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Uni Watch

Bleed for Me, Baby

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Brian Skokowski.jpg

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Late last week I put out the call for photos of your team logo tattoos. More than 40 of you responded, but only one of you had a city-centric grouping of multiple team logos. That would be reader Brian Skokowski, whose lower-leg tribute to the Steel City is shown above. Nice job (but man, as I’ve said many times before, I really think the Pirates “P” needs a pointy serif at the upper-left corner!).

Brian’s tattoo is one of a dozen reader-submitted team logo tats that are featured in my latest ESPN column — check it out here.

For those of you who sent in photos but aren’t featured in today’s ESPN piece, don’t worry — at some point in the next few weeks I’ll either do a follow-up column or showcase your tats here on the blog. Meanwhile, if more of you out there have been inked up with your favorite teams’ logos, let’s have a look-see.

Speaking of logo tats, those of you who’ve been here since the beginning may recall that the third post ever to appear on this site featured a semi-dirty joke about sports logo tattoos. Check it out here.

(Big thanks to intern Mike Chamernik, who first raised the issue of logo tats in his “Question of the Week” segment last Thursday.)

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Let’s hope they never try it with a purple logo: Whether by coincidence or design, photos of two different team logo-themed pizzas came my way yesterday:

There’s more info on the Blackhawks pie here. No word on whether it tastes extra-delicious because it “honors” Native Americans.

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’Skins Watch: NFL commish Roger Goodell did a live Twitter chat yesterday. Amidst all the snarky-to-abusive questions he received, Senate majority leader Harry Reid took the opportunity to ask him — indirectly but unmistakably — about the ’Skins name. ”¦ Former ’Skins player Jason Taylor on the team’s name: “Look, it’s offensive” (thanks, Phil).

Baseball News: Remember the mild controversy last year when a Cardinals groundskeeper was taking it upon himself to draw a Christian cross on the Busch Stadium mound? It looked like something similar was taking place last night at Nats Park (here’s a close-up), but Nats beat writer Mark Zuckerman said it was a shout-out by Nats pitcher Blake Treinen to his late aunt (thanks to Phil for bringing the symbol to my attention and to William Yurasko for pointing me toward Zuckerman’s explanation)”¦Yesterday was the first time all 15 MLB road teams wore gray (from David Taub). ”¦ Oh baby, look at the Polish National Alliance patch on this old jersey. Love the gold stitching on the collar and cuffs, too. Further details here. … Alan Kreit recently scored this odd Mets/Flintstones T-shirt at a vintage shop. … I think Phil mentioned this over the weekend, but just in case: You can vote on the best minor league cap (from Dane Drutis). … Love this old Angels batting helmet, complete with the halo (from Bruce Menard). … I really don’t know what to say about this next thing except that the pink thing has gotten way out of hand (thanks, Phil). ”¦ Marc Gilbert notes that there are some inconsistencies between the Dodgers’ cap, helmet, and “official” logos. I’ll have more to say about this in a week or two. ”¦ Was a Fox Sports reporter wearing a Diamondbacks-branded dress the other day? (Thanks, Phil.) ”¦ Bill Duston collects stirrups and has 78 pairs of them, 59 of which are shown in this photo set. I like how he grouped them by stripe pattern.

NFL News: The folks at Helmet Hut have turned up an original 1966 Broncos helmet with the blue-outlined horsey logo. … Another great old Broncos item: Tom Jacobsen got his hands on a 1970s Rick Upchurch tearaway jersey. “It’s just like an old T-shirt that you’ve had forever,” he says. “Really soft. It’s sewn back together like Frankenstein!” … We all know about 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh’s childish temper trantrums black Stanford pullovers with the “SF” patch sewn over the Stanford logo, but now Brinke has found a photo with what appears to be a cover-up patch on the right sleeve. Hmmmm — covering up a bowl game patch, perhaps? Not sure of the date of the photo, unfortunately.

Hockey News: “I really can’t stand the ‘NYR’ logo on the side of the Rangers’ helmets,” says Adrian Acosta. “It was first used when the Liberty alternate jerseys were introduced. At this point the Rangers have removed most of the leftovers from that Liberty era. The Liberty logo used to appear on the practice jerseys, but not anymore. It pretty much appears only on [goalie Henrik] Lundqvist’s mask and merchandise. I believe it’s time to unify everything and get rid of that helmet decal and the secondary logo altogether. I’d rather see something like this.” ”¦ It’s hard to tell from this photo, but I’m told that this is a Blackhawks cake. Let’s hope it doesn’t end up in the Dumpster like that other Chicago-themed sports cake recently did (from Jacob Marks).

