UUOTD-Thursday

Nike has thrown some really hideous uniforms out there in the last few years. Perhaps their most infamous unis were worn on only one weekend in 2005.

Both Florida and Virginia Tech wore orange on one shoulder of these home jerseys. These met with such outrage that neither school dared to wear them again. Nike was so embarrassed that they did not dare to try this with any other school.

These are awful. Eye-gouge rating: Two

(note: the VT player being pile-driven by guys from the "U" is no relation to the author of this blog)

Ugly Uniform of the Day

This will make another appearance during football season, but this one is so bad, it deserves mention now.

The Philadelphia Eagles are entering their 75th season in 2007. In honor of the occasion, they will, for one game, wear these replicas of their 1933 uniforms. The Eagles will wear them on September 23 against the Detroit Lions.

Jevon Kearse is shown modeling these fine pieces of high fashion. They look like something UCLA would have worn.

Blech.

Turning Back The Clock Again

More classic video from the folks at CBS and YouTube...

This is the opening of Game 5 of the 1976 NBA World Championship Series, between the Boston Celtics and the Phoenix Suns. The Celtics were heavy favorites, but had lost two games in Phoenix, and were tied 2-2 with the upstart Suns. This game is regarded by many as the greatest game in the history of the league, with the Celtics winning in triple overtime. The Celtics then went out to Phoenix and closed out the Suns in Game 6.

Some things to notice:

1) Young Brent Musburger.
2) Rick Barry. Now better known as Jon and Brent's dad, he was a great player in his own right. On this night, however, he appears on CBS with a toupee, and with this baby blue leisure suit, unbuttoned, with a huge cross hanging around his neck. Classic.
3) CBS had an ex-ref doing commentary, in Mendy Rudolph. Imagine if ABC/ESPN hired say, Joey Crawford, to do commentary.
4) The red checked jackets Mendy Rudolph and Sonny Hill are wearing on camera. Nice.

Not on this clip: the sixth man for the Celtics, none other than Don Nelson.

Good stuff.

Guess Who Else Is On Vacation

How do you lose Game 7 at home? That's what the Houston Rockets did tonight. Therefore, one side of the Western Conference playoffs is between the Utah Jazz and the Golden State Warriors. Bizarre.

As a Dallas Mavericks fan, I can say: At least Houston had a Game 7.

Looking forward to that series between San Antonio and Phoenix...

Turn Back the Clock

From the archives of CBS, ESPN Classic, and YouTube...

This is the intro to Game 7 of the 1975 Western Conference Finals, between the Chicago Bulls and the Golden State Warriors. This is a long time before hip-hop and the NBA became intertwined with each other. Heck, this is even slightly before disco. Some things to notice:

1) The cheesy opening intro music, complete with lyrics and 70's-style silhouette animation. "You'll see the best in basketball, when you watch the NBA..when you watch the NBA on CBS.."
2) A young Brent Musburger, when he was becoming the voice of EVERYTHING for CBS. He was better then, before his ego got in the way. He's now been with ABC/ESPN longer than he was with CBS, but ESPN has cheapened him by placing him on those spare Tuesday night Big Ten games, among other things. He is, however, filling the shoes of the once-great Keith Jackson on college football, and is the subject of a drinking game.
3) The Bulls in the Western Conference? Yes, they were. The Bulls and Milwaukee were in the Western Conference until 1980, when the Dallas Mavericks came into the league. When the Mavs came into the NBA, Houston and San Antonio moved to the West with them, and the Bulls and Bucks went east.

This video clip is really good stuff. By the way, the Warriors went on to win this game, then won the championship in the next round by sweeping the Washington Bullets, four games to none.

Knee-Jerk

The Mavs are down 12 with 6:39 to go in the 3rd quarter. It doesn't look good.

When in the world are the Warriors going to stop hitting 3's? Everything they throw up goes in the hoop.

Ouch!

4th quarter update: Mavs still down 23. I'm going to bed.

Where's Dirk? He's sure not in Oakland tonight.

League Of Nations

Recent years have brought us the description of fan bases as (Your Team Here) Nation. These are not nations in the sovereign sense, but definitely every bit as tribal as any ethnic group. Many fans identify with teams deeply, just as they would with a country or ethnic group.

