Quick Update

The response so far on the Worst Logo Tournament has been great! A lot of you guys definitely seem more interested in naming a bad logo than a good one, but to each his own. Just wanted to drop in with a brief update since I haven't really been around this weekend. Here's a little something to tide you over until I have a chance to do a real concepts post.

Certainly a lot to peruse there. In the meantime, I hope you all enjoy the long weekend (I have to work tomorrow — luckily the show has been cancelled for Christmas Day). And Merry Christmas to those of you that celebrate it!

Coming Soon: The NHL's Worst Logo!

All right, yes, it may say in the header of this blog that we're on a quest to find the "best" logo in the NHL, but by popular demand, we're going to digress from that a little in the new year.

Following the Secondary Logo Tournament, we'll ring in 2008 by deciding on the worst logo in NHL history. And you will determine which logos will be part of the new bracket!

Here's how it's going to work. We'll start with a pool of 16 logos and narrow that down to the very worst ever seen in the league. Those 16 logos will be determined by nominations made by you, the readers of NHLToL. Feel free to make nominations by leaving comments. (But only comment on THIS POST. Don't email me directly and don't make your nominations on other posts. This is where I'll be looking.) I'll start tallying things up over the next few weeks and then reveal the final bracket in January.

Now as with any good competition, we have to have some ground rules. The only eligible logos include those in use from 1967-68 onward (the year the league expanded from the Original Six). While some of you may not like this limitation, I think it's fair to say that many of the NHL logos that made appearances in the 1920s and '30s aren't really up to par in terms of design as those created in the last 50 years.

Feel free to argue that point with me, though. I'm willing to do whatever you guys want, within reason, but why needlessly poke fun at the Hamilton Tigers, Philadelphia Quakers and St. Louis Eagles (and others) just because they weren't into hiring graphic designers in those days? I'm all about a fair fight.

So having said that, everything else that's ever been worn on a jersey is fair game. Primary logos, secondary (shoulder) logos, third jersey logos — whatever! You guys make your nominations here and in a few weeks we'll have our pool. Also, if you opt to nominate a more obscure logo, be sure to include an image link so that we can see it. If it's really obscure, I can't guarantee I'll be able to include it, but don't let that stop you.

Now start the nominations!

Announcement Coming

With the second round polls opening this week for the Secondary Logo Tournament, I've decided it's time for a big announcement. The last three logo tournaments have been obvious. But now the question remains as to what category of logos will be voted on next. Well based on emails and comments over the last several weeks, I've come to a decision I think (hope) you all will enjoy.

On Friday I'll announce the logo tournament that will follow this one.

I'm waiting because I want it to be a surprise. We've talked about a lot of things on here. Best center ice logo... best arena... even best locker room was suggested... I won't say what it is or isn't. Just be sure to vote all week on the second round polls and be sure to drop in on Friday night when I announce what it will be.

As a side note, I just thought I'd let you all know how the holiday schedule will work here in terms of logo voting. I'm anticipating a sharp drop in visitors for Christmas as most of you will likely be with your families, so even though technically the first poll of the third round could open on Christmas Eve, I'm pushing it back to Wednesday, December 26.

That means for five days there won't be a new poll for this tournament. But I am, however, going to post a new unrelated poll on Saturday that I think a lot of you have been waiting for.

Anyway, keep voting and stay tuned for Friday's big announcement!

The Award-Winning NHLToL!

Hey all! Just wanted to brag a little. NHLToL has been named an award-winner!

Joe Pelletier's Greatest Hockey Legends blog named its Top 3 blogs in six categories. NHLToL was No. 1 for Best Continuing Coverage Award. I guess Joe was impressed with my coverage of the unveilings of the new Rbk EDGE jerseys over the summer.

Anyway, I just thought that was kind of cool and wanted to share with everyone. Thanks to Joe and everyone else for reading the blog!

Legal Advice

I'm sure you're all looking forward to the Secondary Logo Tournament later today, but first I wanted to see if I could get a little help from the best readers in the blog universe.

I'm looking for some advice from a copyright lawyer or a lawyer who is familiar with copyright law. I had an idea for a really cool project that I'd like to look into but I want to first be sure I won't run into any copyright issues. It doesn't deal with this blog directly, but it is somewhat related.

I'd like to tell you guys about it because it will involve a lot of you and I think you'll really like it. I hate to be such a tease, but I want to make sure I've got all my ducks in a row first.

So, once again, I'm looking for a little advice from a copyright lawyer or someone very familiar with copyright and fair use law. Let me know if you or someone you know can help. I'd be forever indebted. Thanks!

