My Friday Flashback piece on ESPN this week is about the 1995-96 NBA season, which featured the debuts of fairly outlandish uniforms from the Grizzlies, Raptors, Hawks, and Bucks (among others). Check it out here. ”” Paul
T-Shirt Club reminder: In case you missed it earlier this week, the Uni Watch T-Shirt Club’s latest offering — the amazing tequila sunrise design — is now available for ordering. As I explained a few weeks back, the design and production issues on this one were fairly complex, so we decided to have some samples made — so much better than just having a mock-up. Check it out (click to enlarge):
Not bad, right? Additional details here, or you can just order it here.
Mike’s Question of the Week
By Mike Chamernik
During Game 4 of the Cubs/Cardinals NLDS matchup on Tuesday night, Cubs reliever Francisco Rodney did his signature bow-and-arrow pantomime — after getting pulled in the middle of an inning during which he allowed the tying run on base.
Classic stuff. Since the Cubs won, it won’t go down as a monumental jinx.
What’s your favorite athlete celebration? What’s your least favorite? Do you have any celebration routines? As always, leave your answer in the comments.
The Ticker
By Paul
’Skins Watch: California Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation that bars the public schools from using “Redskins” as a team name. The move affects four high schools in the state (thanks, Phil). ”¦ The Washington Post’s editorial board says the new California law is further evidence that the ’Skins should change their name already (from Bryan Martin Firvida). ”¦ A pair of idiot Texas Tech fans, apparently taking a rather expansive view of the term “Red Raiders,” showed up for last weekend’s game in redface and headdresses. Classy (from Kary Klismet). ”¦ A leading Native American media outlet thinks Nikegon football’s recent “pioneer” uniform represented a whitewash of Native history. That sentiment was echoed in an open letter to Nikegon from the school’s Native American faculty, staff, students, and alumni (from Matt DeMazza and Ryan Hamilton, respectively). ”¦ Goshen High, the Indiana school whose teams will no longer be called “Redskins,” has narrowed its list of potential replacement names to four finalists. ”¦ Jeb Bush has added the ’Skins to his stump speech. Key quote, from his speech at a town hall meeting in New Hampshire on Wednesday: “I was asked on a sports talk show, I was asked my views on the Washington Redskins. And I said look, you know, there’s a lot of big pressing problems here; I don’t think we need to be so politically correct, and try to, through government, take the name Redskins off.” Of course, that’s a classic straw man argument, because nobody in government (or, to my knowledge, out of government) has proposed any legislation to force the Washington football team to change its name (from Bryan Martin Firvida).
Baseball News: Holy moly — a tequila sunrise pancake! Outstanding! ”¦ Check this out: There was a high school whose logo was basically an upside-down version of the Phillies’ 1970s mark. ”¦ Our pal Todd Radom put together an GIF animation of Mets jersey lettering through the years. ”¦ Good article on the increasing prevalence of bat flips. ”¦ I’m still calling it Carolina Stadium (from Joel Mathwig). ”¦ As we all know by now, all four remaining MLB postseason teams have royal blue caps. Jesse Gavin says the last time the four finalists had same-colored caps was 1998, but that’s assuming you think the Yankees’ midnight navy belongs in the same discussion with more traditional navy, which is arguably a stretch. ”¦ Here, watch a baseball bat being made from scratch (thanks, Brinke).
NFL News: Mid-’70s Colts RB Bill Olds had an NOB that was sitting a bit low (from Matt Barnett). ”¦ Disappointing news out of Buffalo, where the Bills will be going mono-blue this weekend. Transforms them from one of the league’s best-looking teams to one of the worst. ”¦ The NFL logo on Saints RB Mark Ingram’s helmet was coming loose last night.
College and High School Football News: Here’s a story on the renovation of Texas A&M’s stadium. Key quote: “[T]he story of the renovation of Kyle Field is one of a university that found itself with more money than it knew what to do with.” ”¦ Maryland may wear throwbacks against Penn State next weekend (from first-time contributor Caleb Finesurrey). ”¦ Here are seven things to know about Ohio State’s BFBS uniforms (from David Feigenbaum). ”¦ Nice-looking uni combo this week for Oregon State. ”¦ A Florida school district has told its football cheerleaders that they can’t wear pink uniforms for Pinktober (from Tom V). ”¦ Penn State coach James Franklin says the team is considering a move to add an alternate uniform (from Alex Sinclair).
