Ottawa 'Rush' in contention as CFL team name

The Ottawa Rush is in the running as a possible name for the capital's new Canadian Football League team, but one of the owners of the team said it's only one of a number of names in contention.

Variations on the "Rush" name were submitted for trademark before the launch of a public contest to name the team.

But Ottawa 67's owner and Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group partner Jeff Hunt said the team has registered a number of names as part of the process.

"In our name-the-team campaign it was a name submitted multiple times, and one of the things you have to be concerned about when you are looking at new names is getting web domains and making sure trademarks are clear," said Hunt.

"So it's not just about finding a name that's appropriate but finding a name we can register and trademark," he said, who said the team began registering names weeks before the campaign launched.

Hunt said thousands of potential names have been submitted to the website. The naming contest runs until Sunday.

The Ottawa Rush name could potentially preserve the legendary 'R' that once adorned the helmets of the Ottawa Rough Riders — the longtime franchise that folded in 1996.

Hunt said many of the names submitted had also tried to preserve the R, including names like River Rats and Raftsman.

The new team name is expected to be decided and announced early in the new year.

Ottawa's latest CFL franchise will take the field in the 2014 season.