On the Road Again

(Was not properly posted through server difficulties on day of post, fixed following day)

Sorry I am not putting up concepts today, I would just like to thank you for your patience through this transition period as I am moving my things in to my residence hall room.

-Ricky

Duck and Cover for the End of Summer!

     As expected, I was able to publish and unveil the Mighty Ducks era color scheme for both the zubaz and Hawai'ian concepts. It was a matter of how to color them, it was pretty easy for the zubaz as eggplant clearly looked better than jade as the sweater's main color (at least I thought so). I took a different approach and used the silver, white, and black "Wild Wing mask" logo and used that as the crest logo and doesn't look too shabby. Thus I accorsingly added silver to the number and name on back with black to better highlight the crest logo. I tampered with the idea of using the "Anaheim" script from the black third jerseys of the era but demoted the logo to shoulder patch.

Wild and crazy ducks!

As for the Hawai'ian look, I still like the eggplant jersey option more than the jade. I also felt keeping the font and patches the same would suffice. As expected, this is the better concept of the two, as well as the better design of the two for either team identity (Hawai'ian over zubaz).

A little more appropriate, considering being settled in the SoCal area.

Imagine for a minute if Bermuda shorts had a specific design as opposed to just the stitching and material, then we might have had a new fashion to talk about (that may not be a good thing necessarily). I'm sure something new, crazy, unique, and different will come up sooner or later. But I would like to see Hawai'ian in sport in the hope that it becomes popular (as an alternative). Not to be prejudiced (though I am not despite some that may think so), but I wonder what would happen if the University of Hawai'i might adapt to this style named after it's host state (some of my best friends either go their or are native Hawai'ians). Anyway it's just a thought and toying around with such ideas keeps me busy over part of my summer. But this is also a good way to end the Summer at BNG!

So in a few short hours away, I will be leaving the Buffalo/Western New York area en route to Springfield, MA. As intended, there will be an overnight stop to my aunt's in Syracuse before continuing to Springfield College Friday morning. My stop in Syracuse will include stops to the Sports Outfit (a small local referee and sports store) and the nearby Five Below for officiating purchases. Aside from unpacking and getting settled in, I will be attending the SC women's season opener at home against the Eastern Nazarene College Lady Lions in our annual invitational with my broadcast partner. Our radio programs will not be allowed to air for at least the first couple weeks, even though I am the incumbent club secretary. The transition weekend will run for the next four posts. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the summer posts that BNG was able to provide you. With the first of many transition posts to come, I look forward to the future of Buffalo Nickel Graphics!

Happy reading,
-Ricky

Zubaz Are Making a Comeback?!

It's hard to believe, but it's absolutely 110% true. Zubaz is alive and well! For anything and everything zubaz, their official website can provide you with zubaz galore. The idea for using zubaz for jerseys was spawned off of the concept that was used by some arena football teams in the early 90s when zubaz was first popularized by their creators. If you noticed in the posts with the vintage arena football reels, you mayrecall that some of the teams were in their zubaz uniforms. Speaking of vintage, I know of this lone non-comercial NLL footage on the NLL's official YouTube page.

That was awesome, one of the most important games in league history and featured some of the leagues best (Dallas Eliuk, Ted Dowling, the Gaits, et al) as it is the only regular season or playoff game not completed and ruled final. Then there was a pre-season game in December of 2010 that the same idea occurred.

A professional looking (steady-hand) version.

A longer, not so clean (shaky) version.

Anyway, back to the zubaz. It took me a little over a week to finish the template (including interruptions but not my Boston trip - not during it either) but it is finally done! And naturally, it's is followed with a jersey concept just as it's Hawai'ian predecessor. Just like the Hawai'ian concept, it is revolved around the Ducks. I thought about the "Mistral" font from the "Wild Wing" jerseys, but it seemed over the top as it would have blended in too much with the zubaz design and got lost in the jersey scheme.

Tri-colored template

Bi-colored template

I am strongly considering a Mighty Ducks concept for tomorrow's post, but that is up in the air for now based on what I have left for school prep since I leave for Syracuse on Thursday night and then Springfield on Friday morning. Again, the "Mistral" font would be overkill, but I might play around with it so I can actually see what it would look like. Until then we all (including myself) will have to wait and see.