Hockey News: The Ohio University hockey team is going G.I. Joke. ”¦ This is pretty funny: The co-ed U. of Minnesota law school hockey team was once called the Fighting Mondales (from Jason Hillyer). ”¦ Here’s an infographic of NHL captains by position (from Justice C). ”¦ Good spot by John Gworek, who points out that the Sabres have inconsistent McNOB styles — one with a raised “c” and one with a base-aligned “c.” ”¦ I don’t like it when a team tells fans what to wear, but that goes double for tonight’s Red Wings game, where the team wants fans to wear pink (thanks, Phil).
NBA News: New alternate uni for the Spurs. It’ll make its on-court debut for the home opener against the Nets on Oct. 30. Additional info here.
College and High School Hoops News: New uniforms — and a JrOB! — for Creighton (from @alexKnust). ”¦ This is pretty awesome: James Dean in a high school basketball uni, circa 1948 (big thanks to Jonathan Daniel). ”¦ New uniforms for Utah. ”¦ New sweatbacks for UVA (from Ricky Schumaker).
Grab Bag: Very interesting piece aboutlogo-free athletic gear. Recommended reading. ”¦ Very good profile of the great graphic designer Michael Beirut here. … Denis Hurley has created a new website that charts all Rugby World Cup jerseys worn since 1987. ”¦Duke has extended its apparel deal with nike through 2027 (thanks, Phil). … Amusing analysis of British Premier League badges (from Chris Sorenson).
QOTW-
Favorite celebration: Lambeau Leap
Least favorite: Holding up 3 fingers after hitting a 3 pointer
What about holding up 3 fingers on both hands after NOT hitting a 3 pointer? #swaggyp #achievementunlocked
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QOTW: I am not much into athletic celebrations. I am old school I guess. Act like you expected to play well or make a big play or score or what have you and expect to do it again too. Meaning act like you’ve been there before and you expect to be back there again. That’s just me.
As for the Cubs, the curse will show up at some point. Last time it was the Bartman incident(which Bartman got scapegoated for the Cubs meltdown) and before that it was the San Diego meltdown. The curse of the billy goat will come forth soon enough.
My Question is for Paul: Are you going to garner tickets for any NLCS games? Should be an epically good time in Shea.
My fave celebration of all time is/was Barry Sanders. After a touchdown, he just handed the ball to the ref, and headed to the bench.
But then how did fans know who scored the touchdown?
Curse? There’s no curse just bad baseball.. This Cubs team is sitting on the porch of a Patriots/Blackhawks/Yankees type dynastic run. The youngest team in baseball is now in the final four of the MLB Postseason. Think 1970 A’s, 1970 Reds and early 1970’s Royals…
Fans who believe in curses are stupid.
“This Cubs team is sitting on the porch of a Patriots/Blackhawks/Yankees type dynastic run.”
~~~
Cubs are no doubt a very good team. But maybe they should at least make their first World Series since 1945 before you proclaim them the next sports dynasty.
He does get it half-right; there is no curse. But that Astros team looks just as poised to make a sustained challenge, to name just one team.
“…that Astros team looks just as poised to make a sustained challenge…”
~~~
You could say the same thing about the Mets, too, with their big-4 dominant pitchers. But until any of these teams wins anything substantial, and for a 3-4 year period, let’s hold off on all this dynasty talk.
This was a stat on Chicago radio the other day. It looked at clubs that have made the league championship series with as many young players as the Cubs and the three most similar teams were the 1971 A’s, the 1970 Reds, and the 1976 Royals.
Early 70s Royals?!
Heard the same report Thomas J… another different is the money the Ricketts will spend on free agent pitching versus Astros and Mets management. Cubs will see huge revenue from Cubs Network and Cubs Campus that will bring the top free agents to bend in with Rizzo/Schwarber/Bryant/Soler/ Russell/Castro/Almora, etc. Dynasty is not a reach with the way Theo constructed this team.
Re: Mike’s Question: Brian Propp from the 1980s Philly Flyers did a guffaw and I think everyone did this as a kid to copy him. Quick, simple, understated. Of course Billy “White Shoes” Johnson is my other favorite.
Proofreading:
“The Washington Post’s editorial board says the new California is further evidence” ‘law’ is missing
“A leading Native American media out thinks Nikegon football’s”
“Very interesting piece about of the great graphic designer”
All fixed.
