Tag Archives: jerseys

Articles, Hockey

Spaghetti, anyone?

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In an age of hyper marketing, intense competition and tightly controlled PR, it’s amazing that truly horrible ideas can still make it past the brainstorming stage. Whether it’s the nightmare of design by committee or just a conflagration of mediocre talents pulling the wool over the eyes of out of touch rich CEOs, we occasionally see awful designs rolled out in an underwhelming explosion of anticlimax. We analyze the Canucks’ latest trip to the cash trough with today’s edition of Somebody Approved This.

The act of going retro is, like, so yesterday.

Still, the Vancouver Canucks will break out the ol’ spaghetti jerseys on February 13 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of no longer wearing these black and orange abominations the opening of Rogers Arena. It’s a great excuse to laugh at the Toronto Maple Leafs, who lost a five-game Conference Finals to those awfully dressed Vancouver Canucks back in 1994, but then again the Leafs will only have to see these damned things once. We of Lotusland will have to see a renewed population of black-and-gold fashion faux pas for years to freaking come.

Pavel Bure and Trevor Linden wore spaghetti well. That doesn't mean others should be subjected to it. Photos garnered from various interweb searches.
Pavel Bure and Trevor Linden wore spaghetti well. That doesn’t mean others should be subjected to it. Photos garnered from various interweb searches.

 
Continue reading Spaghetti, anyone? →

2014-15 Season, Articles, Podcast

Episode 58 – What jerseys not to wear

When you think high fashion, you think Pucked in the Head. I mean, Chris Withers alone owns the most colourful questionable jersey collection jersey collection this side of the Mississippi amongst the three main contributors to this website.

In this cast of pod, those other two PITH-y pinheads drone on about colour schemes and logo design until they’ve painted themselves into a Peyote Coyote corner. (Note, no peyote was used during the preparation or recording of this particular episode. Maybe that was the problem?)

* Intro
* Sofa Surfer Girl by the Orchid Highway
* LA Kings paper curtains
* Canucks Hallowe’en Flying Vees
* Workmarks bite hockey bag as a rule
* Best of the best
* WTF, Ducks?
* Now that you mention it, WTF, California?
* Do you seriously want to go into other sports?
* Never have a cartoon mascot leap out of the jersey
* The Peyote Coyote: ugly jersey, funky shirt, or both?
* You can’t leave without dissing the Buffaslug
* Kill all the mustard yellow
* Adios, muchachos
* Time for a Change by the Orchid Highway

Each and every one gets a passing grade from the likes of Chris Withers, so Russell Arbuthnot and Jason Kurylo decided to chat some hockey fashion in Episode 58.
Each and every one gets a passing grade from the likes of Chris Withers, so Russell Arbuthnot and Jason Kurylo decided to chat some hockey fashion in Episode 58.
Articles, Hockey

A gimme for the Game of Thrones marketing people

Just prior to last week’s Stadium Series — which saw the LA Kings continue their remarkable second-half winning streak with a 2-1 decision over the mysteriously mediocre San Jose Sharks — one of the Levi’s Stadium webcams got a jealous visit from a territorial black bird. No, not Patrick Kane. C’mon, Game of Thrones people. This footage is a freakin’ freebie.

As for the game, it was all right I suppose. Both of these teams can play something resembling hockey when you give them the chance. The Kings, after eight wins in nine tries, now sit third in the Pacific Division, tied with the Calgary Flames with a game in hand. The Sharks are going the other way — they’ve got just seven points in their last ten games.

Whatever. Even on a balmy California night, I don’t see the appeal behind paying a premium to sit in a baseball stadium to watch puck. The front row is hundreds of feet from the boards, for crying out loud.

Photoshop mangling by Jason Kurylo, who sobbed, 'I could work in film and television post production, I just know I could.'
Photoshop mangling by Jason Kurylo, who sobbed, ‘I could work in film and television post production, I just know I could.’
Articles, Hockey

Somebody Approved This: Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Retro Jersey

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The hideous runs so wide and so deep in this maroon disaster, not even Teemu Selanne can cleanse my eye sockets. Photo stolen from ducks.nhl.com
The hideous runs so wide and so deep in this maroon disaster, not even Teemu Selanne can cleanse my eye sockets. Photo stolen from ducks.nhl.com

In an age of hyper marketing, intense competition and tightly controlled PR, it’s amazing that truly horrible ideas can still make it past the brainstorming stage. Whether it’s the nightmare of design by committee or just a conflagration of mediocre talents pulling the wool over the eyes of out of touch rich CEOs, we occasionally see awful designs rolled out in an underwhelming explosion of anticlimax. Today, we analyze the most recent NHL obscenity with the resurrection of Somebody Approved This.

