Gary Glitter's strange fame

Aaron Wherry blogs on the strange fame of Gary Glitter. Glitter's "Rock n Roll Part II" (aka the "Hey" song) is a mainstay at sports games in North America.

"In the realm of sports anthems, his Rock n Roll Part 2 is bested really only by Queen's We Will Rock You (because, of course, nothing goes together better than hyper-masculinity and a flamboyant, gay, British rock god). Aside from We Will Rock You, Take Me Out To The Ballgame and the American national anthem, there isn't another song more closely associated with the wide world of sports, professional and otherwise (though college basketball fans can argue for One Shining Moment and Canadians can campaign for the Hockey Night In Canada theme)."

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Makeover ideas for Canadian hockey jerseys

TNS's Jay Onrait has a fun piece on Canadian hockey uniforms.

"For third jerseys, the NHL has usually gone for redesigned "alternates" instead. They could have it so much better (good album by the way) if they honored the league's past while appealing to its younger fans in the present by dipping into the days of way back!"

VANCOUVER: "What kind of team adopts "grainy mustard yellow" as its primary colour in the late seventies?"

CALGARY: "Their current uni isn't bad, but I would simply take the black out of the colour scheme. There's something Wayne Gretzky did so effectively when he came on board with Phoenix and insisted the team re-design their horrific threads, he oversaw a very simple design: Basic logo on the front, basic stripes on the side, and two basic colours. Whether you like the colours or the logo, the uni is very effective because it nearly achieves that throwback look without being a throwback."

EDMONTON: "They should pretty much follow the Calgary Model: Original Blue, Orange, and White home and away throwbacks during all games with Calgary. What a great feeling it will give fans in both cities to remember the classic Battles and witness new Battles in the threads that started it all."

OTTAWA: "One jersey that should never be resurrected? One with the "Parliament Building" logo first introduced when the Sens came back into the league."

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Sacramento Kings apologize for bashing Detroit in pregame video

From Sports Illustrated:

The Sacramento Kings bought full-page ads in two newspapers to apologize for showing derogatory images of Detroit on video screens prior to their home opener against the Pistons.

When the Pistons were introduced Tuesday night, the Arco Arena scoreboard flashed pictures of abandoned buildings, burned-out cars, piles of rubble and other negative images of Detroit. The Pistons won the game 102-88.

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NBA spokesman Tim Frank said the league is reviewing the incident.

NBA policy prohibits "ridiculing of opponents or game officials ... via PA announcements, video, or matrix displays, music or mascot skits.''

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Interview with "HuskerVision" camera guy

An interview with Mike Maryott, who is part of the production team at Husker games at the University of Nebraska.

“It’s fun being on the field and right there for the tunnel walk,” Maryott said. “It’s great. I am as close as anyone can be without being run over. It’s a rush.”

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Interview with Dominic Latkovski of Zooperstars & Birdzerk

A good interview this month on GameOps.com, with Dominic Latkovski of Zooperstars and Birdzerk fame. An excerpt:

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One of our smarter performers (Steve) was in the locker room before the AA All Star Game in Norwich a few years ago. There was a guy standing nearby, priming his voice to get ready to sing the National Anthem. Steve asked him if he was singing the Anthem and the guy said “YES.” Steve told him to “Knock ‘em dead,” and then walked away. He never realized it was Michael Bolton!

Earlier this year, we had a funny episode during a routine where Roger Clamens eats someone on the ice. Our guy getting eaten cracked his nose on the ice when he fell to the ground while being swallowed. His nose was gushing blood, but he had to continue on with the routine. So he jumped on the other guy’s (Steve again) back just like he was supposed to and proceeded to get tons of blood all over Steve’s hair and down his back. Steve was freaking out, but there was nothing he could do! That costume still has blood stains all over the inside of it today, because they just wouldn’t come out!!