It's hard to use gold as the outline of the individual stripes and gold on orange doesn't look as solid.

Today, I refereed a scrimmage between my high school and one from my hometown as my hometown's east side won 5-0. I am supposed to like the west side teams since I live in their "territory" but I grew up with some of their recent athletes and they turned into arrogant and cocky players (not all of them, but their behavior is encouraged by their teammates) which is why I side with them. That made this a neutral match as I played with my high school team and now help the coach before I go to Springfield (like I'm not bi-partisan as a USSF and intramural referee as is). Also, big news out of Buffalo as Terry Pegula's and not Carl Paladino's plan has been chosen to develope the area where Buffalo's Memorial Auditorium once stood. The article from sports radio WGR 550 has been released.

-Ricky

Beantown: Part II

To get this out of the way, I wanted to share a design by John Turcotte from yesterday's post at HJC. I couldn't stop laughing for over a minute, that's how great the concept was. Even though I'm not a fan of the schematics and it wasn't sent in directly to BNG, I still thought I'd share it with you.

John Turcotte via HJC

 Get it? Usain Bolt, Jamaican track and field team, this year? Anyway now that the funny is out of us, or rather me,  lets get to what this post was really supposed to be about!

Unfortunately pictures aren't working today, so I will just give  a brief summary. My first MLL game came on Saturday and it wasn't even my favorite team. That was because the first and fourth placed teams play the earlier match. So get this, after being down 8-2 at the half and 12-5 in the third quarter, Denver would find an unanswered eight goals as a part of a 11-1 run in the closing moments of the game including a 4-0 fourth quarter and 10- since the five minute mark of the third quarter. At first the game was rather boring as it was all Long Island where the Lizards showed that they were there to play with the big dogs despite being the fourth seed. During a t-shirt toss towards the end of the third quarter, I sustained minor injuries with a scraped knee and cut (sure to leave a scar) in the lower right of my left hand. The seats were all grooved concrete, no bleacher seats and no bucket seats. Keep in mind, Brendan Mundorf (foot) was a scratch for the match, but was okay to play in the championship the following day after receiving the mild injury on Friday and having difficulty with mobility on Saturday.

The following game between Chesapeake and Boston was a bit better . . . more back and forth at least. Prior to the game, I got to see indoor legend John Grant Jr. along with Bayhawk teammate and fellow NLLer Drew Westervelt. Also for Chesapeake, Tony Resch returned this season after an MLL absence since the folding of the Philadelphia Barrage for whom he coached. Resch also played and coached the NLL's Philadelphia wings earlier in both careers. Boston meanwhile had their fair share of NLL players including recently former Buffalo Bandit Kevin Buchanan and recently Knighthawk acquired Paul Rabil as well as Mitch Belisle who was acquired by the Bandits last week. Jack Reid also has NLL experience but hasn't signed with a club since the Boston Blazers II suspended operations and  had their dispersal draft.

After things kicked off it seemed that the Cannons were in the right position for-though the early 5-2 lead into start the second quarter.It was stilll a close match at halftime, but the scale was tipped slightly in Chesapeake's favore, 9-8. Slowly but surely the Bayhawks continued good pressure they put on the Cannons in the second quarter and to control of the second half. With a 12-9 lead coming into the final quarter of regulation, it seemed as though things might start to slip away for the real home team. Despite the great amount of Cannons fans, Boston was again held to only one goal in the quarter, despite great passing from Ari Sussman and some difficult shots from Rabil, the final ended up 16-10 leaving the home crowd dissappointed.

The following day was the big one, before heading home, it was championship day. Before the game, however, I wanted to got to Jordan's furniture since I knew it wasn't your typical furniture store. The link provided has a video on Jordan's Furniture  but be sure you choose chapter six in the dropdown menu then click on video four in the side menu before playing. It is just north of 15 minutes long. I found this video because this textbook was used in a business class I took that had the dvd and PowerPoints on a CD-ROM. Since Jordan's was next to the hotel my folks and I stayed at, I wanted to see if it was really all that. You could get lost in there! It was an absolutely fantastic even though the intent wasn't to purchase anything. But that meant it was off to Harvard Stadium for one final time this trip for the Championship match.

