B-Sens pay tribute to Team USA with ugly jersey

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The AHL's Binghamton Senators wanted to capitalize on the excitement of the U.S. Olympic hockey team with a special jersey on Saturday.

But boy, was it ugly.

The crest was clearly modeled after the USA Hockey logo, which for legal reasons the B-Sens obviously had to avoid. So instead they tried to mimic it. Poorly.

In fact, it's so bad it ended up looking like the letters "USA" sitting atop an Austrian flag.

Kudos to the B-Sens for wanting to show their support to Team USA, but next time hire a real designer for the jersey. No reason any team has to look like that.

By the way, if the U.S.-Russia game was a nail biter, this one was decidedly not. They may have had ugly jerseys, but Binghamton cruised to an 8-0 win over the Worcester Sharks.

I usually try not to be so harsh when it comes to minor league specialty jerseys, but I'm clearly having difficulty finding the redeeming qualities in this one.

Team USA surprises in Sochi with 1960 throwback jersey

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The United States faced Slovenia today, but they weren't wearing either of the two jerseys that were unveiled in the fall. It was a pleasant surprise to see the USA donning a classic jersey — a throwback to what the 1960 gold medal team wore.

Normally I wouldn't be so slow to post news like this, but I wanted to enjoy the game unspoiled this morning. (Since I was sleeping at 4:30 AM, I relied on my TiVo.)

So I hadn't seen the tweet from USA Hockey teasing the jerseys hanging in the locker room. I found out on TV.

I think it's awesome that the U.S. played this one close to the vest. It was a very cool surprise this morning. What did you think of it?

AHL Penguins get nostalgic for a 1980 miracle jersey

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The AHL's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are paying tribute to the 1980 gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic hockey team next weekend — by appropriating their jerseys.

It's Military Appreciation Night on Sun., Feb. 22 for the Baby Pens. So they'll be sporting the red, white and blue you see above. Note how they've cleverly replaced USA with their own initials. Genius.

Anyway, for those of you who'd been longing for an American throwback jersey in Sochi, hopefully this can hold you over. Of course die hards will scoff at the nameplate on the back of the jersey — which isn't blue as it should be.

Remind me to grab some photos after the game next weekend.

Olympic jersey night hits Everblades like a brick

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Last weekend, the ECHL's Florida Everblades wore one of the year's ugliest minor league specialty jerseys. They were so ugly, in fact, that the players jettisoned them after only 20 minutes of action.

To be honest, the Blades' problems went deeper than jerseys. They were in the midst of a nasty rough patch, allowing 24 goals in five games.

But let's at least admit their marketing department isn't exactly helping them out. As the Everblades hit the ice last Friday (Feb. 7) against the Gwinnett Gladiators, the players wore specially-designed sweaters with a Winter Olympics theme.

Only they were "designed" by kids from a local hospital. And they were an absolute disaster — in terms of aesthetics. I think it's awesome to let sick kids help design a hockey jersey. But certainly a grown-up with taste could've come in somewhere along the way to guide the art direction a bit, no?

According to Craig Handel, Fort Myers News-Press, this happened last Friday:

The Everblades had planned to wear jerseys designed by kids at the Golisano Children’s Hospital, the uniforms feature the Everblades logo in a shiny gold—to represent the medals—over a blue background, with drawings by the children of Olympic events near the waist and flags of the world along the arms.

However, it lasted just one period. Players complained that they looked too much like Gwinnett’s road whites.

Now don't be misled. Gwinnett has great jerseys. When they say the jerseys looked too much alike, I can only assume they were talking about how much red and white were incorporated.

The Blades switched into their regular blue jerseys and had an amazing four-goal second period. Unfortunately, they blew it and ended up losing 6-5 in overtime. But at least they couldn't blame that on the jerseys.

To make matters worse, the rink had been "repainted" earlier that day as fans were invited to decorate the playing surface with all manner of graffiti — Paint the Ice Night. Be sure to flip through all the photos in that slideshow above — but be warned you may feel the urge to poke your eyes out after.

The following night, in a rematch with the Gladiators, only the Everblades' goalies wore those ridiculous jerseys and the team went on to a 3-0 shutout victory — proving that maybe the players were onto something after all.