The San Diego Chargers wore their powder blue alternate uniforms on Sunday. As you know, one of the sports worlds most iron-clad rules states that whenever this uniform is worn, countless fans will respond by saying: They should go back to wearing their original powder blues from the 1960s. Those were the best ftball uniforms ever!And those fans are right -- mostly. The Chargers original powder blues were gorgeous. What many fans dont realize, though, is that the teams original powder blue period, which ran from 1960 through 1973, actually featured a surprisingly large number of variations, with many of the uniforms key elements -- the helmet, the pants, and even the shade of blue used on the jerseys -- in constant flux. So when people talk about the Chargers original powder blues, theyre actually referring to a wider range of uniforms than they probably realize.Lets lk at some of those variations, one uniform element at a time:1. The shade of blue. The Chargers actually used four different blue tones from 1960 through 1973. All of them lked pretty gd, but only the final one, in use from 1968 through 73, could be described as a true powder blue.The color that the team uses for its current powder blue alternates -- the uniform set worn this past Sunday -- is lighter than any of those original shades of blue.2. The helmet bolts. The lightning bolts on the Chargers helmets have always been gold, right? Wrong. The bolts were blue for the teams inaugural season in 1960 (and so were the bolts on the blue jersey that year). After changing to gold in 1961, the helmet bolts were blue again in 1966 (but the bolts on the blue jersey stayed gold that time around).3. The pants. When you think of the Chargers powder blue era, which pants do you instinctively envision them wearing? Its a trickier question than you might think, because the Chargers wore four different pant designs from 1960 through 1973: white with blue lightning bolts down the sides; white with gold bolts; gold with blue bolts; and gold with conventional striping.The reality, of course, is that all of these uniform combinations lked gd on the field (and so did their assorted white-jerseyed counterparts, for that matter), so you could mix and match just about any of these elements and it would still turn out fine. Still, its interesting to see just how much variety there was in such a short time period.Meanwhile, theres one other detail from the Chargers early days thats worth mentioning: In 1962, San Diego was among the recipients of the All-America City Award, a civic honor bestowed annually on 10 communities around the nation. The Chargers responded to this by wearing a commemorative decal on the crown of their helmets in 1963.That decal has never been included on a Chargers throwback uni. Wouldnt it be cl to see it on the field again? Hey, team owner Alex Spanos: Make it happen, capn.(Special thanks to William Schaefer of the Gridiron Uniform Database for his research assistance.)Would you like to nominate a uniform or uni element to be showcased in a future Friday Flashback installment? Send your suggestions herePaul Lukas wishes the Chargers would restore the uniform numbers to the sides of their helmets. If you like this column, youll probably like his Uni Watch Blog, plus you can follow him on Twitter and Facebk. 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. Custom Los Angeles Kings Jerseys . -- Teemu Selanne scored the first goal of his 22nd NHL season, and the Anaheim Ducks extended the best start in franchise history with their fifth straight victory, 3-2 over the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. Adrian Kempe Kings Jersey . LOUIS -- Lance Lynn was one of the more enthusiastic participants as the St. http://www.kingsauthentic.com/authentic-alec-martinez-kings-jersey/ . Then the Pacers gave Oladipo and his Orlando teammates the cold shoulder. Paul Georges buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter spurred a 21-4 run, finally sending Indiana past the Magic 97-87 in a tougher-than-expected opening night matchup. Tiger Williams Kings Jersey .Y. -- Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo had little trouble picking up his first shutout of the season against a Buffalo Sabres team thats having trouble scoring goals. Jeff Carter Kings Jersey .com) - The game was all punts and field goals before Kodi Whitfields catch. PORTLAND, Ore. -- Damian Lillard thinks his Portland Trail Blazers lack that killer instinct to put away games when they should.Lillard had 36 points and CJ McCollum scored 31 to lead Portland past the Sacramento Kings 122-120 in overtime Friday night.The victory could have come easier, though. The Blazers were up 106-101 with 1:19 to go in regulation, yet nearly let this one slip away.It comes down to just manning up, Lillard said.Still, hell take the win after the teams traded the lead over the final 2 1/2 minutes in the extra period.Meyers Leonard made two free throws to give Portland a 121-120 edge with 32 seconds remaining, and Rudy Gay missed a jumper at the other end.Allen Crabbe hit one of two foul shots for the Trail Blazers with 14.3 seconds left, giving the Kings another opportunity. DeMarcus Cousins missed a jumper and Gay was off target on a 16-ft fadeaway at the buzzer, sealing Portlands seventh straight victory over Sacramento.Its just having that killer instinct and being able to lock in for longer spans of time, Lillard said about what the Blazers are missing 10 games into the season.Portland coach Terry Stotts agreed: I think weve played well in spots. Our goal is to play well for longer periods.Cousins led Sacramento with 33 points. Gay had 29 points and 14 rebounds for the Kings, who were coming off a 101-91 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers the night before.McCollums 3-pointer with 1:23 left in overtime gave Portland a 117-115 lead before Gays three-point play put Sacramento back ahead.McCollum added a 19-fter to put Portland in front, but a lse ball foul on the Blazers gave Sacramentos Darren Collison two free throws. He made both, giving the Kings a 120-119 lead with 33.8 seconds left.Cousins said Sacramentos issues have mirrored Lillards assessment of his own team.Throughout this whole season weve shown flashes of who we can be, but weve got to get past that stage of showing flashes and be the team that we want to be, Cousins said.Leonard made his first start of the season for the Blazers, who were without forward Al-Farouq Aminu for the second straight game because of a left calf injury.Aminu started the first eight games for the Blazers, averaging 6.4 points and 6.6 rebounds before he was hurt Tuesday nnight early in Portlands 124-121 victory over Phoenix.ddddddddddddAddressing the media before Friday nights game, Stotts said Aminu would be re-evaluated after two weeks.Leonards thunderous dunk put the Blazers up 32-27 late in the first quarter, and they led by 12 en route to a 62-57 advantage at the break. McCollum led all scorers at halftime with 16 points.Cousins fadeaway in the third quarter tied the game at 68, and Gay hit a 3-pointer to put the Kings in front. Lillard nailed a 3 from far outside the arc to give Portland back the lead at 79-76.The Blazers held an 84-83 edge to start the fourth but fell behind 95-88 after a pair of free throws with 61 left. Crabbes jumper put Portland in front before Lillard hit another 3 to make it 99-95.Cousins 3-pointer pulled the Kings to 106-104 with less than a minute to go in regulation, and his layup tied it with 9.7 seconds left. Lillards 3-pointer at the buzzer was off the mark, sending the game to overtime.Portland was coming off a 111-80 loss to the Clippers in Los Angeles on Wednesday night.THE TAKEAWAYKings: Collison returned to the Kings this week after an eight-game suspension to start the season. He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor domestic battery after an incident at his Sacramento-area home in May.Trail Blazers: Leonard and Cousins got into it in the first quarter and received offsetting technicals. Cousins has been mentioned in numerous trade rumors of late, including some involving the Blazers. ... Portland is 5-0 when Lillard and McCollum both score at least 30 points.BLOWING THE WHISTLECousins cant understand why hes not getting foul calls.I dont understand it, he said. I dont know what I have to do. I just dont understand it. I have to play through a lot. Im not really rewarded for it, but Im just trying to stay mentally strong through it.PERFECT 10Lillard has 306 points, most by a Trail Blazers player in the opening 10 games of a season. Hes also the first to score 30 or more points six times in the first 10 games of a season.UP NEXTKings: Sacramento hosts San Antonio next Wednesday.Trail Blazers: Portland hosts the Denver Nuggets on Sunday. ' ' '