred ownership to the new guy.

    It is not a helmet to be worn in an NFL game.

    I am in New Orleans, in the middle of a hurricane – still with power, and thankfully not in flooding danger – and even I know that.

    And I am in no way a Jags fan.

    Come on guys, get with it!

    Yes, the gold Jags helmet was a one-off gift/award/whatever. The ‘Skins leather, sadly, is not. Thus leading to my quip about the potential for some of their other patterns to be realized in horrific field-taking “glory”.

    Got with it?

    Hydro Graphics does more than just football helmets. I will admit some of the patterns are ridiculous, but not all of them are intended to be used on football helmets. Many of the wood and camo patterns are used on hunting and outdoor equipment. Also, many of the metal patterns are used on automotive parts.

    Although, I cant seem to find a good use for this pattern
    link

    I’m in Baton Rouge and we’ve been having strong gusts of wind for about 3 hours. The bad thing about this storm is that it’s moving so slowly; it won’t get here from New Orleans until tonight, and will hang around much too long.

    Mattek Sands always pushes the fashion envelope. I think she needs to hit the gym more than anything! #chunky

    A disgruntled Blackhawks fan who has a weird obsession with his ass hair. BTW, does this guy have a name, or did he pull an anonymous?

    Come on, not all of us “crucified” Paul. I saw a lot more hate from Yankee and Dead Wing fans…….

    I’m inclined to agree with that University of Georgia coach: If you win in the new uniform, then it’s a good uniform. Esthetics are subjective. Wins are not.

    It’s true that æsthetics are largely subjective. But it’s also possible to objectively qualify some elements of design.

    Is it distinctive? Is the design coherent? Is the design rooted in an æsthetic which has become dated, or could it be considered timeless? Does it fall within the team’s design legacy or start anew? These are all things which can be used to evaluate a design beyond “I like it.”

    Waiting for rain in Lake Charles. All my friends in the New Orleans/Baton Rouge area are safe and accounted for. The Livid Acadians did a good thing with the helmet stickers for Mickey. I can’t say the same for the logo on a burger.

    We’re good so far outside of Baton Rouge, and we still have power. But the storm is moving slowly and probably will be with us all of today and all of tomorrow.

    Ah yes, Pennsylvania, the original FU state. Nah, can’t be. Blackhawks fans were more incensed. Funny thing, my big 4 teams (Mets, Jets, Ravens, Nuggets, Nets, Capitals) got pretty spread out in the rankings. I liked the Mets ranking, was a bit surprised about the Jets, knew he would zap the Ravens, was disappointed in his Nuggets and Nets rankings (come on, powder blue, man!) and actually agreed with his capitals ranking. I guess if you’re not a total homer for your teams, you don’t feel obligated to write stupid death threats to writers, like that turdball from wherever he is.

    Why no updates for 1-AA ball? I want to see what the SWAC, MEAC, CIAA and Southland have done.

    He included the MAC. Close enough…

    Actually, when I used to include 1-AA teams in the 5&1 lists, some schools were notorious for having little to no pictures posted on their sites. So even if that isn’t Paul’s reason, it’s a plausible one.

    Was clicking through the HGI website, and aside from temporary blindness from the ill-advised decision to click on their “concept” helmets, I noticed they’ve incorrectly listed University of Georgia as “Georgia University”
    link

    Paul, a couple of times now you’ve mentioned that the names on Penn State jerseys are there to stress personal accountability. Heard on Sports Center last night they were added to honor players for not splitting town. I assume PSU has said both explanations at some point, just thought I’d pass the info along.

    ALERT: In Friday’s Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game, both teams will wear colored jerseys: Tennessee will wear orange, NC State will wear red. Not sure how I feel about that.

    Yay.

    I can’t give a full on YES! because red vs orange isn’t the best option for color vs color, but I’ll take what I can get.

    After the white jersey edict, that is.
    Before it, they wore their orange almost all the time.
    In ’57 Sugar Bowl vs. Baylor, for example…
    link

    (Warning, for those repulsed by helmet, jersey and pants being three different colors, you won’t like what Baylor wore)

    I’ll tell you what, it makes me feel 40 years younger. I believe that the Vols light Orange is so light that it contrasts with just about anything, certainly medium Red or anything darker.

    Love the “Baylor Look” -Gold Helmet, Dark Jersey, White Pants. A template too-seldom used. Loved my Saints in that look, and would not mind it again ….

