The Score: What's in a sports team's name?

The Washington Wizards' new owner, Ted Leonsis, is reported to be thinking of changing the team's name.

The Wizards used to be called the Bullets but changed their name in 1997. The previous owner, Abe Pollin, did not want people thinking of guns and gun violence when they saw his team.

The question of whether the Wizards should change their name to the Bullets has me thinking about what makes a good pro sports team name.

I like team names that make you think about the history of the city where the team plays. The Pittsburgh Steelers is a cool name for a football team because Pittsburgh is a place where much of the country's steel was made. The San Francisco football team is called the 49ers because thousands of people rushed out west the year after gold was discovered in California in 1848.

The Houston baseball and basketball teams are called Astros and Rockets because Houston is a center of the U.S. space program. If you have been to Colorado you know why their baseball team is called the Rockies. Those mountains are big!

That's why I think it's kind of silly to name a sports team after some animal. After all, how many Penguins are there in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania? Or Bears in Chicago, Illinois? Or Tigers in Detroit, Michigan? I guess about the same number as Bobcats in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Sometimes when a team moves, the team name just doesn't fit the new home. The Jazz was a great name for an NBA basketball team in New Orleans. That city is famous for its swinging music. But the Utah Jazz? Utah is not known for cool, swing or bebop.

Minnesota is "the Land of 10,000 Lakes." It made sense to call its basketball team the Lakers when they were in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The team moved to Los Angeles for the 1960-61 season and kept the name even though L.A. is in a desert.

Years ago, the Baltimore football team was called the Colts because Maryland is known for racehorses. Although the team is now in Indianapolis, Indiana, they are still the Colts. But Indianapolis is famous for the Indianapolis 500 and auto racing.

I think Baltimore's current football team has the coolest name, the Ravens. They are named after a famous (and scary) poem, "The Raven," written more than 165 years ago by Edgar Allan Poe, who died in Baltimore.

So should the Wizards change their name back to the Bullets?

It won't make much difference. Another famous writer, William Shakespeare, once wrote in his play, "Romeo and Juliet":

What's in a name?

That which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet.

Although I don't think the Washington Roses would be a very good name for a basketball team.

Fred Bowen is the author of 15 sports books for kids. His latest book is "Throwing Heat."