While I’m on the subject of sports teams logos… here’s a little rant I’ve had stored up in my heart for years.  J.R. mentioned in the comments of the last post that he thought some NFL teams logos seemed like they belonged in the Arena League.  Ouch.  If there’s a sports league with a worse reputation for logos than the Arena League I don’t know of it.  One common practice among sports logo designers that just plain drives me nuts, and is very “Arena League-esque,” is featuring sports EQUIPMENT in the logo!  It’s as if you’re reminding your fans what sport they’re supporting.  I hate the practice, and think it just plain lacks creativity and at it’s worst seems patronizing.

That’s why I think the NFL has far and away the best sports logos of any league.  That and NFL logos know that “less is more.”  Of the 32 NFL teams only three feature football equipment in the logo – The Dolphins logo has a helmet, and the Jets and Bucs both feature a football.  For logos featuring sports equipment they’re pretty subtle.  Trust me it could be worse.  The NHL has been getting better over the years, slowly working these kinds of logos out of the mix and of 30 NHL teams only 6 feature sports equipment.  The Thrashers, Sharks and Capitals all feature a hockey stick, the Avalanche logo includes a hockey puck, not to be outdone the Islanders have a stick and a puck and the Penguins take the cake with a stick, skates and gloves!

And then there are the BIG offenders.  Major League Baseball and the NBA.

Just over half (16) of MLB’s teams feature baseball equipment in their logos.  The NBA also has 30 teams, 21 of which feature sports equipment in their logo.  In these leagues the graphic designer’s plan of action seems to be this – identify ball used in sport… basketball, check.  Type team name over basketball, check.  Pick font.  Bill team.

The Detroit Lions, long-standing holders of the worst NFL logo have such and ugly look that Detroit fans have taken it upon themselves to design a new logo.  According to a March 10th post on Uni-Watch, a blog featured on ESPN.com that obsessively studies “athletic aesthetics” the Detroit News held a public competition for a new look for the Lions.

I recently heard on Sports Center that the Lions will be wearing new uniforms next year, but I can’t confirm if it’s just new jerseys or if the team really is donning a new logo.  But, rumors abound that there will be a logo change in 2009.  Either way, the Detroit News held an amateur competition for a new look.  And here’s the winner by Lonnie Walker…

For all you Point Loma Nazarene University Alumni… does that look familiar?  Does it look eerily like our very own PLNU Sea Lion?  Like this…

It’s one thing to check out the work of other artists for inspiration, it’s another thing entirely to take their work and simply tweak it and call it your own.  If it came down to it, I can’t see how this logo would ever pass muster from a legal standpoint.  I will say this, at least our Lion is looking at his prey, the Detroit Lion seems to be thinking about something else.  Anyway, for now this is just an amaetur competition, but keep an eye on it because we can’t let a lousy NFL team steal our logo!

Tonight New Jersey Devil goalie, Martin Brodeur, broke Patrick Roy’s record for wins by making 30 saves in a 3-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.  I am not now nor ever will be a New Jersey Devils fan.  Going back to the mid-ninetys there has been a rivalry betwen New Jersey and Detroit (the two best teams of the past 20 years) and the 1995 Stanley Cup to ensure no love is lost between the Devils and my Red Wings… but I can’t say a bad thing about Brodeur, the guy is the best there ever was at the position and classy to boot, which is more than I can say for the guy whose record he broke.  So here’s to Brodeur finally getting the record that will solidify his title of best goaltender ever… and also to the “fall” of Patrick Roy from such consideration.

If you think the football season ends after the Super Bowl then you’ve missed the drama currently going down in Denver.  New head coach, Josh McDaniels and star quarterback Jay Cutler are fighting like a bunch of jr. high girls.  McDaniels apparently entertained the thought of a trade to get his protege from New England, Matt Cassel.  It didn’t happen, Cassel went to Kansas City.  But Cutler is insulted and has been talking about his “trust” issues with the team.  For all the talk coming out of the Broncos organization about “Jay Cutler will NOT be traded,” McDaniels apparently couldn’t help but stir the pot during his talk with Cutler on the phone yesterday by re-emphasizing that no player is beyond getting traded.  Ugh, just when things could have been patched up.

Sports Illustrated linked to an article from the “Mile High Report” which blames the whole thing on Cutler’s agent, Bus Cook.  Aparently Cook has a history of “cooking” up these dramatic scenarios in order to get big long contracts for his players.

Well it’s a business.  And aparently just as childish as a lot of other business out there.

Meanwhile the Chargers did right by LT and gave him a fair contract keeping him in San Diego.

