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B-Rich

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Everything posted by B-Rich

  1. B-Rich
    Great post overall (upvoted) but I have to disagree with you there; I think Denver was always a "home run" or shoo-in and have shown since 1993 that they are a great baseball market. Washington, once they got past the stink of losing two teams in about 12 years, was also a "home run" market available. The main reason they didn't make the cut for 1993 was a bad prospective owner set-up that didn't have the money like Huizenga in Miami or the prospective Denver owners. Washington has also shown (since the Expos were relocated there) that they ARE a great baseball market that fits the archetype mold: a large population, upper East Coast metro area.
  2. B-Rich
    Pels win! Amazing what 1st year coach Willie Green has done with this squad, started 1-11 / 3-16, then went 33-30. All this without Zion for the whole year and without Brandon Ingram for 27 games. Kudos also to the front office and GM David Griffin for picking up some unheralded rookies (love how my Georgia Tech guy Jose Alvarado, unsigned and expected to be in Birmingham all year, showed his stuff and earned a roster spot and contract) AND making a great trade for C.J. McCollum. We match up well against the Clips, too; 3 games to one record this season. We'll see what happens Friday night, but even if they do get that 8 spot we'll still be lucky to not get swept by the Suns. But next year-- especially IF Zion is able to come back to be the player he was was before his injury hiatus-- look out. Oh, and to all those on the board saying N.O. doesn't support it NBA franchise, I hope you saw that sell-out crowd and its energy tonight for a 9 vs. 10 play-in game. It's like any other team; play decently and win a bit, and the crowds will be there.
  3. B-Rich
    Must be blue spruce evergreens... The logo is a beautiful... as a picture. The League name, however and the imagery portrayed is now sort of like the 14 team Big 10, unlinked to reality. How many teams can actually be said to be in the "Pacific Coast" region as portrayed in the logo? Two, the Sacramento River Cats and the Tacoma Rainiers. If you wanted to stretch it, you might be able to include the two Nevada teams (Las Vegas Aviators and Reno Aces). But no way are the majority of the teams (Albuquerque, El Paso, Oklahoma City, Round Rock [Austin] , Salt Lake, and Sugar Land [Houston] close to the Pacific Coast.
  4. B-Rich
    So, as most of you know, I (mostly) grew up in and live in metro New Orleans. As such, I am quite familiar with Loyola University of New Orleans, located right next to Tulane University in beautiful Uptown. Even went to one semester of law school at Loyola (big mistake, but that's another story). And as a logo geek from way back, I of course knew that Loyola's athletic teams had been known as the Wolfpack. I say "had been" because when I was growing up in the 70s and 80s Loyola no longer had ANY intercollegiate athletic teams. Some time in the 1990s, they began some athletics again at the NAIA level, most notably baseball and basketball. I never paid much attention to them, and neither did the local sports media. This is, after all, NAIA we're talking about. Well, the other day the local media spread the news that the basketball team was playing for the NAIA championship, and it was going to be on TV (ESPN 3, of course). So to support the home team, daughter #1 and I decided to watch. I was unprepared for this monstrosity of a sports logo that I saw on unis, coaches' gear, and TV graphics: I mean, seriously? Who is responsible for this travesty? I guess I am really just talking about the wolf-- the arched "Loyola" with the smaller "New Orleans" is not bad at all (and was what was presented on the jersey front); it's just that profile wolf head looks like bad clip art, or something from an old video game, or a Nickelodeon Channel cartoon from the late 1990s. I wonder if the folks in charge know how bad it is. I guess that ignorance is bliss in this case; as no one in town really talks about Loyola athletics and you see no one around town repping this logo on merch. But man, if I were a student, or alum, or especially an athlete from there I'd be embarrassed by that. Thoughts?
  5. B-Rich
    That's what we did last year, Father's Day weekend. I enjoyed the view but my selfie generation, lovin' all things bougie/Gucci college student daughters lamented that we weren't down lower (like we usually are).
  6. B-Rich
    Similar to what Francis10 said about the Calgary design, those of us old enough to remember NHL hockey in the late 70s/very early 80s may find your city jersey logo very familiar: NHL Colorado Rockies, 1976-82 Perhaps unknowingly, you've yet again created a neat throwback hearkening.
