B-Rich

Well written, researched and presented, young man.

Sort of on track with this topic; wife is watching the US/Nigeria women's friendly which is formally opening up the new Austin MLS stadium. Sat down to watch a bit myself, and I have to say that is one nice looking SSS.

Another thing to think of is the nature of the LEAGUES in regards to the teams named "Oakland". When Oakland's first major league team (the Oakland Raiders) came about, it was in a different LEAGUE, the AFL, which had its own TV contract. TV markets being what they were (and are) this meant that the AFL had a foothold in the major Bay Area TV market, just as they did in NYC (and originally, LA). With the merger, for many years you still had the two basic TV network contracts (AFC/NFC) plus the ABC Monday Night Football contract. Today, in the realm of cable, NFL Network, Sunday Ticket, flex scheduling and such, having two team in this major market is not as important. Similarly, when the A's moved from Kansas City to Oakland, it was when the leagues were still much more separate entities who only played each other in exhibition games and the World Series. In a major market like the Bay Area, it made sense to have a team in each city ( just as it did in NY, Chicago, and LA, and if you want to stretch this factor, that's why Texas, Missouri, Ohio, and later Florida worked so well with a team in both the NL and AL ). Not just for broadcast factors, but because the local sports fans (of which there were many) could ostensibly see ALL of the teams (and star players) of both leagues over the course of a season. With interleague play and unheralded media coverage of all games, these factors are no longer important. To me, the Bay Area (specifically San Francisco/Oakland) has always been less a New York/LA type of place that merited two franchises in football and baseball, but more like a Tampa/St. Pete, or Minneapolis/St. Paul, and probably most like a Dallas/Ft. Worth "twin city" kind of situation. I think that the Bay Area is just "right-sizing" in terms of sports franchises: one each in all the five major sports. It is kind of interesting, though, that the result in terms of NAME will be two with "San Jose" (Sharks and Earthquakes), two with "San Francisco" (Giants and 49ers) and one regional (Golden State), but in terms of physical location/home stadium/arena it will be two in San Francisco (Giants and Warriors) but THREE in the south bay (Earthquakes, 49ers and Sharks).

One of the key things that led to early "success" of the USFL as a spring/summer league was their placement of teams not just in non-NFL cities at the time (Phoenix, Birmingham, Jacksonville, Memphis, San Antonio, Tulsa, even Oakland; and for the last year relocations to Orlando, Baltimore and Portland) but also their placement of teams in NFL cities WITHOUT MLB teams, whose season they almost overlapped: (Washington, Denver, Tampa Bay, New Orleans). It was "something to do" at that time in those places, and support was pretty strong in three of those 4 (Washington being the outlier, but they sucked terribly on the field and that didn't help). With expansion and relocation in sports over the last 35 years, that particular situation has changed tremendously. IMHO, Tampa Bay, Washington, Denver, Baltimore, and Phoenix are definite no-gos. Back in those days before the explosion of cable options and now internet streaming, you also wanted to get "major (TV) markets" which is why both the WFL and USFL had franchises in not only the really big markets (L.A., NY/NJ, Chicago) but also Philadelphia, Detroit, and Houston (note: the WFL originally tried and failed to get major market franchises in Boston and Washington, but the USFL did). Today, having teams in those non-"Big Three" markets doesn't make as much financial sense as it did in the 70s and 80s. So what are we left with for possible team locations? NFL formers and the usual list of NFL wanna-bees/maybes: Oakland San Diego St. Louis Memphis Birmingham San Antonio Maybe some other big-league US cities without MLB baseball or MLS soccer in the summer: Raleigh-Durham Sacramento New Orleans Oklahoma City Jacksonville Maybe a couple of other wild cards: Louisville Virginia/Tidewater That's about all I see, along with MAYBE a ubiquitous NY/NJ franchise. And that's not even getting into stadium availability issues, though WideRight did a pretty good analysis of that above. Speaking of that guy: Bulls anywhere in the Raleigh-Durham region is too close to the AAA Durham Bulls. Similarly, you can't have the Carolina Panthers in there, either. Would be great to use the old Michigan Panthers livery and logos and call them the Carolina Cougars, though (slight nod to the old ABA). Outlaws seems way out of place in San Diego; not so much a wild west town and great fit like Arizona and Oklahoma were. Maybe Express, but change the LA speed mark logo to "SD" (hey, they did a similar treatment for the Atlanta/Calgary Flames and it worked well for the last 40 years or so) Why is Seattle even in the conversation as a franchise site?

Back in 2012, when Pensacola got their AA southern league team, they had a name-the-team poll/contest, and as most of us know the name Blue Wahoos was selected. By all accounts, it has been received rather well and done well in merchandising. In 2016, they had a one-off promotion of "What If?", with the team gearing up in the runner-up name, the MULLETS. Last night I was flipping through the channels and came across the Pensacola/Birmingham AA game, and Pensacola was once again sporting the Mullets look, so I looked it up. Apparently, this year EVERY Thursday home game will be Mullet night, with special Mullet features in addition to the Mullet unis: as per the team owner: "On Thursdays, we’re going to get rid of the ceremonial first pitch and replace it with a mullet toss…the ceremonial first fish! We’ll have a barber giving free mullet haircuts on the concourse. Mullet-eating contests. Each Thursday will be about cheap drinks, good times, and holding a party in the stands.” The name refers to not only the fish, but also the haircut. The team logo is a mullet in sunglasses, sporting a mullet. My favorite little thing, though, are the jerseys, complete with a brown splotch extending down from the back color indicating mullet hair:

Although not ocean waves, the breakers of Lake Pontchartrain say hello...

