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Back in the Saddle

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Hi there. Miss me?

Before you answer that question — and before I explain what I’m doing in that photo up there — let’s have a major round of applause for Phil Hecken, John Ekdahl, Morris Levin, and everyone else who stepped up and helped steer the Uni Watch ship over the past four weeks. They’ve done a great job deserve everyone’s thanks — especially mine.

So what did I do on my summer vacation? I wish I could tell you I went off on all sorts of amazing adventures, but the sad truth is that Jack is a dull boy, because I’ve spent most of the past month working my ass off, primarily on non-uni projects. Here’s the rundown:

• “Permanent Record” — that’s the project about the old vocational school report cards that I found several years ago — is nearing completion. It will be a series of five articles appearing on Slate.com in mid-September, and I don’t mind saying it’s shaping up pretty nicely. Still lots of work to go, but I’m pleased with how it’s coming together. It’s by far the biggest, most involved thing I’ve ever attempted, and probably the most meaningful, too. I can’t wait for it to be published, in part so I can finally shut up about it and let it speak for itself.

• Last month I went upstate to Fleisher’s — arguably the most important and influential butcher shop in the country at the moment — and sat in for most of a five-day butchery course (I only had time to stay for three days). The photo at the top of the page shows me holding some natural sausage cashing — in other words, sheep intestines. You can see some additional photos here; the old dude is Hans, a 70-year-old German butcher who was teaching the course, and the two women are Cookie and Meg, who were my classmates.

As a meatophile, this was really fun for me. But it was also part of my training for a new writing gig: Starting very soon (maybe this week — not sure yet), I’ll be writing a meat/butchery blog on the Fleisher’s web site. I’ve been busy writing sample entries for them, working with their web guy, etc. Fleisher’s is also about to open a new shop around the corner from my apartment in Brooklyn — their first NYC shop — and it looks like I’ll probably be involved with that in some way. I really respect Fleisher’s approach, which is heavy on the locavore thing, the nose-to-tail thing, the grass-fed thing — all that squishy stuff — and am excited to be working with them.

• I appear to have stumbled into an advisory role for two cops who have an idea for a TV show. All I can say right now is that I really like their idea and that we have a meeting with a production company next week.

• On the uni front, I’ve been working on an ESPN column that will run this week, and it’s a doozy. It was inspired by a few photos that ran here on the site last month — photos that made me want to know more about a certain very charged topic. For now, I’ll just say that the story has led in some extremely interesting and unexpected directions. I think you’ll really like it.

What else? I scored this really nice jersey on eBay for only $16:

IMG_9461.jpg

I really like the gold pinstriping, the hand-cut feel of the chest insignia (sort of endearingly clunky), and the chain-stitched script in the swash. Nice, right?

What else? Honestly, most of it is just a workaholic blur, but I knew that’s what I was signing up for when I agreed to do “Permanent Record” and when I pursued the Fleisher’s gig. Next summer I plan to take a real vacation.

Thanks for your kind indulgence. Tomorrow we’ll get back to standard Uni Watch content.

