HI NOTES: Unitards, Heartbreak Kids, Major Progress, Proof Positive

NOT the new Football Helmet

UNIFORMS

Mizzou unveiled the new Nike "department wide branding and identity program" at halftime of the Spring Football Game today.  There is a nifty Photo Gallery of the new uniforms HERE.

Fans of Baseball will notice, however, that there are no pictured baseball uniforms (or Softball, Track, or any other Spring sport).  The explanation I received is that those uniforms are not finalized yet.  Others have suggested it's because they can't show the new Nike design while Baseball is still under the current UnderArmour contract.

None of which explains why the cool video of Max Scherzer ogling the new baseball uniform designs - the one you can still see at Mizzou All Access and that has been shown on the Taylor Stadium giant scoreboard video screen all season - included prominent and repeated use of the 4•14•12 logo, just like all those other uniform-peek videos.

Anyway, I guess we wait.

But I have given you a preview already.  The four official branding colors are the new MU Gold, Nike's signature Anthracite, Black and White.  The SimmonsField.com script at the top of this blog and the color of the links are now in the official new Gold; the main background color in the margins between the posts and the sidebars is now the official Nike Anthracite. And Black on White is, of course, what you're reading.

GAME DAY

♦ Sooners win in second straight against Tigers (Norman Transcript)

Both teams combined for 15 hits through three innings… The Sooners are 12-5 this season when recording at least 10 hits… Jack Mayfield has reached base in 20 straight games and extended his hitting streak to nine games… Missouri’s Blake Brown extended his hitting streak to 21 games after going 1-for-5…

♦ Dishonorable Mentions: Missouri (College Baseball Today)

These are the Heartbreak Kids. The Tigers lost a heartbreaker of a game one at Oklahoma, dropping a 6-5 decision in 10 innings. This marked the sixth loss in their seven Big 12 conference losses where they’d lost by a run or two. Poor dudes. And not only that, but the Tigers took a 5-4 win in the top of the 10th inning, only to give the game away with a pair of runs to the Sooners in the bottom part of the frame.

MU IN THE MAJORS

♦ Max Scherzer strikes out 11 but Tigers lose to White Sox 5-2 (Washington Post)

Max Scherzer had the Chicago White Sox swinging and missing most of the afternoon. The right-hander struck out 11 in six innings Friday, a performance that was a dramatic improvement over his first start this season.
. . .
“The results were better. I didn’t feel like I was as bad as after my first start,” Scherzer said.

“I made a few adjustments after that and I was able to throw the ball pretty well today. Unfortunately, I made a couple mistakes and I paid for it.”

♦ Detroit Tigers' Max Scherzer on realizing he did not have his glove: 'I was panicking' (mlive.com)

So how did Max Scherzer feel when he realized two minutes before he headed to the field for his start Saturday that he had left his glove behind in Detroit?

Scherzer said he "went into a panic attack."

"I was panicking, like, 'Whose glove am I going to use?' " Scherzer said. "(Justin) Verlander's was closest to mine, and even then it wasn't even comfortable pitching with his."
Scherzer said he tried on a handful of gloves -- "There are only so many right-handers," he said -- before he settled on Justin Verlander's.

"None of them felt right," Scherzer said. "I felt naked."

♦ Ranger Of The Week: Ian Kinsler (CBS DFW)

To borrow an old phrase from cable channel VH1, Ian Kinsler is having the Best Week Ever.

The 29-year-old second baseman started the 2012 season strong. With one week in the books Kinsler has already hit 3 home runs, scored 9 runs and is swinging a hefty .370 average.

♦ Numbers: Ian Kinsler 2011 vs. 2012 (ESPN)

Through eight games and 32 at-bats in 2012, Ian Kinsler has four homers and seven RBIs. The early power and run production isn't unusual. Through 32 at-bats (nine games) in 2011, Kinsler had four homers and seven RBIs. The difference: he's collecting singles and doubles too this season.

In 2011, Kinsler started 8-for-32, but four of those hits were homers. He was hitting .250, a mark that he hovered around all season, while joining the 30-30 club (30 or more homers and stolen bases).

♦ It's hard not to be excited about these Royals (Kansas City Star)

So maybe you’ve shared what Aaron Crow used to think of the Royals: “From the outside looking in, growing up, it didn’t seem like anybody really cared.”

And maybe today you’re willing to share in his optimism: “Now, being in the organization, you can tell (winning) is what they really want to do.”

NOT BASEBALL

♦ And finally, my son took this photo an hour or two ago while storm chasing in Kansas .

Proof positive:  Kansas Sucks