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Grading the English Premier League Kits, Part II

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EPL Kits hed 2 550

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By Phil Hecken

I’m back again today with Anthony Emerson, who has previewed/graded all of the EPL kits for 2015-16. This is part II — if you missed Part I, click here. Let’s get straight to it (for all images, click to enlarge):

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Grading Premier League Kits 2015-16, Pt. II
By Anthony Emerson

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Newcastle home

Newcastle United
Kit supplier: Puma (6th season)
Kit sponsor: Wonga (3rd season)

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Home
Newcastle United’s colors are black and white. Period. Overall: F
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Newcastle change

Change
I feel like we’ve seen this before. I mean, Puma could at least try to come up with a unique design for each club they supply. But apparently that would be too much work. As a kit in and of itself it’s decent enough. Overall: D+
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Newcastle third

Third
The best of the bunch, but that’s not really saying much. I think the pink is nice enough when not being shoved down your throat (looking at you, Bournemouth), and I am a sucker for sashes. Overall: B

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Norwich home

Norwich City
Kit supplier: Erreà (5th season)
Kit sponsor: Aviva (8th season)

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Home
I’ve thought for a long time that Norwich City have the largest sponsor logo in the league, despite rules ostensibly being in place to limit the size. This season’s kits have done nothing to dispel that belief. Regardless, Erreà, as usual does a good job working around the eyesore, this year going with a classy halved kit at home. Some may decry the loss of the Canaries’ all yellow, but halved shirts are becoming fewer and farther between in the modern game, and I for one am saddened by that. Keep the flame alive, Norwich. Overall: A
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Norwich change

Change
Pinstripes are one of my favorite design elements and nowhere near enough soccer teams use them. Erreà and Norwich are the bastions of classic, simple design. I dig the sleeve cuffs too. The only downside is breaking the pinstripes for the Aviva logo. Overall: A-
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Norwich third

Third
Norwich completed their trifecta of awesome, unique and utterly gorgeous kits with a wild hooped design. Completely distinctive, completely Norwich. Again, the only downside is breaking the hoops for the Aviva logo…why do they insist on it having its own panel? Overall: A+

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Southampton Home

Southampton
Kit supplier: Adidas (1st season)
Kit sponsor: Veho (2nd season)

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Home
It’s not really Adidas’ first season supplying Soton, but the club and fans were so incensed at Adidas’ previous offering (all-red instead of the traditional red and white stripes) that Southampton opted to produce last season’s kits internally. Adidas seems to have taken last season’s kit, added the three stripes, removed the hoop motif and slightly changed the neck line. Last season’s kits were better, still. Overall: B
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Southampton change

Change
As I’ve said before, I’m partial to sashes on kits, so this has that going for it. But I’m not a fan of the shade of green at all. Overall: C

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Stoke home

Stoke City
Kit supplier: New Balance (1st season)
Kit sponsor: Bet365 (4th season)

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Home
Stoke’s home kit is nothing to write home about. It’s the right color and has the right stripes. The dreaded faux-v-neck makes an appearance, however. Overall: C+
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Stoke city

Change
Stoke and Southampton often have the misfortune of looking like each other. Stoke’s change kit this season evokes that, as it features a sash (like Southampton) and contains a green (like Southampton). The shade of green is more pleasant here, however, and I am a fan of all black kits. Overall: B

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Sunderland home

Sunderland
Kit supplier: Adidas (4th season)
Kit sponsor: Dafabet (1st season)

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Home
Believe it or not, I adore the Dafabet logo on this kit. It adds a pleasant touch of color without being dominant, like a certain Chevrolet-sponsored team. I like the collar and the sleeve cuffs, but I don’t like that the stripes end prematurely on the shoulders and get thinner under by the arms. Overall: B-
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Sunderland change

Change
Sunderland’s away kit is nothing to write home about, but it is a pleasant green and yellow number. I don’t like the two different shades of green, however. It seems like Adidas just added the sublimated hoops gradually turning into a large lime splotch just for fun. Overall: B-

