College Football's 2026 All-Name Team

A tradition unlike any other:

College Football's 2026 All-Name Team 📜

Offense: pic.twitter.com/KUV31iEMxn

— College Sports Only (@CSOonX) July 15, 2026

This is just the offense, the thread includes defense and special teams.

Wait, his given name is "Sting Ray Robb"? (F1 roundup)

Sting Ray Robb makes Lance Stroll look like Alain Prost

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— Alec Hudson (@alehud42.bsky.social) March 1, 2026 at 9:36 AM

("The short story goes that my parents were big Corvette fans. They decided to name me after the Stingray Corvette. But the longer, more boring side of the story — but still very fun — is that my dad's family's heritage is from Sterling, Scotland. So, Sting is actually short for Sterling. Both my grandfathers had Ray in their name, and we made the combo deal out of that. And here I am, Sting Ray Robb")

Indiana Jones and the rest of of college football's best names of the 2025 season

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Great list, including King Large:

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Speaking of names, a fun article about inappropriate names in spy thrillers: 

Let me illustrate. The Italian composer Giacomo Puccini’s 1904 opera “Madama Butterfly,” which gets rightful flak for its bumbling Orientalism, is almost as hilariously clueless about the United States. The villain’s name is Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton — the modern-day equivalent would be something like “Ronald Reagan Microsoft.”

I was super confused when I heard the announcer identify a Denver Broncos receiver, and more confused when Google actually autocompleted his name the way I thought I heard it

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From his entry at UT:

Lil’Jordan Humphrey’s name is somewhat of a contradiction. At 6-foot-4-inches, 222 pounds, he is not what most would call “little,” but as a compromise for his older brother — who wanted him to be named ‘Michael’ for Michael Jordan — his mother went with “Lil’Jordan ... Humphrey started playing football when he was 4 years old ... was a running back his entire career but is now playing receiver at Texas.

Wait, the Vin Diesel character "Riddick" has a first name and middle initial?

Vin Diesel will suit up again as Richard B. Reddick this summer. The “Fast and Furious” star is set to begin production on “Riddick: Furya,” the fourth installment of the “Riddick” franchise, on Aug. 26. https://t.co/Eny71quPQB

— Variety (@Variety) May 6, 2024

TIL.

"Purple Boy" was a whale that destroyed ships for over 50 years near sixth century Constantinople

Wikipedia:

The whale was given the name Porphyrios by Byzantine sailors; the name is sometimes alternatively rendered as Porphyrius, Porphyrion, Porphyry or Porphyrio and its origin is not clear. Common hypotheses on the name include it being derived from the contemporary charioteer Porphyrius or from the mythological giant Porphyrion, who waged war against the gods of Greek mythology. Anthony Kaldellis suggested in 2010 that the name of the whale alluded to the imperial purple and was "a sign of the respect in which the whale was held". This idea was also supported by Sian Lewis and Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones in 2018, who believed the name alluded to the color of royalty and was a sign of great awe for the whale.

In 1996, James Allan Stewart Evans suggested that the name was a reference to the color of the whale's skin. Porphyra meant a deep purple color in Greek and Porphyrios might have had dark-wine colored skin. This was further supported by John K. Papadopoulos and Deborah Ruscillo in 2002, who believed the name simply meant "purple". Daniel Ogden in 2008 also supported the idea that Porphyrios evoked the color of the whale, believing that the name was best interpreted as "purple boy"

Really fun investigation starts when a reporter notices their child's solar system poster features a moon of Venus named Zoozve

Venus had a moon called Zoozve. Huh, I thought. Never heard of that. pic.twitter.com/3reaeMB5WQ

— Latif Nasser (@latifnasser) January 26, 2024

“We are looking at a worst-case scenario,” said Thorvaldur Thordarson, a volcanologist in Iceland

That predicted eruption is happening. (The article describes Iceland's overall excellent preparation for eruptions, and does not discuss current estimates for potential global cooling or flight disruption.)

The NJ Devils have a 6'5" Swiss goaltender named Akira Schmid

Per this Reddit summary of a paywalled article, Akira is named for Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama. His brother is named Krilin and liked a Tweet screenshotting that summary.

Quick favor, @ryannovo62 ... could you confirm this? Because I have a pretty cool Dragonball Z design for him, but I want it to be accurate. https://t.co/XbHoEpA9CE

— Backhanded Devil (@BackhandedDevil) May 3, 2023

Many thanks to the @OmahaLancers organization for making possible to visit our son @SchmidAkira and watch him play! We met great people saw a great team and awesome fans! pic.twitter.com/DWZkUusTM8

— Kupetzky (@kowakupetzky) February 23, 2019

His name is Amillion Buggs

College basketball is getting ramped up and I need everyone to be aware of Hutchinson CC guard AMILLION BUGGS pic.twitter.com/FWdMJSVz1e

— Bunkie Perkins (@BunkiePerkins) October 31, 2023

His name is Woo Governor

ESPN doesn't list any other name.

