I was a little surprised when I got an email from a friend of mine who works at a major sporting good chain. Mostly because he owed me money, but also because he sent me a description of the new Reebok jersey that has been hotly debated since Rich Hammond leaked the news.

The email starts by basically describing what Hammond said in his post, a white version of the current third jersey. What's new, right?

But then the kicker...

"Dude, you aren't going to believe this. The Kings are going to introduce yet another crown logo."

He described it as a "bulbous, rounded, almost stylized" crown, complete with three iron crosses, possibly to signify "Triple Crown Line." When he said that, it reminded me of a particular crown I have seen before, the crown that was embedded in the Chevy logo.

It makes perfect sense. The jerseys obviously harken back to the Gretzky era, but updated with the inclusion of the unnoticed crown hidden in the logo.

The decision to abandon the Home Plate logo did surprise me, since it obviously has grown on a lot of people. But by changing the logo yet again signifies yet another shift in marketing. Much like the Kings wore the throwbacks to kick off this season, perhaps these jerseys will serve the same purpose as they kick off the 2011-12 season overseas.

It seems the Kings are truly Down With The Crown*.

* - If you've gotten down this far, congratulations. For one day only, I'm offering up the entire DWTC inventory at cost in my CafePress store, meaning I make jack squat if you buy something. But hey, it's all good. But the offer expires at midnight tonight. Follow the link above to go get you some stuff.