2015 NLL Power Rankings: Pre-Season

NLL Preseason Rankings and Picks:
1. Calgary
2. Rochester
3. Buffalo
4. Edmonton
5. Toronto
6. Colorado
7. Vancouver
8. Minnesota
9. New England

Regular Season Champs:
West - Calgary; East - Buffalo
(Buffalo, Toronto, Rochester, Minnesota, New England; Calgary, Edmonton, Colorado, Vancouver)
Division Champs:
West - Calgary; East - Toronto
(Colorado def. Edmonton def. by Calgary; Rochester def. by Toronto def. Buffalo)
Champions Cup winner: Calgary

-Ricky

Insure-A-Jersey

Get ready to welcome a new jersey member to the closet! The bruised banana is (finally) becoming part of the family. It is expected between Christmas Eve and Epiphany Eve {5 January 2015}. It appears that it will indeed be a Christmas present to myself. For the record, if you have some sort of jersey collection, I recommend that you have them insured.


"Why should I insure jerseys," you may ask. Well many of them are certainly not cheap, so if anything should happen to them [knock on wood], then they will be covered and you would kind of have a form of compensation for them. I still haven't been able to, but it is planned. Just a word for the wise. I'll be back before you know it.


-Ricky

MLS Template Ahoy!

I finally found a template good for MLS use. I toned it down from the version on the Chicago Fire's design contest page.

A Rev's kit is on it's way. All three will be ready to round out the week. Have fun with this one!

-Ricky

The Twilight Zone

We have an announcement to make:

You're traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. That's the signpost up ahead—your next stop, the twilight zone!

BNG will have a new look as of 1 January 2015. Speaking of changes, our holiday decor is up and about. Today is only serving the purpose of general BNG news. A new jersey is expected to be on its way, one that hasn't yet been purchased but is towards the top of the BNG wishlist. You will get a sneak peek with the next few concepts that are designed by the end of the year with the signature form of the new branding. That's including the one for the MLS Eastern Conference champions by weeks end. Carry on.

-Ricky

Ducks But Don't Cover

In the event that the Ducks promoted their most recent thirds to home kits and added a corresponding road white, I used that as inspiration for a new third. This however accomplishes several things. First is that there is another orange jersey and with the "OC" patch (Stadium Series). Second is that it has wide stripes with TV numbers in them as well as the laces (last Mighty Ducks era alternate). Finally, the wordmark is used for the crest (the new old home/road kits).

This was the end result. It is simple and not overpowering though the orange is a little bold of a statement. I also added the front number to make the front look fuller. I am very happy how my envisionment of such a jersey turned out. One of my best works I think. If only some of my others were as such. I think this is a step in the right direction but not necessarily the right alternate for the Ducks to adopt.

-Ricky

Hono(u)ring Monsieur Jean Bélive4u

Last night, hockey lost a legend, one of the best to ever grace the earth both on and off the ice. Jean Béliveau was an icon after his playing days as both a man in the front office and having continued his charity work. He is likely the most decorated player in the sport and in an elite group among all sports. From playing alone, a ring for each of his fingers and both thumbs. On top of that adding seven more from his other involvement with the organization. You can only imagine the personal accolades he racked up during those ten cup years and all else. There is no need to list them - Jean wouldn't have it any other way. Just as in the community, he gave his all for the betterment of the team before his own benefit.

There's a reason Jean was inducted an unprecedented year early into Hockey's Hall of Fame and that his number was retired into the rafters of the historic Montréal Forum. He was in a league of his own: rivaled by no one, but respected by all. The above was created by me as a remembrance not of his death, but the life and legacy he leaves behind. His unparalleled level of excellence and well-roundedness surely did not go unnoticed, but that attention did grab the hearts and minds of others. Our heart goes out to the Béliveau family and friends, the Molsons and the entire Canadiens organization, their fans, the Province of Québec, and the other ambassadors of the sport as we look back at the times inspired by such a great advocate of life and hockey.

-Richard F. Mazella II

Batting 1.000

Notice the time 12:15? 12 (December): 1 (date+)(20)14 (year) I tried, anyway... I've done a lot of writing and I'm sure, I've doubled for at least the equivalent in designing things. Because of that, I'm celebrating by not only not doing anything but also indulging in unhealthy food as I'm generally good to my health when it comes to that (Five Guys, here I come). But seriously, some of the time has breezed by and some dragged on forever. I cannot fathom how well BNG has been received. Thank you to all of you, new or old readers contributors and followers. To those that came before me, Ryan Haslett at HJC in particular (having begun my blogging career having this as a medium to host my personal concepts that were submitted for HJC,) but also Alan J. Herbert. Caden Patafie, Jake Miller, and William Butala, it is with great respect that you have trusted us with your contributions here. That said, enjoy the rest of your day!