I wasn't fond of this particular match either. Maybe it was because the Cannons weren't playing, although they do take more shots than anyone in the league (as was evident in their semi-final, but former teammate Kip Turner turned their shots aside).  It was only 5-2 for Chesapeake after one quarter, but Denver would only score one of their other four goals the entire second half. Denver's fourth quarter was their best defensively as the held the Bayhawks to two goals. Much to everyone's surprise, Outlaw superstars Anthony Kelly and NLL all-star Brendan Mundorf showed absolutely no production on either side (particularly offensive) of the ball. With a final of 16-6 being worthy of the championship, their was no comeback this time as the Bayhawks celebrate their second title in three seasons.

While I was disappointed with the festivities as a whole and tow of the three having been boring games to watch, I am glad that I was able to experience the many things that I did during my stay in the greater Boston metro area. I may be back as early as three weekends from now in preparation for a hopeful trip to Foxboro to see the Revolution play the NY Red Bull who have never won at Gillette Stadium against New England including a loss this season. You might like tomorrows post, that is if you are looking something somewhat bizarre for sportswear. until then we are winding down for posts in the summer of 2012, which will end early due to my schooling, thus starting the first fall season of posts.

-Ricky

My First Few Days in Beantown

This is a legitimate post for the first time in six days. Boston was fantastic, as far as having the ability to go. I was able to see many of the towns a majority of my Springfield College friends are from. From start to finish was the most interesting. We managed to leave the gate in Buffalo early had lunch with my friend at his place as soon as we got settled and then he joined us as we spent the entire afternoon in southeastern Maine. The following day was a day on the town as we were planning to spend most of it in the North End of the City. Prior to our adventure Towards Yawkey Way, our first hotel was in historic Lexington so we checked out what they had to offer, along with the nicest library I've ever seen and the best kid in a candy shop display. Due to certin detail that would be strenouously long to descirbe, I won't go into detail about how the tickets for the batting practice tour at Fenway Park were sold out. So that gave us an extra three and a half hours before the first pitch around the ballpark.

 Pictures include: Cary Memorial Library, Minuteman Statue& the Battleground, Candy Castle

Little did I know come the first pitch that it would be a high scoring game. The starters were C.J. Wilson for LA and for Boston Clay Buchholz, both of whom received a no decision for that contest. Albert Pujols was able to play despite indication of an MRI scan due to an injury the night before and ultimately didn't play (starter or substitute). By itself, the bottom of the second and top of the third innings took an hour long. a total of 13 runs combined were scored and the score at that point was 8-6 Los Angeles. To start off, Sox designated hitter Adrián González got a two out base hit to score second baseman Dustin Pedroia who had doubled in the at-bat preceding González. Then came the bottom of the following inning. Left fielder Scott Podsednik singled first baseman Mauro Gómez home, who doubled two batters prior. Two batters later, Jacoby Ellsbury the centerfielder drove in Podsednik on a base hit, and finally Pedroia homered in Ellsbury along with leadoff man in Pedro Ciriaco, who played at third base.

The Angels didnt need the rally monkey to get things going in the top of the third, however. After singles to center fielder Mike Trout and right fielder Torii Hunter, Trout would steal third, before being driven in by a Howie Kendrick (second baseman) base hit. This was followed by as tring of two walks, an error by Ciriaco, and another walk. The second walk scored Hunter and Kendrick scored on the error with third baseman Alberto Callaspo scoring the following walk (he had an the lone error for the halos later on, and had another error taken away). LA had batted around the order at this point before Iannetta's single brought home the shortstop Eick Aybar. Two more singles by Trout and Hunter in consecutive at-bats brought home left fielder Vernon Wells then Iannetta, respectively.

Featuring the crew, NESN and analyst Peter Gammons

Over the course of the game, a run was scored in each combined inning except the fourth. I lost my voice by the eighth inning. Boston would score two more runs in the fifth and sixth, the Angels got a run in the seventh, and two more Red Sox runs in the eighth gave us a 10-9 lead favoring Boston.the Angels scored three in their half of the ninth to take a one run lead.In that stretch were home runs by shortstop Mike Avilés for Boston, and for Vernon Wells of the Angels (who put the ball over the infamous Green Monster at 27 feet high in left field). To make things interesting, Sox right fielder Cody Ross with a solo home run, tied the game at 12 apiece.

