Flivvers, Zizzers, Slicers winners in nickname game

Q. Last year, you ran a list of interesting nicknames from Washington high schools. What are some of the top high-school nicknames nationally?

A. My favorite source is "Marc Sheehan's Distinctive Mascot Collection" at www.halcyon.com/marcs/mascot.html. Many of these came from that Web site. Here are my 20 favorites:

Abington Galloping Ghosts (Pennsylvania) — Football great Red Grange was a teammate of a former coach here and once visited the school.

Belfry Bats (Montana) — Nickname was too tempting to pass up.

Boiling Springs Bubblers (Pennsylvania) — Bubbling hot springs are near the town.

Central Catholic Buttons (San Antonio) — A button is a baby rattlesnake and Central Catholic feeds the St. Mary's University "Rattlers."

Frankfurt Hot Dogs (Indiana) — Self-explanatory.

Freeburg Midgets (Illinois) — One of the school's first good basketball teams lacked size and the nickname stuck.

Freeport Pretzels (Illinois) — Community is site of pretzel-making.

Hoopeston Cornjerkers (Illinois) — In the 1920s, the football team was sometimes late to games because they were in fields pulling corn off stalks.

Itasca Wampus Cats (Texas) — Mythical creature.

Kingsford Flivvers (Michigan) — Named for a car once manufactured in the area.

LaPorte Slicers (Indiana) — Town is site of a slicing machine company. (But what a name for a golf team!)

Northhampton Area Koncrete Kids (Pennsylvania) — The region produces cement.

Orofino Maniacs (Idaho) — There's a mental hospital in town, but one version is that the team got the nickname before the hospital opened because the athletes "played like maniacs."

Poca Dots (West Virginia) — Irresistible choice for this suburb of Charleston.

Speedway Sparkplugs (Indiana) — School is near Indy 500 track.

Tarpon Springs Spongers (Florida) — Sponge harvesting once was an industry in this town.

West Plains Zizzers (Missouri) — A popular teacher used to exclaim, "Now, that's a zizzer!" and the name stuck.

William Allen Canaries (Pennsylvania) — Players were issued uniforms of blue and canary and the name stuck.

Williamsport Millionaires (Pennsylvania) — One theory is that the name was handed down from a minor-league baseball team from the turn of the century that used to outspend other teams for talent and became known as the Millionaires.

Yuma Criminals (Arizona) — At one time, the school held classes in an abandoned territorial prison.

No state has more entries on Sheehan's Web site than Washington, with 19. Maybe that's no coincidence, because he is from Federal Way. Some of the state's best:

Blaine Borderites, Camas Papermakers, Charles Wright Tarriers (Irish railroad workers), Clarkston Bantams, Davenport Gorillas, Eatonville Cruisers (logging term), Explorations Screaming Penguins (alternative school in Bellingham), Gig Harbor Tides, Lake Washington Kangaroos, Lincoln Abes, Lynden Christian Lyncs (combo of Lynden and Christian), Northwest Yeshiva 613s (for the 613 laws of Judaism), Oakville Acorns, Pateros Billygoats, Quincy Jackrabbits, Richland Bombers (controversial because of city's role in development of atomic bomb in World War II), Ridgefield Spudders, Sultan Turks and Taholah Chitwins (Quinault for "bear'').

Q. Recently, you wrote about things that bug you at high-school basketball games such as boiled hot dogs and failure to always have printed programs for fans. What are other things that bug you?

A: 1) Ringing telephones in radio or TV commercials. I make a note of the product being advertised and refuse to buy it.

2) Restaurants and businesses that run vacuum cleaners while customers are in the establishment. I came to eat or shop, not listen to the most annoying home appliance.

3) People who write checks for tiny amounts of money such as $2.60 for a latte. Hello? We have something called cash in this country.

4) Towns and cities that don't put up enough signs to help visitors find their way around. Hey, folks, not everyone lives in your town and knows where everything is.

5) The way KING-TV over-interviews the Sonics before and after a game, obviously because the games are carried on sister-station KONG. Unless a Sonics player or coach has something interesting to say (about 7 percent of the time), just show us more action. I would rather watch a guy shoot a boring free throw than see him talk about "intensity" and "how we have to bounce back."

6) People who talk loudly on a cell phone while surrounded by strangers. To me, it's as rude as picking your nose in public.

Q. Who are the all-time boys and girls scoring leaders in Washington high-school basketball? Who are the leading "active" scorers entering this season?

A. The totals are courtesy of David Maley, the prep statistics expert from Rosalia in Whitman County.

The all-time boys: 1) Jeremy Groth, Curlew (Class B), 2,447 points, 1996-2000; 2) Ryan Hansen, Cascade of Leavenworth, 2,382, 1992-96; 3, Luke Ridnour, Blaine, 1A-2A, 2,372, 1996-2000.

The all-time girls: 1) Jennifer Stinson, Davenport, Class B, 2,881, 1991-95; 2) Kate Starbird, Lakes, 4A (now 3A) 2,753, 1989-93; 3) Tammy Tibbles, Creston, Class B, 2,534, 1980-84.

Leading active scorers: Boys, Lance Den Boer, Sr., Sunnyside Christian, Class B, 1,991 entering season, now at 2,195 which puts him in 10th place; Girls, Jeni Boesel, Brewster, 1A, 1,916 entering season, now at 2,022, which puts her in 23rd place.

Have a question about high-school sports? Craig Smith will find the answer every Tuesday in The Times. Ask your question in one of the following ways: Voice mail (206-464-8279), snail mail (Craig Smith, Seattle Times Sports, P.O. Box 70, Seattle, WA 98111), or e-mail csmith@seattletimes.com.