Monday Morning Mehta 1/15/07
Edition # 193
January 15, 2007
Next MMM: January 31st, Super Bowl Preview & 2007 Official Philadelphia Eagles Off-Season Guide, Sponsored by Google.
www.mondaymorningmehta.com
www.nba-jam.blogspot.com
Eagles/NFL
Eagles season ends with a 27-24 to the New Orleans Saints. Let's get right to what happened:
Game Negatives:
- "The 3rd down play" There's 12 minutes left in the game. The score is 27-21. The Eagles are driving. On 2nd and 1 from the Saints 4 yard line, Brian Westbrook takes the handoff and appears to get close to first down yardage. A questionable mark by the refs, too risky to challenge by Andy Reid. 3rd and 1. QB sneak? Run it again? Play action for a WR or TE? Spread em out and run a QB draw? Nope. A dumpoff to a slow footed Thomas Tapeh for -2 yards. FG unit comes in, no momentum gained, and the Saints firmly have control of the game from this point. The Saints, tried over and over again to give the Eagles control, but the Eagles refused to take control starting with these set of plays.
- Just to make my point even further, if I see one more pass to Thomas Tapeh in my life, that'll make it 15 too many. That wasn't the first time we've run that idiotic play with no success in critical situations.
- I don't see why you'd run a Brian Westbrook plunge on 3rd and goal from the 1 yard line as they did earlier in the game, yet on 3rd and 1 from anywhere else on the field you have to get fancy? BTW, Westbrook leaped from the 3 yard line and landed like 4 yards deep into the endzone. Do that every freakin play! Yes, I'm now officially harping on the call.
- "The quick play" It's late in the 4th quarter. Drew Brees had just tossed the ball and Reggie Bush misses. Eagles have the ball with over 2 minutes left, 2 timeouts, and only down 3 points. Plenty of time, no need to rush. Get good plays called, and execute. So it's 3rd and 10 after a -1 yard pass and 1 yard run by Westbrook. The clock is running and the Eagles can take the clock down to the two minute warning, exactly how they did in the first half. They can talk about the critical 3rd down play and even a potential 4th down play (I'll get to that in a bit). Instead, they rush to the line, and snap the ball with 2:02 left. What happens? Incompletion. 4th down.
- "The 4th down". 2 minute warning breaks. Eagles gotta go for it on 4th down as the offense comes out. 4th and 10. Things are so loud and stuff happens so quick, it almost looks like Garcia hits Hank Baskett for a 20 yard gain. First down! YES! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! False start, no play. Argh, you mean we gotta do that again on 4th and 15 now? Errr, no. Out comes Dirk Johnson. Excuse me? Wait, why did he snap it, wait am I really seeing a punt? Are we trotting out the 1985 Bears defense to hold the Saints? Game, set, match. Amazingly, Reid admitted wrongdoing here immediately after the game.
- The defense. Came up very lame, and shouldn't be overlooked because of some of the coaching blunders. Deuce McAllister run all over this defense. Jeremiah Trotter and the linebackers need significant improvements if the Eagles are to win. Seems like we've talked about a run defense for the entire Andy Reid tenure. Will he ever listen? All that being said, the Eagles offense NEVER does anything to help the defense. 16 runs vs. 34 passes in a close game. If you run the ball, you'll keep your defense off the field. The Eagles defense held the Saints to field goals early in the game which was very important. Don't forget about that. I think a lot of the Eagles defensive line looking bad has to do with how the Eagles offense refuses to play ball control. The Saints came into the game giving up 4.9 yards per carry on the ground, and we came out firing away, as usual.
Game Positives:
- I'm not ready to find positives or silver lining right now. Maybe in August. Nor do I wish to hear how many days we are from pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training (It's 31 days btw)
Jeff Garcia? Not a very good 2 game playoff by Garcia, but he didn't turn the ball over, so I guess it can't be all that bad. He was very cold early in both games and could've really hurt the team.
