Blatant Overuse of Black Alternate Jerseys in Sports

OK folks, now that I've laid my true feelings on the line for everyone to read, I'm steering this blog back to what it was initially created for: ranting and raving. My gripe for thispost is on a topic that most normal folks wouldn't really want to delve into: Sports teams that use Black third (or alternate) jerseys even though a lot of these teams have no more than just a hint of black in their color scheme. Here are, in my honest opinion, some of the most blatant offenders (in no particular order): NFL: Detroit Lions, Philadelphia Eagles; MLB: New York Mets, Kansas City Royals, Toronto Blue Jays. These teams have blatantly violated the spirit of the alternate jersey. In the NFL, the rules for a team wanting to use analternate jersey are simple: the colors used in the jersey have to be part of the team's existing color palette. Detroit revamped their home and away uniforms before the 2003 season. These revamped uniforms included black piping around the numerals and letters of the player's last name as well as two black stripes on each of the sleeves of the home and away jerseys, the LIONS name in black on the chest just above the numerals on the home and away jerseys, and a black-blue-black color pattern on the collar of the home jersey. This to me does not justify the use of black for an alternate jersey. There is clearly more of a silver presence in Detroit's overall uniform scheme (to include their pants), which leads me to believe that silver would have been the more logical choice for an alternate. Don't get me wrong, I like how the jersey looks, but I think someone was really reaching when the Lions petitioned the league to let them use the jersey. I also think that whoever chairs the uniform committee for the league pretty much dropped the proverbial ball on this one. (I'm pretty sure they have one, since they seem to have a committee for everything else under the sun). While I can understand that having a black alternate jersey has become a trend in sports, it doesn'tjustify the argument for having one. Just because someone does something, doesn't make it right.

Ricky Williams Back in the NFL

Ricky Williams made his return to the Miami Dolphins the other day when the Dolphins
opened their 2005 training camp and there are sure to be questions abound for a little bit about why he quit and how his teammates feel about him. For as tempting as it would be to knock the guy for "retiring" and going to study holistic medicine all over the world (read 'smoking pot'), I'm going to take a "wait-and-see" approach. The guy has already come out and said that he regrets the hurt that his decision caused his team, which as everyone in the sporting world knows, took a downward spiral after his departure and finished with a 4-12 record last season, which earned them the No. 2 overall spot in the 2005 NFL Draft as well as the midseason resignation of one Dave Wannestadt, who is now back coaching in the
college ranks and the eventual naming of former LSU head coach (and super genius in a lot of folks mind) Nick Saban as the Dolphins new on-field boss. The Dolphins (Saban), ironically, used their pick to choose Running Back Ronnie Brown from Auburn (a very fine running back in his own right and someone that Coach Saban is very familiar with). Unless Ricky is pulling a fast one on all of us, I see this as a
win-win situation for the Dolphins. Brown is currently sitting out camp until he can get his contract straightened out (No. 1 pick Alex Smith just inked a six-year, $57.5 million deal, $24 million of which is guaranteed money, with the 49ers, so Brown should be able to wrap up his contract in the not-too-distant future).
With Ricky getting in his reps now in Training Camp and the tune-ups games (more widely known as the Preseason), he should be ready to go, even with the four-game suspension that he'll have to serve for his third drug test failure. Brown will be able to get his feet wet the hard way as he starts the first four games of the regular season and gets the bulk of the carries. Ricky's official return to the gridiron, which is tentatively scheduled for Week Five, will probably see the start of a platooning-type arrangement with Williams and Brown. This is why I see this as a win-win situation for the Dolphins:

They really don't have a passing game to speak of (their two journeymen QB's [A.J. Feeley and Gus Frerotte] don't exactly scream "Starter Material") and the defense has been switched to the 3-4, which will require a little getting used to, seeing as the Dolphins defense has played the 4-3 for as long as I can remember.
With Brown and Williams running the ball, Feeley (or Frerotte) as well as the defense will have the pressure off their shoulders a bit. Let's not forget the fact that Ricky turned in some pretty impressive numbers in his first two years with the Dolphins (3,225 rushing yards, 25 rushing TDs, 714 receiving yards, 2 TDs).
Granted, Ricky is not known for his prowess as a receiving target, but all in all, those numbers speak for themselves.

So, for everyone out there that's ready to turn their back on Ricky Williams because of a decision that he made, why not go and look at some of these other athletes that played the game last year, but only on their terms (Terrell "I want more money after only fulfilling one year of my seven-year deal" Owens. and Randy "walk off the field with two seconds left in the game and a chance to win" Moss) and then tell me if you think Ricky still doesn't deserve a fair shake. I rest my case.