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Dude, You’re Not in the Pros Quite Yet

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You know what’s kinda weird? A college team wearing an NFL captaincy patch. All of Tulsa’s captains were wearing them in yesterday’s game against East Carolina — pretty sure that’s an NCAA first. Looks like they didn’t color in any of the four stars, so why bother with the stars at all? Odd. I’ve been pleasantly surprised all along that these patches haven’t included the NFL logo, but I wonder if that will change now that a college team has poached them.

Other college football notes:

• From that same game, Tulsa had two No. 1s on the field for the game-ending Hail Mary play. You aren’t supposed to have two same-numbered players on the same side of the ball, but one of the Tulsa players, Trae Johnson, is normally a wide receiver, so I guess he was out there as part of the Hail Mary defense (not that it helped).

• Still more from that game: Tod Meisner notes that the message on Tulsa’s nose bumpers has changed from “TTH” (“Tougher than hell”) to “Heart.”

• Yet another note from that game: New striping for East Carolina’s white pants.

• My ESPN roundup noted the changes to Kansas’s helmet and jersey, but I didn’t know they’d also switched from black shoes to white.

• San Jose State has added NOBs and removed all the typography from its helmet design.

• I’d already reported on Syracuse’s new jersey design but didn’t realize they’d also changed from black shoes to white.

• Reader Warren Junium notes that the officials in the Purdue/Notre Dame game — who were from the Big Ten — were wearing Adidas-branded caps. Has that been going on for a while? (Warren also adds that the Notre Dame QBs wear red caps on the sideline.)

• Non-FBS change: Portland State’s new jersey has a subscript TNOB. Pretty sure I’ve never seen that format on a football team. (Well, there was that miserable Arizona design, but that’s different because the SNOB was part of a stripe.)

•  Non-FBS again: New design for Montana.

Enjoy your Laborious Day, and remember to avoid that Boise/Tech game at all costs.

Uni Watch News Ticker: New throwbacks on tap for the AHL’s Springfield Falcons (as submitted by Erik Gallant). ”¦ Interesting cross-sport memorial at UCLA, where the women’s volleyball team is wearing a John Wooden memorial mark, along with the new Pac-10 logo (with thanks to Erkki Corpuz). … New red line design for the Maple Leafs. ”¦ Reprinted from last night’s comments: Not exactly the best lettering job on Alejandro De Aza’s NOB. ”¦ Also from last night: Remember the UNLV player with the Nevada flag patch instead of an NOB? As I suspected, that’s an honor conferred by the coach. It’s not clear from the article if this honor will rotate each week, each season, or what. Update: It’s an annual award, so Ronnie Paulo will wear No. 36 and the flag patch all season long ”¦ Mizuno has been awarded the contract to make the Nippon Professional Baseball ball. “The new ball will be made in China, have 1 mm wider stitching and 0.2 mm shorter stitching,” says Jeremy Brahm, although I don’t fully understand what that means. Longer and shorter than what? ”¦ Great contribution from Mark Richter, who writes: “During a recent vacation to New Orleans, I took the family on a tour of Blaine Kern’s Mardi Gras World, where they make all of the floats for New Orleans Mardi Gras parades. At the time we were there, they were preparing for next week’s parade that coincides with the Saints’ season opener. The work on these pieces was outstanding.” ”¦ Steve Johnston was on the Notre Dame campus over the weekend and saw this evolution of the ND logo. ”¦ Now that’s a lot of cats. It’s from an article about some guy who bought a farm and turned into a feline sanctuary (thanks, Kirsten).

 
  
 
Comments (143)

    The stitching is wider than the currently used stitches and the height of the stitching is shorter than the currently used stitches. During a quick search, I only find the length of the Rawlings MLB waxed red thread for the stitches, which is 88 inches long. Doing the math of 216 stitches divided by 2235.2 mm (88 inches x 25.4 mm/inch) equals each stitch is 10.35 mm wide. I cannot do the height calculation, nor can I find that information.

    So does that mean the stitching pattern itself is spaced wider than the old ball’s stitching pattern but at the same time the thread is finer, so it doesn’t protrude quite as far out?

    Labor Day hangover + thinking = link

    BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHMMMMMMMMMM!

    Muttley was actually used for advertising food products in Japan when I was there as a student which was always surprising to me.