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Uni Watch News Ticker: Everyone’s been asking me what I think of the blue “Los Mets” jerseys from last Friday. My take: I still don’t think the Mets need anything besides white at home and gray on the road. But if they absolutely insist on having a softball jersey, blue sure beats black. A hint of things to come next season, perhaps? ”¦ Several readers noted that Deion Sanders was wearing an Under Armour lapel pin for his Hall of Fame induction, and Marshall Faulk had a Nike pin, both of which seem like the definition of poor taste. Also, hasn’t Sanders always been a Nike guy? ”¦ In a related item, the last section of this article indicates that several Steelers took part in the filming of the new Batman movie at Heinz Field on Saturday, but not LaMarr Woodley or James Harrison, because the uniforms in the film included the Under Armour logo, which would have created a conflict with their precious corporate endorsements. ”¦ Back in June, Daren Landers sent along a scan, made by a friend of his, of the Reds’ page from the 1981 MLB Style Guide. I asked Daren if his friend could provide sharper scans so we could read the fine print at the bottom, which he has now done — look here. ”¦ You know I love old baseball dugout sweaters, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a photo of someone playing in one of them before (great find by Mike Hersh). ”¦ Also from Mike: an awesome gum box. ”¦ It’s easy to forget that Dick Vitale briefly coached the Pistons. Warren Humphrey sent along this photo of him and Kevin Porter posing with a killer T-shirt. ”¦ Not sports-related, but a bumper crop of amazing old-school clothing illos available by scrolling through this eBay page. ”¦ You know what India needs? American football, that’s what. Here’s what the eight teams in the new Elite Football League of India will look like. ”¦ Louisiana-Lafayette is slated to unveil new football uniforms this week (as reported by Chris Mycoskie). ”¦ A Pats fan has come up with the cleverest jersey of the year so far. ”¦ The 20th anniversary of Paul Brown’s death just passed, and a Cincy web site marked the occasion with a PB slideshow. ”¦ As you know, the Twins have been wearing their throwbacks for all home games ever since Harmon Killebrew’s death. But on Friday they saluted their 1991 championship team by wearing “M” caps, making for an odd mash-up of styles. ”¦ New football uniforms for North Texas (with thanks to Adam Martinez). ”¦ Johnny Ek showed this logo in the Ticker last week and wondered if it might be slated for use next year. Now Sam Shillet, claiming some inside connections, says it will indeed be used in 2012. ”¦ Robert Silverman reports that the great NASLjerseys.com site, which I’ve written about before, has added an ABA section. While browsing through it, I spotted a nickNOB. That’s Bob McIntyre of the 1967-68 New Jersey Americans, from the ABA. ”¦ Nebraska will mark its first season in the Big 10 with this jersey patch (from Chris Bisbee). ”¦ New football uniforms for Utah, along with an additional photo (courtesy of Bill Berg). ”¦ Joe Owen found a mid-1980s shot of Marvell Wynn wearing a Padres BP jersey I’ve never seen before. Not listed in the Henderson guide, either. ”¦ Jay Braiman was visiting the old RMS Queen Mary ocean liner, now preserved as a historic attraction, and spotted something interesting in one of the on-board shops: striped socks patterned after the ship’s funnel design. ”¦ “I attended Saturday night’s Montreal Impact (soccer) game,” writes Trevor Banks. “At halftime, they unveiled the logo they’ll use next year, as they are joining the MLS next year. Here’s the video they played. I’m told the new jersey will likely be unveiled in September.” ”¦ Max McDaniel notes that the blue collar on Auburn’s road football jersey is now white, at least on the retail replica. ”¦ Several readers have asked me what the NFL plans to do about its captaincy patches this season, since a fifth star will have to be added for players entering their fifth season as captain. I asked Giants equipment manager Joe Skiba about it. His response: “Good question.” ”¦ Here’s a cool set of hockey jerseys reimagined as soccer jerseys (from Nicole Haase). ”¦ USC football will be wearing black socks at home this season (with thanks to Avinash Kunnath). ”¦ Here’s an interesting story about WNBA rookie Maya Moore’s endorsement deal with Jordan, and what it could mean for female athletes. ”¦ Anyone else notice that this year’s NFL practice jerseys don’t have the NFL Equipment logo? Even weirder, the logo on old jerseys is now being covered up (well, usually). I’m all for this move — logo anti-creep! — but I still find it puzzling. What could the thinking behind it possibly be? ”¦ Bowling Green’s new football uniforms are shown in this video clip. “First time I can remember them without a white facemask,” says Mark Maxwell. ”¦ Getting back to Deion Sanders for a sec, everyone knows he wore No. 2 at FSU — didn’t he? (Good find by Joel Kenyon.) ”¦ I think this was covered while I was away, but I like it so much that it bears repeating: The Memphis Redbirds will soon be doing an Organ Donor Night promotion, featuring this jersey design. No word on whether they’ll be showing this video on the Jumbotron, but we can hope:

 
  
 
Comments (156)

    Hooray! Now that Fearless Leader is back, maybe we can finally catch moose and squirrel!

    Welcome back Paul. The butchery course sounds pretty cool to someone like me as both my grandpa’s were butchers.

