Yesterday brought our first look at the Nets’ new floor design. As you see above, they’re going with a herringbone pattern, which I think looks pretty nice. You can see additional photos and info here.
Meanwhile, this Nets uni design was circulating yesterday. I know it looks official, but it’s just a fan mock-up. Trust me.
New ESPN column today here you go.
#NoUniAds update: The combination of the Uni Watch Power Rankings and the start of the football season has distracted me from the important business of the #NoUniAds campaign. As you may recall, the NBA is slated to take an e-mail vote on their uniform advertising program at some point this month. I have repeatedly asked for the date of that vote, but my requests have gone unanswered. Not “We don’t know yet” or even “No comment” — just no response. Hmmmm.
Remember, even if you don’t care about the NBA, this issue affects all of us, because uniform ads will likely spread to other leagues at some point. It’s time to revive and redouble our efforts — your uni-verse needs your help. Here’s the rundown on what you can do:
• Call the NBA’s publicly listed phone number (212-407-8000) and ask for deputy commissioner Adam Silver’s office or commissioner David Stern’s office. Whoever you get to speak to, even if it’s only the receptionist, make it clear that you’re opposed to ads appearing on NBA uniforms. Do it now.
• Send a note to the NBA offices via this link. Don’t put it off to do later — do it now.
• If you’re on Twitter, tweet to @NBA and use the hashtag #NoUniAds. Let’s get this thing trending! Please do it now.
Thanks for your help.
PermaRec update: A 1949 rejection letter from a greeting card company takes us down a really fun rabbit hole in the latest entry on the Permanent Record blog. I really like this one, and I think you will too — check it out.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Absolutely sensational look at how the Knicks’ primary logo was designed. This is the first of a two-parter, and I can wait to see the second installment. Highly recommended. … Robert Griffin III’s cover-up of the swoosh on his warm-up shirt is drawing a rebuke from the league. … In a very meta move, it looks like Pitt is awarding merit decals shaped like little helmets with the old Pitt script. That’s pretty awesome. … A New Jersey 12-year-old has quit his youth league football team after being told he couldn’t wear pink gloves in honor of his mother, a breast cancer survivor. … Alex Giobbi found an old AFL uni chart for $5 at a local church sale. … Tyler Johnson thinks the Steelers’ two-digit uni numbers are closer together under Nike than they were under Reebok. … Jeremy Burson notes that Kentucky QB Max Smith didn’t have an SEC patch last weekend. … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: Andy Murray’s first thoughts after winning the U.S. Open were to put on his sponsored wristwatch. Douchebag. … Also from yesterday: Here’s a good video showing how Missouri’s equipment staff applies decals to the team’s helmets (from Mark Haarmann). … Bryce Harper broke his belt on Monday night (William Yurasko). … Check out this Dolphins sticker. “A friend of a friend posted it on Facebook and mentioned that it was bought for him in the ’60s,” says Steve Hicks). … FNOB alert! That’s Jerry Moore, obviously, of the 1972 Bears. “They also had a running back, Joe Moore, but I can’t find pics of him,” says Jeff Ash. … You’ll soon be able to design your own custom sneakers via an NBA video game, or something like that (from Colin Sherrod). … Whoa, look at this shot of BYU’s 1951 NIT championship team during a tour of Brazil (great find by Chase Troutner). … A new FC Barcelona jersey has apparently been leaked (from Leo Thornton). … New hockey uniforms for Penn State (from Brian Wagner). … “The Atlanta Silverbacks of the ‘new’ NASL are running a name-the-team contest for their franchise,” reports Brandon Ponchak. “The debate is between the Silverbacks, which is their current name, and the Chiefs, which was the original name in the original NASL with a Native American mascot/logo. You can vote here.” … There are rumors about Tennessee wearing black this weekend. … Joe Nathan lost a bet and had to dress up as Tony Romo (from Michael Greenwald). ”¦ This is pretty good: all 30 NHL center-ice designs — and all 30 red line designs, too (thanks, RyCo). ”¦ Eduardo Nunez of the Yankees wears No. 26. But when he pinch-ran during last night’s Yanks/Bosox game, he wore Francisco Cervelli’s helmet. ”¦ Some of the worst jerseys in NBA history will be part of this season’s throwback program (from Trent Knaphus). ”¦ Here’s how Virginia Tech’s G.I. Joe uniform looks on a mannequin (from Warren Junium). ”¦ Sept. 11 gestures: The Mets wore first responder caps during BP (sorry, no photo), all teams wore American flag cap patches, and the Nats wore their clown suits. … Today’s entry in the reverse-engineered Gowanus All-Stars set list is “I’m on My Way Home Again” by the Everly Brothers:
i had see someone a few weeks ago wearing that same Nets jersey and I thought it was fake. now i see apparently it’s the real deal. too plain IMO.