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Swansea City Home

Swansea City
Kit supplier: Adidas (5th season)
Kit sponsor: GWFX (3rd season)

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Home
I love white and gold (though Adidas marketing insists it’s ”˜copper’), so I adore this kit. It helps that GWFX’s logo is always shown in gold, even when that isn’t Swansea’s accent color of choice, but still. This kit is gorgeous, and one of the best the Premier League has to offer this season. Overall: A+
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Swansea City Change

Change
More green and blue change kits? Ugh. The faux hoops aren’t really my cup of tea, and the GWFX logo looks worse than usual on it. Also, the greens don’t match. Overall: C-

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Spurs home

Tottenham Hotspur
Kit supplier: Under Armour (4th season)
Kit sponsor: AIA (2nd season)

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Home
The worst part of Tottenham’s recent kits is the large red AIA. If it wasn’t for that, Spurs’ home kit might be one of my favorites. But I can’t get past that eyesore. Anyway, Under Armour’s tradition of creating unique kits for North London’s other club continues this season, with Tottenham wearing a sash for the first time in their history. And, overall, this kit is an upgrade over last season’s, with no yellow accents and bad navy shoulder piping. Overall: B-
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Spurs change

Change
I adore this kit. Really. I love the sky blue, and I feel it compliments the navy quite nicely. I like the chevron turning into smaller and smaller hoops. I like the sleeves. I like that the AIA is in white. I don’t like the faux v-neck, but I can live with it with the rest of this kit. Overall: A
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Tottenham Third

Third
While I’m not as purple-averse as Paul, Spurs’ 3rd kit seems unnecessary and is easily the worst of the bunch this year. I do kind of like the cuffs and collar, however. Overall: C

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Watford home

Watford
Kit supplier: Puma (4th season)
Kit sponsor: 138.com (3rd season)

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Home
Watford may be known as “The Hornets” but that doesn’t make irregularly sized hoops a good idea. It’s also the first time in Watford’s history that they’ve ever worn any hoops. Perhaps if the hoops were all the same size it’d look better. Kudos for trying something different, though. Watford insistence of including red on their crest but nowhere on their kits (except for their sponsor’s logo, natch) drives me up a wall. Overall: D+
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Watford change

Change
Puma goes with a play-it-safe change kit for the Hornets. Again, red only appears on the sponsor’s logo and crest. That’s not much to complain about here, but also not much to praise. Overall: D+

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West Brom home

West Bromwich Albion
Kit supplier: Adidas (5th season)
Kit sponsor: TLCBET (1st season)

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Home
The cynic in me says that West Brom added red accents merely to match TLCBET’s logo (and dear god, that logo). But to me, it adds a splash of color to an otherwise drab team. Anyway, full stripes return after Adidas went with pinstripes last year (why Adidas wants to piss off all the striped teams is beyond me) and traditional white shorts also make a return, for the first time since 2012/2013. Overall: B+
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West Brom change

Change
Dear god, I love this kit. A gorgeous shade of red with striking black, plus a classic crest. While the TLCBET logo will diminish this kit, it won’t diminish it enough to remove it from my pantheon of 2015/16 kits. Overall: A+

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West Ham home

West Ham
Kit sponsor: Umbro (1st season)
Kit sponsor: Betway (2nd season)

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Home
West Ham go with two classic kits to commemorate their final year at the Boleyn Ground, as they move to the 2012 Olympic Stadium after this season. A traditional scoop neck along with no frills apart from a gilded Umbro logo and team crest (plus two commemorative inscriptions beneath the crest and over the name), the Hammers will look fantastic in their final season at the only home they’ve known. Overall: A
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West Ham Change

Change
West Ham’s change kit evokes the first time they took the pitch in their now trademark claret and blue, harkening back to 1901. The large claret hoop extending onto the sleeves is a style not often seen on kits anymore, and I wish it continued all the way around instead of ending under the arms. My only complaint about this kit is that small diagonal striping makes the top of the kit look like mesh from a distance, and hurts the no-frills, classic approach Umbro and West Ham were trying to go with. Overall: B+

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OK — that will do it for Part II — big thanks to Anthony for his preview & grading. What say you, Uni Watchers — do you agree, disagree, or are you somewhere in between? Let him know below.