Cronyism is partiality to long-standing friends, especially by appointing them to positions of authority, regardless of their qualifications. Hence, cronyism is contrary in practice and principle to meritocracy. Cronyism exists when the appointer and the beneficiary are in social contact; often, the appointer is inadequate to hold his or her own job or position of authority, and for this reason the appointer appoints individuals who will not try to weaken him or her, or express views contrary to those of the appointer.

Case in point, some conferences get automatic seats in the BCS bowl games.  Some do not.

Here are the 6 conferences that AUTOMATICALLY send their champion to a BCS game.

Atlantic Coast Conference
Big 12 Conference
Big East Conference
Big Ten Conference
Pacific-10 Conference
Southeastern Conference

This year, Virginia Tech, the ACC Champion has a record of 9-4.  Cincinnati, the Big East Champs are 11-2.  WAC Champions, Boise State are one of only two teams in college football with an undefeated record (12-0).

However, Cincinnati and Virginia Tech, both who have lower rankings in the BCS poll will leapfrog Boise State because of the system of Cronyism that rewards specific conference champions rather than rewarding teams based on BCS ranking and overall win/loss record… a system called meritocracy.

To make matters even worse Boise State could still have made it into a BCS bowl game as one of the four “at-large” teams that BCS bowls choose from to match up against the teams that automatically get in.  But even the “at-large” teams suffer from Cronyism.  Big Ten runner up Ohio State (10-2) will also leapfrog Boise State into a BCS bowl game simply because of their name recognition.

So that’s THREE teams ranked lower than Boise State all of which have at least TWO losses that will end up in BCS bowl games over the undefeated and more deserving Boise State Broncos.  The same goes for Texas Tech, who will get shut out of the BCS bowls because of a rule that only 2 teams from a single conference can be in the BCS bowls.

This system of Cronyism in college football is NOT one of the precious traditions we speak of that makes the game so awesome.  If playoffs aren’t the answer to this mess, at least getting rid of the “automatic” BCS bids is!

Well Boise State has done everything that could be asked of them.  12-0 season, WAC Champions, beat Oregon State, ranked #9 in the BCS Standings.  But Utah is ranked #6 and only one Non-BCS Conference team is guarunteed a BCS bowl game if they meet the requirements… so Boise State will have to wait to see if there’s a Bowl out there that will take a higher ranked and more deserving team over a lower ranked, more-losses team, with bigger name recognition like Ohio State.  So for now, we just have to wait and see.  I hope it’s in the cards for Boise State this year.

Denver lost in spectacular fashion today to the Raiders.  The foreshadowing of the kind of stomach-turning football we would enjoy today came early in the first quarter when the Broncos had driven to the Raiders RedZone on some big plays only to have Jay Cutler fumble the ball on the 6 yard line.  It would be that kind of a day… and it’s been that kind of a season.  With enough talent to make any offense in the NFL jealous the Broncos have found a way to play consistently bad football.  Dropped passes, turnovers, bad play calling and injuries on Defense have made this a depressing season to watch.  And we’re still in first place!  How on earth this team can still be leading the division is beyond me.  But alas, San Diego has been even better at playing below their potential.  The way things are going now, we’ll get into the playoffs with a losing record.  Sigh.

The Broncos have been amazing so far… well at least that offense has been amazing!  The defense has been much too generous but so far Jay Cutler’s passing has been second to none.  It sure is nice to see the Broncos put up points like this.  I’m looking forward to a GREAT season.

Last night the Red Wings won the Stanley Cup! It was a great season and an even better playoff run. The Penguins lived up to their reputation as a solid defensive team with some amazing offensive players. After the first two games the Pens seemed to settle down and they became much more formidable. Marc-Andre Fleury was amazing during the series but just had to face so many shots that those goals were inevitable. Osgood’s homecoming and second cup as the starting goalie was a great addition to this fourth Stanley Cup since I’ve been a Wing’s fan.

The last time the Red Wings were in the Stanley Cup Finals I was on a trip to Clovis, New Mexico watching my friend Rusty Brian get married and then I was on a plane to Mission Springs campground in Santa Cruz, CA where I was spending the summer as a High School camp counselor. I didn’t see a single game of their 2002 Stanley Cup victory over Carolina. It’s been a long 6 years. I know, when I… a Red Wings fan say “it’s been a long 6 years” those of you from Chicago will cringe, thinking it’s kinda like a Florida Marlins fan saying it’s been a “long time” since they won the World Series. Hey sometimes it just stinks to be from Chicago (Blackhawks – 46 year Cup drought; Bears – 23 year SB drought; Cubs – 100 year WS drought). That being said… for a kid who became a Red Wings fan back in 1995, it’s been a long time since we’ve been in the Stanley Cup. And this time, I’m not missing a game!