Put in the Reserve Ants

Similar to the home and road, but obviously distinguishable from the rest, the Fort Wayne alternate I created gives a mix of familiarity with change. It creates a balance between the two, thus allowing for variation on a future shirt. Charlotte is the most recent affiliate to join the ranks - in for the coming season - along with old-timers Detroit and Milwaukee.

Note the name - not Dwight Howard, but Ron . . . no not the actor and director. Dwight and this Ron I don't believe are related, but neither are either of the Rons. I'm taking in the remaining sights and sounds of the weekend as I get ready for the Bills Patriots game in the Flynn Student Union Bistro here.

-Ricky

The Ants Go Marching Home, Rather Marching on the Road

Yesterday I spotlighted the home jerseys I made for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA D-League. I had made a road and alternate along with it, but am saving the alternate for tomorrow. Just like the current set, these roads are predominantly red, just as the current homes are predominantly yellow/gold. The yellow should remind you of the gold Pacers alternate for the Reggie Miller era.

This could be turned into a Cavaliers concept potentially but it would be a solid set of jerseys regardless.  unfortunately, the NBA uses those faint gray dots as stripes - they drive me nuts. But I can't do anything except get rid of them in concept found here.

In the meantime, the Sydney Swans are the 2012 Australian Football League major premiers, defeating the Hawthorn Hawks 14.7.91 to 11.15.81. This is going to be a great rest of the weekend, hope you can say the same!

-Ricky

Mad for Fort Wayne

So now htat the Mad Ants belong solely to the pacers organization, it's time to "Indianapolize" them (as I put it). That is to say before the first actual game with Charlotte jumping on the band wagon this upcoming season (even though Detroit and Milwaukee are already affiliated too). This is a three part set, so stay tuned for the remainder of the weekend!

Based on the pinstripe/Reggie Miller era jerseys in Indiana, I wanted to reincarnate that concept through this series. In the D-League, light colors are home and a good portion if not all teams lack a white jersey and have a light color as their home shirt. I also used the current Pacers font since that is all I have access to, but you could easily identify Indiana without the font . . .

The road and alternate are forthcoming as I prepare for episode 93 (production code 501) of Sports Talk with R&B as well as my morning show of the same number episodes. By the way, our new blog over there is up so please feel free to visit us! Podcasts will soon be available pending the connection of the feed by the remainder of the club. Toodles!

-Ricky

A "Grand" Final Indeed

At least that is how it should be when all is said and done. But the minor premiers Hawthorn were separaterd  from Sydney only by Adelaide in the ladder. It was evident that we could have seen these two since the beginning of the finals. All that's left is a date at the MCG around 12 AM EDT Friday night into Saturday which will be showcased on Fox Soccer Plus in the United States.

As you may have expected, I meant "one-off" when I said it. Removing the league logo for the Grand Final logo of the given year is common for the annual September/October fixture at the G. Else-wise  I am in the middle of preparing for my first pair of Saturday radio show for this academic year on campus.

-Ricky

Madness at the Union

* This post was recovered and has been altered from it's original form

Hey there, I thought I would share what my club - Late Night Madness did on Thursday night. We prepared photo dry-erase boards. You had your picture take, it got printed in reverse onto the whiteboard and voila! It was that simple, here's my sample:

Notice I had just come from my work shift as an official for flag football that night - as I do all sports except basketball throughout the academic year.

This is my club's logo, we take care of events student activities doesn't hold beyond 9 PM. That's all I got today, preps for the AFL Grand Final tomorrow for Saturday morning's match.

-Ricky

Humanics in Action

I happened to get a break between shifts on Humanics in Action Day here on campus, where many of our students give back to the community. Last year, a group of us helped a nearby neighborhood who had been struck by a tornado on July 2 of last year along with a small part of our campus. They would all be featured on ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.  This year, I am "double dipping" as I help my classmate community, by also getting practicum hours as I continue to help coordinate their planned activities for the upcoming semester.