Jim Johnson? Probably time to move on, but it's not going to happen. I highly doubt it. I've said this before and I'll say it again, I'd like to see the Eagles go to a 3-4 defense. Seems to work a lot around the league these days.
And how do you let a chick with "F&CK DA EAGLES" written clearly on her chest (like guys look anywhere else) get onto National TV. It's a conspiracy I tell you!
Overall, I can only think of one word, and that's URGENCY. I really think this organization has the general makings of a championship. Maybe I'm flawed or just dreaming, but all of you readers thought we had a shot to win Saturday night. So why do we continue to lose critical playoff games? Years ago when we lost to the Rams, Tampa, and Carolina, we all felt like we were being short changed on offense with the WR's. I felt very comfortable with Donte Stallworth and Reggie Brown. Even Hank Baskett seems acceptable. The defense has faltered the last few years, but I think it goes back to the word, URGENCY. The players have it. The fans certainly have it. Do the coaches and front office personnel? I'm not sure. They're too concerned about making sure they're good years from now, and need a bit more URGENCY when it comes to the current year. Go out and sign Mike Anderson, Joe Jurivicius and Julius Peterson - you certainly had the cap room. Donte Stallworth was fine, but go the extra mile for Javon Walker. Could you make a mistake? Sure. But stop being afraid to have "dead contract space". If you're a true capologist, you'll be able to work around that.
I'm not asking for Jeff Lurie to fire everyone, trade all the players and start all over today. But when your head coach punts the ball with under 2 minutes left while you're losing and clearly getting beat off the ball on defense, and we all saw and still don't have an explanation for the Super Bowl non hurry up, one has to wonder if Reid's urgency is there either. The Patriots went for it yesterday on 4th down with 5 minutes left. Granted field position dictates some of this, but I could see the urgency in Brady and Bellichick's eyes (no I can't, but you get my drift). I'm so sick and tired of the "We'll get em next year" schtick.
Weekend Recap
All four road teams covered this weekend while going 2-2 straight up. The NFC pits # 1 vs. # 2 while the AFC pits # 3 vs. # 4.
Colts vs. Ravens. I just knew the Ravens were a fraud. They're just not good enough offensively, and I've always felt their defense minus the championship run was a bit overrated. Peyton Manning is having a terrible statistical playoff, but who cares. Wins and Losses are all that matter.
Bears vs. Seahawks. A very entertaining game to watch and Eagles fans would've been on the edges of their seats if they'd won Saturday night. Instead, a "Who cares" victory by the Bears in a game that should give them confidence going into next week.
Pats vs. Chargers. In what was probably the most bizarre play in a bizarre game, Tom Brady throws his 3rd interception to Marlon McCree on 4th down with the Pats losing by 8 points, only for McCree to cough it up and give it back to the Pats and give them a first down. The Pats score, get the two point conversion, get the ball back, and kick a game winner with 1:10 left. Keadings 54 yarder falls short and wide. Where was Marty Ball when you needed it? Rivers throws the ball 32 times while Tomlinson rushes 23.
Championship Preview
Saints @ Bears (-3, 43)
Homefield advantage is huge, and a ridiculously cold, windy day in Chicago could change everything. But I'm not liking the way the Bears defense is playing. The Saints on grass is a dynamic I'm not sure about, but nonetheless I think the Saints make it to their first Super Bowl. Saints 24, Bears 20.
Pats @ Colts (-3, 47)
Can we make this the Super Bowl? Do you think there will be hype around this game? Peyton Manning and the Colts get what they wanted. A shot at the Patriots away from the muddy, intentionally slop field of Foxboro, to their home turf. The first ever AFC Championship game in a dome will give Peyton Manning a chance to exercise every demon, until the Super Bowl that is. This is how sports work. Everybody hyped the Colts the past 5 years and they got nowhere. This playoff season, no hype. They now find themselves one home victory from the Super Bowl. Colts are 9-0 this year at home. Patriots are 8-1 on the road. Tom Brady, Bill Bellichick. Get to the pick already! I can't believe I'm doing this. But I have a vision. Two weeks of Manning hype. Peyton Manning vs. his daddy's old team the Saints. Colts 30, Patriots 20.
