Al's Place

My dad owned a beer tavern back in the 1950s called Al's Place. It was named for him and built by hand by him as well. I always felt a little pride seeing his name up there on the sign even though in retrospect, it was just a little bar out in the middle of nowhere. Still, it was "Al's Place" and that was so cool. I played pool there on the weekend as a kid and the Conjunto Tex-Mex music that blared through the jukebox had a huge influence on my musical taste.

I had some time on my hands and decided to design a logo for a place that was long ago and faraway, but never forgotten.

NCAA unveils 2010 Women's Final Four logo

SAN ANTONIO — The NCAA, in conjunction with the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) and the San Antonio Local Organizing Committee (SALOC), unveiled the 2010 NCAA Women’s Final Four logo at a Friday news conference and women’s basketball celebration held at the newly opened Young Women’s Leadership Academy. The 2010 NCAA Women’s Final Four logo pays tribute to Texas, the Lone Star State, and the rich history of San Antonio, with a single five-point white star embedded within the “o” of the word “Four” in the design. Logo colors are red, white, blue and gray.

I can't say that I like this logo much at all. It's not absolutely horrible, but mostly horrible. It does have a little bit of a "sports" look to it - but just barely. The star in the middle of the "O" in "Four" is too big and the points are too close to the edge of the letter. The grey banner at the bottom with its beveled funkiness and type treatment doesn't help things at all. And those two little white dots on the ends of the banner...what are they fastening the banner to, other than thin air?

I hate giving the old thumbs down to anything from my home state, but here goes...