DustDevil61

Pretty much this. I think that, ultimately, a couple casinos (possibly with some MLB funds) are going to cobble up the $1B+ to privately build a stadium in Las Vegas, because the city of Las Vegas and the state of Nevada are reluctant (as they should be) to cough up a massive amount of money for another sports venue. Not sure exactly what happens with the Rays, but eventually something will give in Montreal, Tampa Bay, Nashville, Vancouver, Charlotte, or [insert NBA roll call city here], one way or another; I just don’t see MLB folding teams when there are a handful of viable markets for MLB leadership to try to extort public funds move into. BTW, hasn’t Manfred said that a new stadium would need to be built using public funds? I can’t imagine that being true if letting stadiums be built by private funds is the likeliest way the A’s and Rays stadium situations get resolved.

I, too, am bummed that the Golden Knights missed a huge opportunity to expand their regional fanbase by not placing their AHL affiliate in Salt Lake, but I feel another factor that may have kept them out (and may still be keeping the AHL out) is current ECHL Utah Grizzlies ownership. The Elmore Sports Group, best known for owning the 3 MiLB teams that shifted around in 2019, owns the Grizzlies and has stated that they are content with staying at the AA level, given their more recent on-ice success and rivalry with Idaho. They also don’t seem willing to hand the reigns over to another ownership group who could move up to the AHL. When the Grizzlies moved down in 2005, it made sense, as there were plenty of nearby teams in the ECHL and no nearby teams in the AHL (the closest team was San Antonio IIRC). However, since the Great Westward AHL Migration of 2015, the geographic footprints of the leagues have largely flipped, with Idaho and Rapid City being the closest ECHL teams and Henderson and all the California teams being close by in the AHL. The LA Kings host the yearly Frozen Fury at Vivint Arena, and a local article mentions that Kings president Luc Robitaille (who spends part of his time ) has been “pushing” for an AHL team in Utah. But the real question then is: What AHL team would go to Salt Lake? There’s going to be a full 32 teams starting next season, many with new arenas, plus I don’t see the Kings moving the Ontario Reign anytime soon.

There are reports out there saying that Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak will block an A’s move to Las Vegas if public funds are being used on a stadium, though his office has denied that. Between this and the lawsuits in Oakland slowing down the Howard Terminal project, the Athletics appear to be between a rock and a hard place. I think they’re more or less Vegas-bound, if MLB is OK letting the casinos/Las Vegas businessfolk fund a ballpark on their own dime.

Potential unpopular opinion: I like the idea of Orange jerseys in the style of the Browns' inverted jerseys... ...paired with their regular White or Brown pants a lot more for an alternate. These orange tops seem to be inspired (whether intentionally or not) by the 1954 and 1955 preseason set: Of course, white numbers would also look good, as Cleveland wore that for the 1953 season opener (according to the same page I linked above).

Thing is, I wouldn’t say that 2020 was a failure, from what we were seeing. If not for the pandemic shutting everything down (including other sports) like it did, the XFL would’ve easily made it to at least a second season. I’m not a huge fan of this rebrand, as it seems to be unnecessary and may invite some unwanted (legal) attention on top of it. I hope I’m wrong here, but with each passing day without any anything tangible (like team/office staff, a draft date, and of course teams and cities), this is starting to feel more and more like the AAF; hopefully we don’t have to wait until June to know where teams are going to play.

Either they’re stupid, or they’re some of the best moles working for Pittsburgh ever.

Me too. If not the main accent color on the road jersey, I like seeing the secondary color on a team’s road set (particularly secondary-colored pants that match the helmet) get some use as well. Off the top of my head, examples of this are the Raiders, Browns (when going with orange pants), Packers, Ravens (with striped black pants), and 49ers.

Count me in the Broncos-should-wear-Orange-first-regardless-of-the-jersey-template crowd, though adapting the Color Rush jerseys with complimentary White pants (while relegating the orange pants to alternate status, if at all) should be looked into further. Regardless of what template they use, the Broncos don’t seem right wearing anything other than white pants. Orange could work when paired with white tops, but Blue pants don’t haven’t ever felt right for the Denver Broncos, and I’m not entirely sure why (again, regardless of template). Another unrelated thought I’ve had: How long until the NFL opens up the use of 0 to players? I’m kinda hoping we get to see it soon.

Immaturity carries a lot less baggage than 22 assault allegations. For that reason alone I’d prefer Mayfield over Watson.

A part of me still remains convinced that Jimmy “was part of Steelers management” Haslam III is, in fact, really a Pittsburgh mole.

Am I crazy if I say that I’d love to see these with a Gray or Black base, or a the original 3rd jersey, but flip the black and gray there?