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New Unis for EMU

Last evening Eastern Michigan University unveiled a new set of road uniforms, plus a special “Patriotic” uni via twitter:

You’ll immediately notice the numbers have a diamondplate pattern on the white uni (something I thought football got rid of after the Oregon Ducks ditched this set a few years back). Of course when the Duckies dumped the diamondplate, they put wings on the shoulders. Looks like EMU has joined the party a few years late.

They’re actually not bad looking uniforms (I’m talking about the road whites here), but enough with the theme unis. But I’m guessing the diamondplate and the sledgehammer must have something to do with the program’s ethic or something. And the players designed the unis.

The special unis feature a flag motif on the shoulders. Stop. It’s been done. To death. Not to mention it completely clashes with the green and gray of the uniform itself. No one will think you love America any less if you don’t have flags on your pads.

Here’s a look at the squad modeling the new unis:

Readers? Your thoughts?

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Mike’s Question of the Week
By Mike Chamernik

This week, after Johnny Cueto threw a shutout in his first home start as a member of the Royals, his teammates showered him with Gatorade.

The resulting photo was pretty cool. I’m assuming that many Royals fans changed their Twitter and Facebook avatars to the pic. And if Kansas City wins the World Series, I’m sure we’ll see the photo even more.

What’s your favorite photo of your favorite team(s)? Leave your answer in the comments ”” either describe it or link to it. What about the photo makes it special? And, have you done anything with the photo, like turn it into a poster or phone wallpaper? Print it and hang it up at home or at work?

As a Brewers fan, I’ve always liked this photo of Ryan Braun and Carlos Gomez. I guess Gatorade showers are photogenic.

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Uni Watch News Ticker
Compiled by Mike Chamernik

Baseball News: Oriental Trading, a novelty products company, makes MLB jersey napkins. … Here’s a look at the uniforms for the Under Armour All-America Game this Saturday (from Jon Rowland). … A kid at Tuesday night’s Orioles-Mariners game wore an Orioles jersey, Mariners cap and Brooklyn Dodgers undershirt. “I guess he’s just a fan of baseball in general,” says Bryan Duklewski. … In case no one noticed, the Red Sox have two “Jr.”s on the team: Jackie Bradley Jr. and Robbie Ross Jr (from Andy, who didn’t give his last name).

NFL News: Before each game, the Browns will post their uniform set on Instagram. I don’t know about you guys, but I think the Browns’ white-jerseys-over-white-pants is worlds better than their white-over-brown (from Chris Spisak). … The NFL’s equipment, unis and player appearance policy takes up five pages in the rule book, and Redskins S Duke Ihenacho had some thoughts on the uniform policy (from Phil).

College Football News: Here are some good looks at North Carolina’s new uniforms (from James Gilbert). … New field for UNLV (from @DaveDoop). … Fairfield (Indiana) High School has some slick helmets (from Terry Mark). … To get around the law, schools, like Auburn, sell jerseys with generic numbers on them. … Troy players gave their thoughts on the team’s new unis. For those that prefer the old unis, this song is appropriate (from Phil). … Virginia Tech put sensors in its helmets to monitor head accelerations (from Andrew Cosentino). … New unis for West Alabama.

Soccer News: ESPN broke down the elements the Premier League’s kits. … New USL team FC Cincinnati unveiled its jerseys (from Phil). … “Diego Chavez Collins scored his first career Liga MX goal yesterday night versus Tijuana,” says Saurel Jean, Jr.. “What’s notable is that he wore the number 293, due to the fact that he just called up from the reserve team. Three weeks ago, I saw another Mexican player (Alex Diaz) wear 186 for Club America during the Campeon de Campeones match, which was his reserve number. (I couldn’t find a picture or proper video footage of Diaz’s jersey).” Collins also wore the number on his shorts. … New unis for Army. … Here’s what the MASL’s Hartford City FC will wear in its first season this year (from Tim Cross). … KickTV ranked the five worst kits in European soccer this year (from Saurel Jean, Jr.).

