Vancouver Giants vs. Kelowna Rockets

Saturday the Sports Logo Pundit spent the day up in beautiful but rainy Vancouver, British Columbia shopping at the awesome Granville Island Public Market, browsing around Chinatown and attending a Vancouver Giants vs. Kelowna Rockets hockey game. A fun time was had by all and it brought up the burning question, which team has the better logo?

But first, the game. Without the NHL the junior class Western Hockey League's Giants are the only game left in town and Vancouverites (Vancouverinians? Vannys? Couvs?) are foaming at the mouth for the chance to see any hockey. Thus, 11,000+ fans packed the Pacific Coliseum (the Canucks former arena before GM Place opened) for this tense matchup and they witnessed a great hockey game between two hard hitting and pissed off teams. Kelowna ended up winning the game 2-1 with a goal late in the third period but not before getting the tar beat out of them by some bone crushing Giant hits and one particularly brutal fight.

It was also Las Vegas night at the Coliseum and one lucky fan won a free trip to Vegas. Unfortunately it wasn't me who won the trip but I still got to get my picture taken with a couple of showgirls. It was kind of shocking to see them hanging out at a hockey game. I'm still surprised Death? let me pose for a picture with them. Thanks honey!

Anyway, on to the logos. I'm a huge fan of the Kelowna Rockets logo and have been since I figured out what that silly dragon was. What you may ask does that funky looking dragon have anything to do with Rockets or Kelowna? Well let me tell you. That dragon you are referring to is none other than Lake Okanogan's legendary sea creature Oggopoggo. Simply put, he's a Canadian Loch Ness Monster. It doesn't have much to do with the name Rockets but whatever, it works for me. It makes for a very cartoony logo that kids will love but still looks fierce enough that adults would be happy to wear a jersey or shirt with him on it.

The Giants logo is alright. The color scheme looks great on the jerseys and on their merchandise but the lumberjack character just doesn't have much life. I didn't even realize that he was supposed to be a lumberjack until I saw their mascot at the game. They subtly named him "Jack" to get the point across. I think it would make more sense if he was named "Paul" but what can you do?

So what do you think? Who has the better logo? Is it the Kelowna Rockets or the Vancouver Giants. The Rockets may have won the game but will they win the logo battle. Please place your vote in the comments section below. Thanks!

Stockton Golden State Warriors

In an attempt to completely confuse basketball fans in Northern California, the new Stockton team in the International Basketball League has decided to call themselves the Stockton Golden State Kings. Nevermind the fact that there are basketball teams near Stockton in a little league called the NBA already named the Sacramento Kings and the Golden State Warriors or that the IBL already has the Waterloo Kings. These things matter not.

This rudimentary map shows just how close the Golden State Warriors and the Sacramento Kings are to the Stockton Golden State Kings. They are practically in the same media markets and both teams probably draw fans and try to sell to the Stockton area.

This is just a feeble attempt by a rinky-dink semi-pro/minor league basketball team and league to capitalize on the current presence of both teams in the same market. Do they really think it's going to work? Maybe they think that some dumb yokels will go to the Stockton High School gymnasium thinking they are going to see players like Speedy Claxton, Chris Webber, Troy Murphy or Mike Bibby.

There have been some pretty bad names throughout the course of sports history but the lack of imagination, respect and dignity displayed by the owners of this team is amazing. It may possibly be the worst sports name I have ever come across. I can't wait to see the logo. I'm imagining a purple, orange and gold mercury figure with a crown and some swords. Why not throw in a thunderbolt and a purple basketball somewhere just for good measure?

Lakeland Tigers

The Lakeland Tigers are thinking about changing their name after 27 years of baseball being played under the sane moniker. The Tigers were born in 1967 when they became a Detroit Tigers affiliate and are housed at the Tiger's spring training home, Tiger Town. The team is heavily considering changing the name to the Fish Hawks, in reference to the fish hawks (AKA Ospreys) that nest on the light standards at their ballpark, Joker Marchant Stadium.

I'm all for teams dropping their parent club's name and finding their own identity but when I first saw the name Fish Hawks I thought they must be freakin' crazy. What a lame sounding name. But after reading about the fish hawks that live at the ballpark I was sold that this was a great idea. Nothing makes me happier than team names and logos that actually spawn from an organic and original idea rather than trends, focus groups and hardcore marketing research.