More of the crew and Fenway.

On to extran innings, free baseball if you will. Kendry Morales, the Angels designated hitter, go another solo blast in the area near Pesky's Pole (named in honor of the late John Paveskovich) to lead-off the inning. A Vernon Wells double scored Aybar from first base but Wells got thrown out at third on a close call after being caught in attempt to steal third as Podsednik had difficulty taking the ball that had rolled all the way along the left field foul line towards the Monster. That leads us into the bottom half of the inning with a score of a 14-12 margin to the Angels. After Podsednik led-off by striking out looking, Ciriaco singlede then stole second by a means of defensive indifference (when nobody holds him at either the base being stolen from (first) or stolen (second) in the ensuing at-bat. That resulted in a shallow fly ball to center by Ellsbury with a passed ball during the at-bat sending Ciriaco to third.   Pedroia came up to the plate having homered earlier in the game. He got a base hit to bring Ciriaco in to score. After the single by González in the first inning, he hadn't gotten a hit having gone 1-5 since then. On an 0-2 count González swings . . . and misses and the ball game was (finally) over after four hours and 34 minutes of play. "Light that baby up", "just another Halo victory"!

Final stats and the end of the game.

A full list of statistics can be found here along with a complete visual play-by-play (maybe five minutes in total). The Angels swept the three game series as they prepared to head to Detroit for their four game series starting the following evening. Meanwhile my folks and I decided to enjoy Chinatown after a quick visit to Foxboro to go to the Patriots Pro Shop so I could pick up new Revolution gear . . . in the middle of a Tim McGraw/Kenny Chesney concert adding an extra twenty minutes driving on the way there. The rest of my excursion will be featured in tomorrow's post. Bye until then.

-Ricky

Mazella Crosses the Hudson

Yes I did, for the ump-teenth time - and I will again tonight cross the Hudson river. Not that it matters, because in a little while, I will be watching the MLL Championship Game from Harvard in person! That's always a cool feeling, regardless who you root for because it's a championship game when everything is at stake. It was great to get to see another team I support for the first time, regardless of the result. I expect to get to do the same in January 2014 as I hopefully get to schedule my internship for North London with Arsenal FC.

*Photo courtsey of the MLL.

As much as it will be sad to leave Boston this time around, it will give me great memories and I will get to see my friend and broadcast partner again the following weekend when we move in at Springfield College for our junior year. But for now, I will once again thank him for his warm hospitality during my family's visit. We did stay in a hotel, but he had us for lunch on Wednesday and he personally bought the Fenway tickets. We can both say we have been to each other's home town at least twice. So long for now, as today will be busy, since we drop off the rental car right after the post-game championship ceremonies. Bye all!

-Ricky

The Rundown of the Semifinals

The two Major league Lacrosse semifinals will be at 1 & 4 PM EDT respectively. The game featuring the 1 seed is always the first one. Denver will "host" Long Island the first game and Washington will "host" Boston at their own field the latter, so it's more home to the Cannons not the Bayhawks. The finals will be held tomorrow at 3 PM EDT between the two winners from today. Hopefully the Cannons win today and tomorrow.

Images courtesy of the MLL

*In location alphabeltical order.

I'm very much looking forward to these games, this is probably the highlight of the trip. Even though Thursday was my first Angels road game and first with projected starter Jered Weaver, these are my first pro outdoor lax games. The fact that there are three helps the cause and I have been to Fenway before - with a picture of their plastic super over-sized championship ring my body could fit into during the CT vs. MA high school all-star game. So we'll see what happens before my return home tomorrow night! And one last thing before I forget:

Happy 22nd Anniversary to my Mom and Dad!

-Ricky

Changes at BNG

     Today is strictly all business (text) and no pictures {sorry for the inconvenience}. No the changes don't begin until the first full week of my schooling (starting 10 Sept. 2012). However, I will be leaving for Springfield College for the new school year on Friday the 31 of August to move in, post times will vary as there are plans for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Monday and Tuesday classes will not be in session and the following two days will be the first days of classes with posts to occur at various times.

