Unis and I am not talking about Unicorns...

The Superbowl is over.  Spring training starts in less than a week.  The NBA is pretty much a non-factor in my life. The NHL is playing a shortened season.  Pro-sports are rather boring right now. College Basketball is as exciting as March Madness, but that is an entry for another day.

Today I am talking about Uniforms.  They are used in college to get recruits, in the Majors to make money, and in the minor leagues to have a good laugh (e.g. Lansing Lugnuts, Vermont Lake Monsters, Montgomery Biscuits, Richmond Flying Squirrels, and the Albuquerque Isotopes. The last one was actually named after a fictional minor league team from The Simpsons.)

In the College sports front, Nike has added basketball to their Pro Combat line of uniforms, and in a move that was completely expected, Adidas has offered "alternate" one time use jerseys.  The 2011 football season's alternative jerseys had very mixed reviews.  Some loved them, others hated them.  I personally liked the MSU Pro Combat jersey in black, green, and bronze.  I also thought that the U of M "bumble-bee" uniform was just short of laughable. (Wait....No....It was laughable, I laughed many times about it.)  This year I believe the Basketball jerseys will get an equally mixed reviews.  I know I am biased, but I really liked Michigan State's Pro Combat jersey this year.  The Spartan helmet looks natural over the number, the colors look very sharp, and I like the team sharing the "Spartans" identity on the back.  If I wasn't such a short white guy, and if I had $120 dollars to blow, I would buy one of these.

On the failing side there was the alternative jersey game between U of M and Ohio State.  The super bright yellow on yellow of U of M was distracting and seemed very uninspired.  Ohio State's Pro Combat jersey was  the same set up as Michigan State's, but it did not flow as well.  The block O did not look as good over the numbers, the colors looked dull, and being called a "Buckeye" is not frighting to anyone, unless you are playing against a team that has nut allergies.  There is a lot of college basketball still to be played, and I am looking forward to seeing what other schools will attempt to do to keep up the arms race of uniforms.

In the Major sports there have been three big changes of note. The Houston Astros have changed their uniforms, logos, and colours as they move from the National League Central to the American League West.  I think this is a good move (the unis and the realignment).  The uniforms are similar to the ones they had after the name change from the Colt .45s to the Astros, and the realignment will make every division in the MLB have 5 teams, which is they was it should have been all along.

Also in baseball uniform news is yet another change of the batting practice hat.  This is obviously a money grab by the MLB and New Era.  The batting practice hat, which in and of itself is pointless (just wear the normal cap), has been changed every 2-4 years for the past decade.  I have only seen a couple photos of the caps, and some are better than others. I am going to hold my judgement until they are all on display during spring training.

Finally in Football news, the Jacksonville Jaguars have changed their logo, and I am sure there will be a new uni released in time for the draft.  The logo in not a revolution as much as it is an evolution.  I am surprised with how much I like this new logo.  If I was in Florida this may make the difference of buying or not buying a jersey. The Jaguar looks more realistic, looks more professional, and it looks more intimidating.  The old logo seems like it was designed by a very talented middle school student, the new logo looks like it is a symbol for a National Football League's team.  Good Job, Jacksonville!

Coming up in my next posting, analysis for Fantasy Baseball draft strategies, and maybe some actual baseball news.