Saturday, September 6, 2008

From The Ground Up: Central Names

The five markets with the most votes, to be included in the Central Division of our fantasy hockey league are final. Almost 10,000 individual votes were cast in the poll.

In this post, I'm outlining those markets (alphabetically) along with the acceptable locators (listed below) for your team name nominations — which I'll begin accepting today by comment only.

  • CHICAGO, Illinois
    Illinois | Chicago | Joliet | Rockford

  • DETROIT, Michigan
    Michigan | Detroit | Troy | Dearborn

  • MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin
    Wisconsin | Milwaukee

  • MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota
    Minnesota | Minneapolis | St. Paul | Bloomington

  • ST. LOUIS, Missouri
    Missouri | St. Louis

DO NOT SUBMIT NAME NOMINATIONS VIA EMAIL. THEY WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

Submit your team name nominations by leaving a comment below. Email submissions will be discarded. I will accept nominations for one week at which point new comments on this post will be closed. All name submissions that fit within the following parameters will be included in the name selection process which will begin next weekend.

If you want your submission included, DO NOT:
• use the name of any current or past NHL or WHA team.
• use the name of any current AHL or ECHL team.
• use the name or close variation of any current or past professional sports team within the same market or geographical area.
• use the name of any team from Project: IHA.
• use any name that would be considered vulgar, obscene or in any way inappropriate. (Sorry, this is my call.)

If you decide to use a locator not already on the list above, be prepared to have it discarded. I'm not setting that in stone as a restriction, but I'm also not guaranteeing I'll include anything not on the list. Sorry for all the restrictions but sometimes you have to "guide" originality.

Late addition: I'll also probably be weaning out some of the more ridiculous and absurd names. I don't mind fun ones, but I think you guys know what I mean.

It was suggested that when submitting names you also submit a short reasoning for that name. I won't require that but I will recommend it since it might help your submission get votes later on if folks know where you got your idea.

Don't forget to make your submissions for the Pacific Division. You have until September 13.

Start submitting!

154 comments:

Warrior19 said...

although i agree with the restrictions, i think that one exception should be considered in this decision. Detroit Generals. I know its the same as the IHA's Hamilton Generals, but thats a reference to military, whereas this could be contributed to detroits HUGE automaker history.

but if not...

Spirit of St Louis (refernce to the famous flight, also name should be in this form instaed of St Louis Spirit)

Minnesota Walleyes (state fish and reference to the lakes, but i dont want to do minnesota lakers, as there was an nba team named that i believe)

Wisconsin Cheezeheads (id like to see those logos)

Detroit Generals (refernce to automaker history)

Chicago Towers (reference to many skyscrapers, especially sears tower. I love logos with skylines so im a little biased here)

Jeff H. said...

I totally second Spirit of St. Louis.

Chris said...

Yeah, before this gets out of hand... The St. Louis Spirit was part of the IHA Project. It will not be part of this league. Generals will not be permitted either. There are no exceptions to the restrictions. Be creative!

Anonymous said...

Minnesota Mere- a mere is an expanse of standing water, in other words a lake, just a fancier word

Tony said...

Dearborn Stags

Tony said...

Chicago Mob

Anonymous said...

Chicago Wind

Detriot Demons

Milwuakee Bulls

Minnesota Lakes

St. Louis Savage

Michael said...

Chicago Inferno(the great chicago fire)
Detroit (something to do with the auto industry)
Millwaukee(have no idea)
Minnesota Saints(WHA team)
St Louis Explorers?

Ed said...

Walleye can't be used, its a ECHL Team in Toledo.

Unknown said...

Chicago Cyclones - Windy City, cyclone, etc.
Detroit Cannons - Detroit was nicknamed the Arsenal of Democracy
Milwaukee - not sure, but perhaps something Germanic
Minneapolis - not sure
St. Louis Voyageurs - St. Louis was part of New France, and voyageurs traded fur all over the place

Jefferi said...

St. Louis Portal

Minnesota Gemini

Detroit Rockers

Chicago Gale

Wisconsin Cheese

asnowballschance said...

Chicago Steel

Detroit Protectors

Milwaukee Infantry

Minnesota Lumberjacks

St. Louis Pioneers

Usman Shabbar said...

Chicago Giants
Detroit Demolition
St. Louis-or-Missouri Royals
Milwaukee-or-Wisconsin Warriors

HockeyLister said...

Chicago Gangsters (Al Capone, etc.)

Michigan Trolls (Mackinac Bridge)

Milwaukee Blitz (blitzkrieg - German, shorten and Americanize the word)

St. Paul Gemini (Twin Cities)

St. Louis 19-4's (This one sucks. I couldn't think of anything else. Celebrating the Olympics and world's fair of 1904)

Anonymous said...

