Weed Wacking and Waste Management

Remember the Weedeater Bowl? The Independence Bowl was actually called the Poulan Weedeater Bowl for a few years when the power tool company was the main corporate sponsor. That may have been the worst name ever for a sponsored sporting event, but it's getting a real challenge this weekend from the Waste Management Open, a PGA event in Scottsdale, AZ.

Really? The Waste Management Open? I realize we live in a time of corporate sponsorships, but there has to be a better name than this. Did weather problems "flush out" the first round on Thursday? Are the scores now "going to pot?"

The WM (or should it be BM?) Open brings to mind some other similarly misnamed sporting sponsorships:

The Bacardi Bowl: This college bowl game was played in Havana seven times, the last in 1946. No way it would work in today's climate, but imagine the sponsored parties during the week of the game. Instead of shooting t-shirts into the crowd, cheerleaders could throw bottles of rum.

The MagicJack.com Bowl: Played in Florida, probably in a Walgreens parking lot.

Swingline Stapler Bowl: The official game mascot is called Petey the Paper Cut.

Quicken Loans Arena (Cleveland): An Internet mortgage company, who doesn't want to borrow from a company that sounds like "Quicky Loans?" Maybe that's what scared away LeBron.

And what may be the winner: The TPC Blue Monster at Doral Golf Resort & Spa World Golf Championships CA Championship.

There was a time when golf tournaments were named after people--the Bing Crosby at Pebble Beach, Hope, Gleason ... even Sammy Davis had a tournament in Hartford. Just since 2000, the tournament that started as the Tampa Bay Classic, has been:

The Tampa Bay Classic;
The Tampa Bay Classic presented by Buick;
The Chrysler Championship;
The PODS Championship;
and new this year, The Transitions Championship.

Enough ranting. Certainly the players don't mind the millions of dollars poured into these events by corporate sponsors.