Now Just Fire Wayne Hagin Already and We'll Be All Set

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For a time, life was Good. Or at least it seemed Good, because for the most part it looked Good. So even when fate threw various obstacles in our path — which, in retrospect, happened more often than not — at least the tableau unfolding before us was generally pleasing to the eye.

But then the Dark Plague began its devastating infestation. The first symptom was the appearance of blackened pustules on the chest. These soon spread to the extremities, and before long the malignancy had proliferated throughout the body. So began the dire times we have experienced, lo these past dozen years.

Despite our best efforts to fight the Dark Plague, it has proven to be a resilient enemy. And so even in those fleeting moments when life was Good, it usually did not look Good, and consequently it did not feel Good. Although there have always been those of us who refused to give up hope, deep down we wondered if we would ever live to see the day when the Dark Plague finally succumbed to the forces of Good.

My friends, that day is finally at hand.

Any way you slice it, the news coming out of Shea yesterday (which was 50 years to the day after they unveiled their first logo, incidentally) was a win-win. Or maybe a win-win-win-win-win-win. Here’s rundown of the developments, nearly all of them positive:

• The black drop shadow has been removed from the white, pinstriped, and gray jerseys. You can see high-res versions of those jerseys here, here, and here.

• The black/blue hybrid cap (which had been the official road cap but was also frequently worn at home) has been eliminated. The blue cap will now be worn with the white, pinstriped, and gray jerseys.

• The black undersleeves and socks, which were always worn on the road and sometimes at home, have been eliminated. The white, pinstriped, and gray jerseys will now be paired with blue accessories.

• The herringbone-patterned glacier twill lettering fabric has been eliminated. The new jerseys are using conventional tackle twill. (Here’s how it looks on the script.)

• Although all of these changes are being introduced to coincide with the team’s 50th anniversary, they are not one-year changes. I have confirmed through a team source that the plan is to retain all of the above-listed changes for the long term. I repeat: There are no plans to bring back any of the black elements.

• The team has a new anniversary logo, which is being worn as a sleeve patch on the jerseys. Interestingly, there’s a slight discrepancy between the logo and the patch: Note the color of the baseball stitching on the left side. The version on the left is how it’s shown in the style guide. Weird.

• The anniversary logo is also being worn as a rear cap patch. Can’t say I’m 100% in love with this, but it’s better than putting a patch on the side of the cap (I hate that look — always makes the cap feel unbalanced), and I think this execution is much better than the giant patch the Yankees used a few years ago.

Disappointments? I count three, all fairly minor: (1) The black alternate jersey and solid-black cap have not been eliminated — yet. They’ll be used sparingly on the road in 2012, and then scrapped altogether in 2013. (2) I was hoping they’d go back to a blue squatchee for 2012, but they’re sticking with orange. (3) I was also hoping they’d restore the little “NY” to the skyline logo, but no dice. In the grand scheme of things, however, I can live with all of these.

And there you have it. After a dozen years of campaigning for most of these moves, I don’t mind saying that the long-awaited ditching of the black — VB Day — tastes pretty sweet. Today my giant souvenir Mets cup is filled with champagne. (Actually, I don’t own a souvenir cup, and I don’t particularly like champagne. But you get the idea.)

My thanks to everyone else who’s helped with the cause over the years, especially Shannon Shark over at Mets Police (who, unlike me, has actually been diplomatic enough to break bread with some of the team’s front office types and, I’m fairly certain, has made them take this kind of stuff more seriously). Enjoy the moment, people — an all-too-rare triumph of Good over Stupid.

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Notre Dame auction update: The auction for the Notre Dame promo box is continuing. The high bid as of this morning was $4301, which means today’s minimum bid is $4401. If nobody bids today, the minimum bid will increase to $4501 tomorrow.

Full details on how to bid, and everything else regarding the auction, can be found here.

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Hahahahahahahahahahahaha: Here, see for yourself.

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Uni Watch News Ticker: New 35th-anniversary patch for the Mariners. … Blue Jays will unveil their new set on Friday. … Teeny-tiny cap logo adjustment for the Dodgers. … Small item on this page indicates that the Pirates will be wearing camouflage uniforms on Memorial Day weekend, and will also be giving away camo jerseys to kids, which seems like a truly repellant idea. … Speaking of camo, it’s bad enough that the Blue Jackets just became the latest team to pull the camo warm-up stunt. But Rick Nash broke new ground on the G.I. Joe front by using — get this — camouflage tape on his stick. Just give every player an M-16 and get it over with already (from Adam Sgriccia). ”¦ A Canadian minor league baseball team is drawing criticism because it’s named after Jack the Ripper. ”¦ Here’s another great taffy-pull jersey shot. It’s from the Clemson/FSU game a few years ago (big thanks to Chip Powell). ”¦ Tosh.0 star Daniel Tosh wore nine different Oregon outfits during last night’s show (screen shots by Matt Dubroff). ”¦ I was recently interviewed by a Nebraska football equipment blog. … Just what the world needs: the glove-palm salute as a T-shirt (from Kate Sutter). … The Sabres are running a promotion to let fans design Ryan Miller’s mask (from Tim Tryjankowski). … Renfrew Hockey Tape — the brand that’s “synonymous with tape for hockey players worldwide,” according to a press release — now has its own web site. … The NFL is launching a new monthly magazine. … Who are these guys? None other than (from left) weekend editor Phil Hecken, readers Conn Nugent and Chance Michaels, and yours truly. The four of us celebrated VB Day last night by meeting up at the Harvard Club for cocktails and then moseyed around the block to a Brazilian restaurant, which is where that photo was taken (yes, they serve more than water, although you wouldn’t know it from that photo). A splendid evening all around, and fine capper to a very, very good day.