Chicago Obamas

Detroit Turbines

Wisconsin Bulls

Minnesota Rush

St. Louis Brewers

Anonymous said...

-Detroit Bears: "lions and tigers and bears" well football has the lions, baseball has the tigers, lets make the other major pro team the bears.

-Chicago Whirlwind: windy city.

-Milwaukee Divers: after the state bird being the common loon (also known as great northern diver) and all of the lakes there.

-St. Louis Expeditions: after the louis and clark expedition beginning there.

-Minneapolis Muskie: state fish and its got a great flow to the name.

CrossoverT said...

Milwaukee Keggers
Milwaukee Eis (German word for Eis)

CrossoverT said...

eis - german word for ICE*

Anonymous said...

If I could I would make it the Windy City Whirlwind not Chicago. Please don't make minneapolis the Gemini, lets save that for the city of brotherly love, philadelphia. It just fits better with the story.

Anonymous said...

St. Louis Arch Rivals
Minnesota Rink Rats
Milwaukee Ironhides
Chicago Quadrostars
Michigan Guardians

Anonymous said...

St. Louis Voyageurs- Voyageurs (French for explorers) set out from St. Louis, and it was the Midwest's fur trading center for a while.
Minnesota Loons- The state bird of Minnesota has nice symbolism.
Chicago Towers- Chicago's towering skyline could make for a great logo and an even better nickname.
Milwaukee Creamers- One of the city's nicknames is The Cream City, and of course Wisconsin's dairy industry is the nation's largest.
Michigan Mastodons- Mastodons are the state fossil of Michigan, and "Michigan Mastodons" has a nice ring to it.

Anonymous said...

Actually eis is also the German word for ice cream so I don't think its a good fit, however Blitz is a great name for it because it means lightning in German (Blitzkrieg being lightning war).

Milwaukee Blitzkrieger(s) (maybe adding an s onto the end to americanize it into a plural)meaning lightning warriors would be the best fit IMO for a Germanic name being that I speak the language.

Unknown said...

the best I came up with were
Chicago Mobsters,
Illinois Stovepipes (in reference to Lincoln)
Oh, and the windy city refers to the politicians, not the wind.

Detroit Drive or
Detroit Rust

And detroit Generals? Really? I get that you're going for a GM reference, but Ford and Chrysler would be pissed as hell.

And I like Minnesota loons.

Sukhraj said...

Detriot Champs...because their jus too damn good in hockey!! And in other sports!

Anonymous said...

i've been thinking about this all week, and, as a st. louisan, i think the best name for a st. louis team would be the St. Louis Brewers due to Anheiser-Busch being located in st. louis. something germanic would also be appropriate due to the cities huge german influence

Unknown said...

Chicago Chill ("CHIcago ILLinois", also a reference to "windchill," since Chicago is the Windy City)

Detroit Engine (the Motor City, and engines are motors)

Milwaukee Machine (power tool companies, plus blue-collar history)

Minnesota Voyageurs (after Louis Hennepin, for which Minneapolis' Hennepin County is named)

St. Louis Archers (City's centerpiece. 'Nuff said.)

CrossoverT said...

walttears youre thinking of Milwaukee

Ogre39666 said...

Milwaukee Ice Wolves - sounds cool I guess

and I really like the Minnesota Mere

CrossoverT said...

Milwaukee Mannschaft (german word for team, sounds funny)
Milwaukee Schlägers (Schlaegers, hitters or sticks auf Deutsch)

Warrior19 said...

wow i totally forgot about the iha with the spirit thing, and i even pointed it out with detroit.

i feel like an idiot now

i was gonna post minnesota moose also, but thats an ahl team. this is harder than i thought

love st louis archers though

Brent said...

How about the St. Louis Pilots?

Not only the whole Spirit of St. Louis/Charles Lindbergh angle, but you also have a lot of barge traffic on the Mississippi. (The dude who steers the barges is called a Pilot.)

Anonymous said...

Chicago Checkers
Detroit Autos
Wisconsin Cheese-Heads
St. Paul Lumberjacks
St. Louis Archers

Warrior19 said...

i just checked the echl, and it says walleye wont be used until 2000-10. Just wondering if thats restricted, and if so, i completely understand. just clarifying

Ryan said...

Wisconsin Iron Brigade (after a famous civil war regiment from there)

Bloomington Blizzard (it is the team name the minnesota wild should have had, and there is a rich hockey tradition in bloomington)

nu said...

Chicago Mission (Blues Brothers!)
alternately, the Joliet Jailtime...;)

the Troy Horses (I can't believe no one thought of this yet!)

