Sodboy13

Oof. Dixie Square West. Maybe Dan Aykroyd will make another horrendous Blues Brothers sequel and trash the joint.

Blues Brothers 2000 wasn't that bad.

It was a sequel to arguably the most iconic Chicago film, shot in Toronto to save on the budget. It was a PG sequel to an R film. It rankles the locals.

Oof. Dixie Square West. Maybe Dan Aykroyd will make another horrendous Blues Brothers sequel and trash the joint.

It's surprising to me because this isn't from a crowd shot, and it's not a local ad. It's an actor, in wardrobe, in a national campaign from the N-F-frickin'-L.

There's a DirecTV Sunday Ticket commercial featuring a guy in a Packers jersey, and I'm almost certain the jersey is counterfeit. The sleeve stripes are all incorrect widths, and they're sewn-in, when they should be screened. The fakes are so prevalent, they're actually showing up in advertisements for NFL property. I think we just went down the rabbit hole.

Some of them are of good quality.

Does it count as astroturfing if the poster is obviously from one of the counterfeit operations?

And they'll get to witness a team significantly worse than the one no one's watched the past two years, since their only notable offseason moves have been retaining Yandle and Vrbata.

I don't think that's a knockoff. Looks like a Majestic replica.

Brandon Inge made the All-Star squad?

http://www.anymlbjerseys.com/MLB-2011-All-Star/2011-All-Star--Detroit-Tigers--15-Brandon-Inge-Red-MLB-jersey-4073/

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

I always get ads from this place on my facebook. Upon looking, I stumbled on quite a few Laughers.

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.

That said... what about Grand Rapids? They'd obviously have to build a bigger arena, but they have a firmly entrenched fanbase for hockey (the Griffins are consistently in the top 5 for AHL attendance) and while the media market isn't huge, at #41 it's at least bigger than Buffalo and has that all-important "only game in town" factor going for them.

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.

As much as I may not care for Les Quebecois, fries with gravy is delicious. Brown gravy, none of that weird white stuff you Merkins love so much.

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.

I honestly think Houston could give it a go, if, and only if, the NHL put some contingencies on it, like they did in Winnipeg. And that may be the new norm - guaranteeing a certain level of ticket sales. Maybe not as high a level as the 'Peg was required to support, but maybe a place like Houston would be required to sell 7,000 season tickets with 1-3 year commitments.

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.

I saw a few fakes and they were awful, a couple of the throwback Buccaneer Logo Athletic. I won't buy a fake, never have, never will. That being said when Nike gets the NFL license and they bring replica NFL jersey's back to the 50.00 price point they should be then I will buy an NFL replica jersey. I haven't bought an NFL jersey in 10 year simply because Reebok ruined them.

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

Are you guys noticing a lot of legit looking store selling counterfits? I have yet to see them in Michigan. Or are they more like flea markets like JQK said?

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

So what you're saying is that sports should only be for those who can afford it? Otherwise, you're excluded?

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.

Is this real?

http://www.stadiumstyle.com/prod/2875-Anaheim-Ducks-Teemu-Selanne-Throwback-Koho-Jersey-.html

I ask because the back numbers are overlapping the stripes. I haven't seen that happen on any other jersey like that.

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

So, if a person can't afford it they should break the law?

-Dan

The normal consumer doesn't know it's a law.

Ignorance is not the strongest of defenses.

Pics of your fake, please.

I am the very model of a modern major conference

I've quite a perfect radius, diameter, circumference

I know all of my members whether Catholic or secular

I'll name them alphabetically in manners most spectacular:

Cincinnati sounds deceptively Mediterranean

In Hartford there plays UConn and likewise they're not Canadian

DePaul is nominally part but cannot ever win a game

In Washington is Georgetown where Pat Ewing is their claim to fame

Use three beats to say "Louisville" or else the rhythm goes to hell

And there's Marquette who still don't know just what they want to call themselves

Though Notre Dame's athletics still just are not what they used to be

At least they're not in Pittsburgh where Dave Wannstedt runs the football team

In Providence, Rhode Island they do not produce too many pros

At Rutgers they are known for having several nappy-headed hos

St. John's once had some crazy-looking sublimated uniforms

And Seton Hall is where the Pirates come at you in waves and swarms

South Florida's in Tampa which is really not that south at all

At Syracuse the roof inflates like a balloon or basketball

Then take the Main Line out to Villanova, hope the ride's not long

Then go to West Virginia while your toothless sister sucks your dong

So there you have a round sixteen but TCU just spoiled that

They're all the way in Texas, and they surely wear retarded hats

But rednecks they may be our fair Big East is full of tolerance,

That's why we are the model of a modern major conference.

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

I thought you left.

EDIT: I should say that I don't own any counterfeit jerseys. I do own several, legit replica NHL jerseys, but those were purchased at steep discount. I won't support the price gouging of the major professional sports leagues by paying full price.

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.