Ryan Howard Donates $1.2 Million To Philadelphia School District

PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia Phillies star Ryan Howard is helping local students dress for success – in athletics.

The first baseman announced Thursday that his Ryan Howard Family Foundation will donate Adidas sportswear valued at nearly $1.2 million to the cash-strapped Philadelphia school district.

The gift will enable 57 city high schools to select athletic shoes and apparel to match the schools' colors. Four middle school athletic programs will receive shoes.

Acting Superintendent Leroy Nunery says the donation "will make a world of difference to our athletes." The school district had a budget gap of more than $629 million this year, forcing layoffs and cuts in many programs.

Howard's foundation is also providing turkeys, winter coats and school supplies to more than 500 struggling families in the Philadelphia area.

Source — Huffington Post

Baseball Batting Helmet Safety and Chase Utley

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Concussions lead to discussions and this time Chase Utley, a second baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies is the talk of the town.

...There is an undeniable risk in playing a sport in which a rock-hard object can hit you in the head, so you would think the idea of better protection for the brain would be a no-brainer...

Inside the Phillies: Despite Utley injury, players not inclined to wear safer helmet

Penn Relays + The NFL Draft

I didn't make it out to the Penn Relays last week, because I'm lame. And there was that little thing, the NFL Draft, which is --arguably-- the raison d'etre for the Internet. I feel the TV aspect is virtually unwatchable; but I LOVE the multi-source continual data load required with each passing pick. (I've been a Draft/Internet fiend since, I swear 1996-97-ish.) I hear Saturday was beautiful. I never emerged from my man cave.



But we did send a crack photographic crew to the Penn Relays. This is what they came back with:

Penn Relays 2010

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Penn Relays To Get Jolt of Bolt

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As a Philly native (i.e., a strong opinion about anything sports-related and not afraid to espouse it), it is my firmly held conviction that the Penn Relays don't really require a whole lot of extra hullabaloo to maintain it's status as one of the country's premier track& field events.

Yeah, I know it's the oldest & largest, too. But those criteria alone don't exact make a track event sizzle. As in, "Hey, let's go watch the fat, old dudes race against each other."

Then again, when 3X Olympic Gold Medalist Usain Bolt decides he wants to participate, any event's "street cred" would spike upward. (heck, maybe even Dancing With the Stars)

True, the Penn Relays, held @ the Univ. of Pennsylvania's Franklin Field (since 1895), has stood the test of time. It can get along quite nicely without any singular athlete and their associated shijizzle (or however Snoop Dogg would modify).

But Bolt's a special athlete. No doubt. Hailing from the track star, spawning grounds of Jamaica, Usain is the current world record holder in the 100 meter. By the most commonly used measuring instrument, he is "the World's Fastest Human Being". And at 9.58 sec., he is most definitely jammin'.

Bolt is expected to take part in the 4X100 relay pitting USA vs. THE WORLD, scheduled for 4:15 on Saturday the 24th (The event kicks into high gear on Thursday the 22nd).

And just when you thought you could get out of here without some mention of the uniforms being worn....WRONG! We will have our eyes peeled and be taking notes. With Jamaica representing, you know it's going be to be colorful!


Sports Uniform Guy
TeamSportsPlanet.com

Basketball Uniforms: You Know My Name...

...Look up my number!

As I anticipate another snoozer of a MLB All Star game it struck me that I--perhaps unlike others-- let me know, have no idea what my favorite baseball players numbers are. Do you know yours?

The flip side of that is how almost emblematic--a part and parcel, if you will-- I associated basketball players with their numbers. Being from Philly and of a certain age, if you will, there is no other #6 than Julius Erving. (Dr. J) And never will be.

I'm sure others out there feel the same way about Michael Jordan (#23), Magic Johnson(#32), Larry Bird(#33) and Kareem Abdul Jabbar (#33). Ooooops!

