BIG post: NFL Logo #27 Ravens, New NBA Unis

Big post today. I had to work a lot the last couple days and couldn't get to some of the news going on. Continuing the NFL Logo countdown, we have #27 the Ravens. I have never been a big fan of any of their logos. At least the ones they slap on their helmets. For those of you who don't know, the Ravens actually debuted with no raven on the helmet but rather a crest with wings. However, there was a lawsuit over the creation. Well, the guy won but got no money from the suit and the Ravens changed their logo. Personally, I would have just taken pride in the fact that the team was using my logo and just got them to agree to credit me as the designer and some free swag every year. But that guy got a lose-lose. All he has is that Wikipedia entry to show for it. And what a cheap move by the Ravens, but what do you expect from an owner who moved the Browns (note, Cleveland kind of had this coming because he wanted a new stadium and they said no right after they had just gave the Indians a new one. Still a shady move, but hey it's his team. All fans remember that. Owners actually own the team. They are the ones that really win or lose, risking their own bank rolls. It sad, but true.) Anyways, when it comes down to it, a simplification of the logo is all they need. Here is a mock I whipped up:

See, doesn't that look cleaner? They can keep the raven head and use it else wear. 

 

In other news the NBA has a foursome of new uniforms. The biggest one being the Cavs officially de-LeBroned themselves, ditching the uniforms they changed to when they drafted the King. Those are some new beauties. It's a shame their is not one single player I would want to buy their jersey on that team. Maybe Varejo but he's not the type player that is going to stay there. He'll be a role player on several NBA teams in his career. Let it be known though, these uniform changes have to be approved months in advance. So LeBron was probably still shooting left handed free throws with the Cavs while these were being approved by the league.

Next we have the Timberwolves who kept the same basic design but ditched the green. Whatever. It's not really that big of a change to get all crazy about but personally I liked the green thrown in there. I feel like they went a little bland with the change to gray. Also seems really silly since they just updated their uniforms last year and green has always been in their color scheme (I like that logo better anyways).

Next is the Jazz who have music noted themselves and look great. I was afraid the Jazz were going to color overload but I like it. And to answer that report I linked to: Yes, they did. I love the road jerseys. The white version of the Jazz logo pops on it. Although, I do find it weird each set emphasizes a different color scheme. The whites seem to favor green and the roads highlight blue and yellow. Hey, smoke'em if you got them, right. It might be smart in the long run because then could move to a green alt or yellow alt. They've got some option with all those colors.

And finally we have the Clippers. Just some tweaking with added piping. I do like the new red with the Los Angeles script. But seriously after reading this article on Donald Sterling's latest thoughts, who cares. As Pirates fan, I can honestly say the Nuttings aren't the worst owners in pro sports. Go Bucs!

More NFL Rankings tomorrow!

Cavs Change Their Colors Slighly

The Cleveland Cavaliers went public with their already leaked color change (link to Cavs press release). Nothing ground breaking. In fact it's almost the same. But they are going with what they are claiming are the original wine and gold to embrace their history. Took them long enough. Like I said nothing ground breaking. It looks good but I wouldn't say it looks better. I nothing this change. I don't hate it, I don't love it. I practically have no opinion about it. No word when we will see the new uniforms and no word whether Lebron is swayed to stay with the new colors. I wonder if Lebron picked them out? Here are the alternate logos below:

The Warriors Don't Look Terrible Anymore!

The Golden State Warriors went with what is the new school thing to do; go old school. On the day of the NBA Finals between the Celtics and Lakers Game 7, the Warriors showed their new, old colors, logos, and potentially what their uniform will look like. I like the new primary, a lot. It's cool, it's classic and it's not the RoboCop lightning thrower anymore. I'm definitely going to have to move them up, way up on my ranking list but I'm going to wait because I don't want to over react with it's initial release. They have several alternate logos as well with one with the standard basketball inside the NBA logo (which almost every team does), a state of California with a W on it, and one that doesn't make too much sense to me. If you look they have a logo with "SF" on it. I'm assuming this is for San Francisco however they aren't the San Francisco Warriors anymore and they play in Oakland. I would think GS would work better. My other complaint is the font. That font is Copperplate Gothic which can be used by anyone with Microsoft Office applications. So really, anyone can use the Warriors new font. I would have like to see something a little more creative. And the new uniforms they have displayed looks like they are going to use the whole logo on the front and put the players number inside the logo next to the bridge. Very throwback to "The City" uniforms from the 70's. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet though. I need to see the real thing. Overall, major upgrade and I'm glad to see it.

