BBTV

1. Comparing a COLLEGE program to the NFL is not a good comparison. Of course the college is going to take Nike's money and let Nike talk them into being their "showcase" for all of their "innovative" ideas. It's apples and oranges. None of us have seen their contract with the league, but I wager it's a lot more tight than a college that needs to do whatever it can to stand out for recruits or get attention. 2. No team is going to wear something they don't want to. None. No team is going to be handed something by Nike, hate it, and feel forced to wear it. You can "not buy" it, but the fact is that Nike can't make first contact, and while Nike certainly encourages team to break the mold and push the envelope and whatever else, at the end of the day it's up to the team. That's stone-cold fact. I recommend to read the interview, as there's a lot more than what I summarized, including unused concepts and a link to an actual presentation (as well as a story as to when Nike showed up to make a pitch and was kicked out.) It's paywalled so out of respect to Paul I'm not going to post any of those images, but it's worth checking out.

nike can’t control how people wear things. As I and others have said for years, the teams look exactly like how they want to look.

Most notably, Nike isn’t even allowed to contact teams and suggest changes. The teams go to the NFL, and the NFL goes to Nike. They are contractually not allowed to solicit. So them “pushing teams to change” isn’t even allowed. Not only that, but they don’t do helmets or logos. The only logo they’ve done since the 2012 contract was the Rams, and that’s because the Rams specifically wanted them to do it. They’ve not done any other logo or helmet. the colors are often dictated by the logos / helmets that the NFL/team pick, not Nike’s whims. Also, if a team “knows what they want”, Nike just does it. But it’s when a team just has some vague ideas, that’s when they’re instructed to “challenge” them and push the envelope. It’s not like Nike has nearly as much influence as anyone seems to think they do, and there’s been several instances where teams were like “lol no”. In fact, for the Bucs last set, Nike didn’t even want to do it - it was the Bucs owner that kept pushing for more and more wacky stuff, including materials on the numbers that Nike said was a bad idea because of how it’d get ruined in the wash. They also tried to “fix” the Vikings numbers so each digit would be the same, but the Vikings loved the sail gimmick so much that they insisted on the inconsistency. Also, Nike design is free, but teams can still hire anyone they want to design uniforms. It’s just that since Nike’s work is already paid for, they just use them (from the neck down). The guy is retired and has no reason to lie about anything, and admits that they’re instructed to think more about the younger fan than the older ones, and the “Nike speak” and storytelling nonsense is all contrived just for sales pitches and other reasons, but that on-field presentation comes above merchandising, and when we complain, they often do too and try to “fix” things that don’t come off as expected, but aren’t allowed. TL;DR Blame the teams. It’s really a great interview. The guy was in charge of the Jets change, but was an old Jets fan himself and didn’t even want them to do it.

UW did an interview with a Nike NFL designer that's on his Substack page. It's paywalled so I'm not going to copy/paste it, but it is absolutely incredible, and both confirms and (mostly) refutes what a lot of us have said about Nike when it comes to the uniform-design process. If you're truly one of "us", you'll find it well worth the time it takes to read (it's long.)

Did he say Timbuktu? If the league really wants London, Timbuktu is only an hour ahead, so the London Jaguars and Timbuktu Browns would be natural rivals. A quick search shows that Timbuktu's only stadium only seats 5K, and the only 50K stadium is a good 15 hour drive. That could be a problem. I too don't want the Browns to move, but I could get behind the Timbuktu Titans.

Did they say if they’re keeping the Oakland A’s name, or if they’re the Las Vegas A’s (of Sacramento), or the Sacramento A’s? Also… I thought there were snags in the LV deal and it was still far from a done deal.

Agreed. There should be more monochrome in baseball, depending on the base color. This would work fine (though I'd rather the socks match the cap and belt). I think most teams could get away with it.

Isn't ATL the busiest airport in the US due to how it's a hub for multiple airlines? I'm not sure how it's possible to not have connected there at least once, unless you're just not a frequent traveler (and even then, unless you live near another major hub where there's direct flights to everywhere, it's tough.) It's been 18 years since I was last there (and I'm a pretty-frequent traveler, albeit internationally) and it was among the worst experiences I've ever had, just due to the sheer size of it and overall disorganization. Connecting from point a to b took seemingly an hour (it was probably less, but it felt like an hour) over the tram (which was not where the signs pointed to) and then multiple walkways, and staff that was clearly overworked, likely underpaid, and not helpful. Of course, everyone has different experiences and different opinions about everything. I happen to really like EWR, not just because there's more direct flights than many other airports, but it's among the most convenient airports to get to via multiple train lines and reasonable shuttles (and has cheap parking if you buy ahead), and even through some extreme renovations, I've never had an issue knowing where I need to go and avoiding large queues. That's probably a minority opinion. I think PHL has improved 100% in the past 10 years and I really like flying from there too, but if there's a choice between a direct from EWR or a connecting flight from PHL (which may even be EWR), I'll pay the same - maybe even slightly more - and take the train up to EWR. But to the point about "knowing about Atlanta if not for sports", I think there's enough famous businesses based there, and celebs that have come from there, to make it known to the average person (even if not front-of-mind like it is to sports fans.)

