Sunday Morning Uni Watch

Click to enlargeBy Phil Hecken

Big day in the NCAA yesterday, uni-wise, as we’re now moving into Pinktober (although pink was relatively scarce, but still present, yesterday) and we’re seeing a bunch of alternates, specialty unis and rivalry games.

Some of those alternates were tweaks to special unis we’d seen before, some were brand new and some were just reptilian. And that’s just the beginning.

There’s a lot to get to so I’ll turn it over now to Terry Duroncelet, who’ll take you through Week V of the NCAA’s best, worst and just plain odd. Here’s TJ:

. . . . . . . . . .Sunday Morning Uni Watch
By Terry Duroncelet

Gloomy weather over the weekend, but that’s A-O.K. with me. Hey, I grew up in a desert for the first 20 years of my life, I think I’m entitled to some rain. But Sweaty Odin, there were enough grey togs from Saturday to start your own Putty Patrol squad. This week’s showings were not only sloppy from a gamepley perspective (primarily due to weather conditions), but also so bland in the uniform department, that they’re on-par with unseasoned chicken. At least the pink looked to have been used in moderation for the time being.

From Thursday:

• Cincinnati wore neck bumpers that had “The rUCkus”, which is the name of their student section. Meanwhile, Miami wore some platinum orange duds, which makes you wonder if Adidas has some type of aberrant fetish for colorful tinfoil. I mean, UCLA, Arizona State, Louisville, and probably a few others that I’m missing. Adidas, just send your teams out in these and be done with it already. Oh wait, that’s too much coverage. This is more like it.

From Friday:

• USF finally wore their SoFlo unis against Memphis. Well, at least it’s colorful and not drenched in rolls of anthracite with blood orange numbers. None too keen on the white helmets, however.

• UConn wore their usual helmet shells with less-jarring navy facemasks against BYU.

From Saturday:

• Notice how Lee Corso’s getup has the ‘Fr. Ted’ memorial on the lapel.

• GG, ESPN.

• It’s not just the players on the field that get to wear fancy shoes.

• Georgia Tech wore throwbacks against North Carolina, who went mono-Caro. Blue. This would’ve been a perfect-looking game if UNC had worn matching helmets, but the white lids throw everything out of balance. See: South Florida.

• Iowa State went full-cardinal against Kansas.

• Purdue wore a pleasant white-over-black with white helmets with a full Purdue logo on one side, and numbers on the other. Speaking of white for Purdue… Last, but not least, congrats to Michigan State on hitting 100 Homecoming games.

• The weather was nasty across a good chunk of the college landscape, so UMass dressed for the occasion. Eh. About as exciting as grey can get.

• Northwestern wore their Gothic alts against Minnesota. Some people will probably wonder why they didn’t wait until Halloween (which does land on a Saturday this year) to wear these. Well, I checked their schedule, and they have no game slated for the 31st. I guess they figured “Well, since we won’t be playing on Spoopy Night, let’s wear these for our first October game”. I mentioned last year that I felt the arch on the back of the helmets felt like an afterthought, but I think it’s settled pretty nicely at this point.

• NC State wore claw-marked black tops against Louisville.

• Good point, although I’ve never really agreed with the idea of calling someone who’s 18+ a “kid”. Also, as you can see, Oklahoma’s got wood.

• You might have noticed that the entire Georgia team is wearing ’33’ on their helmets. This is in support of Devon Gales, a wide receiver for Southern who suffered a spinal injury against Georgia last Saturday.

• LSU wore their purple tops against Eastern Michigan, who did their best Lars Ulrich signature snare drum impression. I think I’ll stick with bell bronze.

• Arizona State wore their Desert I Don’t Even Know At This Point uniforms against UCLA. That is UCLA, right?

• Florida channeled their inner, well, Florida by wearing all-orange against Ole Miss.

• And it begins.

• Let it be known that Phil’s Alma mater looks better than the State University of New York at Buffalo 13 miles east of Whatever.

• What the hell, Baylor. Did a handful of teams synchronize their uniform choices with the weather (although to be fair, this was an indoor game)? This especially stunk since they wore this as the home team. At least Texas Tech looked decent, and they’ll be wearing more red this season, so not all hope is lost.

• …Actually, I take that back. The prickly grey tops with the grey helmets I can tolerate. The prickly grey tops with the purple chrome helmets however? This is something that requires an AVGNism uttered by someone with only the most colorful of vocabulary. Who thought that combo was a good idea? What the hell, TCU?

• Boise State gave us a 2-fer. Wow, flashy. At lease Hawaii wore the rainbow throwbacks again.