Starting the following Monday (10 Sept), posts for the entire weekdays (Monday through Friday) will have been automated on the weekends. Whether or not daily posts will be available is uncertain at this time. If a decision is made, you will be notified within a week of the post in which the decision is made.  Alas, I do expect changes as of midnight Eastern Standard Time on New Year's Eve with new décor for the BNG Blog.

That's all there is really. You'll have a big post tomorrow, from a sentimental standpoint - it'll make sense at the end of the post . . .

-Richard F. Mazella II
Proud Founder & Owner of Buffalo Nickel Graphics

The Road Game

This happens to be my first Angels road game, despite my proximity to Toronto and Cleveland in my fourteen years and counting as a Halos fan. Below are some tickets and photos from past visits to the "Big A" on Katella Ave. across the street from the Honda Center.

Anaheim, 1996

New York (AL) 6, California 2

W- A.Pettite (19-7), L- D. Springer (4-3)

"Light that baby up!"

Me, 4-yrs. old

My dad.

Anaheim, 2000

New York (AL) 4, Anaheim 1

W- R.Clemens (10-6), L- Ra. Ortiz, S- M. Rivera

The first inning

Getting ready to enter the field . . .

Getting set to run the bases . . .

He will come in to score.

Quick pic infront of the home dugout.

Anaheim, 2004

Minnesota 2, Anaheim 4

*Note: Troy Glaus' first return from injury.

W- F. Rodriguez (2-1), L- J. Rincon (10-6)

Our great "gate to heaven"

That memorable year, 2002

Scioscia gets ejected between the 3rd and 5th in bot. of innning.

It's Rally Monkey time!

Walk-off winner.

Gene Autry, music legend the original owner of the Angels.

That year (2004), every baseball game I went to was won on a walk-off (no joke). That Includes one in Oakland (vs. BAL) that trip and in Cleveland (vs. DET) and Toronto (vs. BOS) earlier in the season. Plus the rally monkey I have was purchased late 2003 at a Syracuse SkyChiefs game and I took the SkyChiefs shirt off. I still haven't made Kate her "1/2" jersey yet . . .

Well, to quote the late Rory Markas (Angels Play-by-Play man of nine seasons before his passing), I hope there will be "just another Halo victory!" That would mean current Play-by-Play man Victor Rojas would reply "light that baby up" in reference to the Message board in the shape of an "A" with a halo that is lit up after every home win. A recap of the trip will be available on Monday! Expect tomorrow's post at 2 PM Eastern Daylight.

-Ricky

Wednesday Wonders

As I have already arrived in Boston, I await for the glorious sports weekend that is to come. I get see the Angels Red Sox game at Fenway on Thursday and I have three lacrosse games in two days on Saturday and Sunday at Harvard as a part of the MLL's Championship Weekend before leaving Sunday night. So that will occupy my time, which means that like today, posts will be pre-scheduled until Monday.  I will have details on my posting abilities at Springfield on Friday's post, so stay tuned for that!

Today, I would like to introduce the Sports Logo Hall of Fame. This takes what Chris Creamer has done at www.sportslogos.net to the extreme. We at BNG feel that another Hall of Fame is in order to help provide more posts. The first logo(s) to be nominated will be on this coming Monday (27) and the elected logos will be announced on Halloween every year.  Once the nominees are chosen, they will then be officially inducted on Thanksgiving Day in said year. Oddly enough, this Hall (unlike all others) will not have a logo indefinitely. That is, when it's identity is unveiled on Halloween 2012.

Coming 31 Oct 2012

Any logo from any league at any level may be nominated for induction. If you think a logo should be nominated, don't forget to e-mail us at bngraphics2012@aol.com with your nomination. Nomination forms can be found here. Please consider the following categories: Primary Logo, Secondary Logo, Script Logo, Unused Logo, Special/Commemorative Logo, Event Logo, and Contributor Logo.

I would like to remind everyone to share their concepts, ideas, etc . . . to us at the same e-address as above.  You can also post comments after each post in the section provided.  I would like to start a contest very soon so don't be coy with sending in your submissions.  We are trying to provide premier treatment to our contributors with their very own slideshow to display their work on our "Guest Concepts" page.  Just as a bonus to make you feel good about yourself! Design, design, design - that is all.