The other night I watched alma mater #2 (Georgia Tech) in a basketball game at Nebraska. Although I had seen it before in print, ads, and other such items, this was the first time I had ever seen the weird script "Huskers" wordmark logo in use on a jersey (and on center court). It's HIDEOUS. Nothing about it makes me think of athletics. Instead it seems evocative of the logo of an upscale department store: "The best styles, the best selection, and the best price... you'll get it all at Huskers!" Probably because of its similarity to these:

found this somewhat confounding gem: Pistol Pete vs. Nets. Curious as to what arena this is? Maravich is wearing 7, so it's gotta be no earlier than '75-'76. Don't think this is Nassau Coliseum-- maybe a pre-merger exhibition game somewhere...

Kind of glad the upper right one didn't make the cut, because it was sort of, "Hey! We just annexed Alabama, most of Georgia and the Florida Gulf Coast"

Wha?... How old are you? Do you even have a clue WHAT you are talking about? "how free agency used to be, where players were obligated to play on the team that drafted them because of "Loyalty to an organization" " Um that WASN'T "how free agency used to be", that was BEFORE free agency existed. And it wasn't due to 'Loyalty to an organization', it was due to contractual rights. Once a team signed or drafted a player, they had exclusive rights to that player for as long as they wanted. "I'm glad players have the right to choose where they want to play now, for the most part"...Actually they don't "have a right to play where they want to play" until they fulfill their rookie contract. All major leagues still have some form of a draft, and unless the player has some serious leverage (or is independently wealthy) and is willing to sit out, they have to play with whoever drafted them for the entire length of their first contract. They also can be traded to another team with no say-so unless they have a no-trade clause in their contract, which many (if not most) players don't have the leverage to have.

NVM

Two things I don't miss: -- Smoking in the stands. I can remember this occurring at many outdoor stadiums and ballparks, and even indoor ones like the Superdome. My daughter and I watched a replay of game 7 of the 1965 World Series the other day and she commented on how ridiculously prevalent it was. -- Pretty much before my time, but racially segregated seating.

One more-- Back when HLN was CNN Headline News, on a rotating half-hour format, with sports at the :19 and :49 minute mark. Good to catch scores and maybe a highlight or two, and of course they had the best announcer, Van Earl Wright. Even though he was never shown on-air, Wright's wacky voice mannerisms and pronunciations became legendary during Headline News' sports segments during the 80s and 90s; especially his elongated pronunciation of 'Los An-ge-leeees' and the way he read his mandated sign-off with a series of all kinds of interesting inflection. "I'm Van Earl Wright!!! CNN!!! Headliiiiinnnnne SPORTS!"

-- I miss the difference since they built the east side upper deck in LSU Tiger Stadium behind my lower bowl seats. I remember how weird it was noticing how darker everything looked once that was built-- we had no 'spillover' from the stadium lights anymore. -- I miss the animated intro from the old TBS SEC Game of the Week on Saturdays: -- I miss getting REALLY cheap tickets (NFL, MLB, and NBA) when teams were bad, and sneaking down to better seats in lower levels because the stadium was less than 1/2 full. Ushers never bothered you about it. Can't do that anymore; those are always "club seats" and access to concourse and seating areas in them are highly controlled. -- I miss ABC's Wide World of Sports in the 70s. -- I miss the ECHL having the "I-10 division of hockey" in the late 90s: Louisiana (Lafayette) Ice Gators, Baton Rouge Kingfish, New Orleans Brass, Mississippi (Biloxi) Sea Wolves, Mobile Mysticks, Pensacola Ice Pilots, and Tallahassee Tiger Sharks. We always went to Thanksgiving with my mom's extended family in Biloxi, and The Sea Wolves had a tradition of playing a Thanksgiving night game which we always attended before heading home. Good times. -- I miss the Olympics having the underlying theme of being the good guys (US) vs. the bad guys (USSR/eastern bloc and communist countries in general). -- I miss the god-danged NEW ORLEANS JAZZ.

Pete Maravich and Coach Butch Van Breda Kolff having fun...

I actually went to that game!

Can't believe I missed this point a few years ago. The elevated court and net was actually at the old Loyola (University) Field House: In their first season (before the Superdome was opened in 1975), the Jazz played most of their games in the Municipal Auditorium, but when it was booked with other things (mostly during Carnival season, when it was booked with NUMEROUS Mardi Gras balls) the Jazz played in the Field House, which had an elevated court and net surrounding it (at that point in time, Loyola no longer fielded athletic teams). Here's a photo of its set-up: The ABA New Orleans Buccaneers played most of their games here, too; but also played a few in Tulane's basketball facility as well.