    Does this mean that one team will be penalized for not wearing white? I recall that occurred a few years ago when both USC and UCLA wore non-white jerseys, and the opposing coach took a delay of game penalty (or something like that) to make things even. Since this game is at a neutral location, perhaps the rule doesn’t apply, but doesn’t one team have to designated as the home team, and therefore have the option of what color to wear?

    After that USC/UCLA game the rule was changed to allow color vs. color if there is sufficient contrast and neither team objects.

    i think more teams should do this. just hope N.C. State doesn’t go with their monochrome look

    Well I don’t live 57 miles from the nearest Sonic. (More like 29, but I don’t go to Wexford, PA much these days, and unlike, say, Hardee’s, Sonic isn’t a place I would go out of the way for anyways.) But on a related note, I did stop to get groceries and what did I find? Checkers/Rally’s fries! The nearest one of those (in this case, Rally’s) is in the Akron area so I snatched these up. Unlike most restaurant food that is available in the grocery store–and I was at Save a Lot, of all places, when I found them–I figured that deep-fried food is pretty straightforward. Sure enough, they’re the real thing. I always make a trip to Rally’s when I’m in Cleveland or Akron. (Although now that I accidentally discovered that Church’s Chicken is up there back in June, I might give them a shot next.) I’m going to Florida in November. I’ll be driving, I’m planning on kicking Krystal off my bucket list for sure. If I encounter a Bojangles or a Jack-in-the-Box, I’ll knock them off too.

    With that said, yeah Paul it sounds like that one guy is a nutjob. How would you get fired from a job that you’re pretty much self-employed for?

    You’d go out of your way for Hardee’s? Really? Well, they do have a good breakfast. Their after-breakfast food might have potential if every store that I’ve been to wasn’t so darn filthy. They are the worst of the fast-food chains when it comes to cleanliness, in my opinion. Bojangles can be bad themselves, but I like a lot of their food (both breakfast and otherwise).

    If you haven’t been to Krystal – sure, try the original Krystal burgers. But if you like chicken, their “Chik”s are pretty tasty. I always bypass the burgers there and pick up some Chiks (just don’t tell my fiancee).

    I know I’ll encounter a Krystal between Pittsburgh and Tampa. Bojangles I think it’ll depend on how close we are driving to the Atlantic coast. If I don’t hit them the closest one to us is in the DC area, which is close enough for me to make a road trip just for them. Jack-in-the-Box, they have in the Carolinas and Tennessee, but they’re making a national push and just recently opened a store in the Cincinnati area–that one might be a stretch, although Dayton and Columbus are definitely doable. But I definitely want to try Krystal. I’m pretty sure they’re not coming north of the Mason-Dixon line anytime soon, although the actual Mason-Dixon line is even a little north of Krystal’s cutoff point.

    As for Hardee’s? Nearest one is in Millvale, PA. Haven’t gone to that one lately due to construction on PA 28. Ah, the one road in Pittsburgh that never seems to be NOT in construction…

    Not sure the route you’re taking, but you don’t have to hug the ocean to hit a Bojangle’s. I know they have them in the Charlotte area since a friend of mine always raves about it. We agree to disagree about that. I’m a Popeye’s man. As for Hardee’s, the one by my way is kept rather clean. Not the best food, but I won’t bash them for cleanliness (Plus, their service is good at my locale).

    We might be going through Tennessee and Kentucky. I think Tennessee has them but I’m not 100% sure. Funny you mentioned Popeyes. I just ate there last week.

    I do know that there is a Krystal in Murrells Inlet, SC, just past Myrtle Beach.

    Not a huge difference between White Castle and Krystal. The major difference is Krystal only puts mustard on their burgers, so be sure to ask for ketchup if you want it.

    I tried White Castle for the first time in Cleveland back in June. (The REAL White Castle, not the frozen food White Castle you can get at Giant Eagle.) Eventually if I get a chance to go out west I want to try In-N-Out Burger.

    Last Vegas trip, I managed to hit all of the burger places that are California/Western bound: In and Out, Jack in the Box, Whataburger and Carls Jr. Had hit InO in Vegas before, and Jack used to be here a long LONG time ago – prior to the e coli nightmare. Whataburger was OK…Jack was diappointing…but Carls Jr was great – surprsingly so, considering it was tacked onto a convenient store.

    There is most definitely a huge difference between White Castle and Krystal….we’ve never thrown away our slyders, but had no problem not eating the remaining Krystals and chucking them….(after we offered the untouched ones to some nice folks we were talking with at the place)…..