    Could the NFL Equipment logo cover-up have something to do with sponsor patches? Maybe an exclusivity clause in the sponsorship verbiage making them the “only logo on the jersey” or some garbage?

    Maybe it had something to do with the lockout and the CBA not being ratified yet? No NFL logo until the contract was signed? I pulled that out of my ass with nothing to back it up, just a thought.

    The Bills have new practice jerseys this year and they have the NFL Equipment logo on them.

    Welcome back, Mr. Lukas! Your boys kept things tunning smoothly while you were out.

    The first thing I thought of after see yhe “Organ Donor” jersey: link

    I hope they have Mr. Goodbody throwing out the first pitch…

    Welcome back Paul! Sounds like your vacation offered you time to let other ideas “marinate” in your head. The cop-tv idea sounds intriguing and your butcher blog sounds damn interesting! Loved the long, detailed ticker today!

    The Mets’ blue jerseys look great. First time they’ve worn blue since the Gooden-Straw years, maybe 1985. Go with white pinstripes at home, grey on the road, get rid of the black, and have the blue alternate jersey, and that’s an excellent combination.

    actually, it’s the first time since 1994

    did the blue look good? it’s all relative; it looks better than the black, but they don’t need a second alternate (remember, the pins are alt #1), so even if they ditch the black (pleeeeeeeze, please please DTB)…this is still just another softball jersey

    best thing about it was NO BLACK anywhere, and no dropshadow, but that doesn’t make this good…only better than what it is (hopefully) replacing

    actually — check that — looks like that had to be a spring training game…perhaps that was never worn in actual play…but it was awful

    yup…you’re correct chris — that was just BP/ST — 1985 was the last year a blue jersey was worn during actual MLB (non spring) play

    the 1985 road alt was godawful

    That 1994 photo appears to be a spring training game – umpire is from the American League (3 years before interleague.) Any evidence that was used in an official game?

    Didn’t catch Friday night’s game, was anybody going high-cuffed?

    A modern touch-up of that would look great at home as the alternate. I would get rid of the all-whites and just go with the pinstripes most of the time. Never understood why they had to add the all-white anyway when they already had the pins.

    I have a soft spot for the Mets’ blue jersey, becuase I bought several in the 1980s when I loved the Straw-Gooden squad. Of course, unfortunately, some kids 20 years from now will say the same thing about the black.

    Mets and Astros both. A team should wear pinstripes, or not wear pinstripes. I love the Mets in pins, but the snow-white unis with the headspoon look great too. Or anyway, they look great as a contrast to the bepinned Yankees. Either way, the Mets have a winner of a uniform, as long as they pick one and commit to it. If they need an alt, they can have a royal jersey.

    (The Astros, not so much. Their pinstripes are terrible, so that’s just a case of needing to ditch the pins and go with the plain-white version full time.)

    Agreed on all points.

    I say go with the pins over that nice looking all-white uniform as a nod to tradition, and because pinstripes look so good.

    On another matter, does it make any sense at all for the Mets to have that weird black-blue batting helmet that does not match the black-blue caps? No. If they have matching batting helmets for the blue and the black caps, then do it for the black-blue caps. But of course, the Mets are a Mess.

    …And the Ditch The Black club is back in session! Sorry, but I’ll be the turd in the punchbowl.

    writing a meat/butchery blog on the Fleisher’s web site??? you mean i’ll have another daily read?!?!

    welcome back buddy!

    Thanks, Ryan.

    The Fleisher’s blog will likely be three or four times a week, not daily. So you won’t be too-too-too overburdened (and, hopefully, neither will I).

    The Giants wore their orange billed caps for their game
    yesterday versus the Phillies. Carlos Beltran wore his solid black cap in the top of the first inning but,wore the orange
    billed cap in the second inning.

    I’m surprised by the lack of black in the jerseys. If you look at their new football stadium, there is quite a bit of black on the field. link
    Maybe they saved money by using only two colors instead of three. Also, I wish they’d come up with a better helmet decal than the “North Texas” wordmark.

    Think how clunky it would have been if they put “North Texas State” on their helmet.

    I do agree it is surprising there is no black – but the lack of white is brutal.