everything about the new look Nets looks generic and uninspired
The herringbone pattern was first introduced by the Toronto Raptors back in their expansion season of 1995-96.
The herringbone pattern is the only thing that’s nice about the court
huh? Did you not read this?: “I know it looks official, but it’s just a fan mock-up. Trust me.”
That’s what they said last year about Marlins stuff that turned out to be real, too.
Who said that?
Yes but that was the organization trying to blow smoke in your face, this is Paul telling you that while he can’t divulge information about the uniforms yet (I assume because of a non-disclosure form, either that or he is trying to make sure he gets invited to see new uniforms in the future, something that would be hard to pull off if he went around leaking pics and pissing off the teams/companies) he can tell you which fake unis are indeed fake.
No it wasn’t the organization I was talking about. I mean last year (prior to the November unveiling) here in the comments I commented about a Marlins uniforms image that was mentioned either in the ticker or a previous comment, and Paul replied that “those aren’t real”
But in trying to search now for it I see his ESPN Page column from way back in September 2011 confirming that the Marlin logo leaked was confirmed, so I don’t know, but I’m sure that I remember that reply to my comment.
Maybe someone else can find it — I was trying to use the Google custom search box and it gets hijacked by shirtwhiz.com either someone forgot to close an ‘/a’ tag or it’s a clever way to get clicks.
Regarding the Pitt helmet decals…I am not convinced they are merit stickers in that every member of the team has them in the same location, placed the same way. I think it is just part of the helmet…
There actually looks to be 5 total helmets, possibly looks like the history of Pitt helmets.
This ^^^^ The last helmet is the “Dinocat” preceeded by the script Pitt. A helmet history on a helmet.
That’s just something some blog designed. It’s not real.
You’ll soon be able to design your own custom sneakers via an NBA video game, or something like that
I’m not really a shoe nut, but that’s really close to being awesome. There’s just the little problem of how well the shoes actually fit. I don’t know about the target audience, but I’d never buy a pair of shoes without trying them on first.
man i posted this in the comment section a few days ago.. no epeen glory for me.. bummer
Re: Gowanus All Stars
Do they travel outside of the northeast? If so, do they have schedule dates posted anywhere?
They don’t travel outside of one bar a few blocks from my house!
Love that period of The Everly Brothers’ career. If you get a chance, seek out their 1969 ‘Roots’ album. Excellent Country-Rock record that largely went unheard
Interesting Knicks logo design piece; I look forward to reading the rest. I particularly liked the two unused logos that centered the “Y” in “York” over the Empire State Building and made it resemble the “Y” in the center of the old link Those would’ve offered some design continuity with the “nYk” alternate logo that ended up being used.
that nets uni looks to be a fan mock-up
link
Yup. Did like their Rockets re-brand, though.
link
Uh-huh. A lot of skill and thought seemed to go into that. Strange, given the way history turned out, how iconic the outline of a V2 missile is.
Tennis needs to learn from Formula 1, where the watches are laid out on a table with the tire manufacturer hats, just before they head out to the podium.
Now it Pitt would just make the REAL helmets with the old script, and not just the decals, life would be a whole lot better!
Also, they need to go back to using royal blue and mustard, stat. That is a highly underrated color combination. Navy and gold is just so boring in comparison.
Re: Mizzou…I REALLY wish they’d add some white to the alt helmet, like is in the primary tiger logo…oh well, they didn’t ask me
Given the design of the alt helmet, how would you have incorporated white?
Well, the teeth could be white.