• San Jose State knows how to lighten up the mood with their gold helmets, which they wore against Auburn (although those facemasks need to be blue).

• Both New Mexico and New Mexico State wore Zia Sun symbol decals on their helmets for the Rio Grande Rivalry. Credit to Steven J. Torrez (@stjtorrez) for the pic. Here’s a pic of how the Lobos looked yesterday. Also, the guy wearing the hat is New Mexico’s bus driver, Jerry.

• Maryland wore their typical Call of Duty all-black uniforms with hand-painted helmets against Michigan. Speaking of which, Jim Harbaugh was seen wearing cleats on the sideline, which he’s done for parts of three seasons now, originally used for if he needed to get his hands dirty.

• Geez, even Colorado is in on the act (at least grey/silver is actually one of their school colors). Luckily, Oregon had the sense to contrast the best they could. Also, as you can barely see in that last photo, Oregon (as well as Colorado) wore U.C.C. memorial decals during this game.

And that’ll do it for Week 5. I almost want to see an ocean of pink next week so I can remember what color looks like. Almost. Have a good day, everyone. See ya next week.

. . . . . . . . . .Thanks, TJ. First — some hoops news, then on to the rest of your SMUW…

Bucks Go BFBS…

Yesterday, the Milwaukee Bucks, who introduced quite an excellent new uniset for 2015-16, introduced an alternate uniform, and…

it’s BFBS…

but…

if you can get around that fact, it’s pretty good looking.

Here’s a look at the full set the Bucks have now introduced for the season, along with some looks at the new alternate. For any photos, click to enlarge:

 

Again, aside from the fact that it’s a BFBS uni, it’s not too bad. Sadly, corporate-speak describes the uniform as a “Fear The Deer” alternate, and here’s how it’s described:

FEAR THE DEER UNIFORM

1. Focus on the team ”“ Stripped of a base uniform color and without a wordmark on the front, the Fear the Deer uniform sets create a simple, striking visual that puts the focus directly on the new imposing Bucks logo and the aggressive spirit of the new Bucks.

2. Secondary logo ”“ A partial version of the new Bucks secondary logo appears on the shorts, again stripped down to its elemental pieces featuring the basketball and stylized “M” introduced in the primary logo.

3. Cream City Rainbow ”“ The Cream City rainbow, which also appears on the Bucks home and road uniforms, is the consistent thread that ties all three uniform sets together.

4. Fear The Deer ”“ The “Fear The Deer” rallying cry found at the bottom of all of the new Bucks jerseys takes on special meaning as it served as the inspiration for the creation of this uniform set.

Here’s some closeups of the uniform elements:

 

So far, aside from the black color (they couldn’t have gone cream or even blue???), I’m not sure I’m a fan of the font/number on the back of the uniform. I’ll need to see them in action before I render a definite opinion on that.

More photos here, and video here.

But that’s not all — in an NBA first, the Bucks also introduced (get this) an alternate court. That’s right, the Bucks also presented an alternate court to match the alternate jerseys:

 

I’m not sure what to think about this — on the surface (pun semi-intended), it’s a very cool feature. But, you know that in this copy-cat, monkey-see, monkey-do world, I am confident in saying this is going to become a “thing” very quickly, and like every “unique” feature in sports, it will quickly become a must-have for everyone and will ruin it for everyone, including the Bucks. Maybe not this season, but mark my words — it will happen.

According to a statement from the Bucks: “With the addition of a second court, the Bucks are now the first team in the NBA to feature an alternate court design to complement the alternate uniform. The Fear the Deer court shares the same design philosophy as the new uniforms, with the logos and color palette stripped down to keep the focus squarely on the team.”

Milwaukee’s “Fear the Deer” uniforms and court will be on display at four home games this season: Dec. 9 vs. the L.A. Clippers, Jan. 12 vs. Chicago, Feb. 22 vs. the L.A. Lakers and March 6 vs. Oklahoma City.

——————…while the Pistons go GFGS

The Bucks weren’t the only team to unveil an alternate uniform yesterday — Detroit unveiled new GFGS uniforms (don’t be fooled — while the team is calling them “Chrome,” they’re just gray):

 

#DetroitChrome arrived today! 🔥🔥🔥 https://t.co/R52La42saE pic.twitter.com/z8pbkuCGLI

”” Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) October 3, 2015

Inspiration for #DetroitChrome came about as a way to honor our coolest cars from the past & the cars of the future. pic.twitter.com/BAqnlx3jkn ”” Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) October 3, 2015

 

 

Navy trim & “Detroit” across the chest represent the blue collar work ethic that auto industry & region was built on pic.twitter.com/5t05e3CwZj

”” Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) October 3, 2015

All of our jerseys (including #DetroitChrome) have the gold band on the neck honoring our 3 World Championships. pic.twitter.com/hGydo3KRY1 ”” Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) October 3, 2015

The team will wear the silver and blue uniforms for seven games during the 2015-2016 campaign. According to the official release, the look pays homage to Detroit’s automotive history.

