2014 Name of the Year: Round Two, And A Note On Middle Names

Before we get to the second round of our tournament, I'd like to share a tip we received from a reader named Jeffrey. Jeffrey is not himself a Name of the Year nominee, but he is a Brandeis alum familiar with Mingus Mapps, the Bulltron Regional's 8-seed and a Brandeis poli-sci professor. We are, Jeffrey explained, "selling Mingus Mapps short" by not including his middle name, Ulysses. "Get his middle name involved!" Fear not, fair Judge; we are well aware of Mingus' middle name. And yes, Mingus Ulysses Mapps is an epic odyssey of a handle. Nonetheless, most of the onomasts involved in the creation of this bracket agree that middle names often have negative effects on cadence. In this case, we like Mingus Mapps' name more when his wonderful allite…