QOTW
Favorite: Teemu Selanne’s duck hunting/machine gun/shot gun bit. Whatever you want to call it. link
Least favorite: First down signals when the team is down.
Maryland plays PSU in 2 weekends, not this one.
And New Era only uses 2 different shades of navy for their hats; the Yankees shade is absolutely the same shade as the navy they used for the other 3 teams back in 1998. They currently use the other shade for the Padres, but the Tribe switched back to the darker shade just this year after switching to the lighter shade in 2002.
Maryland item fixed. Thanks.
FYI – Ohio is a club hockey team, amazing even club teams have silly uniforms.
Recent favorite celebration, the Joey Bats bat flip, defined the moment.
On the Cheerleaders can’t wear pink, The Hillsborough School District is pretty backwards with athletics. I interviewed for a high school head football coaching job and they told me that every school in the county splits the earning for the gate. So it doesn’t matter if you’re a national power who averages 5,000 a game or a scrub who averages 50, you get the same amount of gate money. Their reason “So nobody has nicer uniforms than any other school”
QOTW:
Fave: Simply giving/tossing the ball to the ref after scoring a touchdown.
Least: Pointing to the name on the back of your jersey.
The worst celebration was Lisa Leslie and Delisha Milton doing faux military salutes at the end of each win for the LA Sparks back in 1999. The practice ended after the Western Conference Finals, when Tina Thompson of the Houston Comets mocked them with such a salute near the end of Game 3 when it was clear the Sparks were going to be eliminated from the playoffs. Leslie went berserk, forearming Thompson in the throat and getting ejected for the 40 seconds or so that were left in the game.
That was so awesome when that happened!
QOTW: I’m not even a Bengals fan, but the Ickey Shuffle is and always will be the greatest celebration routine.
wonder if Rodney did his thing because he knows every appearance in a game could be his last…
QotW:
Favorite: Old school — just hand the ball to the ref | link
Least Favorite: any TD or sack celebrations involving pelvic gyrations, pointing to their NOB, or (back in the day) immediately removing the helmet.
Related: I used to get a kick out of watching Al Hrabosky (“The Mad Hungarian”) pounding his fist into his glove as he got ready to face a batter | link
I always liked Harold Carmichael’s rolling the dice in the end zone.
Actually, more than one bill has been introduced in Congress aimed at forcing a Redskins name change, and as recently as last month. Little to no chance of passage, but bills nonetheless.
link
In addition, Bush didn’t say “Congress,” but rather “government,” which encompasses the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office that rescinded its prior grant of trademark protection for the name in 2014; which rescission, it bears noting, occurred less than a year after President Obama commented publicly that the name should be changed.
None of this is to say that Bush isn’t simply pandering to his audience with his comments. In all likelihood he is. But it’s inaccurate to assert that “nobody in government” has made any effort to effectuate a name change when the evidence says otherwise. Those efforts may be halting, ineffective, what have you, but they have been made.
The legislation you refer to is about stripping the ’Skins of antitrust protection. It is not about an imposed name change.
Similarly, the USPTO does not have the authority to force the ’Skins to change their name. The issue is whether the team is entitled to trademark protection.
Antitrust and trademark protections are not rights; they are privileges that are granted under specific terms and conditions.
Again: There is no legislation I’m aware of that aims to ban or change the team’s name.
Privileges which are of course shared by every other NFL team. Removing them, by any logical standard, is in fact a punishment. It may not be forcing a name change directly, but it is absolutely an attempt at, shall we say, persuading them. The government isn’t trying to make the team change it’s name in the same way that it isn’t trying to make people stop smoking or drinking by putting higher taxes on cigarettes or alcohol.
Removing them, by any logical standard, is in fact a punishment.
Not punishment — FOLLOWING THE LAW. The LAW states that trademark protection shall not be granted to disparaging or racist marks.
If you’re opposed to the LAW, feel free to petition your elected representatives to have it changed.
Meanwhile, the team is perfectly free to keep its name. It may not necessarily be free to do so while enjoying the privilege of trademark protection, however.
We’ve been thru this particular argument a gazillion times. Not interested in making it a gazillion and one — let’s move on. Thanks.
QOTW: Fav, the Sammy Sosa kiss-heart-heavens. I still parody it to this day.
Big Country brings back memories; because of him, they will always be, as he signed it, the “Grizzles” to me.
Parody or emulate?