NHL Week in Review By : Ed Wasser
- Great week for the Flyers, they won every game and just may make the playoffs yet. HAHAHAHAHA!!! That's a joke, the Flyers lost every game last week and looked like crap in every one. They only have 11 wins, the second worst teams in the NHL have 16, and they are so far and away the worst team in the NHL it's scary. The Flyers opened the week by helping Alexander Ovechkin on his way to the Hall of Fame by getting shelled 6 - 2 by the Caps and giving up 2 goals to Ovechkin including one that was an absolute gift. Then the Flyers put up a miniature fight against the Habs but they lost 4 - 2. And then the Penguins came to town and lit up the Flyers 5 - 3 with Evgeni Malkin scoring 2 goals and 18 year old Jordan Staal skating around Derian Hatcher like he was the Rocky statue. At this point I just want the horror to be over and get the draft here as soon as possible.
- Happy birthday to Lord Frederick Stanley, the guy who the Stanley Cup is named after, born on this day in 1841.
- As promised here are the 30 NHL logos from best to worst in my humble opinion.....
1.) Chicago Blackhawks.....Simple, classic, and known worldwide. The best logo in all of sports on one of the worst franchises in all of sports. They screwed it up slightly when they changed their home jerseys to black but even the Blackhawks couldn't completely screw up perfection.
2.) Nashville Predators.....Believe it or not an NHL team actually got something right. Once Nashville was awarded their franchise they asked the citizens of the city what they thought they wanted the team's name and logo to be. They came up with the Predators and the sabre toothed tiger on the sweater, and it sells like hot cakes. Unlike the Blue Jackets who just hit their fans with the name and design. Seen many people wearing Blue Jackets gear lately?
3.) San José Sharks.....Talk about an idea that seemed so obvious and it was right in front of everyone's face for years. Give a sports franchise the nickname "Sharks" and the logo and marketing possibilities are endless.
4.) Pittsburgh Penguins.....It'll be a shame if the name and logo change when the team leaves for Portland, Kansas City, or Houston. And by the way, the specific logo I'm talking about is the one with the skating Penguin with the hockey stick, not the new fangled one. And they had black as a primary color before every team had it.
5.) Tampa Bay Lightning.....I always thought it was strange to name a sports franchise after the worst part of living in a particular city. Like naming a team the Miami Heat. So I thought that naming a team after lightning in Tampa was a tad askew. But the logo is kind of cool. And I like the colors.
6.) Ottawa Senators.....One of the few teams that has a third jersey that's actually an improvement over an already cool jersey. Although when the logo was first introduced the team was raked over the coals because the logo has a striking resemblance to the Trojan condom logo.
7.) Florida Panthers.....I always liked this logo and I never understood why it wasn't a bigger success. I love the 3-D perspective.
8.) Los Angeles Kings.....If they had stuck with the old logo then they probably would have been number one on this list. And when I say the old logo I mean the black and silver one, not the yellow and purple monstrosity of the 70's.
9.) Colorado Avalanche.....When the Nordiques moved to Denver owner Charlie Lyons desperately wanted to name the team the Rocky Mountain Extreme but the public went crazy with outrage and they settled on the Avalanche. Thank God the public spoke up. The logo was originally criticized for looking like soft ice cream but I like it.
10.) Edmonton Oilers.....This logo would have been way, way higher on the list if they hadn't darkened the blue. Same with the San Diego Chargers. I guess I'm a sucker for the classics.
11.) Boston Bruins.....The first ever modern day hockey logo. It's not too snazzy but it's bold and classic.
12.) New Jersey Devils.....As much as I despise the Devils I have to admit that their logo is kind of cool, especially since they abandoned the old Christmas tree colors of the early 80's.
