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Uni Watch

Korean TV Blends Election Results with Sports Uniforms

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Who are these two speed skaters, and why is the one on the left wearing glasses?

Those are animations of the top two candidates yesterday’s Korean presidential election — Lee Jae-myung (in blue) and Yoon Suk-yeol (the eventual winner, in red) — and it’s one of several sports-related animations that Korean TV stations used to report the election results. You can see the full speed skating video sequence in the first video embedded below, and then below that there’s another one showing the two candidates competing in a full range of winter sports:

Those video clips come from a remarkable thread showing the various ways that the election results were presented on Korean TV. If your idea of Election Night entertainment is John King or Steve Kornacki doing their thing at an interactive video board, you’ll have to recalibrate your standards after watching this stuff. Most of it isn’t sports-related, and I have mixed feelings about reducing public policy to a series of games and cartoons, but it’s still compelling — highly recommended. Check it out here.

(Mega-thanks to Chris Edwards for letting me know about this.)

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ITEM! New Bulletin column: This week’s column on Bulletin is the latest installment of “Ask Me Anything,” where readers send me questions and I do my best to answer them.

My premium subscribers can read the article here. If you haven’t yet subscribed, you can do that here (you’ll need a Facebook account in order to pay). If you want more info on what you’ll get for your money, you can find that here. And if the Facebook requirement is a dealbreaker, email me and I’ll keep you in the loop about developments regarding non-Facebook payment options and possible workarounds. Thanks!

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Unusual penalty: Longtime New Hampshire sports maven Tris Wykes checks in with the following report from last night’s New Hampshire boys’ hockey Division III semifinals between co-op teams Lebanon-Stevens-Mount Royal and Berlin-Gorham:

LSMR goaltender Toby Cromwell and teammate Luke Greene (No. 11), along with an opposing player, all dropped their sticks during a goalmouth scramble. Cromwell’s goalie stick was out of range, so he reached down to grasp Greene’s stick, but unknowingly grabbed both Greene’s and the opposing player’s.

At the next whistle, Cromwell was issued a minor unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. LSMR coach Jim protested and said that he’d never heard of such a ruling before. “But the referees were very adamant and clear,” he added.

Faaascinating. Also of note: Cromwell, the goalie, appears to have knee pads under his leg pads. I realize goalies routinely wear knee pads, but aren’t they usually under the socks?

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Recovered memories: Like a lot of people, I recently watched the Bill Cosby documentary, We Need to Talk About Cosby (it’s pretty good). It reminded me of two things from my childhood that I’d completely forgotten about:

1. When I was growing up, I assumed there must be some sort of connection between Bill Cosby and Bing Crosby (this was in the early ’70s, when Der Bingle was still alive). Two famous entertainers with such similar names — it couldn’t be just a random coincidence, right? Maybe they were related? Maybe one of their names was a take-off or commentary on the other’s? Maybe one name was the “Black version” and the other was the “White version”? Maybe each generation was assigned an entertainer whose name sounded like that? It seemed like it must be some sort of sophisticated grown-up thing that nobody had yet explained to me.

2. The Wizard of Oz has that song “We’re Off to See the Wizard,” which has that line, “Because, because, because, because, becaaaauuussse…” When I first heard that, and for several years afterward, I thought they were singing, “Bill Cosby, Cosby, Cosby, Cosby, Cozzzzz…” Somehow it just made sense to me that they’d be singing about this famous person.

Yes, I was a weird kid.

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The Ticker
By Paul

Indigenous Appropriation News: Yuma (Colo.) High School has decided to go without a team name or mascot once it is required by state law to retire “Indians” later this year (from Kary Klismet).

Ukraine News: Tennis pro Ajla Tomljanovic wore a ribbon with Ukrainian flag colors at Indian Wells yesterday (thanks, Brinke). … The NHL’s Edmonton Oilers wore Ukraine flag helmet decals last night (from John Muir). … German F1 driver Sebastian Vettel has a new pro-Ukraine and pro-peace helmet (from David Raglin). … Speaking of F1, the Haas livery no longer has a Russian flag motif (thanks, Anthony).

