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Former Arizona Coyotes franchise has fans vote on team name

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Former Arizona Coyotes franchise has fans vote on team name


The former Arizona Coyotes franchise, now the Utah Hockey Club, has chosen three names for fans to vote on for their permanent team name.

Not making the list is the fan favorite “Yeti” or “Yetis” name. The Utah Hockey Club filed for a trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, according to The Associated Press, that was rejected on Jan. 9. The “Yeti” name in relation to the hockey team would have confused the majority of people with the Yeti brand. Thus, Yeti and the Utah Hockey Club could not reach an agreement of coexistence with branding and merchandising.

The final three names up for consideration were Utah Mammoth, Utah Hockey Club and Utah Wasatch.

After Wednesday night’s first day of voting, Utah decided that the Wasatch name was not as popular to the crowd as they thought.

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On Thursday, the team announced that they would be switching the option of Utah Wasatch to Utah Outlaws after the first round of voting.

For the next three home games (voting started on Wednesday night against Pittsburgh) fans at the Delta Center can vote on their favorite name on an iPad. The next three home games are on Jan. 31 versus Columbus, Feb. 2 versus St. Louis and Feb. 4 versus Philadelphia.

The initial thought to use the Wasatch name was to still get across the idea behind the fans’ wishes of the Yeti, a mythical creature that lives up in the Himalayan mountains. The Wasatch Mountains run along the east side of the Salt Lake Valley.

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“We wanted to honor this idea people had for a mythical snow creature like the Yeti and bring a very Utah-centric approach to it,” Smith Entertainment Group executive Mike Maughan said in an article by AP’s John Coon. “Because we have the Wasatch Mountains, because we have the Wasatch Front, we have so many different iterations or ways we can do it. We wanted to honor the sentiment of one of those top names of the last iteration (of fan voting) while also including a Utah-centric version of it.”

A unique feature is that when fans click to vote on their favorite name, it will reveal logos, jerseys and branding for that particular choice.

The permanent team name will be revealed ahead of the Utah Hockey Club’s 2025-26 home opener.





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Cardinals Must Answer This Offseason Question

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Cardinals Must Answer This Offseason Question


The Arizona Cardinals are at a crossroad in their rebuild process. When stripping a team down to its bones, one can afford a year or two of missed playoffs, some poor performances and general disappointment – but Arizona must face this question going forward.

The Cardinals have yet to make a signing or trade for a genuine, impact player during this regime. That’s understandable, considering the complete and utter teardown that had to occur in year one of the rebuild.

But as Arizona creeps ever closer to playoff contention, they won’t be able to do it without some top-tier talent.

Is Ossenfort (and the rest of the front office) capable of luring top-end talent to the desert?

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It’s not necessarily a question as a result of Arizona missing out on marquee free agents, but rather an uncertainty that derives from a muscle that has yet to be flexed.

It was clear in 2023 that the Cardinals were more inclined to part with talented players than sign them. In 2024, the strategy was all about raising the floor of play, adding depth, and bringing in developmental talent through the draft.

Regardless of whether or not these free agents were successful (and some weren’t), those types of moves are, intentionally or not, a plea for fans to trust the process, rather than giving them something to get riled up over.

Names like Justin Jones, Bilal Nichols, Sean Murphy-Bunting and Mack Wilson Sr. headlined 2024’s free agent acquisitions, to varying levels of success.

Marvin Harrison Jr. and Darius Robinson were added in the first round of the draft to be impact players, though neither truly played up to the expectations laid on them as rookies.

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So now, caught up in the swirling rumors of free agency, Ossenfort has his work cut out for him. Can he bring a top-end talent to the desert? Is there enough in place to lure players looking to compete for playoff victories and Super Bowls to the Cardinals?

Ossenfort has already shown he’s willing to open the checkbook, but there’s a line between overpaying to raise the floor of a group and dumping ill-advised salary into aging stars, a method all too familiar to Cardinals fans from the prior regime.

But so far, Ossenfort hasn’t had to make a huge splash move. That’s not to say he should go all-in on the first star that enters free agency, but Cardinals fans have already ceded two seasons of losing to trust in the process.

Now, the process has to deliver results, and adding a star is the extra mile Arizona needs. While Ossenfort has arguably done enough to justify confidence in the third-year GM, he needs to assert himself as an executive capable of pulling the best of the best.

A trade for Maxx Crosby or Myles Garrett, or even a free agent signing like Josh Sweat or Milton Williams (albeit not superstar-level players) would do wonders to instill faith in this fanbase, while helping prove that this rebuild isn’t a never-ending slate of middling talent and unproven rookies.