And let's be honest, some kind of change is needed for the Lakeland Tigers. Obviously the Tigers name hasn't really caught on despite being 27 years-old. Attendance for the team last season was the worst in Minor League Baseball with only 538 paying customers per opening. That's pretty pitiful even for the Florida State League. A name like the Fish Hawks will probably catch some people's attention in the community that never noticed the team before.

Besides, the Detroit Tigers have been pretty awful over the past 10+ years. I think it's high time they stop reminding people that they have anything to do with that sorry franchise and make a name for their own, as the mighty fighting Fish Hawks.

Thanks to one of my favorite baseball sites Ballpark Digest for bringing this story to my attention.

Tri-City Diesel

Another goal of mine for this blog is to help archive some of the logos of teams that disappear throughout the upcoming seasons. Teams and leagues come and go overnight and logos are lost forever sometimes never to be found again. So today I bring you the first of these soon to be lost logos.

The Tri-City Diesel of Kearney, Nebraska folded in early January just months before the start of the 2005 National Indoor Football League season leaving behind one of the better indoor football logos. The train in this logo is just so cool. I love how it tails off and looks like it's coming out a tunnel in the D. It gives an otherwise boring script and color scheme some much needed animation and life.

Hope lives on for the Tri-City Diesel as it is possible that they will return to Kearney next year or move to Grand Island, Nebraska where they are building a new 6,000 seat event center. However, if the team does move to Grand Island the name and logo most likely will die in Kearney.

Poca High School - The Poca Dots

If you lived in Poca, West Virginia, what would you name the local high school's sports teams? The Miners? The Hawks? The Mountaineers? Come on now, you aren't thinking hard enough. The Fighting Monkeys? Please, where did that one come from?

How about the Dots? The Poca Dots. Has a nice little ring to it doesn't it. Well that's what a Charleston sportswriter thought back in 1928 when he suggested the nickname for the high school and the Dots have been going strong ever since.

These two logos are great. First on the left you have the classic script logo that has probably been used for 50 years. It's very simple, just a dot with some words in it. Only two colors. No 3-D effects. Yet it is much more effective than any of the previous SLP entries.

The second logo on the right is an attempt to toughen up the image of the Poca Dots. You have to admit, it's not exactly a frightening nickname. Something had to be done, the football team wasn't going to put up with it anymore. So this psycho looking dot was born. It's looks so ridiculous that it works perfectly in comparison to the classic logo.

If you love the Poca Dots then you are in luck. They have perhaps the most extensive collection of merchandise of any high school team I've ever seen. I can't tell if the person who sells this stuff is even connected to the school or if the school gets anything from the sale of this merchandise, but just in case you want a Dots thong, they have it.

They sure do love their Dots in Poca and so do we here at SLP. You better fear the Dots fool!

Haloscan Commenting

I just added Haloscan commenting and trackback to the Sports Logo Pundit mainly because I hate Blogger's commenting system. Sorry to Dave2 and Hnk for erasing your comments, but thanks for commenting anyway. If you have any suggestions for me or anything please don't be afraid. Leave me a comment or email me at downwithpants@gmail.com.

I've got a lot more planned for this blog. I'm kind of just working out the kinks now and I promise it will get better. I hope to do a rating system of some kind soon plus logo battles where logos will compete against each other in a winner take all tournament. So stay tuned and thanks for visiting!

Bellevue BlackHawks and Ontario Warriors

If I can talk Death? into it tonight I think that we'll go down to Renton High School and check out the basketball game between the Bellevue BlackHawks and the Ontario Warriors. Surprisingly and unbeknownst to most, these are real live professional basketball teams playing in the new ABA, a 32 team league reaching from Tijuana to Harlem. Most teams have been so successful that they play in local area high school gymnasiums to dozens of fans. The competition is so good that most players are from small colleges or middling talents from larger schools.

So you may be asking yourself, why would Brandon want to go see these teams play tonight? The simple answer. I love a fiasco. I've been curious about the ABA since in debuted in 2000 with high hopes establishing teams in Detroit, Kansas City, Los Angeles and a few other big cities. Most teams tried to compete with the local NBA team and failed miserably either folding mid-season or reneging on their leases and moving to high school gymnasiums. Every year since they have tried the same thing and it never works. Teams come in and say they are going to do some great things and run their operations in the cheapest and most unprofessional of manners.

