I'll admit I really didn't notice it at the time while briefly watching the women's World Cup last week. At no time did the United States women's soccer team incorporate the colors red or blue into the team's uniform attire.
I can't remember a time when any American sporting team went into international competition and not choose to wear the colors of their country, which are in our case, red, white and blue. The U.S. women's team playing in Canada last week wore yellow, black, green and white colors on their uniforms which often dominated by white.
What to make of it? There was a lot of buzz on the internet over this subject, some of which blamed Nike for the color choices. It would seem to me that the manufacturer, who although may be donating the apparel to the team, would still honor the desires of the team for their color choices. Recently, the Arkansas men's basketball teams wore graphite (yes, that's a color) for the base color of one of their uniforms. The Razorbacks are red and white with some black trim, and I think wearing dark gray isn't the best idea. A public explanation for that new color was that it gave the team a look that would help in recruiting.
But I digress. Why didn't an American team wear American colors? At least the fans were decked out in the American colors and proudly waved the U.S. flag. Perhaps the colors represented those on the Olympic flag though this wasn't an Olympic event.
Here's hoping that future American national team in whatever sport or activity decides to rely on the colors that have represented the United States for the past 239 years.
All star break
Major league baseball is on their annual summer break until Friday as they played the annual All-Star Game last night in Cincinatti.
The St. Louis Cardinals have emerged as the best time so far in the National League in 2015 with the Kansas City Royals ruling the roost in the American League. Late game stumbles have eaten up the Cards' large lead in the National League Central Division as they lead the second best team in the National League by 2 1/2 games in the Pittsburgh Pirates. St. Louis lost two consecutive 6-5 decisions to the Pirates when the bullpen blew what would have been saves in each game. The Cards lost both games in extra innings after their starting pitchers put in solid efforts.
That the Cardinals are leading all the majors with their record is remarkable with the slew of injuries they have had to withstand. Thirteen players from the Memphis Chicks, their AAA minor league affiliate, have been called up over the past two months to see playing time. The Cards split a four-game series in Chicago last week, losing the middle two games with minor league pitchers filling in for injured starters.
St. Louis' best hitter is scheduled to be getting back this week and none too soon. Matt Holliday was voted onto the All-Star team but hasn't played in a month. He is arguably their best hitter. They should also be getting pitcher Jaime Garcia back from a leg injury this week as well. He had been pitching superbly until hurting his leg running to score at home during a game. They won't be getting back All-Star pitcher Adam Wainwright and star first baseman Matt Adams. None of the players that have played at first base so far has been as good in the field or at bat either as the young Adams.
I would have preferred thunder chickens
When the current Northwest Arkansas Naturals came to Springdale, they had a naming contest with the Naturals moniker narrowly winning the vote. The Thunder Chickens was a close second and it was my choice by far.
There are quite a few whimsical names for minor league teams in our great nation.
Have you ever heard of the Kannapolis Intimidators? The team was owned by Dale Earnhardt, of car racing fame who was known as "The Intimidator." New Orleans has the Zephyrs for their minor league team. I don't know what a Zephyr is but they do have this beaver looking animal for a mascot.
Las Vegas' team is the 51s, alluding to Area 51 of UFO fame. Their mascot is this green alien looking person or thing. The Empire 66s in San Bernadino sits right on the old U.S. Highway 66 so we know where that comes. Auburn, Ala., has a team called the Doubledays, named for the supposed inventor of baseball, Abner Doubleday. Is anybody ever named Abner anymore?
The Chattonooga Lookouts are likely the oldest minor league team in existence since their beginning in the 1880s. Lookout Mountain of Civil War fame is nearby. Rim Rock, Texas, has the Express with their owner Nolan Ryan having the nickname of the "Ryan Express" back in his major league pitching days.
I love the Montgomery Biscuits with their colors of butter yellow and blue. If you go to see the Lansing Lug Nuts play you can see placards and people chanting "Go Nuts!" quite a bit. Akron of tire making fame has the Rubber Ducks for the mascot. The "rubber" I get, but "ducks"? How about the Akron Steel Belts? Biloxi has their Shucks, while Richmond has their Flying Squirrels while Toledo has their Mud Hens.
One different kind of mascot is the one in Albuquerque which has the Isotopes. That is the mascot of the fictional sports team in Springfield on the Simpsons cartoon show. Another kind of head scratcher is the Frederick Keys in Maryland. Francis Scott Key wrote the national anthem while watching a British bombardment of Fort McHenry on the Maryland coast. Why Key became a mascot for a minor league baseball team is beyond me.
The Pennsylvania Sea Wolves were so named because they were a long time affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. A sea wolf is a sea going term for Pirates. They are now an affiliate of the Detroit Tigers and now their mascot is actually a wolf, albeit wearing a Pirate costume.
The newest inclusion into the minor league mascot lexicon are the Hartford Yard Goats. That name was just voted in this year for the Connecticut-based team.
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Editor's note: John McGee is an award-winning columnist and sports writer. He writes a regular sports column for The Times. He can be contacted through The Times at [email protected].
Sports on 07/15/2015