13.) Toronto Maple Leafs.....One of the few original 6 franchises that routinely changes their look. They've given it 5 face lifts since it's inception. When you name your team after a leaf I guess your option of logos is somewhat limited. I mean it's not like you can give it razor sharp teeth or something, but they did a nice job on it.
14.) Anaheim Ducks.....When Henry Samueli bought the team from Disney the ink wasn't even dry on the contract when he went about changing the logo from the moronic duck mask to the current logo. It's not great, the colors are a little silly, but hey...it's a hell of an improvement.
15.) Montréal Canadiens.....The logo has been unchanged since 1917 which puts the team in a difficult situation; if they change the logo their fans will go bananas but if they don't they miss out on the lucrative third jersey loot. Still, the logo means hockey to a lot of people.
16.) Dallas Stars.....There were rumors that the North Stars were leaving Minnesota for years, and when owner Norman Green unveiled this logo in 1992, sans the N for North Stars, the fans new it was only a matter of time. The only question was what city was going to be over the word Stars.
17.) Philadelphia Flyers.....It's awe-ite. I liked it way better when they had orange as their primary color, I'm not a huge fan of the black. Especially now that the team is the most pathetic thing in the NHL, the black just reminds me that the team started losing when they made that switch.
18.) Detroit Red Wings.....It looks like the Soviet Red Army team. Red, on red, surrounded by red, with a smidge of white. A lot of wins in those uniforms though.
19.) Calgary Flames.....Simple logo with little flare. So when all the teams went to a third jersey it was Calgary's chance to come up with something really cool. What did they come up with? Some fire breathing horse looking thing. Huh?
20.) New York Rangers.....Rangers written in descending letters on the sweater. But like I said about the Canadiens sweater, it just says hockey.
21.) Washington Capitals.....One word, busy. Capital building, stars, hockey sticks, hockey puck,
with Capitals written across it all. The third jersey is just a screaming eagle, a far better logo. They should stick with the eagle.
22.) New York Islanders.....Boring logo that was actually brought back because of the horrific "update" the franchise tried a few years ago. That logo was stone cold stupid. It featured the Gorton's fisherman for crying out loud!! Anyway, this logo has 4 Stanley Cups in it so I guess it's not going anywhere anytime soon.
23.) St. Louis Blues.....ZERO imagination. Zero. Ok, so Sid Salomon gets awarded the franchise in 1967 and they come up with a flying musical note logo. I guess for 1967 that passes for innovative. But now it's 2007, come up with something better please.
24.) Buffalo Sabres.....Just to show you what Sabre nation thinks of the new logo featuring a buffalo that looks like a slug check out this website www.fixthelogo.com. Their fans were so happy when the team announced that they were going back to the blue and gold colors only to get a punch in the gut with this ridiculous logo.
25.) Phoenix Coyotes.....Just a ridiculous picture of an eyeless coyote head that looks like it was designed by a kid as a homework project. And at the last second the kid drew the picture on the bus.
26.) Columbus Blue Jackets.....Bad team, stupid colors, and horrible fan support. Imagine if they had a cool name like the Vampires, which by the way was the Philadelphia Phantoms plan B and a much better name if the AHL didn't accept Phantoms. The Phantoms could have had a wicked cool logo and been the hit of every Halloween. Oh well.
27.) Minnesota Wild.....It looks like they took an Ansel Adams picture and had a 7 year old paint it color by numbers style with all the left over crayons none of the cool kids ever use.
28.) Atlanta Thrashers.....I'm not even sure what the hell it is. It's like a bird stuck in a tornado with a hockey stick. And don't forget the turd brown colors.
29.) Vancouver Canucks.....A killer whale wearing dentures coming out of a half moon. How could that not work? As amazing as it seems it doesn't.
30.) Carolina Hurricanes.....I actually started this list with this logo. I DESPISE this crest. Imagine you're the Hurricanes; they moved from Hartford and they had every nickname, logo, and just about every color available to them and that's what they came up with? It looks like an elementary school project. The dumbest logo in all of sports, minor league sports included.