    Of course, considering some of the stuff North Texas State has worn in the past I guess these aren’t that bad!

    Unless you are trying to be funny, the Eagles are not North Texas State….It is the University of North Texas. The name changed in 1988…Courtesy of Wikipedia”In 1988, the university changed names one final time, becoming the University of North Texas.[4]”

    Its the University of North Texas. I love the new unis. The got rid of those ugly ass white hats.

    I’ve ended up playing as North Texas in NCAA Football 12 and I think their Under Armour kits that they had last year are vastly superior to these Nike ones. (It *was* kind of odd that the “Mean Green” were in white helmets, though.)

    Welcome back!

    Couple of quick notes: The EFLI logos are not all that horrific but does Mumbai have a history of gladiatorial fights? I kind of like the Punjab Warriors.

    Also, it’s a small detail but FSU added “FSU” to the front of their jerseys this year. They were shown at the ACC media day. It’s a small change but clutters the front of the jersey.

    As a counter argument to your question whether or not Mumbai has a history of Gladiators: What history does Chicago have with Bears? Or Detroit with Lions?

    A bear or a lion is an animal, and thus culturally universal. A gladiator is a culturally specific human actor. A team called the Mumbai Bears would make perfect sense. But unless ancient Mumbai had actual gladiators, as the Romans understood the term, then Mumbai Gladiators makes no more sense as a team name than Chicago Rajputis.

    Although a Vikings-Rajputis rivalry would be pretty cool.

    I think it’s safe to say that “Gladiator” isn’t much more than another way of saying Fighter or Warrior nowadays. I’m pretty sure Pittsburgh never had Gladiatorial combat, but that didn’t stop them from using the name for an Arena Football team.

    Agree with R.S. That’s why I asked the question as a gladiator is specific to a certain time and place. I like names that have some semblance of a connection to their city market.

    So, does Cleveland (or Las Vegas or East Rutherford) have a history of gladiatorial fights?
    link
    link

    How about Gwinnett, Georgia?
    link

    Pittsburgh?
    link

    Fredericton, New Brunswick?
    link

    One of the Carolinas?
    link

    Sandy, Utah?
    link

    Sudbury, Ontario?
    link

    Culturally, our society traces its roots back in part to the period of Roman domination of Europe, and to the empire itself. Hey, you know what is one of the several bits of the world whose ancestors were never conquered by, or ruled from, Rome? India!

    Ergo, Cleveland Gladiators makes sense. Mumbai Gladiators does not. Or at any rate, they make no more sense than naming an NFL team the Rajputis.

    Scott, India was once part of the British Empire.

    England was once under Roman rule.

    By your logic, Mumbai Gladiators makes perfect sense.

    Lloyd:

    All of those are ridiculous. Along with the Utah Jazz, Memphis Grizzlies, Los Angles Lakers and various other relocated teams that didn’t change their names.

    I’ll counter your counter and suggest that the Chicago Bears – as well as the Bulls – are actually quite appropriate team names for the city, both based on the history of the Chicago Stock Yards and the ups and downs known as the Bear Market and Bull Market.

    link

    Apparently living in Chicago until I was 12 never leaked this information into my head. If that connection is true, that is the most welcomed, light-hearted slap to the face I have ever had. Nice work.

    Why call your team the “Blacktigers” if the tiger on the helmet is going to be orange?

    (Otherwise I thought those helmets all looked pretty sweet and I look forward to some film using the ELFI uniforms instead of paying the NFL for the right to use actual NFL teams.)

    Oh DUH…I didn’t realize the guy’s name was Vitale… play on words… never mind…

    -Jet

    Yeah, I’m sure I’ve seen a colour picture of one of those shirts – seem to recall the lettering was blue with “Vitale” in red. That was the first year the Pistons used that modernized logo, and added the short-lived lightning bolt unis to go with it.

    I thought I had read somewhere that the 5th year NFL captains would have 4 gold stars AND a gold “C.”

    That’s just silly…and wouldn’t leave any options for year 6.

    They should just replace the 4 little stars with one bigger star for 5… then, kinda like Roman Numerals, use combinations of the two star sizes for additional years.

