Speed Reads....

Univ. of North Dakota President Robert Kelley yesterday tasked a New Nickname Committee with “electronically gathering nickname suggestions from the public, narrowing down the list and then letting the public vote on a permanent name” (GRAND FORKS HERALD, 3/11).

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said that the league is “talking with the U.S. government about playing exhibition games in Cuba.” MLB teams last visited Cuba before Fidel Castro’s revolution in ’59 (AP, 3/10).

A West Coast Conference basketball tournament-record crowd of 8,585 attended yesterday’s Gonzaga-BYU finale at Las Vegas’ Orleans Arena (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 3/11).

adidas once again created a Florist City Collection for Trail Blazers G Damian Lillard and Wizards G John Wall. The shoes feature “floral print designs and colors commemorating the spring celebrations” in Portland and DC (OREGONLIVE.com, 3/10).