NBA News: About a year ago there was a lot of chatter about Tim Duncan’s custom-painted knee braces. Looks like he’s expanded his collection of them (from Dane Drutis). … Tired of the whole color-out thing at NBA games? You’re not the only one (from Kevin Walsh). … The Iowa Energy of the D-League have signed an affiliate deal with the Memphis Grizzlies and have a new Grizzlies-ish logo and color scheme (from Jared VanderWeele). ”¦ With the Warriors planning a move across the bay, the design-centric site 99designs is running a Warriors logo-redesign contest. Additional info here.

Soccer News: Soccer fans, you’re gonna love this one: an entire website devoted to soccer patches. I’m not a soccer fan but even I got sucked into spending half an hour clicking around on this site. Enjoy (big thanks to Mark Weinstein). … New kits for AC Milan (thanks, Phil). … Just what you’ve been waiting for: soccer compression shorts with wang support. Big Cock Johnson could not be reached for comment (from Joe Hollomon). … Man U and Adidas are on the verge of striking what would be the world’s richest uniform deal (from George Chilvers).

Grab Bag: Correction of the week: A New York Times story about Sen. Rand Paul was amended to show that his jacket was actually herringbone, not houndstooth. … Clemson’s tiger logo has been showing up at alumni events (thanks, Phil). … Someone has proposed seven Google search page redesigns (from Jarrod Leder). … Good story on Radio Shack’s rebranding (thanks, Brinke). … Here’s more on that new Netflix logo. ”¦ The new CFL team, the Ottawa RedBlacks, unveiled their new uniforms. Additional photos and info here (thanks, Phil). ”¦ Sad news out of Chicago, where the awesome hot dog/sausage emporium Hot Doug’s will be closing in five months.

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What Paul did last night two nights ago:

The New Girl and I went out on Monday evening and caught the new Jim Jarmusch film, The Only Lovers Left Alive, which is ostensibly a vampire movie but is really more of a love letter to — or maybe just a catalog of — Jarmusch’s favorite writers, musicians, and artists (sort of like the way this website is ostensibly about uniforms but is really more of a forum for me to discuss whatever’s on my mind).

It’s not quite top-shelf Jarmusch, but it’s still worth seeing. I’m still kinda processing it (maybe I’ll write more about it later), but for now I’ll just say that I was struck by they way John Hurt, playing a vampiric version of the playwright Kit Marlowe, looked eerily like Saddam Hussein around the time he was captured (click to enlarge):

 
  
 
Comments (77)

    Do we really think so little of the CFL that we couldn’t even put the RedBlacks uniform unveiling with the rest of the football news?

    As a longtime CFL fan who has attended many games in T.O. let me say that the RedBlacks’ new duds are a logical modernization of the Rough Riders’ uniforms. You know mike, this Ottawa set would look sharp on the Bucs. And Reebok makes the CFL suits. Swoosh that Nike!

    And they look darn good, though I would have preferred red socks on the black unis to set them apart from the pants.

    Swoosh that? That’s does that even mean?

    Anyway, congrats to Reebok for creating a uniform that’s slightly less terrible than one Nike did.

    I think what you’re really complaining about is the inconsistency… the baseball section is not the MLB section, yet the football section is the NFL section, while the basketball section is the “NBA section” in name, yet it uses a generic basketball logo, not the NBA logo.

    But as we’ve all heard, it’s Paul’s site, he can break it down however he wants, it doesn’t have to make sense or be logical.

    It is odd that the NBA section only has a generic basketball, while the NCAA section (when there is one, like link) gets the NCAA roundel.

    As for why baseball and hockey don’t get broken up into sub-sections? Probably because these sports are much lower profile at the college (and minor-league) levels than NCAA football and basketball, and the news cycle almost certainly doesn’t peak as high for baseball and hockey as it does for football and basketball. The drawback, of course, is that other levels of football and basketball get relegated to the Grab Bag, while other levels of baseball and hockey can be included in their sports’ sections.