I’m thinking that would’ve just been the other logo, but larger. Not sure how “alt” that is.
have the large tiger logo w/o the circle, on a mat-finish helmet, and no stripes…still ALTERNATE to the regular one. i wish there was more white in all the nike-fied mizzou stuff, trip, # outlines etc. the black/gold/gray could use some “pop” IMHO, white would certainly to that. at least they’ve got the gold to match.
They mentioned “Eric’s time and labor” in that video piece. There’s no way they could pay that poor guy enough!
For once, I am in agreement with Mr. The Jeff!
Don’t know if these stories have fallen off the radar, but another couple of northern Colorado school districts are selling link. I am opposed to governmental entities selling or buying advertising in all circumstances.
The article does not state what the money being raised is slated to be used for. Is it going to help offset rising fuel prices, pay for the salary/benefits of mechanic(s), or help to reduce overall transportation budget expenditures? Do you know more about this?
No transparency as to the destination of the funds. For all we know it could be funding contributions to political campaigns by friends of school administrators.
“I am opposed to governmental entities selling or buying advertising in all circumstances.”
You’d oppose this as well?:
link
I find nothing bad or wrong there (although an anti-violence ad might be more appropriate for a race held in Chicagoland).
With nearly $17 trillion in current outstanding debt, the federal government should end the habit of making noise about nearly every issue in society and should try to live within its means. Never mind the lack of any evidence that an ad in a NASCAR race would have any substantive impact on people texting while driving.
Maybe they could start to make a dent in the $17 trillion by selling ad space on the Capitol Dome, white house lawn, Washington Monument, etc. Or have sponsors for federal elections:
“Welcome to 2012 Nokia Presidential Election” or the “Presidential Inauguration Ceremony, presented by Citi.”
If fat cat billionaire NBA owners can sell ad space, why not a hopelessly in debt entity like the federal government?
Front Row Motorsports? That car will be in the garage by lap 10.
Shame about the 12 year old kid, but at some point in time you have to learn to follow the rules.
Not to mention, how ’bout you say to your son…
“Buddy, I know you love your mom, but we aren’t the only family who has ever gone through that. We also darn sure aren’t the center of the universe…and you’re part of team now.”
Instead of, “We think the coach should be suspended for not indulging our baby who wanted to draw attention to our family…which we obviously covet.”
Since he can’t wear the pink gloves when he plays ball, I am guessing he wears them the rest of the time like to the mall and school and stuff?
“In October, players are permitted to wear pink gloves specifically for breast cancer awareness,…. On Saturday, they were expected to wear black gloves.”
I apologize in advance for the sauciness of this…
This kid’s attitude is another example of Madonna’s Vagina Syndrome. Take a look at Madge’s career: every aspect of it seems to be driven by her unassailable conviction that she is the first person in history to have one, and she has a moral duty to share it with the world.
That’s what this glove thing is about, announcing to the world, “Look! This happened to us, not to anyone else, ever! Respect us! Resspeeeect uuuuuussss!”
And I’ll bet money the 12 year old was put up to this by some adult. Twelve year olds just want to play.
I completely thought the same thing when I read the article. That just sounds like way too much adult stuff a 12 year old is throwing at the situation.
Now, there could be another side to the story we haven’t heard, was the kid in some kind of trouble with the team, tardiness, benched, etc? Was the kid and family looking for some kind of revenge or something? I mean, the kid refusing to play and handing his uniform over? Is that not overly dramatic?
Like you said, 12 year olds want to play.
Now the coach says it was a simple misunderstanding, and apologizes:
link
As to “12 year-olds want to play,” well, ever been a 12 year old? Or met one? That’s about the most tantrum-prone age. And we’re talking here about a kid who’s recently had to face the possible death of his own mother. I know that adults are expected to understand that suffering is universal and our private griefs don’t make us special. But we’re talking about a child here. His mother’s illness really is a BFD to him. Doesn’t excuse the tantrum, but the harsh judgment of the boy’s character here is unseemly. He’s a child. Acting like a child.
Also, you know who throws tantrums instead of playing? Every 12 year-old who’s ever wanted to get out of playing, whether because they’re not having fun or didn’t want to do this stupid sport anyway but dad made them or they’re getting teased by everyone else or they’re not really any good at it and they’re tired of sucking or, well, the list goes on. It’s another thing that kids this age just do. And “I’m quitting because coach wouldn’t let me honor my sick mom” is pretty smart, if that’s what’s going on here, since no matter how much dad pushed the kid to play football, a man is not going to side with some coach over his own son’s love for his sick mother.