I do not know the origin of (Your Team Here) Nation. I first heard it in 1995, when new football coach Howard Schnellenberger referred to Oklahoma fans as the Sooner Nation. That was the only thing I liked about Howard's reign in Norman. Now, it seems there are more (Your Team Here) Nations than there are Native American tribes. Kentucky has the Big Blue Nation. Texas has Burnt Orange Nation. Virginia Tech has the Hokie Nation. Boston has Red Sox Nation. Florida uses Gator Nation as a marketing tool for its entire university, calling itself The Foundation for the Gator Nation, marketing itself to Florida residents and fans that never went to school there.

I think all of this is pretty funny. It reminds me of a guy I saw on a Kentucky message board, who is currently serving our country in Iraq. He used as a signature on his posts: "Fighting in Iraq for the Big Blue Nation. And, the United States, too".

As long as another civil war doesn't break out, it's pretty cool.

Stayin' Alive

Up 21 in the first half. Down 9 with less than 3 minutes to play. I can't handle the suspense any longer. Great 15-0 run by the Mavs to close it out. (or was it a meltdown by Golden State-those 3's aren't going to fall forever)

Back to California for Game 6..

Ugly Uniform of the Day

I caught these threads while watching this past weekend's coverage of the NFL Draft.

The University of Pittsburgh wore these all-gold threads last year in their season finale vs. Louisville. They played like puke, losing to the conference champion Cardinals, 48-24. Worse than that, they looked like puke in these uniforms. This combination just doesn't work. Yuck.

At least they didn't wear an all-gold version of the shade of gold they wore in the 70's and 80's. (Pictured is an autographed replica of Tony Dorsett's helmet) That would have looked like butterscotch candy.

Train Wreck

There is a train wreck of Biblical proportions occurring in the NBA playoffs.

The Dallas Mavericks, winners of 67 games in the regular season, are down 3 games to 1 in their first round playoff series with the eighth-seeded Golden State Warriors. Over the weekend, the Mavs lost two winnable games near the City by the Bay. I cannot describe how upset I am with them.

The Mavericks are on track to totally blow two entire seasons. Last season, they won the first two games in the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat, then blew a lead late in Game 3, as they lost the last four games of the series and the title to the Heat. While that was embarrassing and disheartening, the little Mavs bounced back to post the third best regular season record in the history of the league. At this point, though, that doesn't matter. They're getting their butts kicked by ex-coach Don Nelson and the Golden State Warriors. The window for a championship is closing, faster than the Road Runner can say, "Beep, Beep".

This series is not over. This team is capable of winning three games in a row, in spite of the matchup problems. After all, this team had a 17-game winning streak and two 12-game winning streaks.

But, it is so easy to knee-jerk over this thing, and that's what I'm doing here. If the Mavs blow this golden opportunity, where do they go from here? Does Mark Cuban fire Avery Johnson after winning 67 games? Do the Mavs trade Dirk Nowitzki after a possible MVP season? Heck, does Cuban get sick of it all, and cash out and sell the team?

This is bad. Really bad.

UUOTD-Saturday

Nike makes a good shoe. Their influence is worldwide. They didn't become the world's largest athletic shoe manufacturer by accident. They finance college athletic departments to the tune of millions of dollars per year.

As good as their shoes are, they have room for improvement in their uniform designs. The company is based in Oregon, and founder Phil Knight is a benefactor of his alma mater, the University of Oregon. UO has made multiple appearances in this blog for their ugly uniforms. Now, it's their archrival's turn.

Oregon State is rolling out these funky new uniforms next year. They don't have psychedelic helmets, but they have a lot of different combinations of orange and black with these. The orange jersey on the left is particularly glaring. With the stripes and font, these look weird. I read a message board where they were compared with bikinis.

The "Civil War" between UO and OSU-West will be interesting this year. Who knows what kind of uniform combinations will be rolled out that day. Deep within the bowels of Nike headquarters, there is a happy mad scientist.

Ugh.

The Ultimate Draft Geek

Today is one of my favorite days, the NFL draft. I purposely do not get into all of the pre-draft hype, as there is just way too much information to process. If I had more time to become a draft "expert", I would blog on it. I do enjoy, though, the wheeling and dealing that comes with draft day, and the spectacle that draft day has become. The draft is one of those things where the bang-to-hype ratio is not out of whack.