    Mizuno’s baseballs, IMO, have been always been lighter, slicker and with lower seams compared to the balls made for North American companies like Rawlings and Diamond, balls that I have used. The seams are raised a bit higher for Rawlings and even higher for Diamond.

    So essentially, I think, the Mizuno balls will have even lower seams than before.

    the way they are keeping to the path provided, and with the little buildings it it looks to me like a cat amusement park, or county cat fair. i would live there.

    Is anyone else stuck in class or at work today? At least, anyone who’s not in sales or foodservice?

    My upstairs neighbor is working today. She’s a patternmaker for a fashion house, and NYC is about to begin Fashion Week on Thursday, so no holiday for her.

    The Mrs. is working today….coincidentally also related to NYC Fashion Week.but at least she gets to work from home…

    2 outta three aint bad?:

    MUCH MUCH better

    can’t tell from just this pic but san hosay state dump the lumbar striping?

    absolutely HORRIBLE downgrade in uni design (although the numbers are now much easier to read)

    ~~~~~~~~~~~

    i’ll be watching the va wreck/boyzee game tonight in the same way one views a horrible accident alongside the highway…you don’t want to look, but somehow, you can’t turn away…

    Nah, that would be unique, original and distinctive.
    Why would any team want to do that when they could go BFBS and be like everyone else.

    —Ricko

    Call me stoopit – but htf does a team have 2 different players w/the same number? while it ain’t rocket science to figure out the actual “how,” why is it allowed?

    I don’t know why any team would even WANT to do that….particularly at the college level.

    Some teams have more than 100 players on the roster- or more skill players than there are eligible numbers. Duplicate numbers might be given to a starter and another player who probably will never see the field.

    I’m tellin’ ya, it’s cuz kids come out of high school and want their “trademark” number in college.

    And, of course, the schools want to be able to cave in to the demand so they can sign the recruit.

    I mean, if you think about it, really think about it, what other possible reason could there be? Anyone with a brain would assign any necessary duplicate numbers to walk-ons seven deep on the depth chart. Generally, that’s what has been done for decades. If a double-numbered kid moved up, he got a new number.

    It’s gotta be about appeasing player egos. Y’know, to preserve all that “fame” they garnered in high school.

    (And we wonder why football players think they’re “special” and that rules/laws are for everyone else).

    —Ricko

    Isn’t having two players dressing in the same number jersey a sign that a team should have fewer players? I love football, but there’s gotta be a happy medium between 11 two-way players and this.

    However, that brings up a point: Every high profile player gets their own college number in the NFL now. If you’re a lottery pick, you don’t have to change numbers, right? So, who will be the last first-round pick to go to the Hall of Fame with another number than in college?

    link has also switched from black to white shoes (and socks) this season.

    It’s the one link they’ve made to their look. So one small step forward, one giant leap backwards.

    I wonder if some teams/players are starting to realize that the black socks make them look like skinny-legged crows.

    —Ricko

    No they can’t.
    Butler basketball does it better. White Sox do it better. Ravens do it better.

    No matter what color you spray paint a pile of poo, it’s still a pile of poo. Oregon unis are no exception.

    UCLA volleyball isn’t bad, either…

    Sure, they look like thugs better than anyone, except perhaps for Va. Tech.

    Not sure why teams are going to white shoes. Black shoes look so much better in football.

    As for black socks — I don’t really like the look, but they sure are easier to clean if, like me, you run on muddy trials once in a while.

    No they can’t.
    Butler basketball does it better. White Sox do it better. Ravens do it better.

    they don’t

    and also, those teams, at least according to those who will defend them, aren’t BFBSing it anyway

    white sox/white shoes with black everything else looks awful

    now…im NOT advocating for black everthing else…would look just as bad if you had monowhite over black socks/black shoes

    the only time i’ve ever seen the white socks/shoes work with a black uniform was accomplished long ago

    About the new Montana unis — it looks like they (along with Appalachian State) are wearing the Pro Combat template that TCU was wearing last year. Could this be the start of a new trend, lower-level teams sporting outdated Pro Combat unis?

    As much as I hate the whole “Pro Combat” thing and the ugliness of it all…I still can’t miss a top ten college football match up. Maybe I will watch it in standard def to ease the pain.

    Update on UNLV situation: Just heard from the school’s media-relations dept., which has confirmed that it’s an annual award, so Ronnie Paulo will wear No. 36 and the flag patch all season long.