    The fries you get at the store or at the restaurant are made by 1 of 4 main fry manufacturers…..It’s really not that unusual for you to find the equivalent restaurant product within a retail store. You know those Dominick’s/Safeway branded fries and the McCain or Ore-Ida branded fries you see in the same case? They’re all made on the same production lines, folks. Same with the foodservice (restaurant) products, with the exception of McDonald’s at some processing facilities, they’re made on the same lines.

    Incredibly bad taste. And no it wasn’t me.

    I enjoyed the comments from the ESPN readers the most because there you get reactions from a huge cross section of sports fans. I think the biggest surprise from me was the amount of folks who think the blackhawks have the best uniform in sports. I think they have a great set with the white/red/black alt, but wouldn’t think top of all sports.

    I don’t think all of the Hawks fans (I’m one) think they have the best uniform overall, I think the issue was the lower than expected ranking.

    Which is ridiculous, because it’s just Paul’s opinion! It shouldn’t cause this much angst!

    I’m reminded of the time that the ever colorful Bill Lee was deluged with hate mail after Lee spoke publicly in favor of school busing in Boston in the early 1970s. One of the letters was from Dapper O’Neil, a city councilman who was the leader of the anti-busing movement. The councilman’s letter was riddled with typos and misplaced punctuation marks. Lee wrote back: “Dear Mr. O’Neil, I think you should know that some moron has stolen your stationery and is writing me letters on it.”

    I’m actually impressed with the part of the hate mail that got the ‘you are’ contraction spelled correctly. Though the missing punctuation, the spelling of bullshit as two words, ‘your’ spelled as ‘you’ and the ‘I will’ contraction spelled as ‘ill’ as in ‘It makes me ill to speak of your uni rankings’ & the lack of capitalization gets earns a C- in my classroom.

    Now, had he said, “your beard looks like the ass hair of everyone in my neighborhood,” THAT would have indicated he definitely is a ____________ fan (fill in blank; a “make-you-own joke” thing).

    The uniform rankings were fun and a great read. I don’t agree with every thing Paul and Phil and the rest of you experts say. We’re aficionados of laundry, baby! Don’t you forget it! The highest of fives goes out to the guy who made his own Bears bike helmet.

    ah the days of the old school mesh fitted hats in spring training! I’d love to get a hold of one the pillbox Pirates’ ones: link

    I attended Detroit’s spring training in ’87 and ’88. They wore adjustable, mesh-back “trucker” caps from New Era. Jim Walewander showed me personally because I was after one…even back then.

    Did you notice that the picture has the word “bust” above Leyland’s name? Somewhat apropo, no?

    Huh, that NY Titans turf thing is funny. When I was in high school in Plantation, FL about 10 years ago, our baseball team’s batting cage got new turf(which was clearly used, the old carpet like stuff). It had football lines and half of the “Meadowlands” logo on it. I always wondered if it was from Giants Stadium or the Izod Center(they had an Arena team there right?).

    Nike and Umbro have the same parent company, they aren’t the same company. It’s a big deal that Nike is taking all the good teams off the Umbro brand (ManCity, England), the same way it was a big deal with ABC Sports ceased to be a thing and everything became ESPN on ABC. It means Nike purchased Umbro to get their high end English clients, and not to run the way adidas runs Reebok as some speculated early on.

    Are you saying you like the design or that you appreciate the ironic value of Nike-branded jerseys at a CCM-sponsored event?

    Because if it’s the latter, there is no real irony. Nike and CCM are both “official partners” of USA Hockey.

    If it’s the former, then I’m not sure you know the definition at least.)

    what the hell happened there? my last paragraph got mangled somehow. Here’s what I wrote:

    If it’s the former, then I’m not sure you know the definition of “trumps.” (The straight hem is a nice touch, at least.)

    I was sad to find out the last Roy Rogers around (not counting i95 rest stops) is now a bank of some kind.

    They’re still a bunch of standalone Roy Rogers in Maryland. The chain is attempting a comeback but I don’t see it being as big as it once was.

    I emailed Paul this late last night, way too late to include in today’s CFB Preview, but thought I’d share here as well. A screenshot of a pretty good view of USC’s new facemasks that will go on before the first game, and the video I took it from.

    link

    link

    The Trojans will also have a raised front nose bumper, a la Oregon and the NY Giants. Just remembered that

    I’m uneasy of seeing Nike becoming the “new” sponsor for the England team shirts/shorts/socks. I liked the look that the article provided as far as what they would think, but I really would like to see Nike remain traditional with the tops and shorts. However, knowing Nike, hopefully we see less douchebaggery related to these uniforms in the future.

