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Fun fact: Athletes at the ancient Olympic Games -- the ones held in Greece over a millennium ago -- competed in the nude?because part of the point of the games was to celebrate the human form.Sounds very, uh, naturalistic. But at some point people figured out that theyd never score a sneaker contract or an endorsement deal by competing in their birthday suits, so Olympic uniforms were born.And that has always posed a problem, at least from a design standpoint. Most Olympic athletes will only compete over the course of a few days (or, in some cases, a few minutes), so theres no time for small details or subtle nuances to sink in the way they would over the course of a long sports season. Thats why the trend at recent Olympiads has been toward bold designs that make a strong visual impact. Get in, boom, get out.Look back a bit further in Olympic history, however, and youll see all sorts of uni-related anomalies and curiosities. With that in mind, here are a dozen key moments in Olympic apparel history, some of which may surprise you.1. USA basketball team photo, 2008. Sometimes a bellwether uniform moment takes place off the field -- or in this case, off the court. No single episode has captured the modern commingling of the Olympics, uniforms and corporate influence like the 2008 American basketball squads team portrait, where Team USAs outfitter, Nike, arranged things so coach Mike Krzyzewski just happened to be positioned with his foot obscuring Dwight Howards Adidas sneakers. Howard appeared to be getting a bit of revenge by having his hand over the Nike logo on his shorts. Hey, its all part of the Olympic movement, right?The incident was echoed in the photo of this years Team USA roster:2. Michael Johnson, 1996. These days we take it for granted that most of the top athletes will have flashy footwear. But that wasnt the case 20 years, ago, when American sprinter Michael Johnson broke out a set of custom-designed Nike spikes rendered in glittering gold for the Summer Games in Atlanta. The gold extended beyond his shoes, as Johnson won the 200- and 400-meter races.3. Abebe Bikila, 1960, and Zola Budd, 1984. Then again, who needs a flashy shoe design when youre not wearing shoes to begin with? Abebe Bikila, an Ethiopian long-distance runner, won the gold in the marathon at the 1960 Games in Rome while running barefoot. Two dozen years later in Los Angeles, South African runner Zola Budd went barefoot while famously colliding with American rival Mary Decker in the 3,000 meters.4. Cathy Freeman, 2000. For generations, the traditional thinking about performance sportswear was that athletes got faster and faster as they wore less and less. But Nike turned that logic on its head at the 2000 Games in Sydney, where Australian sprinter Cathy Freeman wore more. While her competitors competed in the standard tank tops and shorts, Freeman donned an aerodynamically designed full-body unitard -- a swift suit, Nike called it. It may have been counterintuitive, but it worked: Freeman won the gold in the 400 meters.5. The Australian womens basketball team, 1996-2008. Freeman isnt the only female Australian athlete who has raised eyebrows with a one-piece uniform. The Aussie womens hoops team wore an unconventional unitard format at four Olympiads (Atlanta in 1996, Sydney in 2000, Athens in 2004, and Beijing in 2008), winning a bronze and three silvers over that span. Despite that record of success, the team reverted to the more traditional tank top and shorts in 2012.6. Ibtihaj Muhammad, 2016. We had to include one entry from Rio, and it was an easy choice. Ibtihaj Muhammad, an American fencer, has become the first Team USA Olympian to compete while wearing a hijab -- which makes her a good symbol of Americas diversity, especially at a time when Muslim-Americans have become something of a political football. (Footnote: She won the bronze.)7. Martin Sheridan, 1908. It seems safe to say that its been a long time since any athletes kept sock garters in their lockers. For one thing, modern stretch fabrics keep socks from falling down. For another, sock garters look, you know, seriously dorky. But that didnt keep Martin Sheridan from wearing them while winning the gold medal in the discus throw at the 1908 Games in London.8. Kerri Strug, 1996. No protective or rehabilitative gear worn by any athlete has ever seemed as significant as the ankle wraps worn by American gymnast Kerri Strug at the 1996 Games in Atlanta. After spraining her ankle on her first vault attempt, she injured it further while sticking the landing for her second vault, which helped clinch the gold for Team USA. With Strugs injured leg wrapped and secured in a protective boot, coach Béla Károlyi carried her to the medal podium, where she stood on one leg alongside her teammates, the bandages and boot serving as a potent symbol of her Olympic spirit.9. Muhammad Ali, 1960. As the world says goodbye to Muhammad Ali this year, its worth remembering that he looked very sharp indeed at the 1960 Olympics in Rome (when he was still known as Cassius Clay), winning the light-heavyweight gold medal while wearing USA trunks and a sash-style tank top. If you check out the old photos, his opponents look positively slovenly by comparison. Even as a teenager, The Greatest had his opposing fighters outclassed before they even stepped into the ring. (As an aside, Ali kept wearing those USA trunks for several of his early professional bouts.) 10. Vasily Alekseyev, 1972-1980. There are lots of Olympic sports where the athletes show a lot of skin -- synchronized diving and beach volleyball, for example, are often done in tiny swimsuits. But never has a uniform seemed skimpier than when the great Soviet weightlifter Vasily Alekseyev strapped on his singlet, which looked like it was designed for a much narrower man.11. The Norwegian curling team, 2010. Weve been focusing on the Summer Olympics here, because the 2016 Summer Games are currently taking place in Rio, but its worth dipping into the Winter Games to take a look at the Norwegian curling teams pants. Not only did the pants cause a sensation at the 2010 Vancouver Games, but they also garnered as much publicity for their manufacturer, Loudmouth Golf, as they did for the Norwegians (who won the silver medal while sporting the outlandish designs, by the way). By the time of the next Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, in 2014, the Norwegians had inked an endorsement deal with Loudmouth and garish pants