The Minnesota Daily did a story about the Fighting Mondales last year. There’s a photo, but you can’t see the logo
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There’s a Fighting Mondales jersey in a display case at MSP airport. Saw it from a moving walkway, so I couldn’t stop to take a photo, but it was worth a good chuckle to see the Fighting Mondales represented in a display of Minnesota hockey memorabilia.
I forget the concourse, but I was transferring between a regional jet from Cedar Rapids to a normal jet to Washington, so somewhere in the boonies.
QoTW: I’m not much on celebrations; you should act “like you have been there before”. But with the increasing “Look at me…LOOK AT ME!” in all aspects of life, I guess that it is the grumpy old man in me that likes fewer and fewer of these “celebrations”.
Favorite:
When a goal is scored in hockey, the players sticks go up, the crowd leaps to its feet, the goal horn/siren goes off and the goal lights go on…all at once.
Least Favorite:
a) Pointing to the sky after crossing home plate after a HR.
b) Any NFL post-touchdown celebration.
c) The gathering at home plate after a walk-off HR where it looks like a rugby scrum and tearing the jersey off the player that just scored.
d) The chocolate sauce baptism.
e) Untucking the baseball jersey after a win.
Thanks for sharing Todd Radom’s Mets gif. I’d completely forgotten about the early 1990s link. Of all the wacky things the Mets tried in the ’90s, that was the one worth keeping.
The tail going through the loop in the Y is just too weird-looking for me.
But that’s the best part! Descenders in underlined script are always a bit awkward, but the Mets handled it just right. Much better than the link from the same era.
It would have looked great on the current road jersey, with the piping and without the white outline.
Interesting tidbit about the 1998 championship series teams all wearing midnight navy caps.
The Padres use a lighter shade of navy now but all those teams did wear that very dark midnight navy in 1998. The Cleveland cap shown was the style worn in 2014 (blue was darkened to midnight navy in 2015).
Blue bears subtle shades and tints better than nearly every other color, so the difference between dark blue and navy blue is apparent to most people. I think of Milwaukee and San Diego as dark blue teams. Minnesota and Cleveland can’t seem to make up their minds.
QotW: Any celebration that is both earned and spontaneous (or at least appears spontaneous) is good with me.
The ubiquity of chest-pumping celebrations by football players is one of the things that makes football almost unwatchable for me. Yeah, you blocked a defender for six seconds right there. Good for you. That’s your freakin’ job. Not failing at your job for a few seconds does not earn you a victory celebration. Anything beyond a firm nod of the head in satisfaction is egomaniacal BS.
The other thing is I don’t like canned celebrations. I sort of exempt religious gestures; ritual is kind of the point of those. So Kurt Gibson’s fist-pump, or Kirby Puckett’s arm lift, those are endearing to me. Bautista’s bat-flip struck me as that sort of thing. Most goal-scoring celebrations in hockey feel spontaneous as well: The players are in motion, on ice, and they’re just sort of gesturing exuberantly while continuing to skate.
So, don’t celebrate unless you’ve done something extraordinary to earn it, and don’t have a “signature” celebration.
Great points all around. I thought Bautista’s bat flip was a thing of beauty in context, with the heightened emotions and the enormous release of tension. But if he does it again in another situation, it’ll become tasteless.
Exactly. And while the bat traveled a fair distance, it was actually a brief, restrained show of emotion as these things go.
One addition to my “rules”: If you can do a backflip and land on your feet, you’re allowed to do that in celebration anytime you want, for basically anything.
QOTW – Lambeau Leap is undeniably my favorite, although I will admit to no small measure of bias. But I love that it was originally spontaneous, and arguably celebrates the community of fans as much as it does the individual player’s accomplishment.
Worst is pointing at the sky or invoking either divine inspiration or intervention. It’s classless and tacky. Only Stevie Johnson link.
“Worst is pointing at the sky or invoking either divine inspiration or intervention. It’s classless and tacky.”
~~~~
Why do you hate America so much????????????
What do any of those actions have to do with America?
Not to worry, Main. He’s kidding. Common response when one dares criticize overly-presentational displays of patriotism.
But Phil, you really should have accused me of furthering the War on Christmas(tm). ;)
Seeing how stores start putting Christmas stuff on the shelves in *&^%ing September, the War on Christmas needs to start for real.
I think there was a Family Guy roughly related to this. If the winning team is praising God for helping them win, why does God hate the other team so much?