Anyway, I am here with something. No, not a design- rather an announcement. Soon, my radio shows will be up and running! They will also soon be broadcast via audio live streaming, not through video live streaming as in the past. I will still attempt that individually, but it has been frequently malfunctioning these first couple years. Shows are from 8-10 AM and 2-5 PM on Saturdays!

I'll be back.

-Ricky

A Room with a View

Anyone remember that updated Avs concept from a while ago? Well I updated it again! This one is rather subtle. I added a shoulder patch as I was going over Logo Hall of Fame nominations for the selection committee (which you have the end of the month to nominate for). I wanna see if you can find it below . . .

To think I can still play around with this!

Did you find it? If not it is the shoulder patch on the home and roads only. The other one was already on the alternate. The logo is an alternate of the University of Texas El Paso Miners.

Of course it has been modernized to accommodate the Avs color scheme, but who's to say that matters?  In that case I'll be off for another brainstorming session as well as getting back to that nomination review . . . I saw 46 of the applications plus the rest I need to count. Hint: you any submit multiple VALID entries.

-Ricky

NIRSA Flag Football

Rhode Island was okay, I really don't have much to tell other than my near death experience. If oyu live in the Hartford, CT are, you know what I mean. There is a left side exit from the I-91 Southbound that connects to the I-84 Eastbound and it's a really sharp turn. I was the navigator in the front passenger seat. I saw this ramp on the GPS, but looked straight and neither me nor the driver could see it ahead straight. We slowed down a little as were were going the limit then and the turn sneaked up on us and forced the driver to make a sharper turn than that of the curb and was able to straighten out in one simultaneous motion. Had he not turned as much, we could have either ended up in the Connecticut River or the van may have not functioned properly. As far as the ride back, the van didn't give us problems, but the axle (we think) did have some issues on the way there.

For the third straight year, we are hosting a regional tournament here at SC for intramural flag football. Springfield College has to reapply for this tournament to be held here. I should be officiating and plan on applying for the tournament at University of Maryland. As much as I love their campus, I am trying to have that trip used for practicum class out-of-class hours. The contact information is provided here.

I don't know what I am doing for tomorrow, so stay tuned!

-Ricky

Rhody or Bust

As I am at URI (Univ. of Rhode Island) for the day, I don't have anything to leave you with. However, I will update you on some things.

As you know, we are still accepting nominations for the logo hall of fame ballot, we are aso looking for selection/voting committee members. That being said, I am directing you to the "BNG Halls of Fame" tab. There will be news as to how my day was today on Sunday. Yes I did forgot my two Saturday radio shows to go to this thing.

Sorry for another boring post, but that's all I got for you.

-Ricky

Burger King Re-Brand, LA Style

The Burger King logo, unlike the jersey on which it sat on, was well received by the general public. No we're not talking about the fast food chain, but hockey fans and logo enthusiasts know I speak of the alternate used by the Los Angeles Kings during the second half of the 1995/96 NHL season.

At our fellow blog, Hockey Jersey Concepts (HJC), has launched it's first contest since the birth of creator Ryan Haslett's baby boy - congrats, by the way, Ryan! This contest was to make the aforementioned logo "look good" as in on a jersey. I decided to swap the purple with red as it is a symbol of heirarchy in many nations.

The jersey is not intended to be worn on ice and therefore does not have any TV numbers. Else-wise I had a difficult time trying to use this logo with purple in the color scheme. This one is for submission's sake and nothing more, I quite frankly do not like this concept as it ties too much with the Calgary Flames and Ottawa Senators in regards to color.

That's all, tomorrow's post will probably be automated as I am off to URI (Univ. of Rhode Island) for a training regarding my on-campus job here in Springfield.

In the meantime, bye for now.

-Ricky

Adelaide to Battle Different Birds in Preliminaries

So this is the other match-up in the preliminary finals: Hawthorn and Adelaide.

Hawthorn sees their jersey go from tricolored to barely striped. The black becomes brown as well as the outside yellow. Socks will stay anyway.

