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College Collage: Costumes & Color vs. Color Cocktail Party

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Gators Bulldogs color vs color

By Phil Hecken

There’s lots of college football uniform news this weekend, with a bunch of squads breaking out new uniforms or helmets, and one game that will be color vs. color. For the first time in decades, the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, also known as the annual match-up between Georgia and Florida (played at a *neutral* stadium in Jacksonville). Call me a fan. While I’m definitely not a big proponent of color versus color games, I believe the few rare ones make them special, and I love it when a game like this is played on a neutral field. We’ve seen a few of these types of games recently: the USC/UCLA rivalry game (which went back to color v. color in 2008), and has been played this way every year since, except for a one-year hiatus when UCLA broke out all white uniforms in 2010. Other schools in big games participating in this have been the 2013 Civil War (played between Oregon and Oregon State), and the 2013 ACC Championship Game (between Duke and FSU). There have been a few select others in the past couple of years. Today’s UF/UGA game will mark the first time those two teams have played a color on color game since, I believe, 1968. Hopefully it doesn’t disappoint.

And of course, we have a few teams breaking out some new looks this weekend:

. . .

UCLA-LA-Steel-Uniforms

UCLA:


UCLA, never a team to shy from an adidas-created alternate, will be wearing their “LA Steel” uniforms today — which is basically a gray-ish (gray is the new black, dontcha know?) version of last year’s LA Midnight costume. The year before they wore an “LA Nights” getup. Enough. The uniforms are bad enough without the trademark treadmark adidas tops.

. . .

TTech Lone Star

Texas Tech:

As they too, have done in the past, Texas Tech is breaking out the 2014 version of the “Lone Star Pride” uniform, which they will wear against Texas today. The helmet is interesting (though that doesn’t mean it’s good) — tri-color with the right side being blue with a white star, while the left side will be half red-half white. This is, of course, done to mimic the State flag. The left side will also have the outline of the State of Texas and TT’s logo. Maryland calls “bullshit”. Of course, both are UnderArmour schools, and the T-Tech uni will also have the helmet (and flag) designs mimicked on the shoulder inserts, similar to the UMd Pride uniforms. It’s actually not a bad looking uni, but as with 99.9% of all college alts, completely unnecessary.

. . .

GOUbiTJ

Texas A&M:


The Aggies will be wearing a “1939” fauxback — complete with modern adidas trademark treadmarks — today. Paul already did a nice review of the uniform (which itself is fairly non-descript — tis the helmet that is what’s important here). I can’t add much to what Paul said, but I am very interested to see how they pull these toppers off. I’m not really a helmet guy, but I’m fairly impressed with this one — I love how they were able to take a modern helmet and “age” it (some of it ridiculously, like the “rust” on the facemask clips). From all of the adidas promo photos, the helmet looks incredible; lets see how it looks after a quarter or two of play, and from a distance. But a big thumbs up (so far) on this one. Hope it looks as good on the field as it does in the promos.

. . .

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South Carolina:


The ‘cocks announced earlier this week they’ll be wearing black “uniforms” (I have still yet to see pants, and not 100% sure they’ll have black pants with this outfit) for today’s game. SCar has worn black uniforms before (and it is an actual official school color) so this one is fine. They’ve been kind of a Jekyll & Hyde team on the field this year, so we’ll see if the black tops (and possibly pants) will bring out the good USC or the bad USC.

. . .

That’s it (as far as I’m aware) of the major uni news. Here’s more:

As always, there are probably more than a few “special” uniforms or helmets that are planned for today — but that’s the gist of it.

Enjoy the games today folks!

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classic scoreboards splash

Classic Ballpark Scoreboards

I’m pleased to continue with a new weekend feature here at Uni Watch, “Classic Ballpark Scoreboards,” which are created by Gary Chanko. You probably know Gary best for his wonderful colorizations, but he has been a solid contributor for many years, and this is his new project. This segment will appear every Saturday on Uni Watch.

Here’s Gary (click on image to enlarge):

. . . . . . . . . .

Classic Ballpark Scoreboards – Ninth in a Series
by Gary Chanko

Sicks’ Stadium is this week’s featured scoreboard. County Stadium was planned as a companion piece, but some graphic problems requires that I delay this one to next week.

