Photo courtesy of the Atlanta Braves; click to enlarge 
 
 The Braves held their annual winter fan-fest yesterday (as you can see above, it has a regrettable name that they should really retire already) and unveiled changes to four of their five uniforms — all but the home whites, which are unchanged. 
 
 Before we get to the changes, it’s worth mentioning that no MLB team needs five uniforms. The best thing that could have been done to some of these designs would be to eliminate them. But since they didn’t do that, here’s what they’ve done instead. 
 
 The Road Greys 
 
 The chest script has been tweaked a bit to feel more like the script on the home whites. Here’s a comparison of the old road script and the new script as they appear on jerseys in the official MLB Style Guide (for all images, click to enlarge): 
 
 And now here’s a comparison of the scripts as they appear on jerseys in the official MLB Shop: 
 
 This isn’t a major change, obviously, but I do think it’s an improvement. Reminds me of the similarly subtle change they made to the home script back in 2016. 
 
 The Home Cream Alternates 
 
 Another really small change here, as they’ve added piping to the sleeve cuffs. Here’s a comparison — old version on the left, new on the right (click to enlarge): 
 
 I can’t say I ever thought to myself, “You know what that jersey needs? Sleeve piping.” But now that I see it, it feels like an improvement. (And yes, I know the number looks smaller in the new version, but I think that’s just the retail mock-up. No change to the official number specs.) 
 
 Also: This uniform, which had previously been worn on no particular schedule, is now being designated as the Sunday alternate. 
 
 The Blue Road Alternates 
 
 Aside from a slight tweak to the script three years ago, this jersey has been unchanged since its introduction in 2008. But now they’re making some serious adjustments. Check it out — old versions on left, new on right (click to enlarge): 
 
 Obviously, this is a major improvement. The blue-on-blue design has always struck me as more of a BP look. Interestingly, the changes they’ve made are almost identical to a concept from Uni Watch reader Britton Thomas, which was linked on the site way back in 2010. After seeing the new design unveiled yesterday, Britton said, “I’ve never felt more vindicated.” 
 
 The Red Home Alternates 
 
 From 2005 through 2013, the Braves had a garish red alternate jersey. In 2014 they modified it with a star-spangled script. Now they’ve gone back to something close to the original version, but with more subdued piping (click to enlarge): 
 
 The new version is clearly the best of the three, although I don’t like seeing the Braves in red. They’d definitely be better off scrapping this one. 
 
 This jersey will be worn for Friday home games. 
 
 ——— 
 
 Overall: Four changes, all for the better. I still think they only need one alternate (the blue one would suffice), and of course they need to scrap the Native American imagery. But within their current confines, they’ve definitely improved their look. 
 
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 Click to enlarge 
 
 ESPN reminder: In case you missed it a few days ago, I have a new ESPN piece about a very interesting new product that could solve the NFL’s one-shell problem and also make multiple helmet designs widely available even to cash-strapped high school teams. Check it out here. 
 
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 The Ticker 
 
 By Paul 
 
 ’Skins Watch : Long before the advent of Chief Wahoo, there was a hockey team called the Cleveland Indians (additional info here, complete with a headdress-centric jersey crest (nice find by Steven Schapansky). 
 
 Baseball News : MLB posted a photos of the Yankees’ new bullpen acquisitions Photoshopped into their new uniforms, but they neglected to remove the Majestic logo creep from Adam Ottavino’s jersey (good spot by Ken Weimer). … We’ve shown this before, but once more won’t hurt: Ski jumping at Wrigley Field! … Check out this shot of Philadelphia A’s OF Lou Finney on Opening Day, 1934, at Yankee Stadium. Sure looks like his “2” is actually an upside-down and backwards “5”! (Good spot by @brianspeaksnow.) … The NHL’s Dallas Stars wore Texas Rangers-themed jerseys for pregame warmups last night. Here are some shots of them in action (from @esqurred, Mark Coale, and idkman5678). 
 
 Football News : I wasn’t too worried about the Chiefs possibly going mono-red for today’s AFC Championship Game. But if you were, you can rest easy. … The video showing the making of the helmets for the Polynesian Bowl offers a good look at how hydro-dipping works (from @vicious155). 
 
 Hockey News : New mask for Penn State G Peyton Jones (from Chris Grosse). … Check it out: A cement truck with a big Canucks logo, circa 1982 (from Dean McGee). … Caps C Evgeny Kuznetsov appears to have been trying to stretch out his jersey prior to Friday’s game against the Islanders (from Michael Alper). … Don Cherry-inspired jerseys last night for the Edmonton Oil Kings (from Wayne Jones). … Cross-listed from the baseball section: The Stars wore Texas Rangers-themed jerseys for pregame warmups last night. Here are some shots of them in action (from @esqurred, Mark Coale, and idkman5678). 
 