Basketball News: NBA announced the Christmas Day games for this year. Here are the uni matchups for the first four games and the fifth one between the Clippers and Lakers. … Chandler Gini has never seen team-branded leggings, and neither have I.

Grab Bag: Nike and the University of Arizona have agreed to an extension through 2025 (from Kenny Abbey). … One of Deadspin’s top commenters ranked the state license plates (from John Gogarty). … Life University has some extremely loud rugby kits.

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That’ll do it for today. Thanks (again) to Anthony for undertaking the EPL preview/grading, and of course Mike for the QOTW and the ticker. Thanks also to everyone who submitted for the ticker, and for those of you who commented on yesterday’s post on the The Greatest Uni Year in Baseball — I really appreciated all the comments. I thought this might be a bit of a “throwaway” column, but clearly it struck a chord. I’ll try to do another one (either for football or to identify the ‘worst’ uni year in baseball). You guys rock!

Only one more day in the work week, people — I’ll catch you tomorrow. Till then,

Follow me on Twitter @PhilHecken

Peace.

.. … ..

“The Seattle Pilots may have the greatest set of uniforms ever for uniform-watchers. Perhaps it helps that they never had the opportunity to screw it up.”

— Jon

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Comments (96)

    Chooch and Brad Lidge, 2008 WFC.

    This photo was on the front page of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

    link

    It was turned into a puzzle, which we put together, and is now hanging on a wall in my basement.

    “The original claret and blue”?

    No, not even close.

    Aston Villa is the creator of that colour scheme and also the source for West Ham’s first kits in that colour scheme.

    Bad form by Umbro.

    Perhaps they meant “the original Claret and Blue that was worn by West Ham.” I’m fairly certain even West Ham fans are aware that Villa was first; hell, the legend is that West Ham won their first set off of Villa in a wager.

    I think they mean that it’s the “original claret and blue kit worn by the club that eventually became West Ham United” because the change kit clearly evokes the 1901 kit: link

    To answer this week’s question of the week, as a Skins fan, I think this photo really stands out…

    link

    It marks the marks the first major milestone in the golden age of Skins football.

    I too am a ‘Skins fan. The Riggins photo is the best!

    Here is a picture from 10 years earlier when they beat the ‘Boys to go to the Superbowl. I wish I could find the actual photo. BUt this will have to do.

    link

    Nailed it. The day s#4t got real for the Washingtons. Riggins’ five fingers talking to Don McNeal’s face is quintessential Hogs football.

    SB

    Man, an “A” for that Norwich City kit that everyone was mocking a couple months ago? That giant sponsor block is hideous.

    As for the QOTD, as a Boston sports fan, thankfully I have many to pick from, but this one from Manny Ramirez’s walk-off home run in the 2007 ALDS might take the cake:
    link

    The other problem with Norwich is that all three jerseys are more or less the same colors. I suppose they could get away with the striped one against a team in green, but the whole ensemble is kinda boring.

    How exactly are yellow and green the same colors? They seem to clash with each other, meaning that they have a valid option against any other team.

    I don’t claim to be the voice of the majority. I love all of Norwich’s kits this year. Indeed, though, I think the cut outs for the Aviva logo do it no favors.

    Well, I like them as well, except the unneeded 3rd kit. But having gone to University there, and attended many games, I have a soft spot for them. Yes, the sponsor is big, but the rest looks great. And the complaint about the colors is very odd, seeing as the away will rarely be used anyway. Reversing your main colors is a perfect strategy for Norwich. I expect to see the green kit needed only away to Watford. Maybe against the striped teams as well.

    Colin

    The sledgehammers in the EMU patriotic pic are the same ones used by Thomas Jefferson and John Adams while hammering out the first draft of the Declaration of Independence.

