Just Announce It Already!

In a world exclusive where HBIC is the only news source to have the breaking story, the new Las Vegas NHL franchise name has been found! After Bill Foley's radio interview on Friday where he stated, "[T]he team will be something Knights. K-n-i-g-h-t-s," HBIC is proud to announce that the Foley group has brought on Danish building block maker Lego as a partner in the founding of the Las Vegas Lego Knights! While this may come as a surprise to most, the "Lego Knights" was pretty much the only Knights-based name not trademarked by the Foley group yet, so it makes total sense in that they'd need Lego's permission to use it!

Ok, so obviously you're seeing through this satirical look at the Las Vegas franchise's continual teasers about the team name, but the names that have been trademarked include the Golden Knights, Silver Knights, Desert Knights, and Sand Knights. On top of that, Foley also dropped a couple of hints about the jerseys and colour scheme for the new franchise.

"The colors will be reflective of the name," he stated. "It will have certain colors that will be reflective of the Las Vegas environment, like Red Rock, that red color."

While there isn't a "Red Rock" color on the Pantone scale, there should be some concern about the Vegas team looking somewhat like the red Coyotes, also known as PMS 202 and seen to the right. I have a feeling this "Red Rock" colour will be lighter in tone than PMS 202, but let's take into consideration the other colours that will look good alongside PMS 202. A yellow sand colour? Yes. Silver? Still good, but less so than the sand colour. Gold? No. Please, leave gold out of this equation. Since white and black will most likely also be used for accent and/or background colours, I'm eliminating them as primary colours.

The one name that Foley did confirm that the team won't have is the Black Knights. This was pretty well-known for a while now as the Army wasn't going to allow someone else to tread on their trademark, and we already know that the OHL's London Knights were not going to allow the Las Vegas franchise to simply be the "Knights". We should consider that the team trademarked the "Red Hawks" name, and we know they will wear a "Red Rock" colour. Could they be called the "Red Knights"?

Foley stated in the interview that he had intended to announce the name of the franchise prior to the NHL exhibition games on October 7 and 8, but that timeline won't be met as the logo undergoes "some refinement". And this is where I start shaking my head.

Look, I get that Foley wants to keep the team in the news and generate interest and hype for the new franchise, but I'm starting to sour on these games he's playing. First, we found out he trademarked multiple names of which most were ploys to misdirect media and fans. Now, we get the news that this team will be a Knights-based name and will wear some shade of red, but Foley won't reveal anything but crumbs.

Just announce the damned name already!

I could care less if the jerseys, colours, and logo are ready for the public's eyes, but announce the name already. In fact, you'll probably generate more interest with all of the graphic designers and amateur mock-up artists trying to guess your logo, jerseys, and colours! You could even delay the unveiling for some time to get everything right! Imagine showing off the new team's identity at the NHL All-Star Game this season!

Enough with the teasers. Enough with the fake names and fake trademarks. Enough with all the misdirection. Just announce the name or keep quiet until you're ready to announce the name, Mr. Foley. While it's good to have people interested in your brand, it's ridiculous to keep dragging this out.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!