Thunder Struck: Former Sonics Reportedly Decide On New Name

Former Sonics Reportedly To Be Called Oklahoma City Thunder

CRASH OF THUNDER: Bennett privately has said that he is “not wild about nicknames that don’t end in ‘s.’” However, in Oklahoma City, Darnell Mayberry writes the nickname Thunder “has a ring to it.” The name, which also was selected by readers in a Daily Oklahoman nickname contest, “is a good one” (DAILY OKLAHOMAN, 7/21).  In Oklahoma City, Berry Tramel wrote, “I was Thunderwhelmed.” But he added the nickname has “grown on me. I suspect it will grow on you, too.” Something “uniquely Oklahoman would have been cool. But all that said, Thunder certainly is a marketable name” (DAILY OKLAHOMAN, 7/20). But in Dallas, Tim Cowlishaw writes, “Please reconsider. Really, it’s OK to just go with Bears or Tigers. Anything but a singular noun” (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 7/21). In St. Pete, Tom Jones wrote, "Don’t we all hate singular noun nicknames? This is the NBA, not the Arena Football League" (TAMPABAY.com, 7/20). ESPN’s Michael Wilbon said the team should be called the Outlaws "in part because of where they’re located and in part because of how they got out of Seattle” (“PTI,” ESPN, 7/18).

DEJA VU: THE BIG LEAD noted the seven-team World Football League franchise based in Tulsa is named the Oklahoma Thunder (THEBIGLEAD.com, 7/19). DEADSPIN's Matt Sussman wrote, "Can an Oklahoma Thunder and an Oklahoma City Thunder really co-exist? Might one search for tickets online and think, 'Wow, it's two hours before the game and front row seats are still available?' This could get confusing" (DEADSPIN.com, 7/19).

MOVING FORWARD, LOOKING BACK: More than 16,000 people “have signed up to a season ticket request list for Oklahoma City’s new NBA team” in just 16 days (AP, 7/20). Meanwhile, in Seattle, Kathy Mulady reported activist Jordan Brower is working to collect nearly 15,000 signatures for a referendum to give voters a “chance in November to overturn” the ordinance terminating the team’s KeyArena lease. Brower has until August 15 to collect the signatures. Seattle City Council President Richard Conlin: “That is fast work; it seems unlikely. Referendums are really difficult because of that 30-day limit” (SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, 7/19).

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