My brother was working the crowd as Whale Gretzky at a hockey game for the Motor City Mechanics. We knew Kid Rock was in attendance that night, so we went by his suite. Kid Rock, who had been enjoying himself a little too much that night, sees us coming and hangs over the rail and starts laughing at Whale Gretzky. So my brother sprays Silly String all over his face, in his long hair, and in his beer. It took about 10 seconds for the guy to even realize what was going on. His drunk friends just laughed at him and gave Whale Gretkzy high-fives!

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Can the crowd affect free-throw shooting?

From ESPN's Page 2:

"Last season, the 25 teams with split stats listed on NBA.com shot an average of 75.7 percent from the foul line at home and 75.3 percent away, a whopping difference of 0.4 percent. Ten squads even shot better on the road."

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"As it turns out, Thunderstix and wiggling balloons have little effect because the brain simply blocks out random motion, like white noise on a television screen."

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"...fans behind the baseline would be better off moving side-to-side in unison. Why? Confronted with a field of background motion, observers tend to believe that they are moving while the background remains still -- think of sitting on a stopped subway train while an adjacent train passes. David Whitney, a visual scientist at the University of California-Davis, has demonstrated that a field of background motion can influence hand motions, such as the flick of the wrist on a free throw."

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Poppies & Copyright = Poppyright

Not related to sports at all:

The Royal Canadian Legion has requested that an image of the poppy be removed from Bourque.com:

"The Committee", reprimands Mr. [Steven] Clark, [Secretary, Poppy and Remembrance Committee of the Royal Canadian Legion,] "acknowledges your effort to promote Remembrance but, as we do not have control over website content, the use of the Poppy image is not authorized."

Bourque responds:
"What next, will Peter Mansbridge and Mike Duffy be banned from wearing their poppies during Remembrance Day telecasts ? Will Rick Mercer be blocked from using the poppy in a tastefully funny TV skit ? Will Leonard Asper have to erase his Remembrance Day website ? Will Charles Adler have to take it off while he broadcasts his radio show from the CAB convention floor in Winnipeg next week ? Will Jeffrey Simpson have to remove his while he pens his next G&M column?"

Youppi! makes his Habs debut

From the Toronto Star:

Just like old times in Montreal, Youppi! was there to high-five Andre Dawson and Gary Carter amid the wild cheers of a sellout crowd. Sadly, for fans of the city's late and lamented baseball team, last night he was standing on skates at centre ice at the Bell Centre — not outside the Olympic Stadium dugout — and all three were wearing Montreal Canadiens jerseys. Dawson and Carter, two of the greatest players in the Expos' 36-year history, were on hand as guests of the Canadiens for a ceremony honouring the four numbers retired by the National League team, which moved to Washington, D.C. last season.

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Youppi!, the Expos' fuzzy orange mascot since 1979, did not move with the team.With the arena's lights dimmed, the video scoreboard showed Canadiens defenceman Sheldon Souray looking into the camera in the team's dressing room and offering encouragement to an unknown, who was obviously making his debut. Cheers filled the rink as the familiar mascot's image was seen wearing a Canadiens uniform and grabbing a toy stick and oversized puck before racing onto the ice to the approval of the audience.


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New scoreboard at Charlotte Arena

"The New Charlotte Arena today unveiled the concept and design of its center-hung video display and scoreboard, which will be the most technologically advanced board in the country when the arena opens in November 2005. Created together with Spurgeon Design Group and manufactured by Daktronics, the scoreboard will have a larger video screen with higher resolution than any other arena in the country, and will feature a 360-degree projection system with ground-breaking, three-dimensional images of the Charlotte city skyline." (Press release...)

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"Standard scoreboards have typically featured fixed digital displays surrounding an LED screen averaging nine feet wide by 16 feet high. The New Charlotte Arena’s four-sided, center-hung scoreboard will feature four 16-foot-high by 28-foot-long LED (light emitting diode) screens that can change throughout an event to feature one full-screen image or an assortment of animations, graphics, video, text, scores and other event-relevant information."