Baseball News: New logo for the French team the Rouen Huskies. “The bridge in the background is the Pont de Normandie, which is the second largest suspension bridge in the world,” explains Jonathan Daniel. … New matte batting helmets for the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons (from Edward Snyder). … The Mint Museum in Charlotte, N.C., has acquired a painting of a man in a tequila sunrise Astros jersey (from @CMC_IM). … The American Association’s Amarillo Sox once had a costumed mascot that looked, um, a bit inappropriate (blame Kary Klismet). … Also from Kary: Padres P Yu Darvish may have leaked the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters’ new jersey. … One more from Kary: The new collegiate wood bat Prospect League team in Jackson, Tenn., is holding a team-naming contest. … With the MLB labor impasse now resulting in another week of the season being cancelled, I’ll say — as I’ve been saying all along — that the only potential silver lining to this situation is that the ongoing bad blood between the two sides might possibly result in uniform ads falling out of the eventual labor agreement. … Also: The latest round of spring training cancellations means there will be no green uniforms for St. Paddy’s Day this year. And with the regular season now cancelled through April 14, any further delays will mean no Jackie Day, at least not on its usual April 15 date. On the other hand, if they reach an agreement in the next few days, Jackie Day could end up being Opening Day, which I’m sure they’d milk for all it’s worth. … New road caps for the Northwoods League’s Fond du Lac Dock Spiders (from @MJJoe). … It’s not often that you see a photo showing three players wearing three different sanitary sock colors, but that’s the case in this old All-Star Game shot of Mel Stottlemyre, Luis Aparicio, and Catfish Hunter (from our own Jerry Wolper). … With the Northwoods League’s Green Bay team changing its name from Booyah to Rockers, they now have new uniforms and a new costumed mascot (from Brian Kerhin).

NFL News: Here’s something I didn’t remember: Washington apparently had their midfield helmet logo facing to the left in 1982 (from Timmy the Cop).
 
 

Hockey News: Because everything has to be branded these days, Caps LW Alex Ovechkin’s pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record will be called the Gr8 Chase, a reference to Ovechkin’s uni number (from Brandon Weir).

NBA News: Former NBAer Carlos Boozer is now managing a Popeyes restaurant in Conway, S.C., which has a photo in the window showing him in a Popeyes jersey (from Steve Flack). … Here’s why the Lakers don’t have an official costumed mascot (from Kary Klismet). … Always fun to see Marques Johnson’s old double-decker FNOB (from @bctrackboi11).

College Hoops News: There’s a fun March Madness infographic on this page. … We don’t have full visual documentation of this, but Damon Hirschensohn says Nevada men’s F Tré Coleman started yesterday’s game wearing his usual No. 14, then switched to a No. 45 blood jersey, and then switched again to a No. 51 blood jersey. … Name placards at a press conference for the Big 10 men’s tourney had Northwestern’s logo oriented backwards for at least two players (from Patrick Andres).

Soccer News: The MASL’s San Diego Sockers celebrated the 40th anniversary of their first championship with throwback kits and a commemorative logo. … AS Roma has a new Derby della Capitale kit, which they’ll wear for their March 20 derby match against Lazio at Stadio Olimpico. … New kits for New Mexico United of the USL Championship (from @TyOrtega). … The rest of these are from Kary Klismet: Swiss Super League side Zürich is replacing its home kit with a new design for the rest of the season because the old design is no longer available. … New kits for the USL Championship’s Tampa Bay Rowdies and Birmingham Legion FC. … New uniforms for Norwegian side Molde FK. … Here are the first kits for the USL W League’s Eagle FC, based in Mechanicsburg, Pa. (thanks, Jamie). … New home and away kits for North Carolina FC of USL League One (from @illegalcurve11). … Also from @illegalcurve11: Pro tennis star Naomi Osaka, who has an ownership stake in the NWSL’s North Carolina Courage, wore a Courage shirt on the court at the Indian Wells tennis tourney yesterday. … The Portland Timbers and Austin FC are jumping the gun on St. Paddy’s Day by going dark green vs. light green this Saturday (from Jonah Henderson).