    The idea that adidas imposed non-traditional kit styles on Premier League teams is preposterous. The clubs sign off on a design after seeing several options, and those sides chose pinstripes over full stripes, so laying blame when fans don’t like it at the vendors door is preposterous.

    The idea that Adidas doesn’t have some say in what a team wears is equally preposterous. Adidas (and Nike, and Puma) template the shit out of kits. And if Southampton weren’t upset, why would they produce their kits internally the next year?

    One of my all-time favorite photos (granted, it’s of the Brooklyn Dodgers/NY Yanks, and not the Mets) has to be Jackie’s steal of home during the 1947 World Series (and a cropped version of that is my Twitter splash).

    To this day, Yogi swears he tagged Jackie out.

    Favorite Mets photo is probably this shot of Grote & Koosman hugging after winning the ’69 World Series. Beautiful composition there.

    Willing to bet that kid isn’t really a fan of anything other than his parents buying him stuff. All the gear looks brand new, and those are some swanky seats.

    I was four rows behind this kid. He didn’t seem to have a ticket for a seat there, he’d get kicked out of someone else’s seat and just scoot around to a different seat that was empty at the time. It was a Davis if anyone’s interested.

    I agree that the Watford shirts look awful in the promo photos, but they actually looked link on Saturday. And I remember thinking to myself that the kits looked a lot better because they went with black instead of red with the yellow.

    As for Everton, Part I wondered about the fake V-necks, the reason for them is homage to the link, most notably the 1984 squad that won the FA Cup. That doesn’t mean it’s not stupid. It’s very stupid and a big downgrade (along with the color-blocked shorts) from last year’s home shirt. The away shirt is about as pretty as polyester gets, and the third is dreadful.

    Qotw. I don’t have a favorite team picture, frankly never thought of that. However, just for sake of being included, I do have a lot of F1 pictures from the first grand Prix in Austin. I went as a photographer for FastMag and had the opportunity to take lots of cool pictures from the drivers. I have set apart 2 or 3 to make them posters one day

    Norwich and Aviva are clearly skirting the logo size restriction with technicalities. The regs probably only measure the logo itself, not the clearance from the rest of the jersey. Give the logo hyumangous beeg margins over a stripey design, and voila!

    Did Adidas just tweak the shades of green and blue on a rejected Seattle Sounders design for Southampton’s change kit? Cut the green, boost the blue, replace “XBOX” with “muvr”, and ship it?

    And I love how Under Armour introduced a design element never before used on a Spurs kit, and called it “Heritage”. Athletic Supplier Marketing Department LSD is the best stuff, man.

    My favorite team photo, which i can not find a link of grrr, is of John Madden of the New Jersey Devils lifting the Stanley Cup with a huge scar on his left cheek. Battle worn and yet triumphant.

    QOTW: I’m a big fan of game shots. This one from a couple years ago stands out: link
    Day game. Descalso and Walker are basically in opposite positions (head to foot), with Descalso suspended in the air. Dirt flying. Great unis worn the right way. It’s perfect. Here’s another angle: link

    What’s wrong with Newcastle going black and white? It’s their tradition and it’s very distinctive. Works for Juventus also. That’s not grounds for an arbitrary F.

    I think the F is due to the extensive, slapdash use of blue in the kit. Plus the payday loan company sponsor. Plus the outdated logo of said payday loan company.

    As for the author’s shot against Bournemouth’s pink third kit, at least they are donating a portion of their proceeds to cancer research.

    Right, his complaint is that it’s NOT black and white, that the blue has no place in a NU uni. At least that’s how I interpreted it.

    That’s how I interpreted it, too. However, I like the blue accents. It makes the sponsor’s logo less intrusive.

    This is my favorite Dodger picture.
    link

    For some reason I don’t think Koufax is normally viewed as a happy guy… or as someone who loved to play.. I think because he was in so much pain.

    This picture shows a lot of joy.