“The inspiration for the Detroit Chrome jerseys came about as a way to honor our coolest cars from the past and the cars of the future. Detroit is universally known as the auto capitol of the world, where chrome leaves an indelible mark on the cars we create. The uniforms feature a matte chrome base color with clean simple lines inspired by the classic muscle cars that have roared up and down Woodward Avenue for decades. The navy trim and Detroit emblazoned across the chest represent the blue collar work ethic that the auto industry and region was built on.”

Yeah, whatever. They’re gray. And they’re another alt. Say whatever you want about the auto industry as inspiration, but we all know this is just more corporate bullshit.

They’ll wear these uniforms 7 times: Oct. 30 vs. Chicago; Nov. 21 vs. Washington; Dec. 16 vs. Boston; Dec. 31 vs. Minnesota; Jan. 18 vs. Chicago; Feb. 4 vs. New York; and, March 26 vs. Atlanta.

NCAA Uni Tracking

Back again today with our new feature: NCAA Uniform Tracking.

Once again, it’s Rex Henry (tracking the ACC & SEC) and Dennis Bolt (tracking the PAC-12). Last weekend, I added a fourth conference tracker (the Big XII) and his name is Kyle Acker. Today, I’m pleased to announce I’ve rounded out the set, adding the B1G, which is going to be tracked by Joey Artigue. Please welcome Joey today.

Unfortunately, due to a bit of a family emergency, Joey wasn’t quite able to complete his maiden B1G tracking, as he explained to me in an e-mail: “Attached are 12 of the 14 Big 10 uni’s. I’m so sorry I couldn’t get Northwestern and Maryland done. I’ve been dealing with a family emergency involving my sister’s dog. She’s out of town and the kennel called saying the dog was very ill, we’ve been between there and the vet. … I so apologize about the specialty jerseys not being done, but maybe you can do a special section featuring those jerseys.” Sorry for the emergency — here’s hoping for a full recovery.

We’ll begin with Joey’s B1G tracker today, and then the remainder of the trackers:

You can click on the images to enlarge and (where appropriate) click the link for additional information/resources.

B1G

Joey will be establishing a separate website for B1G tracking, but for now, you can follow him on Twitter.

Rex is up next today:

. . .ACC

More Here.

. . .SEC

. . .And now, here’s Dennis with the PAC-12:

PAC-12

More here.

Here is your link to the 2015-16 Duck Tracker.

. . .And finally, here is Kyle with the Big XII:

Big XII

. . .And that’s all for today — thanks Joey, Rex, Dennis and Kyle!

Joe Ringham’s 5 & 1

It’s a NEW NCAA Football Season, and this year we have a NEW 5 & 1 decider — Joe Ringham — who has some big shoes to fill (for Catherine Ryan, who did the 5 & 1 for the past three years, and Jim Vilk before that) but I’m sure he’ll do just fine.

We’re on to week 5 in the NCAA, and we’re starting to get into some interesting alternates and rivalry games, so the pickings (good and bad) are ripe.

Here’s Joe:

. . .Happy Sunday, everyone! We’ve now hit October, the month of excessive pink accessories on the football field. Luckily, this countdown is free of such accessories this week. So, without further delay…

5) Kansas State at Oklahoma State — I’ve been trying to get OK State onto here for the last few weeks. Finally did, with them going white/black/white against K-State’s classic silver/white/silver road look.

4) Arizona State at UCLA — I gotta admit, I wasn’t expecting to dig this match-up as much as I did. ASU’s grey/white/grey looked dazzling against the Bruin’s traditional gold/blue/gold, even with the tire treads.

3) North Dakota State at South Dakota State — Gotta throw in some FCS into the countdown. Always been a huge fan of the NDSU, and love the yellow/white/green they with with going against the mono-blue of the Jackrabbits. Such a great clash of colors for the Battle for the Dakota Marker.

2) Air Force at Navy — Quite the sharp look today by the AFA, going all white. Paired up against the Middies usual gold/navy/gold, and you have a spectacular looking game between two of our nation’s service academies.

1) New Mexico State at New Mexico — Absolutely LOVED the Lobos’ look for the Rio Grande Rivalry. The anthracite/anthracite/cherry looked superb, especially with the Zia symbol on the helmets. Matched up very well with the Aggies crimson/white/white, also sporting the Zia symbol on the helmets.

