Sodboy13

That place really has some variety. Where else can you get jerseys for "Miami Hot" and "Miamii Heat"?

Why do so many counterfeiters sell "Saint Patrick's Day" versions of jerseys? Is there seriously market demand for these things?!? Apparently there is. I've seen plenty of the bootleg St. Patrick's Blackhawks jerseys over the past couple of years. This past winter I was a bit surprised to see an official St. Pat's replica jersey in the front window of the Blackhawks store on Michigan Avenue - one designed exactly like the most popular counterfeit version, no less. I asked the clerk about it, and he told me that, yes, the green jersey was a direct response to the fakes; apparently, team and/or league officials saw so many of these green knockoffs during the victory parade, they decided to make their own officially licensed version of it. (Because, hey, what's the counterfeiter going to do, sue them for IP theft?) I'm convinced this is why the Blackhawks have decided to discontinue their fauxback thirds, as that seems to have become the most popular choice among the "$40 on eBay" crowd. Yes, a third jersey is supposed to create additional revenue, but I'm sure that trained eyes in the Blackhawks' organization couldn't help but notice the tens of thousands of dollars in lost revenue in the seats at the United Center every game.

KING-TV reporter Chris Daniels is reporting Chicago Wolves owner Don Levin is part of a group interested in putting an NHL arena in Bellevue, Washington. All is extremely preliminary at this point, but Levin's no slouch.

Oh God, it'd be the Grand Rapids Rampage all over again. *shudders* I don't see why that's necessarily a bad thing, the Rampage were always one of the better supported AFL franchises. Once the "big AFL" hit, Grand Rapids didn't even bother to compete, fielded consistently horrible teams, and drew announced attendances in the 5,000-6,000 range. It got dire there the second that NBC deal happened, and they still haven't brought back the franchise post-bankruptcy, even though everything's operating on an af2 level nowadays.

I don't know that this is the proper forum to be discussing white stuff on merkins. Anyway, poutine is delicious. Had it in Windsor a few years ago, and seems to be making its way through the Great Lakes - I've seen some bars here in Chicago touting it as of late, and it's been added as a concession item at Miller Park this year. I hope they serve it in a helmet. Mixing ketchup and mayonnaise for a french fry dipping sauce is pretty excellent. And illwauk, anyone professing cheese curd ignorance should have been escorted out of Alpine. That's just poor parenting. Meet me at the border with a bag of garlic dill next week when I'm on vacation. Momentarily getting back on topic, I notice that, once again this year, the Coyotes have a Thursday night home game against the Kings in October. I am setting the over/under on attendance at 7,500, and you are free to use that however you see fit. It's kinda like Pat & Ron's Attendance Game, except Ronnie's got more life in him than the Yotes these days.

This I disagree with. I feel the Winnipeg arragement should be the new accepted standard for any and all proposed expansion or relocation. You want a team? Prove your market wants it. Give us 13,000 season ticket committments and guaranteed corporate support for five years off the bat. I would argue that such contingencies are even more necessary in a market like Houston, which hasn't had a whiff of major-league professional hockey in 35 years - two generations. "It'll work because there's a big media market and all these corporate dollars" gave us Atlanta and Phoenix.

If memory serves me right, the deal that Reinsdorf left on the table pretty much relieved him of any and all personal financial risk, and allowed him to sell to anyone of his choosing - whether they cared about keeping the Coyotes in Glendale or not - after five years. And that's before Glendale got really, really desperate. This time around might involve literal wheelbarrows of cash on his doorstep.

On a semi-related note, Reebok announced last week that they'll be upping the price of an NFL screenprinted replica jersey another $5 to $85, citing rising material costs. For those keeping track, the going rate for an NFL replica before Reebok locked down exclusive rights in '02 was $45-50. Reebok immediately upped that to $65 upon landing the monopoly. I would certainly never pay that kind of price for a jersey, nor would I plunk down $300 for a customized authentic NHL jersey, much less a blank one. Exclusivity deals have killed competition, spiked prices, and I feel have contributed in no small part to the explosion of counterfeiters. I understand why people would be drawn to the fakes, especially if they don't bother with noticing the details. Still doesn't make it right, though. As for me, I buy legit, but I know better than to pay retail. You can still easily get a brand new NFL replica for $50 or less, or an NHL authentic for $150, if you know when and where to look. And when I can't afford one, I don't buy one.

Nike is currently selling college replicas for $55-60, correct?

I've seen several. I've noticed a couple of souvenir stores right in the middle of Chicago's Loop selling blatant fakes.

Welcome to the free-market economy. Glad to have you on board. This is why I go to Blackhawks games once or twice a year instead of having season tickets, and why my seats are in the 300 level instead of on the glass. This is why I drive a Dodge Stratus instead of a Bugatti Veyron. If there are things out there which you can't afford, you're always free to explore avenues which may lead you to acquire more wealth and personal property. In the meantime, I'll just bask in the glow of the stupefying irony of you, of all people, calling for entitlements.

It's not counterfeit, but it is piss-poor workmanship on a replica.

The normal consumer doesn't know it's a law. Ignorance is not the strongest of defenses.

Pics of your fake, please.

Oh my Christ. Can I get a second for PoTD?

I thought you left.

Amen, good sir. It's the old shoppers' mantra: never pay retail. When something's as overpriced as NHL jerseys are these days, and when there's as many internet jersey retail outlets as there are, there's plenty of good reason to wait for the off-season sales. Oh, and between the Blackhawks and Bears, Chicago has to be this country's foremost purchaser of horrendously inaccurate counterfeit jerseys. God, there's just so much crap out there, and none of it's worth the $40-$80 these people paid for it.

Because Da Bears have gotta play in Soljuhrs Field, cuz dat's da tradition. (Tradition meaning "from Coach Ditka onward".) The Soldier Field revamp has been a fiasco from about 15 years before its start (The Bears are moving to Hoffman Estates! The Bears are moving to Gary! The Bears are moving to Thornton Quarry!) to the present day. Given the renovations at Memorial Stadium, part of me thinks they might have been better off staying in Champaign.

Having been inside Soldier Field, I beg to differ. The plebian seats on the west side of the stadium are absurdly steep, and the concourse has all the charm and coziness of the Metrodome. But hey, it's got toilets, so, upgrade, I guess. Never mind that the exterior is an architectural embarrassment unfit for any sort of national television showcase, and that they still can't figure out how to grow grass there, but can't install FieldTurf, because that would enrage the obese lunkheads.

Except that the BCS is about to die, and get replaced by a Big 10/Pac-10/SEC/ACC(?) playoff.

Nebraska is going to the Big Ten in 2011, not 2012. Jim Delaney just whipped it out for all the world to see.

Y'know, Notre Dame and the MAC could be mutually beneficial at this point.

That sounds like a show on TLC.

Too small, too outdoors. That thing is locked in Indy, with perhaps an occasional token gesture in Detroit.