Missouri (Mizzou) Mules
Missouri Independents (flatter a city that's not KC or St.L)

Dearborn Generators (Henry Ford)

Milwaukee Herd (okay, so the cows are generally outside Milwaukee, but I think it sounds better than Wisconsin Herd)

Minnesota/Bloomington Woebegons (props to anyone who gets this, but in the Bloomington context I consider it restitution for the North Stars.)

Anonymous said...

Rockford Rinkrats (terrible I know)
Detroit Runners (in refernce to the rum runners of the prohibition era)
Milwaukee (no idea)
Minnesota Woodsmen
St. Lou(is) Mizzou

Anonymous said...

Minnesota Skeeters (as in mosquito), there was alot of underground talk of naming the wild this when we were awarded the franchise. Also it works because of the amount of mosquito's in minnesota.

also the names 'loons' can't be used because it was a minor league baseball team in the 90's as well as 'muskees' which was the name of our arena football team for 1 season.

Anonymous said...

Minneapolis Lakers (Land of 1000 lakes, also the name of a former NBA team, I belive...)

Milwaukee Freeze (It's cold up there in Wisconsin?)

I saw some great ideas above, I liked the Detroit Drive and Chicago Cyclones.

The Sault Metal Scene said...

Chicago Outfit
Detroit Mustangs
Milwaukee Choppers
Minnesota Redtails
St. Louis Arsenal

Matt in NYS said...

Wisconsin Cranes -- (double reference to the bird and the equipment they make in Manitowoc)

That's all I got. I'm liking the above ideas!

GelatinousMutantCoconut said...

I agree with:

St Louis Voyageurs

Milwaukee Herd

Chicago Whirlwind

And suggest:

Minneapolis Vikings, Minnesota has a rich scandinavian history.

Chicago Breeze, again the windy city thing.

Detroit Forts, The city was founded as a French fort.
Any old-time military name would also do. Someone suggested Cannons and Generals.
I like Detroit Muskets.
Detroit Siege is another possibily.

St Louis Crusaders, The city was named after King Louis IX of France. He was a major contributer to the 7th and 8th Crusades.

bw said...

Bill - Detroit 'River Runners' would work much better - I wish that Border Cities was an appropriate market name - since the Rum runners were running the booze from Windsor to Detroit

So I am going to formally submit

'Detroit River Runners' into the running (no pun intended)

PRC. said...

Chicago Outfit - The name of Al Capone's gang.

Detroit Model Ts - In honour of Henry Ford.

Milwaukee Malts - Beer = Good.

Minnesota 10,000 - The land of 10,000 lakes.

St. Louis Gatekeepers - Inspired by the Gateway Arch that dominates the skyscape.

bw said...

ATTN: CHRIS

If there are two similar names that may split the votes (ie Bill's Detroit Runners and my Detroit River Runners) will you select one, or throw both into contention. I think it would be nice - since they would split a vote later on.

Lax Guy said...

St. Louis Gatekeepers
St. Paul Shovels
Milwaukee Beermen
Chicago Mafia
Detroit Assemblers

bw said...

So I take it you won't be accepting the 'Detroit Crooked Kwames'?

holmes.brodnik said...

St.Louis Mafia

Kansas City Sprawl

Anonymous said...

Detroit Iron (For the Iron Brigade during the Civil War)

Chicago Slicers (For the pizza of course)

Wisconsin Red (For the Wisconsin River)

Minnesota Rock (For Minnesota having some of the oldest rock in the world)

Missouri Eights (For Missouri bordering 8 states)

Anonymous said...

no im not. the AB headquarters and main brewery is in st. louis, not milwaukee

Anonymous said...

Maybe Chicago Slice instead of Slicers...

Baller Blog said...

Detroit Diesel
HC Chicago
Milwaukee Moose
Minnesota Wolverines
St. Louis Saints

Damme said...

Chicago Breeze
Detroit Dynamo
Milwaukee Frost
St. Louis Sky Captains
St. Paul Brooks

Mattstro Disastro said...

Chicago Storm
Michigan Militia (For Fruvous Fans, mostly)
Milwaukee Monsters
St. Louis Gatekeepers
Minneapolis Moose

Unknown said...

most of the names seem so echl
how about
St. Louis River Kings (Because of the Missouri River)
Chicago Vikings (Large Swedish population in Chicago)
Detroit Torjans (They could have their rink in TROY)
Milwaukee Quakers
Minnesota Maroons

Unknown said...

Detroit Trojans***

Burzum said...

Chicago Spires
Detroit Automatics
Milwaukee Sturgeon
Minneapolis Iceburn
St. Louis Rapids

Anonymous said...

