Jerry Tomko was on his way to pick up his wife from work when he heard an announcement on the radio: Cleveland was getting an NBA franchise and the owner was holding a name-the-team contest. Jerry Tomko在接他妻子下班的路上, 从收音机中听到了消息: 克利夫兰要成立NBA球队, 而老板希望举办徵名活动. As he sat in his Toyota station wagon waiting for her, "Cleveland Cavaliers" immediately popped into his head. 当他坐在他的Toyota里等妻子时, "Cleveland Cavaliers"这个名字冒了出来. He drew a swashbuckler and wrote an essay -- about how the name "represents a group of daring, fearless men, whose life's pact was never surrender, no matter what the odds" -- and submitted them. 他写下了他的建议--关於"骑士"代表了一群无畏的勇士, 在任何困境中都决不投降."--然 後寄了出去. Cavs fans should be forever grateful. 骑士队迷应该永远对此心怀感激. Because LeBron James could be King of the Cleveland Towers or the Cleveland Jays, the Cleveland Foresters or the Cleveland Presidents instead. "I was amazed I won," said Tomko, from his home in California. "I thought the chances were good, but I don't count on anything." 否则LeBron James有可能成为King of the Cleveland Towers (克利夫兰塔王) or the Cleveland Jays (克利夫兰鸟王), the Cleveland Foresters (克利夫兰森林人之王) 或 是 Cleveland Presidents (克利夫兰总统王). "我很惊讶我竟然赢了," Tomko说, "我觉 得有些机会, 不过并没有抱太大的期望." The Cavs say they plan to finally recognize Tomko, who claims he was promised a prize 40 years ago that he never received. 骑士表示将颁发一个奖给Tomko, 40年前曾经承诺要给却没给的奖. Tomko's entry was among more than 11,000 in a contest Cavs founder Nick Mileti orchestrated with The Plain Dealer in early February 1970. Tomko的提名在11,000张球迷选票中脱颖而出. The winner would get a pair of season tickets for the team's inaugural year at the Cleveland Arena. 提名者将获得两张首季的季票. "There were piles of them," Mileti, now 78 and living in Palm Beach, Fla., said by phone recently. "我们收到一堆提名," 当时的老板Mileti最近在电话里说, Mileti现年78岁, 住在佛罗里 达棕榈滩. "We had everything under the sun. You want the most interesting one? The Good Gnus." "我们一切公开, 你也希望最受欢迎的获选吧. 例如"牛羚"队. Imagine trying to keep James on a team called the Gnus. 想像一下James待在一支叫做"牛羚"的队伍. Mileti whittled the names to five: The Jays, after his son, the Towers, for the Terminal Tower, the Presidents, because Ohio has had so many, and the Foresters, because Forest City had stuffed the ballot box, Mileti said. The fifth was Tomko's. Mileti把提名删减到剩五个: The Jays--以他的儿子命名, the Towers--以市中心的车站 大楼Tower City为名, the Presidents--Ohio州出过很多总统, 而且Cleveland也是总统 名, 和the Foresters--以Forest City为名(充满了选票柜? 不懂), 以及Tomko提名的"骑 士". For weeks, The Plain Dealer published ballots, asking readers to vote on the five. 接下来The Plain Dealer (克利夫兰地方报社)公告了投票, 请读者从五个提名中选择. On April 5, 1970, more than a third of the 6,000 votes cast were for the Cavaliers. But Mileti, who raised $3.7 million to buy the franchise, wasn't sure anyone actually counted. 超过三分之一的选票投给了"骑士", 不过老板Mileti不确定计票是不是真的正确. So how did "Cavaliers" win? 那为什麽是"骑士"获选? "Well," he said, "because I liked it." "喔, 因为我喜欢这名字." 他说. To celebrate, Tomko and his wife, Donna, who lived in Eastlake at the time, went for drinks and dinner at the Ramada Inn lounge in Euclid. Tomko和他妻子为了庆祝去外面吃了大餐. But a week before the season started, his season tickets still hadn't arrived. Tomko drove to the Arena to find out why. Sorry, he was told, there was a mix-up. It would be taken care of and was. 但到了球季开打前一个星期, 他还是没收到他应得的季票. Tomko亲自到了球场询问, 但 被告知, "很抱歉, 我们这里一团混乱" While there, Tomko ran into Mileti and made a request: Tomko直接跑去找了老板Mileti. The man who named the Portland Trail Blazers had won a new car. How about throwing in a team-autographed basketball? 他说 "命名波特兰拓荒者的人获得一辆车做为奖励, 你至少该给我一个所有球员签名的篮 球吧?" Tomko said Mileti agreed to it, but he never got the ball. He even reminded the owner at a game once. Tomko说老板Mileti当时同意了, 但是他从来没收到那颗篮球. 他甚至在某场比赛中提醒 过老板一次. "That's his story," said Mileti, who doesn't even remotely remember the man who named his team. "It's a great story." "那是他说的故事, "老板Mileti说, 他根本不记得那个提名的人. "很棒的故事." Forty years later, the Cavaliers name and logo are an icon worldwide. 40年後, "骑士"队名与队徽已是世界知名. Meanwhile, the man who named them is 68, retired in San Diego and still a Cavs fan. 同时, 当初的提名人也68岁, 退休了但仍然是个骑士球迷. His son, Brett, is a major-league pitcher, but most of Tomko's neighbors don't know about that or his own brush with fame. He's not one to brag. 他的儿子Brett是MLB的投手, 但是他的邻居许多都不知道, 也不知道他提名的故事. 他不 是个爱吹嘘的人. But Donna Tomko, his wife of 40 years, has tried to surprise her husband by having the Cavs recognize him in some way. 不过他结缡40年的妻子, Donna Tomko, 想要给她丈夫一个惊喜, 让骑士承认她先生的提 名. She said she wrote to the team's public relations office twice, most recently three years ago, but never heard back. 她说她写信给球队公关部门两次, 最近一次是三年前, 但都没获得回应. "It's no big deal," she said, "but it is to him." "这不是大事,"她说, "但是对他来说很有意义." After hearing of the Tomkos' frustration this week, the Cavs say they intend to make up for the oversight. 在这周听过了Tomko的故事後, 骑士队说他们打算为这忽视做点补偿. "If Mrs. Tomko tried to contact anyone in our organization about this and didn't get a response, we'd feel very, very bad about that," Len Komoroski, president of the Cavs and The Q, said through a team spokesman. "如果Tomko太太曾经和我们任何人联系过此事却没有获得回应, 我们感到非常非常抱歉 ." 骑士与球馆的总裁Len Komoroski透过发言人表示. It's too late to make good on the signed basketball. Some of the original Cavs are gone. 现在要取得一个签名篮球已经太晚, 当时的球员已经有些过世了. Instead, the Cavs are preparing a special certificate of recognition to send her, Komoroski said, along with an autographed game ball signed by members of the current team. 为了补偿, 骑士准备了一张特制的证书给他, Komoroski说, 还有一颗现在全队签名的篮 球. The original Cavs won just 15 games all season. 当年的骑士整季只赢了15场. The current Cavs won that many by November and are primed for an NBA championship run. 现在的骑士在11月就达成这目标, 而且瞄准总冠军. Maybe 40 years was worth the wait. 也许40年的等待是值得的. -- 当年的老板Mileti人好像挺烂的 --

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