Jazz and Magic Release New Logos

Well the Jazz and Magic unveiled their new logos. Both are okay; upgrades for both. I wouldn't call it a total win though. Both teams upgraded their looks. Last month I ranked all the NBA logo's. With these changes really am not inclined to improve either's rankings. I had the Jazz #28 and the Magic at #10. You would think that the Jazz bringing back the old music note, they would surely move up. But let me breakdown the changes.

Utah Jazz

I love the music note logo. The Jazz brought back the look but not fully. The primary color is navy blue instead of the traditional purple. I am in the camp that purple is a fine color when used properly. But the NBA has enough team using purple: Lakers, Hornets, Suns, and Kings. So a change to purple wasn't necessary. It keeps them seperated a bit. They added the yellow and green which was apart of the original color scheme and they fixed the basketball so it now has proper striping. So why is this not a total win? Because this is their secondary logo. The Jazz kept their old primary "snow mountains" logo and just recolored it. So now they have to completely separate logos that don't match each other. I have no idea which one they plan to use the most and they didn't release their new uniforms. The music note logo is supposed to decorate the Jazz home floor. I'm guesing they are going to use the new music note more , but who knows? Stupid.

Orlando Magic

The Magic basically matched thier logo to their current jersey font. It's a more streamlined look and the reduced the number of stars being used. I like the new logo but not in love with it. They kept the swooshy magic basketball which I like. As I stated before, I'm not sure how else you illustrate magic without being silly. I will say the new logo lost a little character. At least everything matches now. That's always important and it's something the Jazz completely ignored.

Nike ruins the World; Bucs-Tigers go Negro League

Well Nike and the World teamed up and decided everyone is supposed to look the same. Much how Nike has ruined college football and basketball, they've taken their crap show on the road and took over the world. It was over the weekend team USA unveiled their new uniforms for the FIBA World Championships. And they also unveiled the other participating Nike countries, shocker, they all have the same cookie cutter design. Italy, China, Puerto Rico, Brazil, France, they all look the same. Just awful. At least we don't have a University of Oregon in this bunch.

Also over the weekend, my beloved Buccos (who are awful) played in Detroit, and the were swept. Here is a video link that shows the tragic highlights. It's a shame Ryan Doumit looks so nice. The Pirates wore the Pittsburgh Crawfords and the Tigers represented the Detroit Stars. Here is the Wikipedia history behind the 2 teams (Crawfords, Stars). I like these sets that MLB teams wear. I wanted one of the Crawfords jerseys and it could have been mine for the low, low price of $275 at the Bucs team store. Going to have to wait on that.

The Utah Jazz release their new logo and uniforms Tuesday morning. I will have a full report on Wednesday.

Ranking NBA Primary Logos: #1 Celtics

Well here it is the #1 NBA logo. And if you hadn't figured it out on your own by who was left, then you need to read my blog more often. The Celtics. I can't decide what's the niftiest aspect of this logo: The guy winking at you; the fact he has a pipe; the fact that he is wearing a vest, tie, and hat with shamrocks on it; the casual way he's spinning a basketball on his finger while leaning on a cane. There is so much to like about this logo. It's silly yet intimidating. It's ridiculous yet surprisingly vogue. This is something a lot of teams need to learn. Not all logos need to be menacing, mean, or trendy. They need to be good. But you see this you think winner. You think Bird, Russell, Hondo, Rondo, Garnett, Pierce, McHale, Parrish, DJ, and Cowens. It represents so much. What's even better about the Celtics is their secondary logo would still be #1. They just get it. So that's it. The C's get the title.

I hope you enjoyed the rankings. I'll be back Monday with a breakdown of what's been going on in MLB this season. Lot's of throwback going on. Peace...

Ranking Primary NBA Logos: #2 Bulls

The Bulls started play in 1966 and in their history, this is the only logo they have ever known. This logo is solid even without the fact that 6 titles in the 90's, MJ and Pippen, Rodman and Kerr, Rose and Deng, and all they great players they've had in their history (even Luc Longley looked cool with it). What is even cooler than this logo is the robot conspiracy that surrounds it. Seriously, people think that.The Bulls never need to change this even if they just want to tweak it. They've had the same uniforms since their inception (take away the away reds with the script Chicago which MJ came into the league with). In fact that's a great quality with all Chicago teams. All of their teams have held almost the exact original logo for their existences. Bulls, Blackhawks, Bears, Cubs; of course there are the White Sox who have had the quirkiest logo and uni changes of most teams (shorts, the 80's). That could be a fun column, the best (and worst) logos by a city. Might have to do that one.

