Earlier this year I wrote a post about how several Major League Baseball teams were opting for a retro look with their alternate uniforms. This week we saw several teams turn back the clock and wear uniforms specially designed to match the ones from the old days.

Chicago Cubs



The Cubs commemorated the 60th anniversary of their first broadcast on WGN with these pinstripe-less threads. You can see that the Cubs' current design has been around in some incarnation for many years.

Atlanta Braves



The Braves opposed the Cubs in these uniforms from 1948, which also happens to be the last year the Braves won the pennant in Boston. It was the second of only two they won in Beantown, but that Billy Southworth-helmed team featuring star third baseman Bob Elliott and the "Spahn and Sain and pray for rain" pitching staff was a special one.

Baltimore Orioles



They did it! They did just what I suggested on this blog! They celebrated the 25th anniversary of their last World Series title by wearing throwbacks with elastic waistbands! The Orioles organization has made a lot of mistakes in recent years, but this is one thing they definitely got right.

San Francisco Giants



The 70's was not a good decade for the Giants, but the 1978 team that these uniforms are a tribute to was memorable for being in first place most of the year until tailing off in August and finishing in third. Like the Orioles, it's good to see a team that doesn't ignore the elastic waistbands in their uniform history.

San Diego Padres



The Padres remembered the 30th anniversary of the first squad in franchise history to finish with a winning record by donning these throwbacks that actually feature the full team name. The Padres prove why I keep bringing up the elastic waistbands though, because these uniforms would be more accurate if they had them.

Cleveland Indians



Unlike the alternates that only had a retro feel to them, these are actual replicas of the 1978 Indians' uniforms (minus, all together now, the elastic waistbands). Why they'd want to honor that sixth-place team led by Andre Thornton I'm not sure, but the uniforms themselves don't look half bad.

Why do I love throwbacks so much? Why am I such a stickler for accuracy? Why do I want to remind everyone that the goofy elastic waistband uniforms ever existed? I guess it's just the sports history buff in me. No matter how ugly some teams' uniforms used to be, there's something about seeing them that stirs up my romanticism for baseball. That's another reason America's Pastime is my favorite sport; it's the only one that has that effect on me. Here's to the future and the eternal remembrance of baseball's rich history.

We're only two weeks into baseball season and already several teams have unveiled new alternate uniforms that have an old-school feel to them.

Cleveland Indians



The cap has a "C" on it, the front has block lettering, and the jersey and pants have a cream color rather than pure white. While this exact design was never actually worn by the Indians in past seasons, it has similarities to some of the team's more simple designs of yesteryear.

Toronto Blue Jays



This powder blue thing was actually the team's away uniform from 1979-1988, but it looks pretty darn cool these days in the Rogers Centre. As I have previously opined on this blog, the Blue Jays should go back to this design. It's way better than the boring togs they wear now.

Philadelphia Phillies



This style with no pinstripes, no sleeve numbers, a blue cap, piping on the sides and a cream-#### tint was worn by the Phils from 1946-1949. While the Phillies' regular uniforms are already some of the best in baseball, these look pretty sharp as well.

Kansas City Royals



Like the Indians, this exact design was never worn by the Royals, but their road uniforms were this same powder blue color from 1973-1991 and the jersey said "Royals" in white letters like these from 1983-1991. This modernization of an old design really works.

From what I hear, the Orioles are also planning to don throwbacks later this summer to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the 1983 World Series Champions. Perhaps they'll be the first team to get the 70's-80's-era throwbacks completely right and have elastic waistbands on the pants.



I love throwback uniforms. They remind us that our favorite sports wouldn't be what they are today if it hadn't been for the teams and players of bygone eras. It's interesting to think that someday teams could be wearing the uniform designs of today as throwbacks. Oh, the memories that will be sparked.

