Sunday Morning Uni Watch

By Phil Hecken and the SMUW Crew
Follow @PhilHecken

I don’t think I’m losing my mind…but I could be. The uniform you see above, the Anthracite for Anthracite’s sake, the non-school color red numbers, the purple TV numbers (not matching the uni numbers), the two-tone facemask — all things I normally HATE in a uniform. But, for some strange reason, I absolutely LOVED these.

It’s one of those things I can’t explain. I mean, this does look like a muddled mess (I even thought so while I was watching the game), and you really can’t read the numbers or NOB, but I liked…I mean really liked this look. And not even in a so bad it’s good way.

I know Hallowe’en is just around the corner, and this was just a crazy costume. But when you saw it up close, it somehow worked.

I’m not sure if there’s a name for what makes me want to love a uni like this, but maybe I should see a doctor and get it checked out. Because I should hate these with every fiber of my being…and yet, I’m in love.

I better stop now. Here’s TJ with the rest of your…

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Sunday Morning Uni Watch
By Terry Duroncelet, Jr.

It was a wet one yesterday. Like, really wet. Hell, my town got drenched in it on Friday (the drive to work was basically through a breathable ocean, but without the salt). That’s my best attempt at an intro.

From Thursday:

• The Dallas Co– er, *ahem* the SMU Mustangs wore their Dallas tribute unis again, and I still maintain that as far as “tribute” uniforms go, this is one of the best that I’ve ever seen. Meanwhile, Houston apparently didn’t learn a thing from the LAST TIME WE HAD THIS TALK, and I feel further convincing from me would be akin to Professor Frink trying to revive his dad in that one Treehouse of Horror special. It might work… but at the cost of a few organs and brains, so it’s best to leave them be. That said, if I may make a suggestion, Cougars? The next time you wear BFBS, be sure to wear cleat-inclusive versions of these, since you’re mostly there already.

From Friday:

• Colorado’s “original logo” helmets were really nice to see, and I certainly would not be mad in the slightest if this logo started appearing a bit more often, especially if they started wearing a black version on the gold helmets, since the inverse was kind of hard to see unless you were right on top of it.

From Saturday:

• Minnesota, why don’t you leave the grey-and-gold (or silver, depending on who you speak to) to a school that actually has those school colors, like Idaho? Or Colorado (yes, that’s pewter grey, not silver, but shhh)? Or occasionally Army West Point? Speaking of which…

• This matchup has me a bit torn. I mean, neither of the uniforms are BAD, no. It’s just… given Army West Point’s name of the Black Knights, I feel like I would’ve been head-over-heels with this look (also note the star over Senior DB Elijah Riley’s nametag. Here’s what the star looks like on the road) if they wore black helmets. Here, they look more like a significantly-upgraded version of the New Orleans Saints (I say, as a Saints fan). As for San José State, I feel like as the years go on, the Spartans seem to be incorporating less gold into their unis. I mean, the State colors of California are blue and gold, for crying out loud! Where’s the love?! Right here, in the helmet logo (and spear stripe, and Doctor Who Mountain West patch, and pants logo). That’s all you get. Overall, not an ugly matchup by any means, but I just can’t help but to see the hidden potential here being a little wasted.

• Purdue looked like a slightly-downgraded version of Army on Saturday (but somehow still slightly better than the Saints? IDK man, I just want N.O. to start wearing the gold pants again please, I S U F F E R ). Despite the gold-chrome helmets spoiling the party some, this game between the Purdue and Illinois wasn’t too bad on the eyes.

• I Kent read it (totally didn’t steal that line from Phil, what’re you talking about?). Kent State, never do this again (at least the contrast between them and Miami [OH] was good).

• *Spongebob voice* UTE PROUD! … at NIGHT.

• White M decals for Mizzou.

• Beautiful matchup between Pitt and Miami on Saturday.

• Ditto for Florida State and Syracuse. Speaking of which, the Seminoles wore these Tribal Council decals on the back of their helmets in that same game. Also: 150 Years of The Third Impact (h/t Jakob Fox).

