JimV19 said:

LarryB said:

More CFL talk here.

We went to the CFL Hall of Fame a few weeks ago. As we headed to Niagara Falls I wanted to stop at a Walmart to get a Tiger Cats tshirt. But we missed it. So when I got home I made myself a Hamilton Tiger Cats shirt for myself.

Went out for a few beers the other night and the bartender says “Hamilton Tiger Cats. Where did you get that shirt?” He wanted one and started talking about the CFL

Love the Ti-Cats and the Stamps. Used to like seeing receivers wear numbers in the 70s. Anyone still do that up there? I think one Hamilton receiver wore 77 a couple of years ago.

That was undoubtedly Tony Gabriel, one of the best ever, who wore 77 for the TiCats and the Ottawa Rough Riders.

Those of you who are a bit older might remember the great Brian Kelly, who wore 70 for Edmonton. Also, don’t forget kicker Troy Westwood, who wore 74.

Mack Strong: NFL fullback, “Mack” as in Mack Truck, and “Strong” as in physically powerful. Perfect name for a fullback!

Les Barley: Connecticut Coyotes arena football player, his name sounds like a promotional phrase you’d see on a beer label: “Now with less barley!”

Teebz said:

Ricko said:

Speaking of the early ’80s CFL…
You’ll live a long time before you find a better sports name than joe Paopao (pronounced “Pow-pow” for those of you who’ve not heard of the former BC Lions QB and CFL coach).
Well, maybe Sonny Sixkiller.

—Ricko

There have been a few awesome names since.

Tom Canada, a California-born d-lineman, played for the Bombers, and joked about playing for the country on his back. He was cut recently due to his lofty salary.

The Bombers did go out and sign Siddeeq Shabazz, though.

Angus Reid is no longer doing polling. He’s an offensive lineman for the BC Lions.

Ken-Yon Rambo of the Calgary Stampeders always has to be mentioned.

Lin-J Shell will lineup for the Argonauts this season. What kind of name is Lin-J?

For great names, I was always a fan of Junior Ah You (played for the Alouettes in the 1970s)

And Joe Paopao had perhaps the greatest football nickname of all time, The Throwin’ Samoan.

“The Throwin’ Samoan” is a great nickname, but the greatest football REAL name of all time has got to be Chuck Long, NFL quarterback and Heisman runner-up. “Chuck” as in throw, and “Long” as in far distance. The guy was destined to be a quarterback! (Either that, or a javelin thrower.) According to Wikipedia, he “was the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy to Bo Jackson of Auburn in the closest race in the award’s history, losing by just 45 points.”

Other funny/ironic/appropriate athlete names:

Grant Balfour: last name pronounced “ball four,” aka the ball you throw that walks the batter. Not exactly the best name to have as a pitcher! That’s like a qb having the last name Incompletion, or Interception.

Chris Moneymaker: professional poker player. Not an athlete, but has made several appearances on ESPN during poker tournaments. Can you get a more appropriate last name than that? The only possible thing that would be better is if his last name was Royalflush, but then he could’ve also grown up to become a plumber.

Swift family: a whole clan of really good distance runners, all with the last name Swift.

Johnny Bench: a very good catcher, his name is ironic because he was hardly ever on the bench.

Rusty Kuntz: KC Royals 1st base coach. Funny for obvious reasons.

Milton Bradley: baseball player. He plays games!

Flo Hyman: olympic volleyball player (died during a game). Has one of the more unfortunate names of anybody in history.

Coco Crisp: he’s a baseball player, AND a breakfast cereal!

Scott Player: NFL punter, probably the most generic last name for an athlete ever.

Mike Hunt: (Don’t say this one fast!) PCL star, he outlined Dennis Snelling’s “The Pacific Coast League.”

“Ugly” Johnny Dickshot: outfielder, no comment

Bong Jung-Keun: Bong is actually the last name (I guess in Korean names the family name goes first), so he had “Bong” on the back of his jersey.

JJ Putz: baseball player, no comment

Tim Spooneybarger: MLB pitcher, I heard a spooneybarger is some kind of sexual position that takes spooning to a whole new level

John Madden: NHL, I guess Madden got sick of eating turducken and getting rich from his video game and decided to try something else!

Jordin Tootoo: NHL, as graceful as a ballerina

Jonathan Cheechoo: NHL, checks people like a freight train

Dennis Wideman: NHL, let’s hope he’s not overweight

Thiago Thiago: MLS, did I stutter?

Rusty Pierce: MLS, better get your tetanus shot!

Ambiorix Burgos: MLB, he must be an ambidextrous switch hitter…?

Randy Johnson: MLB, “randy” is british slang for horny, johnson obviously slang for penis

Huston Street: MLB, isn’t that a street in NYC?

Angel Pagan: MLB, I didn’t think pagans believed in angels

Prince Fielder / Cecil Fielder: MLB, ironic because they are both 1st basemen, not outfielders

Takeo Spikes: NFL, has the name of a piece of equipment

Curome Cox: NFL, sounds like a brand of silver dildos

Alvis Whitted: NFL, let’s hope he doesn’t have an acne problem

Atari Bigby and Pacman Jones: NFL, not surprising two guys born in the early 80’s would have video-game names. They should be on the same team!

