OLN to change names, piss me off

Here's something that's been somewhat under the radar, but I heard about thanks to The Puck Stops Here: OLN will undergo another name change. Starting in September, The Outdoor Life Network, err... the Lance Armstrong Network, err... OLN will be called "Versus". Cue the speech where the OLN executive explains that the network is shifting away from the huntin' and fishin' and more into the team sports thing, and they need a name that reflects that.

So just years after it re-invented itself as the Lance Armstrong/Tour De France Network, and just months after it re-invented itself as the NHL's home, it is going through much more than just an image change.

I'm not that happy about it, and I can think of four people who probably have more of a vested interest in not being happy about it. See, in the mid-nineties there was this really kick ass indie rock band (pictured at right) from NYC named Versus. They're only semi-defunct. They're not putting out records anymore, and they don't tour together, but they still play an occasional show. They've mostly moved on to side projects such as +/-, Whysall Lane, and The Fontaine Toups.

One of my favorite things about that band was the fact that the frontman, Richard Baluyut, smoked like a chimney onstage. With both hands furiously busy on the guitar, he'd just puff away while the ash end of the cigarette got impossibly long.
Aside from the spectacle of that, their shows were loud, energetic, and fun. They were, and still are one of my favorite bands from the nineties.

So anyway, I don't like the OLN name change because of that. I can think of a few other reasons I don't like it, but that's the chief reason. If the shoes were on the other feet, the band would get sued into the stone age, but obviously the band won't be suing the network.

There are several articles from real news sources about the impending name change. This one is just as good as any.