Game Time, T-Wolves

Out first preseason game tips off tonight.

And for all our readers in Billings, if you are over 6'8" and can play a little ball, come on down and I bet you can get some minutes for the Thunder.

Notes tomorrow.

The Real Team

The real team was announced this week. And I am talking about the new Thunder dance team. The don't have a cute name yet, but the girls seem to be less than ugly. And is you can tell from the pics, it looks like the finals were at Toby Kieth's I Love This Bar and Grill. Would have been cool to be there.

From the pictures, I can't tell if any of the former Honey Bee's are on the new squad. But I do think I have a good name for them. Forget about where your tickets are, these girls can be the most distracting thing on the court.

Haters

Let's hope not. But I felt the need to put this out here.

New and old haters are definitely around on the web. I wonder if this guy is even from OKC. Seems just like a covert Seattle fan. But regardless, they can eat it. We might lose for a couple seasons, but we will have some kickin' jerseys and some fly cheerleaders. And here are some auditions.

Bend it Like Bennett

OKC's New Mascot?

Well, at least I like the Chucks.

Breaking Fake News

Thoughts on the name, The Oklahoma City Thunder?

Hola, amigos. I know it's been a long time since I rapped at ya, but things have been getting plenty hairy around here. But our team has a new name and I feel the need to interject my opinion.

First, I think it is kinda bogus that we can't get jerseys. And even worse yet, we don't even know what they look like. That guy at too the max!! was still sporting old Sonic jerseys. Though I noticed he was wearing the early 90's era uni, one Shawn Kemp might have fathered some children while wearing. They said we have to wait 3 weeks to get jerseys and mascot info.

Second, the logo could be a lot worse. I mean, there is some dark blue in it, but no purple. And I really do dig the light blue in it and I am need one.

Lastly, the logo and the colors will change. No team, with a few minor exceptions, keeps their colors, logo or even cities the same forever. And usually with expansion teams in all sports, you find team colors and some times names, change early on.

VOTE! Poll on the sidebar.

Your Oklahoma City Thunder Logo, FREE SHIRTS!

No free shirts, but you can buy some stuff.

Word was going to come later this evening, but I guess officials wanted to make some money and sell some merchandise a little early. This confirms the leaked photos of OKC Thunder merchandise last week.

Thanks to David H. for the heads up and we will have more news to come very soon. Like what the jersey will look like.

UniWatch Contest Finalist

The finalist for UniWatch's OKC NBA contest are up and most of them are looking nice. Being a Native Okie myself, the Frontier is a personal fav. I don't think any of them are close to what our real uni's will look like, but fun to look at.

Not Bad

Hey Kevin, we got some nice looking girls in Oklahoma too.


The Big Lead

Give These Kids Some Real Uni's Already

Don't get me wrong, I love seeing OKC on a NBA uni. But when you compare what we are wearing to what those other uni's look like, well, I wont go into it. Here is a slide show of the rookie photo shoot.

C'mon David and Clay, lets get the real deal already!

A question to the readers: Any word on how we will be represented in the NBA Live 09 this year?

Sam Presti Has "Disciprine"

C.J. Miles will not know how sweet waving wheat can smell and will be playing ball for Utah next year. Utah thinks Miles has yet to reach his potential and matched the offer OKC put on the table a week ago. Consensus was that he was going to be a big addition the team and become part of our "core" players. I disagree and look forward to other moves Presti will make.

Even if Miles was on the team, we are not going to be a winner right away. We have to be patient and that is exactly what Presti is; he has much "Disciprine." We could go after some of the high priced talent that is on the free agent market, but none of the names out there would turn us into winners any time soon. The pool of free agents this year, looking more specifically at the ones we can afford under the cap, is weak. We could go after a Salim Stoudamire or a Theo Ratliff, but the type of contacts they would require versus the their output would keep us out of contention for a long time. Presti says, "There has to be discipline and a meticulous nature to how you build the program" and I couldn't agree more.

Are we going to win it all next year? Probably not, but with Presti as GM we will be competing for championships within 3 years.

Six Pack Attack

Well, it looks as if KOCO might have jumped the gun. Even I was starting to roll with the Thunder, but it appears that maybe that was a little premature. The names are down to six and I am just ready to buy my jersey. Of the six, four of them are singular. Which kinda sucks.

But what do you think OKC fans? Poll on the sidebar.

Who Will Be The Voice Of The Thunder?

Former Sonic play by play announcer Kevin Calabro had made no secret that he was upset of the team leaving Seattle. Most "Basketball People" are used to moving around and were just happy to be working in the NBA. But unlike most of the other people involved with the organization, he will not be making the move.

What? You say you have no idea who this bald man is? Well, either do 100% of Oklahomans. Apparently he was the voice of some old Xbox games or something. All this means to me is that this is yet another job opening to be filled by a hard working Okie. Now, Clay and Co. have made no secret that they intend to hire many locals for various positions, but who are the favorites for our future announcers? Let's go over the possibilities.

Bob Barry Sr.

Simply put, this man is the voice of Oklahoma sports, and not just OU. He has been with KFOR since LBJ was President and has been either the voice of the Sooner or Cowboys since he won an open tryout in 1961. Now granted he does make quite a few mistakes, especially with names and he is getting up their in age. So I don't think TV will be a good fit, especially with a new team in an increasingly European league that he presumably does not know that well.

Al Eschbach

No, not going to happen. But isn't it fun to think about him doing TV?

