Erie Seawolves will be renamed the Moon Mammoths after being picked for rebranding by John Oliver
NEW YORK (AP) — The Detroit Tigers' Double-A Erie Seawolves will be renamed the Erie Moon Mammoths after being picked by John Oliver of HBO's 'Last Week Tonight.'
Oliver devoted a May 4 segment to names and promotions of minor league baseball teams, announcing: 'We are willing to use all of our resources and stupidity to give one Minor League Baseball team a total rebrand. We will give you a new team name, a new mascot. We will even throw you a theme night. It will be personalized and it will be bespoke.'
Two weeks later, Oliver selected Erie from among 47 team submissions. Oliver said the northwestern Pennsylvania team had given 11 reasons it should be picked, including the team had pioneered cotton candy hot dogs and pointed out 'The SeaWolves play baseball nowhere near the sea.'
Oliver announced Sunday he had chosen Moon Mammoths, using Bob Costas' voice as narrator of a promotional video introducing the moniker.
The name was inspired by the 1991 discovery of woolly mammoth remains by George Moon, a Summit Township resident who found a bone while scuba diving in Lake Pleasant, about 8 miles south of Erie. The mammoth remains are housed in the State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg.
Erie, which has won the past two Eastern League championships, will be renamed the Moon Mammoths for games on July 19, Aug. 19, Sept. 12 and Sept. 13.
Major League Baseball said Monday the team will wear jerseys with a rising moon with the team's name across the chest, a moon on sleeves and a patch with a woolly mammoth wearing a space helmet.
Oliver is expected to attend the July 19 game against Chesapeake, called a 'Mammoth Fun' night. The first 1,000 ticketed fans will receive a Moon Mammoths squishy toy and there will be postgame fireworks. George Moon was also invited to attend.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
recommended
in this topic
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox Sports
37 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
Angels bring outfielder Jorge Soler off injured list for series against Braves, his former team
Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — The Los Angeles Angels reinstated outfielder Jorge Soler from the injured list before Tuesday night's game against the Atlanta Braves. Soler had been out since June 18 with lower-back inflammation. Utility player Scott Kingery was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake. Soler was expected to return as the Angels' primary right fielder. His return comes just in time for a visit to his former team. The Angels acquired Soler from the Braves on Oct. 31, 2024. Soler is hitting .207 with eight homers and 26 RBIs in 237 at-bats. The Braves announced a rotation change for the series. Rookie Didier Fuentes, who is 0-2 with a 10.80 ERA in his first two starts, had his start originally scheduled for Tuesday night pushed back to Wednesday. Right-hander Grant Holmes (4-7, 3.70) moved up one day to start the opening game of the series. ___ AP MLB: recommended
Fox Sports
42 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
From Russia to Israel: Meet the Nets' new international draft class
Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The wall across from the elevator leading to the Brooklyn Nets' practice court features a map of the world, where the home countries of their players and executives are noted. Whoever has to update it had plenty of work after the NBA draft. The Nets had five first-round picks and they scoured the globe to find the players for them. There's a Russian who played professionally in Spain before heading to college in Utah. Guards from France and Israel. Two players who represented Israeli national teams. 'To be honest, it's fantastic the way it just worked out,' said Sean Marks, the team's general manager, who is from New Zealand. 'I mean, if you think about it, the game of basketball is such a worldly game, played all over the globe. You've heard about how the rest of the world is catching up to one of America's games. I won't comment on that. What I will say is there's talent everywhere and that's our job, is to bring in the best talent regardless of race, ethnicity and so forth.' The new players were introduced Tuesday at the Nets' practice facility. The class includes No. 8 pick Egor Demin, a Russian guard who spent a season at BYU; No. 19 Nolan Traore of France; No. 26 Ben Saraf from Israel; No. 27 Danny Wolf from Michigan and No. 22 Drake Powell from North Carolina, whose rights Brooklyn acquired from Atlanta in a trade that still must be completed. Some of them knew each other long before they sat at the same long podium along with Marks and coach Jordi Fernandez — who is from Spain and coached Canada's Olympic team. Saraf and Wolf had practiced together before playing for Israeli teams. Demin, who spent time with Real Madrid's second team before college, knew all about Traore after he poured in 45 points against Barcelona in the semifinals of an under-18 tournament before Demin led his squad to victory in the championship game. 'That was really scary for us to get to this game knowing who he is,' Demin said. Now the Nets will see what they can all do together, though it might not look pretty with so many young players coming to a team that went 26-56 last season. Marks said the only expectation will be that the players go out and compete. 'There is a learning curve for sure, there's no question in that,' Marks said. 'You're looking at four 19-year-olds up here, so I have two boys myself older than them. So that just puts it in perspective, like just how young this group is and to me that's exciting. When you see the continuity we can have with this group and how they can build and how they can flourish over the next three, four, five years, it's going to be exciting.' Brooklyn is the most populous of New York's five boroughs and by itself would be one of the five biggest cities in the U.S. It features large Jewish and Russian communities, so Saraf, Wolf and Demin quickly could become fan favorites. 'It was amazing. Got a lot of messages and a lot of love from the Jewish community here,' Saraf said. 'So it's going to be really exciting and I appreciate all the love I'm getting like in the streets and from the fans.' Wolf felt some of the same love with one of the loudest cheers of draft night in Barclays Center, the Nets' home arena, when his selection was announced. He credits his time playing for Israel in the under-20 European championships for a big jump in his game that made him a viable NBA prospect. The big man spent his first two seasons at Yale, not playing much the first one, then finished strong at Michigan after transferring. 'I think my basketball journey's definitely been up and down,' Wolf said. 'It took definitely a few different steps to get where I am today.' He, Powell and eventually Demin, while playing on NCAA Tournament teams, were somewhat easy to find. It took a little more work for Traore and Saraf, so Marks credited the Nets' scouting staff for identifying them. 'Basically they tell me where to go and that's where I go,' Marks said. ___ AP NBA: recommended
Fox Sports
an hour ago
- Fox Sports
Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova bids farewell to 'the best tournament'
Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova waved goodbye to her favorite Grand Slam tournament Tuesday. The 35-year-old Czech player, who won at the All England Club in 2011 and 2014, plans to leave the tour after the U.S. Open, which ends in September. Her Wimbledon farewell was a 6-3, 6-1 loss to 10th-seeded Emma Navarro of the United States on No. 1 Court. 'This place holds the best memories I could wish for,' an emotional Kvitova said in an on-court interview that is usually granted to the match winner. "I never dreamed of winning a Wimbledon and I won it twice. This is something very special. 'I will miss Wimbledon for sure,' she continued. 'I will miss tennis, I will miss you fans. But I'm ready for the next chapter in life as well, and I can't wait to be back as a member.' Kvitova, who accepted a wild-card invitation, missed last year's tournament while on maternity leave. The 24-year-old Navarro said Kvitova has been 'an incredible player and obviously won this tournament twice, and then had a kid and came back, which is definitely an inspiring story from her end.' In 2011, Kvitova beat Maria Sharapova 6-3, 6-4 in the final. Three years later, Kvitova earned her second trophy, defeating Eugenie Bouchard 6-3, 6-0 in the title match. 'I think it's the best tournament in the world," she said. The U.S. Open, she assures, will be her last one. 'I am sure,' Kvitova said, noting it's not just the toll on her body. "The motivation, it's different than it was before." ___ More AP tennis: in this topic