New nomination to the CFB All Name Team pic.twitter.com/MOMtTkKwgF

— Ryan Roberts (@RiseNDraft) August 3, 2023

"Bonus Eventus was a divine personification in ancient Roman religion"

this is the patron deity of gacha gamers pic.twitter.com/mapzRasEet

— a real gundam (@hontou_gundam) May 30, 2023

"Coins featuring Bonus Eventus were issued during the turmoil of the Year of Four Emperors (69 AD) and the reigns of Galba, Vespasian, Titus, Antoninus Pius, and Septimius Severus. On these coins and on gems, Bonus Eventus is a standing male nude, usually with one leg bent and his head turned away toward a libation bowl in his outstretched hand."

Wired looks at the names of hacker groups

Wired:

[Why] did I find myself referring to them as "the hacker group known as Kimsuky, Emerald Sleet, or Velvet Chollima"? 

...

A few days ago, Microsoft's cybersecurity division announced it was changing the entire taxonomy of names it uses for the hundreds of hacker groups that it tracks. Instead of its previous system, which gave those organizations the names of elements—a fairly neutral, scientific-sounding system as these things go—it will now give hacker groups two-word names, including in their description a weather-based term indicating what country the hackers are believed to work on behalf of, as well as whether they're state-sponsored or criminal.

That means Phosphorous, an Iranian group that Microsoft reported this week has been targeting US critical infrastructure like seaports, energy companies, and transit systems, now has the less-than-fearsome name Mint Sandstorm.

...

Many of the new names sounded so absurd that I actually double-checked Microsoft hadn't published the new labeling system on April 1. Periwinkle Tempest. Pumpkin Sandstorm. Spandex Tempest. Gingham Typhoon. 

So many more names (and plenty discussion about the merits of the naming systems). 

Diverse Names Generator

Add a few parameters or just generate at random.

(I believe it's the creation of this semanticist, who is also a tango instructor and an acroyoga instructor ("acrobatic partner yoga")).

A Norwegian arms manufacturer says it can't make artillery rounds any faster because TikTok's data center is using all the electricity

The company is called Nammo.

Spyware victim Artemis Seaford speaks out after a Covid-vaccine appointment was used to plant Predator on her phone

Anyone, anywhere can fall prey to spyware hacking. I should know - I was a #Predator target.

This does not make it normal. We need our governments and international bodies to protect us.https://t.co/RAq0ydlFr1

— Artemis Seaford (@ArtemisSeaford) March 20, 2023

NYT:

Ms. Seaford on Friday filed a lawsuit in Athens against anyone found responsible for the hack. The suit compels prosecutors to open an investigation.

...

Under a law passed last year, a citizen who has been targeted by the spy agency can now be informed — but only if they ask, and subject to the approval of a committee, and no earlier than three years after the end of the wiretap.

It is under those new conditions that Ms. Seaford’s surveillance by the Greek national intelligence service may one day be officially confirmed.

...

In September 2021, Ms. Seaford booked an appointment for a booster shot of the Covid-19 vaccine through the official Greek government vaccination platform.

She got an automated SMS with her appointment details on Sept. 17, just after midnight. Five hours later, at 05:31 a.m., documents show, she received another SMS asking her to confirm the appointment by clicking on a link.

This was the infected link that put Predator in her phone.

Mississippi State has an ambidextrous freshman pitcher that throws 90+ with each arm, and trained as a child by throwing a nail-studded ball

.@HailStateBB's switch-pitching freshman @_LooCijntje 🤯

97 MPH from the right 🔥
92 MPH from the left 🔥 pic.twitter.com/g7XhndlsGJ

— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) February 23, 2023

MLB:

Cijntje began throwing right-handed as a 6-year-old because he wanted to emulate his father, Mechangelo, who played professionally in the Netherlands, and liked wearing his dad’s glove. Mechangelo hammered nails into baseballs and had Jurrangelo throw at a tire to try to get the ball to stick, a drill designed to improve his accuracy

Mike Leach gave him the nickname "evil elf"

Leach assistant and former slot receiver for the Red Raiders. Nickname: THE ELF https://t.co/td75wJ0FF4

— BUM CHILLUPS AKA SPENCER HALL (@edsbs) December 13, 2022

From 2008:

"He calls me the evil elf because he has all these different things: elves are small, they're generally pretty mean and they corner well," Morris told the Tech student newspaper the Daily Torreador. "They're good with a dagger -- he goes on and on about how elves have different traits, and he thinks that I fit the traits of an elf. He thinks that I do well with the football in my hands and calls the football my dagger."

Also, pretty compelling pitch for Washington State:

I remember Coach Leach participating in a @RedditCFB AMA in 2014. This answer always stuck out to me. He understood the beauty and potential of Pullman. pic.twitter.com/mblmf2EOfK

— Robin Dich (@RobinDich) December 13, 2022

I think Mike Leach reminded a lot of college football Twitter of ourselves. Curious, disputatious, flawed, law degree they don't use, weighs in on stuff they probably shouldn't, hated Craig James. You really saw the humanity shine through. RIP.

— 🎶 Simply Loving To Permanently Be Online 🎶 (@BobbyBigWheel) December 13, 2022

Today's funny posts

Dad of the year ! pic.twitter.com/z667PEp9BX

— ❤️ (@misskaren1981) September 22, 2022

Today's funny posts

pic.twitter.com/QKpZsNADQc

— Christian Petersen-Clausen (@chris__pc) September 16, 2022