    The EMU football Uniforms are a textbook example of the professional frustration of myself and countless other Sports Information Directors. The one thing on a uniform that has a necessary function to perform during the game (besides protective equipment which is a different category to me) is the uniform number. When you leave decisions on them to kids, they only worry about how cool it looks from a foot or two away. The football gameday statisticians will have to deal with these monstrosities on the road where they will not know the players as well – having had to stat many games in many sports as an SID you learn how to spot your own players based on equipment, position, etc. sometimes so quickly that the number may not be immediately necessary for player recognition – and this could well lead to inaccuracies in the stats of the games. Guess who will be the first ones to complain if/when their stats get messed up…smh

    The ND uniforms would like sooooo much better if it was a Navy belt instead of green.

    Also dont like the two tone facemask

    I think the intent is to keep blue combined with gold in some way. Even on the helmet, which is of course gold. If the belt were to be blue, as you suggest, they’d feel compelled to make it blue and gold, which would be difficult to pull off.

    QOTW: link
    Just the greatest who ever played leading the band after another victory.

    Also, it appears the shortstop has been charged with an error in the EMU group photo.

    A day late but yesterdays best year for baseball unis was a good one.

    I had dvred many of the old Home Run Derbys the past few weeks. What a fun show to watch. The show as in b&w but it did get me thinking of how good the unis wear back in the 60s.

    Today oh boy oh boy teams are getting new uniforms in college. Crazy how schools have to basically get new uniforms every single year.

    I don’t know anything about Premier League kits or rules, but,

    1) Norwich’s 3rd is fantastic! And I love that they have team colors. I’ve never understood a team having team colors (say, red and blue) but then wearing a different color kit/uni (green and black).

    2) Swansea City’s white & gold is beautiful. I feel that an NFL team could take a cue from this (San Fran??).

    3) Claret and Blue is beautiful and more teams need to adapt this scheme in the US. West Ham/Aston, I don’t care who wears it, it’s beautiful.

    Bonus: 4) What is the rule with logos on kits? They are usually hideous to me because they don’t fit the scheme of the team/colors. Someone want to clarify?

    (1) The reason teams have change kits in non-team colors is for those times when teams who have the same, or similar, colors play each other. If Arsenal go play at Liverpool, for example, it wouldn’t do for them to wear their usual red, so they wear yellow instead. In US sports the solution is usually for one team to wear white with the team colors as trim, but Euro soccer has a different tradition.

    (3) I agree, and the Colorado Rapids should be your US team, then. They call it burgundy and blue, but close enough.

    Swansea is actually wearing metallic copper this season, due to their history as a center of copper mining.

    I repeat what is reported in the kit launch. That it is marketing speak should be known to those who frequent the board, whom I assume to be as immune to it as I am. Or numbed to it, more likely.

    Those Clippers’ Christmas day uniforms should be their everyday road uniforms……so much better than the crap they went with.

    QOTW: It used to be this one: link

    But I’ll update it for the times: link

    There was a day that it’d would’ve been Counsell crossing home in Game 7, but Loria has driven the franchise so far down that apathy is the overwhelming quality emanating from the franchise.

    This is every Rockies fan’s choice, I would think. Todd Helton just after recording the putout that put the Rockies in their only World Series, culminating a streak of 21 wins in 22 games.

    With Eric Byrnes eating dirt, after he’d become something of a villain to Rox fans by claiming in mid-series that the D-Backs were the better team even though they were in the process of being swept.

