Month: September 2013

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Game 163: One of the best phrases in sports

Growing up as a kid, I would remember hearing and witnessing all the Game 7s in sports. The term “Game 7” is such a great term in sports. It’s the finality of something. It’s the last battle for the championship. Just by saying “Game 7,” the gravity of the situation is understood.

But right behind it, in my opinion is “Game 163.” It holds a different meaning but it still holds a lot of weight. For Game 163 means that we have to go one more step to find out who is worthy to enter combat. It means that the battle has been so great, that there needs to be one more fight to determine the victor.

Tonight, we get Game 163 between the Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays.

These games have always turned out to be exciting games and the idea of a one-game playoff to determine who makes it into the postseason is pretty neat. And as Marty McFly would say, it’s pretty heavy.

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I have a bad feeling Drake is going to turn the Toronto Raptors into birds

Drake and his owl.

The Toronto Raptors announced they would be hosting the NBA All-Star Game in two years. But during that same press conference, they said they will go with a complete rebrand of their identity, but will not change the team name. Toronto native and rapper Drake will help with the rebrand.

MORE DETAILS HERE FROM SPORTSLOGOS.NET

This isn’t a big deal as the Brooklyn Nets used Jay Z’s influence for their rebrand and I think it’s totally find. However, the problem with this is that there was no clarity as to what this means for the team mascot.

Since its inception, the Raptors have used a dinosaur for their mascot and logo. After all, the velociraptor was a very popular dinosaur after the release of Jurassic Park. However, the term “raptor” actually means “bird of prey” and that could mean the team could use that definition.

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Browns to unveil new elf mascot?

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Game time!! #CINvsCLE

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My final farewell to the great Mariano Rivera

I’m still thinking about his exit at Yankee Stadium earlier this week. Who didn’t get emotional seeing that? For such a great, classy professional, this was the most perfect sendoff for him. And to see Mariano Rivera cry also, shows how much he cares about the game and is appreciative for everything we’ve given him.

Even though I despise the Yankees, there was always an exception to a few players on the team that I did like. Hideki Matsui was one that I felt didn’t fit in with the “Evil Empire” identity of the team. Derek Jeter was also another one I admired and respected — especially after that flip to Posada to tag Jeremy Giambi. But Mariano Rivera was the one I could not hate.

As it has been documented over the years, and a lot more this week, Rivera was the perfect baseball player. He took advantage of an opportunity, excelled at something nobody else could do and ended up on the top. On the way up to the top, he didn’t look down at the people below. Instead, he brought them up with him. Whether it was teaching them how to throw the cutter or just encouraging them, Rivera was the kind of player that baseball needed. He gave us, the baseball world, a gem to hold onto.

This exit from Yankee Stadium was perfect for a man that was the perfect player and teammate.

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Chris Kluwe shouldn’t make jokes about the Dodgers-Giants fan stabbing situation

There’s a bigger, serious issue at hand when fans are out of control and hurt one another. When a Dodgers fan was stabbed during the week by a Giants fan, it really put a black eye on fan behavior.

This comes after the Brian Stow incident two years ago where he was beat up in the parking lot at Dodger stadium.

And Kluwe should know better. He’s had to have seen fan fights in stadiums for years as an NFL punter. He shouldn’t be making jokes out of it.

But here we are. As much as I like his personality and his sense of humor, this was one joke I wish he didn’t make.

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Adidas is bad for basketball and they’re killing the Warriors’ look again with sleeves

I am not digging this.

According to the press release, these will be worn for every Saturday home game. The press release did not indicate if this alternate will replace the yellow ones worn last year or this is an addition to their current set.

Either way, the sleeves craze is out of control. Several teams have already joined it and it now looks like the NBA players are just wearing T-shirts on the court.

I’m pretty sure it’s lighter as they say, but it has not received popular feedback from fans. But if Adidas continues to think their designs are good, they’re going to continue to just give us this nonsense.

All 10 teams that play on Christmas will have sleeves. To my knowledge, the Suns and Clippers will have sleeved alternates this year. There could be more in the works for other teams.

 

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Stephen Curry leaves Nike for Under Armour

Under Armour’s biggest star.

Stephen Curry, whose been with Nike since his rookie year, will leave them for Under Armour when his contract ends at the conclusion of this month.

This is a big move for Curry as he’s leaving a very successful brand to join a brand that’s trying to make its niche in sports. Under Armour is mostly known for football but with Curry, maybe basketball could be their next big step. UA already has several stars under their name including Brandon Jennings and DeAndre Jordan.

The pressure will be on UA to market Curry well. I remember when Monta Ellis joined And 1 but because of Ellis’ off-field moped incident, that fell through. But for Curry, he has a bright future and hopefully the new shoes he wears provide his ankles some stability.

It’s a big move for Curry and a risky one. But the reward can be great for him and UA.

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Bud Selig to retire as MLB’s commissioner in 2015

When I found out the news, I did a little dance. This is what I have been waiting for.

This isn’t to say that I don’t like Bud Selig. I think he was a decent commissioner, but wasn’t anything worth praising. He gave us Interleague Play, which I think was nice and his expansion of the playoffs is starting to grow on me. However, as an Oakland A’s fan, his departure is welcomed.

After his “blue ribbon” committee to solve the Athletics’ stadium situation continues to go nowhere, and his recent comments on calling the Coliseum a “pit,” seeing him leave is perfect. His indecision about the A’s has hurt the potential revenue and well-being of the team. The fear of rejection it seems is the reason why he has procrastinated on it.

But with his departure in 2015, that could mean one of two things for the A’s: Either Selig finally makes a decision before his tenure is up or whomever comes in as the new commissioner will have to deal with it. And if it’s the latter, I hope that new commissioner gives the A’s some help.

Until then, we’ll just wait and see if he gives the A’s an clarity on the direction of their future.

Bud Selig is retiring in 2015.

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Did the Sharks give us a precursor of white jerseys at home in the future?

Back in 2012, the Detroit Red Wings wore white at home and I got real excited. This was the first time in almost a decade that the home team wore white for a home game. The switch the the colored jerseys a decade ago was an attempt to enhance potential merchandising sales for jerseys but numerous NHL fans have been desiring for a return of the white jerseys.

Last night, the Sharks hosted the Canucks for an exhibition game and the Sharks wore their white jerseys. A part of me was really excited to see this, but I knew I had to be cautious.

The previous home exhibition game for the Sharks came three days earlier and they wore their teal jerseys. Was this white jersey just a one-time thing? If the Sharks were going with white at home, then why did they wear teal in their last game?

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Mark Cuban has bad taste in uniform design and here’s proof

Remember when Mark Cuban opened up this uniform design contest and it got me all riled up because he was devaluing his fanbase? It looks like he has made his decision on what the final 10 designs will be and it’s up to us to vote for the winner.

And the biggest problem with these designs? They all suck.

We have some with just logos slapped onto the front. We have a couple that are ripoffs from old Sonics and Nuggets jerseys.  And some that just are too cluttered.

I have no idea what Cuban is thinking and having these as the potential alternate for the Mavericks is really sad. Could these even be marketable? Would any of these be easy to reproduce?

What initially was a bad idea has now gotten worse. This is not going to end well.