-Ricky

More Arena Sports: Part III

     I miss having games at the Memorial Auditorium in Buffalo. I only got to see the Sabres at the Aud during an open practice in early 1996, but at four years old you don't expect music during the practice. I was louder than at games now and now there's no music ast Sabres open practices. Other than that, I was at the circus the year before - I never liked circus but wasn't afraid of anything in them. The noise that day caused my dad and I to leave the morning skate after five minutes. Looking back at that moment, I wish I got to either stay a little longer or have been a little older that year. But the late 90s and early 2000s were good to go to any kind of game at then Marine Midland Arena.

Since the Bandits of the NLL are the best franchise in the area, it's fitting that the Aud was an integral part of their early years. As the Thieves won the championships in 1992 and 1993, Bob "Buff" McCready started the 92 season 0-3 when he resigned and Les Bartley (who was the team scout) was promoted he would become one of the best coaches in league history. The Bandits finished the 92 with a 5-0 record, then winning all three playoff games. The 93 championship capped off what is to this day the only perfect season in league history, which was in the middle of a 24 game winning streak that would end mid-season the following season.

Between the 92 and 96, the Bandits and Philadelphia Wings would face each other in four of the next five championship matches, with Buffalo losing in the semifinal to Philly in the 95 postseason and Philly losing to the original Boston Blazes in 97. In the 95 semifinal, the NLL's "attendance rule" was in effect as Philadelphia (who had the better record) did not host because Buffalo drew better crowds that season. The latter half of championships saw the Wings take 94, preventing a three-peat and giving themselves three total titles. The 96 final was just the opposite, as the Theives won that final under the guidance of hall of fame bound Pat O'Toole. His nemesis of the 97 finals, soon to be all-star goalie and now general manager of the Bandits Steve Dietrich was inducted last month.

Following 97, Bartley along with then Bandit Jim Veltman went to the expansion Ontario Raiders now the Toronto Rock. Bartley would continue to win championships - three as a coach, two as general manager (after resigning from coaching due to his fight with colon cancer). The day after the Rock won their fifth champinoship in seven seasons in Toronto, Bartley lost his battle with cancer and the coach of the year award was later renamed in his honor. Bartley's teams advanced to the championship match in all but two seasons during his coaching career.

Since 96, the Bandits have made the championship game three times. Buffalo also have only missed the playoffs in three seasons (99, 01, & 02). Under Darris Kilgour (03-present), the team has never missed the playoffs but had their first sub .500 season. Kilgour joined from the Washington Power from the 2002 season, just befor thier move out west to Denver, becoming the Colorado Mammoth. Kilgour also surpassed the league wins record in 2011 which was held by Les Bartley

*Note: Only I call the team "the Thieves" as it hasn't caught on yet with others.

That reminds me, nobody knows what happened to the other sports after we lost our teams. after the Destroyers were dealt off to Columbus (OH), I was inactive for half the season, then I saw the AFL on NBC game of the week and a game was in Philadelphia who had Tony Graziani at quarterback. I knew of Graziani during his tenure with the LA Avengers. It was Tony G. who made me switch allances. Oddly enough, Philly was the new divisional rivals of the relocated Destroyers. Philly would go on tow win the final championship in 2008 of the original era of the AFL. They would go on to lose the 2012 final last week to Arizona, who had lost the last five finals they played, including 2011 to Jacksonville.

As far as indoor soccer, St. Louis was my second favorite team in the NPSL, but they folded with the league too. Because the remaining six teams in the new MISL (02-08) were all rivals to Buffalo. So I then remained impartial until the new St. Louis Steamers emerged two years after their former leauge (the World Indoor Soccer League) also folded in 2001. St. Louis was inactive until joining the MISL for the 03-04 season after two WISL seasons (00 & 01). The Steamers would fold after 05-06. Then, I became of fan of the Detroit Ignition for th 06-07 season, their inaugural year. The following season I became a fan of the expansion New Jersey Ironmen in the event of Detroit folding, so that made them my second team. The the league folded after that season, and the teams dispersed into three
 separate leagues.

