Ben Tate won’t require surgery for injured knee
September 10, 2014Nine pitches, Four hits, One killer loss
September 10, 2014
So…anything happening in the sports world the last couple days?
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As one of the two WFNY uni-nerds (giving Kirk equal status now) I clicked on Zach Lowe’s ‘Definitive NBA Court Design Power Rankings‘ piece with extreme enthusiasm. It isn’t just uniforms that I love, but the culture of sports uniforms, logos and merchandise. This is one of those outside the norm kinds of pieces I love, and couldn’t wait to see it.
Then I was pretty disappointed. I wasn’t disappointed because the Cavaliers were dead last. It was more because 1. the explanation for why didn’t gel with comments for the designs close to Cleveland’s and 2. because of the completely unimaginative-ness (I may have just invented a word) of courts in the NBA. Seriously cookie-cutter. Logo at mid-court. Alternate logo on the wings. Colored paint or not. Advertising. Website name on the baseline. Twitter handle? Twitter handle. Done. Blech.
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The numbers behind the Tribe rotation’s amazing month. Punctuated by this fact- “Of late, however, this same cadre of relative misfits has been excellent, producing a collective total of 4.6 WAR in 161.2 innings since last month at this time — or, a slightly higher rate of WAR per inning than Felix Hernandez has produced in 2014.”
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This is a great video segment from ESPN on college walk-ons getting put on scholarship. Warning: my house always gets dusty towards the end of the video causing some wetness around the eyes. Hope yours doesn’t. http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=11474578
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Interesting story about the design of the season tickets for the Browns this year.
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Not liking this Star Spangled Banner themed uniform doesn’t make me un-American right?
New UMd Terrapins "Star Spangled Banner" unis feature words to…yup…the SSB -> http://t.co/EM2akkQnuH pic.twitter.com/UOHSmLX6Y8
— Phil Hecken (@PhilHecken) September 9, 2014
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One more uniform for today. UC will wear these this weekend. I’m just not a huge fan of all these alternate uniforms for a season that only lasts 12 games as it is.
#Bearcats uniform for Friday vs Toledo. All white everything. Chrome helmet decals. pic.twitter.com/koBxyT4cl7 (via @tdawgcincy @Tommy_G)
— Phil Hecken (@PhilHecken) September 8, 2014
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That’s it from me this week, sorry no game review. Just a reminder to schedule a game night with your family.
16 Comments
I agree, NBA Courts are largely bland. The league would do well to take inspiration from The Hornets, The Nets, and The Oregon Ducks. The focus of that last statement shouldn’t be the specific designs, but the creativity of each. Also, While the Cavs’ court isn’t exactly a work of art, it doesn’t even come close to the heinousness of the Rockets red-overload. I can’t even stand to play 2K games in Houston.
I hate every uniform that Maryland rolls out – except this one. I really like it. It’s the anniversary of the battle and the writing of the poem (now song). The color scheme is indicative of it (I believe the Fort McHenry flag was the only U. S. flag to ever have the blue filed resting on a red stripe, thus the blue and red stripes). Having the poem actually written on the helmet and shoulders, in Key’s handwriting, is pretty cool. They play the Star-Spangled Banner before every game; why not have it on a uniform just once? I like it.
1. Those are some nice Browns tickets. Good job. On the other hand, is the University of Oregon cutting-edge brilliant or tediously self-indulgent? Methinks the latter. Burger-scented tickets? No thanks.
2. Nice to see that the University of Maryland will be infecting the B1G with its hideous garb. Wouldn’t want the East Coast to have that all to itself.
3. The Bearcats’ Penn State look isn’t too bad.
Ooooh, more power rankings!
Cleveland #1 in Pierogi Power ranking!… #1 in Polka Power ranking!
Pittsburgh has a black and gold pierogi now…they’re trying to rub salt in the wound!
I agree none of the courts really blew me away other then Charlotte. I always loved the Hornets brand and I am happy to see the Bobcats ditched in favor of it.
If anything those rankings seem based more on franchise success since Boston and LA were I believe #2 and #1. I like the Celtics but the old floor was better.
I hate “Power Rankings”.
http://thatsitecray.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/thatsitecray-Will-Ferrell-Your-Not-First-Your-Last.gif
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFnFr-DOPf8
Agreed that most NBA courts are bland, but I kind of like that. I like fields and courts being pretty standard-looking, and I think that the small differences between logos and colors are a nice switch without being too distracting.
I also found the rankings pretty terrible. Most courts do look basically the same, and what he liked I generally hated (the weird flooring) while what he disliked I liked. I also noticed that the teams with circle logos tended to look great at center court (duh).
I’ll never understand the need for alternate uniforms at all, and even ones I like I find annoying to have. Why should my team wear a dozen jerseys in a season? The Indians and D-Backs switched uniforms between games of a doubleheader I was at – how absurd is that? Obviously they sell well, but do they need to wear them for people to buy them? I love that in the playoffs teams have to use their regular uniforms. I wish they’d do that all year.
To answer your (probably rhetorical) question Ezzie; yes, they do need to wear them for them to sell. Once John Q. Public sees those jerseys on the field/court/pitch it’s like printing your own money…
Run the 3D projectors during the game. #blandcourtproblemsolved
http://www.ufunk.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/basketball-court-3D-mapping-Projection-6.jpg
Don’t tell me about suffering.
I’m a Cleveland fan, ya little green buttnugget.
I have to say, I know the Maryland State Flag uniform is loud and obnoxious, but I absolutely love it. It’s so unique and pays tribute to their state. The Maryland state flag is definitely the most interesting-looking state flag among the 50, IMO.
I’m obviously a homer, but I think that Ohio’s flag is the most unique and interesting. C’mon! It’s a pennant! Maryland’s is interesting, and is packed with history; my problem is that everything in Maryland, and particularly the sports teams, employ the flag everywhere on everything, ad nauseam. It has gotten old. But it might just be my proximity to the state and my annoyance with it that clouds my judgment.
Rick, I promise I’m not trolling when I ask this, but what do you think of Virginia Tech’s uniform w/ the Hokie-stone helmet? I love it because 80-90% of the buildings on campus are made out of that stone and the Hokies all tap a piece of the stone hung over their heads as they enter Lane Stadium, but I don’t have a good idea of what folks who aren’t VT alumni think about it… eyesore?
This is a fair point, and the fact that the Ravens have adopted it into their midfield logo isn’t helping anything.
http://www.csnbaltimore.com/sites/csnbaltimore/files/styles/gallery_slide/public/ravens_midfield.jpg?itok=-WayOPtN