Secondary Logo Tournament

For the first time in months, actually went an entire day without a single post. Sorry about that everyone, but I've been a little under the weather lately.

So to make it up to you, I'm kicking off the Secondary Logo Tournament today. Look for the first poll and the new bracket to be posted later this afternoon. In fact, you can get a sneak preview of that bracket right here.

As always, here's a brief explanation of the new bracket. The 18 logos being used in this tournament are the secondary logos featured on the shoulders of each team's uniform. If you have any questions about the logos featured, please don't hesitate to ask. Logos were placed in the bracket at random (thanks to Random.org). As you can see from the bracket, we'll begin with a preliminary round then move on from there.

As a side note, you'll notice that despite my request for a more accurate version of the Chicago Blackhawks logo (and thanks to all of you who responded), I never came across anything that was quite right. So I opted to go with the version that is used on team merchandise. I figure it's close enough and I really want to get this tournament started.

Hope you guys enjoy the tournament!

Freak Out Delay

It's Friday so I know you guys are expecting the Freak Out post. Just to let you know, I've decided to hold out a day on that. You should expect to see some pretty wild concept art here at some point on Saturday. My apologies for the delay. In the meantime, feel free to revisit some of the previous 16 installments of the Freak Out series. Enjoy!

ECHL Logo Voting!

The ECHL Tournament of Logos has begun. We've got 25 new logos to begin voting on. Head over to Tournament of Hockey Logos to cast your votes and before you know it, we'll have an ECHL logo champion. First up are the Columbia Inferno and Cincinnati Cyclones as part of the preliminary round.

GO VOTE!

By the way, if you haven't been following the ToHL blog, the AHL champion was recently named. The Manitoba Moose ran away with the title. Congrats to them!

Decide On The AHL's Best Logo!

If you haven't been following the AHL Tournament of Logos over at ToHL, now is the time to get involved! We're down to the final two. In the championship round it's the Manitoba Moose against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. But only one will walk away with the victory and bragging rights as the AHL's best logo.

And as I've mentioned, the third round of the Third Jersey Logo Tournament here at NHLToL will begin tomorrow. At the moment, it's looking like we'll have a Battle of New York on our hands for that first poll. Should be interesting.

Judge Dismisses MSG's Lawsuit

As a followup to a story I ran a couple months back, a judge has ordered the New York Rangers to relinquish control of their web site to the NHL. As expected, MSG is appealing the decision. What a bunch of whiners.

While I'll admit to the fact that the NHL's new web site system seems to be hurting the overall design of the individual web sites — and that's coming from a graphic design perspective only — as far as content, I couldn't be more pleased. Hey speaking of which, anybody interested in a team web site tournament? I think that would be kind of funny.

Let me know what you think of that in the comments. In the meantime, here's the article from the AP.

November 2, 2007

Judge refuses to block NHL from taking control of Rangers' Web site

Associated Press

NEW YORK — A judge refused to block the NHL from taking control of the New York Rangers' Web site despite claims that the league is acting like "an illegal cartel" by controlling team promotions.

U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska said Friday that the NHL seemed on solid legal ground when it decided to take control of its clubs' Web sites to strengthen the quality of its Internet relationship with fans and advertisers.

She said in a written opinion that her conclusion was "bolstered by the fact that MSG has shown no harm whatsoever to consumers, especially in light of the facts that the team maintains control over most of the content of the new Web site and fans can still get access directly to the Rangers site through newyorkrangers.com."

Preska also said evidence showed that fans prefer the league's new Internet strategy over one that left more control in the hands of the individual clubs.

The ruling said the league had decided it was necessary to create a league brand with centralized control of team sites to compete with other major sports entertainment providers.

Although the judge hasn't yet heard all of the evidence in the case, she refused to block the NHL in its efforts while the litigation proceeds, a process that could take months.

She said it seemed unlikely that MSG would succeed in claims contained in a September lawsuit.

In a statement, MSG promised to appeal, saying it still believed the Rangers will be irreparably harmed if the Web site is left in the NHL's hands.

"This decision is only one step in what will be a very long legal process and we look forward to having the opportunity to present the facts, which support our position," MSG said.

Earlier this year, at the start of hockey playoffs, MSG said it increased its competitive offerings by making Rangers-branded merchandise available through the Rangers' Web site rather than a catalog, and by making games available to subscribers on its Web site.

The NHL forced MSG to withdraw the plan by imposing a $100,000-per-day penalty. When the company refused to pay the fines, the league withheld $200,000 from third-party payments due MSG, MSG said.