• Also from Jakob: whatever party that’s being thrown for officiating uniforms, Under Armour ain’t invited.

• At this point, a Texas A&M Bulldogs vs Mississippi State Aggies joke would be old hat… but I’ve already typed it, so let’s just roll with it.

• Good uniforms; not-so-good timing. From Gabe Cornwall: “For a school that loves to look down its nose at Duke, I would think not looking like Duke would be a good start. The University of North Carolina is wearing navy … lids, jerseys, pants, etc. Granted … Duke used to be a dark shade of blue – basically navy – until Duke and Uncle Phil got together and incorporated black uniforms into the men’s basketball uniforms. Then the blue became more of a royal blue. But this is still an embarrassing look for UNC. Why, of all games, do you unveil navy uniforms against a school known for a darker shade of blue in a state where the shade of blue is judged as it is (except for NCSU, which wears red)?” Also, here’s a look at the top of the new navy helmets.

• Blackshirts alternate uniforms for Nebraska.

• Impossible to see here, but Tulsa wore these decals on their helmets for Homecoming against Memphis, who wore their bleached pork chop uniforms in that same game (h/t RJ).

• From Jeff Perliman: “As you can see on the very first kickoff of the game between Penn State and Michigan State, the PSU return man (#1) had a different rear bumper, while the blocker (#11) had the correct one.”

Florida international wore helmets without ‘FIU’ on them for the first time ever yesterday against Middle Tennessee. Upon laying eyes on said lid, Bradley Thompson had a Big Brain moment, and noticed that the FIU and Pitt panther heads look very similar to the used by the Petal Panthers. Brothers from other mothers design programs, separated at birth?

• They say a picture’s worth 1,000 words. Also, several people noted how Michigan’s Nico Collins was dealing with a dangling jersey number (all the more reason why tackle twill is superior to screenprint) after catching a touchdown against Notre Dame.

And that shall do it for Week 9, as well as October’s slate of games. It’s unfortunately almost time to put away our dancy bois for another year, and once again throw ourselves into the realm of seasonal consumerism, like clockwork, Yea. Oh, and GI Joevember’s a thing, too. Can’t forget that. At any rate, big thanks to everyone who contributed this week. of course, you know where to go for all of your helmet wants and needs that I undoubtedly missed, and I’ll see you next week!

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Thanks, TJ! OK, now for the rest of the SMUW…

Memal’s 5 & 1

Following in the footsteps of the original “5 & 1,” Jim Vilk, Catherine Ryan after him, and finally Joe Ringham, for 2019 we have a new “5 & 1” (five good looking and one stinker) uni-vs-uni matchups — Michael “Memal” Malinowski. Like Joe, Catherine & Jim, Memal will pick HIS 5 best looking/1 awful matchup, and occasionally have some honorable mentions (both good and bad). You may agree and you may disagree — these are, after all, just opinions and everyone has one. Feel free to let him know what you think in the comments section.

Here’s Memal

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It seemed like this was the first weekend where several games had to deal with bad weather. There’s something about football played in bad weather that takes the attractiveness of any contest to another level. Normally average looking uniforms suddenly look like a 10 when soaked through and caked in mud. However, the preponderance of artificial surfaces in today’s game limits the amount of games that can end with both teams looking like they wrestled in a mud bath, but I’ll take it where I can and am happy to feature one in the Top 5 this week. Onto the games!

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Honorable mention: Miami @ Pitt

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5. Texas Tech @ Kansas

The Jayhawks and the Red Raiders stuck to their standard home and away unis making for a simple and classic looking match up that I enjoyed searching for photos of.

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4. Appalachian State @ Alabama Southern

Simply a nice matchup between two teams with contrasting colors and uniform details. I really liked the Jaguars stylized numbers against the block and outlined numbers on the jerseys of the Mountaineers.

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3. Illinois @ Purdue

This was one of those games I referenced in the lead. The Fighting Illini wore orange/white/orange and while I’m not certain it’s their best look, today in that cold Indiana rain the orange really popped and that set looked fantastic. Purdue looked fine, but, once again, in the rain their gold/black/black combo complimented what Illinois wore and put this game in the top 3..