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Sick's Stadium Scoreboard UW

Sicks’ Stadium


Home of: Seattle Pilots
Last game played: October 2, 1969; Demolished: 1979

Sicks’ Stadium served as the home of the Seattle Pilots for their one ill-fated season. The ballpark (long time home of the minor league Rainers) was likely the worst in major league baseball. This short video covers the ballpark’s history. Warning: the Pilots fight song (Go, Go You Pilots) may stay in your head all day.

The scoreboard was located in deep center field and along with the rest of Sicks’ Stadium received little, if any, improvement for the Pilots lone season in Seattle.

The illustration shows just how basic a scoreboard can be.

A Few Things to Know

• Charlie Finley once considered moving his Athletics from Kansas City to Seattle. After inspecting Sicks’ Stadium he offered the insightful quip, “it was aptly named.”

• After Sicks’ Stadium demise the scoreboard found some love in a new home at Nat Bailey Stadium, Vancouver, B.C. Surprisingly the old scoreboard lasted another three decades before being replaced in 2007.

• The scoreboard’s BALL, STRIKE, and OUT indicators appear to have been electronic and each in a different color.

• The Chevron ad above the scoreboard was as large as the main 12 foot x 45 foot scoreboard display. Many fans seemingly followed the ad’s advice and went to the Chevron Island instead of the ballpark. The Pilots low season attendance (678,000) compounded the team’s financial woes.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Next time the series looks at the Pilot’s new home scoreboard. They’re not the Pilots in 1970, but now the Milwaukee Brewers and moving into County Stadium.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

If anyone is interested in purchasing a digital copy of these posters, Gary is working on an online purchase option. In the interim you can contact him directly at Classicscoreboards@gmail.com.

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Fall2014_logo


U.W.F.F.L. News

Division II Games
By Andrew Seagraves

Oh, hi there! Is it November already? My, my time does fly. It is Week Seven of the UWFFL season and our prime pairing of DII teams this week pits the Cheyenne Shock (2-1-1) against the Lumberjacks of British Columbia (3-0-1). These two sensational sides are striding atop the Pacific Coast Conference after successful stints in the Developmental League. The Magic City Electric Company has scored wins over Rome and St. John’s with only a loss to Calgary and a tie with Arizona marring their record. The Loggers of the Pacific Province have topped the Scorps, Miners and Warriors and with only a tie to the Steamroller as the only mark on their sheet so far this season.

This week the visiting Shock will be decked out in Gold helmets, white jerseys and golden pants. The Home side Lumberjacks will wear white helmets, red guernseys and green trousers. I don’t know if Victoria is ready for the donnybrook which is about to take place.

. . .

November 1

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pollcode.com free polls

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In other big games this weekend, in The Rock of Canada the Toledo Snipers take on the St. John’s Stingers, the Harrisburg Bulldogs go up against the Providence Steamroller, the Delaware Union face off with the Florida Geckos, the Dallas Outlaws and the Kansas City Crop Dusters do battle, and the Seattle Kings take on the Las Vegas Lightning.

Snipers vs Stingers 1 Nov 2014 (1)

Click to Enlarge

. . .

While you are out enjoying the beauty which autumn brings, remember to break out your device and vote for the teams you feel are the proper choices in this week’s matchups. Make sure you get your fellow leaf watchers to join in on the action, too! NO, you will not get a restraining order for asking someone to vote on this week’s games. At least, I don’t think you will. I guess I shouldn’t make promises I can’t keep (is that a double negative?). Head over to www.uwfantasyfootballleague.com is the website you need to visit in order to make your vote count! If you’d like to design your own team to do battle in the UWFFL, go ahead and head over to our Google+ group for prospective expansion teams and design away!

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It’s that time of year again…

UW Fall Back

…time to Fall Back

There’s no surer sign of Winter’s fast approach than when we set out clocks back an hour (which we in most of the United States will be doing at 2:00 am tonight). Other than the “extra” hour of sleep…I pretty much HATE this time of year.

But…we gotta do what we gotta do. So don’t forget — those of you who still use analog clocks (or even digital ones)…move ’em back before you go to sleep tonight. For the rest of you whose cable boxes/computers/cell phones, etc. automatically update — don’t worry about it. You’re good.

And, hey — if you’ve got smoke detectors and the like — now’s the time to put a new set of batteries in ’em.

Be safe out there, Uni Watch…be safe.

