VINTAGE YEAR

If you’ve been following Distant Replay’s “What’s Your College Knowledge?” contest (click here if you haven’t!), then your eagerly awaiting for the biggest Big 12 showdown of the season to date, which will take place tomorrow when the # 11 Kansas State Wildcats host the #2 Kansas Jayhawks.  With # 10 Purdue holding on at the wire to knock off # 16 Wisconsin last night, and # 13 Gonzaga handling a tougher than expected Santa Clara Bronco squad, the number of contestants who have a shot at the FREE Distant Replays Branded t-shirt for this week has been narrowed down to 8.  If Kansas wins, 5 folks will go into a drawing to determine the winner, and 3 folks if K-State wins.

In anticipation of the big game (ESPN College Game Day staring @ 6pm est), I had no choice but to roll out the TOP TEN Distant Replay’s shirts for these in-state rivals.  All you gotta do is click the highlighted links to check em’ out.

10. 1991 Final Four – This was Kansas coach Roy Williams first shot at a National title, but tournament Most Outstanding Player Christian Laetner from Duke, put the kibosh on that.

PLEASE SIR, MAY I HAVE ANOTHER?

9. K-State Powercat – My high school mascot was a Wildcat (Go Walt Whitman!), so I have to get this shirt in the mix.  It’s cool, but I find the older logo’s more graphically pleasing as you will see momentarily.

8. Kansas 1966-present logo – Rock Chalk Jayhawk Walk – I think it goes like that?

7. Kansas Block – The simplicity of any block lettered Distant Replays shirt makes them worthy for any TOP 10 t-shirt list. Bonus logo on the sleeve is nice too!

6. 1942 Kansas City Monarchs jersey – How’d this get in here?  Kansas City isn’t in Kansas (I’m sure you knew that)!  Satchel Paige jersey.  I couldn’t help myself.  Wool throwback jerseys rule.

5. 1988 Final Four – “Danny & the Miracles” – As in Danny Manning & the Jayhawks knock off Oklahoma to win the National title on the 50th anniversary of the tournament.

4. Kansas Dynasty Banner – Perhaps they will be adding another to this felt/wool blended beauty come this April, 5th?

3. K-State Heritage banner – Shows logo lineage back to when they were

THE OLDER, THE BETTER

called the “Aggies.”  LOVE – IT!

2. Kansas Heritage banner – Rock chalk logo’s going back to 1912.  LOVE – IT MORE!

1. Willie Wildcat w/pennant -  As I said earlier, I find older logo’s more graphically pleasing.   Is that Tom from Tom & Jerry?  # 1 shirt on the list doesn’t mean I’m picking them to win tomorrow.  It just means this is the coolest vintage Distant Replays Branded shirt in the lot.

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C-R-E-E-P-Y-!

After painstakingly reviewing the thousands of possibilities that are worthy of this list, I have narrowed it down to my favorite 50.  Today I will share the bottom ten on that list, working up to # 1 over the next few weeks.  What defines “Cool” is in the eye of the beholder of course, and I suspect I will piss some people off with my choices.  When it comes to vintage logos however, I’ve always been objective to what I deem “Cool.”  For instance, I never let my love of the Georgia Bulldogs stop me from wearing a ….gulp, Georgia Tech shirt, or…..double gulp, a Florida Gators shirt (God, forgive me).  I’m simply hooked on the old graphics.  If they had a 12-step program for retro gear hoarders, I would go to my first meeting and  bust out faster than Tom Sizemore on Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew.  You get the point?  Click the highlighted links to see the awesomeness!

MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE

50. Columbus Clippers – I love old ships. I love ships in a bottle.  The Nina, the Pinta, the Santa Maria…

49. Palisades Dolphins – Dolphins jumping is cool.  Also Christie Brinkley went to “Pali-Hi’ and she’s hot.

48. Shakespeare Spinning line – Will spare you analogies to the English playwright, but will say the logo on the shirt sleeve is what “lured” me in.

47. Boston Breakers – Makes me want to go for a dip somewhere on Cape Cod.

46. Bushwood Country Club -  Caddyshack “You don’t got no 50 cents, you don’t get no coke.”  Maybe the best sports movie ever.

45. Decatur Commies – This is one extremely disturbing t-shirt.  A must

GRAZIN IN THE GRASS

have.