also single digits. Not that I have any Fs to give over Kenny Pickett, but he can't keep his #8 because a safety that they just brought back for a second stint chose 8 over his previous number with the team (23) which was available. So a safety is blocking a QB over #8. Goddam ridiculous. And even though he's never worn it, he's not giving it up because it's a tribute to Kobe So again, while I couldn't care much less about Kenny Pickett, his only options are 7 (which just became available), 13, and 16 (also just became available.). A week ago, only 13 was available. It's absurd that a QB has lieterally one number to "choose" from, because DBs, DEs, and other jabroni-ass jabronis are hogging all the QB numbers. To be fair, the Eagles have retired or removed from circulation 5 (retired - McNabb), 9 (out of circulation - Big Dick Nick Foles), 12 (out of circulation, sorta - Cunningham), and 15 (retired - Steve Van Buren.)

I totally agree, I just think that in that one specific example, the tiger would be indiscernible without an outline since it's stripes would blend with the navy and the shape of the body might not be distinct enough.

lol no way in hell the bears would make that trade. That’s silly.

The orange outline is unnecessary, but at that scale, the tiger might look weird if not bounded by the white outline. It’s not really an issue at the lager scale version used on the jersey

Some jabroni that I've never heard of, who hadn't pitched in the majors in 5 years, just got a 4-inning save for the Phillies. I had no idea that was even possible. What's even weirder is that the call-up didn't even get to the ballpark until the 4th inning! I think the save stat is ridiculous to begin with, and has had a very negative impact on the game. But it's just odd that there's such a thing as a 4-inning save. But it's a stupid stat.

most Sundays they wear the cream throwbacks, as that’s their “day game” alt. They’ll only wear home pinstripes on Sunday if it’s an espn night game. they’ll also wear the pinstripes on Saturday night games.

Not sure if it was all the coke (or if he even did it), but George Brett used to get nasty-ass (fully intended) hemorroides. I knew a guy that worked the hotel they stayed at during the 1980 WS, and one of his jobs was to discreetly get medication for Brett's butthole, and they'd hand it from person to person to avoid any direct contact with the purchaser and Brett. Apparently they didn't want to give the Phillies a competitive advantage by knowing he was having flare ups in his hole. Or maybe it was a primitive form of Barry Bonds' "The Cream", administered anally for quick absorption. IDK, but I feel like I've thought way too much about George Brett's hall-of-fame butthole.

And (now-former) coaches, mascots, Bam Morris, Tyreke Hill and half the 2020 Super Bowl team, Justyn Ross, and even one or two of the assistant trainers and ball boys have multiple fellonies (maybe... I didn't actually fact check that part.) Hopefully that was a tongue-in-cheek comment

With Boomer's work in New York sports media and the national things he does out of NY, it almost feels like he's a New York guy... specifically a Jet. His right uniform is obviously a Bengals one, but I do associate him a little more with New York now that he's been working there for so long.

Phillies releasing their City Connect on Friday, and will wear it for all Friday home games https://www.crossingbroad.com/2024/04/the-phillies-are-releasing-the-city-connect-jerseys-this-week.html

This is probably what should happen, though it would likely mean the permanent end of the line for the brand. It's a shame that he has such little equity at this point, but it's time to retire "Athletics" and move on. It's a lousy fit for Vegas anyway. Has there been more of a "coming back with tail between their legs" situation than this in the past 30 - 40 years? It was basically announced as "done", they had renderings, a welcome presser, and all that jazz, now they're in the awkwardest of awkward spots. I can think of in-market moves that collapsed on the brink of construction (Sixers move to Camden, for ex) but nothing that was to a whole new market since the teams that played Tampa for fools and the SD>DC move that resulted in the actual "Washington NAT'L League" baseball cards.

So the Phillies and Braves don't play each other again until... July? Godsdamned July? How the hell can two divisional teams go more than three full months without playing each other? Screw this schedule.

That's a good point. Maybe I'm being a little too hard on them. Would have been great had they tried to hitch hike their way off of the highway and it got caught on the cam.

Jesus. How do you think you can just casually walk away like it didn't happen? I'm guessing none of their IQs is higher than the speed they were going.

The only thing better would be if they were whistling. https://www.tmz.com/2024/03/31/first-photos-rashee-rice-car-crash-site-dallas-occupants-leaving-scene/ d

It’s a little premature to say that, but was just checking TMZ… and these dudes just casually got out of the Lambo and other car and walked away as if nothing had happened and nobody was watching. There’s not evidence that the actual player was there, but photos of other guys just walking away like “Crash? what crash? That was like that when we got here.” Somehow nobody was hurt.

OK, you win.