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Friday, June 15, 2012

Summer Series #1 "Ranking NHL Uniforms"



To kickoff the Summer Series, I've decided to rank the NHL Uniforms starting from Worst (30th) to First. This is opinion & I based my opinion off of the elements of each teams logo/uniform & not off of what I think of the team. I'll be posting a separate Summer Series for 3rd jerseys. Now let's get started:

30. Dallas Stars- The Stars NEED a new uniform set, their transition into the Reebok Edge Era hasn't started off well so it would be nice to see Dallas return to a green jersey in a non-football like uniform.

29. Ottawa Senators- Ottawa took a huge step this past season by ditching their "Sens" jersey and going with a nice fan designed alternate that recognizes the history of the original Senators, now if only the team could give their home & road uniforms a much needed facelift.

28. Minnesota Wild- While the wild have kept their white jersey the same throughout their history, the only reason they rank so low on my list is because of their home jersey. The home jersey would be good as the alternate it was from 2003-07 but having a jersey that looks nothing like its counterpart, there's only 1 team who's allowed to get away with that in the NHL, we'll see them later on in the countdown.

27. Colorado Avalanche- Colorado's Edge transition is better then Dallas' but they could have done better, to me their original uniforms were so nice, they could have gone with a different template (like their thirds) to possibly make an improvement.

26. Columbus Blue Jackets- Columbus is another team who could have done better in the Edge transition. While their current set is 100 times better then what they debuted with back in 2000, but after seeing concepts for what could have been, they could have had something special.

25. Calgary Flames- Calgary has such a nice alternate/throwback uniform, they should just follow their fellow Albertans & go with something from the past full time!

24. Anaheim Ducks- When the Anaheim shorted the team name & changed their colors they may have won the Stanley Cup but they certainly dropped in uniform rankings. They could have recolored the Mighty Duck logo (like they did for the shoulder patch on the new third) and used that. The webbed D is really nice but the entire word-mark makes the uniform look bad.

23. Florida Panthers- Florida did a good thing last season and made red their primary color on their home uniforms once again, they could however use a different template to get rid of most of the blue that still exists.

22. St. Louis Blues- Don't get me wrong, the Blues have nice uniforms but the reason for their low ranking is because of their lack of striping. It could be better, a lot better!

21. Tampa Bay Lightning- When the Lighting first adopted their "Tampa Bay Maple Wings" uniform set I was shocked how bad it was but after the modifications, I have to say the uniforms grew on me. While I do miss the black uniforms & victory stripes, these are a nice subtle change for Tampa, although I'm hoping for at least a black alternate in the near future.

20. Vancouver Canucks- The Canucks are another team with a better third jersey then their current home/away. Vancouver fans have been hoping for a change back to the stick in rink logo for the longest time and I hope they get it soon.

19. Washington Capitals- Reverting back to Red, White & Blue along with an updated logo was a nice touch for Washington in the Edge transition but I think that the Caps uniforms could be better if they added stars to the uniform just like in their original uniforms.

18. Carolina Hurricanes- The Hurricanes are one of those teams unfortunately down on this list. I think they have a uniform set that cant be touched but thanks to all the teams who have made their uniforms better over the years & fall to 18 on the list.

17. Winnipeg Jets- When Mark Chipman said that his team wouldn't have any red in their jerseys, I was skeptical but after seeing what his team came up with was great. They may not be the Jets of old but these uniforms are instant classics in my opinion. Now if only he could realize the money that could be made with a good third.

16. Pittsburgh Penguins- Everyone says the Penguins could have better uniforms, I disagree for the most part. A shoulder patch could work for them but I see nothing wrong with these uniforms, they made a better Edge transition then most of the other teams in the league but not as good as their Atlantic Division counterparts.

15. Phoenix Coyotes- The Coyotes have made significant improvements to their uniforms. Hopefully this uniform sticks around for a long time in the dessert but we never know with some of these southern teams with low attendance, no one saw Atlanta moving as quick as they did last year.

14. San Jose Sharks- The Sharks transition into the Edge Era was a great improvement over their Pre-Edge uniforms. Their uniforms now look traditional and classic, job well done by Sharks management!