    /or just stop using the dumb things in the first place

    They should have an ampersand. Or some other symbol.

    Or, as mentioned, ditch the damn things. They were stupid yesterday, they’re stupid today, they’ll be stupid tomorrow.

    I’m curious about something on that Montreal Impact logo. Traditionally, stars on soccer logos/jerseys represent titles or championships won by the team, but the press release says these four stars represent original settlers. If the team ends up winning an MLS Cup and puts a star up for that, I’m wondering if they’ll end up changing the logo or letting casual fans be confused.

    Ah, but they’re Canadian… so, following tradition, they’d use little maple leaves for their championship marks.

    The star would go above the logo, not within it. It’s like the US Womens National team.

    link

    Or other DC United, which has a star in their logo, but 4 starts above the logo for the 4 MLS Cup titles.

    link

    For me, the stars are a big misstep on a couple of levels, putting aside that they might represent championships. First of all, I don’t think stars symbolize that much for Canadians — for the québécois, their mileage may vary, but the fleur-de-lys seems to be the ubiquitous symbol.

    The reference to “the four original settlers” is a bad translation (“les quatre peuples fondateurs” refers to the four founding peoples, or nations), and besides, it’s bad history. The French founded Montreal, plain and simple. The city was nearly 125 years old when the English, Irish and Scots started to arrive in earnest after the French defeat at the Plains of Abraham.

    There aren’t even that many people of English, Irish or Scots heritage in Montreal anymore.

    But, as usual, the Mohawk and Iroquoian get no love.

    The announcement refers to the shield being related to the one in the city’s coat of arms. Talk about a load of cover-yer-arse poppycock. That’s a generic sports-logo shield. The Montreal civic coat of arms has a shield more like the one in the New York Rangers logo.

    link

    I frankly didn’t see all that much wrong with the old logo.

    link

    But I guess if you’re going to be in the MLS, you have to have a shield:
    link

    “The NFL,” “The NBA,” “The NHL,” but not “The MLS.”

    “The National Football League” makes sense. “The Major League Soccer” makes no sense.

    And the actual saying is “If you’re going to be in MLS, you have to pander to people who prefer European soccer.” That’s why you have a shield. :)

    I’m not sure if the press release was written in French and then translated, but the use of the phrase “four settlers” implies four persons. It’s supposed to be a reference to the English, French, Scots, and Irish, the four nationalities that setled what became Montreal and which are depicted on the city flag:

    link

    In the Army, we’d use a clipboard.
    Anytime someone who outranked you approached, you just flip through the pages, look concerned, and head off in the opposite direction.

    That’s been patented by George from Seinfeld. He managed to get promoted in the Yankees organization by continuously holding a scowl look stressed out and walk in the hallways rapidly. Brilliant George, brilliant.

    Well, we were doing it in 1969, so I’m guessing that was before George identified the sheer genius of it. :)

    I’m sorry, I’ve been away from here for a while, so this might have been addressed, but the hockey/soccer jerseys made me think of something:

    HSBC just sold all of its banks in Western NY to First Niagara. Has anyone seen anything mentioned about the name of the arena where the Buffalo Sabres play (HSBC Arena?)

    That wasn’t part of the deal and wasn’t discussed as up for sale. HSBC still has a significant corporate presence in the area.

    First Niagara did comment on it and said they would be interested if approached or something along those lines.

    Here’s a story from the Buffalo News the other day. HSBC is apparently not interested in seeing the name changed.

    link

    After all, they had to sue the Sabres to get it changed after they rebranded the Marine Midland Bank.

    I think Deion’s youth sports leagues/school has a deal with Under Armor. That’s why he had the UA lapel pin.

    Yes, that is exactly it. Deion has always been a Nike guy but Under Armor is the sponsor of his “Truth” football

    He also does work for UA on his own, doing sponsorship-type things, so not too hard to see him do it for that reason, either.

    If Fenway’s first season was 1912, doesn’t that make THIS year the 100th year? Next year will be the 100th anniversary, but the 101st season played there.

    That logo says “100 years” which will come to an end at the end of this season. Seems odd that they’ll celebrate it next year.