As this calendar year winds down I'm starting to reflect on just how much has happened during this year 2007. It seems like such a long time ago now, but I started this blog back in January, and my first post was about how miffed I was that the Chargers were upset by the Patriots in the Playoffs. At that point 2007 was just getting started, and none of us knew what this year held in store for us. Looking back on it all, there were some sports moments in 2007 that I really enjoyed, but just about all of them ended disappointingly.

Let's start with football. I experienced something this year that I never have before: I got to follow my team, the Chicago Bears, from the first game of the season all the way to the Super Bowl. I was surrounded by co-workers who only wanted to talk about the Cowboys and Redskins, but I always stood up for my Bears in football discussions. Once the Playoffs started one of my friends told me that they'd never make it to the Super Bowl with Rex Grossman at quarterback, but the Bears did me proud by proving all the doubters wrong. Unfortunately, the Bears lost to the Colts in the Super Bowl. It wasn't an ideal ending, but the season had been a great ride and there was reason to be hopeful about the future. As it's turned out, the Bears this season have been hurt by injuries and a dismal offense. They're going to finish with a losing record, and it's clear that several changes need to be made if this team is going to return to contention. The best thing you can say about the 2007 Bears was that they beat the Packers twice.

Super Bowl XLI now looks like a missed opportunity that the Bears may not get again for some time, but interestingly enough, it was also the biggest highlight of 2007 for me. I figured if the Bears were going to lose, it might as well be to a team that deserved the title. The Indianapolis Colts were most certainly that. Despite my team's loss, I was happy for the Colts. After having a very good team for so many years they finally got their hands on the Lombardi Trophy, and they did it with class. It was also nice to see the deluded New England fans who liked to say that Peyton Manning would never win the big one and who just couldn't accept the idea that he wasn't a born loser have to eat their words. I'll admit, that part made me feel good too.

In addition to the Bears' struggles, this NFL season has been pretty miserable for me. All five teams I hate (Patriots, Packers, Steelers, Giants and Cowboys) are in the Playoffs. The Patriots are close to going undefeated, but they've had a dark cloud of contempt surrounding them from day one. I'm forced to root for one of those teams I hate in their last game of the season in hopes that the evil Patriots won't pull it off. The Detroit Lions, a true underdog that would've made a great feel-good story, started out the season 6-2 and now could finish with a losing record. The only hope left for lovers of underdog franchises is the Cleveland Browns, who still haven't clinched a Playoff spot. Ultimately though, the only teams that look like they have a realistic shot of winning anything this year are teams whose fanbases have experienced the top of the hill recently enough that they have no underdog appeal. In the end I think it's likely that several of us will be picking a team to root for by figuring out which one we hate the least.

Then there was basketball. As a Bulls fan I was pretty excited when my team swept the defending champion Miami Heat in the first round of the Playoffs. The Heat were treated like a team with some magical formula for stepping up when it counted all season, but the Bulls dispelled that notion in four games. Having followed the Bulls through the post-Jordan years I was proud of those guys. They nearly got swept in the next round by the Pistons, but they hustled their way to two wins before bowing out in Game 6. It would've been nice to see them go farther in the Playoffs, but considering the progress they'd made it was nothing to be ashamed of. Like the Bears, it gave us fans a lot of hope for next season.

We're about two months into "next season" now and things haven't gone as expected. The Bulls have gotten off to slow starts each of the past three seasons, but they've always managed to get it together before too long. This time though, they've stretched out their poor start long enough that Scott Skiles has been fired as head coach and most people already consider this season to be a lost cause. I haven't completely given up on this Bulls team, but I think it's safe to say that even if they do turn things around and make the Playoffs they don't have what it takes to go very far once they get there. It's sad to see a team that started out as a favorite to win the East possibly headed to the draft lottery.

