In 2011, I called for the Premier Athletic Conference to change its name to the Snow Belt Conference, which is more fitting. PAC officials haven't taken me up on it, but I'm still hoping.

We've had two more leagues form this year. The Lake Effect Conference gets a thumbs up for its name. But the Great Lakes League get a generic thumbs down.

If you hadn't heard of the Great Lakes League until the previous paragraph, what would you have guessed it consisted of? That's a trick question, because a conference with that name could include any group at any educational or recreational level between Buffalo and Minnesota.

For the record, it's a group of high school hockey teams that are breaking away from the Greater Cleveland High School Hockey League for the 2013-14 season. This new association needs something more specific. At the very least, it needs a reference to the sport it plays.

The Power Play Conference would be accurate, because its members are the most competitive in Northeast Ohio.

If that's too over the top, how about the Crooked River Hockey League? How about just adding "hockey" and calling it the Great Lakes Hockey League? Or more specifically, the Lake Erie Hockey League?

The Lake Effect Conference, on the other hand, needs no tweaking. It consists of small private schools and home-schooled student-athletes. Andrews Osborne athletic director Vance Linamen is the league president. Kudos to him and the LEC for coming up with a name that reflects the region while being creative.

- Howard Primer