Lousaka Polite: NFL, as in, every time I hit someone, I try to do it politely

Jeff Feagles: was funny when he played for the Eagles, since his name rhymed

Guy Whimper: NFL, now THAT’S a tough name!

Dick Butkus: aka Dick Butt-kiss

Arnaz Battle, T.J. Slaughter, Webster Slaughter: not as tough-sounding as “Whimper,” but close!

Richie Incognito: NFL, the only player in the league to not have a jersey number

Kerry Cash: NFL, this is like the opposite of those signs people put in their cars that say “Driver Carries No Cash”

Carlos Boozer: NBA, I heard he’s staightedge

Jack Glasscock: MLB, what’s worse than a glassjaw? Bingo!

Bob Cluck and Jimmy Gobble: MLB, birds of a feather

Clyde Kluttz, Mickey Klutts: MLB, obviously very graceful players

Wonderful Terrific Monds III: MLB, I heard Chad OchoCinco will soon change his name again, to Wonderful Terrific OchoCinco

Mike Sweeney: MLB, say it fast and it sounds like “Mike’s weenie”

Cannonball Titcomb: MLB, no comment

Charlie Spikes: Baseball, like Takeo, the name of equipment

James Cockman: MLB, no comment

Urban Shocker: minor league baseball, sounds like the name of a direct-to-DVD Jean Claude Van-Damme movie

Albert Pujols: MLB, I never noticed this but apparently his last name is pronounced the same as “poo holes.” There is a dirty joke related to this coincidence. Google it if you dare!

Also, I think it would be cool to start a list of athletes with colors for names, so you could have an all-time roster covering the whole spectrum. Here are a few to start the list:

Reggie White
Red Grange
Darrell Green
Kevin Greene
Robert Blackmon
There is a baseball player with the last name of Orange. I think he played in the World Baseball Classic (or something). His strange last name was talked about on SportsCenter once, while they showed a highlight of his. I think he plays second base.

Today the newest D-League team, the Springfield Armor, unveiled their logo, colors, and NBA affiliates (NJ, NY, PHI). Even for D-League standards (Mobile Revelers, Charleston LowGators, anyone?) this has to be the worst logo/team name I’ve seen in recent years. Anyways, see for yourself:

http://www.masslive....

WOW! That is one of the worst logos for a professional sports team I have ever seen, especially a brand-new team from the modern era! It was created (probably in 5 minutes) by Six-Point Creative Works, a local company in Springfield, Mass. It was good of the team to hire somebody local, but seriously, don’t you think you should look at their portfolio first to see what kind of work they produce?

The blame for a team having a shitty logo is three-fold: a shitty designer creating shitty designs, and team executives who have the power of choosing the official logo having no eye for good design and therefore picking something that looks like shit. Also, a low budget can be blamed, so the team probably almost had to pay some bum on the street to sketch something on cardboard in exchange for a McDonald’s Value Meal. But if budget was the problem, hold a logo-design contest, or visit a local college that offers classes in graphic design and have a talented student design it! A student would do it for free just to be able to show it in their portfolio and put in on their resume!

Anyway, one seriously laughable and suspect thing about Six-Point Creative Works’ website (link below): at the top of the site, their clickable navigation bar reads as follows, from left to right: “Stuff We’ve Done,” “How We Do It,” “Who We Did It To.” Yes, you read that right, “Who We Did It TO.” Not, “Who We Did It FOR.” Well, Six-Point, you definitely did it TO the Springfield Armor!!!

http://www.sixpointc...

Time for MLB to make the ball a super-high-visibility neon green or orange.

Charlie Finley suggested this back in the day.

I’d never heard of Charlie Finley until just now, and I googled him, and he seems like one interesting character! He had a lot of innovative ideas for baseball! I really like how he’d pay players to grow mustaches (that’s how Rollie Fingers’ trademark handlebars got started). Also, he once decided not to sign a player just because he didn’t have a catchy nickname! Charlie definitely had an eye for talent; he hired a teenage Stanley Burrell as Bat Boy and Executive Vice President of the Oakland A’s after seeing him dance outside the stadium. We all know Burrell now as M.C. Hammer!

He didn’t Sunday, but did Monday.

Today the newest D-League team, the Springfield Armor, unveiled their logo, colors, and NBA affiliates (NJ, NY, PHI). Even for D-League standards (Mobile Revelers, Charleston LowGators, anyone?) this has to be the worst logo/team name I’ve seen in recent years. Anyways, see for yourself:

http://www.masslive....

The logo looks like the guy from the He-Man cartoon I watched as a kid!

Re: ESPN SUCK article. Sacramento’s alt unis from the mid-90s were nice. Most teams just used the same uniform design with their 3rd color or something silly (Bucks angry deer). The Kings and Bulls black alts were probably the best from that era.
The Washington Wizards need to change their name, logo and colors (although I like the gold jersey/black shorts alt uniform). Same for the Thunder.

Sonny Sixkiller

I kinda like those 70s Huskies unis.

Sixkiller was also one of the players on The Mean Machine football team from the 70’s movie “The Longest Yard”.