Tampa Bay Cannons (AUDL) Update Logo

The Cannons, formerly of Jacksonville, have publicly announced the obvious. Now located in Tampa Bay, the new-look Cannons embraced the pirate life which is embedded into the Tampa sports community with the celebratory firing of cannons at Buccaneers' NFL games. As such, the Cannons logo become less naval and more maritime.

via Tampa Bay Cannons

The Cannons retain their black and gold color scheme. Also notice the 'TB' carved into the skull and crossbones cannons symbol.

The Tampa Bay Cannons open their 2018 season on March 31 - the first weekend of the AUDL season.

AUDL Errs League Map with Portland Location

The American Ultimate Disc League updated its "The League" map and attempted to conflate its past 2017 season with 2018 updates.

• Jacksonville Cannons (2017) have become Tampa Bay Cannons (2018)
• The Nashville logo is circa 2017 instead of the updated 2018 NightWatch shield logo
• The 2017 Championship Weekend is plotted in Montreal, while we know the 2018 AUDL postseason tournament will be hosted in Madison
• Portland - formerly the Vancouver Riptide franchise - is incorrectly shown in Washington state

With the loss of Vancouver Riptide (and addition of Portland), the AUDL became more "American" Ultimate Disc League.

Cannons Move to Orlando for AUDL 2018 Season

The Jacksonville Cannons announced they are relocating to Orlando for the 2018 AUDL season.

UPDATED Cannons logo by SLUDGE

Per the Cannons: The Cannons will be moving to Orlando for the 2018 season! We want to take a moment to thank all of our fans and the City of Jacksonville for three awesome years in North Florida. You’ve been so supportive, and we are deeply grateful to call each and every one of you part of our team. The Cannons have always been Florida’s team so we hope you’ll continue to cheer us on as we transition to our new home in Orlando. BOOM!

Nearly 150 miles separates Orlando and Jacksonville. There's no word yet on any logo update or whether the Cannons will become the "Florida" Cannons to avoid any future changes. In the meantime, the Cannons could consider this alternative logo...

The move will force a jersey update since their previous uniforms paid tribute to Jacksonville in many different ways.

Jacksonville Cannons Down Previously Undefeated Dallas Roughnecks

The Jacksonville Cannons hosted Dallas Roughnecks for a Friday night AUDL game. This was the first meeting between the Cannons and Roughnecks this season. Jacksonville (4-1) was an underdog in the AUDL South Division match up to the visiting Dallas team who was (6-0) on the AUDL 2017 season and had never lost an AUDL game. 

The game was tied through the 1st and 2nd quarters; 12's at halftime. The 3rd quarter belonged to the Cannons and maintained their lead until through the 4th.  Jacksonville won 24-22.

This is the first lost in 23 AUDL games for Dallas Roughnecks. They won all 14 of their regular season game in 2016 (their first AUDL season) plus 3 postseason games to win the AUDL 2016 title. The Roughnecks were (6-0) until Friday's loss. Dallas Roughnecks' perfect record held for a total of 405 days - 1 year, 1 month, 10 days - which started on April 2, 2016. Toronto Rush had the longest AUDL winning streak at 30 games.

[Box score via SLUDGE, data via @CannonsGameDay]

Brodie Smith Signs with Jacksonville Cannons

After one AUDL season in Dallas, Brodie Smith returns to his home state of Florida to sign with Jacksonville Cannons for the 2017 AUDL season.

Brodie started his AUDL career with Indianapolis in 2012, was on the Chicago Wildfire roster for 3 seasons (2013-2015), and with the Roughnecks in 2016. Jacksonville will be Smith's 4th AUDL team. Jax tried unsuccessfully to lure Brodie to Florida back in December 2015.

Over a year later - on February 17, 2017 - Jacksonville announced the signing of Brodie Smith, who is listed as living in Fairview, Texas.

