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Here’s Looking at You

Here's Looking at You, Kitty

By Phil Hecken

Howdy, boys and girls — I’m baaaaaack.

Who’s that in the splash photo? None other than Caitlin Lukas and her owner, Paul — more on that in a minute.

I wish I could tell you guys my weekend hiatus was because I was on vacation or otherwise was having a grand old time pursuing projects or writing blogs or visiting exotic locales, but the fact is, I’ve been busting my hump these past three weeks with a grad school photojournalism class. It was intense, to say the least, with four, three-hour classes a week (Monday through Thursday), for which there were seven assignments, plus lots and lots of shoots, reading, studying, etc. etc. etc. Suffice it to say that I’m pretty exhausted, with most nights being up until 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning (and rising at 7:00 for my *real* job). It was a great experience though, and I’m glad it’s over, but also very glad I elected to take this class (normally, this amount of work is spread over thirteen weeks, not two and a half).

Anyway, for my projects, we were to do photo shoots, complete with extensive captioning, of six different subjects: (1) a sports story; (2) a story about a particular place; (3) a religion story; (4) a business story; (5) an entertainment story; and (6) a photo essay that constitutes a portrait of one interesting individual. The professor, realizing that we were under some serious time constraints, was a bit flexible with the first five, but was adamant about the portrait. He showed us a series of “examples” from the gray lady, a set of projects called One in Eight Million, and intimated we might want to model our profile along similar lines.

Our seventh project was to do “audio slides,” which was, quite literally, to take one of our six projects, and to create a multi-media project using both our photos and an audio accompaniment.

Fortunately, having the greatest boss in the world (my Uni Watch boss, that is), I selected one Paul Lukas for my profile. So I hopped in my car and drove to beautiful Park Slope for an interview at Uni Watch HQ with the big guy. Paul was great, gave me more than two full hours of his time, and it was both a tremendous photo shoot…AND…he gave me almost an hour and forty-five minutes of audio (interview, just shooting the shit, explaining all of his ephemera, etc.). I ended up turning the profile project into my multi-media project as well. It was awesome.

So, how did it turn out? I’ll let you be the judge, but here’s the slideshow. Of course, that’s just the photos — for more detailed descriptions, here’s the flickr set, complete with detailed explanations of the accompanying photo (just click on any individual photo to read the write-up).

I’m pretty proud of the audio-slides I made from that photo shoot (the project is on YouTube, but Paul asked that I not link to that), and includes about 20 images not seen in the “A Visit with Paul Lukas” set.

If you’re interested in any of the other stuff I did, you can find all those projects on my flickr account as well but the direct links are here, here, here, here and here.

Unless Hurricane Irene has other plans, I’ll be back with some actual uni watching tomorrow. Hope everyone on the eastern seaboard is safe. Thanks for indulging me today.

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Stuff you may have missed…

The Orioles will be sporting this patch in memory of Mike Flanagan for the rest of the season. That comes from this Facebook page.

Last night the Cleveland Indian fans saluted the return of their conquering hero, Jim Thome, who was traded to Cleveland the other day. And just how did the Indians welcome Thome back? By all going high-cuffed, of course. Amazing. It’s such a good damn look (thanks to Paul for the screen grab). It really is incredible that teams continue to permit the pajama pants. Maybe the players just think it makes them look tougher.

Also last night, the Cardinals had Willie McGee Bobblehead Night. In honor of the occasion, guess who got to throw out the first pitch. Also in honor of the occasion, the Cardinals wore throwbacks. Yeah, um, I don’t recall them ever quite looking like this. Gaddamit Majestic. Just give your “throwback” business to EFF or Bobcat or someone who actually gives a shit and please don’t give the players the uniforms three sizes too big…even if you have their measurements on file. THIS is how they wore that uni. *Sigh* — more photos, if you really must see, are here.

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Benchies Header

Benchies

by Rick Pearson

~~~

Ah, that legendary quickness…

8-27-11 d-swatter

And here’s the full-size.

~~~~~~~~~~

all sport uni tweaks

Uni Tweaks

We have another new set of tweaks today.

If you have a tweak, change or concept for any sport, send them my way.

Remember, if possible, try to keep your descriptions to ~50 words (give or take) per tweak. You guys have been great at keeping to that, and it’s much appreciated!