As for the rest of the basketball world, the San Antonio Spurs won their fourth NBA Championship in 2007. The Spurs are one of the most nondescript teams in the NBA. They win championships, but they don't inspire much emotion. The Phoenix Suns, a team that has been on the doorstep of NBA supremacy in recent years, had a chance to beat them in the second round of the Playoffs, but the Spurs ultimately prevailed. It left the Spurs as the only dominant team in the Playoffs and the almost inevitable champion. While I'm not a big LeBron James fan, I was rooting for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals, since they'd never been there and the Spurs had. It wasn't even close, as the Spurs swept. When the Spurs won their first NBA Championship in 1999 it was exciting, as several players got their first rings and no former ABA team had ever even made it to the NBA Finals. Every championship they've won since then has been completely anticlimactic. It's like watching a computer win a chess game against a human opponent. This season the Spurs are again looking like the best in the West, while the team that's stepped it up in the East is the Celtics, from the dreaded city of Boston. Out of nowhere they acquired two All Stars in Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, giving their ever-obnoxious fans something else to boast about. The Pistons and Magic right now are looking like our only hopes not to have to see them in the NBA Finals.

Of course, there was still the greatest game in the world, baseball. 2007 brought me higher hopes than usual in baseball, only to end with me watching them get crushed successively. First there were my Cubs. They hadn't won the World Series since 1908, but all season they showed flashes of brilliance that gave the optimist in me hope the it could finally be "the year." They made the Playoffs with a mediocre 85-77 record, but as the Cardinals had proven the year before, just getting into the Playoffs is the important thing. Once you're in, anything can happen. After the Cubs fought their way into the postseason, it was as if someone suddenly cut off their supply of "heart" just before they faced the Diamondbacks in the Divisional Series. They seemed completely uninspired throughout the series, and the Diamondbacks swept. In a matter of days all the optimism among Cub fans had turned to disgust.

With the Cubs out of the picture, I decided to pull for another team that had been waiting a long time for "the year": the Cleveland Indians. They hadn't won the World Series since 1948, and they had beaten the hated New York Yankees in the first round. Unlike the Cubs, the Indians had tied for their league's best record, and they looked like they had a real shot at winning the World Series. They went up against another evil Boston team, the Red Sox. They managed to take a 3-1 lead in the series despite some struggles from their best starters, and it seemed as if destiny was on their side. Then it all came crashing down. The Red Sox destroyed them in the next three games to win the pennant and deprive the baseball world of a potentially great story. It didn't help that many members of the irksome "Red Sox Nation" showed a complete lack of class in victory.

I was pretty upset about the Indians having their title as AL Champs usurped by that evil team from America's Most Annoying City, but there was still a glimmer of hope going into the World Series. The Colorado Rockies had spent most of the season playing at a level just below contention, but they'd finished on a tear that took them all the way to the NL pennant. They'd won 21 of their last 22 games going into the World Series, and they were the only team in the NL that looked like a legitimate threat against the superior American League. I loved watching their run, as I'd considered the Rockies one of my "side" teams for years. Unfortunately, they were just starting to cool down as the Red Sox were hitting their stride. The Red Sox swept, and for the first time in my life three teams I'd really embraced lost in one postseason.

I suppose the best way to sum up 2007 in sports would be a year that teased me with the hope of great things to come and ended up as a morass of Boston egotism and the same old teams winning. I'm just glad I've started to follow hockey, as it's been my only refuge in the midst of the disastrous sports scene we're currently surrounded by. I just hope 2008 is better than 2007 was. I don't know if I can take two consecutive years like this one.

Well, so much for that Indians-Rockies World Series I was hoping for. The Red Sox came back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Indians and now my heart has been broken twice this postseason (first by the Cubs and now by the team I "adopted" after they were eliminated). The Rockies were my third choice of team to root for going into the Playoffs, so I suppose it could've been worse. At least it wasn't a rematch of the 2001 World Series. Now that would've been bad. The Rockies and Red Sox were the two teams I predicted would win going into the League Championship Series, but the "I called it" feeling doesn't feel so great right now.