Regards,
-Richard F. Mazella II

A Logo's Tale

It doesn't take a lot of anything for a logo to be selected. It just needs to be nominated and the process works baseball style. The top twenty-five that are submitted by August 31 of a given year will be on the final ballot. From there, voters can select up to 10 nominees. The only difference is that there are always ten spots in except for specific ties. In the event of a tie resulting in more than ten teams, none will enter (eg: three teams tied for ninth, only eight teams enter - and so on). That said, may we introduce this years entrants!

For the very first time, an event logo has been inducted in addition to a basketball team logo as well as roller hockey and lacrosse logos. The two baseball logos are the first from Major League Baseball's American League. The Rattlers logo in addition to the ArenaBowl XXII logo are the second year from that respective sport.

-Ricky

Intramural Quidditch, Anyone?

Years ago, just before my arrival at Springfield College, quidditch was an intramural sport. I would've had my hands full trying to referee it. We tried to get it together again my freshman year but due to lack of participation, it was foiled. I did create a uniform for a potential club team however.

We haven't sported gold in a long time, but you may have noticed I try to include it in a lot of my designs regarding the college. The big thing is that this would be all for not next year with the reported changes that are supposed to come about. But while it is still what it currently is, this would be what I would think is the uniform for this fictitious club.

-Ricky

P.S. - The travel ban in my town was lifted, but there are other who aren't yet as fortunate. So I am all clear to resume BNG duties.

Quidditch, Anyone?

It appears that the snow in the Southtowns has (finally) stopped. There is still a travel ban in most of that area. Being directly south of the city, my town was one of the hardest hit, so it makes sense. I have been very pleased with the mayor Cuomo and his constant updates of the situation and its progress and his staying here this whole time. He just got re-elected to another term at the beginning of the month, I didn't vote for him but consider his work on this as brownie points.

The other day as I was catching up on my HJC fix, I was going through concepts, and a quidditch crossover caught my eye. I know what you're thinking - "did he say QUIDDITCH?!" Yeas, said quidditch. now I saw it but instead of asking for a template, I decided to realistically trace a template on top of the original then use just the template.

Voila! You will see it in good use tomorrow, by the way. This template will be available on the templates page for you to use! Of course the original showed where the Nimbus logo was to be placed, so I decided to leave those be. Now without further adoo, "up!"

-Ricky

"Shame on the NFL!"

"Shame on the NFL," for trying to get the Jets at Bills game Sunday to be played in Orchard Park was the message Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said. There are several choices for this but only Two make sense Detroit and Syracuse. While Detroiit hosts an NFL team, it has hosted a neutral site game before (I don't recall who plyed, but it was within five seasons ago) and it would be good for the area to see new teams for the last time until 2018 when the Jets or the rest of the AFC East come to Ford Field (8-12 seasons pending re-approval of the scheduling grid system. But my option is the Carrier Dome as it is still Bills country and far away enough from New Jersey, the real home of the Jets (yes, I went there). So I will keep updates on this as time passes.

*-*-* 21NOV14 8:30PM EST *-*-*

The game will be held Monday night at 7PM EST in Detroit.

*-*-* 22NOV3:15PM EST *-*-*

Tickets to the game will be free.

I'll be back!

-Ricky

Cabin Fever: Who's Got It?

Who's got it? I know I don't.  I can handle being in the same place for extended periods of time - you can thank my living on the relatively small campus of Springfield College for that. In any event, I'm still snowed in as the driveway is shoveled but the street is not plowed. My dad can't go to work (mom works from home) and classes cancelled at my college in the city (for the second day in a row). The first round of snow has passed us, but the second now is on its way. That means i have to stay and get tid of more things from the DVR and keep at least the downstairs of our house spotless for our annual Thanksgiving feast in a week. so that has been consuming much of my time in light of the storm. I'll continue to it as you continue to carry on.

-Ricky

Sixty Four Inches

I am quite literally up to my armpits in snow when I am shoveling my driveway with my dad. My town was one of the worst hit. the record snowfall in one sitting is somewhere in Colorado from the time of the roaring twenties. This type of storm is not uncommon or a highly accumulative for Buffalo, however this has already totaled three-quarters of what we normally average per winter. In the mean time, State, county, and other officials have come to tend to our situation. All I know is that the plows did not come overnight at all. This storm unlike others we did not. I think that is why the amount of snow is such a big deal. You can only prepare so much, but patrolling neighborhoods with thruway department plows would be helpful. If I continue ranting, you won't hear the end, so I will let you enjoy your day.