If I were 12, and my dad signed me up for some sport I didn’t enjoy, and my mom had cancer, this is exactly how I would get out of it!
Page 7 of that greeting card pamphlet seems eerily similar to a certain Police song. Or should I say, a certain Police song seems eerily similar to page 7 of that greeting card pamphlet….
Ha — good point!
Damn. I was hoping for “Can’t Stand Losing You.”
Love the Brooklyn court. Herringbone rocks.
Back when the hornets were in Charlotte I wanted them to do a hexagon pattern floor, to subtly evoke a hive.
That would have been great. I hope this gets more teams to think about doing unique things with the construction of their courts.
They did, back in the late 90s – the 3-point line was filled with a teal-purple gradient, and the key had a honeycomb design:
link
Sadly, it only lasted a couple of seasons…
I wonder how it would look if you cut the wood to make large hexagonal panels out of wood planks, like 60-degree parquet?
I *barely* remember that! I was probably between 5-7 years-old, I’m guessing. Any specific years they used this?
Moono, it was used from ’95-’97. Quite possibly my favourite court design ever (although I’m biased, being a huge Hornets fan).
That was also the era of the Raptors’ court with the purple 3-point area & dino footprints everywhere, and the Rockets’ star-filled 3-point area & huge midcourt explosion…
Pictures of the above:
link
link
“Moono, it was used from ’95-’97.”
So I was between 4-6 then. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to write a request letter to Tom Benson…
That was just the paint on the floor. I’m talking about parquet style like the garden but in a honeycomb pattern.
I like the herringbone too. Kinda makes me wish the uniform fabric had a subtle herringbone pattern (although I guess that’d be next to impossible with the current mesh fabrication).
Betcha the guys who make Japan League Baseball uniforms could handle it.
They could do something with the side panels, like they once did with their link.
I can’t imagine it would really be all that difficult from a technical point of view. Contemporary uni construction is so arbitrary that, well, why not arbitrarily make either herringbone mesh or just sublimate some herringbone pattern on there?
But I’m not sure it would really work for the Nets. The black and white scheme is so stark that anything adding texture to either will feel like a muddling of the identity. Honestly kind of feel like that about the court. I love herringbone, the chieftain of the pattern race, and it’s genius to put it on an NBA court. But it’s not playing nicely with the Nets logos and identity to my eyes. Just about any other team in the NBA would make it work better.
I completely disagree about the court. I think that the herringbone pattern perfectly complements the understated logos. Flashy logos and colors on that court would be a major downgrade.
Really, the Celtics’ home uniform is pretty stark when you boil it down to the essentials. The parquet certainly works for them.
JTH, you’re absolutely right about the Celtics floor. However, the logo the Celtics put on the floor is quite busy compared to what the Nets have on their floor. It’s not how the wood interacts with the players’ unis that I have in mind, but how it plays with the team logos that are painted on top.
Still, my critique aside, any herringbone court is better than no herringbone court. It’s not that I think the Nets floor looks bad, exactly, just that I think it looks less good than it would for pretty much any other team.
I live in Tennessee and generally despise everything Vol-related, even though my lovely fiancee graduated from there. I will say though, even if it’s BFBS, those black jerseys in the picture linked above don’t look half bad. Their usual shade of yellowish-orange is just too much for my eyes. And is just me, or do the “gimmick uniforms” seem to backfire on teams the majority of the time? In my limited viewing experience it seems that way. If it helps the Gators pull out a victory, I’m all for UT wearing those this weekend.
I really like that fan mock-up of Brooklyn’s uni.
Re: Alex Giobbi’s AFL uni chart…. That’s made by a company called “Heritage Sports Art”, and unfortunately, it’s not particularly old (I’d say 10 years at the absolute most). The company makes watercolor paintings of vintage uniforms, and the piece that you found at the yard sale was a compilation of those prints. Not to say it wasn’t a cool find… I have one of Patriots and Red Sox jerseys that I nabbed at the Christmas Tree Shop (surplus store in MA) for $5.99 a piece.