 NBA News : The Pacers used their “We Grow Basketball” logo at center court yesterday for “Basketball Day in Indiana” (from Jarrod Campbell and D.A. Ellis). … Speaking of the Pacers, they wore their Hickory throwbacks for that game — their first time wearing them with the new ad patch. Yeah, nothing says old-school Hoosier hoops like a big corporate jersey ad (from @tasty_magic). … Rockets G Chris Paul has Jordan bowling shoes (from @zanerzas). … Latest one-game makeover comes from the D League’s Northern Arizona Suns, who became the Northern Arizona Rodeo Clowns last night (from Blane Ferguson). 
 
 College Hoops News : New powder blue alternates for Creighton (from Patrick Marshall). … Detroit Mercy and Oakland went color vs. color yesterday (from Braxton Crisp). … Utah has new BFBS alternates with a retro feel (from Ramy Ahmed). … Memphis wore Memphis State throwbacks yesterday (from @MattyMok). … Weird-looking game in Blacksburg, as Virginia Tech and Wake Forest went white vs. light-grey, apparently the result of a mix-up on Wake’s part (although I still don’t understand why the host Hokies didn’t switch to a dark uni). … Auburn F Horace Spencer, who normally wears No. 0, changed to a No. 55 blood jersey after receiving a nasty cut over his eye in yesterday’s game. … New BFBS alternates for Oklahoma (from Sam McKinley). 
 
 Soccer News : Gross: The U.S. men’s national team has new training jerseys with a big, honking Volkswagen ad (from Scott Trembly). … The New York Red Bulls’ new kit may have leaked (from @zanerzas). ||||| At the chaotic intersection of college football, social networking and billion-dollar commerce, there arrived late Wednesday afternoon a moment unlike any in the history of the University of Maryland football team: Randy Edsall, the Terrapins’ head coach, took to his Twitter account to announce which uniform combination, out of 32 possibilities, the team will wear Saturday at noon in its game against West Virginia. 
 
 For the record: “Captains decided we’ll be wearing ALL black Saturday against WVU,” Edsall tweeted, attaching a link to a photograph of the uniform. 
 
 Such a thing would have been absurd just a few years ago, when most teams had two uniforms — home and away — and all anyone needed was a pocket schedule to know which would be worn on a given Saturday in the fall, if they cared at all. 
 
 But that was before the major sports apparel companies, led by Nike, began to see outfitting college football teams as a huge marketing opportunity. That was before Maryland, in September 2008, signed a reported five-year, $17.5 million deal with Maryland-based Under Armour to outfit its athletic teams. 
 
 And that was before the Terrapins burst onto the field at Byrd Stadium in College Park on the night of Sept. 5 in some of the most outlandish uniforms — featuring aspects of the Maryland state flag on the helmet, shoulder pads, cleats and arm-warmers — ever witnessed in college football. 
 
 It wasn’t the Terrapins’ 32-24 win over Miami that was the talk of the sports world the next day. It was their uniforms. And these days, it takes something extraordinary to get the attention of the sports fashion police. 
 
 If you have turned on the television in the first half of September to immerse yourself in the familiar rituals of college football, you may have been in for a visual shock. Some of the most prominent teams in the country have undergone radical redesigns of their uniforms — some permanently, others for one selected game this season. 
 
 On Sept. 3, the Georgia Bulldogs wore futuristic uniforms featuring two-tone face masks. Last weekend, Notre Dame and Michigan played each other in “throwback” uniforms — although alumni of the latter grumbled that the Wolverines’ uniforms resembled nothing the team had ever worn in the past. On Tuesday, Navy and Army revealed the futuristic, but tasteful, duds they will be wearing in their annual matchup on Dec. 10 at FedEx Field. 
 
 The special Georgia, Navy and Army uniforms are part of Nike’s Pro Combat “fully integrated uniform system.” (Pro Combat” is something of a double oxymoron, since college football players are, by definition, not pro, and combat references by the media are, by tradition, considered unseemly in describing sports, particularly when it comes to the service academies.) 
 
 For Under Armour, as for Nike, the investment more than pays for itself — not just in jersey and merchandise sales but in the exposure the company gets from the team’s visibility, particularly when the story goes national as it did with the Terrapins. 
 
 Some of the imagery associated with the Nike gear is predictably over-the-top: 
 
 “Echoing the cry of King Leonidas,” goes Nike’s marketing pitch for the Michigan State Spartans’ Pro Combat unis, “the back of the collar is inscribed with the words, ‘Molon Labe,’ the Spartans’ defiant challenge to the competition to ‘come and get them!’. . . Gloves complete the traditional Spartan headdress look. Armed with intensity and determination, MSU will fight on the battlefield until the last team is standing.” 
 
