Proud to be an American...

Major League Baseball teams who play on National holidays like Memorial Day or 4th of July wear special hats on those special occasions. A portion of the proceeds that New Era receives go to Welcome Back Veterans.org, a foundation to help out returning military soldiers.

There are only two versions of these hats, the red in 2009 and the blue in 2008. These are some of my favorite combinations...


The Dodgers are Vin Scully, Tommy Lasorda, Fernando-mania, Kirk Gibson and of course Farmer John's Dodger Dogs.... I mean the Dodgers are classic. And I didn't even mention Jackie Robinson, although he never played in LA.


Yankees = America. All the greats have played here.


What about the Capital, Washington DC? These are the Senators, and yes, that's a baseball team now, and yes, they suck.


This cap gives you an idea of what the inside of the letter looks like. I'm personally not crazy about this Rangers hat, but I did want to see what the stars & stripes design looked like a little bit better.


There is just something I like about that Royals lettering. The team is eternally sorry, but that KC is nice. Maybe it's just a reminder of the Bo Jackson days, I'm not sure, but I like it.


What about the Canadians? They can participate in the fun as well...

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim hats...

The Angels are my local team. I grew up right down the street from Anaheim Stadium and have seen them through their best and worst seasons. This post has nothing to do with their ability on the field... it has to do with how their hat looked.

The Angels have had basically five different hat designs. Let me know if you disagree with the rankings.


#5. This piece of shit right here. This hat came about when Disney bought the team. Disney can do a lot of things great, but running a baseball team isn't one of them. These were the dark days of being an Angels fan. They looked so bad that they had to play bad. It wouldn't have made sense for them to play good when sporting these caps.


#4. When I saw this hat I started to get worried about their name slowly changing. The Big A that I was raised on could have either stood for Anaheim or Angels. So when they threw that C in there I was concerned about them moving or changing their name. Looks like I was right.


#3. Small a style. Cute little halo tilted to the front. This is like an elementary school design. Some Tee Ball maybe or Little League. The big boys wear capital letters. I love that two-tone blue cap with the red bill.


#2. The new school. We recaptured some of the glory of the greatest hat, but that red is kind of bright for me. It's a bright red, not a blood red. I love that Big A on there. It's our landmark, love it or hate it.


#1. The best one of all. It has all the elements I like. The capital A. The two tone hat with the red and the blue. For some reason it immediately reminds me of Wally Joyner. Take a nice long look at it and tell me I'm wrong. Sorry I couldn't find a better picture, but this is going to have to do... Which is your favorite?

Mike Tyson's Punch Out!! Action Figures...

I used to love the journey Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! took you on. You would start off with Glass Joe and just beat his ass. We all need a Glass Joe sometimes. Then Von Kaiser. You can say something derogatory about Germans when you fight him. Then Piston Honda, an Asian reference. Don Flamenco... I used to always think he was a homosexual.

Next up was King Hippo. He was cool. I would sometimes let him knock me down a few times just to show my respect.



From there you would fight every race and religion all the way up to Iron Mike. What a great game.



These figures are one of a kind and not for sale. They were made by an artist named Fugazi. Check out his story and explanation here.



I also spotted this T-shirt made by a company named DGK. They also have a line of shirts that says, "I (heart) haters!" Great message. Peep the shirt here.

Frank Kozik's Monger Toys

This guy Frank Kozik does some awesome artwork with little toys smoking cigarettes. He calls them Mongers. Not exactly a great message to send to kids, but I am sure they are intended for adults. I tried to find some website for this guy, but all I could really find on him is his myspace. Check it out here.



I love grenades.



Pick up Sarge here.