13. Nashville Predators- When the Predators redesigned their uniforms before last years Draft, everyone thought they would be changing their alternate blue uniforms to their home and a white variant that was used at a team event as their road but Nashville went in a different direction. They became the first team since the 1966-67 Boston Bruins to wear gold as their dark uniform and not an alternate. The new uniforms truly embraced Nashville's "Music City" reputation by having guitar strings on their numbers, a guitar pick as a shoulder patch and piano keys inside their collar. Of all the original uniforms that have come along in recent years, this is a top notch uniform set.

12. Buffalo Sabres- The Sabres finally gave into their fans in 2010 by getting rid of the "Buffa-slug" uniforms and promoting their third jersey to their home uniform. Their current home/former third is an updated version of their original logo and added a white variant. While the jersey may lack a shoulder patch, I do like the fact that the numbers on the upper right chest have stayed.

11. Edmonton Oilers- Keeping with the trend of righting the wrongs in NHL Unifoms, the Edmonton Oilers finally reverted back to their original uniform set last season. While adding a retro third back in 2008 (like Buffalo) to satisfy fans from their horrible set. The third was promoted in 2009 before the set was completed before the 2011 Draft with the white jersey making a return and ridding Edmonton of their bland/practice like jerseys.

10. New York Islanders- Completing this trend is the New York Islanders, the Islanders had a great set in 1998 after ridding themselves of anything from their brief "Fisherman Era" but apparently didn't learn their lesson when the Edge Era began & yet again found themselves trying to right a wrong. In 2008 the team debuted a retro third (how original!) in the  form of their pre Fisherman dark jersey. The Islanders deserve the top 10 for their home/road uniforms because of their history in them & inserting that history in their new uniforms (http://nhluniforms.com/Islanders/Patches/IslandersCrests.png). On my 3rd jersey countdown the Islanders won't be as high as this, but again this is about home & road uniforms.

9. Los Angeles Kings- When the Kings debuted their alternate uniforms back in 2008, they went to blend several eras into 1 jersey which was very successful. The Kings would use these uniforms at home during the playoffs and surprise surprise, the third got the promotion to home uniform. When Icethetics showed prototypes of a new alternate in October of 2010 it was confirmed these changes were on the way. The Kings did a good job in their transition and look what happened after this upgrade, in the sets first year the Kings won the Stanley Cup.

8. Philadelphia Flyers- The Flyers came into the Edge Era with minor modifications to their Pre-Edge black & white uniforms. When teams were able to add Third Jerseys in 08-09 it was no surprise the Flyers would bring out an orange jersey and they did so with their mid 70's orange jersey complete with the with nameplates. In April of 2009, before that years playoffs, the Flyers announced that going forward the Orange Third would be their new home uniforms. The next season the team kept their white uniforms the same but as we've seen with the throwback/third promotion trend, its days were numbered. That year the Flyers played in the 2010 Winter Classic, breaking out a 70's like white jersey with a new nameplate (an inverse of the home jersey's name plate) and before the 2010-11 season they made it their away uniform. The Flyers have really done a good job with their uniforms and have a classic set.

7. New Jersey Devils- The Devils are possibly one of the only teams to not make a big deal of the Edge transition. The Devils have kept the same uniforms since the fall of 1992 and have had only 1 major uniform change in their history by going from Red & Green to Red & Black. The Red & Green jerseys didn't look too different from the Devils current look and Lou Lamoriello is a man of tradition and hopefully the Devils never make a drastic change. Personally I know everytime I walk into a sporting goods store in this state, I know for a fact that I'll always see the same Devils jerseys hanging on the shelves. There's only 1 other team I can think of with a similar uniform history as the Devils, their 1995 Stanley Cup opponents, the Detroit Red Wings. Other then those two, it seems like every team has had more then 1 drastic uniform change in their history.

