Mac the Knife

Isn't Oakland economically terrible?

It depends. If you have no competition for the sports entertainment dollar and local television revenues during the same time of year, no, not at all.

But at various times during the year, the A's compete with the Raiders, Giants, 49'ers, Sharks, the Warriors, and the Earthquakes in a (comparatively) pro-soccer market. That competition plus having a :censored:hole for a stadium is a tough road to hoe.

Why?!?!!?!? Wanted them to move to Portland,or Indy.

Not to be a homer here, but if they're going to move out of the Bay Area, the Raleigh market is without doubt the best possible option. No summertime competition for sports entertainment dollars (at the major league level) for 250 miles in any direction, with Baltimore/Washington the closest 'competition' up north, and Atlanta the closest to the south.

The market at one time simultaneously supported thriving AAA and AA level franchises (the latter reverting to A ball due to travel-related issues), and with an outdoor facility similar to what they've talked about for San Jose, they'd easily draw better than they are now. And if you need proof? Consider that the Carolina Hurricanes draw remarkably well considering having an historically :censored:ty team and charging ticket prices that the A's only wish they could charge.

That ring sets a Super Bowl record for font use... I count 5 different ones (End Zone, Orbit, Seahawk, Serpentine, and one I can't identify). Four on the generic shank alone. And yet, it works. Impressive.

Scotty Bowman's ring collection.

It's almost like looking at a chronological summary of the increase in gaudiness and decrease in taste associated with championship rings. Not that any of them are atrocious, but look at the difference for example between that Penguins ring and the Blackhawks one - a doubling in size in a generation. Overkill IMHO.

Just looked at the article, and consequently your web site for the first time in perhaps several years. While going through it I came across the picture of your Cincinnati Bengals AFC championship ring from 1988, and I can't help but tell this story... though to me at the time it was humiliating and even now it's kind of embarrassing to me.

In 2000, Arena Football came to Raleigh in the form of the Carolina Cobras, and one of their early games was 'nationally' televised (forgot who broadcast it). One of the game's commentators was Sam Wyche, and they happened to be positioned (inexplicably) atop the section I was sitting in (inexplicable because I was in the lower bowl of the arena, about 5 rows from field level). Bored with the game in the 4th quarter, my friends and I left our seats to get a few beers and hot dogs from the vendors... who were near the broadcast area.

Anyway, as we're up there, the network broadcasting the game took an extended break of some sort, and Sam joined us in the food line. I couldn't help but notice his ring, but I also happened to be wearing the other ring that commemorated that game - the one won by the 49ers, and bought by me roughly a year earlier. With my hands at my sides (and without prompting), my friend asked Sam about the ring. Sam dutifully stuck out his hand so my buddy could see it.

My friend, ever the smart ass, looks at me and says, "Yours is nicer," and smiles. Sam, somewhat smart-assedly himself, asks incredulously, "Yeah? What's he got that nicer than a ring commemorating a Super Bowl appearance?" My friend grabs my right hand, puts it alongside Sam's, which is still extended, and says, "a Super Bowl victory."

It's not at all unprecedented for a runner-up to eschew rings for some other memento. In the pre-Super Bowl era apparently it was fairly common, and in some cases even the championship teams would get 'lesser' rings and add a watch or pendant of some sort to the mix.

Omaha - Too small, I think.

Montreal - While I would love to see the Expos again, I'd rather it not be as an AL team.

Orlando - I would rather see the Rays leave Florida.

San Antonio - Three teams in Texas?

Portland - AAA left because of player apathy

Las Vegas - Objectively the best choice. I never understood the whole fear of Vegas, considering that gambling could just as easily corrupt any team.

Charlotte - Habitually incapable of supporting teams.

Nashville - I think that Memphis might be a better choice. Anyhow, baseball in underrepresented in the American South.

Newark - Like the Mets don't have enough problems.

Long shots - I would like to see a team in Mexico or PR... but I don't see it happening.

Raleigh/Durham is another option.

Raleigh might be an option. Durham isn't.

Here you go....

That's nicer than most championship rings. Certainly better than the last two Packer rings.

The "reversed" sides are awesome. Surprised we haven't seen that before, or at lease I haven't...

Pittsburgh Steelers' Super Bowl X rings were done like that if I recall.

Sounds familiar.

I can't say it for sure, but I suspect if you went through the archives here, you'd see where I put it up first.

Either way, it's a good idea.

I offered this solution to the realignment mess when the NHL initially announced its intent to return to a 4-division setup, and I still think it's the right way to go, particularly taking Columbus/Detroit into account.

Scrap the idea of conferences altogether and have 5 divisions of 6 teams each. The 5 division champs plus 11 other qualifiers (regardless of division) make the playoffs, giving you (presumably) the 16 best teams in the playoffs each and every year. Go back to non-regional naming conventions for the divisions. Then if the Coyotes stay in Phoenix, or if they move to Seattle, Quebec, or Timbuktu, you can take your time with realignment among the 5 divisions that makes the most sense... unlike having the Winnipeg Jets in the Southeast Division.

Expand the regular season by one game, to 83 total. Have each team play the five other teams in its division 7 times each, for 35 games. Have them then play home-and-home with the other 24 teams, for 48 games. Problem solved to cover virtually any contingency, providing an innovative solution that'll eventually have fans of other sports envious when they see a 10-6 Chicago Bears team miss the NFC playoffs and a 8-7-1 Miami Dolphins make it as a wild-card in the AFC.