44. Brooklyn Tip-Tops – Had to throw a jersey in the mix.  Any logo that has a “tiffany”  font is Tip-Top in my book.

43. Clemson Tigers – This baby is plain fierce. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon comes to mind.

42. Boston Bruins -  Bobby Orr.  Nuff said.

41. Charlestown Chiefs – Slapshot.  The Hanson Brothers.  Maybe the best sports movie ever (see # 46 & remember I said maybe).

Hope you like em’  – 40 more to go.  If you have any good suggestions, I can easily be swayed to add one of your favorites to the list.  Let me know and look for another 10 tomorrow.

BUSH SAINTS TROJAN HORSE

Yesterday we kicked off (no football pun intended, but it fits) our little foray into Super Bowl hype by challenging you to match former Super Bowl Quarterbacks to the College they attended.  If you didn’t participate, and want to have some fun, click here and give it a shot.  If you did, and were thirsting for another challenge, then feast on trying to match Super Bowl Running Backs to their respective College’s today.  As I said yesterday, I betcha can’t get all ten.  Click the highlighted link on each running back to see the correct answer brought to you by Distant Replay’s Super Soft t-shirts and other merchandise we proudly carry.  Remember, no Googling!  Good luck!

1. Super Bowl III: Matt Snell, New York Jets

ADDAI TIGER IN COLTS TANK

2. Super Bowl V: Walt Garrison, Dallas Cowboys

3. Super Bowl VI: Jim Kiik, Miami Dolphins

4. Super Bowl X: Rocky Bleier, Pittsburgh Steelers

5. Super Bowl XVII: John Riggins, Washington Redskins

6. Super Bowl XIX: Wendell Tyler, San Francisco 49ers

7. Super Bowl XXII: Kelvin Bryant, Washington Redskins

8. Super Bowl XXXIII: Jamal Anderson, Atlanta Falcons

9. Super Bowl XL:  Shaun Alexander, Seattle Seahawks

10. Super Bowl XLIII: Edgerrin James, Arizona Cardinals

I think back-to-back days of Super Bowl spotlight is enough to nibble on until next week.  With Michigan nearly buzzer-beating the Spartans, and the South Carolina Gamecocks knocking off the # 1 Kentucky Wildcats last night, I’m going to have to refocus on College Basketball for my post tomorrow.  And speaking of College hoops, try and catch # 3 Villanova vs. Notre Dame tonight.  This is the second game on the slate in the “What’s Your College Knowledge?” contest for this week.  Nova will probably win this game, but Notre Dame has the country’s second leading scorer in Luke Harangody and in College Basketball, upsets seem to be the new trend.

PEYTON HAS THE RIFLE

Do you think you can match the following Super Bowl Quarterbacks to the College they went to?  Seems easy, right?  Betcha can’t get all ten (No Googling allowed)!  A little harmless fun for ya.  Click the link on each QB to see the correct answer brought to you by the Distant Replays Super Soft t-shirts, and other merchandise we carry.

1. Super Bowl 1:  Bart Starr, Green Bay Packers

2. Super Bowl II: Daryle Lamonica, Oakland Raiders

3. Super Bowl V: Johhny Unitas, Baltimore Colts

DREW STILL WEARS GOLD & BLACK

4. Super Bowl XI: Fran Tarkenton, Minnesota Vikings

5. Super Bowl XIV: Vince Ferragamo, Los Angeles Rams

6. Super Bowl XVII: David Woodley, Miami Dolphins

7. Super Bowl XX: Tony Eason, New England Patriots

8. Super Bowl XXVII: Troy Aikman, Dallas Cowboys

9. Super Bowl XXXV: Kerry Collins, New York Giants

10. Super Bowl XXXVIX: Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia Eagles

How’d you do?  Thought I would lob easy ones like Namath, Young, and Montana atcha?  And yes, I did throw a few tricks in the mix; Vince Ferragamo ended up playing HERE, after his original school went on probation, and Troy Aikman ended up transferring  HERE, after he suffered a season ending injury in 1986.

We’re going to play this game again tomorrow, and throw Super Bowl Running Backs at ya.  Study up…

ONE WAS ENOUGH

With the Florida State Seminoles nipping the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets yesterday in Tallahassee, thus concluded week # 1 of the “What’s Your College Knowledge Contest.” Obviously my College Knowledge was non-existent, and I will be headed to the Dean’s office with a 1-4 mark on my report card.  Turns out my fellow “classmates” didn’t fare much better, with most of the contest entries turning in identical 1-4 marks themselves.  Nobody picked N.C. State to knock off Duke, and not enough folks gave UCONN a chance against the Longhorns.