Detroit and New Jersey were two of four teams to create the new, short-lived Xtreme Soccer League. Meanwhile I would follow the MISL's California/Stockton Cougars into the Professional Arena Soccer League - Pro until they folded following the end of the 09-10 season and were absorbed by the Turlock Express. My new team would be the 2011 expansion Anaheim Bolts. After the MISL folded, I turned to the Blizzard rivals of the Philadelphia Kixx as the Monterrey LaRaza were the only MISL teams to join the then National Indoor Soccer League. The following season of the NISL saw the league name change to become the third MISL as well as Milwaukee joining the new mISL form the XSL. That was the last season for the Kixx, so I took two new expansion teams as number  one and two. The Missouri Comets were the  first and the Syracuse Silver Knights followed which immediately created a rivalry with the newly formed Rochester Lancers.

If you prefer, some arenas have multi-filed layouts as with outdoor turf stadiums. I have accomodated for that here. Detroit and Buffalo each had one for a while, though I am remiss as to other arenas with them. If you'd like a vintage template, recolor the turf to a medium between green and light green.

I know that was a lot of info to take in, but I am putting as much as I can into related posts before I leave for my Boston tip on Wednesday. Posts for the remainder of the week will be automated. That's because we leave early in the morning tomorrow. Have fun this week!

-Ricky

More Painting in the Angel Room

To start, I have updated my statistics . . . My Destroyers record is 1-2 whereas my Blizzard record is 5-2. My Bandits record is 13-6 overall including 1-1 in championship/playoff games (06 & 08).  I also am 0-1 in NLL All-Star Games. I technically am 0-3 in Buffalo ASGs because, I had religious ed the night of the NPSL one hosted by the Blizzard (Feb 2001) in addition to the loss at the Triple-A one. That makes my First Niagara Center record 19-10 in all competitions.

Tomorrow will be part three of the arena sports posts. In the mean time, I am almost finished with my room. unfortunately I don't think I will finish before school, but at least most of the work has been done. You can see photos of the most recent installment below.

You can see what's left, as I have that small panel next to the door as well as the baseboards in addition to the window frame, door frame and rest of the floor behind that futon.  I am very proud and excited I am almost finished and how it came out. I will have a slideshow image up soon with a compilation of the renovation. That will do it for today, as I just got back from helping my high school soccer coach with the first day of practice. This is the team I helped to win the league title and record a perfect season last fall! Bye for now.

-Ricky

More Arena Sports: Part II

My Destroyers record is 1-2 whereas my Blizzard record is 3-2 with a couple games missing. My Bandits record is 13-6 overall including 1-1 in championship/playoff games (06 & 08).  I also am 1-0 in NLL All-Star Games. I technically am 0-3 in Buffalo ASGs because, I had a religious ed class the night of the NPSL one hosted by the Blizzard in addition to the loss at the Triple-A one.

Here are more of the vintage Arena Football League videos.

Keep up tomorrow for the latest from the Angels room in Chautauqua, NY as the floor and final wall have been almost finished. The only thing left will be the door frame and window frame in silver.

-Ricky

More Arena Sports: Part I

I believe a lot of people  in the Buffalo Western New York area have been cheated too much lately with their arena sports. The city of Buffalo was supposed to get an expansion team in 2010 for the concurrent season in Arena Football 2 (branded as "Af2" - no typographical error), but when the Arena Football League folded, the Af2 only lasted another year as 70 percent of the teams were owned by the AFL (arena, not Aussie rules). NFL Hall of Fame Bills Jim Kelly and Thurman Thomas ("Thermos Thomas" as my limited-English speaking grandmother calls him) along with Thomas' co-owning partner of the CIFL's Rochester Raiders were to be the primary ownership of the group. The team was projected to don the colors of RHI's Buffalo Stampede (1994-1995). With the absence of the Af2, Buffalo's bid was but a pipe dream with the team in Af2's Albany Firebirds (formerly the Conquest) was expected to join the seven other Af2 teams that joined the new AFL.

As far as indoor soccer is concerned, the city of Buffalo has not been very kind to the sport . . . While the Buffalo Stallions of the first MISL were rather successful, they had off-field issues that can be explained at this link. Their successors however, the Buffalo Blizzard, were just like a band that had great individuals but couldn't make it big. This was a team of good players, but never managed to win a playoff series. The Knox Brothers, the then and inaugural Sabres owners, also controlled the Blizzard. The next owner would be John Bellanti, who was the last owner of either Buffalo franchise.