had become popular at amateur curling rinks around the world. Love em or hate em, the pants are a textbook case of modern sports apparel branding.12. Tommie Smith and John Carlos, 1968. No discussion of Olympic attire would be complete without a mention of the black gloves worn on the medal podium by American sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos, who won the gold and bronze, respectively, in the 200 meters at the 1968 Games in Mexico City. As they stood on the podium and The Star-Spangled Banner began to play, they raised their black-gloved fists in what was widely interpreted as a black power gesture (although Smith later said in his autobiography that it was actually a human rights salute). In addition, Smith, Carlos, and silver medalist Peter Norman from Australia all wore Olympic Project for Human Rights badges on their track jackets during the medal ceremony.Paul Lukas stubbornly wears plain black pants while curling but appreciates how the Loudmouth pants have helped to popularize the sport. If you like how this retrospective turned out, youll probably like Lukas Uni Watch Blog, plus you can follow him on Twitter and Facebook. Want to learn about his Uni Watch Membership Program, be added to his mailing list so youll always know when a new column has been posted or just ask him a question? Contact him here. Emmitt Smith Jersey .J. -- New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz will miss the rest of the season after having surgery on his left knee. Connor McGovern Cowboys Jersey . The parade and rally were held to celebrate the Saskatchewan Roughriders 45-23 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Sunday in the CFLs championship game. http://www.cowboysrookieproshop.com/Cowboys-Daryl-Johnston-Jersey/ . -- Yogi Ferrell orchestrates pretty much everything in Indianas offence. Daryl Johnston Womens Jersey . Detroit and Boston are deadlocked, 1-1, and Tigers manager Jim Leyland could be forgiven if he was caught rationalizing instead of dissecting how his club could blow a 5-1 lead late in Game 2. Bill Bates Cowboys Jersey . Inter president Erick Thohir says in a club statement on Wednesday that Vidic is "one of the worlds best defenders and his qualities, international pedigree, and charisma will be an asset. PHOENIX -- The Pac-12 season kicked off last week with No. 7 Stanfords dominating win over Southern California in a rematch of last seasons conference title game.This week, the conference season kicks into full gear, with every team but Oregon State playing another Pac-12 team.With that in mind, we thought it would be a good time to make a few predictions in the two Pac-12 divisions, based upon what the teams have done through the seasons first three weeks.Take a look:---NORTH DIVISIONFavorites: Stanford, No. 9 Washington. The seventh-ranked Cardinal (2-0, 1-0 Pac-12) have already established themselves as a team to beat by manhandling USC, a team expected to contend in the South. The Cardinal have a physical defense and one of the nations best players, Christian McCaffrey. The junior running back was the Heisman Trophy runner-up a year ago and teams are still having trouble slowing him down. The Huskies are a little less of a known quantity because of their early schedule. Washington (3-0) won its first three games by a combined score of 148-30, but the games came against less-than-upper-tier opponents Rutgers, Idaho and Portland State. The rest of the schedule will show just how good the Huskies are.Keep an eye on: Oregon, California. Its hard to fault the Ducks (2-1) for losing at back-on-the-rise Nebraska on Saturday. The problem is Oregons defense has worn down in the second half in consecutive weeks and injuries have hit key players. Receiver Devon Allen is out for the year with a torn ACL and the status of star running back Royce Freeman (leg) is unknown heading into this weekends game against Colorado. Cal, behind quarterback Davis Webb, has put up prodigious offensive numbers and it picked up a quality win by beating then-No. 11 Texas last week. The Bears have had some trouble on defense, though, particularly stopping the run.Longshots: Oregon State, Washington State. The Beavers (1-2) ended a 10-game losing streak last weekend, but that came against FCS Idaho State. They could be back on the rise, but it may not be this season. The Cougars momentum from last season appears to be halted after an opening loss to FCS Eastern Washington and another to Boise SState.dddddddddddd A blowout win over Idaho last week is a good sign, but a stretch against Oregon, Stanford and UCLA follows Washington States bye week.---SOUTH DIVISIONFavorites: No. 24 Utah, UCLA. The Utes (3-0) have been dominant on defense and are second nationally with 15 sacks after piling up 10 against San Jose State last week. Utahs offense has sputtered at times, though it seems to be improving. The Utes face a big test this week against USC, which ended their perfect season a year ago. The Bruins (2-1) opened the season with an overtime loss to Texas A&M and had to eke out a three-point victory at BYU. UCLA still has one of the nations best young quarterbacks in sophomore Josh Rosen and its defense took a big step by shutting down the Cougars last week. A true gauge of where the Bruins stand will come Saturday, when they host Stanford.Keep an eye on: Arizona State, Arizona. The Sun Devils (3-0) are one of four undefeated teams left in the Pac-12, but they have been less than dominant. Arizona State had a slow-starting win over FCS Northern Arizona, needed 68 points to outlast Texas Tech and had to get a late touchdown to beat UTSA last week. Upcoming games against Cal, USC and UCLA will tell a lot about this team. The Wildcats (2-1) are trending upward after a 47-28 victory over Hawaii last Saturday. There are still issues with the defense and the offense started slow in games against BYU and Grambling State. Up next comes a gauntlet: Washington, UCLA, Utah, USC and Stanford.Longshots: Colorado, USC. The Trojans (1-2, 0-1) were ranked No. 20 in the preseason and were expected to compete with rival UCLA for the South title. Lopsided losses to top-ranked Alabama and Stanford seem to make those expectations a bit over-reaching. The Buffaloes looked like a team to keep an eye on after blowing out Colorado State and Idaho State. Then came a 45-28 loss to No. 4 Michigan that saw quarterback Sefo Liufau go down with a right ankle injury. If Liufau is out an extended period of time, the Buffaloes could have a hard time in the Pac-12. ' ' '