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2. Arizona State @ UCLA

The Sun Devils went full storm trooper, and while I prefer them in yellow pants, the maroon accents really popped against UCLA’s traditional home gold/true blue/gold. I really liked ASU’s Arizona flag sleeve pattern too, just a great way to use implement that idea.

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1. UCF @ Temple

Under the lights in Philadelphia the Golden Knights and the Owls played the best looking game of the day. The gold on UCF’s unis was a darker shade than we’re used to, but it looked very sharp on their black helmets and pants. Temple went cherry/cherry/white and their unique stripe patterns stood out nicely against their opponent’s combination.

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And because someone has to be the sacrificial lamb…

&1 Maryland @ Minnesota

I like how Maryland uses the bold and unique patterns of their state flag for their helmet, but the effort falls flat when it’s paired with plain black pants. Just like Maryland, I like the gold chrome lids for Minnesota, but sitting on top of a lackluster set of grays the Gophers have no business wearing all the good the helmets bring is wasted.

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Thanks Memal! You can follow Memal on the Twitter and let him know what you think of his choices or make a 5 & 1 suggestion of your own!

NCAA Uni Tracking

Uni Watch will again track the uniform combinations worn by the “Power 5” conferences. All of the 2018 trackers are back!

We’ve got Rex Henry (tracking the ACC), Dennis Bolt (tracking the PAC-12), Kyle Acker (tracking the Big XII), and Ethan Dimitroff (tracking the B1G AND the SEC). Rex, Dennis, and Kyle and are all returning from 2015, and Ethan is back after joining the NCAA Uni Tracking a couple seasons ago. Ethan continues his dual role of tracking both the B1G and the SEC.

Here are the Uni Trackers for the Power 5 Conferences:

+ + + + + + + + + +

Rex is up first today (ACC):

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ACC

More Here.
Follow Rex on Twitter here.
And (new for 2019!) — check out Rex’ Weekly Update.

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

PAC-12

More here.
Follow Dennis on Twitter here.

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And here is Ethan, with the SEC:

SEC

And be sure to check out Ethan’s WVU Mountaineer Tracker.
Follow Ethan on Twitter here.

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And here is Kyle with the Big XII:

Big XII

Follow Kyle on Twitter here.

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And here’s Ethan with the B1G:

B1G

Welcome to the 2019 Oregon Ducks Uni Tracker. This little project was originally begun way back in 2008-09 by Michael Princip, who retired after several seasons, whereupon the project was continued by Tim E. O’Brien. He, too, retired from the tracking, but the project has been ably kept up by the man who also tracks the Pac12, Dennis Bolt.

Here’s this week’s Uniform Combo for the Ducks (you can click to enlarge):

You can read about this uniform, and MUCH MORE, by checking out the Duck Tracker here!

Thanks Dennis!

Uni Watch News Ticker
By Phil

Baseball News: Everyone loves the new Uni Watch “Press Pin” (and rightfully so), but Bruce Menard reminds us that World Series press pins are pretty good too! … One Nationals fan was creative with his Harper jersey but used the wrong spelling of pi (from Jakob Fox). … The Nats’ Victor Robles had two different color cleats last night, according to bryanwdc. (Full confession — I didn’t see one pitch, so I don’t know if they shoes were actually two different colors or if they were each half/half.)

NFL News: So you always wanted to see what a Toronto Raptors football helmet looked like? Yeah, me neither, but here we are (also posted in NBA/Hoops). From Tom O’Grady. … Tom Brady, he of #12 fame on the Patriots, offered his number to newly acquired Mohamed Sanu. Sanu was all like, “Nah, I’m Good!”

College Football News: Here’s some interesting comments from Nebraska AD Bill Moos who was the AD at Oregon when they first wore the highlighter uniforms talking about the difference between teams that have iconic looks and those that don’t. Submitter Greg Mays notes, “With a great Eiffel Tower quote reportedly from Phil Knight.” … Seems as though ESPN’s list of the best college football uniforms is getting trashed. … This is neat => Check out the 100 Years of Football pin received by James Brooks at the Oklahoma/UCLA game honoring 100 years of UCLA football. … The great Blaise D’Sylva continues cranking out the NCAA helmet history, yesterday featuring the WKU Hilltoppers.