And so, lets begin:

~~~

We start with Chris DeGennaro, who has a new set for the New York Football Giants:

Hey, I know the New York Giants’ uniform are fine. I wanted to change the road, but atleast keep both of them the same. Just tweaking the sides and collar doesn’t make it as boring as the plain blue or have red on the road jersey.

Home
Away

Chris DeGennaro

~~~

Here’s an interesting one from John Tomac, who envisions a whole new National League (keep in mind these were sent to me some time ago, so the references aren’t so timely)…

Hey Phil,

Here’s a baseball uni tweak based on last week’s news that nine teams were in violation of MLB debt rules. At some point in the future, teams are probably going to sell advertising on their uniforms. It has been discussed before and there is potentially a lot of money to be made from this sort of sponsorship deal.

For this exercise, I envisioned teams swapping out their cap insignia for corporate logos. Since 14 of the 16 National League teams have either sold their stadium naming rights or have a corporate name attached because previous ownership saw an opportunity for free advertising, I figured it was a good place to start.

Two teams that are the exception to the rule, the Dodgers and Nationals have theoretical sponsors. In case of the Nats it’s the fairly logical National Rent-a-Car. For the Dodgers, it’s Law & Order, the other New York franchise stolen by Los Angeles. Surely NBC would want to promote the fact that this show was now in LA. (Although since the show has been cancelled it probably would remind people that there is now a massive police presence at Chavez Ravine.)

I’ve got a brief blog entry of my own on the subject here

(Of course, this is a nod to the great Otis Shepard)

Thanks for your time,
-John

~~~

And our last tweak (set of tweaks, actually) comes from David Johnson, who envisions a kindler, gentler Pac 12:

Hey Phil,

Here are my concepts for the Pac 12 Conference. I simplified everyone!

Thanks,
Dave

~~~

That’s all for today. Good to be back in tweak show mode again, no? More tomorrow.

~~~~~~~~~

Seattle Seahawks Concept 1

Oh yeah…there’s that Seahawks Redesign Contest thing…

In case you guys missed it while Paul was on vacation, and I was pinch-hitting during the weekdays, I’m running a Seattle Seahawks redesign contest along with my buddy, Tim E. O’Brien. Details are all in that post, but the deadline is Labor Day (September 5, 2011), after which we’ll likely have reader voting and I’ll award a prize (still not sure what that will be, but it should be pretty cool) to the winner. I’ve received a bunch of submissions already, most of which are using the “pro combat” template described in the prior post. If you are interested, and want to participate, try to use that template (it’s not 100% necessary, but it is preferred). If you have any questions about the contest, you can shoot me a line. That’s also the address to send your entries to — please indicated “Seahawks Redesign Contest” (or similar verbiage) in the “SUBJECT” line. OK? OK!

Looking forward to seeing what you guys have got!

~~~~~~~~~

Parting shots…

OK, that’s it for today. As a side note, I “locked and loaded” this post early Friday just in case we begin to feel the first effects of Hurricane Irene earlier than expected, in anticipation of possible power loss — as of Friday evening, it was still calm and beautiful out on the east end of Long Island. In another life, I was a moderator on two hurricane boards, and so I’ve always been awed and fascinated by these monster storms.

As of this writing, it looks like the doomsday scenarios of yesterday are going to fall short of the mark (thankfully), but that doesn’t mean that a lot of areas won’t still be in big trouble. Irene is still a dangerous storm, and there is going to be a LOT of rain, wind and erosion, and undoubtedly some major power outages all up and down the eastern seaboard (here’s hoping my power and that at UW HQ stay on). I hope and pray that everyone is safe, and that our friends from the Carolinas through Maine make it through this thing OK — stay safe and if you happen to live in one of the areas that is told to evacuate — Get the hell off the beach! Back in 2005, one of the hardest things ever was learning that one of our most energetic posters, who happened to live in New Orleans, lost his life in Katrina when he thought he could ride out the storm.

For anyone who’s actually into the weather and want to follow this, this is a great site. I particularly like to track the storm using the water vapor loop, since this shows certain features which are particularly important to meteorologists. I won’t get into the details, but suffice it to say, following the WV loop gives a very good indication of track and strength, as well as future path. For radar views, I like this interactive map. Press the “play” icon to start the radar, and you can easily zoom in and out and pan up and down the coast. Works great wherever you live (at least in the US — not sure about elsewhere).