Box Lacrosse

Indoor Soccer

I've been to three maybe four Destroyers games including the first two games in their history, and also I have been to 6 Blizzard games. For some reason, I remember listening to the Destroyers final home game in Buffalo in 2003, when we were close enough to the border in St. Catherines, ON, CAN to get the station signal. I also recall the reason the Blizzard didn't want to join the MISL was because there was a dispute with the owner of the Milwaukee Wave, who despised the Buffalo franchise. And if I thought that the Destroyers games I went to was the extent of vintage AFL, I was wrong.  You can see the first YouTube videos below with the Zubaz jersey fad of the early 1990s, the others will be about tomorrow . . . I wonder if I start that for a concept just like the Hawai'ian theme.

At least you've heard the story of the successful Bandits of the NLL having been 18 for 21 in playoff appearances with four championships, including the only perfect season in league history with the coach that has the most regular season wins in history continuing to run the team. This is the team who arguably has the greatest player of all time, still active at age 43 and resigned for another year wanting to play a few more with the only team he's been with on the floor in every season of Bandits history having only been held pointless once in the game on January 25, 2002 in an 8-7 loss in Philadelphia. Sorry for that little rant, every Bandits fan will do that with him and the organization. Some more details regarding today's post will be enclosed. Until then, North Melbourne beat Collingwood 13.13.91 to 8.13.61  in Aussie rules Round 21 play. Also, Arsenal just started the second half with Sunderland tied 0-0 in the post-Robin vanPersie era at Arsenal in the first match of the new Barclay's Premier League campaign. That's caught up for now.

-Ricky

Rockin' Out in Vancouver

No I'm not talking about when the NLL's Toronto Rock came to town to play the (now inactive) Vancouver Ravens for the first time with a loss at GM Place 10 seasons ago. I'm talking about my latest design. I am just itching to add the rest of the necessary parts for this guitar, but it's not about the parts so I won't add them.

Rather the finished concept would suffice.

That's my idea, no strings attached (get it?). Enough with this punnery, I need to get back to work with some new leads. I cant feed you if I don't have very much. Right now I am a poor man compared to who I was three months ago. The studio has been up and running practically 24/7 to provide your entertainment. And with that, I lived to see another day (today).

-Ricky

Dragons in Funky Nassau

What if we got to see the New look of the New York Dragons in the Arena Football League? They got a makeover, but we never go to see it in action. Their old logo had a great score on my intimidation factor of the eligible scary-looking logos. But the change from black, yellow, and red to black and green looks nicer anyway to me. The floor at the NVMC in Uniondale would have gotten a makeover (sort of) and this would be the basic version.

Design by: R Mazella (me)
Template: by MJ Rudolf

Thought I'd give this a go . . . figuring out Friday's topic of conversation. See you then!

-Ricky

The Art of Hockey

Welcome to The Art of Hockey, er . . . Buffalo Nickel Graphics where today we have created a set for our blog, or rather Justin Cox's The Art of Hockey. Every time I see the banner at the top of the page, I see "Islanders third jersey" all over it. So I figured why not promote it to home and road status. It would probably look better than the current Isles alternate anyway. But I did just that and maybe you should be the judges of that. I would say Ducks third, but the stripes on that are too steep.

Literally the art of hockey.

The shade of blue used looks like a SJ Sharks color on the kit but it's not. The orange maybe should be promoted as the home.I didn't know what Justin's player number would have been, so I put mine and an assistant captain's "A" over the heart. Justin would have gotten the captain's "C" since it's his blog. Typically, I try to put an "A" or "C" to display the feature, not to promote myself as captain of a team. Now that I look at it in this post, the TV numbers appear smaller. Anyway, In a week, I'm Boston bound for an Angels/Red Sox game at Fenway as Jered Weaver is projected to start (very good news). That weekend is also championship weekend in the MLL at Harvard Stadium as I will get to see at least one Boston Cannons game as well as the other semifinal and the championship. Keep that in mind as you read towards the end of the week.

-Ricky