By Any Other Name

Americans tend to think of themselves as uniquely troubled when it comes to race relations and few cases exemplify this quite like the controversy swirling around the National Football League's Washington Redskins.  

Founded in 1932 as the Boston Braves, and playing in Washington as the Redskins since 1937, the team name now stands as a hold out from another era. While many other similar names have been changed in the past few decades, current owner Dan Snyder has repeatedly refused to change the name, despite widespread protests and calls that it is culturally insensitive at best and out right racist at worst.  

Some respected reporters, such as Sports Illustrated's Peter King and HBO's Bill Simmons, have even instituted policies to refer to the team as simply "The Washington Professional Football Team" when writing and speaking about them as a small means of protest.

What many Americans may not know, however, is that controversies like this are not unique to the United States.  

The Canadian Football League's Edmonton Eskimos name dates back to the early part of the 20th century, when reporters in Edmonton and rival city Calgary would toss gently insulting nicknames for each other back and forth in the press. The name refers to the indigenous people of the Canadian arctic, now more commonly known as Inuit. 

Edmonton was also home to a hockey team and a baseball team going under the name Eskimos in the past. Still, many Canadians think it's time for a change. As writer Ben Freeland put it, "The name has nothing do with Edmonton. This is traditional Cree territory. We might as well call ourselves the Edmonton Navajo or the Edmonton Aztecs. It's about as close a connection as that."

Only time will ultimately tell about names like these, but there are more than you might expect. According to fivethirtyeight.com, there are over 2,128 Native American themed mascots in the United States alone.  Names like this can have an emotional effect when emblazoned across the front of 54 football uniforms in a packed stadium. 

Team names like the Cleveland

Indians may not be as inherently offensive, but their branding has been redesigned in recent years to keep up with modern sensibilities. 

This bloggers's alma mater, Indiana University of Pennylsvania, was nicknamed the Indians for many years before changing to the Crimson Hawks in 2005.  Our mascot in the later years of the Indians was a bear named Cherokee.  

This is an issue that won't be going away any time soon, as sports fans, owners, and managers grapple with the balancing act between appreciating tradition and being welcoming to fans of all backgrounds.

Into the Mystic...

Uni We Love: College Football's Texas Longhorns have some pretty iconic uniforms. In fact, around here at TSP we sometimes refer to the particular shade of orange they wear as "Texas Orange" or "Texas" for short. Last Saturday, in their 59-20 victory over Big 12 rival Kansas, they busted out an alternate football jersey we loved. The move was intended to honor former Longhorn safety Freddie Steinmark. 

Steinmark has quite the story. As Haisten Willis at Burnt Orange Nation tells us, "Steinmark was a star cornerback on the 1969 national championship team and appeared in the 'Game of the Century' against Arkansas with a hurt left leg. Tragically, cancer was discovered in that leg just days later and it was quickly amputated. In 1971 he succumbed to the disease, helping to inspire the National Cancer Act of 1971." In addition to the throwback uniforms, the Longhorns also named their scoreboard after Steinmark. A fitting tribute to a legendary player, some folks are already calling to instate the uniform year round, and we're inclined to agree. 

Reading Material:

• CALIFORNIA DREAMIN': Ken Belson gives us the latest on the NFL franchises that may be headed to Los Angeles next year. 
• PLAYING TAILOR: Jack Moore breaks down Lebron James' disagreement with his sleeves against the Knicks last week. 
• DOUBLE TROUBLE: An interesting look from Jeff Zillgitt for USA Today about Kawhi Leonard learning to deal with double teams, with a little help from NBA legend Charles Barkley. 

Team of the Week: This week's Team of the Week is the 10 and 

under Weatherford Crossfire Softball team, seen here in our royal blue, graphite, and white Mystic Jerseys and matching royal blue pants. Both tops and bottoms are manufactured by Augusta, who take pride in their state of the art ability to match colors no matter the material or garment.These young sluggers play in Weatherford, Texas and we're proud to call them a TSP team. 

That Championship Season...

Uni We Love: In their 27-20 victory over the San Diego Chargers at Lambeau Field on Sunday afternoon, the Green Bay Packers sported  alternate Navy and Yellow home jerseys. No stripes, no emblems, no problem. Just two blocks of vivid color, numbers, and names. Oh, and the best quarterback in the NFL. That always helps too. 

