Posted by HoopsAvenue on October 24, 2008 under Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City, Portland Trailblazers, Utah Jazz | 
The Northwest Division team previews are here so check out what bloggers are saying about the Nuggets, Timberwolves, Blazers, Thunder, and Jazz. HoopsAvenue will be chiming in with our Washington Wizards preview tomorrow! Look for that and the rest of the Southeast Division in the coming days.
Denver Nuggets
Jeremy: Pickaxe and Roll
Nick Sclafani: The Nugg Doctor
Minnesota Timberwolves
Derek Hanson & Staff: TWolves Blog
Andrew Thell: Empty the Bench
wyn: Canis Hoopus
Oklahoma City
xphoenix87: BallerBlogger
Zorgon: Blue Blitz
Royce: The Thunderworld
Portland Trail Blazers
Mookie: …a stern warning
Benjamin Golliver: Blazers Edge
Coup and SJ: Rip City Project
Utah Jazz
UtesFan89: The Utah Jazz
Basketball John: SLC Dunk
Also see links to all the previews at CelticsBlog.com
Posted by HoopsAvenue on September 11, 2008 under Oklahoma City |
The Oklahoma City Thunder logo is out and, frankly, it’s a disaster…
I’m no designer, but you can find a good breakdown of this logo’s flaws here.
Even an amateur eye like mine can see the text “Thunder” is really boring and the basketball looks like clip art. I saw this and I thought there must be better Thunder logos out there and, alas, there are. Here are 4 teams you probably never heard of who did a much better job than OKC (probably on a much smaller budget too):
I like what the Berlin Thunder has done here (several teams use this logo actually). The “Thunder” text is nice, eye-catching, and actually conveys the idea of thunder a lot better than the OKC logo.
Ok, so the OKC Thunder weren’t going to use a viking with a hockey stick, but at least Stockton used some creativity in their fonts. Come to think of it, that viking is pretty cool looking.
This one’s a little too amateurish for the NBA, but the lightning strike on the T is pretty cool. Replace “Frisco” with “OKC” and come up with a replacement background image and you’ve got a pretty good logo.
Remember the old WCW Thunder logo? The color scheme was perfect and really set an aggressive mood. Look at this logo, then compare it to the OKC logo and the OKC logo will make you want to go to sleep.
Well, at least OKC did a better job than this last one…
Posted by HoopsAvenue on July 25, 2008 under Oklahoma City |
I remember in 1997 when my hometown’s franchise (now the Wizards) was in the process of choosing a new nickname to replace the old moniker Bullets. Oh, how odd those name choices sounded: Dragons, Express, Stallions, Sea Dogs, and Wizards. Those were the five name choices according to Wikipedia, but I remember Monuments being a sixth option, which I had wanted the team to choose. Eventually, of course, the name Wizards was chosen…I thought it sounded stupid, and now 11 years later it’s hard to imagine the team with any other nickname. The Oklahoma City franchise is going through a similar process this off-season and their name choices sound equally awkward. Here are the choices:
- Barons - This one doesn’t sound so bad at first, but if you do a little digging it’s rather amusing. The first definition for baron is, “a member of the lowest grade of nobility.” I guess the franchise formerly known as the Sonics wants to set low expectations? Of course when you hear baron, you might think along the lines of a business tycoon rather than a member of nobility. In fact, capitalist is a synonym of baron, which is a pretty good description of the franchise’s ownership (as Seattle fans will no doubt agree). Maybe since the franchise ain’t that good and is run by a seemingly greedy owner, Barons is an apt choice.
- Bison - Alright, this one is just plural for buffalo. Are you ready to imagine a logo similar to the Buffalo Bills or Colorado Buffaloes? It doesn’t seem to really fit in a sport that favors a deft combination of agility and athleticism over brute force. I think I could live with this name, though.
- Energy - Are you kidding me? Is this an electric company or a basketball franchise? In a day and age when we are talking about conserving energy, choosing this nickname would make the OKC franchise the butt of NBA jokes for years. Then again, maybe if the team were to turn down private jets for buses that run on clean, natural gas, they could start a revolution.
- Marshalls - Now, this one is weird. According to the patents filed, the NBA is spelling this one with two Ls when the normal spelling only has one. The spelling difference is minimal, but the difference in meaning is enormous! The NBA is choosing a cheap family clothing store over a military officer of the highest rank! Or, could they be naming the team after a particular person named Marshall? Hmm, Marshall Faulk? No. Marshall Mathers? In David Stern’s nightmares maybe.
- Thunder - Enough with the weather nicknames! We’ve got the Lightning and Hurricanes in hockey and we’ve got a soccer team named the Earthquakes. These weather nicknames belong in second-rate professional leagues and wrestling. Plus, let’s save the OKC fans the annoyance of hearing synthesized thunder at all their home games.
- Wind - Arghhhhh! What did I just say? Aren’t you listening, NBA? I guess the idea here is “swift as the wind.” I could do without the newspaper headlines, though, “The Wind is Howling!” when they’re on a winning streak and “Blown Over by the Wind” when they beat an opponent. It might not be good for PR when the real wind comes to OKC in the form of a tornado, either.
So, here we are once again, with a bunch of nicknames that look laughable, but whatever the choice is, we’ll get used to it.
The poll on your left has been updated to ask you what nickname you’d choose. Looking forward to your votes!
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