Oklahoma City….???
In Monday’s editions of The Oklahoman, we’ll be running the best team names and uniform designs for Oklahoma City’s prospective NBA team that have been sent in by readers over the past few weeks.
The package will be prominently displayed in our Main Event section, which is a two-page spread. Be sure to check it out next week. I’ve combed through a few of them and there are some pretty good ones. I’m still waiting on hearing a better team name than the Oklahoma City Energy. I hate Thunderbirds. It can’t get any worse than Tornadoes. Outlaws, Bandits and Oilers don’t do it for me either.
But here’s my top 10 NBA uniforms:
10) Memphis Grizzlies: The combination of blues is a good look.
9) Golden State Warriors: There’s just something about their yellow on blue road uniforms.
8 ) Boston Celtics: They’ve kept it simple. The alternative green on black is progressive but still classic.
7) New York Knicks: A lot of history and tradition in that orange and blue.
6) Chicago Bulls: It’s good brand management when you don’t change the threads that Jordan popularized.
5) Philadelphia 76ers: Each set of their uniforms are impressive, but the black set is hands down the best.
4) Miami Heat: The way they weave the logo throughout the unifrom is hot. Pardon the pun.
3) Atlanta Hawks: There was a lot of criticism of their new unis, but I like them. They look like the future of uniforms.
2) Denver Nuggets: Their powder blue and gold combo is sweet.
1) Minnesota Timberwolves: There’s no topping their alternate black jerseys.
Here’s my worst five:
5) Dallas Mavericks: The logo is great, but the unis leave more to be desired. Especially the home whites.
4) Utah Jazz: OK, so this one isn’t fair. It’s hard to get fired up about anything dealing with Utah.
3) Washington Wizards: My favorite team has awful jerseys. Period.
2) Charlotte Bobcats: Whoever designed those orange uniforms should be fired.
1) Milwaukee Bucks: I’m all for honoring history. But the new color scheme makes the old purple look genius.
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Stern on Seattle expansion team
NBA Commissioner David Stern on Thursday would not come clean about whether Seattle will get an expansion franchise if the Sonics move to Oklahoma City. He had this to say when asked about the possibility….
“I think what I’d like to do is to say that in light of the swirling events and the continuing litigation and the to and fro with respect to the Sonics, I’d like to take the opportunity to impose a gag on myself and allow speculation to grow in whatever way is constructive.”
Also, you can hear an interesting interview with former U.S. Senator Slade Gorton here. Gorton, remember, is the man who is leading the city of Seattle’s lawsuit against Sonics owners and the heavyweight who was expected to save basketball in Seattle because he was instrumental in keeping the Mariners from moving to Florida in1991. Here’s a snippet of the interview:
“You’ve got to step back and recognize the situation in which David Stern finds himself. Right now, he doesn’t have a big problem. We have a big problem. We’ve got a team with an owner who wants to move it to Oklahoma City, and we’ve got an arena that’s bluntly not up to NBA standards. And David Stern has a constituent, a constituent who wants to move to Oklahoma City and has no way as he sees it to keep it in Seattle. If we get the public officials in Seattle and the state to come up with the last $75 million for this $300 million remodel, then David Stern has a problem. He’s got a great big problem.”
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Lewis Katz conversation
I don’t know if all of this ran in today’s Oklahoman, so here’s the entire Q&A with New Jersey Nets part owner and relocation committee member Lewis Katz.
Q: What were your impressions of Oklahoma City coming in and what do you think now?
A: I had no idea what Oklahoma was about. I thought I was going somewhere was there was plains and a lot of wind. I’ve never seen a better presentation in my life. I’ve been to a bunch of these relocation meetings. I never saw better support from the business and political and government community. Your mayor and your governor are both incredible. This is almost too unbelievable to believe that a community could be that supportive. A voting community of 69 to 31 to self-impose a tax for an arena, it’s just beyond anybody’s wildest imagination that all this could be put together.
Q: Is this something you feel like the other owners are going to buy into?
A: Absolutely. This is wonderful for the league, wonderful for basketball, a strong wonderful ownership group that you have out here that can lead this thing. My hope is that we’ll find a settlement with Seattle that will give them the opportunity to have a replacement team. Seattle should have an NBA team. And I think David expressed that in the meetings. We all feel that way. So my guess is you haven’t heard the end of the Seattle story. But Oklahoma City, you can’t believe that you can build an arena with no debt and turn it into an opening for a new team at $200 million, which is the total cost of what you have hear with the renovations.
Q: What are the concerns from yourself and the other owners about relocating a team to a smaller market?
A: Let me say this about small markets. Everybody keeps telling me that you think you’re a small market. There’s an hour and a half between Tulsa and Oklahoma City. That hour and a half has 2 ½ million people or 70 percent of your state. Brooklyn, the fourth largest borough in America, has 2 ½ million people. This is not Oklahoma City. This is Oklahoma. And my view is 20 percent of your ticket sales came from the Tulsa market. I really didn’t look at this as a small market. And I think the argument in the committee was that this is a state market with a history of people that love sports.
