Category Archives: ALDLAND

NCAA issues its best decision…ever?

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In a story breaking late Friday evening, the NCAA “denied the Football Rules Committee’s proposal to require an institution’s uniform to be a different color from the field of play.” This means that Boise State can wear its blue uniforms at home games, at least as far as the NCAA is concerned.

This is one of the first topics ALDLAND tackled, way back on August 3, 2011. At that time, BSU was just about to start its first season as a member of the Mountain West Conference, which didn’t make its new member feel welcome by issuing a bill of attainder prohibiting the Broncos from wearing blue at home conference games. As I pointed out then, the rule made no sense, since the conference permitted member Colorado State to wear their green uniforms at home conference games, and CSU has a green field. It’s also as good a time as any to remind people that the players don’t operate from the vantage point of the Goodyear Blimp while playing the game.

The NCAA’s recent decision to reject a proposal that ALDLAND has shown to be nonsensical, unworkable, and flawed may be the best decision in its history. As the internet will tell you, though, the bar is pretty low. We nevertheless take a moment this evening to applaud the high point of Mark Emmert’s tenure as NCAA president. This pour of Woodford is not for you, Mark, because that would constitute an improper benefit.

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Previously
There’s a new dress code in the Mountain West Conference

NHL realignment: Take two

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This might be the new NHL division map. No one seems to know for sure, and the internet is full of conflicting maps. This one appears to have come from Canada, though, so that seems legit.

We covered the initial saga of the latest episode of this story back in December 2011. What foundered then now is coming to be realized, at least in the short term: the NHL is rearranging itself into two conferences, each with two divisions. You can read about the details, consequences, and history of the negotiations over this issue in this article.

The NHL’s problems don’t have much to do with realignment issues, so I feel free to evaluate this proposal purely as a myopic fan of my team, the Detroit Red Wings. The linked article tells me that, from that vantage point, I’m supposed to be happy about all this:

[T]he Red Wings and the Columbus Blue Jackets love the plan, because they were Eastern time zone cities playing in the Western Conference. Detroit owner Mike Ilitch had been lobbying commissioner Gary Bettman for 15 years, so his team could have better travel and his fans could have better TV start times, and he felt he was owed the move to the East. The Wings are an Original Six team that sucked it up and played at a disadvantage for a long time.

I don’t like it, though, even if that means I’m out of step with Mr. I. Here’s why:  Continue reading →

Studio Jam

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This one is pretty self-explanatory, if non-compositional in the contextual sense. Somewhat interestingly, though probably unsurprisingly knowing the evolution of the place and its people, or maybe the state of modern music, the Black Keys weren’t super keen on their experience recording Brothers there (it seems the feeling was, to some extent, mutual). It also drives one to wonder to what extent a given studio is in any way important to musicians today. Still, the house band forever will be enshrined in lore, thanks to their neighbors to the Florida, and the music made there is some of the best of all time. In case you’d forgotten:


HT: Steve Winwood

On the integration of the pulp paper and textile industries: Sports Illustrated as a case study

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After years of promotional textile tie-ins, one could be forgiven for thinking that Sports Illustrated had the whole horizontal integration thing down by now. You’d require that forgiveness, though, because your thought would be incorrect, as shown by the erstwhile magazine’s latest offer:

sports illustrated promotion - click to enlargeI’m not even upset that the jacket is the wrong shade of blue. In case your fingers are tired from turning the pages of actual books and newspapers and you can’t muster the energy to click on that photograph to see a larger version, it reads, in part, “T-Shirt available in one-size-fits-all XL.” It’s a t-shirt, not an adjustable baseball cap, though, which heretofore had been the only viable venue for application of the “one-size-fits-all” label, and even the hat folks have backpedaled that to “one-size-fits-most,” probably at the admonition of fitted-cap-wearing lawyers. The photo isn’t the greatest, but there’s no indication the shirt is equipped with some sort of built-in cinch or otherwise is subject to a controlled shrink with strategic usage of heated water and air. Either SI is putting a smile on a budget cut, or the sentence is a confident expression of knowledge of their customers.

But really, it’s Honolulu blue for which you’re looking.

ALDLAND Podcast

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After taking a couple weeks off for various reasons (mostly because of a lack of interesting stories), ALDLAND is back with a brand new podcast.  The B1G title race is featured, along with discussion of the Blackhawks record point streak and our first ever story about the MLS.  Click play and get some culture!

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Download the ALDLAND podcast at our Podcasts Page or stream it right here:

Detroit Sports Report: “I’m having a conversation with my brain”

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As baseball returns, we remember with fondness Ernie Harwell’s opening of spring.  (HT: NPR; It’s Always Sunny in Detroit)

Having relocated outside the Tigers’ Radio Network, I’m not sure if I’ll be equipped to do another Tigers diary like I did last year. (Brendan is planning a Mariners’ diary for this season, which should be a fun lens for observing Felix Hernandez’s elbow explode.) For now, tune in for some irregular updates on the Motown sports scene.

  • Phil Coke meets his brain: MLive’s Chris Iott finally succeeded in arranging a corporeal meeting between Tiger reliever Phil Coke and the operator of @PhilCokesBrain to pleasing results.
  • The Lions probably will draft the Honey Badger: That’s the only conclusion I can draw from the appearance of this article on the front page of the Free Press’ sports section today. After they drafted the notedly weed-addled Charles Rogers at #2 overall and that guy from Boston College who was a “good character guy” except that a google search revealed he’d been in two bar fights his senior year also in the first round, I would be surprised if they didn’t draft Tyrann Matthieu to replace Louis “Bob Sanders” Delmas.

In lieu of a Daytona 500 live blog, here’s a picture of Mark Martin and T.I.

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Last year we brought you a live-blogging event of the first and biggest race of the NASCAR season, the Daytona 500. Resources and circumstances preclude similar coverage for this year’s big race, which certainly will be overshadowed by the disastrous crash that resulted in over a dozen fan injuries at the end of yesterday’s Nationwide race, however. Instead, we hope you’ll accept this photograph of pals Mark Martin and T.I. catching up this morning before the race.

We’ll be keeping an eye on developments at the track, so check back here and on twitter for updates.

Nascar’s Next Generation (via WSJ)

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Nascar is a sport in need of a tuneup. Attendance has been slipping; viewership has been falling. But Sunday at the Daytona 500, America’s premier form of motor sports will be getting the overhaul it needs.

Daytona, the season’s kickoff extravaganza, marks the race-day debut of Nascar’s “Gen-6” Sprint Cup car, the series’s most innovative overhaul since 2007. … Read More

(via WSJ)