Hopefully, we’ll all come out of this fine and all there will be is some beach erosion, a few downed trees, and power outages. As the cliche goes, prepare for the worst and hope for the best. I hope to *see* you all tomorrow.

~~~

“If Paul’s at a corporate event, he’ll almost certainly be wearing pants.” — AnthonyTX

 
  
 
Comments (86)

    I would just like to point out that the Pro Combat template is horrible for actually showcasing a a complex design. It completely fails to show pants or helmet striping. It’s good for giving a quick general idea of what a team would look like, but that’s it.

    /applauds furiously at guy who did the Pac 12 designs

    Now THAT’S the kind of person the Uni design world needs more of, yet sadly has increasingly less of.

    /applauds guy some more

    I’m not sure what you mean. I like uniforms that look good. The era they came from doesn’t matter. All of those Pac-12 designs the guy did look really good. Sometimes uniforms come out in the present day that also look good. More often, they do not. To make a blanket classification “old school vs. new and modern” way of thinking takes the discussion to the wrong place and misses the point.

    The uniforms look really good, that’s all.

    Agreed. The things that make these great are primarily:
    1. appropriately proportioned jerseys;
    2. avoidance of “too many bumperstickers” on any given set; and
    3. each set has some features that are both disntictive and connected to the team’s past.

    I actually thought a lot of those looked good, Tuim. My big thing is staying true to the team and its colors, and those did that. Those first two Oregon ones were good. Simple and clean, and you kept the wings, which I like. Oregon could look pretty good without all the damn combinations.

    I, for one, am thankful that baseball players no longer wear skin-tight uniforms. Seeing Greg Luzinski’s gut in those ’80s beach-blanket White Sox uniforms was not pleasant.

    Agreed—skin tight is creepy. But what we’re seeing is the other extreme. One moron makes a lame statement & the rest follow. Just like with the abomination that is the oversized, flat brim cap. And bling wearing while playing a sport. Huge baggie over the heel pajama pants doesn’t make a major leaguer look tough. It makes him look bush, it’s as if he’s wearing his big “brother’s” or really big “sister’s ” clothes.

    Yeah, the angry linkstorm there just made me say, “Job well done, Majestic.” Just because something is old, or authentic, doesn’t make it good. Skin-tight pullover unis are case in point. Whenever I see the pajama look getting out of hand (as in, whenever the Brewers come to DC), I have to take a moment, think back to the early 1980s, and remind myself, it could be worse.

    Y’know, current MLB style is basically to play in warmup pants that have loops and belts.

    So, in some ways, these pants…
    link
    …may actually look a lot better.

    Why?
    At least they go ahead and LOOK like warmup pants, and the waistband does add some color…seeing as we aren’t seeing stirrups anymore. Ditto for the slightly wider striping than typical in 2011.

    Historically inaccurate as a throwback, of course, but those pants help identifiy the team, as opposed the seemingly universal belted pant with narrow striping of today’s MLB.

    I thought the same thing when the Orioles and Pirates wore their “thowbacks” against each other a while back.

    Not saying everyone should go with sansabelts and pajamas, but on a couple teams, why not.

    “Not saying everyone should go with sansabelts and pajamas, but on a couple teams, why not.”

    ~~~

    i nominate the twins to go first, especially with their new gorgeous cream pins

    get back to me in a couple weeks after they wear that and tell me if you still think it looks good

    or…

    were you implying a team who wears a shitty uniform to begin with should look like that…

    And, yes, I was suggesting a team that’s in uni-nondescript-land try it.

    Not with pins, either. Never was a fan of sansabelt with pins.

    I dunno, Rangers maybe? Or Astros, who are crying for something better and at least a bit more appropos to their nickname? Whoever did it probably would need the sleeve end striping to correspond to the pant legs, for the sake of balance in the design.

    In all fairness, I was NOT envisioning such a thing with a dark top. Was thinking of white home, gray road. Period. Not powder blue roads. We’ve seen how silly long baggy baby blue pants look on the Jays and Phillies. They look like they should have feet in them. And a trap door in the back.

    The hole in the idea, of course, is the button fronts look a little odd with sansabelts…although the Orioles certainly made it work during that era.

    Maybe Padres or Blue Jays?
    Or Nationals? They’ve become sort of a cluster fuck of afterthought on top of afterthought now, anyway.