Stacey King

Of all the options, this one has the most legs. He has been doing TV stuff for his former professional team, Da' Bulls, for a few years now and his roots in Oklahoma are as deep as anyone. Born in Lawton, he went on to be one of the greatest players on OU basketball history. Part of three NBA championship teams with Michael and the rest of the Bulls, his experience and knowledge would be nice in the booth.

Dean Blevins

His ego really doesn't need any more stoking, but he might get a job with the team. He has been at News 9 for a while and I guess he does know the TV part of it, but if he gets the job let's hope he doesn't have to use the restroom during a Kevin Durant fast break.

Our New Team Name, The Oklahoma City Thunder

Well, word is that we have a name. The Oklahoma City Thunder. This is far from official, but this has been one of the more popular names discussed.

It covers Central Oklahoma's fascination with the weather and it makes for easy branding. The team has not confirmed this is the name and no colors have been rumored.

Personally, I was pulling for outlaws, but I can work with the Thunder. It sure is better than ThunderCats.

What do you think fans? Poll on the sidebar.

Uniform Contest on OKC's New NBA Team

Speculation has been swirling on our new team name, but let's see what you have to offer. Paul over at Uni Watch is having a design contest for OKC's new NBA team. Submit your entries to uniwatch@earthlink.net and you might see them on ESPN's Page 2.

Let's try and get some good ones too, because I already know that some people have some terrible thoughts on what our team should be called..

C.J. Miles Is Coming To OKC

I don't recommend that you Google his name because of a Vietnamese "Adult" actress by the same name, but word is that we the OKC TBD's have offered Utah swingman C.J. Miles a short term deal. Because he is a restricted free agent, Utah has 7 days to match OKC's offer. Signed right of high school in 2005 high school, Miles has not seen significant minutes with the Jazz, frequently being sent down to the D-League.

This would be our first free agent signing and is a nice addition to the roster. It is no Baron Davis, but his minutes will be valuable. He has the capability to shoot the outside shot, but don't expect Carlesimo to give him the ball when the game is on the line.

New NBA in OKC Desktop Backgrounds

Props to David H. who sent in these awesome NBA in OKC backgrounds. Click the images for full size.



If you have put together any cool digital work and want to share, send them to me at joetcrocker@gmail.com

Oklahoma City Basketball Name to be Announced Very Soon

Well according to kfor, we are getting closer by the day to an official team name and colors.

A buddy of mine said he saw the summer gear we wore in Orlando for sale at a sporting goods store in north OKC, but imo that stuff is hardly worth $22. Especially considering the official gear with our own logo will be available in just a few weeks.

Apparently many options are still being tossed around the league office. They trying to find the least offensive one possible, but please David Stern, just please don't make it suck. The past few team names the NBA has given cities have been a little questionable to say the least.

The question is, whose jersey do you want to buy after our name and colors are announced? Poll in the sidebar.

Better Know Your Team

Alright, we got a team, but who are these guys? We all know the big players from Clay to Kevin, but what about the rest of the players that we didn't seen in those Orlando practices.

Let's start with the head coach, P.J. Carlesimo.

A few years ago it looked like Latrell Sprewell had gotten the better of infamous 1997 choking incident. Spree was off to the Knicks, later Minnesota after sitting out a one year suspension, while Carlesimo struggled without his star in Golden State and was fired two years later. P.J served as assistant in San Antonio for 5 years under Popovich paying his dues while Spree's star fizzled. While in there he saw first hand how coaches can and should treat their star player.

From what I read he has a definite East Coast swagger that can rub some players the wrong way. He coached at Seton Hall for over a decade before he made the jump to the NBA. Since his stint with Golden State, he got married, had some kids, and chilled out enough to get another head coaching gig. Clay and Co. have made no secret that their organization's blueprint for success is based on what San Antonio accomplished, but time will tell how well Carlesimo fits in Oklahoma City.

Name Game

Yes, I do think Toby will be a fan, but I don't think he is ready for sponsorship just yet.

But what's in a name? Well, if you ask most OKC fans, everything. We want it to be cool, to instill fear, and to look cool on a jersey. Unfortunately, whatever it is will most likely twisted around by rivals and bitter Seattle fans to sound less than intimidating. And with many good names already taken by many teams in the area and in all of professional sports, our options are limited. So while speculation is still an option, what are some of the options?




BARONS

I have seen plenty of variations of this name, but I like this the one the most. It lacks the intimidation of some of the others, but maybe we could get Daniel Day Lewis to be the mascot.

OUTLAWS

This one is a personal favorite. Now, Oklahoma did have a professional football team by the same name, later known as the Arizona Outlaws. I mean, this is Oklahoma. From the Land Run all the way to Gene Stipe, we have a long history of side stepping the law.

DRILLERS

Oklahoma has a bunch of oil. We get it. This one is kind of played out and Tulsa has a minor league team named the Drillers already.



TORNADOES, or something like that

Ehhh, they are scary as heck. But I just never got naming your team after something that kills your fans.

So what do you think fans? Poll on the sidebar.

We Did It

Like nomads on the plain, Oklahoma City Basketball fans have been in search of a team and a home.

Well friends, we've found both.

We no longer have to surf Seattle newspapers and the team formerly known as "Sonic" fan blogs for information on our team. And no longer to be timid about accepting this team, in fear that they might stay in Seattle until 2010.

Our team will play at the Ford Center this fall and we are ready to talk NBA Basketball.

I am Joe T., from central Oklahoma, product of Oklahoma public schools, and an unapologetic optimist. I like what we have in our new OKC team and I can't wait to talk about it.

You can email me at joetcrocker@gmail.com with any questions about our team.

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