Just letting you know so you don’t think you have a priceless treasure on your hands, only to be disappointed by Antiques Roadshow in 25 years.
I did an extensive interview with Heritage Sports Art honcho Scott Sillcox a few yrs ago:
link
Always struck by the fact that “charts” like that seem to start with teams’ current color schemes.
Me, I think pointing out that, say, the Bills and Raiders began with royal & silver and black & athletic gold, respectively, actually would make the graphic MORE interesting. Certainly more informative.
Agreed.
I wonder if the teams themselves aren’t part of the problem. The Bills and Raiders both seem to act as though those first 2-3 seasons didn’t exist.
Kudos to the Broncos for not ignoring those hideous yellow and brown monstrosities. They weren’t easy on the eyes, but it is a part of their history…
Those 90’s NBA throwbacks are so amazingly bad that I actually like them. Its like a dog thats so ugly its cute.
WTF were these teams thinking? Was this just a group think cluster?
Don’t you try to throw back to an era when your team didn’t, you know, suck? Only the Pacers’ uniform seemed to be drawn from their glory years.
The NBA has consistently chosen league-wide themes for its Hardwood Classics program. One year the theme was “championship seasons”; another year it was ABA designs; this year it’s apparently the late 1990s, or something like that.
the jazz and bulls were good then too. I remember MJ wearing the black jersey, and i believe the jazz played in the finals with the coors light jerseys.
if the hornets were still in charlotte they could have busted out the purple jerseys. I know Paul hates purple, but the hornets could do no wrong when i was a kid.
the Jazz went to the finals the first two years they wore those eyesores.
Those hideous uniforms are on record for making one actual player physically ill:
link
“…and the Nats wore their clown suits.”
There is something about that line that just made me laugh out load. It’s so matter of fact and sarcastic at the same time. It’s a throwaway tag at the end of a thought, but yet it perfectly encompasses Paul’s disdain. It took Paul only seven words to tell you his feelings of that uni, but yet also stating he doesn’t feel it deserves any true attention.
Like you Mike, I appreciate that the picture is shared for all to see. And some of what he shares says: “Here are the Fighting Butterflies new hats. I hate them.”, That’s what I like about this blog. Some come with the “I approve” disclaimer, but either way, I like that there’s an opinion. Even if ~I~ happen to like the Fighting Butterflies new hats.
really like the 2nd black and white Knicks logo
Looking at those NHL center ice designs, it’s interesting how there is no league standard for how the center ice red line stripe should look. Looks like each team gets to put their own unique design stamp on it.
-Jet
No reservations at all about a Miami Dolphins rebrand, only they have to use the insignia Steve Hicks provided. That’s twelve kinds or awesome.
I was thinking a little more about the no uni ads campaign and as it relates to hockey. Obviously the NHL added unneeded numbers to the front of the helmets this year that I am guessing will go away in a year or two and be replaced with an ad. But then you say Bettman said they weren’t putting ads on the uniforms, he’s right, putting an ad on a helmet wouldn’t be putting an ad on a uniform, it would be putting an ad on equipment. NHL jerseys would still be ad free…
I think the NHL has bigger issues to worry about at the moment.
“Obviously the NHL added unneeded numbers to the front of the helmets this year…”
i hated them at first, but they proved to be way more useful than i thought they’d be. now i wouldn’t want to go without them
Absolutely agree. In fact, the front helmet numbers help highlight how incredibly frickin’ stupid upper-chest jersey numbers are. Sabres, Sharks et al.: deep-six ’em. NOW.
Your assumptions on ads on helmets break a few hard rules, Tom.
1) Most of the star players have some sort of equipment deal already. So if they are wearing an Easton helmet, I don’t think Easton will take kindly to having some other ad trumping their own. That’s bad for Easton’s business, and they will pull their sponsorship (along with a number of other companies) if they lose the advertising right on their own piece of equipment. It would be like you having a billboard ad, and allowing some other company to slap a billboard over your ad. That’s simply dumb.
2) The helmet is part of the uniform. They are issued by the team in the same way that the jerseys are. If they can’t be on jerseys, they shouldn’t be on helmets either. Splitting hairs only leads to idiocy.