    link

    Any photo from Kirk Gibson’s trot around the bases after hitting the home run to win Game 1 of the 1988 World Series would be among my favorites, but Gibson’s exuberance from the 1984 World Series has to be one of the greatest baseball photos:

    link

    Yep. My favorite as well.
    link?.origin=&back=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fyhs%2Fsearch%3Fp%3Dkirk%2Bgibson%2B1984%2Bgame%2Bfive%2Bhome%2Brun%26fr%3Dyhs-mozilla-002%26fr2%3Dpiv-web%26hsimp%3Dyhs-002%26hspart%3Dmozilla%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D2&w=380&h=574&imgurl=media.mlive.com%2Ftigers_impact%2Fphoto%2F11747905-large.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mlive.com%2Ftigers%2Findex.ssf%2F2012%2F10%2Fdetroit_tigers_world_series_hi.html&size=29.9KB&name=%3Cb%3EKirk%3C%2Fb%3E+%3Cb%3EGibson%3C%2Fb%3E%26%2339%3Bs+%3Cb%3E1984%3C%2Fb%3E+%3Cb%3Ehome%3C%2Fb%3E+%3Cb%3Erun%3C%2Fb%3E+off+San+Diego%26%2339%3Bs+Goose+Gossage+in+%3Cb%3EGame%3C%2Fb%3E+%3Cb%3E5%3C%2Fb%3E+…&p=kirk+gibson+1984+game+five+home+run&oid=ad521f7d6517688348e9ab6915ff0555&fr2=piv-web&fr=yhs-mozilla-002&tt=%3Cb%3EKirk%3C%2Fb%3E+%3Cb%3EGibson%3C%2Fb%3E%26%2339%3Bs+%3Cb%3E1984%3C%2Fb%3E+%3Cb%3Ehome%3C%2Fb%3E+%3Cb%3Erun%3C%2Fb%3E+off+San+Diego%26%2339%3Bs+Goose+Gossage+in+%3Cb%3EGame%3C%2Fb%3E+%3Cb%3E5%3C%2Fb%3E+…&b=0&ni=21&no=2&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=12h0074nl&sigb=14taj5k9f&sigi=11ms86dnh&sigt=140qvpigh&sign=140qvpigh&.crumb=QqoAJWTb.fi&fr=yhs-mozilla-002&fr2=piv-web&hsimp=yhs-002&hspart=mozilla

    The number #34 at Auburn is not just a generic number. It was Bo Jackson’s number and is unofficially retired. So while no current player would be wearing it, shouldn’t he still have the right to royalties too?

    No, he shouldn’t. A jersey that says JACKSON on it? If the person ordering it as a custom isn’t also named Jackson, sure. A jersey with no name on it, nearly 30 years after he played there? No.

    As a Red Sox fan it has to be the pretty famous picture of Varitek shoving his glove into A-Rod’s face. It helps that Tek is one of my all time favorite Sox players and, like many, I despise Rodriguez. It captures perfectly the bad blood in one of sports all time greatest rivalries that has felt pretty mediocre these past few years.

    You are about the third person to mention that incident. I am surprised no Red Sox fans have cited the Carlton Fisk/Lou Piniella fight from 1976.

    I am sure there are some pictures of the collision at home plate that sparked the melee but I do not have the time right now to find.

    Not of the team, but as a long suffering fan of the SF Giants, all the heart-ache we had gone through was let go of in one moment.

    link

    Lee

    QOTD: can’t find a link but there’s a photo of one of the Islanders cup celebration with (I think) Denis Potvin hoisting the cup – no teeth, huge unkempt beard, with an expression of pure joy. Great raw photo that captures the moment.

    The team napkin folks are aiming at the wrong market. You sell those to fans of rivals for nose blowing, etc.

    Exactly. Reminds me of the “Beat LA” urinal cakes that Boston and Detroit used some years back.

    QotW: I do like Nate’s, Manny’s walk off picture, and Chris, Ilana and Steve’s “Tek’s glove meets A-rods face” gives me a laugh. My two favorites are probably two of the most iconic sports pictures (least in the top 10)

    “If it stays fair…home run!”
    link

    And of course
    link

    Heck you when you make a statue out of part of a photo, think that qualifies as iconic.

    Gray for gray’s sake, diamondplating, duck wings on shoulder, matte helmets, flag pandering. EMU you are totally retro 2010’s!

    I’m sad to live in the same county as that clown team. Thankfully there’s a more respectably clad school in Washtenaw Co.