Q: Do you think the Sonics will come here, and when do you think they’ll arrive if they do?
A: I think a lot of that has been described by the commissioner. You have a court case, so the outside is 2010 if you lose the court case. If you win the court case I think they’ll be here in a year. There’s no question in my mind that they’re coming. It’s just a question of when. And the hope is somebody makes the appropriate approach from Seattle, people get together to sit down and make a deal and everybody walks away with something good for their community. Hopefully, Seattle will then realize that the NBA is not walking away from them.
Q: What kind of situation would it be for the NBA to have a lame-duck team in a city for a couple of years?
A: It doesn’t help anybody to have a lame-duck team. Nobody should be in that position. It doesn’t help Seattle. It doesn’t help the ownership group here in Oklahoma. It’s not good for the league to have that. That’s why a good settlement that makes economic sense to Seattle (makes sense). If you don’t do that then it’s spite in my judgment.
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Interesting article
A good article in the Wall Street Journal today on the inventors of the basketball Web site Hoopshype.com. Like many sports writers and NBA followers in general, I check this Web site daily. For those of you who might not be familiar with it, it’s a great site to spend five minutes on every day, glancing through the “rumors” section which gives a thorough offering of national and international reports on all things NBA.
As the article points out, “The pro basketball Web site has influenced player moves, stoked rivalries and now attracts more than a half-million unique visitors a month after starting from scratch in 2002. NBA coaches read it to check on their job status, and rumors posted there have put trades in motion.”
Unbeknownst to me before reading this article, the creators of the site are three 29-year-old men from Spain. Their success story makes for the perfect “Why didn’t I think of that?”
Also, Hornets fans might find it interesting that the site allegedly brought about the 2005 trade of Jamaal Magloire to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Desmond Mason. I remember the day that trade happened like it was yesterday, how happy Magloire was when he learned the news at a morning shoot-around, how he giddily began saying goodbye to his teammates on that October morning before bolting out of the Ford Center for good before ever playing a regular season game in Oklahoma City.
I had never heard the story of how the Web site sparked the trade as the WSJ article details until I read it. I’m not sure I believe it but it’s plausible. Ironically enough, as a rare reader of the WSJ, I only learned of the article through the rumors section of Hoopshype.
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Seattle Mayor fires back at Stern
Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels has responded to the latest attacks on Seattle by NBA Commissioner David Stern.
Earlier this week, Stern called Seattle’ government and business leaders’ last-minute attempt to buy the Sonics and renovate KeyArena a “PR stunt.”
Nickels pointed the finger back at the NBA.
“This is not a government problem. This is an NBA business model that’s broken,” Nickels said. “This is a league that’s in danger of becoming nomadic. They have team (the Sonics) that has been in place for 41 years. It’s been a successful franchise. It’s never had to move, and if the business model is broken, I think the NBA ought to look in the mirror.”
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Phoenix Suns on Sonics, OKC
The Phoenix Suns played the Sonics last night in Seattle and Shaquille O’Neal had some not-so-nice things to say about our fair city. Grant Hill, too.
Shaq called the Sonics’ prospective move to OKC “dumb” and “stupid.”
“Seattle has tradition, the Space Needle, and there’s water here,” Shaq said. “Oklahoma City’s a college town. You’re not going to have the T.V. market there.”
When I think of Seattle, I think of (Gary Payton), (Shawn Kemp), (Jack) Sikma, Lenny Wilkens,” Shaq continued. “The Oklahoma City Sonics? When my son asks me about that, I’ll say there’s no such thing.”
Said Grant Hill of OKC: “That’s a bad road trip. It’s cold. This shouldn’t happen. Seattle’s a great market, a great city, and I would think there’s a lot of money in this city. It’s a shame. They had a good product. When I think of Seattle, it’s hard to see what’s going on now. When I came into the league, it was rockin’.”
The article says Hill and Shaq remember playing at the Tacoma Dome during the 1994-95 season while KeyArena was being renovated and now it’s considered obsolete.
My first reaction was that was 13 years ago. In two years, when the KeyArena lease is up Hill and Shaq will be obsolete, too.
It’s not my place to say which is a better home for the Sonics. And since Shaq and Hill have been in the league a combined 27 years, I’m going to say they know better than I. But the logic? Come on. Let’s see, Shaq thinks Seattle’s a better city for the Sonics because it has the Space Needle and water? Grant Hill, who remember played his first six seasons in Detroit, is griping about OKC being cold???
During the 2006 NBA All-Star Weekend, I asked Shaq about what he thought about OKC. He didn’t say anything negative. He talked about walking through Quail Springs Mall and “shutting down” IHOP, referring to star-struck patrons clamoring for his attention. I asked him what he ate.
“Got me a little sausage and cheese omelet,” he said. “Pancakes. O.J.”
That conversation obviously occurred when the Hornets were in town and faced an uncertain future.
The Hornets “belong to New Orleans,” Shaq said. “But if someone in Oklahoma City puts up the money I’m sure they can get something done.”
