The N. Period

The team’s hamburger-peddling sponsor has really scored with another marketing gem. On the inside of the jersey. That’s right. The inside of these Joma-designed duds come equipped with an inverted image of the King. No, not Elvis — we’re talking about that crazy one from all the BK commercials that somehow freaks a lot of people out.

The amazing Swede for Inter Milan was the highlight of my Saturday of soccer watching with this amazing pass that simply must be seen to be comprehended.

The US men’s soccer team was far from impressive, echoing the performance of the women’s team the day before, but they managed to get the three points against Japan on the strength of a goal from Stuart Holden. What I found more interesting, though, was the fact that the team was missing the official team crest on the jerseys and shorts, another way that they mirrored the women’s showing.

It all happened so fast. Today in Beijing the Olympics quietly kicked off with the first round of women’s soccer matches. Sorely missing their star Abby Wambach, who suffered a broken leg last month, the US team gave up two goals in the first four minutes to Norway and struggled the entire time en route to losing the match. You know what else the US team seems to have lost? The badges from their jerseys.

The Brazilian superstar Ronaldinho, who won FIFA World Player of the Year in 2004 and 2005, will sign with the Italian giants AC Milan on Wednesday according to the club. The deal is believed to be worth €21 million (about $33.5 million). Milan is hopeful that Ronaldinho will pass his medical examination, especially after a 2007-08 that was plagued with injuries and a percieved lack of interest in his previous club Barcelona.

With the announcement last week that the SMU football team would be sporting “new” uniforms, I felt the need to bring up the Mustangs’ schizophrenic handling of the color blue. Now I’m not old enough to remember, but I can’t recall ever seeing the SMU athletic teams wearing anything but royal before the mid to late 1990s. But navy was the preferred hue of blue that the football team adopted in 2003. And there seems to be no explanation for this at all.

Steve Nash co-hosted a charity pick-up game in Chinatown with American soccer great Claudio Reyna. In a display that proved that he may indeed have more pull in the world of soccer than the entire MLS, Nash was able to secure the services of such prolific international stars as Thierry Henry, Robbie Fowler, Salomon Kalou, Steve McManaman and Rob Jones. Also there were such NBA standouts as Nash, Raja Bell, Jason Kidd, Leandro Barbosa and Baron Davis.

Brilliant on-field camera work courtesy of director Guy Ritchie. This is definitely one of the most unique soccer-related things I have ever seen filmed.

Once again, the Hoops have made a tweak to their uniforms. This time they have ditched the alternate gray hoops that they had last year in favor of a new blue look. The N. Period is not really into these, let us know what you think about these latest changes.

from The Big Lead. A purple Bonneville? He’ll be caught soon…