After watching most of the ALCS on mute it looks like I'll have to continue that practice into the World Series. Like many fans, I just can't stand all the slobbering over the Red Sox. I'm surprised these guys don't have to take showers between innings. Yes, I know the Boston love isn't as bad as it could be (think Chris Berman during the 2005 ALDS), but there's still enough of it to irritate me. When Boston wins I never watch the postgame show, since I presume it'll just be more talk about the greatness of the Red Sox. There's a reason I rarely watch ESPN, people. As it stands, I think the Red Sox are the favorite to win this World Series, but I hope with all my heart that the Rockies destroy them.

There's one other thing I'd like to do with this entry. My last blog post was called "Seven Reasons I'm Rooting For the Indians in Game 7." I was fortunate enough to have it featured on the main page of the FoxSports website, and I ended up setting a personal record for most comments. Even though I didn't address the comments within the post, I wanted to thank everyone who gave me feedback on it. Many of the comments related to the game itself, so they now read as a sort of running diary of the fans' thoughts before, during and after the game.

For maturity's sake I left out an eighth reason that I was rooting for the Indians in my post: Red Sox fans have a tendency to be really obnoxious. I didn't want to hear anymore of these Boston fanatics talking about how great the "Sawx" were, but it looks like we're stuck with it for a while longer. This yahooism was painfully evident in the comments from several Red Sox fans on my post. Some of them were so amusing that I thought I should share them here so that all the world could see them. For what it's worth, I know that my doing this is incredibly immature (a liberty I've taken too many times on this blog already), but this time it has more humor potential.

Before I start, I want to say that there were some Boston fans who left congratulatory comments to the Indians after the game was over and there were some Cleveland fans talking trash. I don't want to act as if one side were all good and the other all bad, but the bad I saw on the Red Sox side was much more comical. Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, let's see a sampling of some of these Boston rooters' gems (warning: these may contain strong language).

"after tonight, all the Cleveland fans can use their surrender towels, or whatever foolish thing they think they are waving, as crying towels. The mighty Red Sox didn't want to win in hostile Cleveland anyway, they want to win it all at home, especially with Gecko with the big mouth and Cleveland's stupid decisiion to do nothing more than get the best pitcher in baseball pissed off and again dominate that totally unsportmanlike team..."

I'm assuming the "Gecko" reference is about the comments made by Ryan Garko that the Red Sox allegedly used as "bulletin board material." All Garko said was "The champagne tastes just as good on the road as it does at home." The comments that supposedly got them fired up were the words of a writer, not Garko, which preceded the aforementioned quote in this article. I guess some people don't know what a quotation mark means.

"Clevland fans what nerve you have trying to make the fans of red sox nation sound so shallow. We don't pray to win baseball games we pray for illnesses and peace in the world. I would not be so hostile about a game. Good luck to your team they will need it." (This was in response to a Cleveland fan's comment that he'd been praying for years to see the Indians win the World Series.)

Yes, I'm sure that at no time during the 86-year drought did a single Red Sox fan ever pray that the Red Sox would win the World Series.

"...Matzuzaka is not a mediocre player either, You know whos mediocre, how bout the amazing Grady Sizemore and Halfner? how many hits do they have. Manny is one of the greatest hitters in the history of baseball, 1st ballot hall of famer, the same cannot be said for victor martinez" (This was in response to a comment in my post that Daisuke Matsuzaka was a mediocre player.)

Matsuzaka had a 4.40 ERA this year. I think that falls in line with mediocrity. If he didn't play on a great offensive team like the Red Sox it would be much more apparent. While neither Hafner nor Sizemore is an elite player (at least not yet), they're both better (ALCS struggles notwithstanding) at what they do than Matsuzaka. As for the Ramirez-Martinez comparison, Ramirez is 35 and Martinez is 28. Obviously the older one is more likely to have secured his place in the Hall of Fame. Martinez has been one of the best catchers in the game the past four years though, and it's not unreasonable to think he'll have a shot at the Hall someday.

"Only #### think that Cleveland can beat the Red Sox."

This one speaks for itself.