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More Stern words
Know those terrible Storms that hit much of Oklahoma and Texas on Tuesday, cancelling flights and causing severe flooding? Well yours truly was a victim. I had an early Tuesday morning flight from Houston back to OKC but, after sitting in an airport for seven hours, never got on that flight. I’m still stuck in Houston as I type this at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday evening from a booth at Panera Bread. At any rate, that explains the absence. A few news and notes….
NBA Commissioner David Stern called Seattle’s last-ditch efforts to renovate KeyArena for $300 million a “PR stunt.”
The Oklahoman’s Berry Tramel writes that the Sonics ownership groups holds all the cards in their attempt to flee Seattle.
Some Oklahoma City Council members are again voicing their concern with the city-owned but NBA-use-only practice facility.
Also while I was out of commission, the Sonics got spanked, the Rockets’ historic win streak ended, the T-Wolves owner called out a future hall of famer and the Western Conference standings remained as tight as ever.
I’m rolling with the Heels in my bracket. Who you got?
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OKC-Sonics agree to form Ford Center lease
Oklahoma City officials today announced an agreement with the Seattle SuperSonics on a letter of intent to enter into a lease for the use of the Ford Center. The lease, which is expected to be finalized before the NBA Board of Governors vote on the Sonics relocation application next month, will have an initial term of 15 years and will begin no sooner than the 2008-09 season and no later than the 2010-11 season.
The letter of intent is here. A couple of key points…..
* At the end of the initial 15-year lease, the team will have the option to extend the lease for five additional three-year periods.
* The team must pay the city $28,000 in game day expenses and additional rent of $12,000 per game
* The team will have priority to the Ford Center’s schedule for all preseason, regular season and postseason NBA games as well as priority for up to 10 non-game day events.
* The team will receive 40% of the first $2.5 million in concessions; 42.5% of next $2.5 million and 45% of the balance. The team will receive 25% of first $1.25 million in suite revenue; 27.5% of next $500,000 and 30% of the balance. The team will receive 10% of clubs and restaurants revenue and 15% of bar revenue.
* The team will have the right to negotiate a new naming rights deal, but the team must pay the city the $409,000 annually that it currently receives under existing deal with the Oklahoma Ford Dealers.
* The team must pay the city $100,000 per year for use of the practice facility. The city must pay for all capital repairs and replacements at the practice facility.
* The team can opt out of the arena lease, the food and beverage agreement and the practice facility lease at the end of six years and at one or more other undetermined point in time during the initial 15-year lease if the average of team ticket revenue for the preceding two years fall below 85% of a benchmark of average ticket revenues in the first two full seasons following completion of arena renovations.
We will have much more coverage on NewsOK.com and in Saturday’s editions of The Oklahoman.
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Durant on OKC
At last night’s Sonics game against the Celtics, Sonics forward Kevin Durant weighed in on Oklahoma City’s NBA future, calling OKC a “great place for basketball.” Here’s a short story on what he had to say……
By Justin Rice
Special Correspondent
BOSTON — After a game against the NBA-leading Celtics, Seattle SuperSonics star Kevin Durant said Wednesday night that Oklahoma City could easily support pro basketball.
“I was fortunate enough to play there for the Big 12 Tournament,” said Durant, the presumptive Rookie of the Year, after an 111-82 loss to Boston. “A lot of people came out, and that shows a lot; it’s a sign of how much they love sports in Oklahoma City. It was a great place to be for basketball.”
Durant is the team’s present and future star, but he is just a bit player in the drama between the Oklahoma City-based Sonics ownership and the city of Seattle, which is suing to hold the team to the last two years of its lease. The Sonics have filed for relocation to Oklahoma City.
“I love Seattle, it’s a great city,” Durant said before scoring a team-high 16 points against a Celtics team that desperately tried to draft him. “But there’s not a great deal I can do about it. You can’t pick where you go in the draft, and you can’t pick where you’re going to play as a team.
“But wherever we do end up, we’re still the same team.”
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ESPN Anchor Says Save Sonics
I just happened to be checking in on this blog while watching SportsCenter tonight, and anchor Neil Everett just slipped in a quick “Save the Sonics” while introducing the team’s highlights from tonight’s Celtics game.
Everett didn’t say anything else about the franchise’s potential relocation, and the reference came at an odd time. So odd in fact that, excluding Washington and Oklahoma, I’m not sure many of the program’s millions of viewers got the reference. Or at least they might have thought he was talking about the team’s poor season. But since the reference seemed to be adlibbed on the show’s earliest night version which is live, there is no telling whether the reference will make it into the final cut that’s recorded and replayed throughout the morning.
Don’t know if it was Bill Simmons’ recent two-part piece on ESPN.com where he dumped hundred of e-mails from disgruntled Sonics fans on the Web site’s pages or what, but one thing’s for sure, the Sonics fans’ fight to keep their team in Seattle is definitely starting to get some national exposure.
On another note, SportsCenter doesn’t have a better anchor tandem than Neil Everett and Scott Van Pelt. Or is that just me?
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