Let’s Embarrass Brinke One More Time

Back in February I posted a bunch of “Collector’s Corner” columnist Brinke Guthrie’s childhood sports drawings and photos. He recently unearthed another big stash of goodies from his youth, so let’s take a look, beginning with this MLB illustration (for all of these, you can click to enlarge):

Lots of nice details there, especially the stars on the Astros’ stirrups. But Steve Carlton as a righty? With two different-colored shoes? Brinke, what were you thinking?

Here’s a corresponding illo for the NFL:

The lace-up pants closures for the Cardinals and Falcons players are particularly nice.

Brinke grew up in the Dallas area, and that’s reflected in a lot of his illustrations, like this Texas Rangers piece:

I especially like the hints of the blue drop-shadow on the chest insignia. Also, note all the different-colored gloves. But why is the catcher wearing white Adidas?

Here are two more examples from Brinke’s Dallas period, both devoted to the Cowboys:

Note that the besieged quarterback’s NOB in the second illo is “Griese.” I guess Brinke didn’t have an aqua marker available. And he must not have had a silver one on hand when he did the top illo.

One more Dallas-centric piece, this time for the short-lived Chaparrals:

Very nice. But Brinke, you put the Floridians’ striping on the wrong side of the uni!

Brinke’s artistic talents extended beyond sports illustrations. For the 1976 bicentennial, he got to paint a fire hydrant for the town of Terrace Park, Ohio:

Turning the top of the hydrant into the Liberty Bell was pretty clever, no?

Brinke also sent along this charcoal portrait of himself that an artist did back in 1968:

And while digging up all of this stuff, Brinke also found a bunch of old NFL pennants, circa 1973:

Very nice. A little odd that the Chiefs pennant is yellow, though.

That’s it for this round of Brinke-ology. I have a feeling there’s more where this stuff came from.

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Gatoroddities, continued: Yesterday I went on a bit of a rant about Raul Ibañez being forced to drink his water from a Gatorade cup in Wednesday night’s postgame press conference. (If you missed the full rant, you can see it here.) That prompted several folks in yesterday’s comments to point out that the same thing had happened on Wednesday to Nats skipper Davey Johnson, who apparently was not amused:

Davey miffed as an official made him pour water in a Gatorade cup prior to presser. After he finished, he said, “Mmm this Gatorade is good.”

— Adam Kilgore (@AdamKilgoreWP) October 10, 2012

Kinda makes you wonder what’s in all those Gatorade jugs in the dugouts, right? Maybe some of them just have water, or Budweiser, or whatever.

Meanwhile, I also heard from reader John Lesnik, who had this to say:

I was once told by a tour manager for the band I Fight Dragons, which caters to a mostly teen-age audience, that Monster Energy Drink provides the band with cases of cans that look just like their product but are filled with water. So all those caffeine-starved teens think their heroes are drinking Monster, when they’re actually drinking water.

So this is the part where I’d normally say how this is the latest example of what people are capable of once their shame glands have been surgically removed, yadda-yadda, and then most of you roll your eyes and say, “Yeah, whatever,” and we all move on with our lives.

But seriously: Marketing your product by implying that people are consuming it when they’re actually drinking water? That’s not branding; it’s not even douchebaggery.

That’s fraud.

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Uni Watch News Ticker: Longtime Ticker contributor Cork Gaines has written a fairly damning indictment of the NFL’s pink profiteering, which has in turn has inspired a rather devastating (and highly entertaining) rant from Jezebel. Both pieces are highly recommended. ”¦ Back in the mid-2000s, several MLB players experimented with tinted contact lenses, including Mike Timlin, AJ Pierzynski, and Brian Roberts. Hadn’t heard much about this topic recently, but now a new player is trying the tinted lenses: Bryce Harper. Of course, this is particularly amusing given Harper’s well-documented history with war paint-style eye black (from Tom Shieber). … In a related item, Caldwell Bailey was at yesterday’s Nats/Cards game and noticed that Harper switched from pajamas to stirrups in the third or fourth inning. Very unusual to see that kind of mid-game switcheroo. ”¦ The Grizzlies are adding a “DD” memorial patch for team executive Dana Davis. Further details here (from Ben Zoss). ”¦ The mayor and firefighters in Bristol, Connecticut — yes, the home of ESPN — are engaged in a fight over pink T-shirts. ”¦ Wait, update! The Bristol firefighters can wear pink after all. … As you know, Boise State is all about the blue — except when they’re all about the BFBS. They’ll supposedly be wearing that helmet, along with BFBS uniforms, this weekend (from Karson Kalian). ”¦ I’d never eat at Wendy’s, but I do think their new logo is a keeper. … As you may have seen, eBay has a new logo as well. Can’t say I’m as fond of that one. … Sad news out of Minnesota, where the last of Coca-Cola’s old-fashioned green glass bottles are being taken out of production (from Tom Mulgrew). … The Sugarland Skeeters have revived the bullpen buggy! ”¦ Some people look extra-ridiculous in golf attire — like, say, Mike Piazza. … Here’s a ranking of all 30 MLB ballparks based on how dirty they are. As you’ll see, Shea didn’t fare too well, but its ranking may have been hurt by the fact that I always make a point of scattering peanut shells underneath my seat. (For those unfamiliar with this story, read the first few grafs of this entry.) … New basketball uniforms for Marshall. “The road version just has the green and white reversed,” says Michael Misiti. ”¦ New hoops unis for Tennessee, too (from Luke Pellegra). ”¦ Good little piece about the meaning of the Atari logo design (from Kurt Esposito). ”¦ Some highly official-looking USC helmet prototype photos have been making the rounds, but — big surprise! — they’re not gonna be worn on the field. ”¦ Someone is engaged in a very entertaining guerilla stickering campaign in the London Underground (I can’t find the e-mail from the reader who sent me that link, but big thanks, whoever you are!). ”¦ 1980s basketball throwbacks on tap for the season opener at UTEP (from Mark C. Gutierrez). ”¦ Combine the MLB logo with the Grim Reaper and you get this (from Brice Wallace). ”¦ New hoops uniforms for Georgetown (from Patrick Haugh). ”¦ I’m still calling it the Pensacola Civic Center I don’t really give a shit (from Ryan Bohannon). ”¦ The New York Post responded to the news of Joe Girardi’s father’s death with a rather innovative headline. It was later corrected. ”¦ The latest product line from Left Field Cards takes a look at ballplayers who’ve shared their surnames with U.S. Presidents. ”¦ I’m pretty sure we’ve seen this before, but once more won’t hurt: Here’s the perfect beverage for Mets Grapefruit League games (as long as you pour it into a Gatorade cup). Levi Buck spotted that in Japan, where he’s currently attending school. ”¦ New corporate sponsor for the New Zealand All Blacks (from Caleb Borchers). ”¦ Gabriel Manga found a SportsCenter clip from 1994 that shows NHL commish Gary Bettman wearing what appears to be a collared shirt, a necktie, and a hockey jersey. This raises two questions: (1) Is that really the best photo of Bettman that was available, and (2) Has any other commish ever been seen wearing a jersey? ”¦ If you believe in the whole “red state vs. blue state” construct, then you may have noticed that the participants in this month’s presidential and vice presidential debates have all worn party-appropriate necktie colors. ”¦ Interesting Reddit discussion about the washing and re-using of jerseys (from Shane Schubbe).