    Did anyone else notice Bowling Green’s new unis? They have the Cincinnati/Adidas/side-tusks style now. And its not an upgrade.

    Old: link
    New: link
    also youll notice troy took the stripe off their pants

    The Bowling Green uni change was noted here on the site in yesterday’s entry.

    As for Troy, that’s not a change — their white pants didn’t have stripes last season either:
    link

    Whoever wrote that article really love fros and mullets. I also feel he puts too much stock into facial hair when considering hairstyle. To me they’re two different things.

    I noticed while watching the ND/Purdue game that the guy who was holding for placekicks for the Irish was wearing #50. I wonder if wearing #50 would affect his eligibility as a passer/receiver if a kick is blocked or if there is a fake.

    Any ideas?

    If you have an ineligible number in college football you are NEVER eligible to catch a forward pass- period.

    The numbering exception allows an eligible numbered player to replace one of the 5 required ineligible numbers so long as you are in a scrimmage kick formation.

    These players with eligible numbers are also not eligible.

    well- he’s always allowed to play- doesn’t matter if they’re kicking or not. I guess that was my point.

    The special rule allows for an eligible number to be in the game as one of the 5 required ineligibles- not the other way around.

    Interestingly (or not), I had noticed before the game that Ryan Kavanagh (#50) was listed on the depth chart as both the #2 long snapper and holder. I would think that would be an unusual combination.

    All UCLA sports teams this year are wearing memorial patches/decals for John Wooden.
    the football team has that same design as a decal on the back of the helmets.

    Don’t get me wrong I am an old school football uni guy.
    Give me Penn State, Alabama, etc. anyday. Also, I would prefer Va Tech go with their throw backs permanently BUT some teams like Boise State, (along with the contemporary uni’s of TCU and Va Tech) have pretty bad regular uniforms anyways so why not go futuristic? I am not advocating the bullshit, Combat Nike marketing/indoctrination campaign but from a purley aesthetic perspective the new uni’s are more interesting than the contemporary ones in my opinion

    All of these unis would look a lot better without the sublimated pattern silliness; the Boise, Va Tech, and WVU ones most of all.

    noticed something in yesterday’s Del State/Southern game… it seems that NOB is very randomly assigned to Southern players… at some points only 3 of the 11 had NOB, while the others were blank. I wonder if its a “merit” situation for Southern players. looks rather crappy tho…

    and also, those teams, at least according to those who will defend them, aren’t BFBSing it anyway

    Butler basketball isn’t BFBS? How do you figure?

    I could be wrong, but I think it was determined that the Butler unis are actually blue, and not actually black…

    Do any of the Canadians on the board know when the CFL agreement with Reebok with mercifully come to an end?! The current CFL jerseys are hideous! The have 2 different patterns and just fill in the team colours. The Stampeder jerseys are absolutely the worst (which sucks to say since I live in Calgary and am a fan) the have that ridiculous red halo around the shoulders on both the away and third jerseys.

    The CFL has done retro jerseys the past two years (60’s last year, 70’s this year) and it’s pretty sad to say that every single one of the throwbacks is better than what the CFL teams currently wear.

    Rant over….

    Can’t answer your question, but

    I fully agree , the Labour Day Classics , have been ugh and uglier. Compared to last year, I’ve noticed a slight improvement – from this abysmal aestethtics nadir the CFL is in – a little less mono-chrome and Saskatchewan seemingly adopting their retro – almost on a full time basis, but today’s ganes remind me how far there’s still to go

    Despite all the dumb warlike analogies and all the bullshit surrounding the Nike Non-Pro Non-Combat uniforms, I do kinda dig those VT matte helmets with the glossy stripes. The “tech” pattern’s kinda silly but it’s pretty clever for a one-off design.

    The Boise State helmets have the uni number on the back right side.

    And both uniforms are obnoxiously tight and wrinkly, as is the style at the time.

    I do like the matte helmets. Everything else for VT is a train wreck. As for Boise St…. love the “Steelers style” one-sided logo helmet, but again, everything else should be thrown in the garbage.

    Okay. Virginia Tech looks pretty damn good on the field.

    (Aesthetically speaking. They’re already playing like shit.)

    I know I might get banned for this…both Boise and Va Tech look way better on the field than the photo shoot. I think the only thing I don’t like is the Boise sleeves. Make them both blue and I’m 100% on board with this game.

