The Sicatoka

And USC would be so good for Trojan jokes with that mascot of theirs with the big ... sword ...

Wasn't the name supposed to be selected by May? Standard joke here: Yes, they said "May" back in January, but not what year.

Nightmare scenario: Bucci goes to NBCSN to call NHL Eastern finals between the Buffalo Eichel-Sabres (yes, they'll be renamed by January ) and the Philly Flyers. My $2 for 66/1 on Philly ... gone. Then Bucci replaces Doc in calling the 2016 Cup Finals: Eichel-Sabres v. Edmonton McOilers

I really don't have a problem with that number for LAK. Part of it is the money thrown at them by gambling LA fans on the weekend excursion to Vegas. Part of it is that they are one year removed from a Cup and still have those core guys. They had a lot go wrong last season (Voynoy, slow start, Mike Richards, and at season's end we find an issue with Stoll) but if they can figure out their defense over the summer, they'll be back.

If I were to throw down on someone not in the top one third of that list (the break is at 14/1), and considering the return and the reality of them pulling it off, I'd pick the Winnipeg Jets at 25/1.

My response? "Your girlfriend likes Roughriders."

I'd say Mr. Bahl has REA connections. I guess I'd wonder more about a MLB executive that doesn't understand the value of a nickname in marketing a franchise. I wonder if he'd be willing to dump "Twins" and just market as "Minnesota".

We should ask the Trojans, all of them, how they deal with that: Anderson College (Anderson, South Carolina) Dakota State University (Madison, South Dakota) Hannibal-LaGrange College (Hannibal, Missouri) Mount Olive College (Mount Olive, North Carolina) Taylor University (Upland, Indiana) Trevecca Nazarene University (Nashville, Tennessee) Trinity International University (Deerfield, Illinois) Troy University (Troy, Alabama) (former name: Troy State University) University of Arkansas-Little Rock (Little Rock, Arkansas) University of Southern California (Los Angeles, California) (men's team) Virginia State University (Petersburg, Virginia) Goodness people, I thought universities promoted such things these days.

I worry about the consultant's capabilities and credentials if they know nothing about certain words beyond what they read on urban dictionary. Then again, maybe they are personally familiar with certain definitions of certain words, and unfamiliar with Teddy Roosevelt and his relationship with North Dakota. Then again, that probably explains every consultant's fascination with < school color here > Hawks. It's "safe" and all they know.

So 20 Gage is the captain. Can we get the full "who's in this fall" list?

How awesome are the Blackhawks? http://wgntv.com/2015/06/16/this-mans-reaction-to-blackhawks-win-is-the-best-weve-heard/

Pretty much any time you try to do something "by committee" you end up with the obvious at 10x price.

I guess I'm in agreement with RD17 when he said here, " ... Roughriders as the top choice because it is the only name that makes sense." That's why it's easy. "Lame and unoriginal" are your opinion. However, I will agree with you on one point: Taking a decade plus to end up with the obvious is a waste of time and money.

They'd probably Chrysler!* *Say it slowly ... cry slur.

Jim's poll in this allows for multiple selections. At this time I see 124 members have cast 197 votes (about 1.6 votes per member). So for every 5 members, about 8 votes have been tossed in. Anyone else interested in what "one choice only, live with it forever" poll results would look like?

Math with numbers is hard.

Do you expect me to try to Dodge that one?

Weston Dressler's take.

There's no Fighting Sioux tribe* either but that didn't work. The < adjective > < tribe name > pattern (like Fighting Sioux, or North Dakota) as a nickname would not pass muster. *There's Spirit Lake Sioux, and Standing Rock Sioux, and Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux, but no Fighting Sioux tribe.

How long before the ESPN and other random media guys just start calling us the "Nodak Nodaks". There's a loss right there. You want them saying "University of North Dakota" and then the nickname (Roughriders ) for the brand and market identification.

... now hard to listen to is another story.

I do wish the committee would come out and say "we don't mean North Dakota as a nickname; we mean 'no nickname'". Why? "North Dakota" as a nickname would be in violation of the NCAA policy because Dakota is a tribe name and can not be used as a nickname. Yes, I'm harping on this point, but people need to know what the intention is, because I really don't believe they mean "North Dakota" as the nickname and should say so to be clear.

I'll send you your hotel and airline confirmation numbers right after you send me your credit card number.

I believe you just found out why "Green Hawk" was so popular in the Forum Forum unscientific poll (... of mainly NDSU fans).

Really? I thought "bin city" was part of the Grand Forks Metroplex.