  7. B-Rich
    I'll agree with this one - prettiest to my eyes...
  8. B-Rich
    They ARE really, really good. We went to the one in St. Augustine on Lundi Gras night last year (since Mardi Gras was canceled we took a road trip); other than the lengthy wait for a table, it was fantastic and the food was delicious. Also a tremendous atmosphere:
  9. B-Rich
    From what I remember, it WAS a given and they DID know. The new stadium in Nashville was not to be complete until 1999, and there was an announcement from the organization that they would NOT change their identity until they moved into the new STADIUM. Which is why they were still the Tennessee Oilers in Nashville at Vanderbilt, after the Memphis/Liberty Bowl turned out to be such a mistake (remember, they were SUPPOSED to play there both 1997 and 1998). I absolutely, wholeheartedly agree.
  10. B-Rich
    Umm, one of the biggest ones-- this guy?
  11. B-Rich
    Good detective work there. I'm gonna start calling you "Mannix".
  12. B-Rich
    Just a neat observation: Growing up and into adulthood, I knew that one of Louisiana's "four corners" state universities was Northeast Louisiana University, located in Monroe, LA (the other three were Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, University of Southwestern Louisiana in Lafayette, and Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond). Their mascot was the "Indians", not unusual for the times, and they had an interesting logo which used the "L" in the middle of their initials 'NLU' as an indian brave in profile, with the upper vertical portion of the "L" being a feather: In 1999, the college system was changed a bit in Louisiana, with a new University of Louisiana system being created, and USL changing to UL- Lafayette, and NLU changing to UL- Monroe. So, the athletics changed from the NLU Indians to the ULM Indians, with an updated logo: however, around that time the football team also took to wearing a Florida State-style spear on their helmet: The "ULM Indians" period was short lived; in 2006 they rid themselves of the Native American mascot and imagery and switched to their new name of "Warhawks", at the same time adopting a rather modern logo for print graphics, merch and helmets: I saw ULM play LSU this past Saturday, and noticed on the helmets there was a new logo, which harkens back to their original, old NLU logo. Same font, but with a warhawk head profile instead of the indian head, and the upper "L" feather has returned, maybe it's a wing, or maybe it's just a feather; kind of hard to tell: Anyway, it's kind of neat when compared to the old one:
  13. B-Rich
    Not a case of the spec-approved and spec-built "if you build it, they will come." More like "we'll come, but you need to build a new stadium". It was approved by Seattle voters AFTER the city was awarded the Pilots franchise. Per Wikipedia: In 1967, the American League granted Seattle an expansion franchise that would be known as the Seattle Pilots. The league clearly stated Sick's Stadium was not adequate as a major-league stadium, and stipulated that as a condition of being awarded the franchise, bonds had to be issued to fund construction of a domed stadium that had to be completed by 1970; additionally, the capacity at Sick's Stadium had to be expanded from 11,000 to 30,000 by opening day 1969, when the team was scheduled to begin playing. The Pilots were supposed to begin play in 1971 along with the Kansas City Royals. However, when Senator Stuart Symington of Missouri got wind of those plans, he demanded both teams begin play in 1969. The American League had birthed the Royals and Pilots as a result of the Kansas City Athletics moving to Oakland, and Symington would not accept the prospect of KAnsas City waiting three years for baseball's return. On February 13, 1968, King County voters approved the issue of $40 million in bonds to fund construction of the "King County Multipurpose Domed Stadium" with 62 percent in favor...
  14. B-Rich
    Nothing personal to you, Burmy my man, but my response to that is... Not even a snowball's chance in hell that will happen at UNO.
  15. B-Rich
    Yeah, Milwaukee County Stadium is kind of a fine line there. I mean, it WAS meant to attract an MLB team, BUT it had an existing tenant ( two, if you count the Packers). I was originally including those building constructed purely on spec, with no solid guarantee of a tenant. Then again, not sure how the Alamodome fits into that standard, because while it was clearly built to lure an NFL franchise, it was used as a ready-made home for the Spurs when it opened in 1993. So... and have added County Stadium to the list. Correct. Built on spec.
