What's in a name?

Just hours after I was told that one of my seventh grade students has been inexplicably given the nickname "Nicholas Cage," I found this awesome tidbit while killing time at my desk.

From Yahoo! Sports:

I nominate Stylez G. White for best NFL name change of '08

By MJD

Greg White doesn't have the high profile of Bengals receiver Chad Ocho Cinco, formerly known as Chad Johnson. But I do think he's pulled off the best name change of this NFL season.

Buccaneers opponents will no longer be blocking Greg White. They will be blocking Stylez G. White. He made it official in court today.

And for what reason? Because he liked the character Stiles from "Teen Wolf". From The Bucs Report:

White said he picked his new name from a character in the 1985 movie “Teen Wolf,’’ starring Michael J. Fox.

“That was his best friend’s name,’’ White said. “I always liked that name. It’s not that I don’t like Greg White.’’

In the movie, Fox’s friend is named Rupert “Stiles’’ Stilinski. White changed the spelling and adopted the name as his own.

That's fantastic. Normally I'd question the self-esteem of a guy who changes his name to that of a sidekick in a movie, but I'll make an exception if it's Stiles. He's an '80s icon. Not as much as the Teen Wolf himself, but you can't really name yourself Teen Wolf, can you?

If he could find a way to be introduced at home games, and ride into the stadium on top of a van, he would be my hero.