    Va Tech’s look way cooler than I thought they would, I really though the photos made them look terrible. The more I see them on the field the more I think they’re pretty damn awesome.

    I totally agree about the Boise State uniforms. If the sleeves were both blue (maybe with orange cuffs) that would be at least a B+ uniform. I especially like the helmet design. I wouldn’t do it with one of the more traditional schools, but it works for Boise.

    That is what I think too. It was one of the worst looking from seeing it online of the few pictures I saw. In HD kinda cool. But the colors are Chicago Maroon and not black.

    So I’m watching this game between a team whose colors are blue and gray and team whose colors are orange and black, and I have a question:

    Shouldn’t the two head coaches be dressed as George Jetson and Mr. Spacely?

    I mean, this was drawn by Hanna Barbera, right?

    —Ricko

    We’ve achieved Full On Rollerball. The designers need to back away from their comic books and either watch or play some sports some time.

    Or stop having those “Ooo, I just got the ‘Will and Grace: Season Four’ dvd” parties.

    —Ricko

    Quote of the night: “It’s hard to think that’s Virginia Tech, what with all that black on it.” -Kirk Herbstreit

    I think the black is scrambling the announcers’ brains. Brent Musburger called them “Texas Tech” at one point.

    If you took the cool bronco logo and put it on both sides of the helmet Boise should wear it every week.

    Yeah, I agree. Their normal helmet would look a lot better overall without the wordmark with the Apple Chicago-variant font.

    I’d understand their need to put it on the helmet as they used to be a school with less exposure, but they’re 3rd in the nation now on the AP poll. I’d be surprised if people that follow college football don’t know their logo by now.

    As far as the adidas logo on the BigTen(ish) refs’ caps, I can’t speak for the BigTen(ish), but SEC refs have had the adidas logos the last two seasons and do again this season. I know at least one other conference has them, I have also seen NewEra logos on ref hats.

    What is interesting, the SEC has an apparel deal with Under Armour for its employees, team gifts at SEC Tournaments, and staff and volunteers at SEC Tournaments and Championships.

    I have to say that this BS/VT matchup is now my all-time worst football uni-matchup. And definitely the widest disparity between uni-matchup(horrid) and football matchup(awesome). Only way it could be worse is if it was on Blue Turf

    50+ years watching college football and I have to keep reminding myself that isn’t Oregon State.

    Honestly.

    —Ricko

    I think it’s a horrible decision for Boise State.

    Yeah, there’s some subtle effects that look cool (the bronco on the helmet and shoulder).

    But when you’re a WAC/MWC school who’s playing your biggest TV game of the season, it’s not the time to be subtle.

    The “Boise State” on their chest does NOT stand out.
    The blank side of the helmet means half the time, your brand isn’t on TV.
    The other side looks cool, but again, the Boise State horsehead logo is not a distinct image that makes a visual connection of “THAT is clearly Boise State.”

    When you’re not a Texas/Ohio State/Michigan type school; you HAVE to take advantage of being on National TV by splashing your name/logo/brand in a more “in your face” fashion (while looking cool, not while looking tacky).

    Funny how the logo in the endzone for Boise State shows their brand and it’s not the helmet they are wearing.

    These Boise State uniforms don’t say “We’re Boise State” they say “We’re sweaty”

    If you visualize:

    1. putting the bronco on both sides of the helmet
    2. turning the silver to white (including removing all those whackadoo sweatstain panels
    3. making both shoulders blue with the bronco logo
    4. ditching the incongruous pants piping
    4. maybe outlining the shoulders or numbers in orange

    …then it might be a pretty nice, solid uniform. Just a thought.

    Seriously, when is some coach, AD or player, even, gonna have the guts to say, “We’re not gonna wear that. Who designed these, a bunch of gay guys who wanna stare at our asses?”

    —Ricko

    Before Herby said it, my brother did. He said he though the Va Tech unis were cool but not for Va Tech.

    I said more like Oregon State.

    I see that. But my brother said it and then heard Herby say it. I guess many people thought that.

    I actually think I like Virginia Tech’s uniforms more than Boise’s.

    When I saw the 1st pics of the Hokies I did not like them.

    But again the uniforms are not Hokie color uniforms. I do not like when schools wear colors that are not school colors.

    Yeah, I was looking forward to Notre Dame-Purdue, too. Then it turns out Catholic schools can’t afford sleeves these days. And Purdue can’t afford an offense, apparently.