Still true, RE: Jazz rebrand: (I’m trying to link to @Magic Dynasty’s xkcd post, but keep landing on the post after. The link at least puts you in the ballpark.)

If only someone could level some kind of antitrust suit…this is getting ridiculous.

That bites for Cincinnati. Now can the Rams ditch their bone jerseys for good?

Higgins got away with murder on that touchdown. If OBJ getting hurt wasn’t one, that no-call was a momentum-changer.

I know it will (probably) never happen again, but I’m probably not the only one who would love to see businesspeople in Quebec and, say, 7 or 9 other markets to somehow launch an alternative league (like a new WHA). I don’t think the NHL BoG and Bettman can bend over any further to keep the Coyotes in Arizona.

I said “just about any other fanbase.” Of course Cleveland and Detroit have had it worse than Cincinnati—I even had something to say on that but I felt it detracted too much from the congrats to Cincinnati (and also Rams) fans. Washington and the Jets, at least past 2005 or so, can just about make as good a case as the Bengals IIRC. However, nothing’s going to top losing a team for 3 seasons combined with getting an inferior replacement (Cleveland)—or the overall stench of ineptitude that’s permeated the organization since athletic antiquity (Detroit). Off the top of my head, I don’t think there’s been more than 2, maybe 3, playoff wins between the Browns (v1.0 or 2.0) and the Lions in the last 30 years, unless I’m missing something.

I’m so happy for the truly long-suffering Bengals fanbase. They’ve put up with more crap than just about any other fanbase in the last 30 years. It’s great to see. I’ll also say the same thing, to a lesser extent, for Rams fans, just because they’ve had some sporadic success in that span (including a Super Bowl win in 1999, albeit in St. Louis). Ignoring that sporadic Rams success, both these teams have been either fringe playoff teams at best or league laughingstocks at worst. It’s always great to see teams that have been bad for (what seems like) forever finally be good and break through (again).

I wonder what benefit Jimmy and Dee Haslam had in tanking the Browns? (FWIW, Haslam was in the Steelers front office IIRC.)

Add Salt Lake to that list, too. Hockey might not be the most popular sport up here, and the best arena around isn’t a great fit, but it’s at least better than playing third second fiddle to the college clubs, dammit! How is this not the Coyotes’ goal horn song already?!

Not sure if this is all that unpopular of an opinion, but I think the Baltimore Ravens got it right the second time: Even to this day Baltimore has largely remained unchanged, and the fact that the main logo was changed in 1999 is largely due to the fact that Art Modell was such a cheapskate (to be fair, that’s also a big part why we even have the Ravens in the first place)—even after getting a sweetheart stadium deal from the city. I consider these (and the Ravens’ overall set) to still be a modern classic, despite its flaws. IMO the Purple, Black, and White with Gold accents really play off of each other well and fits a team named the Ravens really well. Anyways, more realistically, Baltimore should put those stripes back on their black pants and find a lawyer-friendly shield or swooping bird logo to put on their helmets. Maybe they can even add some white or gold stripes onto their helmets (with a fitting logo). If I had my way, Ravens management would just bury the hatchet with the security guard who drew up the prototype (or his family/estate if he’s no longer with us) and offer apparel/tickets/etc. for use of that original logo; that’s more than the $3 he ended up with IIRC. I know it won’t happen, but a guy can dream.

I think, if things go well, they will. I agree with something someone said before (not sure if it was from this thread or another): part of the fun in watching these spring leagues is seeing if and how they succeed.

It probably fits here better than the Relocation Roundelay thread (as the Jags don’t appear to be imminently looking to move), but Jaguars executives are asking for an upgrade to their stadium. Team president Mark Lamping even announced it aboard Shahid Khan’s yacht.

For a Brandiose brand, it was one of the better ones IMO. Given that the hostile takeover of MiLB by MLB was largely the result of brainstorming sessions by eggheads in the Astros’ front office, I expect nothing else than [insert non-Houston locale here] Astros.

This is where I’m at with the Titans’ look—colorwise, there’s too much going on, or at least how it’s presented. Aside from the alternate Luv Ya Blue top and pants, there’s really not enough Columbia Blue in the whole set; this is especially apparent when the Titans go mono Navy or mono White (to me, anyways). I think all the colors in the Titans’ set can coexist, but there would need to be a reshuffling of the order to do that. What I’m thinking is reaching back into franchise history and looking to the late 1960s-early 1970s Houston Oilers look for inspiration. Yes, this would likely mean that navy gets relegated to trim status, but I could see something there. That said, in any case, the Titans need to emphasize the Columbia Blue, be it in the form of primary home tops or primary pants (if the primary home tops were to remain navy).