Jax Cannons History of Aggressive Play

Jacksonville Cannons were just called out about one aggressive play in the 2016 season, however this behavior has been somewhat condoned by the Jax team coach back in their inaugural (2015) season.

screengrab via June15, 2015 AUDL Tuesday Toss

"Our team plays a passionate style of ultimate and are still learning the balance of playing with passion and playing a style of game that is understood and accepted by refs. We have received three ejections in our last three games. We have used every one of them as a learning experience and will make proper changes."
...
"In other sports, the calls my players received would be laughed at and highly scrutinized by media and referee crew, but as our sport transitions from a dying mentality and moves toward mainstream sports, we still have to deal with varying standards and perceptions."

Travel Between the AUDL South Division

The AUDL South Division started in 2015 with 5 teams in 4 states. With the "Texpansion," this year's AUDL South Division added 2 teams - Austin Sol and Dallas Roughnecks - in Texas. For what it's worth, USA Ultimate regional boundaries dictate the original "5-outh" teams to be in South East region while Texas falls within the South Central region.

With the addition of teams, AUDL South teams have additional mileage on their roadtrips, which means travel expenses for team owners plus potential travel weariness on players and staff. In week 3, the Austin Sol traveled over 1000 miles to North Carolina and left (0-2). In week 4, Jacksonville trekked to Texas and were (0-2) by weekend's end. This upcoming weekend, Dallas Roughnecks visit North Carolina for their back-to-back game journey.

Through 4 weeks of play, home teams in the South Division are (10-4) [.714] which is a better record compared to the rest of the league. The West, Midwest and East home teams are collectively (16-12)  [.571].

[Map image via Jax; chart by SLUDGE]

Review: Jacksonville Cannons (AUDL)

Part of the series critiquing professional ultimate team logos and nicknames.

Team: Jacksonville Cannons

Web: http://jaxcannons.com // twitter: @JaxCannons

Representation: City // League: AUDL

Disc within logo?: No. // Ultimate element in team name?: No.

Background: Jacksonville, Florida, has a rich military history plus is home to the Naval Air Station Jacksonville and Naval Station Mayport. Cannons - first used in battle in August 1346 - are standard artillery in naval warfare.

Jacksonville almost shot themselves in the foot by paying $175 for this logo:

Jax did not end up going with this logo; and, we're all better for it.

First impression(s) from SLUDGE:  (DISCLAIMER: I'm no cannon expert.) The cannon looks like a tank. (DISCLAIMER:I'm not a tank expert.)  Anyway, "gun turret" is probably a more proper term of the twin caliber weaponry depicted as a cannon.

Eli's Eval: Solid design, great technical execution on the cannons. The perspective on the cannon twin guns is spot-on, as is the perspective on the base. I wish the type was angled to be on the same plane as the front plate of the cannon. One line or one circle off even a little bit could make the whole design fall apart. The black, white, and gray do enough to give the impression of metal without having to resort to bad gradients or filters. (Thank goodness for restraint!) The type is simple but effective. Two fonts, one with the ubiquitous serif spurs, and one that is more clean-feeling. The contrasting scale of the words gives us all the separation we need, and the kerning is really well done so that each letter fits the next like a puzzle. The accent color, yellow, is used only to add a stroke to the entire outside of the design and this is another case of restraint leading to stronger design.

:Eli's Grades:
Grade: A-
On Logo: A-
On Typography: A-

Jacksonville Cannons Jerseys Are Loaded

Of all the jerseys for the 2015 American Ultimate Disc League teams, none are as elaborate as Jacksonville Cannons. There's so much detail, these Cannon jerseys should be considered art-illery.

[image via]

• The sublimated jersey has a marbled pattern which is actually a Google Earth map image of Jacksonville, Florida
• The team's inaugural year (2015) is encrypted as roman numerals (MMXV) on the tail
• The nautical star on the sleeve honors Jacksonville's Naval background

Buy a replica jersey [home/black] ($50)

Away/White Jerseys for Jacksonville Cannons:

[image via]