Internet lights up for Astros name suggestions

Even in the American League (starting in 2013), the Houston Astros are probably going to be the Houston Astros for the forseeable future.

But new owner Jim Crane made a statement Monday that perhaps only a new owner would make. In a news conference, he said they will study whether or not to give the team a new name.

That would certainly kick some dirt on the space program, wouldn't it? And of course, fans took to the Internet, some to protest and others to offer their comedic takes.

On the Houston Chronicle and Dallas Morning News' sites, the Lastros, Disastros, Cosmos (a nod to the fact that we're now hitching rides to space with the Russians), Frackers,  Flounders, We-Have-A-Problems, Mosquitoes, Traffic and Mini-Phillies (the Hunter Pence and Roy Oswalt deals weren't real popular). And forget about the Colt 45s, the original team name, as there's no way that an MLB team would be allowed to be named after a gun/malt liquor these days.

On a serious side, there's the Buffs/Buffaloes (the minor league team in town before the Astros), Roughnecks, Oilers and Commanders.

And, of course, the best name possible for the new Astros: The Astros.  There's history there, even as the team has never won a World Series. Two generations of Houston baseball fans have been Astros fans, and it's a unique name that represents the city well. It's a heck of a lot better than the Utah Jazz.

"Baseball has to approve all of those logos and all of those changes and there is a lot of expense to it. We've got signs here and if we do change it, it's going to be expensive," Crane said in the news conference.

In other words, Houston fans, don't sweat it.