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Working with noted arena and stadium consultant Michael Deutsch of Phoenix, the arena partnered with Spurgeon Design Group, who are experts in lighting, video, sound and sets for Broadway shows, themed venues and Las Vegas theatrical extravaganzas, to design the concept they had generated.

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In addition to the four horizontal high-resolution displays, the 38-foot-high by 36-feet-wide, 80,000-pound scoreboard will feature four LED vertical displays on the corners of the structure. All these high-tech components will be manufactured and installed by Daktronics, the world’s leading designer and manufacturer of integrated scoring and video systems.”

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The scoreboard’s most unique design element will be a three-dimensional, back-lit Charlotte city skyline that sits atop the center-hung display. The skyline will come to life through a 360-degree projection system, whose multiple projectors will offer a seamless movie-screen projection of a limitless variety of creative images. For example, the skyline may feature day-time or night-time views and can be altered to entertain the crowd in a variety of ways, from fireworks shooting across the sky after an emotional moment in a game or event to a hot-air balloon or airplane passing by. An endless amount of animated effects can be created by the arena’s design and graphic team to bring the skyline to life.

Youppi! returns to Montreal Canadiens

Canadiens.com: Canadiens adopt beloved former Expos mascot

Canadiens President Pierre Boivin announced Friday the official lifetime adoption of Youppi! as the organization’s new mascot.

Youppi!, age unknown, will make history in becoming the first mascot in professional sports history to move from one league to another when he makes his in-game debut with the Canadiens in October 2005. The beloved orange-furred creature, a staple at Olympic Stadium from 1979 through 2004 while with Major League Baseball’s Montreal Expos, found himself without a home when the latter franchise moved to Washington, D.C., ahead of the 2005 season.

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Also on hand at the official signing of the adoption papers was former Expos Vice-President of Business Affairs Claude Delorme and Youppi! forefather and creator Roger D. Landry who was thrilled at the prospect of Youppi! finding a new home.

“I think this is a perfect fit for Youppi!,” said his creator Landry. “I couldn’t of imagined a better adoptive family than the Montreal Canadiens. I remember the night when we came up with his name like it was yesterday. I told Rodger Brulotte that I wanted a character that would make the kids say Youppi when they saw him. Rodger then said “That’s it, you just found his name”, and the rest is history.”

Youppi!, who took part in excess of 4000 public outings during his 26-year tenure with the Expos, will make his first public appearance in a Canadiens uniform at the team’s Jamboree on Sunday, September 18. Activities will begin with the Canadiens open practice at the Bell Centre at 9:00 a.m. Also featured during the day are street hockey games featuring Canadiens players and Alumni, photo and autograph sessions, and giveaway prizes, including tickets for the Canadiens’ preseason game the same night against the Atlanta Thrashers.

National Post: Montreal Canadiens obtain mascot Youppi! for undisclosed sum

Roger D. Landry, who described himself as Youppi!'s "spiritual father or godfather," said the mascot is the product of Muppets creator Jim Henson.

Landry, a former Expos vice-president of marketing and public affairs, said it wasn't an easy task.

"The first model he made was not really to our liking," he said. "I wanted him a little more round and (Henson) had him more pointed."

Youppi! has not had a spotless career and in 1989 was ejected from a Major League Baseball game.

On Aug. 23, 1989, he was ejected in the 11th inning after then Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda complained to the umpires about his dancing on top of the visitor's dugout.

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Glen Street, who launched Harvey in 1984 and is president of mascot makers Street Characters, which supplies about half of the NHL's mascots, has some advice for Youppi!.

In an interview from Calgary, he suggested Youppi! may have to work harder.

"Baseball tends to be a leisurely stroll through the stands," Street said. "They (mascots) can go down into the dugout, spend time there and work out on the field.

"NHL mascots seem to be best at interacting with the crowd because they don't get the opportunity to be down on the field or the playing surface.

"Hockey is the only sport where the mascot is forced to be in the crowd for the entire event, except for the intermissions."