    This is all true, but I didn’t celebrate being 21 until I’d had my 21st birthday. I tried celebrating when I was only 20, but the authorities would have none of that.

    I collect gamers..since Met jerseys are inexpensive and very available, I check in with the guys that sell the game used stuff at Citi Field..I asked about next seasons equipment. According to one of the guys, since it’s the 50th Anniversary blue will be back in a big way..more than likely the blue Los Mets jerseys will become another alt jersey. The black drop shadow will finally be dropped..naturally this can’t be confirmed but coming from this source, it’s great news. Also the Los Mets jersey will make at least one more appearance and the jerseys will be available to purchase at the end of the season.

    Why can’t they just put Metropolitanos on the jersey? Los Mets seems condescending, just like all the other “Los Nicknamos” jerseys.

    Except that the Mets aren’t the “Metropolitans.” I thought “Los Metros” might be good; better, at least, than “Los Mets.”

    “Mets” just doesn’t translate to any other language; it’s a made-up word.

    It makes one wonder, though… What would the Buffalo Bills do in this situation? “Los Guillermos?”

    Also, even though Metropolitans isn’t the team’s official name, it is named after the 19th Century AA team called the Metropolitans.

    I actually once asked the L.A. Angels’ Spanish broadcaster how he said the team’s name on the air. Because, you know, “Los Angeles de Los Angeles” would be kind of absurd. He said that they were called “Los Angels de Los Angeles” (i.e., “Los AIN-jels de los ANN-he-les”).

    Obviously great news if true, better news if it’s a permanent change and not just a one-year thing. Fingers crossed, cautiously optimistic, and all that. If it happens, I propose we have a special celebratory UniWatch The Black Has Been Ditched Party.

    I know, don’t jinx it, don’t jinx it……

    The gears are assembled with their own wrench built in, saving time and frustration in trying to solve problems later on. Quite innovative, indeed.

    You know what India needs? American football, that’s what. More concussions?

    Speaking of that…wonder how many actors are glad James Harrison chose not to be in the Batman movie…

    Welcome back, supreme commander Lukas!

    And great job, Phil & Crew. Was really digging the panel hat pieces.

    Welcome back, PL.

    And welcome to ASU’s new white football helmets, which made their official debut at practice this morning, apparently:

    link

    The Indian Football logos are stellar! I love them all and can’t wait to see the uniforms! The Dheli Defenders are my favorite so far, because the helmets look AWESOME.

    For a 16 year old, yep, they’re not too bad. For an adult professional athlete, they look like something a 16 year old would like.

    The Indian Football logos are stellar! I love them all and can’t wait to see the uniforms! The Dheli Defenders are my favorite so far, because the helmets look AWESOME.

    Gracias.

    But does the EFLI have any chance at sustained success? They plan to expand to 50-some teams within 10 years and poach rugby players by paying higher salaries?

    I may be naive, but does India have a strong rugby presence to begin with? This experiment seems a bit like trying to force NFL Europe onto a soccer-loving continent. No nation likes American Football en masse except Americans.

    The EFLI can only use native Indian players and will have 50-some teams. It seems that the costs will be astronomical and the talent pool will be spread very thin.

    Welcome back to Uni Watch, Paul!
    Have you seen that Icethetics leaked the Ottawa Senators’ heritage jersey? Can you confirm or deny that it is real?

    Why call your team the “Blacktigers” if the tiger on the helmet is going to be orange?

    (Otherwise I thought those helmets all looked pretty sweet and I look forward to some film using the ELFI uniforms instead of paying the NFL for the right to use actual NFL teams.)

    In India, there are mythical “black” tigers… hence the name of the Pune Black Tigers. HOWEVER… As we started using a black and white stripped tiger design (w/no orange) the logo started looking like an angry zebra…
    link

    I am pretty certain the uniforms will end up in a nice dark shade of black…

    I always figured that when all the stars where filled in on NFL captains patch where filled in they would make the “C” filled in with gold. But I guess I was wrong.

    You are correct Jeff— I think it’s safe to say that “Gladiator” isn’t much more than another way of saying Fighter or Warrior nowadays. I’m pretty sure Pittsburgh never had Gladiatorial combat, but that didn’t stop them from using the name for an Arena Football team.