Reading Material: Paul Lukas looks

back on some of the crazy NBA uniforms of the '95-'96 season for ESPN. Jonathan Abrams writes for Grantland about the Rivers family and the Los Angeles Clippers. And the New York Times does an in-depth investigation into the background of daily fantasy sports competitions.

Team of the Week: Our Team of the Week is the recently crowned Florida District 2 Little League Champions, winners of the Senior Softball Sectionals. Here they are wearing our purple Russell Factor Jerseys with the glow of victory on their faces. You can check out some our other great fastpitch softball uniform styles here. 

CAM-ouflaged

Uni of the Week: We've been known to sell a camo item or two around here at Team Sports Planet. Within the past few years especially, from the softball diamond to the basketball court, camo patterns have added a welcome touch to many a team's look. What we've not seen before, however, is the camo trend pushed forward into the realm of formal wear. 
Mr. Cam Newton, having a pretty exceptional start to his season in leading the upstart Panthers to a 4-0 record, broke that barrier like he was busting into the end zone on a fourth and goal at the one yard line two weeks ago, showing up to the team facility in a camo-patterned blue blazer. 
While some on the internet were less than kind, we'd like to salute the boldness. And besides, it's nice to know he's staying humble and not wasting money on a professional stylist to tell him what to wear. You keep doing you, Cam. 

Reading Material: Matthew Shaer spins the tale of Adidas' attempts to topple Nike from the footwear throne for GQ. From the ESPN.com archives, check out Don Van Natta Jr.'s profile of Jerry Football. And this story from the New York Times about a suburban Missouri community cutting their football team begs the question: is this the beginning of a trend or merely an anomaly?

Team of the Week: Team Sports Planet Team of the Week award goes to the Rondout Rovers Soccer Team, based out of Kingston, New York. They play in the Rondout Soccer Club, which provides athletic opportunities for youngsters of all areas in Hudson Valley area. Here they are looking sharp in some our performance tees. You can check out some of our other soccer team uniforms here. We're saluting the Rovers this week!

Sleeves Are Falling

 Is that a slight chill in the air we feel? Is that the faint smell of leaves beginning to fall from the trees we smell? Are those incessant fantasy football strategy conversations we hear? 

The autumn is nearly upon us and that means football season is nigh. The collegians are already at it in earnest, and soon the professional gladiators of the grid iron will be too.  

Together they’ll be filling out our Saturday and Sunday viewing schedules with glorious combat.  So what will they be wearing into combat this year? We like to think we know a thing or two about football team uniforms here at S.U.S. Here are some of the things we're noticing.

What Not to Wear: Fashion or Football?

Well folks, It was only a matter of time until the fashion police (oops... I meant the suits of the NFL) stepped in and start putting a stop to players customized facemasks. And who is the frontrunner of these talks? No other than the pioneer of the custom facemask Justin Tuck. Which in a interview said his "wasn't a fashion statement" and is for medical reasons only, he suffered a eye injury in the past (..Rrright). Then why not wear a 3 bar facemask with a visor so a lineman's hand wouldn't be able to fit through if that was the case. I really don't see what the big deal the NFL is making about them but don't try and play it off as something medical because when it comes down to it, I think  players are just tried of getting grabbed and pulled by their facemask and are just trying to find ways to cut that down or eliminate completely. I love the ideal of wiping out the facemask penalty on top of the way they look. Its just another way for the football suits trying to suck the life out of the game as well as how players express themselves.


Check out this article from The New York Times
The New York Times

Adrian Peterson's Jersey Rant

The NFL, Helmets and Concussions

In recent news football related concussions has taken the spot light and some sources claim that football related concussions have gone up 21% this season! This is not a good sign.

The NFL has been taking note of this and hasn't been sitting idly by, it has been desperately searching for a solution for problem and has called for some surprising and not so surprising friends.

The NFL has consulted equipment makers, sports researchers, the military and even NASCAR about how to improve helmet safety and cut down on concussions. Even the idea of "Soft-Shelled Football Helmets" have been taken in to consideration to improve player safety and reduce brain damage.

With all the innovation and brainstorming the bottom line is something has to change for the sport to continue to thrive and prosper.

Abnormal Football Skills

Sports Uniform GuyTeamSportsPlanet.com