A Blessed Baseball Result?

One pastor says Tampa Bay's success may have come from them dropping the word "devil" from their team name.

By: WKRG Staff | WKRG-TV
Published: October 22, 2008

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TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Devil be gone!
For 10 years, they were a losing baseball team with a fiendish
nickname: the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Then the club exorcised the "Devil" from its name, and
suddenly Tampa Bay is in the World Series.
The Rays won the pennant less than a year after they put the
Devil behind them, and some Tampa pastors would like to think
that's the reason why.
Rev. Wayne Newman of Bay Life Assembly of God says the Rays'
turnaround may be God's way of saying, "If you get the devil out,
you're liable to go somewhere."
Rev. Tom Atchison of New Life Pentecostal Church of God says at
the very least, the name change has allowed more Christians to root
for the team.
Both admit that with the World Series starting tonight,
attendance is likely to be down at their Wednesday night services.