The NBA in Oklahoma City

I don't really follow the NBA, so I very rarely, if ever, comment on it. However, I would be remiss if I did not mention the new Oklahoma City team--for the simple reason that it sort of relates to the Storm. As most sports fans know, the Seattle SuperSonics are moving to Oklahoma City, beginning with the upcoming 2008-2009 season. The Storm are staying in Seattle.

The NBA has filed for trademark rights to 6 names. About a year ago, when there was a very real possibility that the Storm would also move to Oklahoma, I created a list of team names. I have no idea what I did with that list, but I have to believe that it was much better than the one the NBA has released. The list is as follows:

1. Barons
2. Bison
3. Energy
4. Marshalls
5. Thunder
6. Wind

Don't get me wrong. Bison are amazing, beautiful animals. However, they don't exactly bring to mind images of power and dominance, unless you think about the way in which they were brutally and systematically killed by blood thirsty white hunters in the 19th century. Do we really need to be reminded, once again, that we almost killed off an entire species of animal, simply because we wanted to piss of Native Americans? Also, New York sort of already has an entire city named Buffalo. Sure, American Bison aren't even really related to buffalo, but I'm not even going to go into that. Moving on....

Marshalls/Marshals is ok, since it actually relates to the city's history. Barons, Energy, Thunder, and Wind are all really lame. Oklahoma City Energy sounds like the name of an electric company. "If your power goes out, please call Oklahoma City Energy's customer service number."

To be honest, I think the real problem lies in the fact that the team will be called the Oklahoma City Whatevers, instead of just being called the Oklahoma Whatevers. The Liberty/Knicks/Rangers/Yankees/Mets/etc. don't have the word "city" before their name. If they eliminate "city," they may be able to come up with some other options.

Either way, I highly doubt that moving to a different city will help a team that has played well below expectations for the past several seasons.