Cole Aldrich of the New York Knicks is familiar with his teammates’ bold fashion choices: the hats and the scarves, the culottes and the high tops. The Knicks’ locker room is not a place for the meek.
So at this stage of Aldrich’s career, it takes something extraordinary to catch him by surprise.
Enter the NBA, which recently released a collection of holiday-themed sweaters that defy easy description. Before a recent home game, Aldrich was shown photographs of several of them. He let it all sink in.
“Um,” Aldrich said. “Yeah, you know, they’re unique. They’re: wow.”
He paused. He seemed particularly taken by the Carmelo Anthony sweater, a kaleidoscope of colors and graphics, including the Knicks logo on the front and Anthony’s nickname (Melo) and jersey number (7) on the back. Not to be overlooked was the snowflake trim.
“Is there a way I can find me one?” Aldrich asked.
There is, in fact. The ugly sweaters — and yes, that is how the league is marketing them — are being sold on the league’s Web site and at other online stores, arena shops and Lids locations.
Designs were created for 30 teams, and 10 player-specific sweaters are available. The Kobe Bryant version, with his nickname Black Mamba stitched across the back, is particularly “festive.”
“They speak for themselves,” said Lisa Piken Koper, the league’s vice president of licensing. “The idea is that they’re so bad, they’re amazing.”
In a twist, the man whose company was responsible for introducing the Christmas sweaters to the NBA was, until last year, unfamiliar with the concept of ugly sweaters.
Michael Lewis, the chief executive at Forever Collectibles, said he showed up for work one morning in December last year to discover that most of his employees were wearing ugly sweaters, a growing tradition in the art of holiday kitsch.
“One after another,” Lewis said of his employees, “looking hideous.”
Eventually, one of them hatched an unconventional idea: Why not make ugly sweaters for sports teams?
Lewis was less than convinced.
“We don’t do apparel,” said Lewis, who described his company as one of the country’s leading manufacturers of sports-themed “trinkets and treasures” — a one-stop source for everything from Miami Heat tote bags to Los Angeles Kings dog tag bottle openers (Stanley Cup commemorative edition).
Ugly sweaters, though?
“I thought the leagues would laugh at me if I brought this to them, but my people were insistent: ‘Michael, we’ll draw up some sketches,’” Lewis said.
Lo and behold, the NFL signed on. Others, including the NHL, Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer and the NBA, soon followed.
An NBA spokeswoman said sales of the ugly sweaters (at about US$85 each) had been brisk, even though Forever Collectibles wanted exclusivity to be part of the draw.
“If you live in New York,” Lewis said, “you don’t want to see 20 people coming and going with the same Carmelo sweater.”
FRUSTRATION: Alcaraz made several unforced errors over four sets against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, who had never made it past the third round in a major competition Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the fourth round of the French Open after laboring past Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the Friday night session. The second-seeded Spaniard had never before played Dzumhur, a 33-year-old Bosnian who had never been past the third round at any major tournament. “I suffered quite a lot today,” Alcaraz said. “The first two sets was under control, then he started to play more deeply and more aggressively. It was really difficult for me.” Dzumhur hurt his left knee in a fall in the second round, and had treatment on Friday on his right leg during the
‘DREAM’: The 5-0 victory was PSG’s first Champions League title, and the biggest final win by any team in the 70-year history of the top-flight European competition Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League for the first time as Luis Enrique’s brilliant young side outclassed Inter on Saturday in the most one-sided final ever with teenager Desire Doue scoring twice in an astonishing 5-0 victory. Doue supplied the pass for Achraf Hakimi to give PSG an early lead and the 19-year-old went from provider to finisher as his deflected shot doubled the advantage in the 20th minute. Doue scored again just after the hour mark, ending any doubt about the outcome before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ran away to get the fourth and substitute Senny Mayulu, another teenager, made it five. Inter were
The Greek basketball league finals between Panathinaikos and Olympiakos were suspended by the government on Monday following on-court scuffles involving rival security teams. The best-of-five series is at 1-1. The third game, scheduled for today, has been postponed. The owners of both clubs were summoned to meet with the country’s sports minister. They “will be asked to provide explicit guarantees that this situation will be brought to an end. If not, this year’s championship will be definitively canceled,” government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said. “There can be no tolerance for such pathological phenomena of violence and delinquency.” In online posts, the owners of Panathinaikos and
Defender Steph Catley says her UEFA Women’s Champions League title win with Arsenal last week will act as motivation to secure continental glory with Australia when the country hosts the Women’s Asian Cup next year. Catley and compatriots Caitlin Foord and Kyra Cooney-Cross were part of the Arsenal squad that defeated Barcelona in Lisbon on Sunday last week, before flying to Melbourne to feature in the Matildas’ 2-0 win over Argentina on Friday. The game was the first in a two-match series against the South Americans as the Australians continue preparations for the continental championship in March next year, when they would
RSS