Chicago Bats
Detriot Diesel
Milwaukee Foxes
Minneapolis Dakota
St. Louis Royals

Unknown said...

St. Paul Warriors
Michigan Shift
Chicago Typhoon
St. Louis Knights
Milwaukee Rhinos

minneapolis millipedes haha

Unknown said...

Illinois Lions
Troy Red Rovers
Milwaukee Pint
St Paul Saints
Missouri Miles

Lucas said...

Can someone please tell me why so many people are using names from the IHA?

So far I've seen:

Generals
Spirit
Saints (3 times)
Royals (2 times)
Bears
Brigade
Knights
Dynamo

Anonymous said...

Chicago Red Clouds
Detroit Motor Monsters
Milwaukee Mashers
St. Louis Smashers
Minnesota Lake Snakes

R4ndom H3ro said...

Chicago Speed
Detroit Motorheads
Milwaukee Steins
St Louis Spirit
Minnesota Ramapge

Unknown said...

Chicago - Falcons

Detroit - Motorheads

St.Louis - Saints

Minnesota - Blue Waters

Unknown said...

Detroit Wheels

Chicago Harbor

Milwaukee | Wisconsin Rails

Cale Putnam said...

Chicago Skyliners

Detroit Factory

Milwaukee Alcohol

(Minneapolis/St. Paul) Twin Cities Paradox

Monster Trucks of St. Louis
St. Louis Bigfoots

Jared F said...

Chicago Mafia is great or
Chicago Elements( weather related)

Detroit Ignition( Auto Industry) or Snow Tigers(to keep the cat theme though i realize it is the baseball team)

Milwaukee Tri-Waters ( The three rivers that coverge in the city) or Red Ships ( Depicted on the cityfag representing it as a port city)

St. Louis Explorers ( Being the gateway to the west) or Arch Angels ( For the arch obviously)

Minnesota Ice ( The glaciers that carved out the landscape and lakes of Minnesota) or Meltdown ( Refering to the meltdown that formed the lakes)

Anonymous said...

How about picking names that have never been pick in any sport before...

Ice - Indy
Chill & Checkers - Columbus
Spirit - Pittsburgh
Monsters - Lake Erie(Cleveland)
Lumberjacks - Cleveland
Cyclones - Cincinnati

Saints / Falcons / Lions / Vikings / Bulls / Brewers / Wolverines / Giants / Warriors / Royals - Come on!

This is the best..."Minneapolis Vikings, Minnesota has a rich Scandinavian history" AND A FOOTBALL TEAM NAMED THE VIKINGS!!!

"Minnesota Skeeters (as in mosquito), there was alot of underground talk of naming the Wild this when we were awarded the franchise" - Nice tidbit! The Original Columbus NHL team...by original I mean that when Hartford was moving Columbus was a possible site...were going to use the name X-Plorers - The "underground" name that people were pushing for instead of the Blue Jackets was "The Mad Cows"...Columbus is also known as Cow Town

Unknown said...

Detroit Firebirds
Milwaukee Overlords
Chicago Blizzard
St. Louis Explorers
Minnesota Wolverines

Andrew Harkins said...

Chicago L (named after the transit system)

Chicago Gangsters/Mobsters

Detroit Phoenix (city motto mentions rising from the ashes)

Detroit Revolution (based on the industrial revolution)

Troy Trojans (reference to the Trojan Wars)

Wisconsin Badgers (the badger state)

Minnesota Lakers (land of 10,000 lakes)

St. Louis Explorers (a tribute to Lewis and Clark)

S-Raghu said...

Chicago Commanders
Detroit Guardians
Milwaukee Ice Demons
Minnesota Mammoths
St. Louis Strikers

Tony said...

Chicago Loansharks
Chicago Borgata (slang term for a mob family)
Dearborn Stags (as in male deer)

Anonymous said...

Chicago Surge (as in storm surge from water and storms and wind.)

St. Louis Aviation (the spirit of St. Louis comes to mind)

Detroit Gearheads (cars)

Minnesota Freeze (it's f'n cold up there)

Wisconsin Brewbusters ( I think of beer and i think it sounds kinda neat.)

heinztomatoketchup said...

St. Louis Gateways

Tony said...

Milwaukee 40's (beverage)
St. Louis Barge (river boats)
Minnesota Superior (lake Superior)

Kevin Y said...

Just going through the list of names suggested here. Some have been already noted, but here are some names that can't be used:

Minnesota Lakes- similar to Minneapolis Lakers (NBA)
Minnesota 10,000- similar to Minneapolis Lakers (NBA)
Minnesota Wolverines- similar to Minnesota Timberwolves (NBA)
Minneapolis Vikings- similar to Minnesota Vikings (NFL)
St. Louis Royals- similar to Kansas City Royals (MLB)
Milwaukee Alcohol- very negative connotation

Anonymous said...