Who won the contest, and what was his/her record?  Looks like we may have to invoke a “curve” this week, as the winner stormed to victory with a less than stellar 2-3 record.  In fact, a dozen entries had 2-3 records, and the winner had to be pulled from an Ebbets Field baseball cap in a drawing.  Turns out that the winner of the contest was the ONLY person who picked FSU to knock off Georgia Tech.  We’ve already notified the winner, Eric Miller from Chicago, Illinois, and he’ll be letting us know which shirt he chooses as his prize which we’ll post on the Distant Replays Facebook Fan page.

For those of you just checking in this contest for the first time, this is how it works:

1) Every Monday, I will post my 5 top college basketball games of the week and give you my predicted winners and why (FYI – Distant Replays will offer 25% off gear for those teams for a full week!  ENTER CODE DRPOW @ CHECKOUT TO RECEIVE DISCOUNT THIS WEEK STARTING TOMORROW AFTER 5PM EASTERN TIME!!!)

2) You will e-mail your picks to me (andyphyman@gmail.com) for the same games (no point spreads; straight up wins & losses) no later than the following day by 3pm eastern standard time.  Please mention this is for the Distant Replays Contest in your e-mail.

3) Each Monday I will announce which person e-mailed the most winners for the weeks picks, and that person will win a FREE Distant Replays Branded shirt of their choice! In the event of a tie, all of the entries will be entered into a drawing (the hat!) to determine a winner.

PLAY w/HEART & LOGO ON SLEEVE

IT’S THAT SIMPLE!!! We’ll run this contest right up until the opening round of games for March Madness (March 16, 2010) before we bust out a new & improved version of the contest for that whole shabang!!

Week # 2 Class now in session….Big East,

Game 1: # 6 Michigan State vs. Michigan – The Wolverines seemed to be turning a corner with big wins over Indiana & UCONN, before back-to-back road losses to ranked Wisconsin & Purdue respectively.  Against all my instincts, I say they get back on track and am picking them to defeat the Spartans because they will be back home, and MSU looked a tad shaky in nudging out the Minnesota Gophers by one point on Saturday. Michigan – 68, Michigan State – 65

NO LUCK VS. NOVA

Game 2: # 4 Villanova vs. Notre Dame – The Big East currently boasts 6 teams in the AP Top 25, and is easily the most competitive in the country.  While Notre Dame has a good overall record, they won’t be able to keep pace with the Cats in Philly.  Nova remains the only unbeaten team in their conference: Villanova – 84, Notre Dame – 72

Game 3: # 15 Gonzaga vs. Santa Clara – The Broncos come off their first win in their last 10 games in beating USF.  They will have a very tough time making it 2 in a row as they host the first place Bulldogs and Matt Bouldin Thursday night. Gonzaga – 88, Santa Clara – 68

WALK THE CHALK

Game 4: # 18 Wisconsin vs. # 13 Purdue – The Badgers have already handed the Boilermakers a defeat just a few weeks ago, and have a 2-game lead over them in the Big 10, yet they are ranked lower than their counterparts.  Am I missing something?  Badgers take care of business on the road and deservedly leap Purdue Pete in the rankings.  Wisconsin – 77, Purdue – 68

Game 5: # 3 Kansas vs. # 10 Kansas State -  Both of these teams have tough opponents before facing off on ESPN’s College Gameday this Saturday in Manhattan. It will be hard to not look past them (Kansas has Missouri, and  K-State has Baylor) in anticipation of this huge in-state rivalry.  The Wildcats had a bit of a let down losing to Oklahoma State after knocking off # 1 Texas.  The Jayhawks rebounded nicely off their only loss of the season to Tennessee with 4 straight wins.  It will be a tough place for a road victory, but I have to go with Kansas.  They were the only team that I actually WON with last week!  Kansas – 85, Kansas State – 81

Start sending me those picks and GOOD LUCK!

STILL # 1

Yeah, we want to give away more FREE Distant Replays Branded shirts every week, and if you want to win, you’re going to have to brush up on your College Basketball.  Of course I’ll be here each week to guide you along with my own expertise and college basketball knowledge (or lack thereof!), as this contest will have all to do with picking weekly winners in college basketball games.

