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The List: Best nicknames for a sports unit
Page 2 staff

June is Nickname Month on Page 2 as we continue our search for the best monikers in all of sports.


	Babe Ruth was just part of Murderer's Row.

After crowning the top nicknames in baseball, basketball, football, hockey and boxing, we now turn our attention to sports teams or units. Check out the top 10 as voted by Page 2's editorial staff, and then examine our readers' top 10 and vote for the best of all-time.

We'll run our readers' list Friday, along with a poll to pick the best all-time nickname for a sports team or unit.

1. Phi Slamma Jamma
University of Houston men's basketball teams of 1982-'83 and '83-'84.

2. Purple People Eaters
Minnesota Vikings' defensive line of the 1970s.

3. Murderer's Row
New York Yankees' of the late 1920s, most notably the 1927 team, which is generally considered the greatest baseball team ever.

4. Run TMC
Golden State Warriors of the early 1990s, named after Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin.


	Pete Rose was a vital cog in the Big Red Machine.

5. The French Connection
Buffalo Sabres' first line of Gilbert Perreault, Rene Robert and Rick Martin in the 1970s.

6. Broad Street Bullies
Two-time Stanley Cup champion Philadelphia Flyers of mid-1970s.

7. Steel Curtain
Four-time Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers' defense of the 1970s.

8. Harvey's Wallbangers
Homer-happy Milwaukee Brewers 1982 American League champs, named after manager Harvey Kuenn.

9. The Black Sox
Chicago White Sox, dumpers of the 1919 World Series to the Reds after being paid off by gamblers.

10. Big Red Machine
Two-time World Series-winning Cincinnati Reds of the mid-1970s.

Also receiving votes:The Four Horsemen (Notre Dame backfield of 1922-24, named after the biblical Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse -- Death, War, Famine, Plague), The New York Sack Exchange, Rainbow Warriors (Jeff Gordon's pit crew), The Doomsday Defense, The Fearsome Foursome, The Legion of Doom, Showtime, The Over the Hill Gang, The Smurfs, The Nasty Boys, The Hitless Wonders (1906 Chicago White Sox, who won the World Series despite a seasonlong team batting average of less than .230), The Miracle Mets, The Orange Crush, The No-Name Defense, The Three Amigos, The Bash Brothers, The Gashouse Gang, The Killer B's, The Hogs

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	ALSO SEE: The List: Best nicknames in boxing history The List: Best nicknames in football history The List: Best nicknames in baseball history The List: Best nicknames in hockey history The List: Best nicknames in basketball history The List: Coolest athletes The List: Biggest upsets The List: Best coaches The List: Best feuds The List: Worst baseball stadiums The List: Best baseball stadiums The List: The groupiest Page 2 readers pick best baseball flicks

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