St. Louis Gateway?

ryanhxc said...

I also agree with the, St.Louis Spirit (Spirit of St.Louis aviation theme), and also the St.Louis Gateway, both work well to me!

Anonymous said...

Detroit Skyline
Chicago Inferno
I agree with Minnesota Lakers

Chris said...

It hasn't been 24 hours and it looks to me like we're already running out of good ideas. Good being the operative word there. To cut down on superfluous posts, let me make a few suggestions.

Read the rules before posting names. If you post an ineligible name, you're just wasting my time and your own.

Don't post a comment just to second someone else's idea. If it follows the rules, it'll be included. You can show your support by voting for it when the time comes.

If you're not sure whether your idea has already been posted and you don't want to read through ALL the suggestions, do a quick search of the page. Almost every browser has some sort of page search feature. Try the menu under Edit > Find. Works wonders.

Also, because of the incredible response in less than a day, I'm going to have to set a new limit on these naming nominations, unfortunately. We're probably averaging about 30 to 40 eligible names for each team. That's absurd.

I'm going to have to set a limit on the number of names available in the selection process. I'm thinking I'll pick the 20 or 25 names that seem to have the best chance at being finalists and you can pick from those.

I hate to do that because I said I'd include them all but I wasn't expecting so many submissions — and just within the first 24 hours. This would be an insane amount of work for me and I just simply don't have the time for it.

llp02 said...

Chicago Tempest - Chicago IS the windy city.
Milwaukee Lagers - Should be obvious.
St. Paul Freeze or Minnesota Voyageurs - Freeze because of the record low for mainland USA, Voyageurs for Grand Portage, and the fur trade.

Cleaned that up for you Chris.

cr3we said...

Detroit Mustangs

Jefferi said...

For those doing the Minnesota Lakers or St. Louis Spirits

***Cannot*** use the name or close variation of any current or past professional sports team within the same market or geographical area.

The LA Lakers started in Minnesota
The Spirit of St. Louis was an old ABA team

Mark said...

Chicago Thirty-Sevens - The year of the city's incorporation
Michigan Superiors - After the largest great lakes
Milwaukee Grange - Named after the agricultural combines
Minnesota Red Rivers - The name of the river valley that divides Minnesota from the Dakotas
St Louis Clarkes - Wordplay off of Louis and Clarke

Anonymous said...

Detroit Riot

Anonymous said...

Chicago Surge - represented by a powerful locomotive surrounded by a whirling airstream, the name surge also typifies the mighty winds that blow thru the city off Lake Michigan

Missouri Madmen - I like the aggressive sound and alliteration, plus I think it represents the area better than St. Louis

Detroit Boxers - named for the boxer (car) engine, and also tribute to Joe Louis who was from the city

Milwaukee Machine - for the machinery and automation utilized in their beermaking history

St. Paul Skyline - I struggled with this one -- too many M names in the division already to use Minneapolis or Minnesota. the city has a distinctive skyline with several skyscrapers which it is known for.

Anonymous said...

"Milwaukee Machine (power tool companies, plus blue-collar history)"

I did not read any of the other submissions before making mine - but I find it great that someone else already came up with the exact same name as me (though different reasoning).

therefore if not acceptable, my alternate name for this team would be Milwaukee Millers (for milling, not for the beer named Miller)

nu said...

Milwaukee Fuel (it's not gasoline, but it still burns pretty good)

Jason New Era said...

Detroit Blackjacks - The casinos in the area that stimulate the crappy economy.

Chicago Wind/Broadway - Either of, (Windy City) (the broadway play)

Milwaukee Tundra - Greenbay Packers reference I believe for their field.

Minneapolis Rapids - Mississippi River reference.

St. Louis Sting - They're state insect is the bee.

Griesmonkey said...

again, i went for similar constanant sounds for team name, sorry if i repeat any former posts:

Michigan Motorheads (motors, michigan, no explanation needed)

Milwaukee Wolfpack (thought it sounded cool)

Chicago Chinook (chinook=wind current. chicago=windy city)

Minnesota Militia (again, sounds decent and can prolly produce a cool logo)

FlyersGuy said...

Chicago Cyclones - "windy city" get it? no? aww.

Detroit Automatics - Gun violence. I'd love to use Michigan Wolverines, but that's illegal.

Milwaukee Tundra - Lambeau Field, baby. (not a Packers fan, but still.

St. Paul Trappers - for the fur trade, as well as an allusion to Nicklas Backstrom's glove hand.

St. Louis Gateway - for the Gateway Arch, gateway to the west. Best I could do.

