Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Blackhawks Third Jersey Leaks Too!

Seems like the leaks are flowing like water this year — unlike last when the Rbk EDGE first rolled out. First it was the Lightning and Flyers last week. Then the Canucks just last night.

Now, we have our first look at the Chicago Blackhawks' third jersey.



This alternate sweater had the least amount of suspense and buzz about it considering there was no change from what the Hawks wore prior to the EDGE era. The black jersey was simply adapted to the EDGE style.



Right down to the shoulder patch.



These images were provided on a message board called The 300 Level by a user named gusev. There are more images available there if you're interested.

Again, this is not an official unveiling. These are leaked images of the jersey. It's my understanding the sweater will make its on-ice debut on November 3 when the Blackhawks face the Avalanche in Chicago. I wouldn't expect any sort of unveiling ceremony or event. It'll probably just show up that night in the game.

Revamping Icethetics

It should be fairly obvious to you by now, but obviously I'm making some updates to the layout of the blog. As I've mentioned, I get tired of looking at the same thing day after day so every once in a while I feel like making changes.

One major difference is that I've moved the pollbar to the center of the page. I felt like the main content was getting trapped by the two columns on each side. It's different and it might take some getting used to, but I think it's for the better.

There's also a new banner and site logo at the top of the page. That large empty blue area will eventually be filled in with new content as Icethetics expands. Yes, I've got big plans. I'll go into detail on that at a later time.

Anyway, I'll use this post to take questions and comments about the new design. So what do you think? Rate it below.

UPDATE (10:15 PM): Just finally had a chance to read through some of the comments. I was surprised at all the negativity toward this new look. I thought it was overall cleaner and simpler. I'll take a moment here to reply to some of the general feelings.

First, the clutter. Pretty much all of the content of Icethetics can be accessed from the main page. Personally, I like that. It means you don't have to go clicking around everywhere and waiting for pages to load to find information quickly. Yeah, it can be an eyesore so I've tried to make it as easy to deal with as possible.

To alleviate some of this clutter, something I'm working on is to actually expand Icethetics into a web site rather than just a blog like it is now. But that's the thing about the design of Icethetics. It's a blog — not a web site. However, I realize my content would lend itself well to a web site but then it comes down to how much work there is for me to do.

With the blog, all I have to do is create a new post and write in the content. Done and posted in minutes. Plus Blogger has a built in RSS feed that you can subscribe to so you know when I've made an update. Automation is the only reason I can do something like this. I maybe have an hour or two a day to dedicate to Icethetics. But I have a life outside of it.

If Icethetics were my day job — if I got paid to do it — I'd go all out. You wouldn't be able to find a better hockey web site. Right now, I only use a handful of HTML pages — the logo brackets and the IceHL ratings pages. Everything else goes through Blogger. So I'm limited by that. In the future, I hope to figure out a way to create a web site that will better handle everything Icethetics has to offer — with the blog being a primary element of it.

As far as the new aesthetic of Icethetics, you can't please everyone. All I can hope to do is create a design that I don't mind staring at everyday. For those of you who don't like it, you'll get used to it. Most people didn't like the last design either. What can I do? I'll just keep changing it every few months anyway.

Anyway, thanks for reading!

Canucks Third Jersey LEAKED!

Yes, it's true! I have it for you right here on Icethetics. The Vancouver Canucks' third jersey for the 2008-09 season has leaked!

Have a look for yourself. It's got the updated stick-in-the-rink logo as well as the new Johnny Canuck "V" logo on the shoulders.



I'm thrilled about that Johnny Canuck logo making its way onto a jersey. I think it's such a great design. Also interesting to note about this jersey is the complete lack of the orca logo. It's similar in overall design to their current home and road sweaters expect for the the striping pattern. The colors are the same.

It's important to note that this is not an official image. The Canucks have yet to make any sort of announcement regarding their third jersey. This is merely what's believed to be a leaked photo of it.