    I assume “The Only Lovers Left Alive” was filmed shortly after John Hurt’s brief stint on Doctor Who…

    Considering they just bought 12 acres of land from Salesforce in Mission Bay I think the status of the Warriors’ move to San Francisco is more than “rumored to be considering” at this point.

    The coverup doesn’t look to be as large as that patch. Plus, that patch is square, while the bumps on the cover-up suggest a different patch design.

    In fact, I would venture to say that, based on the shape, the sweater in question was the same one he wore in his final game for Stanford, link. Or, as Paul would call it, the Credit Card Bowl.

    Incidentally, that was the inaugural Credit Card Bowl, after more than two decades of it being the Express Courier Bowl.

    That CCMD patch was not affixed to any garments. That year it was a vinyl patch overlay that could be removed from whatever shirt it was put on.

    Maybe it’s just me, but the first thing I thought when I saw the Pittsburgh tat was that the steelers should have been in the middle, the pirates on the left and the pens on the right.

    Little late though…

    Speaking of tattoos and the sad news that Hot Doug’s is closing: In the tweet announcing the closure they included the date and then advised folks to cancel plans to get a Hot Doug’s tattoo. Famously, Doug provided delicious encased meats for “the life of the business” to those adventurous enough to get a Hot Doug’s logo tattoo in a conspicuous spot.

    Guess there are going to be longer than usual lines snaking out the door and down Roscoe from now until October.

    I’m not happy to hear about the closing, but honestly, I never have the patience to wait in that line so I probably won’t miss the place.

    Great food. But what I really love are the signs on the restroom doors: The men’s room has a hot dog, while the women’s room just has a bun.

    The San Diego-based band Rocket from the Crypt had a similar “free concert admission w/proof of tattoo” policy in the 1990s. They broke up in the early 2000s but recently reunited, but the policy no longer applies.
    link

    That’s cool you guys put the new Iowa Energy logo in the ticker. The Memphis newspaper just had a blurb about the color scheme changing

    “I really can’t stand the ‘NYR’ logo on the side of the Rangers’ helmets,” says Adrian Acosta. “It was first used when the Liberty alternate jerseys were introduced.

    I’d like the NYR monogram to be rendered in the Rangers’ font; italicized full-block with a drop shadow. It’s a unique branding tool that has been badly underused.

    I think the font looks second-rate and its an abbreviation!, it’s an original-six team with some great visual history, we can do much better on the helmet decals, Frankly, a lot of teams could.

    If you did italicize and full block/drop shadow the NYR monogram would it still be horizontal or diagonal?

    Horizontal. What I’d REALLY like to see is the “R” used as a standalone monogram, preferably emblazoned on a blue+red hat.

    The Clemson logo is from their annual “Prowl and Growl” tour that they do throughout the state (and major cities in surrounding states). That is not a logo that would/will appear on any athletics uniforms. It has been altered from last year’s “Prowl and Growl” design though, but nothing more than an athletics-related tour logo, from my knowledge.

    Harry Reid will soon face a name change that is truly warranted…..ex-Senator.

    Whatever you think of Harry Reid, he isn’t even up for re-election for another two and a half years. Please get a clue.

    As for political prognostications, let’s leave that to Nate Silver. Thanks.

    Even then, it isn’t even an accurate sentiment. Senator, like ambassador, president, and justice are terms which, by tradition, the holder gets to carry even after they are removed from office.

    Like the RedBlacks’ set, especially the sawblade’s connection to the old Roughriders name.

    I was an Islanders fan at the time so I wasn’t a huge fan of the Rangers’ Liberty jersey at the time it first appeared. In retrospect I kind of liked it, especially the silver trim and block-shadow numerals, and the stylized Rangers shield on the shoulders. What I didn’t like was the lack of beltline striping, and what I really didn’t like was the use of the “NYR” monogram in the logo. I just didn’t think it was appropriate to put an abbreviation like that on the jersey; such things belong in stats and schedules and such. You don’t see any Boston team putting “BOS” on their uniforms, or “PIT” or “PHI” or “WAS” or “MIA” or “SEA” or or “DEN” or “DAL” or “BAL”….

    The only one like that I can think of is the Suns’ “PHX.” I’m sure there are probably more.

