In Medical Terms, Name Is Deceased

They may play football like wild and crazy guys, but they won’t be known as psychos in Missouri.

After complaints about insensitivity, the owner of Springfield’s new semipro football team announced that the franchise won’t be calling itself the Psychos when players take the field July 18.

General Manager Pat Osborne said some people in the medical community didn’t like the name of the team. In announcing the change, he said that the team could get stuck with merchandise that has the wrong name printed on it.

The new nickname? The Rage.

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Trivia time: Who holds the Dodger record for most RBIs in an inning?

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The new Nick? Bob Kravitz of the Rocky Mountain News on the Denver Nuggets’ acquisition of Nick Van Exel:

“[Dan] Issel [Nugget general manager] insisted that all the reports he’s received suggest Van Exel is a changed young man who handles authority with much greater aplomb. ‘And you have to love his competitiveness, the way he hits big shots,’ Issel said. ‘He’s an all-star guard who we’re going to build around.’ ”

Kravitz wonders, however, why Jerry West, the “best talent evaluator in the league,” was willing to get rid of his point guard.

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Turncoat: Scotland is in mourning at its team’s World Cup exit, but there is one member of the Tartan Army who is celebrating.

One “Braveheart” of a very different kind in Glasgow placed an $8,300 bet on Morocco beating Scotland at odds of 3-1, according to a betting establishment spokesman.

“The man now has $33,000 to collect, if he’s brave enough to admit to placing the bet,” he said.

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Novel trampoline: Former Ohio State basketball player Damon Stringer pleaded no contest Wednesday to criminal damaging for jumping up and down on a man’s car after a collision.

Stringer was fined $100 in Columbus and was given a 30-day jail sentence, which was suspended provided he is not convicted of a crime within the next year.

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Nourishment: From Track & Field News: “The Journal of American College Health reports college athletes drink 78% more alcohol than non-athletes among the student population.

“London marathon winner Antonio Pinto drank two bottles of wine to celebrate his 27:15.76 PR [personal record] at 10,000 earlier this year.”

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Looking back: On this day in 1939, Brooklyn and Boston played for 23 innings and more than five hours before settling for a 2-2 tie at Braves Field.

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Trivia answer: Dusty Baker, with five on Sept. 13, 1977, against San Diego.

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And finally: A California Highway Patrol car with lights flashing pulled over a number of drivers Wednesday in Sonoma.

NASCAR driver Rusty Wallace was handing out tickets to good, but startled drivers--for this weekend’s Winston Cup race at Sears Point Raceway.