Hockey News: On Friday, both the Jets and the Flames wore special Heritage Classic practice jerseys during their outdoor practices at Mosaic Stadium in Regina leading up to the game (from Wade Heidt). … The Vegas Golden Knights are wearing warm up(?) jerseys that “cut from the cloth of a flag that bears the name ‘Battle Born,” (from Maximiliano) … More from Wade Heidt: This new mask for Demko a beauty tying in with the club’s 50th anniversary. A salute to the Canucks in the Ring of Honour and Canucks with retired numbers. … Still more from Wade: “It was Diwali Night Celebration at Rogers Arena on Friday Night. Bhangra star Jazzy B performed for the crowd. Loved his attire during the performance. Rocking throwback colours and the Skate logo on his kurta and lung.” … And then we have lots of Pink in the Rink (from, surprise, Wade Heidt): From the BCHL: Nanaimo Clippers, Wenatchee Wild; Wade notes the Wenatchee also paints the ice pink. Inviting people to paint the names of anyone who has been affected by cancer; also goint pink 3L de Riviere-du-Loup of the Ligue Nord-Americaine de Hockey. … Ex-NHLers hit the ice to help out Easter Seals (from John Muir): “The slide show at the top shows some of the old timers, in era appropriate uniforms with captaincy designations. The jarring image is New York Islanders HOF goalie Billy Smith wearing the new template jersey while skating as a forward.” [Billy still looks like he can play, BTW — PH] … Quad City Storm new game uniforms. They wore these for the first time on October 25, 2019 (via Paul). … Last evening, Don Cherry with a Saskatchewan Roughriders suit and Ron MacLean with a Roughriders scarf alongside First Nations National Chief Perry Bellegarde on Coach’s Corner (from James Beattie). … I didn’t see any of the Heritage Classic, but here’s some video from the event. I kinda wish I had. Both teams, of course, had special uniforms for the occasion.

NBA/Basketball News: So you always wanted to see what a Toronto Raptors football helmet looked like? Yeah, me neither, but here we are (also posted in NFL). From Tom O’Grady. … Uniform for the new team @DallasSkylineBC (Dallas Skyline is a professional basketball club member of The Basketball League). From CaliGloin’. … Not surprisingly, Utah Jazz fans love the new old Purple Mountain Majesty jerseys, in which the team had its greatest success.

Soccer News: Bournemouth debuted their white change shorts and socks at Watford yesterday; submitter Josh Hinton notes it was the first time recent memory that they’ve paired their black and red striped shirt with white shorts and socks. It was also was the first Premier League match where Bournemouth wore their home kit at Watford; In their previous #PL matches at Vicarage Road, Bournemouth have worn their away or third kit each time. For much more soccer news, be sure to follow Josh’s twitter feed.

Grab Bag: After Paul did his Uni Watch “ransom note” the other day, our pal Conrad Burry made one of his own, and he even found time to make one for me. This of course has set off a whole new ransom note trend on the Twitter. Thanks Paul! If any of you make your own, post it in the comments below!

And that’ll do it for this week. You may have noticed there was no MLB Playoff Tracking from Alex today — he wasn’t able to complete it, but we’ll have the full World Series (and all the playoffs) tracked and locked next weekend.

Also, big huge thanks to Dennis Bolt for getting the PAC Tracking to me. Dennis lives in California and the wildfires (at least as of early yesterday) were a scant 10 miles from his home. Here’s hoping he and his family (and anyone affected by those wildfires) are safe. Dennis let me know PGE would be cutting his power early yesterday afternoon, so he was able to get both the Duck & PAC tracking in before that happened. Who says the SMUW Guys aren’t dedicated???

And finally, everyone who’s celebrating Hallowe’en this Thursday — be safe and enjoy! Catch you next Saturday!!!