January 15, 2007
Next MMM: January 31st, Super Bowl Preview & 2007 Official Philadelphia Eagles Off-Season Guide, Sponsored by Google.
www.mondaymorningmehta.com
www.nba-jam.blogspot.com
Eagles/NFL
Eagles season ends with a 27-24 to the New Orleans Saints. Let's get right to what happened:
Game Negatives:
- "The 3rd down play" There's 12 minutes left in the game. The score is 27-21. The Eagles are driving. On 2nd and 1 from the Saints 4 yard line, Brian Westbrook takes the handoff and appears to get close to first down yardage. A questionable mark by the refs, too risky to challenge by Andy Reid. 3rd and 1. QB sneak? Run it again? Play action for a WR or TE? Spread em out and run a QB draw? Nope. A dumpoff to a slow footed Thomas Tapeh for -2 yards. FG unit comes in, no momentum gained, and the Saints firmly have control of the game from this point. The Saints, tried over and over again to give the Eagles control, but the Eagles refused to take control starting with these set of plays.
- Just to make my point even further, if I see one more pass to Thomas Tapeh in my life, that'll make it 15 too many. That wasn't the first time we've run that idiotic play with no success in critical situations.
- I don't see why you'd run a Brian Westbrook plunge on 3rd and goal from the 1 yard line as they did earlier in the game, yet on 3rd and 1 from anywhere else on the field you have to get fancy? BTW, Westbrook leaped from the 3 yard line and landed like 4 yards deep into the endzone. Do that every freakin play! Yes, I'm now officially harping on the call.
- "The quick play" It's late in the 4th quarter. Drew Brees had just tossed the ball and Reggie Bush misses. Eagles have the ball with over 2 minutes left, 2 timeouts, and only down 3 points. Plenty of time, no need to rush. Get good plays called, and execute. So it's 3rd and 10 after a -1 yard pass and 1 yard run by Westbrook. The clock is running and the Eagles can take the clock down to the two minute warning, exactly how they did in the first half. They can talk about the critical 3rd down play and even a potential 4th down play (I'll get to that in a bit). Instead, they rush to the line, and snap the ball with 2:02 left. What happens? Incompletion. 4th down.
- "The 4th down". 2 minute warning breaks. Eagles gotta go for it on 4th down as the offense comes out. 4th and 10. Things are so loud and stuff happens so quick, it almost looks like Garcia hits Hank Baskett for a 20 yard gain. First down! YES! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! False start, no play. Argh, you mean we gotta do that again on 4th and 15 now? Errr, no. Out comes Dirk Johnson. Excuse me? Wait, why did he snap it, wait am I really seeing a punt? Are we trotting out the 1985 Bears defense to hold the Saints? Game, set, match. Amazingly, Reid admitted wrongdoing here immediately after the game.
- The defense. Came up very lame, and shouldn't be overlooked because of some of the coaching blunders. Deuce McAllister run all over this defense. Jeremiah Trotter and the linebackers need significant improvements if the Eagles are to win. Seems like we've talked about a run defense for the entire Andy Reid tenure. Will he ever listen? All that being said, the Eagles offense NEVER does anything to help the defense. 16 runs vs. 34 passes in a close game. If you run the ball, you'll keep your defense off the field. The Eagles defense held the Saints to field goals early in the game which was very important. Don't forget about that. I think a lot of the Eagles defensive line looking bad has to do with how the Eagles offense refuses to play ball control. The Saints came into the game giving up 4.9 yards per carry on the ground, and we came out firing away, as usual.
Game Positives:
- I'm not ready to find positives or silver lining right now. Maybe in August. Nor do I wish to hear how many days we are from pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training (It's 31 days btw)
Jeff Garcia? Not a very good 2 game playoff by Garcia, but he didn't turn the ball over, so I guess it can't be all that bad. He was very cold early in both games and could've really hurt the team.