Adelaide saw more stripes added. The continuous effect makes this kit a bit more flamboyant. It's very simple . . .

Sorry for being brief, but it's been busy lately.

-Ricky

Look Familiar?

Today's concepts were so designed on purpose, to prepare not for the preseason but the jerseys that were presented you two weeks ago.

So Collingwood's is missing the two outside black stripes, creating a white alternative to the neutral original and black with pinstripes clash jumper. The shorts also became white to accommodate the guernsey.

Sydney on the other hand, saw a recoloring of their home kits - remember they didn't have a clash made because of their bye round last week. The shorts did remain the same to add some contrast.

Both teams kept their socks from the original concepts a couple weeks ago. It's women's soccer time at Springfield! T-minus 30 minutes with field hockey at 7 PM EDT (-5 GMT). Speaking of our women's soccer team, a speedy recovery to Kim Rasmussen, who had her tibia fractured during Thursday's match at Western New England (a fun game other than that, which I saw a 4-0 win); she has since returned to campus.

-Ricky

A New Look at Destroyers Football

While the free trial may force us to pay, I wan't to try to do this manually. But that may be a ways off. So I stuck to jerseys for now.

While the navy and silver were predominant, I felt the need to showcase the highlights as well. As expected, the homes became navy but with focus on the red and powder. The socks are the only constant thing with the uniforms.

The roads are just that - opposites of the home. Navy is replaced with white on the chest and powder to navy on the pants (hence the striping and number outline had to follow suit.

 The alternates see a removal of the silver except for the arm cuffs on the red alternate. The blue alternate borrows the pants from the road kit; the red does the same except it requires a blue belt. Unlike the home and road kit, the helmets are not navy. I didn't favor the old white helmets we used to have for-though they were better than some other ones in that era of the AFL.

One thing to take note of, the sleeves are too small for TV numbers so they have not been included. Otherwise, these are eye-popping concepts. Yeah they aren't anything special or creative, but the utilization of flamboyancy is the key as it attracts attention. Imagine if the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins added red to their blue jerseys . . .

Well, have fun for tomorrow will showcase more Aussie FL jumpers as the 2013 preseason jumpers will be featured for the first preliminary final.

-Ricky

Monday, Gimme the Gift of Love

So I had a great Sunday of football, as I have the best scoring team this week in both of my fantasy leagues I'm in. The fake one just by a point versus the team I'm playing and in the one that counts I'm up by 36 to the next highest team, but defeated my broadcast partner 145-101. In the fake one, I'm up 105 to 104 - but I still rack up points with Tony Gonzalez going in the Monday night game tonight. Meanwhile I mentioned yesterday that the game in the league that counts is an unofficial final as neither of us has active players tonight.

Game not yet final.

Again, not to beat around the bush, but this score revolves around Tony Gonzalez who can jump me into first place. This is pending the final between teams five and seven, who have one member from the opposite team playing for them tonight. Team five would need to win (they have the Falcon player). Maybe on Wednesday I will explain the scoring for these particular leagues possibly in addition to a concept revolving around one of the teams in these leagues. This also may well include a  potential starting roster in preparation for the Thursday night game.

Standings not yet final.

As far as me potentially having the scoring record for the week, that will stay as no single player should get 25 points. This is with the team with two players (BAL)  who currently have 76 points as an extra 50 would only total 126. One side note is that Broncos' new starting quarterback Peyton Manning will not have had a regular Sunday afternoon game to start his career in Denver. That's because he has two prime-time games against two very solid teams in the Steelers last Sunday night (Denver won big) and now the Atlanta Falcons.

I have the bye for week three in the league that counts whereas I play the league commissioner - dubbed the pride games of pride games, the first of two as it is "at the Jets" but at your Buffalo Destroyers in week 10. That's going to have to be it for now. See you later.