I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt on matters of theology. Praising/thanking God in a moment of success doesn’t necessarily imply a belief that God chose sides. Rather, it may be a spiritual discipline that’s about humility or gratitude. Humility, in terms of reminding oneself that one did not achieve the success entirely on one’s own or entirely by dint of personal merit. Gratitude, not necessarily in terms of thanking God for taking sides and screwing the other guy, but in terms of thanking God for the opportunity to participate and make the attempt.
Believing that God took sides in a sporting event would be bad theology, but it’s not the only potential theological basis for most athlete’s religious rituals.
I agree, arrScott, and thanks for saying it. As a fairly religious Christian, I have at times had to cringe when I hear some of the arrogant, cocky, misguided statements from Christian athletes, that unfortunately get lumped together with the truly genuine, humble, heartfelt statements of others.
But doesn’t pointing to the sky insinuate that god is watching from above? Would a satanist then point to the ground in praise of hell?
My least favorite celebration was some soccer player (don’t recall who, where or when) after scoring a goal running over to the corner flag and acting like a dog relieving itself on a fire plug.
My favorite celebration comes from the ancient days of football when the player, after scoring a touchdown, would go to the end line of the end zone, bend over and place the point of the football to the ground, then toss to the official. I guess to literally signal a “touch-down.”
IIRC, the older rules of football were more like rugby: a player literally had to “touch down” the ball in the end zone to score. That’s obviously changed in football, but remains the case in rugby. In
The Friday Flashback is up:
link
cue Marv Albert voice when reading title!
any helmet fanatics here? i have a question.
We always talk about the integrity of our helmets and when to replace it. for example, motorcycle and bicycle helmets are to be replaced once it endured severe impact because, in theory, the integrity is compromised.
i’m watching MLB playoffs and i’m seeing players, when frustrated, throw down their helmet. Now i know it’s just a plastic shell but wouldn’t that severely decrease the integrity and it’s ability to protect someone’s head? are there any studies that shows the frequent slamming of the helmet to the day of getting hit in the head any different from the helmet that has not been forcibly slammed?
IMO: if motorcyclist and bicyclists are recommended to replace our helmet after any head-slamming accidents then ALL helmets should be replaced upon impact. I think this is not suggested because i can see how expensive it could get, especially for American football.
link to Michael Beirut isn’t working.
Try it now.
mucho gracias!
The proliferation of one-off college football uniforms is a realization of a high-schooler’s fantasy. I used to doodle uniforms using the teams’ design but reversing the colors to create an entirely new identity. So, while I like the idea of an Ohio State uniform rendered entirely in black, I wasn’t meant to get everything I wish for.
i thought i posted my other comment….
anyway… any helmet fanatics here?
I was watching baseball and i noticed a number of players slamming their helmet onto the ground/dugout/cubbies/etc. i know it’s just a plastic shell but wouldn’t this affect the integrity of the helmet?
those who ride motorcycles or bicycles are recommended to replace their helmets once they are in an accident. Myself who had a concussion from hitting a pothole while biking, i was grateful for my helmet on my head. I tossed it out and got a brand new one.
My question is that if a player is more at risk of sustaining more of an injury with the helmet that has been slammed than those helmet that has not?
in theory, helmets that endured impact should be replaced but i can see how it’ll turn expensive in an instant, especially in American football.
I hate any celebration that’s not a natural human emotion. Spiking the ball on a long td run is fine. Fist pumping, both arms up, whatever. But when it’s some pre planned stupid look at me dance…..if I ran a league, I’d take the score off the board.
I hate in basket ball holding up the jersey so as to show the team name.
Re: The Sabres inconsistent “Mc” names. As you can see my last name has a “Mc” in it, traditionally my family writes it with a raised “c” but some people with “Mc” names prefer to just leave it as a lower case “c” (when typing turning superscript on and off every time I write my name is annoying so I just leave it as a lower case “c”, so I understand). I would guess that this is not so much an inconsistency as a case of player preference
My least favorite celebration is: the Gatorade shower for anything other than a league championship.
“My least favorite celebration is: the Gatorade shower for anything
other than a league championship.”~~~
(fixed)
Yes. Very weak and tired.
I seem to recall everyone I knew here in Vancouver thinking teal for the Grizzlies was a bit passé when they chose it. Overdone, too trendy, etc. and nothing to do with the city.
