Just say the Nickname, Nothing Else

"Bengals on the two yard line. Dalton takes the snap, hands it off to the Lawfirm, BenJarvus Green Ellis who punches it it for another Cincinnati."

While there are many issues with the quote above, there's only one that truly irks me.

No it's not the fact that Dalton is a 6'2'' redheaded quarterback or that Cincinnati actually scored a touchdown. Instead, it's the unnecessary addition of saying BenJarvus Green Ellis' nickname if you're just going to say his name anyway.

Isn't the point of nicknames to shorten the player's original name? When was the last time you heard, "Ben Roethlisberger Big Ben throws for another interception!" The answer? Go head think about it. Never. Because his nick name isn't Ben Roethlisberger Big Ben. It's Big Ben. The reason you say the nickname is because it's associated with him. Saying both is completely redundant. If you have to say his nickname along with his name, then the nickname isn't worthy enough.

Now many not every announcer does this, but so far this year, that's all I've heard when they refer to BenJarvus Green Ellis. Either stick with the nickname or drop it completely. People are going to start thinking it's part of his name, which is already long enough as it is.

Imagine if we all talked like that. "I'm going to the ATM Automated Teller Machine to take out some dough money so I can get a Whopper burger from BK Burger King."

The sad part is, the Lawfirm is a great nickname. It's short, sweet, and witty. Whoever gave it to him has a pat on the back coming to them, but only if analysts and announcers use it in the right context.

While I'm on my nickname rant, here's a few other examples that drive me up a wall. The Lakers, The Jazz and Boomer. There's no Lakes in Los Angeles, Utah isn't known for their Jazz, and there's like 10 people in sports nicknamed boomer. That includes Chris Berman, David Wells and Norman Esiason. All three of which are nicknamed Boomer.

To relax myself from this rant, here's some memorable one and only nicknames that also don't need a name attached to it when it's said:

The Bambino, The Bus, He Hate Me, Magic, Ochocinco, Coach K, Big Ben, Sweetness, The Big Tuna, The Golden Bear, The Walrus, Boom Boom, The Great One, Sid the Kid, The Flying Tomato, Big Papi, Donnie Baseball, The Freak, Kung Fu Panda, Mr. October, Yaz, Teddy Ballgame, Stan the Man. Honestly I could go on and one but then when would I make my point.