"They can tae our jobs. But they canna tae our Congressional pension and healthcare plan!"

The Associated Press is reporting that the Washington Redskins will retire their rather blatantly racist nickname today.

There is no word on when the team's new name will be announced. One strong possibility is "Washington Bravehearts," a name already trademarked by a neighbor of team owner Dan Snyder, Aris Mardirossian. But team sources have denied that Snyder and Mardirossian even know each other ever since word of the trademark taken out for the purpose of "entertainment in the nature of football games" first leaked seven years ago.

Given the gutlessness of the Senate majority and many members of the House in recent years, it would certainly be an ironic name. But "Snyder" doesn't sound particularly Scottish, so one has to wonder why "Bravehearts" would be picked.

The Cleveland Indians are also reviewing their nickname, with a reversion to "Cleveland Spiders," or "Cleveland Naps,"  after early major league franchises in the city, often mentioned. The Chicago Blackhawks- who are actually named after a World War I division commanded by the team founder that was named after Chief Black Hawk rather than directly after the Sauk war chief- insist that they will retain both their name and (more dubiously) their logo. The Sauk and Fox tribes have signed off on the use of the name, in any case, and relations between the tribes and the team have traditionally been cordial. We'll see.

No word on any plans on the part of Notre Dame to change their team's name from the "Fighting Irish." Of course, "Washington Redskins-" being an out-and-out racial slur- is easily the most blatant and unambiguously inexcusable ethnic nickname in sports. It's kind of in a class of its own, and it will be good to be rid of it.

But it would be interesting to have a national contest to find a fitting nickname for a Washington NFL franchise.

"Washington Gridlock?" "Washington Lobbyists?" "Washington Dysfunction?" When I lived there, I often theorized that it was the permanent dome of hot air over the Capitol that kept the snow away.  There could be a case made for "Washington Windbags."

But I hope that whatever the Washington NFL franchise is called going forward, it won't be an overt and blatant ethnic and racial putdown. After all, it was never all that hard to figure out that "Redskins" was literally nothing else.