Grab Bag: The Hass F1 team, having previously cut ties with its Russian advertiser, is now wearing a cover-up logo (from Sean DeTolve). … Augusta University in Georgia now has an official tartan. Here’s a close-up (from Kary Klismet). … Cross-listed from the soccer section: Pro tennis star Naomi Osaka, who has an ownership stake in the NWSL’s North Carolina Courage, wore a Courage shirt on the court at the Indian Wells tennis tourney yesterday (from @illegalcurve11). … Here are the latest Japanese sumo wrestler rankings, along with each wrestler’s attire (thanks to all who shared). … Polish men’s volleyball club Cerrad Enea Czarni Radom has commemorated their 100th anniversary by adding silver laurels and changing their logo to silver (from Jeremy Brahm).

 
  
 
Comments (42)

    The French logo is for the European Cup tournament being played in Rouen. The Huskies are the host team. And I thought the same thing about the song from “The Wizard of Oz” and I am a certified Former Weird Kid.

    It’s not the Pont de Normandie, it’s the Pont Gustave-Flaubert, a lift bridge in Rouen.

    That picture of Catfish Hunter at the 1970 All Star Game has convinced me that the A’s need to go back to that classic look pronto.

    Goalie knee pads are actually designed to protect the knees and lower thighs. When you drop down, the tops of your knees and lower thighs can be exposed. The pads cover that. And like me, most goalies don’t wear team socks under their pads.

    Some goalies also tie their knee pads to the front of their breezers, so socks wouldn’t work well that way.

    Agreed. One could write an entire daily post about goalie’s knee protection alone and how it’s changed over the years. The knee pads shown can be worn under the socks (or my personal preference, sweat pants) or over them. I use a pair of knee pads that are laced to the pad, so putting them under the socks/leggings/pants is not possible.

    The only rule on them is that they must not be a “contrivance” with the ability to block shots, and must follow the contour of the leg. This was the NHL’s reaction to knee “boards”, a flat piece of plastic and foam the same width as the pad, just above the knee. Originally designed for knee protection, many guys found out that they provided more blocking surface for stopping pucks. Ergo, they had to go.

    I don’t think it’s fair to describe the MLB situation as a “labor impasse.” The workers have already agreed not to strike and to train and play without a new contract. The owners have shut down their facilities, locked out players, and are now cancelling games unilaterally as a negotiating tactic. That’s not a “labor impasse,” that’s a boss-imposed shutdown. I think it would be more fair to say, “With the MLB lockout now resulting in …” or, “With MLB owners now cancelling another week of games …” It’s a minor point, but one where I think precision is important.

    I think that is semantics. It is a labor issue. The workers and the management cannot come to terms on the details of the new contract. I am not legal expert, but surely in a billion dollar industry, there are plenty of legit and important reasons to not hold the games until a new contract is in place. I am not taking sides nor vilifying the players. I don’t know enough about who is asking for what nor what actual revenues are to say which side is correct.
    But it is a labor issue, as much as the shortage of workers in countless industries right now is a labor issue.

    No “labor impasse” has ever resulted in a work stoppage. The default situation is that workers keep working and employers keep paying them under the terms of the old contract until a new contract is agreed. For work to stop, one side has to choose to stop work. Workers can stop work by striking; owners can stop work by shutting down the workplace. In this instance, players committed in advance not to strike. Players promised to keep playing under the old contract while negotiations on a new contract continued. So why isn’t spring training happening, and why are regular season games cancelled? Because owners chose to lock out the players, which results in delayed spring training and cancelled games. In order for work to stop, one party must choose to stop work, and in this case the owners chose to stop work.

