June, 2005:

• Uni Watch by Paul Lukas - "Polka Dots Popular in France"
  June 30, 2005
  If you watched the NBA Finals, you probably noticed the O'Brien Championship Trophy jersey patch that everyone was wearing (although the NBA also plastered images of the trophy on the court, the backboard posts, towels, caps, T-shirts, interview backdrops, and pretty much everywhere else they could think of, just to be safe). The NBA isn't the only league to showcase its trophy on players' uniforms. In recent years, NHL playoff finalists have worn a Stanley Cup jersey patch.
  Source: www.espn.com
   
• Marquette U. Announces Nickname - "Golden Eagles" (NCAA)
  June 29, 2005
  Marquette University students, alumni, faculty, staff and other members of the Marquette community have completed voting in the first round of the “MU Voice” nickname selection process, and the final two nickname options for the second round of voting will be Golden Eagles and Hilltoppers. The second round of voting opened June 7 and runs through Friday, June 24, at 9 p.m. The response to the first vote, open from Tuesday, May 24, through Sunday, June 5, was enthusiastic, with 31,501 voters participating in the survey and casting 48,688 total votes. This accounts for nearly 30 percent of the total eligible voting population of approximately 105,500 people and is more than three times the participation rate in the November 2004 nickname survey.
  Source: www.marquette.edu
   
• Uni Watch by Paul Lukas - "From Corsets to Catsuits"
  June 20, 2005
  Ah, big-time tennis – the pageantry, the tradition, the overpriced concessions. With Wimbledon set to kick off today, and people still chattering about French Open champ Rafael Nadal's clamdiggers, this seems like a good time for Uni Watch to take a look at the world of court couture. The game's biggest clotheshorse is, of course, Serena Williams – what with the catsuit, the gaiters, and the tribute to the Cameroon soccer team. But Page 2 has already had its fun with her, and with other contemporary players.
  Source: www.espn.com
   
• U. of Utah Unveils New Football Uniforms (NCAA)
  June 17, 2005
  Utah football is getting a new look. Fresh off an undefeated season and the Bowl Championship Series, the Utes are getting new uniforms and a slightly lighter shade of red on their helmets. The Nike-made jerseys will sport a design similar to those of the University of Miami. The Utes plan to wear red tops and white pants at home and white tops with red pants on the road. Senior linebacker Spencer Toone, who joined other team leaders in choosing the new uniforms, said several options were explored. "We decided that this style would be best. I think it's going to look real sharp," said Toone, who didn't have a problem with the old look. "They were just a couple of years old. They renew them every couple of years, and I think we are about due. It was kind of cool that they let the team decide what we wanted."
  Source: www.deseretnews.com
   
• Peoria Rivermen Unveil New Home and Away Jerseys (American Hockey League)
  June 16, 2005
  St. Louis Blues Senior Vice President & General Manager Larry Pleau and Peoria Rivermen President/CEO Bart Rogers unveiled today the Rivermen home and away jerseys for their first season in the American Hockey League (AHL) for the upcoming 2005-2006 season. The Rivermen are the proud new primary affiliate of the St. Louis Blues with a five-year affiliation agreement and an additional five-year option. The home white jerseys will feature the new Rivermen primary logo on the center chest with navy blue (Navy PMS 282) mesh gusseting, which begins at the base of the jersey and runs up each side before concluding at the forearm on the underside of each sleeve. The top hem and the forearm of each sleeve are striped in gold (Sunflower PMS 123), navy and white. The bottom hem is a two-inch swath of navy blue. Each arm is lined in gold piping on both sides from the neck to the forearm. Each shoulder features the St. Louis Blues primary Blue Note mark in royal blue (Royal PMS 287) and each upper arm includes the player number in royal blue outlined in gold and navy blue. The collar is outlined in navy blue and gold, while the jersey is brought together at the neck with three eyelets and a lace.
  Source: www.rivermen.net
   
• Pensacola Ice Pilots Unveil New Logo, Colors (ECHL (hockey))
  June 16, 2005
  The Pensacola Ice Pilots announced a new logo and colors for the organization. The new logo with the name Pensacola Ice Pilots written across features four planes flying with a shooting puck. The team colors will be red, black, silver and white. This will be the primary logo and color scheme that the Ice Pilots will be using effective immediately. The logo was designed by Francis Santaquilani from Chattanooga, Tennessee. He has designed other logos for the Orlando Magic, NBA, WNBA, East-West Shrine College Football Game, arena football including the Pensacola Barracudas and other sporting events and teams.
  Source: www.icepilots.com
   
• Fresno Falcons Unveil 2006 All-Star Game Logo (ECHL (hockey))
  June 15, 2005
  The Fresno Falcons on Wednesday unveiled the logo for the 2006 ECHL All-Star Game presented by Bud Light and hosted by the Falcons at Save Mart Center on January 24-25. Inspired by the host team’s primary logo and using the team colors of navy blue and light blue in addition to red and white, the design has the head and wings of the team’s Falcon. The words “2006 ECHL All-Star Game” and “Fresno, CA” are in the Falcons trademark font. Immediately below “Fresno, CA” is “Presented By” with the logo of Bud Light.
  Sources: www.echl.com, www.fresnofalcons.com
   