Ranking NBA Primary Logos: #3 76ers

I was trying to think of a good analogy of how the 76ers ended up back where they started. So I came up with this. The 76ers and their logo are like a long marriage that after 33 years they couple has had some good times, some bad times but ultimately they split up and both decide they need out. After the break up, they hook up with a younger and what they think is a hipper person that makes them feel like a kid again and they start being different people then they actually are. The new people in their lives are a little dysfunctional and questionable in their behaviors, but they feel different than what they used to feel. But then after about 10 years, the couple realizes things weren't so bad. they had a lot of good times and as they enter their twilight of their years, they decide they always loved each other and reunite, putting things back were they should have been all along. But they needed that break to have the understanding that they were meant to be. Well that's how the Sixers have been with their logos. They flipped over to this, trying to capitalize on the hip-hop thug era from their best player, Allen Iverson. It matched him perfectly. But after he left they started to remember, "We had Doc, Wilt, Moses, and Barkley. We had some really great times and are a proud, iconic organization. This is what we are." So they changed back to their old look. Things should have never changed but without that change, they never realized what they had.

Ranking Primary NBA Logos: #4 Pistons

Well I've read some different opinions on the Pistons logo. Some say it's bad, some say it's good. To me I think if really good. Yes it's plain but let's go into my "way back" time machine and to 1996...

The Pistons drafted Grant Hill and looked like they had a new franchise player and we're trying to move the team away from the "Bad Boys" and usher in a new era. Someone in the front office said "I have a terrible idea!" and the Pistons decided it wasn't and went with it. Or they said "screw it, why not?" and decided to change their team colors and logo to this monstrosity. After 5 years they realized that this was unbelievably awful and tried to fix it by going back to the original colors. Nope still not any good. Flash back through the time portal to 2005 and the Pistons learned and went back to the basics. And we're back to the present. Sometimes flashy can be crappy. Stay classy, Detroit. (A side note: the only logo change the Pistons are allowed to do is go back to the "Bad Boys" era logo. Some one please send the memo.)

Ranking NBA Primary Logos: #5 Lakers

Well, what else can you do when you have no lakes in your surrounding area but yet have the name Lakers? But it sounds cool with the city name Los Angeles and the first two letters of the team name are LA. Whatever, it just works. The Lakers have never strayed from this as their primary logo. They have tried some alternate logos but they are rarely used and not needed. Sometimes when you are one of the most famous teams in all of professional sports, have a deep, rich history with multiple hall of famers and championships, and one of your players is the logo of an entire league, why mess with anything? They're the freaking Lakers, do I really need to say more? Do I need to continue to use rhetorical questions to get my point across? Apparently I did.

Ranking Primary NBA Logos: #6 Pacers

When you have a team name that is nearly impossible to illustrate, might as well go with something simple and iconic and stick with it. In reality, what else would you do with the team name Pacers? Have some Indy race car? Choose some arbitrary animal? No, the Pacer have done the right thing and stuck with this stylized "P" and roll with it. The Pacers have pretty much stayed with this logo since their inception but wisely changed from the original one that had some creepy hand that was molesting the basketball inside the logo. Seriously what was that about? Being pale white in color it looked like a dead arm they pull out of the Hudson River on Law and Order: SVU. They also must have not realized what a basketball looked like and when they had to come up with something, all they had laying around was a tennis ball because that's what they put. Anyways, the Pacers logo is a good one and it's simplistic beauty needed to be recognized.

Ranking NBA Primary Logos: #7 Trail Blazers

For anyone who has asked "What the hell is the Blazers logo?", here is what I pulled from Wikipedia: The team's "pinwheel" logo, originally designed by the cousin of former Blazer executive Harry Glickman, is a graphic interpretation of two five-on-five basketball teams lined up against each other. So there you go. It's strange but identifiable and a classic. I'm not saying it's even a great logo but some respect has to be paid when it's survived the test of time. It's one of those logos that will live with be this team and it should. Can you picture the Blazers with anything else? My only complaint is that they just put "Blazers" inside the box. The team name is the Trail Blazers (BTW one of the few that have a team name that is 2 separate words and one of two that one of the 2 words isn't color related; the other being the Maple Leafs). I am not a fan of nicknames of nicknames being used. But that being said, I love the originality and the lasting appeal.