For nostalgia purposes, however, it’s a fun jersey, especially the trim.
Best celebration:
Carl Edwards backflip off the side of his car when he wins a race.
Worst celebration:
Military salutes of any kind — from Terrell Davis all the way through to the 2011 U.S. women’s national soccer team. If you’re not in the military, don’t even try to salute a real soldier.
My least favourite celebrations are really any celebrations when you’re losing, or when you shouldn’t be celebrating. Sacking the QB to ice a victory, dance away. Sacking the QB in garbage time when you’re down 3 TDs, don’t. HR to win the ALDS, flip the bat. HR in the 9th to bring your team to within 8 runs, head back to the dugout. There’s nothing to celebrate.
“HR to win the ALDS, flip the bat.”
~~~
Except that it wasn’t. Granted, that was probably the nail in the coffin for the Rangers, but it was still the bottom of the seventh. Not exactly a walk-off.
And no, I didn’t like it when Yo did it either (even though that probably also qualifies as the death-knell in that game for the Dodgers).
It was over at that moment and everyone knew it. The rare seventh-inning walkoff.
True. The game was still winnable, but that hit at that time had the feeling of finality. I was in the stands for Game Six of the 1987 World Series, and Kent Hrbek’s grand slam in the bottom of the sixth had the same feeling. The Cardinals were visibly deflated after that. It was only the sixth, but there was never any doubt that the Twins would win that game and force Game Seven. The way the Cards played out that game, I was pretty confident that they would lose Game Seven too.
Speaking of celebrations, though, here’s Kent Hrbek hitting that grand slam and running the bases, concluding with a high-five that broke bones in the bat boy’s hand:
link
QOTW:
Generally I’m not much on celebrations – short spontaneous ones are usually alright.
One I did like was Tiger Williams riding his stick – if it was a regular thing I’m sure I would have quickly grown to dislike it.
One that I immediately disliked was the Jagr salute.
While I try to take any goal scoring I have done in stride and not make a display, I have some exuberant thrusting of my two arms in the air after scoring. When you score 2 goals in a night of the final game of the season, making it a total of 3 for the year, I guess you can be excused.
My favorite celebration took place when Clint Dempsey scored a goal at RFK Stadium when the Nationals still played there. The infield dirt was sodded over for soccer, but Dempsey went into the home plate area and took a swing. It’s too bad that NFL teams don’t play in baseball stadiums anymore (besides Oakland); you won’t ever see someone celebrating a touchdown by doing something similar, perhaps sliding into home plate, even if it’s out of bounds.
QOTW – I’m not a fan of the bat flip. And while I haven’t seen a clip of Jose Bautista’s, I am certain it will only reinforce my opinion.
I don’t remember seeing anyone mention a sack dance in the NFL … and I’m not crazy about those, either. I remember reading comments from an NFL offensive lineman several years ago – he said sack dances irritate him because the sacker celebrates for doing his job one play out of 50 or 60 the whole game. If no sack occurs, the lineman said, he doesn’t start dancing, even though he did his job, and did so successfully 90 percent or so of the game.
As far as the QotW goes, I’m one of those people that liked all of the over-the-top stuff that guys like Terrell Owens did after a TD. God forbid anyone have any FUN while playing a GAME.
That said, celebrating after every freakin tackle or completed catch is annoying as hell and needs to stop.
I’m one of those people who liked George Teague knocking TO off the star when he did his over-the-top stuff.
I read the 1995 NBA piece. One question on the all-star unis with teal in San Antonio, does the league or the host team decide color? I understand purple with a cactus in Phoenix as the Suns have purple as a color.
League decides. It’s their event. NBA Creative Services dictated the color scheme which starting in 1992 for the Orlando All-Star Game began to sync up what team colors.
Here you go.
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Note: there is no “British Premier League”; each of the countries in Great Britain has its own league pyramid (even if two large Welsh clubs play in the English pyramid, and a few small English clubs in the Welsh and Scottish pyramids).
The top league in England, the Premier League, can be called the “English Premier League” so as to distinguish it from the Scottish Premier League (which is actually now called the Scottish Premiership). But the formulation “British Premier League” is definitely wrong.
Actually, if Rangers and Celtic join, it’ll be renamed “British Premier League.” If you hear it called BPL now, it’s “Barclays Premier League” after its current title sponsor.