Speaking of the damned Baby Cakes, I attended (and publicly spoke) at a meeting of the LSED (Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District) today, asking for a status update on the franchise's lease and possible baseball replacements. The Board members and legal counsel said (as part of a public meeting) that despite media info to the contrary, the lease runs to 2021, not the end of this season. They also added that the franchise has not FORMALLY or LEGALLY given ANY notice to them, and as far as they are concerned the franchise will fulfill its terms of the lease through 2021. They did say they are committed to getting a full slate of stadium activities (particularly a replacement baseball tenant) if and when they are formally notified the team wants to end its lease early or will not renew after 2021. After the meeting was adjourned, some board members and I spoke off the record and they THANKED me for bringing it up publicly, because they cannot do so (one board member said, "those are the kind of comments we like!). They noted that since the move was announced, team reps have completely avoided the monthly LSED meetings. Legal counsel also said they would like to see the information on Schwechheimer's participation with the Baseball Havana deal, which I will be forwarding to them. Stay tuned....

My biggest issue? The intro video for LA started off pretty neatly.. the sun is going down.. shots move from glitz and paparazzi up into the hills as twilight approaches.. "they've already begun to prowl.. enter their den" okay, I'm thinking, 'what kind of wild animal lives up in the hills? In a den?" Coyotes? Then they show some shots of COUGARS... (or PUMAS... MOUNTAIN LIONS... CATAMOUNTS -- take your pick) Great big animals that exist in not only in California, but in the Los Angeles area: (I wouldn't want to face one of these in the Hollywood Hills) Then they hit the tagline name: "This is our time to roar... THE LA WILDCATS, unleashed February 2020" WHAT THE...? A cougar is not a wildcat. A wildcat in North American is technically the Bobcat, much smaller than a cougar or lion (but bigger than a housecat). Basically, very wimpy. Joggers have nothing to fear from wildcats or bobcats. Should have gone with "California Cougars" (especially since they are playing in Carson and there is no San Fran team this go-round) but I can understand the new cultural term of "cougar" as a horny older woman screwing that up (although it doesn't seem to hurt BYU, Houston, Washington State, or countless high school teams). Pumas would have been a nice alternative, and a nod to the area's Hispanic culture. But "Wildcats" SUCKS.

By the way, that Kraft logo is supposed to represent an old-fashioned cut open wheel of cheese: J.L Kraft got his start in the cheese business....

THIS IS FUN. I like Crimson Bull's "picture puzzle" approach. Using it and IceCap's possible prescience regarding wrestler names being adapted to team names, I submit the following. Team One: = + Seattle Sea Dragons Team Two: = + New York Gargoyles Team Three: = + Houston Wildcats Team Four: = + St. Louis Werewolves Team Five: = + Dallas Thunderbirds Team Six: = + Washington Warriors Team Seven: = + Tampa Bay Vipers Team Eight: = + California Hell's Angels Some of the cities can be interchanged; you can probably put Vipers in Houston (not too far from bayou country; it was founded on Buffalo Bayou) IF you put the Wildcats in Dallas; Thunderbirds can go anywhere, as can Werewolves.

I swear, after seeing the teaser video and doing a little interwebs research (I'm not a big wrestling fan) I think this is actually happening. All of the following were wrestler names: -- Viper -- Gargoyle -- (Chief) Thunderbird -- (Ultimate) or (Road) Warriors -- (Super) (Ultimo) Dragon -- Wildcat -- (California's) Hell's Angels -- The Wolfman

Good rundown, but you missed a few. A key part of this is there are two quick shots (for each team, I presume), each separated by the stadium entry: Team One - (crashing) wave (from under the water) + reptilian eye -- educated guess is (Seattle) Sea Dragons. Team Two - gargoyle face + gargoyle head - New York Gargoyles Team Three - refinery worker (with flare) + grinding tool emitting sparks - educated guess of Houston Wildcatters/ Wildcats/Roughnecks/Roustabouts; something in that vein. Team Four - a city street at night (from the air) + grassy field at night, with a sort of roar or animal sound at the end - Night Beasts? City Beasts? Team Five - the fan of a plane engine + a fighter pilot flying - Fighters? Pilots? ....Thunderbirds? That last name would go with the red and white "lightning" logo... Team Six - a cavalier statue (actually, civil war soldier statue with US capitol in background) + US Marine - obviously Washington; maybe Sentries, Soldiers? Or as was pointed out as "confirmed" name, Warriors? Team Seven - bayou swamp scene + fallen leaves in the forest (from a low ground view) - Likely Tampa Bay, maybe either Vipers or Gators Team Eight - (Winged) tattoo + a pack of bikers - Hell's Angels? Outlaws?

That leads me to another tangent, how it has always bugged me that Bowling Green University uses brown and orange as its colors. Come on, didn't someone at some time think it may be a cool idea to have GREEN in the Bowling GREEN color scheme? (at least someone in the Green Bay Packers organization did).

Tried one of those at a neat little restaurant on Cape Cod about a month ago. It was freaking delicious (and a lot larger than I expected).