-Ricky

A Storm Approacheth

Just a heads up, my posting will likely be limited the next few days as the Western New York area is expected to be blasted with two individual rounds of snow. More details will follow in the coming days. Pleas be advised that as the snow has begun to fall, I expect the plowing situation in my neightborhood to be normally poor as we are last to be plowed given I live right behind town hall.

In more pleasant news, I am now the landlord of a property in South Buffalo. It is a four unite apartment with a storefront. Two apartments are rented out currently and the other two are to be rented. The storefront is also not currently leased out, but first requires some repairs. It has a flat roof, the storefront, but was recently double coated with the appropriate material. If things don't go well, I have plans to use the store as the official headquarters of BNG and turn it into an internet cafe.

Speaking of headquartering BNG physically, I am also planning on purchasing a bookmobile (preferrably from the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library, which I have seen go for $20-25K USD) to use as a portable sports memorabilia shop - jerseys included. But that is all just a plan for now. With luck forward.

-Ricky

The Glimmer Up the River

As my designs for the Victoria River have been approved, I have begun working on my promotional campaign. While I'm on the subject, the approving commissioner is "loving the ochre" color scheme. The team song will be next, but first, the initial teaser.

I wanted to remind everyone that eagles gather in a convocation as well as that we we'll be the boss in this league (good propaganda, eh?). Because we don't know anything about the start date of the league and assuming we'll be announced the day after being due - a week from tomorrow - I decided that that would be more appropriate that the first game anyway. There you have it and keep an eagle eye on that club song!

-Ricky

More Jumble in Jabiru

I was remiss to include a heritage jumper for the Victoria River Eagles submission I posted recently. But the entire thing will be submitted by tomorrow, a week and a half before the deadline. Here's the updated version:

Okay - I know the lace-up is questionable near the collar, but keep in mind, this is not an actual lace-up and is merely screen printed as appears to be how uniforms are made (given the one that recently came in from my favorite pro team's store seems to be just that). This edition also includes the required sponsor logos that I intentionally with-held from you in addition to not having yet decided on a sponsor at that point. So here it is. Bask in its glory?

-Ricky

Thank You, Destroyers!

A little while back, I found somebody selling Buffalo Destroyers helmets on Ebay. I may have actually bought one except for the fact the charge was $300. I think it was game worn. Anyway, here's another peek into some of my childhood as arena football was just being introduced to Western New York in 1999.

I can't tell you how great it feels to see such memorabilia. I still miss them, (and the Blizzard) ever so dearly.

-Ricky

Disney Hits HJC

I wasn't a particularly happy camper when only my laptop was available to me at that moment when I was going to submit this into HJC's most recent contest. Then, it failed to send after repeated attempts. I actually had several ideas, only two of which survived, a Mickie Mouse themed one and the one you see below.

A lot of my younger cousins watch their fair share of Disney Channel shows and original movies. Then I thought of how high schools make up a good amount of the identities in their content. The series Liv & Maddie (Ridgewood High) along with the movie Hatching Pete (Brewster High) seem to have the most presence in recent years as far as their basketball programs are concerned. I then took it upon me to give them both hockey teams for the purpose of this competition. Well, these programs might be on the rise . . .

-Ricky

The Jailbirds of Jabiru

As some of you may be aware, I am a member of the Big Footy dot com forum (an equivalent of Chris Creamer's site). One of the boards there has a league of our own fictional teams and we have to submit "expansion bids" and provide a primary option with two alternatives. I will provide the full team graphics later, but this is what became of it.

I decided to play off of local aspects. Red comes from the wedged tailed eagle, which also gives us the nickname. This eagle's home state is the Northern Territory of Australia, whose colors are orange and black. The city of Jabiru was chosen as the location given that Darwin and Alice Springs were to be likely candidates of other teams. Jabiru happens to be on the banks of the Victoria River, hence the location name. As you will eventually see, the elements of the logo include a play on the state flag of the NT.

-Ricky

An Arsenal Classic

Had enough of the bruised banana yet for the week? Well this will be it for now. This is both one of the most loved and also most hated in all of (at least) English soccer if not the world. Personally, it would be my magnum opus of my soccer jersey collection, whether or not I liked it (which I do, by the way).

