sportsfan7

That was kinda my point; that even though the NCAI opposes these names, individual tribes (who make up the NCAI) have given them the go-ahead.

I believe ESPN does all the on-site work (Cameras etc...) and sells/licenses it to the others

Doubt this comes as a surprise to anyone, but I present to you the #1 best renaming ... 1. Charlotte Bobcats → Charlotte Hornets After the Charlotte Hornets moved to New Orleans, the city of Charlotte was given an expansion franchise. Despite winning the Name-the-Team contest, owner Bob Johnson did not name the team the Flight, citing his opposition to the Iraq War. Instead he did the humble thing and named them the Bobcats, after himself (Although as the first Black billionaire and first Black majority owner in major professional sports he would be one of the more deserving owners for this). After being sold to Michael Jordan (The 4th African-American billionaire, beaten by Oprah and Robert Smith) and the New Orleans Hornets changing their name, the team renamed themselves the Charlotte Hornets after the first NBA team in the city. The Hornets name should’ve stayed in Charlotte and the Bobcats had done nothing of note, outside of the worst season in NBA history. This is a definite improvement, replacing a name that was viewed apathetically by most everyone and replaced by a fan favorite with history.

You can say that again. Technically speaking, I was referring to the National Congress of American Indians' blanket opposition to Native nicknames and portrayals and how they feel on individual tribes okaying names.

Not disagreeing with you, but their are 5 NCAA schools who got approval from local tribes to keep nicknames; Catawba Indians, Central Michigan Chippewas, Florida State Seminoles, Mississippi Choctaws, and Utah Utes. Usually there are strings attached, both Utah and FSU require students to take classes about the tribes, not sure about the others. Wouldn't this be seen as building Natives up? Of them, only FSU uses an Indian Head logo.

The Bills and Browns are both people, named after Buffalo Bill Cody and Paul Brown, respectively

2. San Jose Clash → San Jose Earthquakes When the San Jose MLS franchise announced that their General Manager would be Peter Bridgwater, it became a foregone conclusion that the team would be named the Earthquakes, as he owned the rights to the name and branding of the NASL team. Instead, Nike interjected themselves into the branding process and came up with Clash, apparently because Nike thought it would resonate with young people. After 4 seasons the team rebranded as the Earthquakes (Interestingly enough, one year after Bridgwater left the team). This, however, is not the same franchise as today’s Earthquakes. In The Relocation MLS Doesn’t Want You to Know About the Earthquakes moved to Houston and received an expansion franchise a few seasons later, essentially MLS’s Brown’s Deal. This rebranding was a no-brainer, given the history of the Earthquakes and the lack of success as the Clash.

I am not entirely familiar with the model, but I would have to imagine that it is exhausting for the players.

3. New Orleans Hornets → New Orleans Pelicans The first of 2 Hornets related name changes, the New Orleans Hornets kept the name after the Charlotte Hornets relocated to the Big Easy. The Charlotte Hornets were named so because British General Cornwallis described the area as “a hornet’s nest of rebellion” during the Revolution. In 2013, the Hornets (Who played the 2005-07 seasons in OKC due to Katrina) changed their name to Pelicans, partly so the Hornets moniker could be returned to Charlotte. The Pelicans name was chosen because the state bird is the Brown Pelican. The city had also hosted a minor league baseball team with the name, and the Hornets owner Tom Benson had attempted to get a AAA team with the name, so he already held the trademark. I like the name change. The Hornets name belongs in Charlotte and the Pelicans name is nice and unique.

Like I said, the exact dates are a little hard to pin down. According to the mothership, their primary logo was "A's" from 68-70, "The Swinging A's" from 71-81, and then two versions of "A's" with "Oakland Athletics" around the outside from 82-present. They didn't have "Athletics" on their jerseys until 87, having either "Oakland" "A" or "A's" on them instead.

