Sometime Soon for the Bobcats/Hornets?

Who knows when the NBA team in Charlotte will be allowed to go back to their original "Hornets" moniker. Adam Silver, the Commissioner-in-waiting, said maybe 18 months, so by '14-'15?

I once wrote a little bit about the Hornets name and legacy, how the name came to be (the late 1700s) and how all teams there tended to be named the same thing...sometimes names have historical importance to a region, like Orioles, Brewers, Rockies, and Marlins in, respectively, Baltimore, Milwaukee, Denver, and Miami. For a refresher here's a link to the first part, and here's a link to the second part.

Not that I really root for the Hornets/Bobcats, but I'm looking forward to that type of order being replaced to those team names. I suppose this switch means more to me than any Jazz/Pelicans or Lakers/Timberwolves rift.

Finally Official from the Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins finally make their first new logo in, eh, forever official. I like it:

Considering images had been leaking out for months, I would hope enthusiasm won't wane. It retains the colors and essence of the Flipper-esque original, but with more dynamism and natural realism.

Missed Something in San Jose

When I saw some photos from the Sharks of San Jose beating the LA Kings in their recent home game for Game 3, I was surprised. I was pretty sure the game was being played in San Jose, but the home team was wearing black. A different picture showed off that it was in fact the Sharks wearing black instead of that teal, and their shark chest logo had been updated. A little research showed that happened a few years back, and I never noticed. Dang...

Here's the original Sharks logo:

And here's their updated logo:

The 3-D effect is enhanced as is the shark-tooth effect with the inverted triangle in the back. Seems more mid-aughts more than mid-nineties, which it is, of course.

Weird Stuff from the Minors

Here are some weird and sometimes cool things from the baseball's minor leagues. The minors are far too colorful to be given a complete rundown of all the weirdness here, but you get the idea...

First, for a promotional deal, the Toledo Mud-Hens are going Chewie for a night. They're donning Chewbacca jerseys for that game:

Eh, this is too easy, but whooping cranes are always worthy of mascot/logo status:

And, what can be said of "Mr. Celery"? I've lost the data on this team in the months since I found this logo, so, maybe I'll update it later. But still...Mr. Celery?