3) The NHL has continually trumpeted their record profits each and every, steadily showing that since ther last lockout, they have increased revenue from $2.2 billion to $3.3 billion. If they slap an ad on anything, it is literally nothing more than selling out for an easy buck. Any other reason or rationalization is a complete and utter lie… or they have been lying about the revenue and profits for a long, long time. Either way, the NHL comes off as liars, or liars AND sell-outs.
With the lockout looming, the last thing they need is more bad press.
Made me wonder, has a goalie ever tried to incorporate an ad into his helmet artwork?
Yes. The Tampa Bay Lightning co-owner in 2008 was a movie producer. He forced Mike Smith and Olaf Kolzig to wear Saw V themed masks during 08-09.
link
Tennessee will not be wearing black on Saturday, 100% guaranteed.
False rumor started because some guy sells custom helmets on eBay. Dooley is so traditional, we even ordered that EA Sports remove the 2009 black jerseys as an option in NCAA Football ’13.
This might be a stupid question to ask, but why do we want to petition the NBA? (I know its about the ads on uniforms, but bear with me.)
The NBA is a just the head of an association of teams. No one has any real feelings toward it.
Shouldn’t we instead be petitioning the teams themselves? The teams are the ones that are voting on this decision and fans care about their teams, not the NBA. I bet if you could get enough fan support in Boston, Chicago, NYC, LA, Portland, OKC… you would actually start to get traction.
(I’m sorry if this view has been presented before, I searched and coudn’t find anything)
Good point. I’ve been sharing a Bulls season ticket package with some other people for the last few years. I’ll be letting the team know that the number of games I buy tickets for will drop from ten (plus playoffs) to zero (including playoffs) if ads are placed on the uniforms.
It’s true that the Commissioner is an employee of the owners, but his office still wields a great deal of influence.
sure, but it’s the owners who will be voting. Stern’s office could just choose not to share the information with the individual teams/owners about the feedback they’ve received via the #NoUniAds campaign.
And the Barclay’s Center floor…You have the big center Nets logo which faces the side of the court the game will be televised from, and the text on the near side of the floor facing the same side of the court, but why is the text on the far side facing the same way? Shouldn’t that text be addressing the fans on the other side of the stadium? It’s always bothered me a tiny bit that the center logos aren’t two-sided to address both sides of the court, and the court design not mirrored down the center. This really takes it to a whole new level, like theres an infield side (television camera side) and an outfield side in an arena. Really makes it feel unbalanced.
Not specific to this post: I can’t stand how the non-center court logos are always positioned for the TV, even when they are duplicates on the team side of the court.
I love the black Suns unis from the 90s.
The rest of the NBA throw-backs….wow. The Bucks and the Hawks are disgusting. How did those get approved?
That’s crazy talk.
Well, you’re right about the Hawks.
But that green Bucks alt is FANtastic. Also, the Bulls need to drop their current black alts and go back to the pinstriped version they’ll be wearing this year.
These uniforms were “creative” and colorful. Certainly you can’t blame the NBA for being either of these circa 2012… boring and bland. Yes.
My guilty pleasure is the Kings’ uniform with the 60/40 black/purple split.
The uni ads are obviously about money. The NBA and the teams want money and there are two simple ways of getting it: fans go to the game and spend their money on tickets and merchandise or advertisers spend their money and put their logo on the uniforms.
Does this sound right or is it a deeper issue than fan attendance levels?
In Memphis one need not spend money on pre-season game tickets…all they need do is surrender their guns:
link
Grizzlies’ attendance is that bad?
Phase 1: Exchange tickets for guns.
Phase 2: ???
Phase 3: Profit
Phase 2, Possibility 1- Hopeful merchandise and food sales.
Phase 2, Possibility 2- The first one is always free, fans become hooked, buy more tickets.
Phase 2, Possibility 3- More eyes on advertising leading to buying advertised product leading to more advertising money spent in the arena.
Phase 2, Possibility 4- Fuck it. The Grizzlies disband.
Phase 3, Del Boca Vista
Players are underpaid?
Maybe can’t afford to buy their own guns?
I thought that signing Gilbert Arenas was the Grizzlies’ effort to get guns off the street.
