“Ice skating in Britain is cool — and that’s official.” That’s the lead paragraph from this Reuters story, which says skating is the new fad across the pond. Though we don’t like stories with puns in the lead (ice … cool … smack! …), we will accept the story’s premise. Hey, they gave us the delicious fish and chips at Brit’s Pub, and we gave them ice skating. It’s time to grab your skates and head to London to show off all the sweet moves you learned growing up in frozen Minnesota.

That’s something we’ve been asked, strangely, a few times now. Maybe we should have seen it coming. Whenever you combine something with the glorious word “ball,” people are bound to wonder: Is this some great new game I could play with my friends in the back yard? Is it something at which I could immediately be better than 99 percent of the population? Well, that’s a tricky question. In a (somewhat) joking introduction to this blog in the Newspaper of the Twin Cities, we wrote that there were only two rules for RandBall: 1) Unlimited players on each side. 2) Everyone gets a mallet. But we’re willing to listen: Suggest a rule for RandBall, the sport. Let’s make the most ridiculous game ever invented. And then sometime, on a warm day in May, we will all get together and play it.

For most of you, this is as pleasant to think about as diving naked for a foul ball onto a field of glass, but really: Wisconsin’s football team finished No. 7 in the AP poll, losing just once all season. The men’s hoops team is ranked in the top five and just knocked off Ohio State. In other words, the Minnesota athletic department is two outstanding coaching hires away from hoping to compete with Wisconsin. Did you ever think this day would come? Oh, and by the way, State of Hockey: The Badgers men’s and women’s hockey teams are the defending NCAA champions. How does this make you feel?

First comes action. Then reaction. Phase three? Someone tries to cash in. That’s the stage we’ve hit with Tony Romo. Sorry, we (kind of) promised there would be no more Romo posts. And we lied like Nick Saban. But still, we just got this press release, and we couldn’t pass it up. A sports psychology researcher named Richard Cox (and his press folks), on the heels of Romo’s gaffe, released some remarks about performing in the clutch (referencing Romo’s botched hold in one paragraph). Cox is quoted extensively, including what you see in the headline and so much more:

“Even during the Superbowl (sic), where you have the best of the best, some will still make errors. … If you have confidence in the team around you, that should help. However, kickers are the only ones who can kick the ball, and placeholders are the only ones who can hold the ball. They still must control the mind, go through the pre-performance routine and replace negative thoughts with positive ones.”

Conveniently, Cox has published a book titled “Sport Psychology: Concepts and Applications,” which is also mentioned prominently in the press release. Apparently you can get it new for $85 or used for about $3.

Back in our younger days, our group of friends might have been known to attend high school sporting events, pick out an opposing player with a funny or unusual name, and spend the entire game heckling that player unmercifully. This wasn’t exactly groundbreaking or highbrow comedy, but we were 16, and this was North Dakota. We only bring this up because we’ve pretty much outgrown that phase of our lives. A name is a name. A person can’t help what they are called. That said, we shudder to think what might have happened if, 13 or 14 years ago, this Oklahoma State wrestling roster had traveled from the future and fallen into the wrong hands. Ace Adamson. Chaz Cointment. Newly McSpadden. Seriously, we might have spontaneously combusted. So, in the name of juvenile fun: What are some of the most unusual names you have come across in sports? And, be honest: Have you at one point in your life heckled a person to tears?