Now to I couldn't decided on these last few so I've decided that there's a 6 way tie for first & to no one's surprise it's these 6 teams...
THE ORIGINAL SIX

1. The Original Six (New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks, Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs & Boston Bruins)

Throughout the years and into the Edge Era, there have been 6 iconic uniform sets in the National Hockey League and it's no surprise it comes from it's senior members. While the Bruins uniforms weren't exactly classic from the fall of 1995 through the spring of 2007, they redeemed themselves in the fall of 2007 by reintroducing a look similar to their 1967-74 sweaters. The Maple Leafs on the other hand had a bad start to the Edge Era but redeemed themselves with a marvelous new set that debuted in the fall of 2010 and gave a vintage look to a team that's seen its fair share of changes through the years. The Canadiens have a classic set even though their uniform designs are different but it's been that way since the fall of 1947. The Red Wings haven't seen significant changes to their classic set since the fall of 1961. The Blackhawks may have undergone modifications to their logo but they perfected their uniforms in the fall of 1955. And last but not least, the Rangers. The Rangers uniforms have, for the most part, had RANGERS going down in a diagonal pattern with the exception of the 46-47 & 76-78 seasons. Even these teams third jerseys, winter classic jerseys and anniversary jerseys have been great. Montreal's Centennial jerseys were great to see on the ice, Toronto's alternates have been great, Boston's Winter Classic was nothing short of classic with their current third jersey logo paying homage to their 1924 logo, Detroit's 2009 Winter Classic uniform was spectacular, as was Chicago's jersey from the same game and Chicago's old black alternate fit well into their set & New York's are well off the chart beautiful with their heritage jersey honoring many past elements and doing the same for their 2012 Winter Classic Sweater.

That'll do it for the first Summer Series post, I'll be back throughout the Summer with more of them so as always STAY TUNED!

Presenting The "Summer Series"

Well being that I now have more free time to post, I'm going to start doing a series of lists which I call "The Summer Series". I know it may not be original but it will be interesting!

STAY TUNED!!

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Zach Parise, "No Way NY"


It looks like this picture won't be changing anytime soon. As I've been informed time & time again today, Zach Parise said there is "no way" he'll sign with the Rangers and wants to stay with the New Jersey Devils. My friends have been texting me, facebooking me & tweeting me about this. I've heard "HA HA RANGERS SUCK" from one & from countless girls "my baby's staying! <3". My own father e-mailed me once he heard the announcement & my brother got on me and mocked my months of predicting Parise's arrival in Manhattan. So every Ranger fan, including myself, is wondering where do we go from here? Parise seemed like a perfect fit but then again he could have turned into Scott Gomez 2.0. The Rangers could wind up with Rick Nash but he would come at a heavy price with Columbus asking for a few First Round Draft Picks, Brandon Dubinsky, either Michael Del Zotto or Ryan McDounagh & Chris Kreider. That's obviously a steep price for the Rangers to pay but they could turn around and offer Dubinsky, Derek Stepan, Artem Anisimov and a draft pick or two for Nash. Are there alternatives? YES! Alexander Radulov, Jarome Iginla, Ray Whitney, Bobby Ryan...the list goes on. Let the Devils keep Parise and not resign their other key free agents, Patrick Elias is going to be a free agent, he'd be a good fit but a long shot. I'm sure at the end of the day Glen Sather will do what is right for the Rangers and hopefully make Parise regret not signing with the Rangers. Hopefully we don't have a lockout to keep us from waiting for the outcome of this madness that is the NHL Offseason.

Yankees Sweep Mets!



The first half of the Subway Series is over and the New York Yankees have taken the first 3 games from the Mets. Friday night the Yankees just pounced on Johan Santana and lit him up for 6 runs in 5 innings running Johan's ERA at the New Yankee Stadium to 12.21 in a 9-1 Yankee win. The Yankees would then take Game 2 on Saturday 4-2 thanks to a go ahead home run by Mark Teixeira in the 6th. The Sweep was completed Sunday after the Mets jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the 2nd but a Russell Martin home run in the 7th and a Mark Teixeira RBI single in the 8th drew the Yankees even with the Mets. A misplayed fly ball into shallow right field cause Alex Rodriguez to reach base and drive in Curtis Granderson giving the Yankees a 4-3 lead going into the 9th. Rafael Soriano would give up an RBI double to Ike Davis in the top of the 9th to blow the save and bring the score back even at 4. After Boone Logan came in to shut the Mets down in the 9th, Russell Martin wasted no time blasting his 2nd home run of the game and giving the Yankees their first walk-off home run since September 8, 2010 and their first home sweep of the Mets since 2003.

