Friday Variety

I'm normally not one to complain, but if you guys knew the week I've had in terms of technology fails, you'd sit down on the floor and cry. I mean grown men. On the floor. Sobbing. It's been that bad.

Only now do I finally have my new wireless router cooperating with my new MacBook Pro — and I say that with fingers crossed. Without going into boring details, the bigger problem with all of this was that every time something stopped working, it meant spending what little free time I had fixing it.

But I'll be back this weekend making loads of updates across the site. A lot has been going ignored while I was troubleshooting — concept art, logo news, and yes, the IceHL.

Live Chat Returns This Weekend

The first thing I want to mention is that I'm bringing back the Live Chat! We haven't done one of those since last November. It's well overdue. I don't have an exact time, but I'll let you know when I do. It'll probably be Saturday afternoon. I'll post a reminder in the sidebar as well as make an announcement on Twitter.

We can talk about whatever you guys want. I'm also going to use it as a platform to unveil the IceHL's New York Guardians logo. It was a tight race. Drop by if you want to hang out and chat. I'll also answer any questions you may have.

Twitter Mailbag Moves

This week only I'm moving the Twitter Mailbag to Saturday. There were a lot of great questions and mentions this week that I want to talk about, but I want to get to some other stuff today. So if you'd like to tweet any questions, now is your chance. Be sure to include @icethetics.

Wolf Packs Wants Your Jersey Designs

In case you missed it, the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack are holding a fan jersey design contest.

After a very successful first year, the Wolf Pack Specialty Jersey Design Contest is back! We had hundreds of great entries last year and had a blast choosing the winner. Be creative and have fun because we loved all the different ideas that fans had. The winner of this year’s contest will receive a personalized jersey of their design along with tickets to see them worn by the team! During the TBA game, the jerseys will be auctioned right off the player’s backs! This year’s auction raised over $10,000, which benefited the March of Dimes organization.

On their web site, the Wolf Pack has a jersey template you can download and the email address you need to send your artwork to. Fans have until September 1 to get their entries in.And if you want instant gratification, send your design to Icethetics at the same time and it may just show up on the site.

Following Up on the Ice Flyers

The SPHL's newest member, the Pensacola Ice Flyers, unveiled their coma-inducing logo two weeks ago at a fan event in north Florida. I had some comments.

Now we have "official" word from the team on why they went with the logo with the fewest votes in an online poll — the worst one. Via Twitter, Icethetics reader Mike posed the following question to the minor league club.

mburmy @PcolaIceFlyers I know the poll was for 'entertainment only,' but WHY did you HAVE to use the LAST-place entry?"

To which the Ice Flyers' Twittermaster replied:

PcolaIceFlyers @mburmy Thanks for the comments... there were some copyright concerns and it was the best logo to modify and adapt for our use.

I buy the first part. Copyright issues are always a concern when you ask fans to design things. However, it was "the best logo to adapt for our use"? Seriously? I think I should just not talk about it anymore. At least now we have some closure on the subject.

Concept Art

My inbox tells me you guys have been longing for the return of concept art to the site. I had hoped the IceHL would fill that void. Yet all of that is artwork that's been floating around for months. So I am aiming to bring the occasional concept post back to the site via the Concepts section, accessible at the top of the page.

Until I can make time for that, I'll give you something here. When USA Hockey announced it would be unveiling new Olympic jerseys later this month, I asked you guys to send in your own concepts. Here is one by Mike Ivall.

I've also got a bunch more Ducks third jersey concepts. I'll either make a new post on the Concepts blog with all of them or I'll start posting them on Twitter — which is easier for me. Which do you guys prefer?

Anyway, I think I've taken up enough of your time with this post. Got any questions or comments? You know where they go.

New IceHL Poll

The technology gods are taking a break this week. My MacBook Pro died over the weekend, leaving me computerless. My wireless router died last night, leaving me Internetless. Twitter died this morning, leaving Icethetics readers updateless.

Hopefully this quick blog post can fill the gaping void. The Detroit Motorheads logo poll is revving up on the IceHL page. Go vote!

Later I'll unveil the Dallas Outlaws' final logo — hoping by then to have a new router and a the return of Twitter. I've also got some other logo-related news to blog about and some Team USA concepts. If you've put one together, get it to me quick!

