Name and shame

The practice of selling "naming rights" to sports stadiums is growing here in the UK. Think of the Emirates or the JJB, or, in the lower leagues, the Galpharm (Huddersfield) or Matchroom Stadium (Leyton Orient). Nothing is sacred; apparently, if and when Anfield ever gets rebuilt, the name of the new stadium will be auctioned off to the highest bidder.

This practice began in the US, and stadia there regularly change their names as contracts expire or onwerships change or whatever. So historic names like San Francisco's Candlestick Park and the Montreal Forum disappear forever, to be replaced by "3Com Field" and the Molson Arena. This past week, however, the naming trend has descended to a new nadir. The Miami Dolphins of the NFL play at an arena known as Dolphins Stadium, clearly an unsatisfactory state of affairs, as no-one has found a way to get those pesky mammals to pay for the publicity. From this season, however, it will have a new name, thanks to a new sponsor, the terminally laid-back singer Jimmy Buffett.

Yes, starting in July, the Dolphins will be playing at....Land Shark stadium! When not blending that frozen concoction that helps him hang on, Jimmy Buffett favours a beer of his own making, Land Shark lager. Now, he wants the rest of the world to enjoy his product, and this is the route he's chosen to make it better known. The name is even more bizarre than it seems, since it's based on a decades-old comedy sketch from the venerable Saturday Night Live TV show. (For what it's worth, the land shark, Dan Aykroyd in a rubber suit, terrorises innocent New Yorkers by knocking on their doors pretending to be a pizza delivery guy or a candygram).

So: the Dolphins, the first team ever to achieve an unbeaten season in the NFL, will be playing at a stadium named after a beer named after a long-forgotten comedy sketch. Liverpool fans, you have been warned.