• Portland LumberJax Unveil Nickname, Logo (National Lacrosse League)
  June 12, 2005
  Angela Batinovich, owner of Portland's expansion franchise in the National Lacrosse League, announced LumberJax as the team name, a callous-looking lumberjack figure as the logo, and black and gold as team colors. The LumberJax new website has been launched at www.PortlandJax.com. "Of the 3,067 entries submitted in the 'Name the team Contest,' entries were submitted as LumberJax or Lumberjacks," said Batinovich. "After we narrowed the contest to three names, the LumberJax won with 46% of the public vote on the website over the Shadow with 32% and the Fear with 23%. Leading up to the final voting, we manufactured logos, marketing schemes, and potential charity partners for each name and we are thrilled to partner with the World Forestry Center from the initial announcement. This is an exciting time for the Portland community, as we continue to grow the foundation of this team."
  Source: www.nll.com
   
• U. of Missouri Unveils New Football Uniforms (NCAA)
  June 10, 2005
  The University of Missouri football program will take the field with a new look to its fashion in 2005. New uniforms have been designed by Nike, and will be debuted on Sept. 3, when Mizzou takes on Arkansas State in the season opener at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. Director of Equipment Operations Don Barnes gave MUTigers.com a sneak peek at the new uniforms today, as seniors Brad Smith and Jason Simpson served as models for a quick photo shoot. The new uniforms are made of a revolutionary, yet more durable lightweight stretch material that is form-fitting for performance enhancement. The material is moisture management capable, meaning it removes water from the body (sweat or rain for example) and allows it to evaporate. Old knit uniform material previously took that water and absorbed it like a sponge, which meant heavier jerseys by the end of a game - thus more weight carried around by the players.
  Source: www.mutigers.com
   
• "Golden Eagles", "Hilltoppers" - Final Marquette U. Nicknames (NCAA)
  June 7, 2005
  Marquette University students, alumni, faculty, staff and other members of the Marquette community have completed voting in the first round of the “MU Voice” nickname selection process, and the final two nickname options for the second round of voting will be Golden Eagles and Hilltoppers. The second round of voting opened June 7 and runs through Friday, June 24, at 9 p.m. The response to the first vote, open from Tuesday, May 24, through Sunday, June 5, was enthusiastic, with 31,501 voters participating in the survey and casting 48,688 total votes. This accounts for nearly 30 percent of the total eligible voting population of approximately 105,500 people and is more than three times the participation rate in the November 2004 nickname survey.
  Source: www.marquette.edu
   
• Buffalo Bills Unveil Throwback Uniforms (National Football League)
  June 4, 2005
  It was the past, present and future all rolled into one at Ralph Wilson Stadium Saturday afternoon. Sporting their new throwback jerseys for the first time, members of the Buffalo Bills anxiously ran onto the field in front of a wild crowd of cheering fans. The unveiling was the highlight of this weekend's Celebration of Champions. "To watch those guys come out of the tunnel it was like going back in time and watching us," said former Bills receiver Ed Rutkowski. "It was kind of surreal." It was surreal for many because the throwback uniforms are nearly identical to what the Bills wore during their AFL Championship years in the mid-1960s. Buffalo changed its uniforms following the 1972 season.
  Source: www.buffalobills.com
   
• Uni Watch by Paul Lukas - "Stir-ring Up Sockwear"
  June 2, 2005
  It's gotta be the shoes, you say? Nuh-uh – it's the socks. Uni Watch is referring, of course, to the modest but undeniable renaissance of stirrups appearing on Major League Baseball diamonds. The movement is being spearheaded in Boston, where Kevin Millar, Trot Nixon, Bill Mueller and Mark Bellhorn have all been stirrup-clad in recent weeks. Other current stirrup stalwarts include Juan Pierre, Reed Johnson, Johnny Estrada, Ruben Gotay, Alex Cintron (dig the ankle-level D-Backs logo!), Jose Cruz Jr. (ditto!), Jamie Moyer, Heath Bell, Mark Prior (get better soon, big guy!) and Brandon McCarthy (but not, alas, Barry Zito, who used to wear stirrups but is wearing solid green stockings this year – no doubt the source of his sub-par mound performance).
  Source: www.espn.com
   
• Syracuse U. Unveils New Football Uniforms (NCAA)
  July 1, 2005
  The 2005 SU football squad will sport a new look from head to toe when it hosts West Virginia in the Carrier Dome on September 4. SU Director of Athletics Dr. Daryl Gross and Orange football coach Greg Robinson unveiled the new-look uniforms with four seniors modeling the various color combinations on Wednesday at the Carrier Dome. “We want to kick off the Greg Robinson era of SU football on the right foot and the new-look uniforms are part of it,” Gross said. “We designed the uniforms to respect the past and represent the future. For example, the stripes on the shoulders are representative of the uniforms that Jim Brown and Ernie Davis wore with stripes on their sleeves and also reflect the style of today’s uniforms that do not have the longer sleeves.” Four color combinations will be available for the Orange in 2005, including orange pants with a white jersey, orange pants with a blue jersey, white pants with a white jersey, and white pants with a blue jersey. The uniform will be complemented with a helmet featuring numbers on the side and a blue stripe down the middle and black shoes. The football players requested the change to the black shoes.
  Sources: www.suathletics.com, www.news10now.com