The Warriors are ready for a rebranding!

The Warriors team page is completely stripped of all logos and is very generic. I also noticed a small jersey leak on the right hand side of the page. Looks like they are going back to the old colors (which I suggested in their ranking). I have linked a couple times to this image, showing several upcoming changes. As you can see they are bringing back the Golden Gate Bridge back into their logo and going completely conservative. I like it but I want to see how it translates on courst. I would like to get a Stephon Curry jersey and I'm glad I waited.

As for the others pictured on the image, the Jazz , Cavs, Magic, and Suns are or were just in playoff battles so it may be a while before we see some major turnover. However the Bobcats have moved into rebranding with the full faced logo (which I suggested in their ranking). Major improvement in Charlotte. Their web site is using that logo to the right all over their team page. Looks like that is happening.

Let's see how these play out.

Ranking NBA Primary Logos: #8 Heat

What is round and red and yellow all over? The Miami Heat's logo (what expecting a lame joke?). Oh yes, the Heat have used this beauty since their inception, basically changing the coloration a little over that time (basically just simplifying it but still the basic concept and identity). What is so impressive about this logo? In 1988 the Heat and Hornets joined the NBA as expansion teams. In 1989, the Timberwolves, Magic formed. In 1995, the Vancouver Grizzlies and Raptors came in. Since then the Grizzlies moved to Memphis, Hornets to New Orleans, Bobcats into Charlotte and the Supersonics moved to OKC. Oh and the Bullets became the Wizards. All those teams have redone and redone their logos and identities 12 times all together. The Heat still going strong after 22 year So I am crowning them the king of logos since the 2nd expansion era of the NBA (the one that about killed the NBA in the 90's and 00's more than the high schoolers). This is one of those classic cases where if you get it right the first time, you never have to change it again. This one is holding up just as much as any classic logo from the original teams. So much that when you see just the flaming basketball you know it's the Heat.

Ranking NBA Primary Logos: #9 Spurs

The Spurs have actually been using this logo since the 2002-2003 season, but it feels like it's been their logo forever. Which is weird because they have actually had two other variations in their long history, dating back to the ABA. I think it seems like this since for the most part the team hasn't changed looks or colors on the their uniforms.  In 90's, the Spurs for some reason used this monstrosity as a logo. Thank god they didn't incorporate the colors on their logo into their uniforms. Can you imagine what the uniforms would have looked like? Oh wait you can, the 1996 All-Star game. (and we wonder why the Vancouver Grizzlies didn't succeed.) The Spurs are one of the few teams that don't put the city name on the away set, which is a good thing. San Antonio is too wordy for uniforms. Same reason San Francisco and Philadelphia hardly ever appear on jerseys (hey Oklahoma City, this is you and your away set). If I have any complaint about this logo, it's a little plain. But that's the kind of team the Spurs are: plain but really good. It's perfect for this team.

Ranking NBA Primary Logos: #10 Nets

Well, well we've moved into my top ten. The top ten as I previously stated are ones that I feel don't need to be changed. I may suggest a tweak or support a minor adjustment, but overall leave it alone. My #10 logo might be surprising, the New Jersey Nets. The Nets were dog shit this year but that logo is a keeper. What I love about the Nets logo is it's the only logo in any of the 4 Major sports that looks totally 3-D. I'm not talking about a little bevel or shadowing for character, it is completely moved, angled, and designed to look like it is physically popping off the paper, screen, etc. It is like the Avatar of logos (although I haven't actually seen Avatar). It's not neccessarily the best logo ever but it's freaking 3-D. And the Nets came out with this 1997, so they are innovators and where way ahead of the times. So for those reasons I am putting them into my top 10 for complete originality. With that said, a funny thing about the Nets: in their entire history as the Nets (originally known as the Americans which why isn't their a team known as the Americans any more? I guess it doesn't ring as nice as Canadiens), they have never had a basketball net in any of their logos. Isn't that weird?