"Go Red Sox! These fans are just jealous."

Ah, the classic playground insult. If you don't like someone or something you're just jealous.

"Bermansux (a previous commenter who complained about excessive Boston hype) is very typical of the Cleveland sports fan. The world is against us and if it doesn't go our way we will #### and whine until the commissioner makes an announcement that next year no matter what we will give the Indians a World Series. Sit down shut-up and watch tne SOX kick your ####."

These silly people. For some reason they don't know that the "SOX" play in Chicago and aren't in the Playoffs this year. This statement is also quite a leap. A guy says he hates the Boston bias and somehow that means that Indian fans want the World Series trophy to be handed to them without having to earn it? Nothing in the original statement even implied such a thing.

Hold on to your hats for this next one. It has so much wrong with it that I'll have to address the points one by one.

"you guys are just jealous that the red sox have a better team thats why their expected to win."

Again we have the jealousy thing. I guess if they keep telling themselves that other fans are jealous their egos won't get hurt.

"also why are you making Manny sound like the worst baseball player in MLB history when in fact he holds a lot more records then the whole Indians franchise"

No one said Manny Ramirez was a bad player. Most of us said that we didn't like him and one person said he was overrated. I'm not sure what these records he allegedly holds are, but if someone wants to fill me in I'll listen.

"and how can you say that Dice-K is mediocre he was in second place for rookie of the year only next to Justin Pedroia...another Red Sox player"

See above for my comments on "Dice-K." The Rookie of the Year Award hasn't been announced yet, so how do you know he was second in the voting? I also like how you don't even know the first name of your second baseman (who so far has only won the Sporting News Rookie of the Year Award).

"also why are you wining about it being 59 years since the indians have won!?!? they could have done it any time they wanted so why wait now this is the Red sox time to shine this is there decade the indians had almost 60 years to win a world series but never capitalized."

Of course. We all know that any team can win the World Series anytime they feel like it. Why didn't you tell your Red Sox that when they were losing for 86 years?

"also the Red sox players are way better than than the indians how can you say that Ortiz and Manny are worse than sizemore and hafner I like sizemore he is a good player with some potential talent but he still not as good as the rox players..."

I think this was in response to an Indian fan who said "Sizemore, Hafner and Martinez are all 3 times the player your players are....other than Ortiz and Manny, your all ####!!!!!" Even though the Indian fan's sentiment isn't quite accurate, it sounds like this Red Sox fan has an equally exaggerated opinion of his team. The next one is from the same guy, though it was in a different comment.

"ha ha 1-0 for the sox in the bottom of the 1st and the RBI goes to... manny"

That Manny! He's so talented he can make the ball take a lucky hop.

"Manny being Manny" (This was said after Ramirez threw out Kenny Lofton at second base)

The only thing I'll give Manny credit for is that he made the throw close enough that the umpire could get it wrong. His pointing after the out was a perfect example of why we all hate him. I thought it was funny when an Indians fan later retaliated with the same comment after Ramirez struck out.

"some people shouldn't be allowed in this country unless they can read and write English, Imagine the ribbing that kid took in school having been stuck with a name that the mother probably misspelled on his birth certificate, and stuck with it for life! Jhonny, I just can't stop laughing" (This was about Jhonny Peralta, if it wasn't obvious.)

Maybe that's why he was born in the Dominican Republic?

"Ha Ha Ha Ha! Cleveland can go take their racist garbage and shove it up their a.s.s!!! It will be so nice to watch the World Series with no racist Cleveland!! Way to go Boston!!!"

Oh brother. I'm not going to get into the question of whether the Indians' logo is appropriate, but anyone who honestly thinks it means that Cleveland is a "racist" organization is ridiculous.

This last one also has several points that I'll take one by one.

"...THe best shot of the night on FOX was Victor Martinez crying on the sidelines, what a looser. Take your defeat like a man, or like Manny, didnt he say "it wouldnt be the end of the world if they lost"?"

