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Richmond expands name-the-team contest

After a less-than-enthusiastic reception for the five finalists in the Richmond name-the-team contest, the Eastern League franchise opened it up for a sixth wild card.

After a less-than-enthusiastic reception for the five finalists in the Richmond name-the-team contest, the Eastern League franchise opened it up for a sixth wild card.

The decision to add a wild card was also spurred by a posting from sports business reporter Darren Rovell; as a result, club is partnering with cnbc.com and will accept entries for a sixth name from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. today, with the wild-card winner being selected October 8.

"The plan was to go with the original five,” said Richmond Professional Baseball Chief Executive Manager Chuck Domino. “After being contacted unexpectedly by cnbc.com, we decided that the opportunity which was presented for national exposurefor the team and the city of Richmond in exchange for adding one more name to the mix was too great to pass up.”

Let's hope the fans can come up with a better name than Flatheads, Flying Squirrels, Hambones, Rhinos or Rock Hoppers; we're guessing Virginians/Vees will not be part of the mix this time around, either.

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