The Raptors announced Wednesday that they will wear a special Canadian Forces jersey later this season. The team said the camouflage-style jersey is the first of its kind in the NBA. It will make its in-game debut during the club's annual Canadian Forces night on March 21 at Air Canada Centre when the Raptors host the Bulls. The jersey also is featured in 2K Sports' "NBA 2K12" video game (Raptors). In Toronto, Doug Smith notes the players will wear the jerseys, which are "green and black with a prominent Canadian flag on the back neckline," four times during the regular season. The team had to "get permission from the NBA for the stark change to its look." The Raptors will now "sport four different jerseys at times during an abbreviated 66-game season" (TORONTO STAR, 12/22). YAHOO SPORTS' Kelly Dwyer wrote it is an "appropriate gesture, but these threads trend toward the uglier side of things." The Remembrance Day poppies are "classy and dignified, whereas these uniforms are a bit over the top" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 12/21).
TOO HARD TO READ? In DC, Dan Steinberg noted two different Wizards fans after the team's preseason game against the 76ers complained to him that the Wizards' "new road uniforms were extremely hard to decipher on television, infinitely harder than the Sixers’ home whites." Steinberg noted an AP image "pretty clearly shows that the Wizards suffered from a severe numerical size deficiency in Tuesday’s matchup" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 12/21).