This is a little different from the actual jersey as there are only three columns of the tessellating pattern (at least it tessellates on the actual jersey). But the socks and pants match the original though no 100% perfect. Ian Wright's number 8 was chosen to model the jersey because I could not find the exact font used on the jersey. The name is only included as they are not located on the soccer jerseys themselves as is the case with the TV numbers. I'll leave the bruised banana be now.

-Ricky

Dial Square Armory

Hi there, it's your beloved BNG creator hard at work. While things may have seem sluggish for parts of the last month, many new developments have come up and the last week saw my WSCB broadcast partner along with one of our colleagues come for a visit. Now that we're fully back on track, I am getting psyched for the next round of soccer and hockey seasons for various reasons.

Speaking of soccer, my Barclays Premier League team (Arsenal) have won this years FA Community Shield after I had attended the viewing party at Buffalo Arsenal Club's (an Arsenal America subdivision) headquarters Mes Que on Hertel Avenue. This indirectly prompted me to come up with a good name for something Arsenal related. The indirect refers to my continuing to find a cheap "Bruised Banana" jersey. "Dial Square Armory" came to mind {Woolwich Dial Square was the team's original name in 1886 when the club was located in South-east London}. I then decided it would make for a good blog title and then that aforementioned 1991-1993 jersey came up again and created the blog's background.

And voila, not yet a day old and it's been a lot of fun so far. I won't be posting as I have for this blog, but less frequently. I'm guessing two to four times a week, the two being the game preview and game recap plus any additional games within the week. That's that. I'll be back with something that needs attention based on all of this tomorrow. Stay tuned!
-Ricky

The Two-Headed Eagle

We're days away from Arsenal's FA Community Shield match on Sunday, but let's talk about a country that shares a similar color scheme.

Albania is a tough country to work with. I don't know that even Jake could completely pull it off. My big thing is that the clash white is completely white. The small amount of texture on the sleeves and shorts aren't enough. The least that could be done is a matching chest stripe like the home uniform, which follows.
I do like that the home has some character, but it still needs some help. At least there's an A for effort.

-Ricky

When the Blues Go Marching In

You may recall the Adelaide Crows set I did a week or so ago. Yo may be saying to yourself, this looks like the same template. While this is a very similar color scheme, it is the same template I mix 'n' matched. But this is a little more progressive than the Crows concept. That was more traditional

The striping is a tribute to the mid 90s uniforms while keeping a modern look. I know many poelp cannot stand the use of roundels, but St. Lou is one of the few exceptions. And because of my view of home white uniforms, yellow is the lightest I can get (thank you Nashville).

-Ricky

Oakland, Eh?

Competing with the sharks would have been interesting had the Seals franchise remained. However it is very likely the Sharks existence is thanks in part to the lack of a team in the Bay Area market for most of approximately twenty years.I bet the San Jose color scheme was a modified play on the area's first team. gold to orange and green to teal and blue to black (based on hues).

This was a concept that I had prepared for a succeeding round of the HJC Open, which I did not advance. This team in my division has it's ups and downs when it comes to branding, and I wanted to see what would happen if two things had occurred. First is that Chuck O. Finley owned a team. Second  is that the team were named the A's rather than the Seals. Now the black alternate crest and the elephant on a  ball shoulder patch would need to be "hockey-fied" if you will to fit the sport. But this could pass, of course Charlie would want to have the players wearing white skates still.

No matter, he is not an NHL owner anymore (thank goodness for that). Imagine if the NHL had Bill Veeck type character, well . . . let's not. Harold Ballard somewhat fills that role, but in a different capacity. Let's leave all these gentlemen be and call it a day.

-Ricky

Sharks on the Water

That twelve note riff to the Deep Purple classic could work just as well as the Theme from Jaws but either would also be a good way to start a related post about Jake88's San Jose concepts.

Here, I'm a little disappointed about the lack of orange in the concept. White as a base color is not enough to brighten up a jersey. Most of the time, I like when dark colored jerseys have at least vibrant color on them but at the same time I don't want it over done either. Even if it is just an accent color, I wouldn't be afraid to slap it on somewhere. It's not orange for orange sake, but rather as a nice accent that compliments the rest of the jersey.

Another concept from Jake down. Now it's time for me to be the (for now) one day president of the Buffalo division of Arsenal America. This is just while the actual co-presidents and other members are in New Jersey to watch Arsenal play New York Red Bull at our regular meting place, Mes Que on Hertel Avenue next to the famous North Park Theater. I would've wen't except I am planning two trips (next month and Columbus Day weekend). Fear not I'll still have content here seeing as it will be near time to announce logo hall of fame inductions nominees. Until next time!