And, finally…

+1) Ole Miss vs Florida — OK, Gators. You hit your quota for wearing mono-orange a few weeks ago. Now you are just taking things too far by wearing them again.

Let’s do this again next week!

__________Thanks, Joe! Remember, the tip-line email (UW5and1@gmail.com) is back for any games you want Joe take a look at. Pictures of the game/games you want are very much suggested.

Paul’s Latest ESPN Pieces

In case you missed it on Friday, Paul had two fantastic pieces on ESPN: His annual NHL Uniform Preview and a new weekly feature called “Friday Flashback,” which is devoted to uniforms from the past that are no longer worn. Yesterday’s column looked at Baseball’s infamous “Turn Ahead The Clock” (TATC) uniforms from 1999.

The NHL Uni Preview is here.

The Flashback Friday column is here.

Enjoy!

Uni Watch News Ticker:

Baseball News: “I wanted to mention a bit of uniform sloppiness that I was reminded of while I was watching MLB Network’s show about memorable playoff games,” says Ferdinand Cesarano. “They showed clips from Game 2 of the AL Division Series that showed Mariano Rivera with a 4 in the wrong font next to a correct 2.”

NFL News: Oops. News12 New Jersey has mistakenly labeled prison-bound ex-NFLer Irving Fryar as a member of the New York Football Giants (good spot by Adam Treiber). … In a plug for the Vikings vs. Broncos (which would be a great color vs. color game, btw), the NFL used the old Vikings jersey with the new font (nice spot by Ben Braddock). … Is this Edmonton Eskimos player wearing Green Bay Packer gloves? (good spot by Joey Tkachuk).

College Football News: Here’s yet an additional update on the expected Black-For-Black-Sake Ohio State alternate uniform to be worn on October 17th vs. Penn State. Not only will there be a first-ever black jersey, they’ll have BFBS pants and helmet too. … “Hey, can they do this?” asks ThresherK. “I sort remember that Little League gets to use MLB names for the customary $1 (if that’s still in effect). Not knowing anything about youth football–no kids–I happened on this from a twice-removed Facebook share. Is this a common thing and is there some sort of licensing agreement, or will the Broncos’ lawyers contact the Other Broncos’ lawyers?” … Not sure of the year, but here’s a color vs. color game between Notre Dame and Navy (sent in by Jeff Flynn); while I’m all for CvC games, this one might be a little too close in colors to make it enjoyable. … Andre Torres asks, “Where’s the left shoe in this pic of Keith Byars vs Illinois from 1984?”

NBA/College/Basketball News: This website allows you to rank NBA uniforms from best to worst by using the ‘upvote/downvote’ feature. … Here’s a look at the uniforms for MSU Denver Ladies Hoops (from MSU Denver Athletics). … New uniforms for the University of Louisville.

Hockey News: In Paul’s NHL Preview, he noted the Canadiens having the league crest on the collar in French. Wayne Heidt notes this idea is borrowed from one of the city’s other teams: The Montreal Alouettes have been doing this since the CFL logo has been placed on the collar of its teams many years ago. The LCF shows up on their collar, instead of CFL like for the other teams. … Yesterday’s photo of “Cook Bacon” “reminded me of a tweet comedian Steve Byrne sent” writes Adam Fritzen. … “One of the best fonts ever is back. The Manitoba Moose peeps,” says Patrick Thomas.

Grab Bag: The scoreboard at The Oval cricket ground in London in 1938, showing the score after England had made a record Test Match innings total of 903 for 7 wickets declared against Australia (from Graham Clayton). … A local marine fleeting company uses the Green Bay Packers logo (from Richard Green). … Here’s some more Pinktober police cars, but it looks like these are used year-round. … Whoa — check out FC Bayern’s Oktoberfest themed uniforms (from Mauricio Gómez Montoya) Check that — apparently those are from 2013. Still cool though.

And that will do it for this fine Sunday. Big thanks, as always, to Terry, Joe, Joey, Rex, Dennis, and Kyle, and anyone who tweeted or e-mailed for the Ticker. Enjoy the pro games today (remember — It’s PINKTOBER) and the NFL loves that shit. I’ll be back next weekend, so until then…

Follow me on Twitter @PhilHecken.

Peace.

.. … ..“Texas looks great at home because of the orange, on the road they are the exact opposite. They look like a generic 80’s video game team. I’d love to see them break out a set of orange pants and maybe even an orange helmet.”

— Bromotrifluoromethane