  16. B-Rich
    Good point. Updated and added. Las Vegas is another good one I forgot. Updated and added to the list. I have heard the same about T-Mobile Center doing so well in terms of concerts and events that they aren't really LOOKING for a major league tenant, but especially in light of the last year and a half of the COVID situation I wonder how well they are really doing, and still think they would LOVE a big league hockey or b-ball franchise there... maybe the Kansas City Tornadoes or Kansas City Twisters? Hmm... didn't realize it has been there since 2015. Good point. Updating/added that to list #2.
  17. B-Rich
    "If you build it, they will come" Places this worked: 1. Milwaukee (Milwaukee County Stadium) 2. Minnesota (Metropolitan Stadium) 3. Indianapolis (Hoosier/RCA Dome) 4. Orlando (Orlando/Amway Arena) 5. St. Petersburg (Suncoast Dome/Tropicana Field) 6. St. Louis (TransWorld/ Edward Jones Dome) 7. Memphis (kinda/sorta, with spec-built Pyramid serving as a temporary home, but they had to agree to build the FedEx Forum to actually get a team). 8. New Orleans (New Orleans Arena/Smoothie King Center) 9. Oklahoma City (Ford Center/Chesapeake Energy Arena) 10. Las Vegas (T-Mobile Arena) Places this didn't work: 1. San Antonio (Alamodome - never got an NFL franchise) 2. Kansas City (Sprint/T-Mobile Center - hasn't got an NBA or NHL franchise yet) 3. Quebec City (Videotron Centre)
  18. B-Rich
    Yeah, I just the listed the college teams they CAME from (directly, right before the pros)
  19. B-Rich
    Umm... in addition to the afore-mentioned Pete Carroll, there are quite a few college head coaches that did very well in the NFL: Paul Brown - Ohio State (four AAFC titles and 3 NFL titles with the Browns). Bill Walsh - Stanford (three Super Bowl wins, six NFC West Titles). Jimmy Johnson - University of Miami (two Super Bowl wins with Cowboys, another 3 years with the Dolphins) Tom Coughlin - Boston College ( two Super Bowl wins with the Giants, helmed the most successful expansion team in league history in Jacksonville -- during Coughlin's tenure there, the Jaguars made four consecutive playoff appearances and went to the AFC Championship Game twice). Dick Vermiel - UCLA (led the Eagles to the Super Bowl and won a Super Bowl with the St. Louis Rams). Barry Switzer - Oklahoma (45-26 record with the Cowboys and won a Super Bowl-- albeit with Jimmy Johnson's players). Bobby Ross - Georgia Tech (led the Chargers to their only Super Bowl; won two division titles and made the playoffs three times; not so good in Detroit afterwards). John Robinson - USC (2 NFC Title games during his 8 year tenure with the LA Rams). Dennis Green - Stanford (97–62 record as Vikings head coach and came within a missed field goal of a Super Bowl in 1998; not so good with the Cardinals afterwards). John McKay - USC (built the Buccaneers from an expansion laughing stock to the NFC Title Game in their 4th year). Steve Mariucci - Cal (57-39 in six seasons with the 49ers, including two NFC West titles; not so good in Detroit afterwards).
  20. B-Rich
    Yep. This is what that side looked like when we attended a game in 2016: I guess the replacement stands were a factor of their success at the gate; as is seen in this picture the place was PACKED for games and I guess they figured they could add (and sell) more seats. Meanwhile in the original portion on the other side (where we sat) it wasn't nearly as nice. That section appears little changed from the original stadium set-up and configuration: pole-blocked views, painted wooden bleachers, exposed concrete understructure, etc. Felt like we were one of these guys:
  21. B-Rich
    Just realized I've been to THREE of those mentioned to date for soccer games (Lumen Field, Providence Park, Highmark Stadium). Here is a fourth (not yet mentioned) that I visited (for a Houston Dash game) while evacuated for Hurricane Ida: BBVA Stadium, Houston Here's another MLS stadium that I've been to that is rather urban-- and not at all "in a natural setting and with lots of greenery" as per the OP: Red Bull Stadium, Newark, NJ. Close by downtown, but in a sort of redeveloping, industrial area. A couple of MLS stadia that I have visited that do NOT qualify: 1. Q2 Stadium, Austin Austin has a pretty well-defined (and impressive) downtown , but the metro area is a sprawling mess, and Q2 is out in the middle of it rather than being near downtown (you can see the skyline in the distance on the horizon at the top of the photo)... It IS a very nice SSS, however, and the crowd/experience were great. Parking, though-- not so much. 2. Dignity Health Sports Park, Carson, CA Way out in suburban Carson; you can see what surrounds this SSS. Lots of suburban low-scale growth. But, hey, it hosted the LA Chargers!