    “Rangers maybe? Or Astros”

    ~~~

    two teams that wear softball jerseys almost as often as their white/gray (if not more…don’t follow the ‘stros, but don’t they try to wear their brick in almost every game?) —

    see — the two teams you selected for the sweatpants look are the two teams who quite often wear colored tops — maybe it’s a signal that they should just blow the whole thing up and start over?

    on another note…how about teams who don’t have pants striping to go to pullovers & sansabelts with lots of striping?

    yes, because the cardinals and dodgers need new unis

    Well, that was what I said. Sorta. Was hoping it would elininate some dark tops because it might suppress the urge to get more color onto the field sometimes.

    And, again, I was only saying that as long as teams are wearing warmup pants anyway, it could work for someone. If carefully designed in an overall look, that is. Not some slapdash piece of crap.

    As Vilk pointed out, those mustard-hat Pirates throwbacks looked pretty damn good…if we must combine the look of two eras, that is. So did the Orioles that night, come to think of it.

    Again, that’s in the context that jammies are here. Not if we’re gonna look at the uni and bitch about baggy pants and no socks showing. Long pants are here. I’m just asking if there’s a way to make them a little more interesting and contribute to the individuality of a team’s look.

    When you see all of the teams in this year’s Little League World Series wearing pajama pants it’s time to realize that Armageddon is upon the world of baseball uniforms. Damn you, Barry Bonds!

    Exactly, because I still maintain hightops had a lot to do with it, in a cause-and-effect sense.

    For those of us who were around to watch it develop, it really began with players who apparently liked the feel of higher cut shoes but, rightly so, not the shitkicker look of them. So they covered them with their pantlegs. Bascially they “spatted” them with their pants the way football players used to do with white tape.

    “There. Feels good, and I don’t look like I’m going out to steal chickens.”

    Say what you want, but this is right up there with one of the dumbest pants-shoes looks in MLB style history…
    link

    agreed

    but because one asshole wore that look, we should scrap the entire socks/stirrups look? how about bonds just tapes his ankles like every other athlete and wears the uniform properly?

    wassat? because “he’s barry fuckin’ bonds, that’s why”?

    gotcha

    I’m not advocating anything. Just explaining how a style appeared to have developed, and the reasoning behind it.

    Let’s face it. A guy hits 70+ home runs (artifcially enhanced or not) and other players are gonna follow his style lead.

    Actually, those Bonds Pirates teams pretty much started the whole thing. Guys like Bobby Bonilla and Jose Lind were some of the earliest to wear their pants virtually down to their shoe tops, at or over the ankle bone.

    And, before someone mentions it, NOT George Hendrick. His pants stopped a couple inches above the ankle bone, showing a bit of sock. Yeah, he wore ’em low and just a bit baggy at the bottom, but not as low and tight as those Pirates.

    Reality Check: For almost 50 years now, among the things the equipment guys for most teams asks players when they get to The Show is, how do they want their pants tailored and how do they like to wear their stirrups/socks. In the context of the TV Era, that is the way it’s “always” been. Lotta room for personal style.

    That would be, like, traditional almost. Really tough to back up from that on an MLB-wide basis.

    It’s all the physique of the individual.

    Fat women shouldn’t wear miniskirts, either, but I’ll be damned if I’ll say that makes miniskirts bad.

    [I]I, for one, am thankful that baseball players no longer wear skin-tight uniforms. Seeing Greg Luzinski’s gut in those ’80s beach-blanket White Sox uniforms was not pleasant.[/I]

    And looking at CC Sabathia, Prince Fielder, and Mark Kotsay is a good thing?

    Nope.

    Boy the Indians looked good with all high socks! They looked like BASEBALL PLAYERS! It’s such a shame that after all the ballparks were built to envoke the old time game the players decided to start looking more like the ground crew than players.

    I didn’t know this until recently, but the reason Jim Thome goes high-cuffed is as a tribute to his grandfather, who apparently made it to AAA ball.

    I trust many others now know what some of us here have known for a while.

    Phil is a helluva photographer. Great eye. Composes in-frame, not relying on “fixing it in the darkroom”, in the vernacular of another age.

    If I could, I have wall of Phil’s photos (although picking only a few would be a bitch), a wall of my late cousin’s photos, and a wall of those Hy Peskin photos, especially the ones that feature those great baseball flannels.