Damme said...

Rockford Rocketeers

Unknown said...

Minnesota Frostbite

Minnesota Northerns (as in the fish and the northernly location)

Bryan said...

Chicago Scream- Honouring screaming wind through the streets.
Milwakee Masters- Suggests power
St. Louis Twist- Could mean tornadoes or twisting to some jam
Minnesota Maul- What happens to you if you get lost in the forest, via a bear
Detroit Drift- Sounds cool and some people drift through motor city streets

Unknown said...

HNcreature...Just so you know, 4 of your ideas have already been hockey franchises!

The Indinapolis Ice, Cleveland Lumberjacks, and Cincinnati Cyclones were old IHL franchises and the Erie Monsters are a current AHL team!

The only suggestion I have now are the Milwaukee Bradleys. You could use the military vehicle for the logo, but the name references the Bradley/Petit family that helped with so many projects around the area.

Unknown said...

Chicago Gust

Michigan Lakers (Great Lakes, for the one person who isnt going to get it)

Milwaukee Cheeseheads

St. Louis Archers (Clever, no?)

St. Paul Freeze

Anonymous said...

Chicago Red Stars (based on the rich history and heritage depicted on the city flag -- each star represents a major aspect of the city (great chicago fire, fort dearborn, columbian exposition, century of progress)

Detroit Griffons (the ship that the French used when they 'discovered' Detroit as a place for settlement)

Milwaukee -- nothing comes to mind. I did like the suggestion '40s. the NFL and NBA have a team that's just a number. (SF 49ers, Philly 76ers)

Minnesota Sioux (they were the original habitants of the Minneapolis area for several centuries)

St. Louis Misery (it's a play on words for their state, Missouri.. i figure not all names need to have a historical reference to them. some of them just need mean/tough name.. having to face this team would be miserable)



this wouldn't be eligible, but 'Motor City Machine Guns' just sounded coool. (too bad it's already being used though in TNA)

Anonymous said...

Ok all legitimate team names end in "S". Sorry but if the name soesnt end in "s" it sounds and is minor league.

St. Louis Archers is freaking awesome!!! I wish I thought of that!

I was gonna say Milwaukee Brew Masters which would be shortened to just Milwaukee Masters....alliteration and all, but someone beat me too it. Milwaukee has to have something to do with beer.

Detroit Wheels

Minnesota Lumberjacks- Paul Bunyan thing

Chicago Sticky Bandits- Maybe just Bandits....you know Home Alone? Almost all the John Hughes movies happened in Chicago?

J.K.E. said...

Chicago Mob - reflecting the city's history with organized crime.

Detroit Straits - referring to the topography.

Wisconsin Muskies - famous monster fish.

Minnesota Walleyes - I see a huge Wis./Minn. rivalry here.

Missouri Ozarks - what an original name!

Anonymous said...

Chicago Untouchables!

Wisconsin Kielbasa Kings

Anonymous said...

The Milwaukee White-tails - after the most popular game in the state, the white-tailed deer

The Detroit Hunters - Not planned with Milwaukee, but now i see a big rivalry. Named for the area having the 3rd highest number of registered hunters in the U.S.

The Chicago Illinois - XD lame, i know. Named for the Native Illinois (Illiniwek) who gave the state its name, and supported the American Cause during the American REvolution

The Minnesota Waters - Names for all the lakes and bodies of water in Minn. Originally Minnesota Lakers, but decided not to, b/c of the LA Lakers

Agree with J.K.E. - The Missouri Ozarks, after the Ozark Mountains.

llp02 said...

Oh, one more suggestion from me.
Minnesota Ice Men
for one, because it's cold. For two, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Iceman

Anonymous said...

Chicago Wind- Derived from the city's moniker, "The Windy City."
Detroit Tonneau- Named after old fashioned convertible covers, because of the city's famous automotive industry.
Minneapolis Timber- For the abundance of wood sources in the area.
Milwaukee Ninkasi- Named for the Sumerian goddess of beer, because of the city's notable breweries.
St. Louis Archers- I didn't come up with this one, but I thought it had a good double-meaning from the city's famous Gateway Arch.

Reid Foose said...

St. Louis Archers (The arch in St. Louis)
Milwaukee Barley Kings (All the brewing that happens their)
Detroit Motors (All the car business)
Chicago Towers (All the big towers ex. Sears and the amazing architecture)
Minnesota Cougars(Cougars inhabit the state and are dangerous)

Unknown said...

I can only think of two names

Detriot Daredevils
Wisconsin Warriors

I liked the Spirits of St. Louis name

Unknown said...

lol at the Chicago Obamas.

Unknown said...

Chicago Showtime (in reference to the Broadway play)

Unknown said...