    I still like the Boise State uniforms. As big as the helmet logo is, it’s better suited to being asymmetrical. Definitely get rid of the sweat panels and make both sleeves blue. I’d maybe add some orange to the numbers or maybe the wordmark, but other than that the design is pretty good.

    Va Tech looks like something out of NFL Blitz or some other crappy X-TREEM football game.

    Yeah, neither of the helmets painted on the field is being worn today. Has that ever happened before? My guess is no.

    It has. The Kansas/Missouri game last year. Mizzou wore their Pro Combat Helmet while Kansas sported a Jayhawk on the side of theirs. The field featured both of their traditional helmets.

    Can you really slam the kicker like that as long as you touch the ball first? I’m pretty sure it’s roughing either way in the NFL and I have trouble believing they’re less protective of the kickers in college.

    Nike needs to stop with the color changing sweatbox things. Boise State’s jerseys aren’t exactly that great anyway, but those dark patches just completely ruin them.

    I got the impression that they’re not supposed to change color like that. The chest, back, and yoke panels are solid and the bottom of the jersey is open mesh, so they discolor at different rates. I find it interesting that Nike saw that effect last year and didn’t do anything to fix the problem this year.

    Inkracer | September 6, 2010 at 8:48 pm |
    “I could be wrong, but I think it was determined that the Butler unis are actually blue, and not actually black…”

    Wrong. Note the little bit of blue at the bottom of the shorts, next to the white stripe:
    link
    The rest of that uni is black, and from a school whose colors are blue and white, that is a BFBS.
    And it’s better than Oregon.

    It’s uncanny. Don’t give Nike any ideas though. Oregon might come out in ab exposing half shirts next week. At least they’d be wearing green though.

    My girlfriend and I were at the local sports bar when the Boise St/VaTech game came on. I think both our jaws dropped and eyeballs popped out of our heads when we saw the hideous VT costumes (I can’t bring myself to call them unis). Boise State wasn’t too bad, I really like the helmet logo but the uni needs a touch more orange. Seriously, why is there no rule in college football paralleling the NFL’s in regards to using more than one uni per season, irrespective of throwbacks? It’s getting to the point now where teams can play 12 games and wear 12 different unis. I’m looking at you Oregon! There is no consistency any more and it’s really angering up my blood.

    You do realize that the NFL’s rules on alternate uniforms aren’t truly that strict. They limit the use of an alternate jersey to 2 times – there’s no rule at all about pants or mixing combinations. The Tennessee Titans, for example, can (and have in the past) legitimately wear 8 different uniform combinations in one season.

    Is there any reason why Boise doesn’t have their team message on the neck bumper, like Va Tech’s “Ut Prosim”? Is it because “Drop the Hammer” is too long or did they not want it or something?

    I don’t think Nike standardized where the team slogans go on each uniform. I think they’re in different places on all the Pro Combats.

    That said, it could be because different schools have different manufacturers. Some of the Boise helmets say “BRONCOS” where some say “Schutt”.

    I should have grabbed a screenshot during the game, but Maryland has white numbers on the left side of the back of their white helmets against Navy today.

    I’m not a big fan of either of the jerseys, but I like both of the helmets. I think more teams that wear black helmets should try the matte look VT has going.

    Check that. Orange socks would have been the cat’s pajamas.

    And I think VT’s BFBS can give Oregon’s a run for its money.

    Now it’s time for me to 23 skidoo.

    The bee’s knees?
    The dog’s bollocks?
    Exceptional characteristics of any other domesticated animals?

    the skipper with a big comeback tonight, after 1…
    champ 2-1-2(+90)
    pineapple 2-3(-130)
    chimp 1-3-1(-230)

    It sure looked like the matte finish was wearing off the helmets throughout the game.

    Proper surface prep is key, you know.

    More likely they were getting polished on the turf. The normal shiny is paint. Matte isn’t a finish, just what’s underneath the paint.

    Eric Stangel (writer for the David Letterman show) I think said it best. Via Twitter:

    “Boise St. & Va Tech’s uniforms looked like the two non-descript teams playing on a TV in an electronics ad circular.”

    Not everybody on Notre Dame’s sideline was wearing red caps — just the quarterbacks. They are being used so that the players on the field can easily identify who is giving the play-calling signals.

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