So I was really intrigued when they announced they were expanding to 32 teams this season placing teams anywhere they could find an open gym. Who are these people that keep wanting to join the ABA? Who really thinks that this will work? If a dance team dances and nobody is there to see them, did they really dance?

Bellevue originally was slated to join the CBA this year as the Bellevue NightHawks but couldn't secure a lease with Bellevue Community College (that's pretty sad, isn't it? Even the CC won't have you). They flirted with moving to Everett but couldn't get a lease and now have settled in the ABA as the Blackhawks playing, in true ABA style, at a high school gym.

So what does this have to do with sports logos you say. Well nothing really other than this quick review of both of these logos. The BlackHawks logo: a dismembered Hawk is an outstanding image for your brand new franchise. What else can you expect from a rinky-dink team like this. The Warriors logo: A standard issue ABA logo complete with red, white and blue ball. You could put any city and team name on it. Perfect for a franchise that might play in twenty different locations before the end of the season. Why didn't the BlackHawks think about using this logo too?

Chico Outlaws

When I first heard the name and saw the logo for the new Chico team in the independent Golden Baseball League that begins play later this spring, I had a feeling of severe deja vu. Where had I seen this logo before? After about five minutes it finally hit me...Calgary!

That's right! The Calgary team in the short lived Canadian Baseball League were named the Outlaws and their logo was strikingly similar. I know the two logos aren't exactly the same, but let's be honest, they might as well be brothers. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Chico has improved on the old Calgary logo making him much more beefy and slick. However what bothers me is that there is absolutely no face. At least the Calgary one had some eyes. The Chico Outlaw just kind of looks like a bloody lump with a hat. Is that lump of skin poking out supposed to be a nose? And how the hell is going to hit a ball without any eyes? Huh?

Baseball fans in Chico are great. The Outlaws will probably lead the league in attendance and will be loved in the community. People will buy all sorts of merchandise and the Outlaw will become a symbol for the community just like "Heater" did for the Chico Heat in the old Western Baseball League. I just feel like the city and the fans deserve more than a bloody lump and a retread logo for their team.

Lewiston MAINEiacs

First of all, let's start with the name. The Lewiston MAINEiacs. I noticed a little something in passing this morning about the the team on OurSportsCentral.com that peaked my interest. The first question that immediately crossed my mind was "gee whiz, I wonder why a team in Quebec would spell maniacs like that?."

You see, the Lewiston MAINEiacs play in the Ligue De Hockey Junior Majeur Du Quebec, also known to us non-French Canadians as the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, so you might be able to understand my confusion. Well it turns out that the QMJHL (or the LHJMQ for you backward frogs) also has a teams in New Brunswick, PEI, Nova Scotia and one team in Maine, hence the Lewiston MAINEiacs.

Seeing this goofy name made me cringe because I started to imagine all of the worst over-the-top and ridiculous logos possible. I was very surprised to see that for a team called the MAINEiacs, they managed to keep the logo relatively subdued. I love that they worked the initials into the design. That gets very high marks from me. I also like that they went with a human figure (nicknamed Lewy) rather than use an animal that has nothing to do with the name like a lot of teams would have done. Lewy give this gives the logo a lot of personality and makes for a very cool mascot for the team.

The only thing I don't like about this logo is that on the website they cut off Lewy's body and only use his head. That makes the logo look really cheap and tacky. The LM on his stick and body are what make this logo work.

Welcome to The Sports Logo Pundit

Welcome to Down With Pants! brand spankin' new blog The Sports Logo Pundit. One of my favorite things to do is to browse websites of minor league sports teams looking for unique and interesting or just plain weird logos. We are in a time when every team wants to give itself a unique look and this has produced some of the most fascinating logos ever.

I hope to bring you a new sports logo every single day (except for the weekends, I do have a life you know...no really, quit laughing) and write a little bit about it whether it be a review, some history or just snarky comments (most likely quite a few snarky comments because some of these logos are ridiculous). This isn't a comprehensive listing or archive of logos. For that check out the excellent webpage Chris Creamer's Sports Logos. This is just me finding fun logos and passing them on to you.

So check back often please and enjoy the fun and wacky world of sports logos. If you have any logos that you think are particularly goofy or of interest please drop me an email at downwithpants@gmail.com. Thanks!