Friday Notes: Milwaukee's Mad Ants, Blogger table of elements, NBA nickname rankings

 
Hoppin' happy about Mad Ants. (fortwaynereader.com)

• The Fort Wayne Mad Ants are the new Bucks NBDL affiliate. The potential of a Luc Richard Mbah a Moute Mad Ants jersey is just the type of splendor that powers this blog.
  
• Tired of typical school or work? Tryouts for the D-League club take place on September 27 and 28 at Wambsganss Gymnasium. Naturally. Where else would you go to become a Mad Ant but Wambsganss Gymnasium, you know? The story also notes a pretty cool fact: the team hailing from the Hoosier state led the NBDL in attendance last season.
• Matt from Ridiculous Upside says three affiliates is a crowd. The Mad Ants are also the affiliate for the Pacers and Pistons.
• According to Hardwood Paroxysm's brilliant NBA Blogger Table of Elements, BrewHoop is... 74 - Bh. That makes us the blogging equivalent of either Tungsten (74) or Bohrium (Bh) on the real table. Ridiculous, Matt.
• Truman Reed, writing for Bucks.com, reports that John Hammond and Scott Skiles are on the same page.
• The "Bucks" finish 25th in nickname rankings according to The Oklahoman. (link-tip: The Arsenalist)
• Jon Mladic at HoopsWorld debates whether the Bucks or Pacers improved more this offseason.
• OnMilwaukee.com, curiously, if I may editorialize, ranks Joe Alexander as Milwaukee's 46th most beautiful thing.
• Ballerblogger profiles Sidney Moncrief as part of their regular Baller of the Day feature.
• Bethlehem Shoals at the Sporting News reveals what an NBA fan can do during early fall downtime. 

  Get into advanced stats: We all know the knock on statistics: They offer up a pale reflection of the game, either making it too complex, or, in the case of basketball, have problems accounting for the sport's group dynamics. But with executives like the Rockets' Daryl Morey trying to run his team according to these principles, now's as good a time as ever to get acquainted with this vast, sometimes tedious, and often fascinating realm of discourse.

• ESPN.com forecasts MVP, ROY, best, and worst newcomers. No current Buck mentions, though Mo Williams got one vote for both best and worst newcomer, and Yi Jianlian received two worst newcomer votes.
• My Team USA roster thoughts going forward.