St. Louis Aces (Still with the idea of the Spirits of St. Louis but different name) Or can we do spirits aiming for ghost logos?

Silver said...

Chicago SHADOW

Detroit MISSION

Milwaukee MAMMOTHS

Minnesota MOON

St. Louis SCORPIONS




PS. The Spirit of St. Louis is a former basketball team

Unknown said...

Detriot Production or Assembly.

Or the Michigan Auto

Unknown said...

Oh and Detriot Drive cannot be used, that was the name of an early Arena Football team.

Anonymous said...

Bloomington Blizzard
Chicago Breezers
St. Louis Archers
Milwaukee Miles
Detroit Horses

jondp_83 said...

Milwaukee Teutons (Germanic tribe, later the "Teutonic Knights," an order of knights based in Prussia/Germany.)

Detroit Chevalliers (Fr. for knights)
Detroit Templars

St. Louis Madness - just cause it sounds cool

Krach911 said...

Chicago Blizzard
Detroit Roadrunners
Milwaukee Beers
Minnesota Lakers
St. Louis Spirit

GeauxColonels said...

Chicago Ice Gangsters

Michigan Motors

Milwaukee Shoremen

Minnesota Loons

Missouri Earthquakes

Troz32 said...

Chicago Wind
Motor City (Detroit) Speed
Milwaukee Frost
Minnesota Gemini
St. Louis Archers

JayUp88 said...

Detroit Motors

Daniel said...

My apologies if I've violated one of the restrictions (I'm not that versed in team names) or if I copied someone else's idea (I don't have time to read everything posted already.

Chicago Char (reference to the Fire)

Detroit Dynamics (refers to Detroit as a port/auto city with lots of "movement")

Milwaukee Mettle (indirectly refers to courage from alcohol, also a pun on "Metal" in reference to prominent manufacturing sector.) (Metal can replace "Mettle" if desired)

Minnesota Marines (reference to the lakes in the state)

St. Louis Souls (similar term to "Spirit" and reference to the soul music for which the city is famous for)

Unknown said...

Minnesota Millionaires
Minnesota Mustangs
Wisconsin Warriors
Wisconsin Dodgers

BK said...

Chicago Mob
Chicago Gunmen (Although I really want to suggest Hitmen but can't since the fact Calgary's got a team named that)

Milwaukee Alemen
Milwaukee Coasters (Being on the 3rd Coast - Great Lakes - and in reference to the drink coaster)
Brew City Barrelmen

Minnesota RiverRunners (start of the Mississippi is in Minny, plus the river runs between both Minneapolis and Saint Paul)
Twin Cities Terrors

Anders Åke Albin Sandström said...

Chicago Gangster

Michigan Cobras (Shelby)

Milwaukee Icebadgers

Minneapolis Sioux

Missouri Honeybees

Unknown said...

Detroit Vrrroom!
Detroit Rocks

Unknown said...

Minnesota Nords
Minnesota Loons (state bird)
Minnesota Skeeters (mosquitos)

Minnesota Iron or Iron Rangers
(the iron-range in northern MN is quite famous in the area)

Minnesota Berserkers
(reference to MN's viking heritage. Berserker = bear-warrior in old Norse.)

Unknown said...

Chicago Butchers
Chicago Hogs

(reference to Chi-town's other nickname "Hog Butcher for the World"

Unknown said...

St. Louis Riverboat Operators Union Local 105
;)

Unknown said...

St. Louis 9'ers
(the city is named after King Louis IX)

Pace said...

Chicago Godfathers (mafia related of course) or Chicago Jazz (Chicago hasone of the biggest Jazz festivals in the world in August)

Detroit Vettes (reference to the Corvette, the team might be owned by GM)

Milwaukee Hops (hops are used primarily as a flavoring and stability agentin beer)

Minnesota Miracle (eleven of the twenty members of the gold medal 1980 icehockey team coached by Minnesota native Herb Brooks where also fromMinnesota)

St-Louis Archers (it was proposed before but I like it!)

Unknown said...

Detroit Motors

Unknown said...

St.Louis Redbirds (lots of cardinals in St.Lou)

Anonymous said...

Detroit Gears
Chicago Cannons
St. Louis Archers
Milwaukee Wave
Minneapolis Blizzard

Unknown said...

Dearborn:
Draggers
Dragsters
Drag-ons (car theme)

Horns (dear theme)

Unknown said...

...oops I meant 'deer' theme.

Detroit Revs
Detroit Riders (car theme)

Detroit Killaz (it was the murder capital for a long time)

Canis said...

Motor City Monstrosity

Canis said...

Detroit Riders
Detroit Hot Wheels

Chicago Goons
Chicago Boreals

Unknown said...

