GreenJackets logo approaching national recognition

A few days ago I posted a blog on a little tournament that Darren Rovell of CNBC started online. The basic idea was to find the best logo in all of minor league baseball using a 64-team, single-elimination tournament to decide the winner.

I doubt Mr. Rovell, or anyone else, could have predicted the intensity and passion with which America's minor league baseball fans would respond. He's been bombarded with e-mails, threatened with legal action and just generally harrassed by folks willing to do anything to get their favorite ball club to the next round.

In the middle of it all, the Augusta GreenJackets have survived. Ranked as a No. 12 seed, the GreenJackets edged out the No. 5 Lake Elsinore Storm in the first round on March 10 and have marched through the bracket ever since. The North Arkansas Naturals, Casper Ghosts and Columbus Catfish have all fallen victim to the GreenJacket voters.

Sound ridiculous? It's serious business in the GreenJackets front office. Sure, they're less than a week away from opening day, but first things first.

"We got our revenge on Columbus," GreenJackets general manager Nick Brown said. "They beat us in the playoffs last year, but we got them back with this."

Yes, the GreenJackets did eliminate the Catfish in the "my logo's better than your logo" quarterfinals. Now, on to the Final Four.

Only four teams remain in the voter-decided tournament. The GreenJackets logo is going head-to-head against the Southern Illinois Miners today. The Clinton Lumberkings and Wichita Wingnuts will face off on Monday in the other semifinal match up. The two winners will meet in the logo championship on Tuesday.

As of noon on Friday, the early results didn't look good for the GreenJackets. The Miners had a comfy 73 percent of the 2,822 votes cast so far. If you're a GreenJackets fan, your team needs your help.

Voting will continue at www.darrenrovell.com until 9 a.m. on Saturday.