-Ricky

We Have a Winner

As I have been saddened by the departure of my former boss at the school I'm no longer attending, I have discovered that one of his last acts completed was picking one of my championship shirt designs. The camouflage one as promised would be for football only. The winner, however, is featured below. You may remember seeing it here a while ago.

At least he is going somewhere that is a place where I wouldn't mind going to travel to: Stony Brook University on Long Island. It seems as though while it is probably one of my more simple designs of these shirts, it has one of the strongest messages. This is a rare time where words speak louder than actions.

-Ricky

Love Stings

Today's concept from Jake88 is one from the German leagues of soccer. In his pursuit of FIFA 14 playing, he developed a fascination for this team's crest logo. Now that they've been relegated, he cannot play as them in at least the next edition since the video game only features the first two tiers of Germany's "elite" teams.

The one thing of note is that Dresden are under kit contract with Nike, which Jake felt needed to change in order to make a nationalistic sense of duty - Adidas being German-based.The team finished in the relegation of the 2 Bundesliga, which also has been noted here. I don't know if I agree with the vertical stripe choice, though I've been explained it's origins. I would feel that the tri-stripe should be continued in it's place. While it strangely feels awful, the clash kit I think is a perfect way to contrast the primary by using hoops. My only criticism would be to maybe thicken them slightly.

Carry on, folks. There is more from Jake to come. Enjoy this work for the time being.

-Ricky

A Star is Born

Okay, so I'm an off-season late with the title for the unveiling of the new logo and scheme. But one thing I wanted to see back was the old striping pattern from their Stanley Cup Finals days. Here I figured that we could modernize it a bit and still maybe pull it off.

I had to do extra work to make the template look realistic enough. Then that was followed by using the number font of the MLB's Washington Nationals to help out the metallic part. This is a roundel that I wanted to avoid, but was in desperate need of a shoulder patch and the third jersey crest above is not the same as its predecessor.

I had a lot fun trying to put this together. I loved it so much, I wanted to try it in gold to resurrect the unused set from last decade. Well we can't do everything, can we?

-Ricky

Crickets in Grandma's Yard

I saw plenty while mowing her lawn yesterday, but I'm talking cricket in the footy yard. I know very little about the sport, but just enough to go by. I have a new template for the tab of the same name. This template comes for a well known forum Big Footy - It is the Chris Creamer Sports Logo Community on the Australian Continent.

Well, this would be an easy series to do. There are (to my knowledge) only nine nations that participate in test matches in association with the International Cricket Council (ICC). I think they have some of the best uniforms in sport, in present times anyway. Maybe you'll give them a go too

-Ricky.

Lorem Ipsum Dolor Sit Amet

Hawai'ian is back in my jersey mind at the moment, which is why I think that bringing back the first version of my Ducks jersey is a good place to  demonstrate. Remember the Rubric from yesterday? I'll walk you through it with the aforementioned concept (but for demonstration sake, suppose it isn't mine and that I'm another HJC writer or something).

Let's start with appeal, since it is broken down. While it isn't a traditional roundel, it still is one, docking points for the crest. The font is matching to the team identity, but the outlines could look better. There is some uneven color distribution, but is anticipated as an out of the box idea. We forgo equipment as there isn't any and even though it may appear to hurt the concept, Hawai'ian shirts don't have stripes on them, so why should this jersey thus is also not considered.

Now that we've established an appeal score, let's go to the full rubric. Full points for originality, I have never seen a Hawai'ian jersey attempted in hockey (not that it hasn't been done necessarily). But we've run into some execution errors as there are lose pixels around the collar insert on the jersey, the jersey body design has off-colored pixels, and the shoulder patches should be further down the yoke - thus three deductions. Presentation is simple but somewhat disorganized, wouldn't mind seeing a light background image. As for color, the team colors are used fairly well, I think more orange would help, but it is already potentially there in the outline just not in an appropriate fashion. Distribution says that the concept is light, not at all over powering, but your eyes keep wanting to move around the Hawai'ian theme - I'll give it a perfect.

