What professional sports team is named after the rarest mammal in the United States?

Who's asking: The quizmaster at The Liberal Cup's weekly pub trivia, last night

Okay, strictly speaking, this question was directed to a room full of people, and not to me personally. Since I couldn't stay to hear the answer, I accosted the Quizmaster during a break in the game, asking him to confirm my guess, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. Good guess, he said, but he was looking for a major league team; and even if he hadn't been, the answer was still the Florida Panthers.

I didn't feel bad about not knowing the answer. Who remembers that Florida has a hockey team? What are they doing, trying to play hockey in Florida? Ridiculous.

The endangered status of the Florida panther is no joke, though. According to the state's official panther site, only 50-70 survive in the wild. The Florida Panthers hockey organization probably employs more people.

First five random songs off the iPod this morning:

“Gathering Up My Love,” Francine Reed. Francine Reed is best known as the female singer in Lyle Lovett's large band, but she's a great blues singer in her own right.

“Two Doors Down,” Dwight Yoakam. I may have told this story on the blog before, but I saw Dwight Yoakam once in person -- at the old Mystery Bookstore, in West Hollywood -- and he seemed to glow. He is not conventionally handsome, but he has that star quality -- you can't take your eyes off him.

“Train in Vain,” Annie Lennox. This cover takes itself too seriously.

"Touch, Feel, & Lose," Ryan Adams. I always think of this song as "Cry, Cry, Cry," because that's the chorus. Not exactly cheerful, on a rainy morning.

"Sleep Better," Pete Yorn. It's a morning for moody songwriters, I guess. This is one of my favorite CDs (Music for the Morning After), and I associate it with my friend Meredith, who introduced me to it, and the strange, sad autumn of 2001.