There are certain monikers that stick with a team/player, and every time you hear some one utter the phrase, it makes you think of them and them alone. One of the more famous ones, "America's Team" has been associated with the Dallas Cowboys since 1979, and one that's unmistakable. Well that is until ESPN gets their hands on it. The "Leader" posted an article yesterday titled "The Great Debate: 'America's Team'", and is trying to make cases for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Green Bay Packers and New England Patriots (!), as the heirs to the title. Seriously....

It's time to rescind the Cowboys' honor and turn it over to the Patriots. The Cowboys are known for wanton spending and attention-mongering with zero results. The Patriots are widely regarded as the NFL's most efficiently run organization. Their owner, Robert Kraft, was a season-ticket holder who aspired to buy the team one day -- and did. The American dream and capitalism all in one.

What's more, the Patriots were formed in Boston, a.k.a. "The Cradle of Liberty" and crucible for the American Revolution.

They were an original member of the American Football League, which is celebrating its golden anniversary this year.

They changed their name to New England to reflect their meaning to a region where Pilgrims landed. Some teams, such as Minnesota and Arizona, claim a state. The Patriots claim six.

The Patriots wear red, white and blue. When they score, Minutemen line up behind the end zone and fire their muskets into the air.

They're loved. They're despised. They give a nation of sports fans plenty to talk about. They win.

They're called the Patriots, for crying out loud.

What's more American than all of that?

One of the more obvious annoyances within the Sports media world, is Chris Berman's nickname schtick. People call him out on it all the time, but when Berman was added to ESPN's coverage of the Masters last year, he chose to keep it in his arsenal. And according to Neil Best at Newsday, he's not going to be changing anytime soon....

"But that doesn’t mean it’s a Caddyshack or even Tin Cup, which is a great film. Everything is treated with respect. It’s within the moment of golf. There will be a few nicknames. But it’s while they’re lining up a putt. It’s not distracting. You won’t hear it as the ball is halfway to the cup.

"Will you hear Ground Control to David Toms? You hear it once a year, not five times a year, once a year. Will you hear me intro Roger as Chocolate Maltbie? Sure. But once. Diet Koch? Sure, when it’s in the spirit of what I’ve done in my career for 30 years. Nothing has changed.

"In golf, it’s less. But pull up a chair and enjoy the hour or half hour or three hours you can spend with us because we make it enjoyable that a couple of friends might be talking about something that you the viewer and Roger and I and everyone on the course care about. That’s all."

The White-Johnson vs. Williams-Stewart "Smash and Dash" nickname debate just HAD to be figured out, and there is only one show that can bring them together to do it. The Best Damn Sports Show Period! Here is the rather funny exchange from last night....

Unless you're a DC Sports fan or an NBA head you probably don't know who Oleksiy Pecherov is (foreign, white, tall). Nick "The City" Young had a pretty good game going 5-6 for 12 points and Pecherov added nine in a win over the Knicks, but that was not the highlight of the night.

Nick has gave a new nickname to the 7-footer in the postgame and I don't think I've ever heard a better one for a 7-foot white guy....

Gordon Edes of the Boston Globe mentioned in today's Red Sox Notebook that while Japanese stars Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Matsui have powerful nicknames (he actually used "the Monster" for Matsuzaka, which is surprising), Sox reliever Hideki Okajima has been given nothing by the mainstream media.

Thankfully, Sox fans are all over it - Edes mentions "a reader (and baseball blogger) named Peter Naboicheck", who began referring to Okajima as "Darkman" awhile back, after the pitcher made some comments about being perfectly willing to play in Matsuzaka's shadow. (Fortunately, Edes doesn't actually mention the name of Peter's blog - you know, it's not like anyone might actually like to read any of his work or anything. Why would we want to do that? Thank God for Google.)

Now that Okajima is actually pitching very well, which makes it that much easier for Terry Francona to limit his use of Jonathan Papelbon (anyone else notice that the Sox have very quietly reinstituted the old "closer-by-committee" model? And that it's working?), he needs a good nickname, and "Darkman" fits the bill perfectly. It's easy to say, easy to type, and (if I remember correctly), the dude in the movie was a badass. Three-for-three.

Edes dismisses the nickname about three seconds after using it to make his point, but I think it's got long-term potential. If nothing else, it's going on my list of original Red Sox nicknames. Thanks, Peter.

If you'd like to see the source of Peter's inspiration for the nickname, you can go here or here. The first one is short, but it's in German (which somehow makes it better). The second is almost 2 1/2 minutes, but at least it's in English.

(Photo: SawxBlog)

(Sorry if the three Red Sox posts in a row bothers anyone. I'll try to do better tomorrow...um, later today.)