But if New Jersey is hell then shouldn't its hockey team be named accordingly?

New Jersey State Assemblyman Craig Stanley has authored a resolution in the state legislature calling for the New Jersey Devils to be rechristen with a less demonic name.

Folks, I swear I'm not making this up.

Stanley -- surprise, surprise -- is a Baptist deacon who shudders at the thought of good Christian souls in Jersey going to hockey games to root on the NHL's incarnation of the antichrist (of course, as well all know from the Simpsons' "Treehouse of Horror IV", the 1976 Philadelphia Flyers are Satan's minions).

Never mind that the team's nickname was chosen in a fan contest in 1982 (kinda like the statewide competition Stanley wants to hold to choose a new name), or that it's a reference to the mythical Jersey Devil, not the Christian antichrist.

Such minor details shouldn't get in the way of this self-righteous crusade.

Of course, I've long thought the Devils should change the name of the Meadowlands Arena to Hell and trade for Slovak sniper and current Buffalo Sabres winger Miroslav Satan (pronounced SHA-tawn) just to have some fun with the diabolical theme.

Maybe some legislator with a sense of humor will introduce a counter-resolution proposing those very changes.