New Team USA Jerseys Coming

I've got some rare Olympic jersey news today. The U.S. Men's Ice Hockey Orientation Camp will be open to the public at Seven Bridges Ice Arena in Woodrigde, Illinois on Monday, August 17 and Tuesday, August 18. On Monday, the three Team USA jerseys will be unveiled.

USA Hockey will unveil the three versions of the Nike Olympic jersey that its men's team will wear during the 2010 Olympic Winter Games on Monday, Aug. 17, at 10 a.m. in the NHL Rink at Seven Bridges Ice Arena. Players will be available for autographs at random times over the two days on a limited basis.

Icethetics will have coverage that day. Until then, thoughts? What do you think the sweaters will look like? I'll post concept art on Twitter.

Thanks to Harvey for sending this in!

Change the Leafs Logo

I mentioned this briefly on Twitter several weeks ago, but I've been getting emails almost daily about one Toronto fan's attempt at fixing his team's logo.

In case you're one of the few that hasn't yet heard, LeafsLogo.com and creator Jeff Veillette are on a crusade to convince the Toronto Maple Leafs to change their logo and uniforms. He likes the new third jersey so much he thinks it deserves a promotion.

The design is based on one that originated in 1938 and went by the wayside in 1967 — following the team's final Stanley Cup championship. It's extremely recognizable and beyond that, the Leafs have not won anything since. If that's not reason enough, I don't know what is.

Jeff wants the Leafs to shed the current look, which is by many accounts one of the worst in the league right now, and go with a classic, more traditional design. And who here can blame him?

The current logo has been in service for nearly 40 years and in that time, no Stanley Cups have found their way to Toronto. So Jeff started a petition to, hopefully, reverse the team's luck. Currently, more than 1,300 people have agreed with them.

I'm curious to see what Icethetics readers think of this petition. Cast your vote in the poll to the right. Should the Maple Leafs switch back to the old logo Jeff is talking about or should they just keep everything the way it is — leaving the old logo and uniform for special occasions as an alternate jersey?  

Jeff has gotten some local press about his campaign too. He's spoken to the Toronto Sun and the Toronto Star, both of which have published interesting articles which seem to be in support of the idea, even if not everyone is. The following was printed by the Star.

The petition's backers have been using the Internet to promote their cause, but they're also considering holding a rally to attract attention to their efforts.

But Hall of Famer Red Kelly, a Stanley Cup champion with the Leafs, doesn't think changing the logo will make any difference.

"It's not the logo or the number on the back, it's the player that's going to do the winning," said Kelly, who won four Cups during his stint with the Leafs from 1959 to 1967.

"I think the key is the maple leaf, regardless of the shape it's in. If it's a maple leaf, then it's a Toronto team."

Kelly has a good point, but superstition can be a powerful thing.

Head on over to LeafsLogo.com and check out the petition. Are you in favor of a return to the old days? Or do you think the Leafs should keep their look the way it is?

MAINEiacs Go Crazy for Edge

— ICETHETICS EXCLUSIVE —

Please see the updates to this post below.

I've got some jersey news from the junior leagues to share this evening. The QMJHL's Lewiston MAINEiacs are joining the other 59 Canadian Hockey League teams switching over to the Reebok Edge Uniform System for the 2009-10 season and this is your first look at what they'll be wearing.

Lewiston MAINEiacs' black Edge jersey

As is the case with all lower level teams, Lewiston is sticking with the standard, recognizable templates, with the Reebok logo front and center on the chest. The sweaters are similar to the Lightning for the darks, above, and Panthers for the lights, seen below.

Lewiston MAINEiacs' white Edge jersey

Nothing spectacular, but it's jersey news at a point in the summer when there's really not much else going on. Any thoughts on these? Are you excited about seeing leaked jersey pictures back on Icethetics again?

Update on Monday · Aug 3 · 2009 | 7:20 PM PDT by Chris

You asked for a comparison with the MAINEiacs' old jerseys. Here they are.

This new look is definitely a downgrade but I think we've been hearing that a lot here in the Age of Reebok. My thanks to RicLaf for allowing me to nab his excellent photos from his Flickr photostream.

Update on Tuesday · Aug 4 · 2009 | 9:43 AM PDT by Chris

At the request of the QMJHL, I have removed the photos of the Lewiston MAINEiacs' new Reebok Edge jerseys. Icethetics is not in the business of making enemies out of the leagues. Sorry about that. With any luck, I hope to at least hear back with an official release date that I can post. The pictures will return to this post after the release.