So given all of this critique, we have a final score of  86%. Keep in mind, originality was the big reason why the jersey got such a high rating as it would be a 72% if originality were not included at all which may seem more realistic. That's a whole 14% difference. By the way, the rubric doesn't lie. Matter of fact, while I thought I was being generous rating concepts when I was writing for HJC,  I was actually one of the more harsh if not the harshest judge (I'd put my money on the former if I had to guess). But I also would have written the above score as 8.5 out of 10 (special rounding) or likewise a 7 out of 10. I hope you've been enlightened the past couple days with my criteria regardless whether or not you agree.

-Ricky

A Venture Into the BNG Uknown

Remember when I was a regular writer for about a half year over at HJC? Well a lot of people were curious as to what made up my grading rubric. I am disclosing some of the information. I will not however, for debate purposes, discuss the point breakdown of the system. I will describe in detail the original rubric. Originality was weighted heavier than the other categories and appeal was graded based on it's own rubric and per jersey. And somehow, all of these components totaled a 100%.

*Max. three alternates
**Color refers to utilization of colors in the rubric or the lack thereof
but flat out appeal in the appeal rubric

Then as I left HJC for HCI, I began the Ricky Points System (RPS) - a separate evalutaion method but also in conjunction with thte rubric. My description of the RPS on HCI was as follows:

Before I go, it's time to do something that I forgot to tell you about with the chaos of exams and whatnot. The Ricky Points System (RPS) has arrived! {applause, please} Glad it didn't show up yet, because I made changes appropriately to make it more suitable. The criteria are as follows:

• 10 - Receives a perfect score from the old rubric. (it's really hard to do, that's why it 's worth so much)
• 4 - Hand-drawn/heavily genetically altered work (of premium quality, not low grade)
• 2 - "Ricky-esque" in design (not that I like concepts that look like mine - I'm pretty tacky with my wardrobe after all); out of the box
• 1 - Personal preference

* * * Negative points will be added as the converse of the above {except 2 point rating which is replaced with unoriginality and 4 point rating which is poor in electronic graphic quality only}. However, you cannot be in the negative or at zero upon receiving negative points. Contest winners are subject to points (6,7,8 - cum laude, magna cum laude, and summa cum laude) if they reach a minimum on the rubric - provided I have not yet surveyed that concept. * * *

That was my criteria for nominating concepts for HJC and HCI concepts of the week at their respective sites. Though, I admit, I haven't been following up as regularly as I'd like since sometime in February. Not completely keeping up means not using the rubric or the RPS. Seem complicated - well, yes and no. But it really doesn't matter. Tomorrow will feature an example.

-Ricky

The Bruckheimer Strikes Back

While he has not made any indications since Gretzky's announcement to get a Seattle team, Jerry Bruckheimer still has interest in bringing a team to Las Vegas. Do you remember the contest HJC had three years ago to create a new NHL franchise? Las Vegas was chosen in phase one as the location, Vipers were chosen as the nickname, and Tom Vopni's logo design was chosen as the winner and the uniform winner was Martin Laumeyer. My nickname was on the ballot in the second phase - The Saguaros (then purposefully spelled wrong as Seguarros). Over the years, I have come to a conclusion to Change the spelling to it's proper name as it "looks classier" in my opinion.Quite honestly, I'm surprised nobody else came up with a cactus logo inspired team. I didn't even get the idea from the Coyotes' infamous desertscape - which is a new feature on a brand new alternate in this concept. The idea actually spawned off of two things, only having access to MS paint in a country that is only 10% computer literate while I was on vacation and the first thing I thought of that was southwestern was a sombrero on a cactus (maybe it was my experiences at the local Ponderosa Steakhouse) and I was having none of the sombrero.

Generally, the non-jersey components follow the guidelines of the matching ones for the other jerseys. As I made mention of, the desertscape was new. I felt the Reebok curved arms went along with it best. Of course, the midday sun logo was included as a shoulder patch. And that sums it up fairly nicely.

-Ricky

The Rene, The Rick, and the Perrault

First off, today is an important day in basketball as LeBron James has his (long awaited) return to Cleveland. I said he would before the end of his prime when nobody believed me, yet here we are. Secondly, today is French Connection Day for Sabres fans. 11 July 14 - the numbers of Rick Martin (7), Gil Perreault (11), and Rene Robert (14). For those not familiar with this famous line in hockey. Perreault was retired first then the others joined in unusual fashion: Perreault's number was lowered then re-raised alongside his line mates and the line itself was "retired" together. Since The French Connection banners and Tim Horton's #2, only two banners (Danny Gare (18) and Pat LaFontaine (16) were both retired during the 2005/06 season. Now this coming season, Doiminik Hasek's 39 will be raised in November.

