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Talk about the name finalists not being exciting is an understatement. Unimaginative, underwhelming, boring, come to mind as descriptive words for this list, but the names on the list, and these reactions, are entirely descriptive of the lack of creativity and vision for the people and leaders of this town. (Just wait until our new 15,000-seat downtown arena is built in 2009---with one expressed purpose of attracting a 1st and 2nd round NCAA basketball tournament host site---only to find by then, or shortly thereafter, the NCAA will increase those seating requirements to 18,000!)...Sorry for the soapbox digression there, but you AA fans need to know what kind of brethren you are letting into the family.

Anyway, that is what we have.

The rules of the name-the-team contest clarify that the Wichita Thunder Hockey team has the final say in the name selection, regardless of the outcome of the poll.

Can you see the name "Lightning" in the fine print here. Singular team name(s) creatively started and ended with the NBA's "Jazz" in the 70's, but it never has been corrected, even with opportunistic relocation of that franchise out of the Big Easy 20+ years ago. ...Sorry, I'll stop ranting now,...that name list just really set me off.

For those of you that don't know (likely, a vast majority), the aviation industry is the kingpin here in Wichita. Cessna, Beechcraft, Stearman (later Boeing) and Learjet all sprouted initial roots here, and so the city still goes by the nickname "Air Capital of the World", regardless of the truth in the name. Hence also the brilliant suggestion of the "Air Caps" name.

The "Citations" is also an airplane name, as it is the feature Cessna busness jet. So, baseball world, don't worry about an army of traffic cops watching your every move as you drive into and through the Air Capital to see our Indy team play! These "Citations" fly overhead, not through your car window after you've been pulled over by Wichita's Finest.

The "787's/Dreamliners" may be a popular choice for more than a couple of reasons. Part of the new Boeing 787 fuselage and strut assembly is being manufactured by Spirit Aerosystems, an independently-owned Boeing spinoff company, and, walah, another name choice. The Dreamliner is the nickname for the 787, ...and...the name of a very successful NBC baseball team in the 60's that won 3 out of 4 NBC tournaments between 1962 and 1965. Local TV, radio and newspaper sports media personalities are already championing the Dreamliner name as the hands-down choice for baseball revival in Wichita, with the "Sky King" name being tabbed as a close second.

So, now you might understand the aviation tilt to the name choices.

The western heritage theme has only recently been latched onto here, and is a bit of a fad, although Sheplers Western Store was founded in our fair city. With the Wranglers departure and the collapse of the "Wild West World" theme park in less than one summer of operation, maybe some that cowboy glow will fade. So, the "Mustang" name is a token toss at this genre, or else a respectful nod to our popular Wrangler mascot horse, Wilbur, who was unceremoniously packed into a wheeled trash dumpster and loaded onto a moving van headed for Arkansas yesterday.

Kansas is known for Tornados, but since those nasty storms kill people and level complete towns (i.e., nearby Greensburg), it probably isn't poltically correct or marketing-ly prudent to name the team "Tornados, Cyclones or Twisters", so we're left with the freakish meteorological nuisance of a "Dust Devil". Perhaps we can get a sponsorship from an office-cleaning company, Oreck or Black & Decker vacuums, or a laundry detergent company with that team name!

That leaves us with the truly inspiring names of River Cats (....aren't there enough River Rats, Cats and Bats in corny minor league logos already,....pa-lease spare us all from that fate) and, ....what?,.....the Wham? All I have to say to that is "the baseball better be pretty good, or "wham" might be the sound of the gates closing behind a lot of exiting fans.

'Nuff Said! ....Welcome toWichita, AA fans!

Let's just call them the Dubbyas!

Today's Wichita Eagle publishes a story about how busy the new "Wichita Pro Sports" organization is in moving into Lawrence-Dumont Stadium, preparing for the upcoming Thunder hockey season and starting up the new baseball organization. The Name-the-Team voting wrapped up this past weekend, and although the name is, no doubt, already decided on, delays are being experienced in finalizing the new baseball team's logo and new Thunder and baseball websites. Therefore, no official unveiling of the new nickname and website is expected until sometime next week.

For the story, see:

Baseball mascot on hold

So,....until at least next week............................Go Dubbyas!!!!!!

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