    I think all cats have that look that Caitlin is giving. The “WTF?” look. I get it from my two cats every time it is breakfast time, or poop scooping time, or when I walk through the house naked…

    Maybe current NFL/NCAA players should end all of this crap and go with the skin-tight short shorts as worn by Aussie Rules players. Uniforms in two major sports look like sh*t today. Football jerseys are sized way too small and football pants are too short while baseball unis are cut way too big. Some players better hope they don’t get caught in the winds from Hurricane Irene. They could balloon up and be deposited in the Land of Oz.

    Didn’t studies show that Aussie Rules football players suffer more physical injuries, e.g. broken legs, whereas NFL players suffer more brain injuries?

    In case of the Nats it’s the fairly logical National Rent-a-Car.

    Since the Nats link, I thought a sponsorship deal with a certain hot dog brand would be a natural.

    Ladies and gentlemen, your Washington Hebrew Nationals, answering to a higher authority than Bud Selig.”

    I was wondering what that logo on the Nats cap was! However, if you’re going the Hebrew Nationals route, you could change their cap logo to this:

    וושינגטון

    Hebrew Nationals, ranks right up there with Paul’s Oykea idea!

    I get enough grief for my Walgreens baseball caps. The Washington Hebrew Nationals could go for that whole House of David look.

    Time for a sports name game? How about fairy tales/Mother Goose athlete names, I’ll go first:

    Glenn Hubbard

    Goose Gossage.
    Vida Blue (as in “Little Boy…”)
    Russ Grimm (do author’s count?)
    Wee Willie Keeler

    I too thought of Russ Grimm. I suppose Glenn Hubbard was Bermanized back in the day to Glenn “Old Mother” Hubbard.

    Speaking of such things, the other day I realized we missed a good one when we were doing the All Topograhy/Terrain/Landforms Team.

    John Wetteland.

    ok uni brethren…leaving the hampton home now to head back to mineola…

    hopefully what is normally a 2 hour drive won’t become a 4 hour odyssey as the rest of the world beats a path the hell out of here…weather is fine now and should be until this evening, but i want to get home, get settled and get tomorrow’s post locked in before we (hopefully don’t) lose power

    y’all be safe

    Good luck Phil. Irene is a’comin tonight for me, so hope everything goes smoothly for everyone.

    Mike Flanagan does not deserve a memorial patch.

    I find memorial patches to be tasteless for professional sports athletes. It’s done so often its has no meaning and I trust for many of the players (especially international) that the patch doesn’t mean anything.

    It’s sad enough to see grown men and women willing to pay to wear another mans name on their back…I will associate ANY kind of patch with marketing.

    Better people pass everyday with only a 50 word or less printing in the local obits who don’t commit suicide because of selfish reasons.

    Yeah, when I heard the news of Flanagan, I had the brief thought, too, that the fact that he died by his own hand may have precluded any tributes or patches or anything back in the day. Of course back then people generally viewed suicide as simply a sin, whereas nowadays it’s more likely viewed in terms of mental/ illness.

    Not to say that if a truly iconic player like Babe Ruth or Joe DiMaggio had offed himself he wouldn’t have been honored at all by baseball, but what was society’s reaction when Hemingway killed himself? I don’t know because that was well before my time.

    Full disclosure: I know one of Flanagan’s daughters. Not well, but I’ve hung out with her a few times, so that probably colors my response to Flanagan’s death.

    That said… Like Rob H., I wondered if the fact that Flanagan’s death was self-inflicted would affect the team’s and/or the fan base’s reaction to it. I’m somewhat surprised — pleasantly so — that the response has been such a strong outpouring of affection. Haven’t heard anyone toss around terms like “taking the coward’s way out” or any of the other clichés (most of them badly misguided) that one often hears after a suicide. Until Craig posted that nonsense a few comments up.

    Craig’s post notwithstanding, I think this speaks to some growth on our part as a society. Good for the O’s and their fans. Craig, you have a lot to learn about life. Hope for your sake you never find yourself in as despondent a place as Flanagan did.

    Excellent response, Paul. Especially your final sentence. Equating suicide & depression with cowardice shows a stunning misunderstanding of all three terms.

    When reading my previous post, please replace “cowardice” with “selfishness.” Both terms fit the sentiment, but selfishness is consistent with statements in original comment about Mr. Flanagan’s tribute-worthiness.

