Sonics & Sherri dominate emails
The demise of Sherri Coale’s Sooners and the nickname of the Sonics when they relocated to Oklahoma City were the big items on my email the past week. Let’s start with the NBA.
Jo trotted out a familiar name: “How about OKC 89ers? A great name from the past. Serves the state and city well. A tribute to our roots. We were proud of that name.”
I wouldn’t mind 89ers, but it’s got no chance. Clay Bennett is the one who scrapped 89ers from the baseball franchise.
Lee wrote me about some web thread that was debating an OKC nickname, with suggestions like Thunder and Barons.
I hereby renounce any nickname that is singular. Barons doesn’t do much for me, either.
Matt had an interesting idea: “Considering the team is coming from Seattle and we have Tinker AFB nearby…would naming the team the
Oklahoma City Pilots be bad?”
For those who don’t know, Seattle’s original major-league baseball team was the Pilots, who became the Milwaukee Brewers. The answer to the question is no, it wouldn’t be bad. It would be boring and unmarketable, but it wouldn’t be bad.
Robert wrote, “Let me be the first (I know of) to recommend Oklahoma City Oaks, as in tall oak trees.”
I think the old Oakland ABA team was known as the Oakland Oaks. Oh, heck. I’ll just look it up. Turns out the Oakland Oaks were both an ABA basketball team in the ‘60s and the name of Oakland’s baseball team in the grand old Pacific Coast League. Which reminds me of a story. Friend of mine did a story on a senior-citizen bluegrass band who called themselves the Golden Okies. A copy editor changed it to Golden Oakies. The Oklahoma City Oaks would be called the Oklahoma City Okies. Guaranteed.
Alex offered a nickname suggestion: “Since it appears the name and colors will be left in Seattle, I’ve got a suggestion to throw into the ring for a team name. Oklahoma City Flyers. It pulls from the fact we have several Air Force bases in the state, most notably Tinker in the OKC metro. Also, Flyers has a basketball ring to it since there is a lot of leaping involved in the sport. What do you think?”
I think Philadelphia’s hockey team already has dibs.
Tim has an idea for the name of an NBA team in OKC. Hornets: “Is OKC ready to be an NBA city? Better get The Oklahoman in gear! Instead of telling us how Seattle is crying every other day, how about some coverage of the hottest team that called OKC home for two seasons! How about promoting the awesome idea to swap the Hornets for the Sonics! Let Shinn have the Sonics, let them stay in Seattle, while the Hornets move (because of the NBA’s worst attendance in New Orleans). Problem solved. Easy. OKC gets a great Hornet’s team and Seattle gets to keep the sorry Sonics. A win-win. Now that OU has lost in the NCAA men’s tournament, it’s time for the Oklahoman to focus on getting the Hornets to OKC. Big $$$ would follow. How about writing something that will help make it happen!”
I don’t think writing is the answer. I think George Shinn losing his mind is your best bet. Time to move on, fans. The Hornets aren’t coming back.
Now, let’s move on to OU women’s basketball.
Robert, a big OU women’s fan, wrote, “My wife got mad because I complained of the coaching. I wish I had the team and the talent to work with. I know for sure I would not put Jenny on the best scorer on the team. Neither would I crowd the defense down around the Paris girls. They need to play center and forward wide apart and everyone else stay from under the basket until the ball is shot. Thompson could have done a better job guarding the star and free Jennie to run the floor.”
Well, I assume Jenny and Jennie are really Jenna Plumley, and her problem most definitely is not defense. You can analyze it a thousand ways, and it comes down to this. Almost every team OU plays has better guards than the Sooners.
DNA also wrote about Coale’s team: “Before closing the coffin on the Sooner gals, I would like to point out that the problem the final 40 seconds against the Irish was the lack of ball security. Notre Dame had a very hot hand, but the final nail was OU turned the ball over.”
This just in. OU’s guard play stinks.
Leonard was critical of Sherri Coale: “ESPN commentators, over the course of the OU women’s last two games, kept emphasizing (1) no clear team identity; (2) no floor leadership; (3) always bunched up in the key and looking confused; and (4) no jump shots. Do you disagree with any of that? One thing I just do not understand, and maybe I am not seeing it clearly, is why this team is not coached to open up jump shots. I know Plumley is short, but there are times she is open inside the 3-point line. Some of the others pass it out, or whatever, when they have clear shots. Courtney used to hit some jump shots in high school, even some with distance. She is a great player and has that short turnaround and short hook, but I bet she could diversify just a little. On the leadership, maybe the do miss the tenacity of a Leah Rush or Caton Hill. Others show flashes. Sometimes I am puzzled beyond bewilderment with the substitution and lineup changes, but that is another day. Probably they ought to be happy, given how they played at the end of the season, that they made it as far as they did.”
Here’s what I think. Taking open jumpers is not OU’s problem. Making open jumpers is the problem. And leadership always improves when someone starts making open jumpers.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
On the question of poor Sherri, Isay give her a raise, for the job she is doing and a contract extension and a new house and new car and Country club dues. I mean why not, you can’t let Capel catch up.
If Clay Bennett ditched “89′ers” in favor of “Redhawks,” there’s no telling what sort of ridiculous name the Sonics might spring on the public when they arrive in OKC. Roosters. Prairie Chickens. Grand Viziers. Legionnaires. Noodlers. The mind boggles at the prospects.
Why do people think Seattle would want Shinn as an owner?
We have Ballmer and company, what will be the richest ownership group in the league, who will end up owning the Sonics. We know what great ownership can do for a team (Paul Allen with the Seahawks and of course the Mariners ownership) and we have seen what horrible ownership can do to a team (Behring with the Seahawks, Bennett with the Sonics). Having ownership willing to do what it takes to win rather then looking to see how big a profit margin they can extract, is what Seattle wants for their teams.
The good people of OKC need to put the presure on their leaders to do the right thing and push for expansion or a team that wants to move rather then stealing a team from a 41 year market because they can. If you find a wallett with a lot of money in it you could keep it and no one would be the wiser but that doesn’t make it right.
Doing the right thing for the wrong reasons never makes it right.
I think the name of the team should be, BENETTS BILKERS, IT’S NEW , IT’S APPROPRIATE AND IT TELLS THE STORY OF THE TAXPAYER WHO IS PAYING FOR HIS ARENA. Also tells of all the future tax breaks, like the one for bringing in more jobs, what a joke and no tax on tickets and any other break we can give these billionaires.