Uni Watch Blog Digest for the Week Ending June 30, 2023

One-stop shopping for the past week of Uni Watch Blog content.

Hello! Today I’m trying out a new Uni Watch feature, and you can help me make it better by giving me your feedback.

So: Uni Watch has a two-tiered publishing presence. There’s my weekly Substack column (which you’re reading right now), where I usually do long-form features, deep dives, rankings, season previews, and so on, and there’s also the daily Uni Watch Blog, where I do smaller stories, cover breaking news in real time, and so on.

I’ve always assumed that most Uni Watch readers start with the blog, and then the serious readers take the additional step of subscribing to the Substack column. Or to put it another way, I figured the Substack readers were already regular readers of the blog. But lately a few Substack subscribers have told me that the daily blog is just too much to keep up with, and that they’d therefore appreciate a weekly digest of the blog content.

That’s what this post is: a handy rundown of all the past week’s Uni Watch Blog content. My current plan is to send out these digests each Friday to all of my Substack followers (paid and unpaid), but I can adjust that plan based on your feedback, so please tell me:

• Do you like the idea of receiving these weekly digests?

• If so, is Friday the right day for them? Would some other day be better?

• Any other suggestions or requests?

Thanks in advance for your feedback! Here’s our inaugural digest:

Monday, June 26

• Here’s an interesting uni-related storyline that I didn’t know about: the strange saga of Troy Aikman’s NFL 75th-anniversary patch in 1994.

• Yikes: The Chargers are asking their fans what they’d think about an all-black alternate uniform.

Tuesday, June 27

• This was a sad week for our comm-uni-ty, as Uni Watch girl mascot Caitlin died after several months of declining health. I wrote an obituary/eulogy for her, which generated a huge outpouring of support and love. Thanks, everyone.

• The C-flap (that’s the face-protection extender thingie that many MLB players wear on their batting helmets) is a pretty common sight in MLB these days, but Diamondbacks shortstop Nick Ahmed recently began wearing his at an unusual angle.

• The NHL’s Boston Bruins will be celebrating their centennial season this fall, so they’ve unveiled a new jersey logo to mark the occasion.

Wednesday, June 28

• The Pirates unveiled their City Connect uniforms last week, but they were saving one additional surprise for the uni’s on-field debut: a rather strange-looking batting helmet.

• Speaking of Pirates helmets, a Uni Watch reader and his brother DIY’d themselves a fun Pirates hard hat.

• In yet another Pittsburgh story, the Steelers appear to be teasing a new uniform. Here’s what I think they’re up to.

• A bunch of our Uni Watch merchandise is now available at 20% off from now through July 11.

Thursday, June 29

• The Anaheim Ducks used the NHL draft as a backdrop for the unveiling of their new 30th-anniversary jersey, which features their original Mighty Ducks cartoon mascot character.

• And that wasn’t the only uni-notable development at the NHL draft. From a super-long NOB to an apparent new team wordmark, there was lots of uni news.

• Meanwhile, over on the diamond, Domingo Germán of the Yankees made uni-numerical history by becoming the first pitcher to throw a perfect game while wearing No. 0.

Friday, June 30

• Here’s a nice feel-good story: A CFL jersey that was stolen from the team’s locker room nearly 60 years ago was just returned to its rightful owners.

• The Guardians have become the latest MLB team to add a sleeve advertisement — and the timing, along with the choice of advertiser, couldn’t be worse.

• MLB has finally released this year’s All-Star Game jerseys, which are being rendered in a new Nike tailoring template.

• Speaking of new templates, Adidas has a new look for college football. We got our first peek at it courtesy of Texas A&M.

Uni Watch News Tickers

In addition to the articles I just linked to, we also had the Uni Watch News Ticker — our daily roundup of news items from across the uni-verse. Here are the Tickers for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.

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That’s it. Again, let me know what you think of this new digest feature. Thanks!

Paul Lukas has been writing about uniforms for over 20 years. You can follow him on Twitter and Facebook and check out his Uni Watch merchandise. Have a question for Paul? Contact him here.