Let me preface this by saying there is very little information about these changes. Neither MLB.com nor the mothership mention the changes and Wikipedia contradicts themselves, first saying that they were the A's from 1968-86, but later on saying that it was 1972-81. Regardless, I am fairly certain that the change was present over the 72-81 time period. 4. Oakland Athletics → Oakland A’s → Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics changed their nickname in time for the 1972 season, shortening it to A’s, which had been used unofficially since the dawn of the franchise. Owner Charles Finley thought that people associated the Athletics moniker with Philadelphia Athletics legend, as well as former owner and manager, Connie Mack, so he changed the name in hopes that people would associate him with A’s in the same way. As part of his divorce, Charlie O. was forced to sell the team before the 1981 season and the new group restored the Athletics moniker. In all honesty, these barely register as changes, since the team has been known as the A’s and Athletics for their entire history. Neither of the changes bother me very much. However, it is worth pointing out that ⅓ (3 out of 9) of the franchises World Series came in the 9 year period that the team was officially the Oakland A’s (They won 5 in Philly and one as the Oakland Athletics), but the Commissioner’s Trophy refers to them as the Oakland Athletics for all 3.

Really? I thought at some point they would be due for a win. Heard some clown lost all his money because of the Generals a while back. Shame According to their own website they have 3 wins, but allegedly its more like 6 or 7

Not quite 5. Houston Colt .45s → Houston Astros When the National League expanded to Houston for the 1962 season, ownership held a name the team contest, with the winning submission being the Colt .45s. The Colt .45 is a revolver known for its use in the American West. Before moving into Harris County Domed Stadium (Soon to be dubbed the Astrodome), the team was rebranded as the Astros. The team acquired the new name from Houston’s role in the Space Race, the Manned Spacecraft Center (Today the Johnson Space Center) had just opened. I like this name change because it got rid of a corporate identity and replaced it with something that was trendy, yet classic. It doesn’t hurt that they were replacing a name associated with violence, even if it was the reason for the change.

Fitting that today we get to the original Washington team to change a problematic nickname. 6. Washington Bullets → Washington Wizards The Washington Bullets (Known as the Capital Bullets for their first year in DC) got their name from the Baltimore Bullets, who in turn got their name from the defunct Baltimore Bullets, named after the Phoenix Shot Tower/Old Baltimore Shot Tower. In 1995, Bullets owner Abe Pollin announced the team would drop the Bullets moniker over concerns about the names violent connotations. Pollin’s friend Yitzhak Rabin, Prime Minister of Israel, had occurred less than a week earlier, and Pollin was concerned about the crime rate in the District (Interestingly enough, the violent crime rate in Washington DC dropped 40% in the 5 years after the announced change and is now down a further 20 percentage points). The team became the Wizards in 1997. However, this name was not without controversy, both over concerns about the KKK’s use of the title Grand Wizard and the name's ties to black magic and the occult. Even though I think Wizards is a swing and a miss, it was still one of the better options among their final five (Dragons, Stallions, Express, and Sea Dogs were the others. Personally, I would’ve preferred Sea Dogs). Another problem is that they were beaten to the nickname by the Kansas City Wizards. I can’t find an actual date for Kansas City’s rebrand, but it had happened by March 29, 1997. The Washington Wizards brand was unveiled on May 15, 1997. The team grades out so high because it had to change, but I can’t help but think they chose the wrong name. Also, its on to the top 5. Anyone have any predictions?

I would not put it below Snyder to do this. The fact that Internet Sleuths haven't found any names trademarked by Snyder and the fact that he has been vehemently denied even considering a change leads me to believe the answer is no. Newsflash: NFL gear is expensive. If they went this route I think they would have to have some sort of trade-in policy, like someone mentioned earlier. I can't speak for the others, but I definitely see a lot of Fighting Sioux gear and now that I think of it, I don't think I've ever seen anyone wearing a Fighting Hawks one. Granted I've never to a game in Grand Forks, but I still see them at Wild and occasionally Gopher games.