In other news, John Gibson's new Pac-Man maske has been revealed to the general public throughthe Duck's Facebook page. Favorite site to visit of mine, Daveart has been one of if not the most popular designer who creates goalie masks. Most notably, he has done every single one of Henrik Lundqvist's over these years. and most if not all Ducks goalies (minors and Anaheim). At least half of his work is very fascinating to me, not that some others are bad. There are very few that don't particularly interest me in some fashion. But there's usually something for everyone's taste.
-Ricky

Kesler Motors

This is fantastic! That is all. First exposure on BNG for the new road whites for the Ducks.

"Light that baby up," "just another Halo victory!"

-Ricky

The Spirit of Cazaly

Sorry if I'm island hopping between series here. it's been a crazy start to the week so far and we're somewhat getting off schedule with either one series or the other. Hopefully you'll be able to keep up as we're trying to.

Nothing really special here, just the reverse of the primary kit. Unfortunately, not too much I could think of at the time. I saw one of the Canadian league AFL teams replaced the Sydney Opera House with a maple leaf. It makes the logo even better! Now if that were on here, maybe I'd have more to talk about . . . A man can only dream.

-Ricky

Up There For Sydney

Sydney was both difficult and easy at the same time. How to arrange the red and white was a challenge even with this set-up. This is so bland a concept, I don't have very much to say about it.

The idea may not be the best, but the Ducks/Isles striping closely matched the angles of the logo. And for abstract artists, could resemble the Sydney Opera House somehow. These are the same arms used for Carlton, but it's tought working with a team that only has two colors. Though Freo technically is in that list, I can "bring back" the green and red, but only as accent colors really. You shouldn't be surprised by the clash jersey, but it might look better.

-Ricky

Skaters in the Storm

Welcome to BNG, boys and girls; today, it's Carolina style. The big news between posts was that "The Great One" Wayne Gretzky is heading a bid to land an NHL team in Seattle. Whether that will happen, I don't know. Maybe it will push Jerry Bruckheimer to get his Las Vegas team.

This one was kinda fun, but it seemed like a "dark concept" for some reason. I added the "'Canes" script and oh my gosh, the logo looks a hundred times better! The logo on it's own was terrible and I didn't even know the font was stylized as it was. The flag warning is back and the alternate logo becomes the primary.

-Ricky

Holy Hermes, Batman!

To my fellow American readers, Happy Independence Day! To all else, don't feel left out. Because today, there is a concept for all to see. And it's from regular contributor Jake88. Because it's a holiday for anyone, I'll make it short and sweet.

For jerseys, the bolt and stripe along the sleeves are overpowering for me, maybe something a little more simple would suffice. In this case, the sublimated bolt behind the crest isn't preferred, but at least it doesn't take much away.

-Ricky

Flaming Arrows, Not Flaming Swords

There's that madness thing at HCI's Instagram that I've been giving a go . . . and I fixed up a Sabres one and made a Calgary one for tomorrow.

The only major thing is the removal of silver from the alternate. Other than that, it is essentially identical to the previous. The Boston one for yesterday is the one from the untouchables concept for HJC last year. As for that, it is the only one scheduled not to use more than two jerseys and not to have a road white (but rather a road yellow).

Calgary, meanwhile, had another design from a few months ago scrapped. I started over and got the above. The new alternate logo by the Flames is the best thing in the history of the teams' tenure in Calgary. I know that roundels aren't "in" in the hockey community, but they are one of a small list of teams that need something right going for them. The logo that currently serves as the primary, well it's simply boring and uninspired. The alternate logo they had in the 90s was creepy at times but still better than the main logo. Finally they got a logo right and I wanted to make it work. Between the Avalanche logo and the Flames logo, they stink quite honestly (imo). While the Avs at least is more realistic (better than their awful alternate logo), the Flames one is just plain dull. A "C" with Flames - that's all they could come up with after they moved from Atlanta?! The logo seemed rushed by designers and then it just hasn't gone away. The yellow cut on the alternate is resemblant of the ears while the red slits on the sleeves are the flaming nostrils. The alternate is quite literally revolved around the crest logo. Carolina will be up here soon (first thing Saturday).