    Aviva’s yellow box has been the source of much frustration for us Norwich fans. A simple outline on the green half of the home shirt would have been sufficient enough to keep the Aviva logo discernible. link

    As for the hooped third, the box really does demonstrate some degree of fail, because the logo isn’t even close to being vertically centered within it. The extra yellow box space at the bottom makes one wonder why the logo could not be shrunk very slightly to fit (yellow box and all) within the two yellow hoops.

    As it it, I’ll probably just buy the road green this year, and perhaps a retro birds!t shirt in all its 1992-93 glory.

    I moved to Norwich in ’93, so was lucky enough (?) to see those shirts in action!

    Colin

    QotW: Safari isn’t letting me share direct links to photos on my phone, but for the Nats it’s Jayson Werth’s shaggy leap to home plate, surrounded by teammates and a carefully watching umpire, from the NLDS Game 4 walkoff in 2012. For the Twins, it’s Kirby “jump on my back” Pucket rounding the bases, his fist up, in Game 6 of the 1991 World Series.

    That license plate rating is kind of hokey. So many states have multiple standard plates or flashier alternate plates, it’s tough to pick one to represent the state. He really should be rating more than 50 states.

    Also Washington DC isn’t a state.

    Which states have “multiple standard plates”? Virginia has eleventy billion plates, but they still only have one standard issue.

    I don’t have an issue with the rankings, but USE THE GODDAMN CORRECT PLATES. The freakin Montana tag posted is from 1991. Also, the Ohio tag is out of date. There may be others, but those two stuck out to me. The NJ tag now has the printed numbers, as opposed to stamped – but at least it’s still the same design.

    Best Sports Pic Ever:
    Jack O’Callahan and Mike Ramsay, Miracle On Ice
    link

    Best NYR Pic Ever:
    Messier with the Cup
    link

    Best Mets Pic Ever:
    Jesse Orosco, 1986 WS Game 7 win
    link

    I’ve never done anything special with these shots, but always recall them vividly.

    I meant to add..I had this pic signed by Brooks Robinson and Andy Etchebarren. Dave McNally passed before I had a chance to get his sig.

    Good photos everyone, keep ’em coming!

    For the Lions, I’ve always liked this photo of LB Ernie Sims icing up on the sidelines, alone, after Detroit fell to 0-15 in 2008. link. So much pain.

    (And hey, I’m glad a few of you enjoyed the Pete Rock & CL Smooth reference! I’m not a rap aficionado but I do know that the song is one of the classics.)

    Grading the EPL: all have big honking sponsor logos. F to all of them.

    QOTW: My header currently shows my favorite player being greeted by my 2nd favorite player & Clemente. Best Bucs outfield ever in their best uniforms ever.
    link
    Gotta make some room on my wall for that one, too.

    Favorite college basketball team:
    link
    That’s on my wall.

    Don’t have this one…yet…of my favorite NBA team:
    link

    My favorite team photos are the Oakland A’s ones after the 72-74 seasons with the players alternated between green and gold jerseys and the coaching staff in the white ones.
    link

    QOTW: As a kid my mom saw a framed photo of Nolan Ryan and bought it for me. I was overjoyed when I unwrapped the gift. My mom had no idea I was so excited because it was a photo of the greatest moment: Nolan on the mound about to throw a pitch AFTER he beat up Robin Ventura. I love the blood on the jersey and telling people how it got there and why he was still in the game.

    link

    Showing my age: I love the Norwich third kit, not unlike the original Tampa Bay Rowdies. And I’m old enough to see Watford stripes and think “Chicago Sting”.

    Hartford is getting indoor soccer? How did I not know about this! Must follow. Already a fan.

    Cannot find it, but there’s a B&W photo of some unnamed Patriots in their team capes sitting on the sidelines of the original Mile High Stadium under a blanket of snow.

    New Browns jerseys look good to me, but the pants must go. Cleveland social media is about 50/50 on the new look tonight. As a long time old school Browns fan, the look is not the train wreck I had envisioned.

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