If Rangers and Celtic join — that’s a huge “if”. Anyway, even if that (unlikely) event were to happen, the league would still be just the “Premier League”, not the “British Premier League”, as it wouldn’t have teams throughout the rest of Britain, and the Scottish league system would still exist.
So the point stands that “British Premier League” is an error.
Also, the sponsored name “Barclays Premier League” is in its last year. After that, the league will have no name sponsor.
QOTW: I still have a soft spot in my heart for the now-ubiquitous high five, which at one point was actually seen as something of an attention-grabbing gesture when the Louisville Cardinals basketball team popularized it in the late ’70s.
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I also admit to being partial to the original Mile High Salute, at least in its historical context during the Broncos’ run to back-to-back Super Bowl titles. I understand why other commenters have tired of the practice. Its frequent imitation over the years has dimmed the spontaneity and blue collar ethic of Terrell Davis’ original celebration. It also doesn’t help that the Broncos have trademarked the term and created a logo for it:
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Nevertheless, it holds a certain nostalgia for me as a Broncos fan. Amazing how winning does that to a thing.
Flashback Friday Surprise:
Picture of Larry Bird shows a link then I am used to seeing on the link, even still in use today. What’s up with that?
Can you elaborate? I’m not spotting any difference in fonts between the two photos.
On the picture with Wilkins, the inner edges of the threes are angled and in the other photo, all the inner edges are squared off. The numbers are different. I never remember the Celtics wearing anything beside the squared off Sand-knit varsity font.
QOTW:
In hockey I liked the old fashioned arms raised in the air to celebrate a goal, seemed welcoming to others to come over and join in.
When the fist pumping came in, I was always worried a teammate coming over to celebrate would accidentally get punched in the Energy Region.
The Bills going blue-on-blue is exactly why I never wanted them to introduce blue pants with these uniforms in the first place.
QOTW: Had to be 1990-ish, Pirates vs. Cubs. My memory is fuzzy as to the specifics, but this has always stuck w/ me in terms of the general details. Bonds hit a big HR (to tie or take the lead.) He did a very theatrical arms in the air display w/ a 32 minute rounding of the bases. Harry Caray was beside himself. Next inning, Sandberg hits the go ahead HR off of Belinda & subtle, but atypical of Ryno – he did a little flip of the bat as he put his head down to run the bases. One of those great juxtipositions that stuck w/ me as kind of old school vs. new school and at least for that moment – Ryno and the old school had the last laugh.
For what it’s worth, the Red Raiders nickname was originally to honor Native American fighters. I’m guessing that’s why the two Tech guys dressed up.
Actually, Texas Tech’s nickname has never been a reference to Native Americans. It was a reference to their school colors, which have been red and black even back when their team name was the Matadors:
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But even if the nickname had been a reference to Native Americans, it still doesn’t justify these fans’ choice of attire and personal adornment:
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QOTW: I don’t have a favorite, really.
Least favorite? The locker-room champagne orgy, for anything less than a championship.
We’re seeing this in MLB; not sure about other sports. But it seems to me that the LRCO used to be reserved for winning the pennant or the World Series; now, every time a team clinches a playoff spot or wins a Division Series, we get the LRCO (now with a handy box of ski goggles).
I could see having a LRCO for winning a division title, and certainly for winning the pennant (LCS). Anything less than that cheapens it, I think. Clinching a wild card or a DS is great, but you haven’t really won anything yet.
I suspect the Dodgers totally agree with you right about now.
I’m seeing some smatterings of pink at the Red Wings game on TV right now, but there’s still a lot more red (though some of it does come from the interspersed empty red seats).
Did the Blue Jays discontinue their gray road jerseys? They look pretty sharp to me.
Did anyone notice that another Thursday Night Football has come and gone without a color on color matchup? Red on black would have worked well.
Am I the only one who just noticed the uppercase T on the Raptors jersey? I’m assuming it’s for Toronto?…
Nice spot, Hawk; didn’t think the T was capitalized for any particular reason, but it can be taken to stand for Toronto. Or the start of the second syllable of “raptor”.
Also notice the rock-colored basketball the raptor is holding, “rock” being a slang term for the ball.
@Mike regarding Rodney it is Fernando not Francisco and that has to be one of the worst celebrations of all time. Pre planned just stupid. Had to suffer with him this year being a Mariners fan. The bat flip is one of my favorite and Joey Bats had the best one ever on Wednesday in my opinion.