At least Martinez showed some passion. Manny's probably jaded since he's already led his team to a World Series title and makes almost twice as much money as anyone on the Indians.

"Its ok Victor, maybe you can cry on Hafner's shoulder, after all thats the only thing hes good for. Him and Sizemore are "clutch hitters" Oh and the amazing Betancourt, getting taken deep by the a 5'1'' 105Ib Pedrioa. I cant beilieve you thought you could beat a team with David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez! did you see 2004! GREATEST COMEBACK IN SPORTS HISTORY!"

You're right, it's impossible to beat those guys after what happened in 2004, although I seem to recall the White Sox sweeping them or something...

"in BOSTON WE EAT OUR WORLD SERIES SANDWHICHES STUFFED WITH SUPER BOWL RINGS!"

I hope someone knows the Heimlich Maneuver.

Those are pretty much the greatest hits. Fans who display this type of arrogance make it all too easy to root for the Rockies. It's almost hard to believe I once pulled for the Red Sox. 2004 was a time when I could actually have some sympathy for the Red Sox and their fans, knowing that they had a drought to keep their arrogance in check to a certain degree. It now seems like so long ago. During last night's game I actually saw a Red Sox fan on TV holding up an "It's Tribe Time Now" sign with a slashed red circle added. Only three years ago those same fans were desperately hoping that their time would come. Now that another team's fans hope their time is here? Let's make fun of them! It's one thing to want your team to win, but mocking the earnest desires of another team's fans is just classless.

Rockies, you're my last hope. The Cubs couldn't do it, the Indians couldn't do it, and now it's up to you. Give us a World Series that'll be worth remembering!

7. I'm a Midwest Kind of Guy. I'm originally from Illinois, and I love the middle of America. I feel more of an affinity with the people of Cleveland than I do the people of New England.

6. Equal Wins With Half the Budget. The Red Sox have a payroll of about $143 million, while the Indians' is a "mere" $61 million. Yes, we all know that a high payroll doesn't equal success, but it certainly isn't a disadvantage. The Indians need to win it for all the teams who use their money efficiently and don't throw away millions of dollars on mediocre players like J.D. Drew and Daisuke Matsuzaka.

5. Manny Ramirez. This cocky showboat originally came up with the Indians and then left for the "greener pastures" of Boston after the 2000 season. How great would it be for the Indians to beat him in the Playoffs and win a World Series without him?

4. Esprit de Corps. The Indians seem like a group of guys who really love each other and enjoy playing together. Look no further than the starting lineup introductions before the games. Whenever the Indians announce their lineup the guy who does it always makes a comment about or gives a nickname for the player he's introducing. When the Red Sox announce theirs it's always a cold, simple, by-the-book reading of the lineup card. The Red Sox are like a machine. They're good at what they do, but there's nothing lovable about them.

3. This is Our Year. Every year this decade a different team has won the World Series. If the Indians win I know that streak will continue. I love the variety.

2. Enough Boston Already. Boston used to be just another sports city to me. These days they have a bunch of teams that I simply can't stand. We've been inundated with Beantown lore by the national media for several years now and have been forced to share in their sufferings which frankly aren't all that bad anymore. The city of Cleveland's sufferings are about 20 times worse by comparison, but you never hear about them, do you?

Which leads me to the number one reason I'm rooting for the Indians...

1. 1948. Yes, we all know that the Red Sox were once "cursed." That ended in 2004. They don't deserve any more titles to make up for all the years of losing, because if you get to see your team win even one World Series you're a fortunate person. Meanwhile, the Indians haven't experienced the joy of a World Series title in 59 years, and their fans are hungry. I don't want to hear any arguments that "Red Sox Nation" loves their team more either. I knew a guy in college who was a huge Indians fan. He told me that he feels about the Indians the same way the main character of "Fever Pitch" felt about the Red Sox. True story. I know he can't be the only one. Those fans deserve a title more than any team left in the Playoffs.

Go Indians!