    I have theory that there generally seem to be two basic reactions to stories such as Flanagan’s.

    One is “Selfish son of a bitch.”
    The other is “Poor lonely bastard.”

    The latter group has a clue.
    The former does not, and usually seem to enjoy opening their mouths to reveal that fact as often as possible.
    Go figure.

    I’m glad that the manner of his death did not prevent the O’s from honoring Flanagam. I’m mildly disappointed that his significance to the organization (not all that great, as far as these things go) did not prevent the O’s from doing so; I’d like this sort of honor to be more rare. But it’s a very good thing that his suicide seems not to have influenced the decision.

    It’s important to remember that as much as the survivors experience a suicide to a large degree as the perpetrator, he is also always the victim as well. And much of the anger directed at the suicide is little more than displaced self-loathing that boils down to blaming oneself for not anticipating or preventing the act. An acute form of survivor’s guilt. I honestly doubt that even five years ago, any team in a similar situation would have honored Flanagan with the full patch treatment. That’s amazing progress, really.

    his significance to the organization (not all that great, as far as these things go)…

    Not so sure I agree with that. Flanagan:

    a) won a ring with the O’s

    b) won a Cy Young as an O

    c) was a pitching coach for the O’s

    d) was a broadcaster for the O’s

    e) was more or less a GM for the O’s (that wasn’t his official title, but the O’s didn’t have anyone by that title, and Flanagan’s duties in the front office were essentially those of a GM)

    When you’ve been part of the family in that many different capacities, over such a long period of time, I’d say that qualifies as having some serious “significance to the organization.”

    I didn’t think he was really “dissing” him, just saying that Flanagan wasn’t quite of the significance of those at the highest level of all Orioles – Ripken, Murray, B & F Robinson, Palmer, Weaver, Boog Powell. Certainly a significant Oriole, just perhaps maybe not in the absolutely highest echelon, and there are plenty of people who feel the rarity of these honors is what keeps them special and reserved for the best of the best — although as your reply indicates, an argument could also be made that he is in that highest echelon, a step above the John Lowensteins and the Mark Belangers.

    Just think, I’ve been lurking here for years and saw something in the main body on which I was going to comment. Coincidentally, I see this ignorant drivel about “selfish reasons.”

    I have had depression for most of my life. I have attempted suicide. I have learned to manage it. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone–anyone, that is, except you and your ilk, so that way maybe you’d stop with the stupidity and actually, you know, have a damn clue before you open your soupcoolers.

    Whether one is talking about Mike Flanagan or Jerry Richardson or Terrelle Pryor or Mike Vick…or even Phil Knight ;)…I think the same guideline should apply – reserve judgment. Yes, we’re free to decry the actions or words of people, but not their state of mind or their intent. We just don’t know, so let’s leave it at that.

    Now one thing we *can* objectively judge is:
    Phil can snap some purty photos.

    Phil..excellent camera work. I got to get my hands on a Rebel one of these days. The pajama pants thing is depressing..even Jeter has been doing it..I don’t understand it. In baseball culture all the kids gotta be like the other guys..if one guy has a neck tattoo we have to get one..It’s nice to know at least Jim Thome looks like a player too and is a hell of a nice guy.

    Want to talk about all the flat brims—in some cases almost pointing upward as if their purpose is to serve as raincatcher—in the LLWS?

    Ugh.

    If I was a coach on any level..I’d teach my guys how to look polished..especially in Little League! It follows you through life. When Buck Showalter was in charge of the D Backs, he made socks mandatory..is it so hard to look good?

    Those are really great images of Paul and his interests, Phil. Nice work!

    And thank you for the link to the One in Eight Million project.

    Stay safe east cost readers.

    phil baby, my sweet potato, welcome back.

    nice job on the shots, and it is nice to see the table turned on that lukas character who never puts that damn camera down.

    days to CorC 7.

    tomac~good/horrifying idea, but maybe the teams who didn’t sell their naming rights should have been left as themselves to articulate the point. just a thought as you put it “on the wall” for crit because it was a very good idea and well executed.

    Question: Could the winds be strong enough to tip over my Big Green Egg?

    Probably not, but still…