Chicago Gangsters (Mob is a good pack name but its too short to evoke fear)

Chicago Hitmen

Either way a silouetted figure with a tommy gun should be the Chicago logo, IMHO.

Unknown said...

oh and the suspense is killing me.
I'm really excited about this.

Dan London said...

Chicago Blaze
Detroit Union
Milwaukee Sudz
Minnesota Crustaceans
St. Loius Arch

Unknown said...

Chicago Bricklayers
Detroit Rockers
Wisconsin Lakers
Minnesota Moose
St. Louis Archers

Unknown said...

Milwaukee Buzz (drinking reference and potentially a sweet logo)

Chicago Inferno (b/c the Great Fire)
Chicago Gangsters

Anonymous said...

St. Louis Sentinels (like a guard or gatekeeper)

Detroit Cadillac (Founder of Detroit)

Minnesota Berserks (Viking warrior)

Milwaukee Tribe (Milwaukee is named after Native American decent)

Chicago Burn (For the fire and also burn is a mafia word for murder)

Unknown said...

Missouri Show-Mes
Missouri Thunder (as long as you don't eff up the logo like OKC did Thunder is a good name)

Anonymous said...

I am into teams using their city or states heritage into their names so i chose:

St. Louis Archers (the arch, duh)
Detroit Syndicate (for the blue-collar workers of the city)
Wisconsin Herd (for the state's dairy industry)
Chicago Soul (for the city's contribution to music)
Minneapolis Rapids (for the city's dependency on water)

Clifford Zang said...

St. Louis Spelunkers - For all the caves below St Louis.

Detroit Crystals - Salt crystals from the large salt deposits under the city

Detroit Armory - The US Army has a large arsenal just north of Detroit

Dearborn Edsels - Ford's HQ is in Dearborn

Wisconsin Whalebacks - Freighters used on the Great Lakes.

Wisconsin Woodsmen

Great Lakes Freighters - Not following the naming rules but a major part of the area.

Unknown said...

* Chicago Massacre (from the Valentine's Day Massacre)
* Chicago Dachsunds (offbeat reference to Chicago hot dogs)

* Detroit Dinosaurs (after the fossil fuels required for the products of Detroit's main industry)
* Detroit Arsenal (Detroit was nicknamed the "Arsenal of Democracy" during WW2)

* Milwaukee Foxes (name of Native American tribe nearby, plus connotations of stealth and cunning)
* Milwaukee Gales (from storms on the Great Lakes)
* Milwaukee Walruses (just like the sound of it)
* Milwaukee Millers (after the beer)

* Minnesota Monarchs (after the state butterfly...yes, Minnesota has an official state butterfly)
* Twin City Tornadoes (just like the sound of it...and I know "Twin City" wasn't one of the acceptable appelations for this city, but I'm hoping for an exception)

* St. Louis Voyagers (from Lewis and Clark's expedition)

Unknown said...

Chicago Bulldozers or Bull'dozers

Unknown said...

Chicago Mafia

Detroit Thunderbirds
Michigan Ignition
Detroit Riot

Milwaukee Marauders

Minnesota Legends

St. Louis Stallions

Daniel Coley said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Daniel Coley said...

Detroit Soul
Detroit Turbos

Chicago Towers

Unknown said...

St.Louis Mounds

Anonymous said...

Chicago Red Birds (The cardinal is the state bird of Illinois)
Detroit Mustangs (The Ford Mustang is a proud member of the Ford Car Company based in Detroit, MI)
Milwaukee Warriors (The name Milwaukee, itself is from an Algonquian tribal language used in that area)
Minnesota Lumberjacks (Lumber industry in the forests up there)
St.Louis Sentinels (I like the alliteration of S's)

Cameron said...

- Chicago Crime, Chicago Red Birds, Chicago Gangsters, Chicago Outfit, Chicago Poles, Chicago Scrapers, Chicago Towers, Illinois Irish
- Detroit Ignition, Detroit Engines, Detroit Disiel, Michigan Warriors, Michigan Machines
- Milwaukee Wave
- Minnesota Mere
- St. Louis Explorers, St. Louis Expedition, St. Louis Gateway, St. Louis Saints

Cameron said...

- Detroit Muscle (like muscle cars)

Cameron said...

Moissouri RiverBlades

Unknown said...

Let's not forget the World's Fair in Chicago.

Chicago Shock
Chicago Electricity
Chicago Lightning
Chicago Magnets

(Tesla introduced the US at large to electricity at the opening ceremony)

Chicago Midway
Chicago Thrill

(First Ferris wheel among other amusement park rides)

Unknown said...

Chicago Outfit (Capone's Mob)