    It’s different with New York and L.A. and places like that where the city name is reduced to initials in a logo rather than an abbreviation (“NY”, “LA”, “KC”, &c.). The Cardinals’ “StL” and the Thunder’s “OKC” are somewhere in between. The Knicks have an “NYK” logo but it’s somewhat inconspicuous; all the other New York teams have and/or have had just “NY” in either primary or secondary logos or both, without the third initial (not “NYY”, “NYM”, “NYG”, “NYJ” or “NYI”).

    I can think of a few logos that incorporated the city and team name as initials; the California Angels’ “CA”, the Brewers’ ball-in-glove “MB”, the Whalers’ negative-space “HW”. I’m sure there are more. The Montréal Expos logo arguably did that too. But the stat-sheet abbreviations for those teams were “CAL”, “MIL”, “HAR” (or “HFD”) and “MON” (or “MTL”), respectively, which were never used as, or in, jersey or cap logos.

    I don’t know; I just never liked the idea of using a stat-sheet abbreviation on a jersey, let alone as prominently as the “NYR” was on the Liberty jerseys.

    I liked the Rangers Liberty uniforms, didn’t mind the NYR on there (this from a Islanders fan), I guess the NYR worked.

    But I agree, stat sheet abbreviations, airport abbreviations and team nicknames have no place on a jersey. I despise Bolts and Sens. D-Backs and Cavs not so bad as I think they are somewhat recognizable, but hey, who are the Islanders playing tonight? The Sens. Who? I think it’s fine for local newspaper headlines but not on a jersey. I’d never want to see an “Isles” jersey either.

    That used to bother me too (especially the Suns using “PHX” or the Hawks’ “ATL”) — but this is kinda cool:

    link

    Isn’t that the rule of thumb around here? If it was done back in the day, it’s cool, but nowadays it sucks/

    When NBA teams put out those color-out shirts on seats at games, do those T’s have to be made by an NBA approved manufacturer, and do they have to cleared by the NBA policy makers? And I’m curious what kind of heat a fan takes for not wanting to wear said shirt.

    One of the great things about New York is that e majority of the crowd does not wear the shirts. I think that maybe 10 people in my section were wearing the blue giveaways at the Rangers game on Monday.

    Great questions…I would also like to know where they are manufactured and if working conditions are humane.

    I can only speak for Pacer games, but during the pregame (and maybe early in the first quarter) fans not putting on their shirts are put on the rather large (for basketball) jumbotron in Fieldhouse with a simple “PUT YOUR SHIRT ON” displayed. They are nice enough to put them up later if they’ve complied with a “THANK YOU!”

    If I remember, I’ll take a look at who made the shirts when I get home.

    “…fans not putting on their shirts are put on the rather large (for basketball) jumbotron in Fieldhouse with a simple “PUT YOUR SHIRT ON” displayed”

    ~~~

    Really?

    What a totally douchebag move.

    ^^^ What he said.

    If they put me on the Jumbotron with that message, I’d respond with a message of my own, if you get my drift….

    That Blackhawks cake is pretty rad. I especially like how the players all have Beatles hair.

    That Flintstones/Mets shirt is from the mid-90s (as the Mets logo indicates) when there were all sorts of “link” designs floating around.

    A little ashamed to admit I had one… only a little.

    When I played tennis Back In The Day- I used to go by what Borg used. Period. Fila/Diadora. Then when he retired, I pretty much stayed with Nike clothing and shoes. Would -never- think to match Nike and Adidas. It just wouldn’t feel right.

    “Would -never- think to match Nike and Adidas. It just wouldn’t feel right.”

    ~~~

    Yeah, you’d probably get arrested or something.

    Did you play with a Donnay Borg Pro racket too? Strung at 80 lbs. tension?

    I strung my Borg Pro at 62 lbs., which itself was awfully damn tight. Looked pretty ridiculous by my last year in college, when virtually every opponent played with a Prince. Remember reading somewhere the Borg Pro had the smallest sweet spot of any racket ever made. All I know is that if you hit the ball dead center it exploded off there – if not, the mishit was likely epic.

    You wouldn’t have caught me dead wearing Fila attire though. In my area only dilettantes wore stylish, pricey stuff like that. Not serious players.

    And making me look even more ridiculous was the fact that I hit a one-hand backhand, meaning that the extra-long grip for two-fisted shots that the Borg Pro was known for was wasted on me.
    link

    That RedBlacks set deserves something more than the “etc” section of the “also ran”s.

    It’s sharp, it pays tribute to the teams past (mostly just the black homes) and it’s historically significant for the city, team and league.