Jim Johnson? Probably time to move on, but it's not going to happen. I highly doubt it. I've said this before and I'll say it again, I'd like to see the Eagles go to a 3-4 defense. Seems to work a lot around the league these days.
And how do you let a chick with "F&CK DA EAGLES" written clearly on her chest (like guys look anywhere else) get onto National TV. It's a conspiracy I tell you!
Overall, I can only think of one word, and that's URGENCY. I really think this organization has the general makings of a championship. Maybe I'm flawed or just dreaming, but all of you readers thought we had a shot to win Saturday night. So why do we continue to lose critical playoff games? Years ago when we lost to the Rams, Tampa, and Carolina, we all felt like we were being short changed on offense with the WR's. I felt very comfortable with Donte Stallworth and Reggie Brown. Even Hank Baskett seems acceptable. The defense has faltered the last few years, but I think it goes back to the word, URGENCY. The players have it. The fans certainly have it. Do the coaches and front office personnel? I'm not sure. They're too concerned about making sure they're good years from now, and need a bit more URGENCY when it comes to the current year. Go out and sign Mike Anderson, Joe Jurivicius and Julius Peterson - you certainly had the cap room. Donte Stallworth was fine, but go the extra mile for Javon Walker. Could you make a mistake? Sure. But stop being afraid to have "dead contract space". If you're a true capologist, you'll be able to work around that.
I'm not asking for Jeff Lurie to fire everyone, trade all the players and start all over today. But when your head coach punts the ball with under 2 minutes left while you're losing and clearly getting beat off the ball on defense, and we all saw and still don't have an explanation for the Super Bowl non hurry up, one has to wonder if Reid's urgency is there either. The Patriots went for it yesterday on 4th down with 5 minutes left. Granted field position dictates some of this, but I could see the urgency in Brady and Bellichick's eyes (no I can't, but you get my drift). I'm so sick and tired of the "We'll get em next year" schtick.
Weekend Recap
All four road teams covered this weekend while going 2-2 straight up. The NFC pits # 1 vs. # 2 while the AFC pits # 3 vs. # 4.
Colts vs. Ravens. I just knew the Ravens were a fraud. They're just not good enough offensively, and I've always felt their defense minus the championship run was a bit overrated. Peyton Manning is having a terrible statistical playoff, but who cares. Wins and Losses are all that matter.
Bears vs. Seahawks. A very entertaining game to watch and Eagles fans would've been on the edges of their seats if they'd won Saturday night. Instead, a "Who cares" victory by the Bears in a game that should give them confidence going into next week.
Pats vs. Chargers. In what was probably the most bizarre play in a bizarre game, Tom Brady throws his 3rd interception to Marlon McCree on 4th down with the Pats losing by 8 points, only for McCree to cough it up and give it back to the Pats and give them a first down. The Pats score, get the two point conversion, get the ball back, and kick a game winner with 1:10 left. Keadings 54 yarder falls short and wide. Where was Marty Ball when you needed it? Rivers throws the ball 32 times while Tomlinson rushes 23.
Championship Preview
Saints @ Bears (-3, 43)
Homefield advantage is huge, and a ridiculously cold, windy day in Chicago could change everything. But I'm not liking the way the Bears defense is playing. The Saints on grass is a dynamic I'm not sure about, but nonetheless I think the Saints make it to their first Super Bowl. Saints 24, Bears 20.
Pats @ Colts (-3, 47)
Can we make this the Super Bowl? Do you think there will be hype around this game? Peyton Manning and the Colts get what they wanted. A shot at the Patriots away from the muddy, intentionally slop field of Foxboro, to their home turf. The first ever AFC Championship game in a dome will give Peyton Manning a chance to exercise every demon, until the Super Bowl that is. This is how sports work. Everybody hyped the Colts the past 5 years and they got nowhere. This playoff season, no hype. They now find themselves one home victory from the Super Bowl. Colts are 9-0 this year at home. Patriots are 8-1 on the road. Tom Brady, Bill Bellichick. Get to the pick already! I can't believe I'm doing this. But I have a vision. Two weeks of Manning hype. Peyton Manning vs. his daddy's old team the Saints. Colts 30, Patriots 20.
