SPORTS PANEL What would you name OKC's new NBA franchise?

Rumor is that the club formerly known as the Seattle SuperSonics will be called the Oklahoma City Thunder. What would you name the team?

Jack Jabbour: Thunder, Lightning and singular nouns, oh my

OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-kla-HOMMMMMMMA, where they now have an NBA team playing under an assumed ROLLER DERBY name ...

Let's see: how about the Oklahoma City "Surry with the Fringe on Tops"?

Wait, it's now groovy to use singular nouns to describe plural teams - or is it team? So ... coming to you live from Okie City, we have the OK "Corral!" or the Okie Dokie.

Yeah, that's the ticket.

The worst thing about this singular noun business is/are (come on, YOU play copy editor: Which is it?) the sports headlines: THUNDER REIGN or REIGNS on LAKER PARADE?? "The Okie City Thunder is ... (are??) leaving for a five-city road trip."

Please. Whose idea was this, anyway?

I thought we were done with the singular nicknames when whatever that obscure football league with the "HE HATE ME" guy playing in it went belly up.

Oh, I just had an inspiration: the OK City Belly-up-to-the-Bar boy.

Too weird, I give up.

Nicholas Germain: How about the Vipers?

It seems the NBA is always thinking more.

More team, more rules, more everything.

Now they have decided to put a team in Oklahoma City. If you don't remember: After Hurricane Katrina hit, the New Orleans Hornets were allowed to have a temporary home in OKC.

The support was, needless to say, more than enough to make the league think about putting a team there. Now there is a team.

The name is better than the last one. Sorry, but the Charlotte Bobcats doesn't sound like an NBA team. So, to hear a name like the Thunder is more of a breath of fresh air than anything.

Seriously, their options were limited. The only other name I would have come up with would be the Oklahoma City Vipers. Snakes and Oklahoma go together pretty well if you ask me. Plus, it has a nice ring to it.

Richard Doran: All the good names are taken

My first choice was "Hokie Okies" - then I realized that the Virginia Tech sports teams are "The Hokies." (Why are all the good names always taken?)

Anyway, after more creative contemplation, I finally decided on a more appropriate name. Reminded of my past travels to the state, the elements of "wind and dust" are foremost in my recollection, so how about the Oklahoma City Dust Devils?

Jeff Moddelmog: Sooners or Later?

I would have liked to have seen them be called the Oklahoma Later, as wouldn't it have been great in November that somebody could say that they had a choice in a game on a Saturday.

They could go see a Big 12 football game or an NBA game. What a choice - the Sooners or Later.

The cheerleading squad can be called the Fashionably Late. They would show up midway through the first quarter, all dressed up.

The NBA would have to resolve one issue, though. I heard the team wanted to put grass on the ends of the court so the cheerleaders can graze during the game so they could perform at a high level during the timeouts.

The new arena could be called the Pasture, but due to potential cost overruns, I hear they will make it look and build it out of the same material as in a mobile home. I hope a tornado never gets close or they will have some serious issues.

Good luck OKC!!