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Uni Watch News Ticker:

Baseball News: Yesterday was, of course, Hallowe’en, and a San Diego Padres fan carved pumpkins with Tony Gwynn and Jerry Coleman’s likenesses, and it was pretty incredible (thanks to Brady Phelps). … And some of the Padres’ staff took Hallowe’en very seriously (Brady, again). … On Thursday, the University of Tennessee baseball team practiced in Hallowe’en costumes (thanks to Evan Winburne). … Reader Leo Strawn, Jr. was flipping thru the Today Show Halloween costume photos of old SNL characters and noticed their replica of Wayne’s basement has a Cubs pennant with a century old logo. Says Leo, “As far as I can recall (and can find reference), that was not used on SNL nor on the movie set.”

NFL News: “I saw this Chargers logoed bus on a run a couple weeks ago and wanted to send it to you,” says Andrew McClintock. “I wonder if there are other logoed mass transit vehicles around the United States.” … Frank Gore’s ornament in Hallmark shows Gore’s authentic biker short look (via Kyle Piercy). … Yesterday, the Washington football team decided to have a little Hallowe’en fun and dress up as each other (a/k/a they did a jersey swap). … “Cool interaction with Mike & Mike with Bill Belichick on ESPN in case you didn’t catch it,” says Tom Currie. … The Seattle Seahawks will wear “MP” helmet decals Sunday in memory of victims of the Oct. 24 shooting that left three students dead and three others in the hospital. … Glad Pinktober’s over? Good. Get ready for GIJoeber. … So who do you think this quote is talking about? “It’s hard to know what’s more disturbing here: That the Patriots are average when he’s not wearing a grey hoodie, or that a he’s worn a total of 8 different outfits every week for the past 10 years.” If you guessed Bill Belichick, you should work for the FBI, you’re pretty NFL-savvy.

College Football News: Check out this cool ticket application from 1933 for the Navy vs Notre Dame football game played in Baltimore (great find from Matt Cline). Amazing the prices back then as compared to today. … Did Mississippi State leak their Egg Bowl jerseys? Those pics come from Dustin Semore, who notes, “Those jerseys were found at Dicks Sporting Goods just outside of Starkville.” … For Hallowe’en yesterday, Auburn hoops coach Bruce Pearl dressed up as Auburn football coach Gus Malzahn. … Check out the new locker room for the University of Montana (from Cubby Wendt).

Basketball: Looks like the Minnesota Gophers will have a black alternate uniform this year. Sigh. … Holy Shit these are great unis: Bucknell Men’s Basketball to Turn Back the Clocks for Nov. 28 Penn State Game. … Unsurprisingly, several NBA teams have new warmups, and (thanks to Seth Shaw, who sends these in) ” I really like the warm up tops some (all?) NBA teams have been wearing this year.” … Looks like Dayton has some new alternate unis (from Tom Hirt). … The LA Lakers wore their new black sleeved jerseys last night. Brutal. You can see more photos here. … On the flip side of the coin, the Spurs and Suns played a little color on color (black vs. orange) matchup for Hallowe’en. More photos here. … The Portland TrailBlazers wore their red unis last night (and also went color on color vs. the Kings). More pics here.

Hockey News: The New York Rangers trainers were in the Hallowe’en spirit yesterday (h/t Chris H). … Wow — check out these great old wartime jerseys for the 1942 NHL Army Relief Classic (great find by Chris Mizzoni). … To celebrate Hallowe’en yesterday, the Pittsburgh Penguins changed their twitter avatar (great spot by Mirjam McHargue).

Soccer News: The Rutherford Raiders, a club in a Kent-based league made up of players from universities in England, struggled to find any shirt sponsors. So as a goof, they put the name of an adult website, PornHub, on the front of their shirts. PornHub then actually tried to sponsor the club. As you might guess, it didn’t end so well (from Sara Schieve).

Grab Bag: Wow — check out this awesome picture of the 1906 University of Pennsylvania Bowling Team photo (great find by Jay Sullivan). … Oops! Looks like one of UW’s sponsors needs help spelling “Cavaliers” (good spot by Tom Konecny). … Paul is quoted several times in this Atlantic story on whether a major sports team will ever wear pink. … Chris Grancio: Self-proclaimed ‘Sneakerhead’ drives adidas’ global basketball business (from Tommy Turner). … U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents seized more than 2,700 items of counterfeit Major League Baseball merchandise worth $80,000 from Bay Area vendors (thanks, Brinke). … And finally, this has gotta be a candidate for the Best Costume Ever, right? (h/t to Hugh McBride).