NHL Week in Review By : Ed Wasser
- Great week for the Flyers, they won every game and just may make the playoffs yet. HAHAHAHAHA!!! That's a joke, the Flyers lost every game last week and looked like crap in every one. They only have 11 wins, the second worst teams in the NHL have 16, and they are so far and away the worst team in the NHL it's scary. The Flyers opened the week by helping Alexander Ovechkin on his way to the Hall of Fame by getting shelled 6 - 2 by the Caps and giving up 2 goals to Ovechkin including one that was an absolute gift. Then the Flyers put up a miniature fight against the Habs but they lost 4 - 2. And then the Penguins came to town and lit up the Flyers 5 - 3 with Evgeni Malkin scoring 2 goals and 18 year old Jordan Staal skating around Derian Hatcher like he was the Rocky statue. At this point I just want the horror to be over and get the draft here as soon as possible.
- Happy birthday to Lord Frederick Stanley, the guy who the Stanley Cup is named after, born on this day in 1841.
- As promised here are the 30 NHL logos from best to worst in my humble opinion.....
1.) Chicago Blackhawks.....Simple, classic, and known worldwide. The best logo in all of sports on one of the worst franchises in all of sports. They screwed it up slightly when they changed their home jerseys to black but even the Blackhawks couldn't completely screw up perfection.
2.) Nashville Predators.....Believe it or not an NHL team actually got something right. Once Nashville was awarded their franchise they asked the citizens of the city what they thought they wanted the team's name and logo to be. They came up with the Predators and the sabre toothed tiger on the sweater, and it sells like hot cakes. Unlike the Blue Jackets who just hit their fans with the name and design. Seen many people wearing Blue Jackets gear lately?
3.) San José Sharks.....Talk about an idea that seemed so obvious and it was right in front of everyone's face for years. Give a sports franchise the nickname "Sharks" and the logo and marketing possibilities are endless.
4.) Pittsburgh Penguins.....It'll be a shame if the name and logo change when the team leaves for Portland, Kansas City, or Houston. And by the way, the specific logo I'm talking about is the one with the skating Penguin with the hockey stick, not the new fangled one. And they had black as a primary color before every team had it.
5.) Tampa Bay Lightning.....I always thought it was strange to name a sports franchise after the worst part of living in a particular city. Like naming a team the Miami Heat. So I thought that naming a team after lightning in Tampa was a tad askew. But the logo is kind of cool. And I like the colors.
6.) Ottawa Senators.....One of the few teams that has a third jersey that's actually an improvement over an already cool jersey. Although when the logo was first introduced the team was raked over the coals because the logo has a striking resemblance to the Trojan condom logo.
7.) Florida Panthers.....I always liked this logo and I never understood why it wasn't a bigger success. I love the 3-D perspective.
8.) Los Angeles Kings.....If they had stuck with the old logo then they probably would have been number one on this list. And when I say the old logo I mean the black and silver one, not the yellow and purple monstrosity of the 70's.
9.) Colorado Avalanche.....When the Nordiques moved to Denver owner Charlie Lyons desperately wanted to name the team the Rocky Mountain Extreme but the public went crazy with outrage and they settled on the Avalanche. Thank God the public spoke up. The logo was originally criticized for looking like soft ice cream but I like it.
10.) Edmonton Oilers.....This logo would have been way, way higher on the list if they hadn't darkened the blue. Same with the San Diego Chargers. I guess I'm a sucker for the classics.
11.) Boston Bruins.....The first ever modern day hockey logo. It's not too snazzy but it's bold and classic.
12.) New Jersey Devils.....As much as I despise the Devils I have to admit that their logo is kind of cool, especially since they abandoned the old Christmas tree colors of the early 80's.