(my shirt says MESS, not Mets)

As I stated Friday, I attended Sunday's game and it was by far the best game I've been to in years. I attended with my cousin Justin who was making his first appearance at the New Yankee Stadium. We enjoyed batting practice from the left field & Justin was tossed a BP ball from Miguel Batista but the ball was snagged by a kid who shoved me to go in and scoop it (bastard!), I felt bad for Justin (whos a few months older then I am but still the ball was going his way, it wasn't right!!). I was hoping that I wouldn't be sitting through a blowout either way and after the top of the 2nd I'll admit I was expecting to see one. Andy Pettitte did settle down after that and looked like the Pettitte of old compiling 8 strikeouts and collecting his 100th career pickoff in the process. Pettitte also had an amazing barehanded grab in the 6th, after Joe Girardi did a good John Rocker impression and sprinted to the mound to check on Andy who would stay in the game. It was a pretty bleak day so far for me until Russell Martin's first homer. I wasn't expecting the walk-off as quickly as it happened but I'll take it. Quiet Met fans are always fun to see, in my opinion. The Yankees will play in Atlanta, in Washington, back home for another Atlanta series and then the "road" series against the Mets.

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Subway Series Recap Coming Tomorrow

Hey everyone, it's been a great weekend in sports. I'll have the full recap of the Subway Series up tomorrow when I get home from work, I'm still trying to figure out why my posts are in sync with the US Pacific Timezone. It's 10:20 PM on the East Cost, I've just gotten home from the Subway Series game that I left my house for at 9:15 this morning. I have to be in work tomorrow at 6AM & I'm just wiped out from being out all day, I'll have a post for you all tomorrow afternoon. I didn't want to leave you guys hanging on the recaps but the series went the way I wanted to & therefore will be recapped in 1 post. Here's a preview for you all:

Sorry Mets fans I couldn't resist

Friday, June 8, 2012

Subway Series 2012 Preview


It's that time of the year again for New York baseball, the Subway Series between the Yankees of the American League & the Mets of the National League. The first time they played in the regular season was on June 16, 1997 with the Mets winning the first contest 6-0 at the Old Yankee Stadium but the Yankees would win the inaugural Series 2 games to 1. The greatest year in this rivalry was 2000, the Yankees won the regular season series 5 games to 1 including a Day-Night double header on July 8th where the Day game was played at Shea Stadium and the Night game was played at Yankee Stadium (the first time a double header was played in 2 different stadiums since 1903), the late game included the infamous Mike Piazza head-shot by Roger Clemens which gave Piazza a concussion. Who knew that the July 8th double header treat would be a tease for what would come later that season...

the 2000 World Series between the Yankees and Mets. It was a memorable series because for the first time since 1956 the Fall Classic was held solely in New York. The Yankees would take the 2000 World Series 4 games to 1.

Since 1997 the Mets have only won the season series twice 2004(4-2),08(4-2) while the Yankees have won the series: 1997(2-1),98(2-1),2000(5-1),01(4-2),03(6-0),09(5-1),11(4-2) & the 2000 World Series (4-1). They've tied at 3-3 in 1999, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007 & 2010.

This is my favorite time for the Yankees in the regular season, I know a lot of Mets fans and actually my mother's side of my family (minus my mother & my late grandmother) are Mets fans while my father's side is all Yankee fans. This rivalry gets very tense & the growth of social media has definitely intensified it. Back when they use to have Interleague play during the month of July the Subway Series use to happen around my birthday so my birthday parties use to see a mix of Yankee & Met shirts, that to me made my birthday parties more and more special. I enjoy the trash talking I do with my friends when it comes to the Subway Series, my friend Brandon & my other friend who lives in Barnegat are big Mets fans. My friend from Barnegat is a truly diehard Mets fan & it's been a battle going back & forth with trash talking since the 2005 season, it's always fun! If you're reading this from anywhere outside the New York Market, believe me when I tell you this rivalry is more intense for the fans then it is with the players, it's all about the bragging rights. I will be in attendance on Sunday afternoon with my cousin Justin (a Mets fan).

I'll be posting game by game results this weekend.

I'm sorry to any Met fans who are reading this, I have to say...
GO YANKEES!!
Enjoy the Subway Series & any other Interleague match-up you may be watching this weekend! :)

Message from Mike

Hey everyone I'm really sorry for not posting game-by-game results of the Stanley Cup finals, I've had a lot on my plate & the only period of the finals that I've watched was the OT in Game 1. Devils are down 3-1 headed to Newark tomorrow night at 8 on NBC.