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And that’s all for today folks, as we kick off the month of November. Everyone have a great day and I’ll be back with your full Sunday Morning Uni Watch tomorrow.

Follow me on Twitter @PhilHecken.

Peace.

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“Your comment is too short. Please try to say something useful.”

— Uni Watch comment prompt, to Jim Vilk

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Comments (23)

    I’m sure Ole Miss/ LSU have a different nike template than the one the Colts wear. After seeing those college teams the last couple years, I think the Colts look just fine.

    Nice, did Maryland actually call out Texas Tech’s unis as “bullshit”? Talk about burying the lede! Talk about calling the kettle black? (I’m sorry, African-American, don’t want to be offensive!)

    What is this world coming to?

    The only thing mildly offensive is misuse of the cliche. The full cliche is “pot calling the kettle black,” which is used to point out someone making a hypocritical comparison. Then again, the condescending dismissal of a supposed comment insulting to African-Americans as “politically correct” has a bad lingering aftertaste.

    Every NBA team has a version of that long-sleeved warmup jacket (just last night, I saw the Bulls version in black, and the Cavaliers version in a reflective silver with gold sleeves). Not every team wears them when they come out for final pre-game warm ups.

    Texas Tech wears a “lone star” uniform that has three stars on it? Maryland ain’t the only ones to call bullshit on that.

    I don’t get the comment re: Belichick that “he’s worn a total of 8 different outfits every week for the past 10 years.” Poorly written sentence, as it implies that Belichick is wearing eight outfits at each game. It’s great that someone is tracking this information.

    Those black South Carolina uniforms in that sneak preview photo seem to have a garnet strip running up the side. That would mean its a different design/cut than the current white and garnet jerseys that they’ve been wearing.

    “Welcome to Seattle, it’s going to be a gas.” LOL!

    Miami is wearing green jerseys and pants today. They have asked the fans to wear green.

    The Wayne’s World sign change is very likely due to some idiot in the staff that takes the Northsider vs. Southsider thing way too seriously. The old Cubs pennant is replacing the White Sox pennant on shown in the movie set (and obscured by Aerosmith in TV). Anyway, if they were to make changes to the set, Wayne would probably wonk out on Blackhawks memorabilia due to their recent success and being the only team that he cares about.

    Yes, Green Bay has a Packers-logoed bus. Sponsored by the team, the bus has a full decal wrap showing Lambeau Field. I’ll try to find a picture.

    What’s with this Hallowe’en thing? Was there some kind of agreement this year where everyone decided to start throwing in an apostrophe?

    I suppose it’s now correct either way, but I was always taught to use the apostrophe — even got nailed on spelling it without the apostrophe by my seventh grade English teacher (the kind of shit that one never forgets, especially when it was the ONLY word I spelled wrong on this one test).

    But it’s a contraction of “All Hallows’ Evening”.

    Here.

    Since that emotionally-scarring day in 7th Grade, I’ve always spelled it “Hallowe’en” — but I suppose nowadays either with or without the apostrophe is correct.

    Sounds like 7th-grade spelling mishaps have a way of stickin’ with ya … When I was in that grade, I got knocked out of a late round of the Reed Middle School spelling bee when I went with “homoginized” instead of “homogenized.”

    To this day, I feel remorseful (and just a bit mocked) whenever I’m in the dairy aisle …

    Had to settle for 4th place in the citywide spelling bee when I was in 5th grade, because I spelled “liquify” instead of “liquefy.”

    But according to this article, I’m not as dumb as I look:
    link

    I was looking at the ASU uniform, and I suddenly had a thought. Is not a uniform without sleeves a bias/detriment/unfairness towards defence/tackling? If I am trying to tackle you, and I grab your arm/shoulder, why should I be at a disadvantage? The uniform is the uniform. I think there are rules for this that are not being enforced. NFL Rule Book: Rule 5, Section 4, Article 3.

    So don’t forget – those of you who still use analog clocks (or even digital ones)…move ‘em back before you go to sleep tonight.

    Don’t forget those of us who still have watches and VCRs.

    There’s something deliciously Tennessee Oilers-ish about Louisiana Tech in all white. Keep that look.

Comments are closed.