-Ricky

Denes Nad Makedonija

Jake has made several public mentions (to me anyway) about how much he loves Macedonian logo elements. It is important for me to recognize that the FFM has put in a bid to host the 2020 EURO Championships. Also, the 2016 EURO qualification schedule was released just 9 days ago in which Macedonia has drawn Spain, Belarus, Luxembourg, Slovakia, and Ukraine in Group C. Spain met the Crveno Žolti in Skopje previously in 2009. begin transmssion {{On 12 August, Macedonia played a friendly match at the expanded Philip II Arena in Skopje against the current European champions Spain, as part of the 100-years anniversary of football in Macedonia.The match ended with Spain coming back from two goals down to win 3-2 in front of a record crowd of 30,000.[2]}} end transmission

The reverse chevron on the home uniform I don't know if I care for, but we definitely got the shoulder, pants, and sock striping right. Those sun rays are very powerful.  The sublimation looks cool, but it reminds me of Greece and would start an international scandal, given the current state of the naming dispute (because of Macedonian minority in Greece and their nationalistic pride in not recognizing minorities).

     

Above, shows the old and new Fudbalska Federacija na Makedonija (Macedonian Football Federation) logos. The new version launched this year on March 22. It is my first time seeing this new logo. I dislike more than I like. No matter, these are the crests that should be used for the national soccer teams (depending on the historical-ness of the jersey elements). But I like Jake's idea, using a lion (or lynx) in the emblem.

-Ricky

The Nitty-Gritty of the Quack City

Welcome to BNG boys and girls, Ricky here once again to get your fill for the day. To our neighborly Canadian readers, Happy Canada Day! (The New) HCI is hosting the "July Concept Challenge" by posting concept entries by different artists of each NHL team , one team per day. Some jerseys that I will submit will be new and others will be ones that have been already displayed here at least. Since the Ducks are first and promoted their alternate to primary, with minor changes, i though that wouldn't be a bad place to start So I could fix the minor things.

With this concept, I intended to simplify the jersey striping from what it currently is and replace the void that the Alternate turned home jersey created. I like the striping on the current jerseys but I was curious what they could possibly look like with less stripes. It makes no sense to use (what I call) faux laces on the new jersey combo, so they've been replaced with real laces. I also combined the need for an orange jersey (say most fans) and my use of the alternate roundel and OC logos. I felt the need to further emphasize that Ryan Kesler is now with the Ducks for those who still can't grasp that  idea. This is also the first time I've legitimately used one of the fractal features on Paint.Net and I got them to kind of look like palm trees and a sunrise/sunset sky. Speaking of, the weather here has been fairly nice - hope it is by you, too

-Ricky

P.S. - Maryland is (officially) a member of the B1G Ten Conference!

Bosna i Hercegovina

Who likes contests?! We aren't having one yet, but Jake88 sent this in for one over at CCSLC and wished to share it with us. He was given Bosnia in which he had to create a kit for them to "use" throughout the World Cup.

This one is quite elaborate. The history is well included from it's independence to even it's pre-Yugoslavia days. The primary shirt features yellow, a new introduction to Bosnian football.  Also, some inspiration of woven fabrics and textiles was certainly a nice touch. As for the secondary shirt, Jake wasn't sure how to refer to the "straightened sash" and straight sash is exactly what it is called on an Aussie rules jumper, so in theory Jake correctly guessed. Which further compliments the textile patterns and pairing. Well done!

-Ricky

Supremacy!

We're still in the soccer craze and with the US advancing to a game on Tuesday against Belgium, the forthcoming concept includes an excluded member of the the host nation's roster Fred, whose club team is in the Ukrainian First League.

Jake tells me that he want's to differentiate Šahtar Doñečk from The Premier League's Hull (City AFC). Šahtar Is generally the Ukrainian team that represents the domestic league in the (UEFA) Champions League. Let me make this clear before I dissect the concept, my spelling is the correct phonetic spelling in Latin characters while Jake's is correct in the English language, thus both are acceptable. I really like the primary kit design (which Jake claims as a happy accident - just like the one I had with Adelaide a few days ago).

It looks very appropriate for an Eastern European and Slavic-speaking team. The road design has ben adjusted to correlate with the mountainous backdrop on which the country lies, pretty clever, no? It works for me, I feel that this would be a team that would welcome such a change to their kits, hopefully that is the case. We'll also see more of Jake's work tomorrow!

-Ricky

We're the Only Team Old Carlton Knows

Salaam, readers! Today completes the other half of the Carlton jerseys. This series has been shaping up well so far. But there won't be too many as easy as this one.I'm just going to stick with it for now and see where it takes us.

As I have displayed here, This is very similar to the normal Carlton clash jumpers. Of course the laces are different and appear again for their 150th season. Typically, the side panel of the jumper is colored in navy, but I don't know if it would continue to the top panel, given I have never seen or found the long sleeved version.