When it comes to Oklahoma City's yet-to-be-named NBA franchise, a for-sure, can't-miss nickname is difficult to come by. Marketing experts say the easy choices are already taken, long ago gobbled up by the hundreds of professional franchises.
Everyone is obsessed with naming the new team:
Nickname fever is sweeping the state, and no one is immune. With the impending arrival of Oklahoma's first major-league sports franchise one that's leaving its name, colors and history behind folks from Guymon to Gotebo are talking about what the team should be called.
Who among us hasn't thought about it, talked about it, debated about it?
This has become fodder for the casual observer every bit as much as the hard-core fan. The debate is just as likely to rage in a Sunday school class as at the local watering hole.
Heck, the obsession extends to The Oklahoman. Our fair newspaper conducted a 64-name bracket competition within hours of the relocation vote, and even though we've told all of you that we have no sway in the naming, you still keep calling and writing with your suggestions.
Meanwhile, OKC's (newly) own Kevin Durant will highlight the USA Select roster as one of 10 young players to give Team USA a run for their money in the lead up to the Olympics.
Durant's co-draftee of 2007, Greg Oden is excited about coming back after missing his first NBA season through injury and thinks that the Blazers might have some new fans:
Having Seattle lose its NBA franchise to Oklahoma City, Oden expects to see "a lot more people in Seattle coming down to Portland."
[If you can assign a team name for Oklahoma, what would you name the team?]