Ranking Primary NBA Logos: #11 Magic

The Magic were born out of suggestions from the local fans and out of the four finalists - Magic, Tropics, Juice, and interesting enough Heat - Magic was clearly the best choice. So how do you illustrate Magic? They could've went the Dumbledore route because back then the Wizards were still the Bullets, but luckily they didn't. So they've went with stars; part of their identity since the beginning. It could have been worse. At least they stayed away from everything Disney even though it's obvious that's where the name generated from. As for the logo, I personally really like the swooping basketball. Like I said I don't know how else you illustrate magic any other way and at least we didn't get this.

WAYS 2 IMPROVE

The Magic's font in their logo is a little much and the excess of the giant stars is unnecessary. Actually overall there are too many stars (I started to laugh cause I thought about the dating video Homer made for Flanders and everything was star wipe). The Magic were a part of the leaked logos and the version I saw, they took the bolder, sharper  font the they use on their current jerseys but kept the swooshy magic ball thingy. I hope they don't change their uniforms. I have a Dwight Howard jersey and when teams switch uniforms you have to wait 4 or 5 years before it becomes "throwback" and not old and lame.

Ranking NBA Primary Logos: #12 Cavaliers

I always found this team name a little funny because nothing says swash buckling quite like the city of Cleveland, but hey a lot of team nicknames don't make any sense. Anyhow, the Cavaliers wizened up and came up with something that showed the full name of the team. Before then I would call them pioneers for using a nickname of a nickname as their logo. Seriously, I know most people refer to them as the Cavs but no need to give into peer pressure and make it your logo. If other teams did this we'd have the C's, Clips, and Grizz logos (a note to ATL, PHX, Sens, and Bolts, wake up and put your damn team name or city on your freaking unis). Back to the topic on hand, the Cavaliers put together a good looking logo with a crazy but not too crazy font that translates well to their jerseys. I like the color scheme but that's where I find a problem with this team and logo.

WAYS 2 IMPROVE

Pick a damn color scheme and use it. The Cavs have gone through four different combinations in their history and I'll rank them: #4 black-baby blue-orange; #3 royal blue-orange; #2 current maroon-navy-gold; #1 maroon-gold. The #1 was their original colors and should be their colors. The Cavs, Hawks, and Rockets all moved away from the red-yellow color scheme probably because McDonald's and Ronald McDonald became associated with those colors. But screw that, it looks nice. I linked before that showed some leaked logos that looks like the Cavs may change the gold to a yellow. Nice step in the right direction. Hope it happens. Just in time to sell new merch if they re-sign Lebron.

Ranking NBA Primary Logos: #13 Clippers

For a team that is the red headed bastard son of LA, they have a decent logo. Well except,for the fact it's a direct rip off of the big brother Lakers. Also for the fact that it has an extra line in it that is not on a basketball. Who let that slip through? Makes sense that some one at the Clippers hasn't seen a basketball to be able to pick a logo that it atomically correct. Besides that minor stuff, the Clips' logo isn't all that bad but not all that great either. They have a decent font that translates well to their jerseys, a solid color scheme, and is overall aesthetically pleasing. However there may be a change, slightly.

WAYS 2 IMPROVE

Well, I was snooping around and saw on Uniwatch that there is some possible tweaks coming our for the 2010-2011 season. Most notably they basically have a correct basketball and flipped it facing the opposite direction and the bolded the Los Angeles. None of this is confirmed but the blog Undrcrwn.com (interesting blog) has leaked some tweaks for several teams. Let's see if this actually happens and if it does, full kudos to them for being the first.

Ranking NBA Primary Logos: #15 Hornets

The Hornets have been for the most part unchanged even with a move from Charlotte, NC. Adding NOLA to the chest, changing from white to teal gloves and changing the grin a bit on the hornet's face is pretty much all that has been done since the move. This has always been a classic logo for the NBA and for the franchise. I would argue too that this is a logo that started the 90's craze of so many teams getting design happy, several abandoning them. This logo was different, the colors nontraditional, and was really popular back in the day. I would also argue that what was cool about this logo was not the logo itself but they had a team that had good players and one monster ad campaign by Converse. I like this logo and I like this team. Chris Paul is a top 3 point guard in the league and one of my favorite players. But there was a development that should be addressed.

WAYS 2 IMPROVE

The Hornets developed this baby as a 3rd logo but I think it's too good for that. To me this is a switch the team should make to the primary logo. In New Orleans, the Fleur-de-lis is the symbol of the city and with that the Fleur-de-lis Hornet is the perfect logo for the team. Plus it's super sharp. I love it. I love the old logo too. But being in NOLA it's perfect. As long as it never looks anything close to this.