The contest will work like this:

1) Every Monday, I will post my 5 top college basketball games of the week and give you my predicted winners and why (FYI – Distant Replays will offer 25% off all DR Branded gear for those teams for a full week!  ENTER CODE DRGOW @ CHECKOUT TO RECEIVE DISCOUNT THIS WEEK STARTING AFTER 5PM EASTERN TIME TONIGHT BEFORE GEORGETOWN & PITT TIP-OFF!!!)

2) You will e-mail your picks to me (andyphyman@gmail.com) for the same games (no point spreads; straight up wins & losses) no later than the following day by 3pm eastern standard time - NEED BEFORE 7PM TONIGHT FOR THIS WEEK ONLY!!

3) Each Monday I will announce which person e-mailed the most winners for the weeks picks, and that person will win a FREE Distant Replays Branded shirt of their choice! In the event of a tie, all of the entries will be entered into a drawing to determine a winner.

FOR REAL

IT’S THAT SIMPLE!!!  We’ll run this contest right up until the opening round of games for March Madness (March 16, 2010) before we bust out a new & improved version of the contest for that whole shabang!!  Let’s get on with it, shall we?  Here are your first 5 games:

Game 1: # 14 Georgetown vs. # 11 PITT- The Hoyas come off a valiant comeback that fell short against Big East beast Villanova this past weekend.  Meanwhile, the Panthers keep pace with the Cats, and remain undefeated in the Big East with a huge overtime win over Louisville.  Pitt guard Ashton Gibbs is starting to blossom, and will lead Pitt to victory at home tonight.  PITT – 75, GEORGETOWN – 72.

Game 2: # 25 Baylor vs. # 3 Kansas – The Jayhawks host an upstart Baylor Bears squad who are in the thick of the Big 12 conversation.  Junior guard LaceDarius  Dunn (3rd leading scorer in Big 12)  has led the Bears to a 14-2 record averaging 19 points a game.  Kansas rebounded strong after their stunning loss to a depleted Tennessee squad, with convincing wins over Nebraska and Texas Tech, and will continue with a win at home tonight. KANSAS – 82, BAYLOR – 77.

ON A ROLL

Game 3: # 7 Duke vs. NC State – The Blue Devils guard tandem of  Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith have been unstoppable of late, leading Duke to victories of 19 points or more in their last 8 victories.  The Wolfpack roared back and showed heart in latest game against Clemson, but the backcourt continues to lack the leadership needed to compete at the top in the ACC. Duke wins by 20 again. DUKE – 92, NCSTATE – 72.

Game 4: # 1 Texas vs. # 21 UCONN – Along with Dexter Pittman, senior Damion James has flat out dominated, leading the formidable frontcourt tandem in scoring and rebounding for the Longhorns.  Texas remained undefeated by fending off in-state rival Texas A& M in OT this past weekend, but were finally beaten by Kansas Sate on Monday.  What happened to the Huskies?  After dropping their 3rd straight to a mediocre Michigan squad (first 3 loss string since 2006), they fall into the “what the heck is going on?” category with the North Carolina Tarheels.  Knocking off Texas will be a tall order, but they will have home court advantage and a “do or die” mentality.  Not enough come Saturday.  TEXAS – 84, UCONN – 78.

BEAT GT AGAIN? NO.

Game 5: FSU vs. # 18 Georgia Tech – Which Yellow Jacket team will show up this Sunday?  The team that beat DUKE & North Carolina (@ Dean Center) in the past two weeks, and a tough Clemson team last night, or the team that got beat by bitter rival Georgia, and the surprising Virginia Cavaliers?   FSU had been rolling before back-to-back losses to Maryland & NCState, and did bounce back with a win over Virginia Tech. GT likes to spread the ball to all (witness starting 5 all averaging at least 10 points per game), and swarms on defense.  Lest I forget to mention the Seminoles knocked out these Jackets in Georgia in OT, right before Christmas.  The Yellow Jackets will return the favor.  GEORGIA TECH 75 – FLORIDA STATE – 69.

So there you have it folks.  My 5 picks for this week.  Wanna win a FREE Distant Replays Branded shirt? Then again, e-mail your winners to me (andyphyman@gmail.com), enjoy the action, and check back next Monday to see how you did.  Remember, whoever picks the most winners wins a FREE Distant Replays Branded t-shirt (all ties will go to a drawing).  Be sure to follow the action on our Facebook Fanpage and Twitter.  GOOD LUCK!!!