13.) Toronto Maple Leafs.....One of the few original 6 franchises that routinely changes their look. They've given it 5 face lifts since it's inception. When you name your team after a leaf I guess your option of logos is somewhat limited. I mean it's not like you can give it razor sharp teeth or something, but they did a nice job on it.
14.) Anaheim Ducks.....When Henry Samueli bought the team from Disney the ink wasn't even dry on the contract when he went about changing the logo from the moronic duck mask to the current logo. It's not great, the colors are a little silly, but hey...it's a hell of an improvement.
15.) Montréal Canadiens.....The logo has been unchanged since 1917 which puts the team in a difficult situation; if they change the logo their fans will go bananas but if they don't they miss out on the lucrative third jersey loot. Still, the logo means hockey to a lot of people.
16.) Dallas Stars.....There were rumors that the North Stars were leaving Minnesota for years, and when owner Norman Green unveiled this logo in 1992, sans the N for North Stars, the fans new it was only a matter of time. The only question was what city was going to be over the word Stars.
17.) Philadelphia Flyers.....It's awe-ite. I liked it way better when they had orange as their primary color, I'm not a huge fan of the black. Especially now that the team is the most pathetic thing in the NHL, the black just reminds me that the team started losing when they made that switch.
18.) Detroit Red Wings.....It looks like the Soviet Red Army team. Red, on red, surrounded by red, with a smidge of white. A lot of wins in those uniforms though.
19.) Calgary Flames.....Simple logo with little flare. So when all the teams went to a third jersey it was Calgary's chance to come up with something really cool. What did they come up with? Some fire breathing horse looking thing. Huh?
20.) New York Rangers.....Rangers written in descending letters on the sweater. But like I said about the Canadiens sweater, it just says hockey.
21.) Washington Capitals.....One word, busy. Capital building, stars, hockey sticks, hockey puck,
with Capitals written across it all. The third jersey is just a screaming eagle, a far better logo. They should stick with the eagle.
22.) New York Islanders.....Boring logo that was actually brought back because of the horrific "update" the franchise tried a few years ago. That logo was stone cold stupid. It featured the Gorton's fisherman for crying out loud!! Anyway, this logo has 4 Stanley Cups in it so I guess it's not going anywhere anytime soon.
23.) St. Louis Blues.....ZERO imagination. Zero. Ok, so Sid Salomon gets awarded the franchise in 1967 and they come up with a flying musical note logo. I guess for 1967 that passes for innovative. But now it's 2007, come up with something better please.
24.) Buffalo Sabres.....Just to show you what Sabre nation thinks of the new logo featuring a buffalo that looks like a slug check out this website www.fixthelogo.com. Their fans were so happy when the team announced that they were going back to the blue and gold colors only to get a punch in the gut with this ridiculous logo.
25.) Phoenix Coyotes.....Just a ridiculous picture of an eyeless coyote head that looks like it was designed by a kid as a homework project. And at the last second the kid drew the picture on the bus.
26.) Columbus Blue Jackets.....Bad team, stupid colors, and horrible fan support. Imagine if they had a cool name like the Vampires, which by the way was the Philadelphia Phantoms plan B and a much better name if the AHL didn't accept Phantoms. The Phantoms could have had a wicked cool logo and been the hit of every Halloween. Oh well.
27.) Minnesota Wild.....It looks like they took an Ansel Adams picture and had a 7 year old paint it color by numbers style with all the left over crayons none of the cool kids ever use.
28.) Atlanta Thrashers.....I'm not even sure what the hell it is. It's like a bird stuck in a tornado with a hockey stick. And don't forget the turd brown colors.
29.) Vancouver Canucks.....A killer whale wearing dentures coming out of a half moon. How could that not work? As amazing as it seems it doesn't.
30.) Carolina Hurricanes.....I actually started this list with this logo. I DESPISE this crest. Imagine you're the Hurricanes; they moved from Hartford and they had every nickname, logo, and just about every color available to them and that's what they came up with? It looks like an elementary school project. The dumbest logo in all of sports, minor league sports included.
posted by Monday Morning Mehta at 10:17 AM
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