The Bernstein Brief: Vegas NHL Team Changes Course On Name
By Dan Bernstein--
CBSChicago.com senior columnist
(CBS) If it were any other major sports league we could take the dumbest possibilities off the table, but when it's the bumbling NHL, we have to account for everything.
It sure seemed strange when SportsLogos.net and DetroitHockey.net collaborated to report Thursday that the finalists for the new Las Vegas team name were the Nighthawks, Desert Hawks and Red Hawks. Any of those would be curious at least, considering the equity the league has already built up in its best-marketed American brand, a certain franchise known almost ubiquitously as the Hawks here in Chicago. Infringing even the slightest bit on such important intellectual property in that way would make little sense, and it was surprising to see that commissioner Gary Bettman and the league office had vetted and approved such a move.
Unless, of course, they hadn't.
On Friday, SportsLogos.net tweeted, "Team confirmed our list last night, now hearing LasVegas has eliminated all three Hawks names & chosen something else. Didn't like fan response?"
Possibly.
It's also possible they got a call from Bettman after he got a call from an incredulous and unhappy Rocky Wirtz, the Blackhawks chairman.
Only in this league.
Dan Bernstein is a co-host of 670 The Score's "Boers and Bernstein Show" in afternoon drive. You can follow him on Twitter @dan_bernstein and read more of his columns here.
