I used to live in Augusta, Georgia.

The locals refer to it as “Disgusta,” a sleepy, medium-sized town on the Georgia/Carolina border, nestled in the heart of the “CSRA,” or the “Central Savannah River Area.” If I call you from my cell phone you’ll see a 706 area code. Most people don’t answer because they don’t know why someone from Georgia is calling them in Philadelphia.

Anyway, the American Basketball Association is bringing a new team to the city, and they will be called…

…wait for it…

…the 706ers!

Get it? The 706ers?

They started with the 76ers and smushed it together with the region’s area code.

I think it’s pretty clever. More from WFXG Fox 54, where I used to produce the 10 p.m. news:

Augusta Professional Sports, LLC has been working to bring an American Basketball Association franchise to Augusta and held a contest to name the team. Hundreds of names were submitted and after tallying thousands of votes, the “final four” were chosen: Redhawks, Drive, Rapids, and 706ers.

The name “706ers” was submitted by K.J. Kenny, who will receive a pair of season tickets and be recognized at the team’s inaugural home opener.

Scott Killebrew with Augusta Professional Sports, LLC, says, “Augusta is filled with a creative, dedicated and passionate fan base. The city has given us not only a wonderful name but has laid the foundation for unifying the CSRA. When you think about the name, you think of Augusta as a whole. We are the 706ers.”

Vice President Davin Burnside says the company is now working to create the team logo and expects it to be finished in a few weeks. “We’re diligently working to create and release a logo that will not only represent our team but also make Augusta proud.”

Is this a copyright thing? I have no clue.

What I do know is that Augusta had an interesting D3 basketball rivalry between USC-Aiken and Augusta State, but it’s really an SEC football town – UGA Bulldogs and South Carolina Gamecocks. There are Clemson and Bama and Auburn fans, too. There’s a minor league baseball team called the Green Jackets and I think the ECHL team folded.

There’s also a golf tournament down there.