Tuesday’s Hot Clicks: Colorado Springs Baseball Team Gets New Name and Flaming S’more Logo

Is the marshmallow not worried that he’s on fire?

Welcome Minor League Baseball’s newest team

Our fun-loving S’more with a winning attitude -- He is spreading Good Vibes all across the land! pic.twitter.com/PMR7L3ojoH

— Rocky Mountain Vibes (@VibesBaseball) November 19, 2018

Colorado Springs’ baseball franchise needed a new name after the Triple-A Sky Sox left town for San Antonio and were replaced by a team in the rookie-level Pioneer League. The franchise landed on “Rocky Mountain Vibes,” complete with several logos that represent summer in Colorado.

I’m on the record as saying I’m not the biggest fan of goofy minor league team names (like the Amarillo Sod Poodles, announced last week), which is why I’m happy to see the new team in Colorado Springs eschewed “noun, animal” format (Yard Goats, Trash Pandas, Dock Spiders, etc.) and went with something simple. Sure, the logo is an anthropomorphic marshmallow who appears unconcerned that he’s on fire, but it’s still not as outrageous as these things go.

We're feelin' those #RMVibes pic.twitter.com/2xrLJY8ReJ

— Rocky Mountain Vibes (@VibesBaseball) November 19, 2018

The people at Brandiose, the marketing firm responsible for this rebrand and almost any other you see in minor league sports, say they’re trying to appeal to kids and help teams get some cheap publicity. The goofier the name, the more likely they’re able to succeed in that regard. But I think rebrands like the Vibes and the Gwinnett Stripers are just as effective at projecting that fun minor league atmosphere as goofy ones like the Binghamton Rumble Ponies. Or maybe I just need to accept that eventually every minor pro sports team in America will have a name that sounds like the product of SB Nation’s random team name generator.

So that was fun

It appears I picked the wrong night to hang out with two friends who don’t like sports and just half pay attention to Monday Night Football on the bar TV.

Rams-Chiefs was so fast-paced and high-scoring that “shootout” seems like a wholly insufficient way to describe it. The two teams combined for 105 points in a 54–51 win, eight points shy of the record for highest-scoring NFL game ever. 

Major props to Virgil Van Dijk

Captain @VirgilvDijk; leading by example 👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/HrH2UhfeOk

— OnsOranje (@OnsOranje) November 20, 2018

Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk was seen embracing the referee after his team’s 2–2 draw against Germany. He explained after the game that the official told him his mother had recently died. 

“That man broke down, stood with tears in his eyes because he had just lost his mother,” van Dijk said after. “I wished him strength and said he had refereed well. It’s a small thing, but I hope it helped him.”

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Around the sports world

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What a game-saving stop by Carey Price

The Caps went on to win in overtime, though.

Kyrie is not human

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I think most football coaches could tell you what they had for breakfast on Aug. 14, 2003

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Pretty much sums up Washington’s hopes for the season

Not sports

The rapper 6ix9ine faces federal RICO charges. ... A secret recording sheds new light on the Philadelphia GoFundMe scam. ... Avengers: Infinity Waris coming to Netflix on Christmas.

Dropping 84 floors in an elevator isn’t limited to Disney rides

An Italian song in complete gibberish that’s supposed to sound like English

This movie looks like wet garbage

A good song

Email dan.gartland@simail.com with any feedback or follow me on Twitter for approximately one half-decent baseball joke per week. Bookmark this page to see previous editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. By popular request I’ve made a Spotify playlist of the music featured here. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.