Maybe Bryce Harper needed one these. I’m pretty sure it’s regulation.
link
You are aware of what the original clown question was, bro?
the leaked barca kit is “mes que” a typical leaked shirt, especially when 1.5m people showed up to a rally for catalan independence yesterday. i wonder if fcb will take heat from la liga, rfef, or even the spanish government for the shirt. during the presentation of the players before kickoff, there’s often a massive banner which reads “catalonia is not spain” that is displayed by fans…. it’s clearly a heated political issue, and fcb – being an internationally recognized symbol of catalonia – will undoubtedly be used by politicians.
link
This is silly, but I watched the Mizzou football helmet video, the very top piece that he has to pull off the backing and re-stick by hand on both sides… looks like an upside-down swoosh. Maybe I’m seeing things…
Oh, and mad love for “I’m on My Way Home Again.” You shamed me into playing your music picks. It’s like my old pal Jon Johnson was still around, haranguing me to listen to good music.
It’s great song. I’m an Everlys fan, but I wasn’t familiar with that particular tune until I heard the Gowanus All-Stars play it, at which point I went back and found the original. Same deal with the Roger Miller tune from yesterday.
The song I have cued up for tomorrow is one that I’ve loved for years, and maybe you’ll already be familiar with it too, but it’s a winner either way.
Do they play Kraftwerk? :)
the official explanation was the numbers on the helmets were to help officials identify players on the ice.
The Mormons are coming.
Not if the Amish stop them.
If you read the article, you’ll know some of the throwbacks (like the Jazz’s) won’t actually be worn on the court. They’re just being sold. And for the guy who asked about “glory days”, those are the jerseys the Jazz wore in their two Finals appearances.
And the Bulls won the championship both seasons they wore the pinstriped alts.
The Suns also went to the finals the first year they wore those black alts.
Suns did indeed go to the finals the first year they changed unis, but the black alt wasn’t introduced until ’94-95 – the first season the NBA allowed teams to wear a 3rd uniform. The Suns were one of 6 teams to introduce a 3rd uni set that year, along with the Pistons, Hawks, Hornets, Magic and Kings…
Yeah, after I posted that, it didn’t look right to me. I knew they wore the purple and white versions of that design in 1992-93 but I didn’t remember them wearing the black for another year or two. I guess that explains why.
That was actually an interesting* mini-trend in the 90s – teams replacing iconic or long-standing uni designs with flashy 90sness and then making the finals. The Suns, Sonics and Jazz all did it, and you could even make a case for the Blazers, although they only really tightened things up and changed fonts.
*Probably only to me
And the Rockets were the notable exception. They won back-to-back titles and THEN they switched to those godawful unis.
link
Never knew this.
NFL Breat Cancer Awareness caps
link
I really hope the NFL isn’t teaming up with Susan G Komen anymore. That’s a terrible company who uses raised money for frivolous law suits and damaging women’s heath organizations.
They even stole the pink idea and have profited greatly from doing so.
Terrible people, just like the Live Strong people.
Awesome blog on the Knicks logo
It seems to me that the new Brooklyn logo took some of the general ideas or concepts of some of the rough Knicks designs. That’s the vibe I get, kind of a fresh-vintage, new-old…. I’m horrible at descriptions.
Except the Brookyln logo is less busy- more simple.
Oh good, I’m not the only one who noticed the Steelers numbers. I still say, move the Nike logo to, say, underneath the NFL shield. That way there is room for the stripes again.
link
I saw this article in SB Nation about the New York Knicks logo change back in 1992-93 and while I like a lot ofthe designs, they are obviously stepping into lawsuit territory with MLB and the Mets? The final design is sweet and it’s reassuring that the Knicks kept their original identity and stayed with an evolution of their old 60’s logo.
I love the Nets’ herringbone pattern. I hope that this leads to more diversity in court designs rather than the standard pattern almost every team uses — as long as they’re classy designs. I certainly don’t want to see some kind of flame pattern for the Heat, antlers for the Bucks, etc.
Stuff that could work:
How about some kind of diagonal at midcourt for the Blazers to echo the stripes on their link?
Enclose the Bulls logos on either side of the key in pentagons, like on their link?
Please allow me to demonstrate my Bulls idea by way of these link.
Just imagine the areas enclosed in gray are hardwood planks that follow the “lines” I’ve drawn.