I cannot watch the draft without thinking about the late Joel Buchsbaum. I remember him most from his appearances on Norm Hitzges' show on KLIF radio in Dallas. He was a long-time regular on radio shows in St. Louis and Houston, and was a full-time draft analyst for Pro Football Weekly.

Buchsbaum was the unlikeliest of sources. He rarely left his Brooklyn apartment, except to work out at his local gym once per week. Manhattan was a long trip for him, much less Chicago or any other city. He never went to scouting combines, and never traveled out of New York City. He really only met his employers and sources personally at the draft. Nonetheless, many in the pro football community felt close to him. He was constantly on the phone with scouts, and reviewed an endless amount of tape in his apartment. He never married, and lived in an apartment next door to his parents in Brooklyn. He refused to have his picture published with his articles. He was a total recluse, yet was a fountain of information for NFL coaches and management.

He was most known for his encyclopedic knowledge of the NFL draft. Coaches, general managers, and scouts trusted his knowledge of players. If there was a third-string deep snapper from McNeese State, Buchsbaum knew something about him. He would go on radio shows and rattle off endless amounts of information on players and anyone remotely considered a prospect.

The great John McClain of the Houston Chronicle became close to Buchsbaum in his later years. He has some more great comments on him this week, here and here, including a rare photo from his draft lair in Brooklyn.

He passed away in 2002 at the age of 48. At the 2003 scouting combine, a memorial service was held for him, which was attended by a host of NFL coaches, general managers, scouts, and media. Among the speakers at the memorial was Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who considered him a close friend, though he never met him personally.

He is still missed. He unknowingly helped make the NFL draft what it is today.

My hat is off to anyone that can make a living from being a draft geek.

UUOTD

The Boston Red Sox have been wearing a green jersey with a green cap on St. Patrick's Day for a few years. This normally falls during spring training. Last week, the Red Sox decided to honor the passing of Celtics great Red Auerbach by wearing the green jerseys against the Yankees. The sentiments are appreciated, but this is just making a mockery of what was once Celtic Pride.

This look is just plain gross. The Celtics are green. The Red Sox are not. At least they didn't wear green socks.

Yuck.

Ugly Uniform of the Day

It's been a while since there's been a UUOTD, as last week was no time to be throwing any team under the bus. But, UUOTD returns with a vengeance today.

The Atlanta Hawks aren't playing right now. They don't play past the middle of April, because they only play in the pre-season and in the regular season. They don't play in the playoffs. We'll hear from them next in the draft lottery, when they hope to get lucky with a ping-pong ball and get one of the top two picks in the draft. The Hawks are one of the worst franchises in professional sports. They have not made the playoffs since the Clinton Administration. Don't totally give up, though, Atlanta. The Dallas Mavericks were once the laughing stock of the NBA.

With that said, the Hawks are gone right now, but not forgotten. Their third jersey is a mixture of Del Monte mustard and Heinz ketchup. That combination fits on a hot dog, but not on a uniform. Ugly, ugly, ugly. The only saving grace to this look is that it is not one of their primary uniforms.

Would you like some chips with that hot dog?

I'm glad I'm not an Oscar Mayer wiener.

Eye gouge rating: two

You Know It's A Big Deal When...

...you have an Official Automobile.

The NFL Draft is this weekend in New York. Hummer, for at least the second year in a row, is the official automobile. It's not the official car of the league, or of any particular team. It's the official car of the draft.

It fits, as a lot of young men officially become millionaires on that day, and can afford to buy multiple Hummers. Plus, a lot of the type of people that would buy a Hummer are most likely interested in the NFL draft.

The draft has come a long way, when it has an official anything. At one time, the draft was about as exciting as watching paint dry. Now, the draft capitalizes on the popularity of anything connected with the NFL. Plus, people are starved for the NFL, as it has been almost three months since the Super Bowl.

Pictured above is Reggie Bush, who received not one, but two Hummer H2's for becoming the second pick in last year's draft. This was a legal gift, unlike what he has been accused of receiving during his college days at USC. On the Hummers, though: will the #3 pick in Saturday's draft get three Hummer H3's?