    Also, “impasse” is a legal term of art in labor law. An employer can declare an impasse, and then it has the right to impose the last offer it presented to the union. However, the union can dispute the declaration of an impasse, in which case the federal government’s National Labor Relations Board is empowered to step in and force the employer back to the bargaining table. MLB has not yet declared an impasse in the current negotiations. As long as both parties are still making offers and counter-offers, as MLB and the players have been doing daily for weeks now, their negotiations are not at an impasse, either under the dictionary definition of the word or under the legal definition.

    It’s not semantics. Union contracts often expire without lockouts happening. Unions can agree to work under the previous contract while negotiations continue. If the owner/corporation decides to chain the gates, that’s a lockout.

    This is not a both sides are equally culpable situation and the verbiage should reinforce that during this time.

    I would just say given the money involved and the nature of sports business, it might be prudent from a legal perspective for the owners to have a lockout if a new contract isn’t agreed on. The owners may be exposed to certain liabilities.
    I’d defer to a someone with experience in sports contracts on whether this is something that should not be described as a labor issue.
    It is easy to for all of us to jump on owners for being greedy. I certainly do that often, but I seriously doubt the decision to cancel games was made solely from “screw the players” standpoint, but rather from counsel advising them this was the best course of action.

    It’s not ‘semantics’ here. Of course the employees aren’t going to work without a contract (and the liability protection it offers if they get injured), but this is MLB; you’ve got a group of thirty owners that are making money hand over fist (Manfred is a lying POS) trying to figure out how to reduce their player payrolls even further. Remember back in 2019 BC (Before Covid), when all the talk was about how three- and even four-star free agents couldn’t get arrested at a ballpark, much less offered a contract?

    In the meantime, MLB has taken over Minor League (organized) ball, pared its rosters down by a third, and brought them into spring training as usual. I will not be surprised to see Manfred threaten to start the season with minor league players as replacements, if this drags on too much longer. If ESPN, TBS, and the RSDs start making noise about not honoring their contracts, you just KNOW he’ll do it.

    In the Wizard of Oz, I thought the guards were singing “Oreo’s for Oprah” Take a listen, you will never not hear it.

    I have seen “playing with too many sticks” called in the NHL before when a player is bringing a new stick from the bench to a teammate and inadvertently plays the puck with his stick.

    Definitely a crazy hockey penalty though and it looks funny in the box score!

    According to Chris Creamer’s site, The primary logo for Washington in 1982 did indeed face left. It’s also the only year the feather curved under the logo. link

    I can also recall the Falcons would use the left side of their logo and/or helmet at midfield at Atlanta/Fulton County Stadium in the 60s, 70s and 80s. Likewise the St. Louis Cardinals would occasionally feature the left side of the helmet displayed at midfield back in the 80s.

    In the spirit of Jonathan Swift’s Modest Proposal, here’s how we end the MLB Lockout.
    Instead of uniform ads, have sponsors support each team’s Luxury Tax.
    They can call it the “Snicker’s Luxury Tax,” or “The Salary Cap, brought to you by New Era.” Problem solved.

    The hockey story reminds me of a play I saw in the early days of the ECHL. I was at a Chiefs game in Johnstown and they were down late in the game and the coach opted to pull the goalie. The goalie left his stick in the crease. When the opposing team shot down at the empty net the stick blocked the puck from going in. The refs awarded a goal though.

    Roger Neilson did the same thing in the NHL when he was coaching the Leafs. The league passed rule 67.5 to specifically prohibit it

    link

    Neilson was the master of loopholes. He also had the idea of pulling the goalie for penalty shots and replacing him with a defenceman (who would just come out and check the shooter). Until the NHL prohibited that too.

    The goalie having two sticks while participating in the play should have received a minor penalty for an equipment violation, not an unsportsman like conduct. Weird call.

