Nickname Forcing

Hello assembled gentlemen and lady, I'm Brad and I am here to discuss a recent outbreak of that most horrednous disease, Nickname Forcing. This disease is at times known as Chris Bermanism or ESPNitis. Known sufferers are Linda Cohn, Stuart Scott and the namesake of the disease, Chris Berman.

The danger of this scourge is that it leads to a bunch of grown men (and woman) sounding like nothing more than a bunch of junior high kids, trying desperately to be cool. While it has been established that there is nothing cooler than a nickname that just seems to flow (ie. The Wizard of Oz) it has also been established that nothing sounds so stupid as a nickname that is forced (ie. Curtis "My Favorite" Martin).

I plead with you, the kind citizens of LGT, to not fall into the plague of ESPN with the rest of the world. Do not succumb to the pressure to give Ben Francisco a nickname, do not call Grady anything but Grady, don't be Linda Cohn and call Victor Martinez "V-Mart." I pray of you, let us rise above the fray. Let us call players by the names that their parents argued over for so long before bestowing them.

I leave it to you, my friends, to keep this a place free of this horrific malady. Only you can prevent Nickname Forcing.