 What in the name of Bear Bryant is going on here? 
 
 ‘Attention is good’ 
 
 “In college football, schools have decided, first of all, they can have a better chance of attracting recruits with snazzy uniforms,” said ESPN.com’s Paul Lukas, who writes an influential sports-fashion blog called Uni Watch. “Recruits of college athletics are 17 years old, and 17-year-olds like shiny objects. Secondly, 17-year-olds like video games and comic books, and that’s what these uniform designs are based on. 
 
 “There’s the potential to alienate some boosters and alums who write the checks, sure. But it’s a calculated risk they feel good taking. They think the attention, even if it’s negative, is good.” 
 
 On the night of the Maryland-Miami game, the Terps hosted several high school recruits on official visits. One of them, junior offensive tackle Na’Ty Rodgers of McDonough High in Pomfret, emerged blown away by both the atmosphere and, yes, the unis. 
 
 “The uniforms were tight,” Rodgers told Baltimore’s Press Box magazine. “I loved the flag on the shoulders, the colors on the helmet and especially those black-and-yellow sleeves they were wearing. I’d love to wear something like that.” 
 
 Like most sports, college football is a game of imitation. Once something new works for one team, it is quickly appropriated by everyone else. And the model for the modern uniform makeover is undoubtedly the University of Oregon team — for much of its history a middling football program that gradually turned into a powerhouse after Nike, whose co-founder, Phil Knight, is an Oregon alumnus, began designing the team’s uniforms with increasingly shocking flair in the late 1990s. After years of attracting a better class of athletes to the image it constructed through its uniforms, by 2010 the Ducks were playing in the national title game. 
 
 The Maryland makeover has unmistakable parallels to the one in Oregon, beginning with the fact Under Armour’s founder, Kevin Plank, is a Maryland alum (though unlike Knight, Plank was also a football player). For a company that has aggressively battled Nike for control of the lucrative sports apparel market, it was a logical move. 
 
 “What Kevin Plank pulled off with Maryland wouldn’t have been possible at just any school,” said John Rowady, president of Chicago-based rEvolution, a sports marketing firm. “Under Armour really needed a close partner in Maryland to pull that off. I don’t think without that alum status, he would have been able to do something so bold.” 
 
 ‘Brilliantly ugly’ 
 
 The reaction to the Terps’ Sept. 5 unveiling was immediate, intense and often negative. By the end of the night, “Maryland” and “Terrapins” (as well as “Under Armour”) were trending nationally on Twitter. (Among those who weighed in: basketball star LeBron James, who tweeted, “OH GOSH! Maryland uniforms #Ewwwwww!”) 
 
 And by the next morning, the Terrapins’ uniforms were the dominant story in the teeming sports-media sphere, with stories on NBC’s “The Today Show,” ABC’s “Good Morning America” and ESPN’s magazine-style “Outside the Lines.” 
 
 “Brilliantly ugly,” ESPN’s Michael Wilbon called the uniforms — reflecting the prevailing sentiment that the Terps’ Sept. 5 look, which the school called its “Maryland Pride collection,” was a stroke of marketing genius but an aesthetic train wreck. 
 
 “I know what these schools are trying to do, but I think it all has gone too far,” said ESPN college football analyst Lee Corso, who was an assistant coach at Maryland in the 1960s. “Maybe I’m conservative by nature, but it looks like everyone’s trying to push the envelope, trying to one-up each other. I don’t think it does anything for the sport or the schools.” 
 
 But what Corso and the rest of football’s old guard may not understand is that pushing the envelope — and one-upping each other, and possibly even going too far — is the whole point. 
 
 “What we care about is what 17- [and] 18-year old kids are thinking about where they want to play football in the next couple years,” Plank told ESPN Radio three days after the Miami game. “I think that’s what Coach Edsall is most concerned about, and I think that with that demographic we’re [doing] pretty good.”
– College sports uniforms are getting seriously funky as outfitters such as Nike and Under Armor shell out big money to schools only too happy to take it, report the New York Times and Washington Post in similar stories on the trend. Both see the University of Maryland (with 32 possible uniform combinations) as a prime example of garishness this year, and both note that Army and Navy will be wearing duds from Nike's futuristic "Pro Combat" line in their December game. The main motives cited aren't all that surprising: merchandising, jersey sales, and drawing the interest of more young fans and high school recruits. “There’s the potential to alienate some boosters and alums who write the checks, sure," Paul Lukas, editor of Uni-Watch.com tells the Post. But "they think the attention, even if it’s negative, is good.” The Times story also features a quote from Lukas about how the "trend in uniform design is more toward making costumes for superheroes than uniforms for athletes."