chad's new name

ever since i started working, i've been doing a terrible job keeping up with the sports world. i've stopped reading espn.com and si.com, i don't bother watching sportscenter even though we have cable, i barely skim the sports page in the metro in the mornings (sometimes i don't even bother reading the headlines -- i go straight for the crossword), and i haven't really bothered to keep up with the cowboys or my beloved mavericks (no one really cares about the rangers, and the stars seem to have a boatload of issues right now...who is this avery character?)

anyhow, one of my favorite writers on espn.com is the sports guy (bill simmons), and i decided to read this week's article in the sports world. his article starts off with this --

"Like everyone else, I'm still disappointed that a receiver didn't honor Plaxico Burress last weekend by catching a touchdown, then pretending to shoot himself in the leg with the football and limping around. This never would have not happened if Chad Johnson was still alive. "

after reading this, i thought to myself, "hey, i actually know that name. he's that bengals wide reciever that has all the crazy endzone dances. wait a sec. chad johnson isn't alive???" so i wiki-ed him (because wikipedia is the source of all knowledge) and found out that he's changed his last name from johnson....to ocho cinco. what the heck?!? wiki says:

"He legally changed his surname from Johnson to Ochocinco prior to the 2008 regular season to reflect his Bengals uniform number."

and...from the espn article from august 29 --

"Two years ago, Johnson gave himself the moniker -- a reference in Spanish to his No. 85 -- and put it on the back of his uniform before a game. Quarterback Carson Palmer ripped it off before the kickoff. After the season, coach Marvin Lewis -- who dislikes Johnson's attention-getting stunts -- referred to the receiver as "Ocho Psycho."

HAHAHAHA. i laughed for a good 5 minutes. then i called cathy, because she'd appreciate my new discovery, and she couldn't believe i hadn't heard about it yet. what a ridiculous man.