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New Normal team anounces finalists for name

The new Normal (Ill.) Frontier League team slated to begin play next season will most likely have a very interesting name and potential celebrity tie-in (think Stephen Colbert), if the finalists are any indication.The list of finalists for the name-the-team contest in Normal (Ill.) has been released, and they run the gamut from shameless to intriguing. They are: Nutz, Nighthawks, Cornbelters or Normal Coal Bears.

We’re pretty sure Nighthawks is numbner four in this list, so we won’t spend a lot of time on it. Cornbelters is nice, too, in a farm-implement kinda way.

The other two, however, are intriguing and shameless. Nutz would be a pretty cool reference to Beer Nuts, which hail from Normal. Perhaps we’ve spent too many nights at Stand Up Frank’s, but a team making a reference to our favorite beer accompaniment sounds cool.

The final name, the Coal Bears, is shameless. It’s a direct appeal to Comedy Central host Stephen Colbert, whose rabid audience will pretty much do what he wants. (Ask NASA, whose poll for an honorary name for the International Space Station was hijacked by Colbert Nation.) The name of Coal Bears is indeed shameless — but fairly brilliant nevertheless.

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