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So while there’s plenty of time to make a smart, well-fitting move to raise the level of this team’s play, the patience clock is already ticking down, and Arizona cannot sit and watch elite talent sign elsewhere without putting up a fight.



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Why Arizona and a leading Big 12 analyst thought late foul call for BYU was incorrect

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Why Arizona and a leading Big 12 analyst thought late foul call for BYU was incorrect


Was this BYU basketball’s version of the Utah footbal game?

Not quite.

But another late, controversial foul call allowed these Cougars to pull off a signature win during the stretch run of the season.

This time, it was BYU men’s basketball going into the McKale Center and pulling out a 96-95 win over Arizona. The Cougars were down 95-94 with 13 seconds to play when head coach Kevin Young dialed up a look for his best player, Richie Saunders.

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Saunders originally wanted a three at the top of the key, but it was taken away. He drove it to his right, pivoted a few times and then threw up a shot. Official Tony Padilla called a foul on Arizona that drew skeptics.

Saunders knocked down both free throws to give the Cougars a win.

Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd disagreed with the call.

“It is a bad call. I mean, whatever. What am I going to say? You hate for a game to be decided by that,” he said. “The guy is pivoting, pivoting, pivoting. Threw his shoulder into him, throws up a shot and falls down. A foul with two seconds to go.”

But Llloyd followed up by saying he didn’t think that’s why Arizona lost.

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“I mean it’s the Big 12. That’s what I’m told. The guy who called it is one of the best refs. So we got to live with it,“ he continued. ”But take a step back, they scored 93 points up until that point on our home court. That is the problem. Me, my staff, and my players, that’s the problem. Not the officials. It would have been great to steal a victory if they don’t call that. But don’t put yourself in your position.”

Saunders said he wasn’t necessarily looking for a foul, but didn’t have anywhere to go.

“There is only so much time on the clock and trying to figure out how in the world I’m going to make something happen. Lucky he bit on the shot fake and I was fortunate enough to get to the line,” he said. “I practice that since I was a little kid in the church gym. That is what I practice.”

Young didn’t comment on the foul call, but did say he changed his late-game approach from the last time BYU was in that spot. It was on the road at Utah, where it ultimately lost in part because it didn’t get a clean look on the final possession.

“We were in a similar situation at Utah and I kicked myself for not having the right thing dialed up. So I spent a lot of mental time on that particular situation,” Young said. “The play broke down but we wanted to go to Richie. And he was able to make a play. That is what you have to do in that situation. Plays are great, but players got to make plays.”

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One of the Big 12’s most prominent television voices, Fran Fraschilla, disagreed with the call.

“If that foul call was made during the NCAA Tournament, there would be a national uproar. Let’s put it another way, BYU’s Richie Saunders, who should be First Team All-Big 12, is a very astute player,” he wrote on social media.





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Arizona Diamondbacks game report: Ketel Marte flyout clears the bases — with some help

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Arizona Diamondbacks game report: Ketel Marte flyout clears the bases — with some help


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Final score: Rockies 9, Diamondbacks 3

What stood out on Saturday at Salt River Fields:

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The Diamondbacks cleared the bases on a sacrifice fly: With the bases loaded in the fifth, DH Ketel Marte hit a drive to the warning track, where it was caught by Rockies CF Sam Hilliard. Not only was it deep enough for SS Jordan Lawlar to tag from third, but 2B Blaze Alexander raced all the way home from second, taking advantage of Hilliard’s apparent lack of urgency in getting the ball back to the infield. Alexander and CF Jorge Barrosa, who started at first, both scored easily when Rockies SS Ezequiel Tovar uncorked a wild throw home.

“Those are the little things that we talk about,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “That’s what we do here. That’s DBacks baseball. To say I’m surprised? No. It was a lot of fun to watch.”

LHP Jose Castillo is hurt again: For the second time in as many springs, Castillo came off the mound with an injury during a Cactus League game. A year ago, Castillo was positioning himself for a spot on the Opening Day roster with a solid performance in the Cactus League before a line drive off the pitching hand ended his bid.  On Saturday, he threw just five pitches in relief before exiting with left adductor tightness.

Castillo, 29, has pitched parts of four seasons in the majors, all with the San Diego Padres. In camp on a minor league deal, he is competing for a chance to be the third lefty in the bullpen behind LHPs A.J. Puk and Joe Mantiply.

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Next game, Sunday, Feb. 23: Diamondbacks LHP Tommy Henry vs. Mariners RHP Emerson Hancock, 1:10 p.m., Peoria Sports Complex.



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