CLEVELAND BROWNS are named after a color? An old coach? A chocolate baked good? (Flickr/Erik Droust).

In the classic tale of Rip Van Winkle, the title character goes to sleep in colonial America and awakes 20 years later, stunned by the changes he missed, including going from being a subject under the rule of British King George to being a citizen in the republic of President George Washington.

His confusion is nothing compared to that of a sports fan who hasn’t been a dedicated follower of sports in general and of the teams specifically.

For example, the Oklahoma Hornets. What happened to them? Well, they started as the New Orleans Hornets. Then they became the Oklahoma City Hornets and then the New Orleans Pelicans.

So … who is/are the Oklahoma City Thunder? They used to be the Seattle Supersonics. But word is that Seattle is first on the list for a new NBA expansion team.

You’ve probably read that the NHL Arizona Coyotes are mulling a move to Utah. I guess there are coyotes around Salt Lake City, but many fans will never forgive the incongruity of the New Orleans Jazz moving to the Beehive State as the Utah Jazz. There may be jazz in Salt Lake City, but the team name always clunks on my ear.

Author Stephen Provost once made a list of what he considered “The Worst Team Names in Professional Sports.” He lists the Washington Football Team as the worst ever, but that hardly seems fair, since everyone understood it was a placeholder until  a permanent replacement – Commanders – was chosen.

My choice would be the Cleveland Browns. Originally named after founding head coach Paul Brown, the association has been lost and now it seems to be named after a color. Slang references are the Brownies (a kind of imp not to be confused with the Girl Scouts or a chocolate pastry) or the Dawgs.

On the other hand, the Los Angeles Lakers have lost their  connection with the lakes of Minnesota, but when you win 18 championships, you get a pass.