    I assume he got the unsportsmanlike because he grabbed an opponents stick, not his own teammates.

    I remember thinking the same thing about Bill Cosby and Bing Crosby. I tuned into something on TV that I thought Bill Cosby was hosting and it was Bing Crosby and I was like “this guy isn’t funny at all”. And when Bing Crosby died while golfing I remember watching it on the news thinking “who the heck is that guy”?

    I was a suburban, white teenager in the 1970’s who had difficulty wrapping his head around “Gene Simmons” and “Jean Simmons”. Not that I didn’t know they were two people, but I assumed entertainers were not allowed to be homophones.

    Haas is supposedly a US F1 Team and had been black/red livery for the past few years. Wondered why they would use Russian coloring/sponsorship.

    Will be interesting to see sponsorship/colors that Andretti brings to F1 in 2024.

    I don’t follow F1, but I can think of several millions of doll..err, reasons why Haas would accept that company as its’ title sponsor ;)
    And it may be that, like in NASCAR, the primary advertiser get to dictate the look of the car (and sometimes who is behind the wheel)?
    Maybe Team Andretti will run something in the black and gold family similar to what Mario drove for his F1 championship.

    Interesting to see your Ukraine support on your twitter UniWatch account (I no longer use twitter, only look at links posted here) having the logo in blue/yellow.

    Yes, I made that change 9 or 10 days ago. I also use holiday-colored versions of the Uni Watch logo on various holidays. The UW logo is very adaptable!

    (Credit where it’s due: Brinke Guthrie created the Ukraine-colored version, as well as all the holiday versions.)

    Hi Paul! Nippon-Ham Fighters’ new uniforms were all previously shown in late January during their rebrand reveal event. The unis and new logos got a mixed reception from fans with Darvish, former Fighters star, being one of the most prominent voices in favor of the new look.

    To pick a very small nit, the Ticker item on Northwestern says that two players had reversed logos, but Chris Collins isn’t a player. He’s the head coach. Go Cats!

    If the baseball labor impasse does cause the cancellation of the scheduled Jackie Robinson Day, I think it would be a good idea for all players to wear 42 in every game this season (if there is one).

    It was more impactful when each team picked one guy to wear #42. I can put up with all the guys wearing the same number one time per year but would be frustrated with it every day. I assume you are not serious with your comment. Different numbers exist to differentiate players…

    What I find interesting in the photo of Mel Stottlemyre, Luis Aparicio, and Catfish Hunter is there’s essentially three shades of road gray in their uniforms. Aparicio’s White Sox road uniform is in the default gray that almost all teams used in 1970. It’s very lightly blue, the same color fabric seen throughout the final flannel years. Stottlemyre’s Yankee uniform seems to be void of blue threads – I suspect the Yankees held out with plain gray flannel. Then there’s Hunter in the Athletics “sea-foam” green-tinted gray flannel.

    The only AL team in 1970 with “powder blue” road uniforms were the Brewers. We can see the legs of two players behind them, and those seem to match the color of Aparicio’s uniform, though they’re obviously not White Sox, A’s or Brewers players.

    In searching for a higher res copy of the photo, I found an ebay listing where each of them signed the pic. Then below, I spotted a photo of Catfish Hunter in a link Strange, because he signed with the A’s in June 1964 when they were already in green and gold. Catfish never played in the minors, so it looks like a spring training oddity.

    Boy, these past ten years have been rough for MLB aesthetics.

    We went from maker mark free caps in 2016 to maker marks, Jersey ads and patches by 2022.

    Disgusting.

    I always thought they were singing “Bill Cos Bill Cos Bill Cosby” in the Wizard of Oz, too.

    LSMR’s hockey jersey is still a better football jersey than what the Washington Commanders came up with.

    Re: San Diego Sockers. Their mascot looks suspiciously like Boltman’s cousin!

    The Redskins helmet was facing to the left because 1982 was the one year their Redskin logo faced left

    link

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