    We had research provided to our firm that Remember the Titans was a very popular movie in India and that Titans would be a great connection to connect American-style football (not soccer) to the indian fans. However, not wanting to get in the way of the NFL we side stepped Titans in favor of Gladiator (but Gladiator in the analogy sense)… He’s plays like a Gladiator… hence the name. Obviously the success of Bollywood and the love of many things American in India also suggested a big powerful name for a city
    the size of Mumbai (20.5 Million people)….

    Re: the 1983-85 Mets road alts…

    Is that the only jersey ever to feature grey numbers and wordmark? Even if you consider it ugly, you might have to give it innovation points.

    Coulda been worse. Coulda been “MOYNIHAN”.

    (Yes, I know that’s misspelled, too. Stay with me on this.)

    It’s a German name so in lieu of umlauts, you ues an E after the letter. So Bündchen = Buendchen.

    If anyone was curious whats new about Bowling Green’s football uniforms, the white jerseys are now the same style as the orange(adidas style w/ the back horns). And they changed the helmet decal from just the BG to the BG w/ the Falcon(and it looks like a new pointed helmet stripe too)

    I may have missed this being discussed a while back, but is RA Dickey wearing those “Reezig” training shoes instead of cleats?

    link

    Hi Russ-
    The EFLI can only use native Indian players and will have 50-some teams. It seems that the costs will be astronomical and the talent pool will be spread very thin.
    Check out the EFLI.com site for some of the demos of India.
    The US has nine cities of over one million people, India: 42!
    There is limited sports programming in India.
    The EFLI for the first three seasons will play all their games in the same stadium greatly reducing their overhead. The stadium will be as close to a 25,000 seat studio as has ever been constructed.
    The country of India will be a minority owner having a 15% stake in tue League and will help to offset start-up costs.
    Check out: EFLI.com

    It does sound interesting. Is the plan to use American and Canadian coaching staffs until there’s enough experience among the Indian population to take over?

    Europe has 20 cities with $1 million people and could not sustain more than 6 teams in NFL Europe at any one time. The UK and Germany currently have small leagues (emphasis on the “small”). I agree that India has more people than the US and Europe combined, however the Per Capita GDP is only about $3,500 (compared to $45,000 for the US and $35,000 for the EU). Are Indians starved enough of sprots programming that they are willing to spending their limited disposable income on a sport that has no roots in the country?

    The IPL seems to be successful thusfar with just ten teams. India produces some of the world’s top cricket players and there was already a cricket fanbase in the country when the IPL began.

    The NBA has had great success marketing it’s product to China and the NFL has had some success with games in London, however a large scale league across India with 52 teams is absurd. Its not really a question of start up costs (anyone can find enough investor to throw their money after something), but it’s a question of sustainability. Will the league be profitable in 2022 when it is supporting 52 teams? It just seems more prudent to start a bit smaller and build up an interest in the sport in Asia. Will the league be able to find 2,500 (assuming 50 teams and 50 players per team) quality Indian football players by 2022 since all of the players are required to be Indian?

    I hope the EFLI succeeds. It will be exciting to see more Asian sports leagues, however I fear the EFLI will fade away as so many other Gridiron Football Leagues have over the past 100 years.

    We have more than 9 metropolitan areas that have over a million people.
    City population is often deceiving.

    Speaking of nickNOBs, did George Gervin ever have “ICE” on the back of his jersey (as opposed to warmup jacket)?

    “Pistol” Pete is the other one I remember from either the ABA or the NBA, but the most unforgettable one would be “He Hate Me” from the now-defunct XFL.

    Pretty sure he always wore “GERVIN” on his jerseys.

    Funny you mentioned him and Pistol Pete in the same comment:
    link

    Elvin Hayes had just “E” on the back of his Capitol Bullets jersey.

    I think there were a couple of others.

    Thinking the NFL Equipment logo deal is a team-by-team decision; it may have to do with some teams believing you have to ‘earn’ the shield, as it were. I’m a die-hard Bears fan and I can totally believe Lovie Smith would pull something like that.

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