*By Conor White*
As the Short-Season Single-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, it isn't often the Staten Island Yankees make headlines.
That may be why the namesake team announced it would temporarily change its public image, trading in the rich tradition of baseball's most successful team for the street cache of a newly famous New Yorker: Pizza Rat ー [the hungry rodent that just wanted a slice to itself.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPXUG8q4jKU)
"It's an aggressive name, I think it's probably a little edgy, a little different," said Staten Island Yankees president Will Smith. "But I think everybody needs to remember that it's a promotion."
Still, the Staten Island Borough president James Oddo called the idea "dopey" in a statement.
The promotion will run for each of the Staten Island Yankees' five Saturday night home games this season, and fans in attendance will see a fully rebranded team, complete with uniforms. In an interview Thursday on Cheddar, Smith said the gear has been flying off the shelves.
"We've pretty much blown through all of our merchandise that we have," said Smith. "We're trying to place re-orders, I was actually trying to do that this morning, trying to order another thousand T-shirts, because we just didn't order enough, and you just don't know, but we're actually tracking way, way, way ahead of our entire online sales last year, and so far, so good."
The Pizza Rats name was first floated back in 2016, when it was the overwhelming favorite in an online poll to rename the team. Now, thanks to the promotion's immediate success, fans are wondering: Could the name change become permanent?
"Anything's possible," teased Smith. "I've always said until there's a new name, there's no new name."
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/every-pizza-rat-has-its-day).
Carlo and Baker cover the latest developments with the Omicron variant, and break down what we know and what we still don't. Plus, a relatively tame Black Friday, and more.
Dan Kilbridge, Bookies.com sports betting expert, and Cam Rogers, Host of 'Lock It In with Cam Rogers' and betting analyst at Bleav, tackle top matchups across the NFL and college football this coming weekend.
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On this episode of Cheddar Bets, BetMGM Host Olivia Harlan Dekker breaks down the biggest NFL action for Week 11; Jared Smith, sports betting analyst from Pickswise, breaks down the biggest games of the college football weekend, including those that put Ohio State and Oregon's Playoff spots on the line; Ben Stinar, NBA reporter for Fastbreak on FanNation, provides one-month-in overreactions and underreactions to some of the NBA betting lines.
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LeBron James will serve his first-ever NBA suspension tonight against the New York Knicks after getting into an on-court squabble with Detroit Pistons center Isaiah Stewart. Stewart will also serve a two-game suspension for escalating the fight.
Jill and Carlo are a bit delayed today on account of Carlo's internet not working. Better late than never, they discuss what we know about the suspect in the Christmas parade crash, closing arguments in the Arbery killing trial, and more.
