We heard one of the most unusual stories ever last night: A person we know once caught a tiny small-mouth bass while fishing, then brought it home and raised it as a pet for two years. The two had a great relationship, and the fish was kept in a 55-gallon tank until the tank outgrew the person’s new living quarters, at which time the fish was released back into its natural habitat. We don’t recommend this, but it seems as though both fish and human were happy. But the strangest part: The fish was named Roy Smalley (the former ballplayer and sometimes FSN Twins broadcaster’s last name being a homonym for a shorthand way of describing a smallmouth bass, it was explained). It was all in good fun, but it got us to thinking about the extremely underexplored topic of the intersection of sports and pet names. Once upon a time, we had a cat named Kevin Garnett. Seriously, we did. If we still had him, we’d have to rename him The Raging Violet, but that’s not the point. We used to call him Big Ticket or KG. So: What’s stranger — a smallmouth bass named Roy Smalley, a cat named Kevin Garnett or something else you’ve done along a similar line?

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