It's ugly. It ain't Elephant Man Ugly, but it's ugly. The disproportion of the Lombardi Trophies is what ruins the look.

This page is the perfect example of why I can't stand college sports. It's a mess.

Championship rings, watches and related commemorative items are the only gifts which a university, bowl game, or similar entity can give to participants without risking sanctions under NCAA rules, and even in those cases the amount which can be spent on them is severely regulated.

The proliferation in rings stems, at least in part, due to guilt on the part of universities, boosters and so forth who understand they're making millions for their respective schools but without compensating the kids directly. Throwing them a bone, if you will... with a wink and a smile saying, "There's nothing preventing you from selling these once your NCAA eligibility period ends."

NHL: 5 divisions of 6 teams each - Atlantic, Northern, Southern, Eastern, Western. No conferences.

Regular Season:

83 game regular season. Each team plays the five other teams in its division 7 times (35 games). They also play home-and-home against the 24 teams from the other divisions (48 games).

Postseason:

24 qualifiers because, well, why the hell not? the 5 division champions are seeded #1 through #5. 19 other qualifiers, without regard to divisional alignment and seeded #6 through #24.

Seeds #9 through #24 play in a best-of-three Playoff Qualifying Series. The winners are then re-seeded to meet seeds #1 through #8 in a best-of-five Preliminary Series. Surviving 8 teams advance to Quarter-Finals, then 4 to the Semi's, and so on.

Due respect, Tank, but that's not being political. It's just telling it like it is.

This is kind of on-going, but I strongly suspect history will consider this a failure:

Not only that, but the logo itself is a bit of a bust. You have a PERFECT opportunity to make the "window" comprise 8 panes, and you use 4. STUPID.

Does anyone know a free font that mimics either the Poppl Potifex or Whitman Display families?

Infrared I never mentioned anything about a contest. You said "I've always wanted a World Series ring" so I said you can have one it just takes some doings (time,money). Then you went off in a fit of anger for no reason. If you really want a WS ring save up and get one. I'm not wealthy by any means. All my rings I have to save up for and buy. I currently have a fund that I put money into in the hopes that one day a Packers Super Bowl ring comes my way. Until then I'll keep socking money away incase. Since your a Packer fan you'll enjoy my newest ring I just got yesterday.

Nice rendition of the 1968 New York Jets championship ring there.

I have in total five rings, none of which I wear very much if ever anymore... all three of the Raiders Super Bowl rings (acquired as part of a bankruptcy proceeding; he knows I have them, and he has a standing offer that if he wants/is able, he can buy them back from me, at my cost), a 49'ers ring from Super Bowl XXIII (the only one of their four I actually like, and IMHO among the nicest SB rings made to date), and a Packers 'shareholders' ring, identical in appearance to ridenlow's.

Of the more 'modern' championship rings, I've not really seen any that make me want them. If the Pirates or Indians ever win another World Series, I'll probably flag down someone I know in their front office's and put a mortgage on my house to get one of their rings (the Indians AL title ring from '97 I believe - the one shaped like home plate - is the closest I've come to buying a WS ring).

Today is the first time I've ever bothered reading this thread. I've missed out on some high-class derp, as well as some serious comedy, both intentional and otherwise. Thanks for the chuckles; I needed them today.

Any images of Maverick rings?

They're being made now; the players weren't sized for them until the lockout ended.

Okay. The Carolina Hurricanes are God's gift to hockey, Raleigh, and the world. They are widely considered by many [^source?] to be the Montreal Canadiens of the Raleigh-Durham/Piedmont Triad corridor.

LMAO. That, sir, is some funny stuff.

Seriously though, you're speaking of a market you don't really know as well as you think you do, making generalities that have been demonstrated incorrect. That could be true of Houston as well, so it might not be such a good idea to paint it with the same brush is all I'm saying.

I know where Wake Forest is. That was kinda my point. It wouldn't have been quite as effective if I just picked the school down the street!

I'm not buying that being a professional team really has that much cache in the land of college basketball diehards, who profess that they love college basketball precisely because it's not professional. I know the Hurricanes have enough of a niche in the market to get by, but nobody asked for them and nobody else wants them around.

Yeah? I'm glad you're such an authority on the city I live in.

I don't think the NHL is that worried about playing second fiddle to the Newpersonics, though. They probably figure they can carve out their niche either way. I mean, the league let a team move to Raleigh conceding fourth place to Wake Forest basketball.

WTF are you talking about?

The fact that pretty much every ACC basketball program is more established and followed than the Hurricanes? Or that they're the secondary tenant to NC State, who aren't even the most popular team in the region? That they didn't even have dedicated television and radio deals to begin their tenure because everyone had pre-existing commitments to various ACC pbp?

As someone who's called Raleigh home for the past (wow, that long?) 18 years now, let me point out a few things...

(1) Wake Forest University isn't anywhere near here. It's in Winston-Salem, not the Raleigh area.

(2) More established and followed? Well, yeah, when another team has a head start of, say, 90 years or so, they're bound to have a solid following. But there's a reason the Whalers came to Raleigh - they're the only pro game in town, and that has a cache that the colleges simply don't have.

(3) The Hurricanes are the secondary tenant in the building because North Carolina State University was going to build the damned place anyway, with or without them. They took advantage of that, and have thus far been quite happy in doing so.

(4) So let me get this straight... radio and television stations are supposed to violate/terminate existing contractual agreements so that they could vie for the privilege of airing NHL games? Puh-leeze. You could move the New York Yankees to Sheboygan and that's not going to happen.