    I’m also not sure how to feel about the Virginia Tech helmets. They look a little odd to me in photographs, but I am somewhat excited to see how they’ll look on the field. However, in contrast, I love the new Rutgers helmets from the ESPN college football preview. If there was a way, I’d love to get one of those as a mini helmet for my desk.

    I’m fairly certain I’ve seen the Bears orange pants from Madden posted here before, but I don’t think they were identified as the default away pants when in the game when that picture surfaced.

    Every game that I have played against them they were the away team and they were wearing orange pants. I’m fairly confident they aren’t going to those as their default away pants, nor do I think they will be worn much if they are in fact real, but it would be odd that they would be set as the defualt if they weren’t real (Madden has included stuff that is not in the actual rotation before, but they don’t set it as the defualt home or away look when they do).

    Paul mentioned yesterday that it had not been “running” in his absence. Now that he’s back, he said it would make a return soon.

    Hexagonal pimples may be a Calloway thing, but well done Tim. Again, it’s all ass hair to me.

    I take it you are being sarcastic, but I felt a need to get ahead of it before someone comes along and says like “why do they have honey combs on the helmet, they’re yellow jackets not honey bees”.

    SB Nation reporting that the Georgia Tech quarterback posted the photo (not the Titleist version, but the side and head-on view) on his Twitter feed.

    Navy face mask, old gold center stripe…it’s okay. As humorous as the Va Tech helmet.

    If I ever run across Susan Slusser, I owe her a drink for that Jake comment. Huzzah and kudos!

    I think I haven’t heard about this from Paul. Anyway, if someone has already mentioned it sorry for double posting.
    link

    RE: Astros trucker-style caps….the Texas Rangers wore the mesh-back camps during spring training in 1978-79.

    There was nothing traditional or classic about Englands current kits made by umbro white shirt/red shorts when it should be white over navy ,as for that dark blue over light blue away kit HURRENDOUS!! England should always be white over navy at home and red over white away kits , Les

    Must send congratualtions on not worrying about getting fired (sic) from your own blog.

    If the NY Giants were gonna go with one set of pants, it should have been their “home” pants. Those had the better looking stripe.

    The list lost any relevancy when Paul Blackwell had the Blackhawks NOT even listed in the TOP 25. As some point have a fucking clue already?

    Redskins in the white pants tonight with red jerseys. The gold pants would be perfect if they would switch to the stripe pattern that is on the white pants. Make the pants gold with a maroon and white stripe.

    Great stuff today Paul, quite the comprehensive review of the college unis. Just a few comments on some of them:

    1. Duke’s black helmet-the logo is invisible!
    2. Maryland-those helmets look like something straight out of motorcross racing. It may have looked better if they just used that motif as a thinner center stripe and have an angry Terrapin as the helmet logo.
    3. Nebraska-that jersey is way too cluttered with all the wordmarks, logos, etc.
    4. Iowa-Gotta love those throwbacks!
    5. Michigan-Those unis for the ‘Bama game look pretty good. However, Roll Tide!
    6. Northwestern-Is that taking the northwestern stripe a little too far? I don’t think so, great look!
    7. Oklahoma State-get rid of the gray already! The orange lid would be interesting to see.
    8. West Virginia-This is one team/uni where the gray doesn’t look so bad for some reason. Also, I had no idea they were in the Big12 now.
    9. Houston-that oval cougar looks way too much like the Mizzou Tiger.
    10. Marshall-This uni is under-rated, I hope to see it on the 5&1 this season.
    11. Southern Miss-That throwback looks like a Hamilton Ti-Cats uni, I like!
    12. Tulsa-I think the changes made rate the new uni a push. Number font is a downgrade but the rest looks good. Is the helmet still the same?
    13. Eastern Michigan & Bowling Green-Are they using the same wing/feather design on the shoulders?! Props to BGSU for keeping the brown facemask.
    14. Air Force-Major (ha!) upgrade by getting rid of the redundant bolts on the shoulders, cutting the apron strings and adding a center helmet stripe.
    15. Mizzou-I think the alt looks great with that giant tiger on the helmet.
    16. Vanderbilt-The gold uni looks like it has EKG lines ala the Minnesota Gophers from 1994-95.
    17. Utah State-Quite possibly the best upgrade in a long time. Very impressive.

    Jason Vargas (Seattle pitcher) was just arguing with the umpire, and he has a Rawlings glove with the “R” blacked out and the big Rawlings patch on the wrist apparently covered up or replaced by a Zett patch. No screen shot, but it was clear as day when they showed close ups of him arguing, as his glove was up by his mouth.

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