  22. B-Rich
    If you ever get the chance, catch the movie he did as a teenager, Roll Bounce. Fun, touching period piece set in Chicago during the heyday of skating and disco (late 1970s). Wayne Brady, Mike Epps and Zero from Holes are in it; Chi McBride plays his dad, and Bow Wow did a fantastic job acting. Also, a great movie you can watch with your kids.
  23. B-Rich
    Actually went to this game the other night; was in Pensacola Beach on vacation for most of the week with the extended family (they are still there), so Wednesday night for a change of pace six of us traveled across the bay to catch a Blue Wahoos game; little did we know we were instead going to see the Crabzillas. The unis WERE very bad. But they were popular; I caught some of the bidding/auction for the game-worn jerseys and they were going for between $170 and $220. I was thinking about bidding on one of those crazy pair of pants, but decided not to: As a point of reference, the use of "Crabzillas" refers to one of the items on the concession menu; a huge sandwich platter that includes a full soft-shell crab, crab remoulade, pork belly, Parmesan crab mac and cheese, fried shrimp, lettuce, tomato, topped with a crab hush puppy and including crab boil flavored fries. The Crabzilla in fact won the 2019 Ballpark Digest award for best new food item. Here it is in all its glory: The nephew and his girlfriend split one; tBBP may be happy to know that I (being born on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and no stranger to "Biloxi Bacon") opted for the fried mullet platter (which was pretty damned good). The game itself was also a lot of fun; I liked how the announcer picked completely random and irrelevant walk-up songs for the opposing players (a different one every time, including Kelsey Grammar singing the "Frasier" theme). Oh, and the rest of the beach vacation was nice, too-- one day we even took out the Namor II (which I towed over there) and crossed the Pass to the eastern tip of Perdido Key/Ft. McRee area for the day. As my sister said, it was almost like being in the Bahamas: tBBP, you ever get over to that Ft. McRee area? Cool place.
  24. B-Rich
    Just to clarify, the SWAC (Southwestern Athletic Conference) is an existing HBCU conference; including teams such as Grambling, Southern, Prairie View A&M, etc. The SWC (Southwest Conference) was the primarily Texas-based conference that went away when four of its teams merged with the Big 8 to form the Big XII...
  25. B-Rich
    I wouldn't really say that Chase Field has a "willingness to embrace the elements". There ARE variations within retractable roof baseball stadiums: Seattle has a retractable roof, but that's it. It's not an enclosed environment; it's basically like playing under a big canopy just to protect you from the rain. Milwaukee has a retractable roof, but is enclosed. It has heat, but NO air-conditioning. Houston, Texas, Miami, Toronto AND Phoenix have retractable roofs, are enclosed, AND have full climate control/air conditioning. Here's the thing. I went to a Diamondbacks game in mid-July 2007 with my family. It had been a dreadfully hot afternoon in Phoenix, and I was looking forward to going into the cooler interior of enclosed Chase Field. As soon as we walked in the stadium doors and out of the oppressive downtown Phoenix heat, I happily felt that blast of cool air. But I was surprised when we went to our seats, to find that the roof was open to the darkening dusk sky, yet the interior of the seating bowl was as cool as if you were in an air-conditioned building. I later learned that the roof is closed three hours before game time and the massive cooling system can drop the temperature inside the park to about 78 °F (25.5 °C) by the time the gates open. And they run the A/C during games even when the roof is open, so it remains cool in the seating areas (at least the lower ones). Seems kind of wasteful, but I can tell you it was a much more comfortable experience. So, yeah, Las Vegas could easily follow the Chase Field example for a baseball home.
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