# Select and name an expansion team in one of the 4 major leagues **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [August 6, 2010, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/select-and-name-an-expansion-team-in-one-of-the-4-major-leagues/549396 "2010-08-06T14:19:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/select-and-name-an-expansion-team-in-one-of-the-4-major-leagues/549396/1 "2010-08-06T14:19:46Z")
You have been given the awesome responsibility of selecting a city to receive an expansion team in one of the four major North American leagues (MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL) under the following rules: 1. The city must not already have a franchise for that league, and it must be a city that could reasonably be expected to have enough fans to support the team (ignoring the Green Bay Packers as the obvious exception; some examples would be - Los Angeles for an NFL team; Portland or Columbus for MLB (or NFL), etc.) 2. The team name you choose must be appropriate for the location (no names like the Utah Jazz or L.A. Lakers) and it must also be a name that the Commissioner would not be likely to reject due to offensive or insulting language (no “Cleveland Steamers” or “Nashville Rednecks”, for example). I’ll start things off with a boring one: Salt Lake Flats - MLB ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/select-and-name-an-expansion-team-in-one-of-the-4-major-leagues/549396/2 "2010-08-06T14:38:31Z")
Orlando Rage - NFL. Unlike _some_ Florida cities _coughJacksonvillecough_, we can support a major league franchise. Plus, some of us still have hats and jersey from the similarly-named\* XFL team \*Okay, it was exactly the same name. I’m also a big fan of our AFL team name (the Predators). It ties in with the film industry, which is big here, and ensures our mascot is awesome-looking, rather than a sweaty college kid in a fur suit. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/select-and-name-an-expansion-team-in-one-of-the-4-major-leagues/549396/3 "2010-08-06T14:44:33Z")
MLB - New Orleans Crocs ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/select-and-name-an-expansion-team-in-one-of-the-4-major-leagues/549396/4 "2010-08-06T15:16:05Z")
NFL - Los Angeles Lobos. Professional football really should get back into LA. And I think Lobos would be a good name. It’s alliterative. It’s an animal, which fits in with other NFL team names. And it’s Spanish which fits with the local culture. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/select-and-name-an-expansion-team-in-one-of-the-4-major-leagues/549396/5 "2010-08-06T15:34:06Z")
MLB - The Raleigh Oaks. I’ve always thought the wrong major league sport moved in. ---
**Author:** ![mkecane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9e8a1a/32.png) [@mkecane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mkecane)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/select-and-name-an-expansion-team-in-one-of-the-4-major-leagues/549396/6 "2010-08-06T15:58:25Z")
NHL: Milwaukee Barons The Bradley Center was built with the goal of getting an NHL team, though it’s probably out of date now due to a lack of suites. It keeps with history a bit (beer barons, German heritage in general), and keeps with the M-B of of Milwaukee sports (Milwaukee Brewers, Milwaukee Bucks). ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/select-and-name-an-expansion-team-in-one-of-the-4-major-leagues/549396/7 "2010-08-06T16:06:17Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > NFL - Los Angeles Lobos. Professional football really should get back into LA. And I think Lobos would be a good name. It’s alliterative. It’s an animal, which fits in with other NFL team names. And it’s Spanish which fits with the local culture. Personally, I’m hoping that the NFL adds more teams with names that are synonyms for “pirate”. I hope to see an all-pirate league within my lifetime. ---
**Author:** ![markdash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@markdash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markdash)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/select-and-name-an-expansion-team-in-one-of-the-4-major-leagues/549396/8 "2010-08-06T17:01:58Z")
NBA - Seattle SuperSonics. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/select-and-name-an-expansion-team-in-one-of-the-4-major-leagues/549396/9 "2010-08-06T19:37:24Z")
NHL - Halifax Maniacs Commissioner Bettman might grump about the name, but come on, the team would have a [ready-made theme song](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3tLtF8kyOQ). And Nova Scotia needs a team after being screwed over in CFL expansion, and it’s not as if they’re not as hockey-mad as the rest of the country. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/select-and-name-an-expansion-team-in-one-of-the-4-major-leagues/549396/10 "2010-08-06T19:41:07Z")
The Las Vegas Mob. It works for any sport! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/select-and-name-an-expansion-team-in-one-of-the-4-major-leagues/549396/11 "2010-08-06T19:47:27Z")
MLB: Brooklyn Robins NHL: Hamilton Steelers NBA: Seattle SuperSonics - sorry, but it’s just the right thing to do NFL: Los Angeles Lobos is a great idea. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/select-and-name-an-expansion-team-in-one-of-the-4-major-leagues/549396/12 "2010-08-06T19:47:38Z")
> [@zamboniracer](#): > > The Las Vegas Mob. It works for any sport! 🙂 It would have to be hockey or football, so after they play to a tie you can have the headline: **MOB TIES** ---
**Author:** ![mkecane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9e8a1a/32.png) [@mkecane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mkecane)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/select-and-name-an-expansion-team-in-one-of-the-4-major-leagues/549396/13 "2010-08-06T19:55:44Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > **MLB: Brooklyn Robins** > NHL: Hamilton Steelers > NBA: Seattle SuperSonics - sorry, but it’s just the right thing to do > NFL: Los Angeles Lobos is a great idea. Ooh, I like that! ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/select-and-name-an-expansion-team-in-one-of-the-4-major-leagues/549396/14 "2010-08-06T19:55:52Z")
NHL: Hartford Policies NHL: Seattle Slew MLB: Charlotte Brontes MLB: Orlando Blooms MLB: Columbus Goodbyes MLB: Indianapolis Pendants (yes, the Indy Pendants) ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/select-and-name-an-expansion-team-in-one-of-the-4-major-leagues/549396/15 "2010-08-06T19:59:56Z")
Los Angeles Confidentials ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/select-and-name-an-expansion-team-in-one-of-the-4-major-leagues/549396/16 "2010-08-07T02:50:49Z")
Even though there’s already a team for each of the four sports in DC, I think the **Washington Justice** would be a cool team name. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/select-and-name-an-expansion-team-in-one-of-the-4-major-leagues/549396/17 "2010-08-07T04:52:17Z")
Once the Cuban political situation becomes more hospitable: Havana Sugar Kings – MLB (taking the name of the old International League franchise that won the Little World Series in 1959, only to fall victim to Castro’s nationalization policy the next year) ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/select-and-name-an-expansion-team-in-one-of-the-4-major-leagues/549396/18 "2010-08-07T14:20:01Z")
MLB - Louisville Sluggers. Slight trademark issue, though. ---
**Author:** ![KennerTheGreat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a8b319/32.png) [@KennerTheGreat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KennerTheGreat)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/select-and-name-an-expansion-team-in-one-of-the-4-major-leagues/549396/19 "2010-08-07T16:33:56Z")
NHL: The Quebec Carnavales, for Quebec City’s Winter Carnival. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/select-and-name-an-expansion-team-in-one-of-the-4-major-leagues/549396/20 "2010-08-07T16:44:39Z")
> [@mkecane](#): > > > [@RickJay](#): > > > > **MLB: Brooklyn Robins** > > . > > Ooh, I like that! That actually was the nickname of the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1920’s. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/select-and-name-an-expansion-team-in-one-of-the-4-major-leagues/549396.md?page=2)