Connecticut Day

One last post for today. It's Connecticut Day over at the Tournament of Hockey Logos blog. Reason being the state's two AHL franchises are going head to head in the AHL Tournament of Logos today. Head over and vote!

Meanwhile, I figured I'd draw in The Nutmeg State's NHL connection — the Hartford Whalers. Got some concept art, of course.



It's a peek at what the Whalers might've looked like had they made it to the Rbk EDGE era — and hired the same designer as the Calgary Flames. Notice the shield from the state flag on the shoulders.

I do like the designer's choice of thin lines on this jersey. I bet it would look killer on the ice. Too bad we'll never find out.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed Connecticut Day. Perhaps one day soon will be Pennsylvania Day. I've got a ton of Flyers/Penguins artwork.

Reworking The Oil

The concept art has been flooding in over the last several days, so it's time to share a bunch. We'll begin with the team whose uniform finished second to last in the NHLToL's Uniform Ranking. The Edmonton Oilers.



Starting with my personal favorite, here. They're much busier in comparison to the current sweaters, but it would be a welcome improvement. Perhaps I speak for myself, though. Let me know. I just think that the Boston Bruins hit it right on the nose with their new sweaters. Why shouldn't other teams have a shot at something similar?

Especially the Oilers.



Another sharp design that was submitted seems to be based off of the Columbus Blue Jackets. See what we're getting at here? The Bruins and Jackets finished #1 and #6 respectively, in the Ranking. That has to say something.

Finally, it's not so much a jersey concept I wanted to share, but a logo.



I don't like it as a primary mark, but certainly something similar would be nice on the shoulder as a secondary. Of course you'd have to get past the whole Houston Oilers logo in there. But a little imagination would solve that problem.

So kudos to the artists on all these designs. Really top notch work! Keep it coming, everyone!

Poll: Flames vs Sabres

	vs
Calgary FLAMES		Buffalo SABRES

Place your vote and then feel free to leave a comment as to how you came to your decision. Tell all your friends to drop in and vote! The more voices heard, the more accurate the results!

Poll opening date Wed Nov 7

Poll closing date Sun Nov 11

07TJTRN | #1C | CGYvBUF

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.