One month ago today, the Anaheim Ducks warned the world that they hated us all. Instead of disconnecting our cable, building shelters and indiscriminately hooking up with old flames, it seems that hundreds of people instead lined up to purchase a retro maroon Mighty Ducks of Anaheim jersey. You say you don’t remember, but you do: it’s the one replete with angled grey stripes and Disney’s duck-faced Jason mask.

During tonight’s game against the Ottawa Senators, the Ducks will wear these abomaroonations, play early 90s music, and charge just 93 cents for popcorn, candy and soft drinks. That’s right, folks, today you can look bad, sound worse and develop type two diabetes — all for a single greenback!

More, including the always-entertaining Withers Haiku, after the break. Continue reading Somebody Approved This: Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Retro Jersey →

Articles, Soccer

Whitecaps Wednesday: What’s With The Price Gouging, Adidas?

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Whitecaps WednesdayWe’re now into the second week of English Premier League action. The last two Saturdays, I’ve been up at 7am to watch my chosen favourites Norwich City. What can I say; sports is my religion, and this is my flagellation. I knew going into the season that Norwich would be sporting new kits , but I hadn’t yet seen them in action. Holy cow, are those nice shirts! While watching the Canaries play a superior Everton side to a 2-2 draw on opening day, I couldn’t help but look up how much one of those bad boys would cost. Holy cow, are those cheap shirts (by sports jersey standards)! As a Whitecaps fan, I’ve come to expect that the bland shirts my club wears will cost the customer well upwards of $100. Imagine my surprise when I found that I could get a shirt from my favourite premier league side for only £45. (Yeah, yeah, I’ll do the math for you. That’s $73.80 CDN.) What’s up, Adidas? Continue reading Whitecaps Wednesday: What’s With The Price Gouging, Adidas? →

Articles, Hockey

Off-season Hockey Fashion

Harrison Mooney, of the mighty Puck Daddy and the somewhat less threatening Pass It to Bulis, rocks a Ghostbusters jersey from Dave's Geeky Hockey. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
Harrison Mooney, of the mighty Puck Daddy and the somewhat less threatening Pass It to Bulis, rocks a Ghostbusters jersey from Dave’s Geeky Hockey. Sopranos star and E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt  looks on with stern, Jersey-soaked envy. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

As any good hockey fan knows, one can never have too many hockey shirts. Dive into those closets and dresser drawers, and you’ll find jerseys, herseys, shirseys, Ts, baby Ts, half Ts, tanks, halters, and hell, even bikini tops.

It is summertime, after all.

The sun brings out any and all of the above, as puck bunnies and puckheads alike lay about yearning for the cool air of the rink and the ardent smell of freshly used hockey gear.

Note that we here at Pucked in the Head do not condone the automatic relegation of every female fan to the title of ‘puck bunny’. We refer to fans of all genders and ages as ‘puckheads’, and only use ‘puck bunnies’ when the persons in question use the term themselves. But that’s another post. On with the fashion, dang it all!

We at Pucked in the Head support summer usage of hockey-themed upper body covering, so we’ve dedicated today’s post to a collection of photos thereof.

Sadly, we didn’t see any of the aforementioned bikini tops on Saturday, but we’ll be happy to accept photos at jason (at) puckedinthehead (dot) com. Strictly for research purposes, of course, honey. It’s for the blog, I swear.

More after the jump.

Continue reading Off-season Hockey Fashion →

Articles, Hockey

Memorabilia Memories #1

The hot mess that is Pucked in the Head continues to spread its messy, hottie wings this week. Not only will we build on Ross Arbo’s awesome coverage of BC Superweek and introduce our first single-A Vancouver Canadians baseball coverage, we’re proud to bring into the fold a wee bit we like to call

Will DeConto shares with us the story behind his Alex Burrows signed jersey. Image courtesy of Will DeConto. Autograph courtesy of Alex Burrows.
Will DeConto shares with us the story behind his Alex Burrows signed jersey. Image courtesy of Will DeConto. Autograph courtesy of Alex Burrows.