    Moving it into the basement (to say nothing of moving back OUT of the basement afterward) is a two- or three-person job. So I think I’ll just wheel it over against the side of the house, so it has one less direction in which to fall….

    keep your egg outside

    looks like we may be a’ight with this one…fingers and toes crossed tho

    you heard it here first

    phil baby sweet potato is my favourite forecaster. when you need to know, you know where to go.

    Put your shoes on before you go out there.
    I never figured you for a barefoot-around-the-house guy.
    Not dissing it by any means. I just didn’t see it.
    Regardless, your apartment is keen.

    Craig’s comment was the epitome of selfish.

    Great pics (and captions), LI Phil.

    Excellent photos Phil, one of my favorite J-school classes was my photojournalism class. It’s fun knowing how to take pictures and tell stories with them.

    Watching high school football on ESPN, St. Thomas Aquinas vs. Pratville. Aquinas is wearing athletic gold pants, white shirts, and what looks like a vegas gold helmet. I keep saying to myself how ugly this looks, but continue to watch the game.

    As seen on the Nike board link:

    “I don’t care about stirrups, really. Sure, I guess they look kinda cool with throwback jerseys, but I’m not like some UniWatch posters who want players flogged and hanged for not wearing stirrups anymore.”

    “on another note im not a fan of stirrups, wayyy too old school, even with throwback unis”

    Just kids posting, I guess.

    Thanks for the intellicast link – I now have a new favorite weather site.

    Your admonition for people to heed the evacuation warnings reminded me of Ron White’s bit about the guy that said he was in great shape and was planning on tying himself to a tree and riding out the storm: “Let me tell you something, it’s not that the wind is blowing 140 miles an hour – it’s what the wind is blowing 140 miles an hour. If a Volvo lands on you, it’s not gonna matter how many sit-ups you did that morning.”

    I get a little excited every time I look at Paul’s gams in that barber chair shot that Phil took.

    Giants pitcher Eric Surkamp is making his Major League debut tonight in the Giants’ striped socks. I’m sitting too far away to get a decent picture, but one should be online soon enough.

    I don’t have a screenshot of this or anything, but I’m watching the Maryville vs. Alcoa (Tenn.) high school football game, which was almost broadcast on ESPN and is a VERY big deal here in East Tennessee, and spotted something that should make everyone hurl. Alcoa is sponsored by UnderArmour, apparently, to the extent that there are huge UA logos painted on the field, two in each end zone.

    ok…uni watchers…all two who may still be reading this…

    close to midnight here now…and the weather is starting to turn really shitty…still not much wind yet, but a TON of rain and we’re under a tornado watch

    so…earthquake, hurricane & possible tornado in one week…that’s a trifecta i’d just as soon avoid

    anyway…stay safe all you uni watchers and there will be a post tomorrow…whether or not i have power (all locked & loaded)

    just heard that the *eye* (or whatever is left of it) is supposed to pass directly over my head (or possibly paul’s, depending on the track), sometime between 8:00 & 10:00 am tomorrow…so if’n you don’t hear from me, it’s probably because irene kicked my ass

    That quote especially taken out of context is one of the funniest things I’ve ever read on this site. I certainly hope Paul would wear pants in public. Although if he was at a Nike “corporate event” (like that’d ever happen) he’d probably go sans pants so he could moon Phil Knight.

    Did anyone else notice how tiny the St.L logo was on Willie McGee’s batting helmet? Were they always that small back then?

    [Also posted on Sunday comments] – A day late (and always a dollar short?) but…fantastic job LI Phil on the photo essay of Paul. I had the pleasure of meeting both Paul and Phil briefly when they came to Mpls last year for the Deep Freeze weekend. While I am a mostly passive observer, I check in every day and thoroughly enjoy – and am constantly amazed at the depth and passion of both Paul and Phil – and the many, many followers/contributors.

    The essay provides a glimpse into who Paul is and his credibility on so many subjects. I wish you well in future career endeavors Phil. If this project is any indication, you will do well. Very well.

    I liked the baseball sponsored tweaks. I don’t like that the teams feature sponsor logos, but it’s obvious that the tweak itself took work and it’s well thought out, in planning and execution. I’m sure Paul [Lukas] would abhor its potentially impending debut in real life, but the concept is cool. It’s not a logo creep; it’s a logo invasion! :D

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