In 2007, the Yankees’ and MLB’s official team cap maker, New Era, issued a statement in which they refuted the claims of an East Harlem civic group that New Era was cashing in by manufacturing customized, non-traditional Yankees caps to reflect the colors and other symbols of area street gangs.
Of course, the dual denial was nonsense — that’s exactly what New Era was doing and what New Era, the Yankees and MLB were profiting from.
New Era and MLB, however, did thank the concerned citizens for bringing this issue “to our attention” and did promise to pull some of the Yankees, MLB-licensed gang headwear.
That’s right, New Era had no idea that its funked-up, overly stylized Yankees caps with the crowns embroidered over the NY were being worn by Latin Kings.
And New Era manufactured red and black bandana-style Yankees caps not knowing the Bloods, dressed to kill, would love them. Those blue and white bandana Yankees caps? They were favored by Crips? Who knew?
Heck, murdered gang members would even be laid out in funeral homes wearing their MLB/New Era caps, soon to be seen in “R.I.P” photo T-shirts wearing them, too. Still are.
Thursday, during Giants-Bears, a commercial appeared for New Era’s NFL team-colored caps — how one can flaunt his street attitude by wearing one. See that guy? And that guy?
The ad cut to a shot of someone holding a can, spray-painting a Raiders logo on an outdoor wall.
Now tell me what that’s all about? Perhaps Commissioner Roger Goodell would like to take a stab at explaining that.
Is that representative of laying down an NFL gang tag, or just good old-fashioned vandalism? Is it a coincidence that the NFL’s original and sustaining bad-boy team’s logo was chosen?
Regardless, why would such an image be included in an ad for any NFL merchandise?
Gee, and won’t the New Era folks be surprised to learn that they had no idea, but thanks for bringing this to their attention.
But it’s easy when money trumps shame. It’s easy when sports will do whatever and to whomever in exchange for an extra dime.
It must’ve driven NFL marketing strategists wild to see so many street hoods appearing in surveillance tapes, at arraignments and in perp walks wearing MLB team caps when, with an extra push, they could’ve been wearing NFL team caps.
After all, if you don’t go after the most vulnerable, you’re no really trying.
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Palmer babbles about in over-crowded ESPN booth
Having recently laid off hundreds of employees, why would ESPN have three men in the booth during its Thursday night college football telecasts, especially when analyst Jesse Palmer speaks non-stop?
Rutgers-Louisville was another pro-forma design ESPN fiasco. When Palmer wasn’t hitting us with every pretentious, new-age, no-sense football buzzword and phrase, the telecast was lost to in-game promotions for ESPN’s next can’t-miss NASCAR race and ABC/ESPN’s whoa, Nellie! weekend football lineup.
Palmer’s another who has forsaken plain talk for Mayockian. Players demonstrate their “physicality,” “verticality” and “escapability.” If a player jumps to catch or deflect a pass, what needs no explanation is explained: “He high-pointed the ball.”
It’s preposterous. And it meets with The Worldwide Leader In Sports’ full and steady approval.
In the first quarter, Louisville up 14-0, Palmer eagerly declared Cardinals QB Teddy Bridgewater as already prepared to be an NFL superstar. He has everything, sees everything, knows everything, does everything.
But later, after Bridgewater threw an interception and couple of bad passes, and RU made it 17-10, Palmer was just as eager to give a speech on how Bridgewater still has things he needs to work on.
Aw, what’s the use. This is how it is. To think that TV execs were once driven to provide us the best seats in the house. Now they’re driven to drive us nuts.
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Given that Mike Francesa is the kind of genius who presents bad guesses as indisputable facts, and is blessed with the gift for making colossally wrong predictions, we can be grateful that he was never hired to design a bridge, a bazooka or to inspect meat.
Thursday he authoritatively addressed that night’s Tigers-A’s Game 5, expertly alerting us to the “fact” Tigers starter Justin Verlander has “not been Verlander” and hobbled Miguel Cabrera “is not a threat.”
Verlander, in fact, had allowed no runs and struck out 33 in his previous 19 innings! Unless you strike out 34 in 19, you can’t pitch any better!
And if Francesa hadn’t paid attention to Verlander’s scoreless no decision in Game 2 vs. the A’s, his last start of the regular season — he was removed after six innings — was in a 1-0 Marlins win, the no-hitter pitched by Henderson Alvarez, ending on that two-out wild pitch.
Anyway, Verlander on Thursday night had a no-hitter through six. He allowed two hits until relieved after eight in a 3-0 win. Cabrera? He hit a two-run homer. Bring on Al Alburquerque!
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PED numbers unreliable
Here’s a question for ya: During Bud Selig’s reign, do you think there were more MLB players caught using PEDS or more who got away with it?
“My Cousin Vinny” fans: Joe Pesci had a 2-year-old filly, “Tomei,” entered in the fourth at Keeneland on Thursday. She ran sixth in a field on 10.
Reader Matthew Zuss asks if it’s appropriate for Boomer Esiason to engage in on-air talk about football point spreads and teams he needs “to cover.” Well, Matthew, it depends on whether you’re asking about Weekday Boomer or Weekend Boomer.
Now Giants patrons can join Jets patrons in recalling Rodger Goodell’s personal endorsement of PSLs as “good investments.”
CBS today sends NFL pregame panelists Bill Cowher, Esiason and Shannon Sharpe to join regular game-callers in the booth. (Cowher will work Steelers-Jets with Jim Nantz and Phil Simms.) Great idea! That means more talk than usual, plus lotsa forced laughs.
Why is that career pain-in-the-tush Santonio Holmes always is addressed in terms of his “last” issue instead of his latest one? Why else did the Steelers, in 2009, after Holmes had three straight great seasons – 79 catches for 1,250 yards in ’09 — find him expendable?
Reader Justin Herman: “Since when does a WR getting open in the middle of the field equate to, ‘Look how he just sits in the middle of the zone’? Why must Mike Mayock be so silly?” That’s the problem, Justin. He’s serious.