-Ricky

Any Given Sunday

I don't have anything for today, so I will share my fantasy football flukes, flops, follies, and fortunes from last week tomorrow will feature today's results. As today's games have already started, I am still behind my opponent, who happens to be my broadcast partner Barry Ebua, because he had a pair of players in the Thursday night game between Green Bay and Chicago. In essence, he has a head start. And yes, both of my teams are named after the now defunct Buffalo/Columbus Destroyers of the Arena Football League. It would have been named after the approved af2 expansion team set to play in Buffalo for 2010, but they hadn't had a name or logo yet before the subsequent collapse of the af2, in part due to the collapse of the original (not absorbed) Arena Football League. The new arena league was originally supposed to rival the Arena FL, however the new league was to be named Arena Football One.

This is the first league I entered, this one is merely for pride and bragging rights as there are only five human-selected teams. The other three teams' "owners" didn't show up for the draft and subsequently were taken over by CBS Sports' automated "participants." This would be the week for me to do bad in this case because it's a bye week, meaning I don't get a win or loss.

Tied for fifth by points behind 1st place, have worse points allowed

This league however is the one that counts. Week one was tough for me, playing against the commissioner of both leagues. My demise was the fact that the Eagles should have played better against a poor Browns team and the Saints got their entire defense back minus Johnathan Vilma and still lost to Robert Griffin III and his Hogs. I then would have sat Michael Vick, like I did this week going up against the Ravens this afternoon. RGIII may still get points even if the Redskins lose to the Rams today, because the Rams defense is certainly not the best and London Fletcher should have a good game on defense for Washington. Too bad he doesn't play for my Buffalo Bills anymore. The same Bills who should obliterate the Chiefs at home, just as they did on opening day September 11 last year by a score of 41-7 in Kansas City, will get good looks at C.J. Spiller who must pick up the slack for the temporarily injured Fred Jackson.

Clearly, RGIII would have made it a 7 point loss instead of 20. Even swapping Kellen Winslow and Anthony Fasano at tight end would have kept the game tied provided I start Pierre Garcon over Percy Harvin at wide receiver. Garcon is sitting for Week two due to his injury sustained during last week's game against New Orleans. The thing with Winslow was that I took a gamble on the real New York Jets picking him up given that talks between the consenting parties were heavily considered. Even then, there wouldn't have been a guarantee of arrival and/or playing time and/or receptions/touchdowns . . .

Oh well, it was a learning experience for everyone. Overall I was impressed that my drafting did very well. Except for the Winslow part. Winslow was dropped by the Seahawks the day after the draft for this league (a Wednesday). I dropped Winslow in order to make room for a player who did well in Week one to the form of Jacksonville tight end Marcedes Lewis - as Fasano continues to sit on the bench. Today's results will be up tomorrow but standings will be incomplete due to the Monday night game between Atlanta and Denver. My pride and brag league features Tony Gonzalez at tight end for the Falcons whereas the more important league neither me nor my opponent have players on Monday. however he unlike me, doesn't have anyone going from the Sunday night game between the Lions and 49ers. I have two in Niners' tight end Vernon Davis and Niners' running back Frank Gore, both of whom scored a touchdown last week.

In the mean time, I should maybe share with you the potential jerseys for each of the fantasy league teams . . . or at least mine. Just something to think about.

-Ricky

Real (Physical) New Stuff

So get this, Jonas Hiller's new mask has been on display (it's still predominantly black, but at least it isn't plain anymore! You'd think he would have had it done sooner since he's been there so long (and to think he backed up Martin Gerber in the 06 Olympics after Arturs Irbe retired from international hockey). It incorporates the Duck color scheme as well as including "the Pond" and other beach-esque themed concepts. This is how it turned out:

Much more soothing than a plain black mask.

Meanwhile I stumbled upon this image surfing Wild Wing's Facebook page . . . what a mascot!

What about ventilation?

Navy and powder with the old logo . . . how would that actually work out? This particular mock-up doesn't do it justice. How about the new logo in said colors, though that probably wouldn't work as well. But for what it's worth, it's a great find nonetheless. In the meantime, today is the day that the current CBA for the NHL expires, lets hope there is at least part of a season!