Numbering basketball uniforms. It's a slippery slope, wrapped in a riddle, with a whole boat load of merchandising money attached to it all. Not to mention a much trickier thing to deal with than it really should be.

And WTF up with #00?!?!?


First off, my all time "#00" (double loser, is one Benoit Benjamin, who somehow, someway miraculously hung in and around the NBA for 14 freaking years. That's 98 in dog years. A I'll be damned if I can think about a bigger dog ass player than Benoit. (FYI: Here's a cool link to a site to search for players by number)

Any who.

In AAU ball, it seems like every 5-6 years they rethink the regulations concerning numbering. (Here's a link to the 2009 Rule book (I haven't personally been able to allot the time required to get thru it yet (Folks at my company are religious readers!). But for cripes sake James Naismith invented basketball in 1891. You'd think we'd have the freaking numbering figured out by now. (And don't get me started on the differences that rules that run the hoop leagues in Europe! (Those wacky Croats, Serbs, Spaniards, et al.)

Any who.

as some of you know, I worked for the LA Lakers way back in the day. And Shaq was #34and Kobe #8. 'Member? Life was simple.) But even that fond, numeric memory has been set asunder. (i.e., Both players now wear different numbers and, well, you prolly heard they haven't been BFFs for a little while)

Basketball numbering will never be easy. As Barbie used to say "Math is hard"!

Sports Uniform Guy
TeamSportsPlanet.com

The Penn Relays – So Much History, So Much Modernity

I grew in Philly, home of the Penn Relays. This annual event, for the uninitiated, is arguably America’s foremost track meet. It was 1st held in 1895!

While I had a brief and unillustrious track career as a member of my jr. high school’s 440 relay team, self-dubbed “The Speed Boys” (Yes, I was the slowest boy), I always had an appreciation for the Penn Relays and respect for the athletes who competed there every year. It was hometown pride, too.


Thirty years later (I’m 48 now), my respect is unchanged and my appreciation has matured. Age (and bad knees) will do that.

I’ve lived a good part of my adult life in New York and Los Angeles. I returned to Philly 8 years ago to start Team Sports Planet. Honestly, prior to moving back, I’d kind of forgotten about The Penn Relays. It’s cool that my appreciation for them has been reinvigorated.

If any of you have the chance to visit Philly for this event, you’ll definetly get a kick out of them. It’s a festival for the senses. Great sights, sounds and the occasional pounding of the heart. All taking place on the University of Pennsylvania’s storied campus, just minutes from the historical heartland of Philly’s downtown area.

What’s new and exciting about the event – or more so the athlete’s—is the parade of ultra modern fabrications that are represented, in a wide and colorful swath each day of the event (Okay, the occasional thunderstorm, can dampen the display, but nonetheless…).

Perhaps second only to swimming in the need for ergonomic sensibility, track uniforms have been at the forefront of modern fabrication technologies and design architecture. In particular for sprinters, where wind resistance is the enemy.

Go to Franklin Field during the Penn Relays this year (they start on April 19th), and you be treated to a smorgasbord of styles, in bright colors, reflecting the efforts of hundreds of schools, thousands of coaches, athletic directors and, of course, the athletes themselves as they fight the foe that is, in a word, wind.

Blends of Spandex, Lycra, Nylon and more are calibrated to wring peak performance from the nation’s best track performers. While Olympic aspirations justly fill the minds of some participants, almost all can proudly strut their stuff in the fashion forward world of modern track uniforms.

And every year, for….oh, about the past 114 years or so…they’ve done it in my hometown…in Philly @ the Penn Relays.



Sports Uniform Guy
TeamSportsPlanet.com

Off Topic - Scenes from the WORLD SERIES CHAMPION PHILLIES PARADE

It was a mere city block from the Team Sports Planet office and appropriately nuts. Check it Out!



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Sports Uniforms Guy

Click here to see a slide show of all our pictures!

Phillies World Series Champion Parade

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