A Two-Team League

Baseball's biggest rivalry has been on stage this weekend, as the hated Yankees have invaded Fenway Park in Boston. Fox and ESPN have been all over this, as would be expected.

Both franchises view themselves as the most popular teams in baseball. The networks definitely view them that way. Both teams do have legions of fans, both in the Northeast, and across the country.

On the other hand, when baseball was attempting geographic realignment a few years ago, there were no volunteers to go to the American League. Only the Milwaukee Brewers changed leagues, and they went to the National League. (I'm too young to remember the Milwaukee Braves in the NL, but it's still unstable to see the Brew Crew in the NL-they belong back in the AL)

An off-the-wall suggestion, that will never see the light of day: Let every team, except Boston and the Yankees, move to the National League. Then, let Boston and the Yankees have the American League to themselves, and play every game against each other. The networks would jump at the chance to show Boston vs. New York every night. Plus, one of them would be guaranteed a spot in the World Series, increasing the value of the major leagues' TV contract.

Most teams would probably rather be in the National League anyway, so this will satisfy some franchises on that end, as well.

I hate both the Red Sox and the Yankees. I've always hated the Yankees, but I'm getting to where I despise the Red Sox even more.

This is a silly idea, but one that some in baseball would probably like. TV executives would love it.

Baseball is a talking sport.

Pickin' Cotton

I am a little stunned. The greatest rivalry in college football, the OU-Texas game, is staying at the Cotton Bowl until 2015. City of Dallas officials are set to announce the deal at a Friday press conference on the 50-yard-line at the decaying old stadium.

The city of Dallas is promising to increase the amount of money paid to OU and Texas, as well as to Grambling and Prairie View, who also play at the Cotton Bowl during the Texas State Fair. The city has recently approved $30 million in bond money for improvements to the stadium, in an effort to attract more college football games. The stadium is losing the Cotton Bowl game to the new Cowboys stadium in Arlington, as the bowl game attempts to crack the lineup of the BCS.

At first glance, this looks like Dallas is putting lipstick on a pig. The stadium is a dump, and will still be a dump after the city puts $30 million into it. They plan to rip out the chairs, replace them with bench seating, and to increase capacity to 90,000. I wonder if $30 million is a good investment to attract four or five college football games per year. OU-Texas brings in plenty of out of town visitors, but how will a neutral site game between Oklahoma State and Texas A&M fly at the Cotton Bowl? (How about that: the Ag Bowl presented by John Deere, live from the State Fair!) Or, Notre Dame vs. Baylor? (OK, I know, Notre Dame sells out everywhere they play...)

The stadium doesn't have to be a total palace for college football fans to be happy with it. All that most fans ask for are working toilets and leg room, two things that have been in short supply at the Cotton Bowl in recent years.

This is the city of Dallas we're dealing with, so I'll believe Cotton Bowl renovations when I see them. But, it looks like some people in Big D are seeing some light, even if it's too little, too late.

By the way, OU-Texas belongs at the State Fair, as long as the stadium isn't falling down. I'd hate to see it rotate between Norman and Austin.

Slow

I'm not blogging much this week.

I am absorbed by the Virginia Tech tragedy. I am 1100 miles away from it, and have only been to the campus once. I fell in love with the place. I do not know anyone there, though I am learning that I know people that know people that lost loved ones in the shooting. (Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon? It's a really small world)

I am in awe of the spirit and resilience of the Hokie Nation.

I am having a hard time getting anything done. I'll be back up within a matter of time.

Let's Go, Hokies!

Today, We Are All Hokies

Message Board Threads Of The Day

Any site associated with Virginia Tech is being flooded with traffic today.

Tech Sideline is the largest VT site, and is not affiliated with the Rivals or Scout networks. It has crashed at least once today, and has become a large gathering place for Hokies.

The VT Rivals and Scout sites are smaller, but are drawing a record amount of traffic today. The Hokie Rivals board has already had over 2000 posts of condolence from fans of other schools.

An incredible mix of order and expression occurs during such a time as this. Fans of lots of different schools will have their own individual thread, as if they all migrated from their home board at one time. As I write, the VT Rivals site is stacked with condolence threads, mostly saying "Prayers from (your school here)".

Hokie Haven (Rivals)

VT Insider (Scout)

The Lounge (off-sports topic board) at Techsideline.com