-Ricky

Collingwood Prepares

Before the Pies concept was to be unveiled, the Dockers/Crows game just wrapped up. After being down most of the first half by as much as 29, Adelaide took to Freo with six minutes and change left in the third term. After that it became a back and forth affair.

I decided if I were going to give anyone pinstripes, the Magpies had to be that team. the back jumper opposes the regular whites The socks stay the same, but I replace the white with gold on the shorts. A very simple change as we prepare for not only tomorrow morning's contest, but the next round where this game's winner plays Sydney and Hawthorn will square off against Adelaide.

-Ricky

Eagles Prey on Kangaroos

The Eagles had a field day with North on Sunday morning, but they should expect a closer match with the Magpies this weekend, as Collingwood are coming off a loss to the seemingly unbeatable Hawks. With the win, Hawthorn will have the week off.

Again, I incorporated more orange than the club has acknowledged in the past. I originally had a yellow stripe but switched it with the orange at the last minute. This was primarily due to the poor visibility of the number in any color. The striping on the socks match that of the jumper design, to give the shorts some variation and break up the blue. So Collingwood tomorrow and fini!

-Ricky

Crows Lose Battle of Birds

Even though they were in the double elimination part of the finals, they still get another game to play, unfortunately it will be against the surprising Freo Dockers as mentioned yesterday. The Crows lost to Sydney who have the week off.

 

As you saw last week, Adelaide's featured striping pattern is used. This classic arrangement cannot be forgone of the club's rich tradition. I was debating to add the blue underneath the yellow stripe to keep it whit, but the brightness of the yellow was the deciding factor.The pants were switched to white, but the socks were retained. Tomorrow we'll see the West Coast, then Collingwood on Friday!

-Ricky

Freo Stun the Cats!

After a surprising victory over the reigning premiers, Fremantle find themselves in the semifinals for their second ever run for September footy. Their clash jumpers are just the opposite of their last jumpers I created, however I kept the pants and socks.

Tomorrow, the Dockers' semifinal opponents Adelaide will get their own clash jumper as well, a bit more tricky to work on than usual. The Crows will be feathered tomorrow!

-Ricky

Logo Nominees

I hope you enjoyed the sights and sounds I was able to share with you from the 2012 Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony with you! It was fantastic to be able to meet the most prominent member of my favorite Indiana Pacers, Reggie Miller. I didn't get a picture since the cab had just shown up as he came out, but we had a few exchanges before we had to go.

Logo Hall of Fame

Nominations due September 30 for Logo Hall of Fame

Selection: October 31       Induction: Thanksgiving Day (US), November

*Categories include: Primary Logo, Secondary Logo, Script Logo, Unused Logo, Special/Commemorative Logo, Event Logo, and Contributor Logo.

  Anyone can nominate a logo into the hall of fame, however the selection committee is responsible for induction into the hall. Please e-mail us at bngraphics2012@aol.com if you wish to become a member of the selection committee.

With the Preliminary Finals and Grand Final to come, the Semi Finals in Aussie footy will see BNG roll out the clash jumper. The Grand Final will be simple, featuring one-off jumpers whereas the Preliminaries will display mock preseason jumpers for the 2013 season. But you'll have to wait until tomorrow as we'll be covering one team per day - starting with Friday morning's host team (Adelaide).

-Ricky

At the Hall

Blake Griffin (LA Clippers)

Artis Gilmore (Class/11)

Reggie (Class/12) and Cheryl Miller (sister)

Larry Bird (Class/1998)

Phil Night (Nike co-founder; Class/12)

Springfield College incumbent and current President Richard B. Flynn

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Lew Alcindor; Class/95)

Mike Krzyzewski ("Coach K"; Class/01)

Michael Jordan (Left; Class/09)

Charles Bakley (Class/06)

Hank Nichols (at podium; Class/12; with Bob Lanier - Class/92)

-Ricky