Mississippi Surge: New Hockey Team Gets Controversial Name

by WKRG Staff/The Associated Press

Published: Wed, June 17, 2009 - 5:16 pm CST Last Updated: Thu, June 18, 2009 - 3:25 pm CST

BILOXI, Miss. (AP) - "Mississippi Surge" has been selected as
the name for the Coast Hockey LLC Southern Professional Hockey League team playing at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum, the team said Wednesday. The team will begin play in October.

"With the resurgence of the Mississippi Gulf Coast and the
power that we have as a community, we feel that this name matches
our strength and courage," said Steffon Walby, Surge general
manager and head coach.

Some residents are upset over the name. They say "surge" may be insensitive to those affected by Hurricane Katrina's storm surge back in the 2005.

The team also introduced its logo and colors, a thunderbolt
motif in blue and gold.

"We feel that the logo is a great representation of the
electricity our fans will experience during our games," said team
president Bill Yates. "The blue, gold and metallic colors are bold
and powerful which is what Surge Hockey is all about."

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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