Memorabilia Memories #1 — Alex Burrows Canucks Jersey

My name is Will DeConto and I am hockey memorabilia collector. I collect just about anything to do with hockey, but my main focus is gathering signed memorabilia, which I have been doing for five years now. Pucked in the Head has graciously offered me a place where I can talk about pieces in my collection and how you can get into the hobby and build one of your own.

In a previous job in Vancouver, I had the opportunity to meet many Canucks through dealings at work (as luck would have it, that’s also how I met Jason, the fellow who runs this very website). One of the most prized items in my collection is my signed Alex Burrows jersey. The reason: the story of how it got signed, which took more than four months.

More after the jump.

Continue reading Memorabilia Memories #1 →

Articles, Hockey

Somebody Approved This: New York Islanders 2013 Third Jersey

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In an age of hyper marketing, intense competition and tightly controlled PR, it’s amazing that truly horrible ideas can still make it past the brainstorming stage. Whether it’s the nightmare of design by committee or just a conflagration of mediocre talents pulling the wool over the eyes of out of touch rich CEOs, we occasionally see awful designs rolled out in an underwhelming explosion of anticlimax. Today, we analyze the most recent NHL obscenity with the introduction of a new Seven Things series: Somebody Approved This.

Note: This fugly spittoon shirt was originally leaked — or is that leaked upon? — as a proposed third jersey in 2011-12. We wrote it up then as the ugliest thing to come out of Long Island, and remember these clowns wore the teal and orange fishermen a while back. Sadly the lockout didn’t allow Charles Wang and his wandering minstrels of woe quite enough time to rejig the damned thing. Consequently, Isles fans are being forced to watch not only a crappy team, but a crappy team in disgusting uniforms.

More, including the always-entertaining Withers Haiku, after the break. Continue reading Somebody Approved This: New York Islanders 2013 Third Jersey →

Articles, Hockey

Somebody Approved This: Vancouver Millionaires

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Chris wearing the jersey he’s so thoroughly dissing.

Jersey: The maroon jersey of the 1915 Stanley Cup champion Vancouver Millionaires.

Years worn: 1911-1926 by the Millionaires.
November 20, 2008 by the Vancouver Giants.
March 16, 2013 by the Vancouver Canucks.

Reaction: Almost unanimously positive. People like them some retro jerseys.

Most famous players to wear it: Fred “Cyclone” Taylor.

Why it’s great: The colour scheme is unique, I guess. I can’t remember anyone else wearing maroon and cream since the Millionaires folded. Having a colour scheme that nobody else thought would be a good idea is a positive, right?

Why it’s garbage: It looks like someone tried to TP the Canucks but was interrupted before they got to the torso. And the pants! With all the guys in identical red hats and white pants, I wasn’t sure if I was watching a hockey game or a Pet Shop Boys music video. Oh, and the logo? Can someone find me a Windows 95 PC so I can mock that thing up in MS Paint, then build me a time machine so I can go be a graphic designer in 1910? Thanks.

Haiku to describe Chris’s feelings whenever he sees this jersey:
This is the wrong way
To do red and white shirts. The
Right way won 5-2.

Other jerseys we can’t believe somebody approved:
New York Islanders third jersey (rumoured), 2012
Seattle Sounders third jersey, 2012
Vancouver Canucks alternate jersey, 1995-1997

 

 

 

Articles, Hockey

24 Nov 2011 – Somebody Approved This: Vancouver Canucks Mid-90s Third Jersey

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This bad boy may just be the ugliest of all Canucks jerseys. And that's saying somethin'.

In an age of hyper marketing, intense competition and tightly controlled PR, it’s amazing that truly horrible ideas can still make it past the brainstorming stage. Whether it’s the nightmare of design by committee or just the conflagration of mediocre talents pulling the wool over the eyes of rich, out-of-touch CEOs, we occasionally see awful designs rolled out in an underwhelming implosion of gut-wrenching anticlimax. Today, we analyze the Vancouver Canucks first-ever alternate sweater. The recently rereleased Frankenchild of several other ugly jerseys, this salmon-topped nightmare is the third in our series… Somebody Approved This. Continue reading 24 Nov 2011 – Somebody Approved This: Vancouver Canucks Mid-90s Third Jersey →