    There’s tons of great stuff in the “Etc.” section. If you think of it as an “Also-Rans” section, that’s your interpretation, not my intention.

    Is it a catch-all for stuff that doesn’t fit anywhere else? Yes. Does CFL news fit that description? Also yes.

    to be honest, I like the stuff that is in the Grab Bag section, but the CFL uni change got glanced right over. I always see the Grab Bag as corporate logos and the likes.

    The Grab Bag is also where you’ll find golf, tennis, NASCAR, lacrosse, boxing, most high school sports, arena football, and any other sport or league that doesn’t generate enough news to get its own section.

    Even if I had put the RedBlacks thing in the NFL section, it still would have been only one or two sentences, just like it was in the Grab Bag. CFL news just isn’t a big deal on this site — sorry.

    Its also inconsistent on where to look – sometimes its NFL, sometimes its pro football

    I personnally LOVED the Atlanta Hawks old pac-man unis. Loved how the angled “striping” wrapped around the back, and I thought the red/gold/white always looked clean.

    I know, right?

    It’s almost like when folks get upset that “BOLTS” doesn’t belong on a sweater ;)

    That’s a nice Barrelman. Wonder why the shades of gray – Dan, you out there?

    And “Powerized”? Hadn’t thought of it, but that would make a fantastic tattoo.

    I’m intrigued by your use of “Dumpster” instead of “dumpster”. I had no idea that it was a generecized trademark. Do you always capitalize it? Not that you have too many occasions to write “dumpster” or anything.

    Another win for the old adage, “Learn something new every day.”

    It’s one of those brand names that we journalists are trained to capitalize. Actually, now that I think of it, I was first trained to capitalize it when I was a book editor in the late 1980s.

    The link is an interesting read. For example, “Durex” is a genericized term in the UK. I imagine “TiVo” would’ve been a genericized term had cable operators not pushed their own DVRs.

    Odd that Lego doesn’t show up on that page. Plastic building blocks probably get called “legos” just as often if not more than “Xerox” is used to refer to making a copy.

    It drives me nuts when my wife refers to Mega Bloks as “Legos” because I’m a hopeless pedantic.

    But then, I have a habit of referring to Trader Joe’s private label products by their competitors’ names, like saying “Cheerios” instead of “Joe’s Os”.

    Nice article on Chris Creamer’s site about the new Ottawa RedBlacks uniforms. Sorry about my inability to post an actual link but you can copy and paste this:

    link

    The PNA patch is cool. FYI – The PNA one of the oldest Polish fraternal organizations in the United States. Today it mainly provides insurance coverage for its members. The number “1590” probably refers to the lodge number and ‘Wawel” is the name of the royal castle in Kraków.

    This turned up today from a Facebook friend and relates to design and Pantone. It’s a book made in 1692 by a Dutch artist describing his methods for painting every watercolor imaginable. There’s only one copy, so my guess is that it was the artist’s own reference guide.
    link

    The Blackhawks Pizza is pretty good.
    I bet its nothing new for pizza shop workers to draw on pizza though. I would have a signature pizza to take home with me if I worked a pizza shop. I Don’t know what it would be right now but if I did I would. Maybe rows or circles and stuff.

    “CFL news just isn’t a big deal on this site”
    -Uni-watch on the CFL

    Guess I should go else where for uni news like a brand new franchises uni unveiling. I mean if enough people commenting says it’s a bigger deal than it was treated as . . .

    Yeah no, fuck it, I’m done.

    Washington Football club watch…

    MD Democratic Gubernatorial primary debate tonight – the question was brought up about the team name, and the two candidates who addressed it were very much in favor of changing the name, and believe it will be changed in the next few years. Both Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown and Attorney General Doug Gansler indicated that they would want to meet with Dan Snyder personally about the name. Gansler also pointed out that the club could make a lot of money selling throwback jerseys.

    The third candidate – Delegate Heather Mizeur – avoided the question and spoke about unrelated income inequality for some reason

    I wear 1 in hockey in homage to Jacques Plante, whose goaltending book I still consult as a technical reference. In other sports I favor 21, my late father’s number from lacrosse and football. The only numbers I try to avoid are 5 and its multiples, especially 25. For me the number 5 is associated with an imaginary (of course) childhood demon. Yeah, I know–it’s weird. What did you expect from a goalie?

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