More info on WVU’s “Stripe-out”…
link
Errybody gone copy tha Hoosiers.
I don’t know if anyone has brought this up, but recently (like last week or so) here in Boston I caught Felger and Mazz on 98.5 talking about uniform ads (I think in the context of the NFL) in a pro-ad sort of way. I didn’t get to listen to the whole segment, but I guess they felt that if it meant cutting out commercials or reducing customer costs, they’d be in favor of it. I’m sure there’s a podcast out there on their site if anyone wants to take a listen. Being an avid uni-watcher I couldn’t quite buy the argument for a number of reasons.
Anyone who actually believes that uniform ads would lead to fewer commercials or lower ticket prices is brain dead.
Exactly. One of the reasons the NFL is so popular is that they’ve gone out of their way to make the game TV (and thereby commercial) friendly.
“…all teams wore American flag cap patches,”.
Except the Blue Jays:
link
They actually wore the American flag on one side and Canadian on the other:
link
Why were they wearing the Canadian flag at all? The US flag makes sense (for the players on the team from the USA).
Really?
no, not really. But you could make a case for it.
The Canadian flag makes zero sense, unless yesterday was a Canadian holiday I’m not aware of.
I don’t know…24 Canadians died during 9/11. While that is a small number in comparison to the number of Americans that died, it’s not insignificant.
Thanks Paul! Poor observation on my part.
Today’s ESPN column is up:
link
One small oops in the ESPN column – the Steelers have worn that stripe pattern since 1970, based on Green Bay’s Lombardi-era pattern. Before that, as you probably remember, they wore the “golden triangle” on their shoulders. So it isn’t really “since 1946.” Still, four-plus decades should count for something, I agree.
One version or another of the Northwestern stripe since 1946…except for a few years of the “golden triangle” in the late ’60s.
Yeah, that’s what I meant.
This might prove interesting.
link
Second part of the Knicks’ logo article:
link
Not at all surprised that they tried to screw over the designer…
Brandon Marshall at a press conference today wearing a reebok cap:
link
I personally know Doret got paid very handsomely for the secondary logo and that despite his claims he did in fact get to design other NBA projects (1998 NBA All-Star Game in New York) after he complained about never working again on NBA projects.
He got the primo projects for New York basketball and all he can muster is how he got screwed?
Is that the NBA’s fault or maybe it’s his disposition?
link
New full-length Permanent Record article now up on Slate:
link
I’m not a basketball fan at all but I’ll chime in about the Nets floor design. I’m curious as to why it reads Brooklyn New York at center court. The Buffalo Bills endzones don’t read Buffalo New York at all. Why do the Nets feel this need to cling to the New York-iness of that name? Yes, I realize that technically Brooklyn is part of NYC but they should be proud and just have Brooklyn Nets at center court. No one’s going to call them the Brooklyn New York Nets.
They’re the NBA’s Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim!
I’m no fan of any NY sports team (sorry Paul, Phil et al.), but I gotta admit, I dig that floor… the black seats are cool too.
meh
The band Old Californio out of Pasadena, CA do one hell of a version of I’m On My Way Home Again. Great stuff those Everlys…
Hey Paul, this quote from your ESPN article really scratched me where I itch:
“Would it really have been so hard to maintain the pattern’s full integrity? Pfeh.”
I HATE “MEH.”
Thanks for spelling it correctly.
I have been a Steeler fan for years and the sleeve stripes are a big problem. This shot of Mean Joe Greene shows just how much things have changed since the late 70s.
link
Abomination alert: Twins wearing “M” caps with ’61 throwback unis tonight.
Murray is a douchebag for living up to his sponsorship contract???? You know sponsorship is the only guaranteed money tennis players get in a season. It’s too bad Paul feels the need to make an ass out of himself with some of his douchy opinions.
“Murray is a douchebag
for living up to his sponsorship contract???? You know sponsorship is the only guaranteed money tennis players get in a season. It’s too bad Paul feels the need to make an ass out of himself with some of his douchy opinions.“~~~
(fixed)
asked the football student group at Pitt about those helmet stickers. Turns out they’re not merit stickers but all the helmets over the years as a way of showing the tradition. The link is to the twitter convo. link