Hey kiddos. So, I missed most of last week here on The Links, but at the same time, did I really miss all that much? The NBA is hibernating right now, as everyone tries to squeeze in a little more vacation time before training camps tip off. And then we’re all screwed.
I spent the long Labor Day weekend in The A, and then hit NYC for two days, then spent all day Thursday in L.A., then took the redeye back to NYC and arrived Friday morning. Then I had my birthday this weekend, which I interpreted as meaning I was allowed to sit on the couch and watch football without moving all weekend. Wifey tried to interpret it differently, but I wasn’t having it.
The only NBA news of note that I can think of is, most prominently, Darrell Arthur and Mario Chalmers getting booted from the Rookie Transition Program because they allegedly had some sort of combination of women and weed in their hotel room. If there’s anything you don’t want to get caught with in your hotel room, it’s definitely women and/or weed, although I suppose getting caught with a combination of weed and pretty much anything else would’ve been bad, too. (Although, what if they’d been caught with weed and a bunch of research material about the dangers of marijuana, and then it turned out that they were actually just research the dangers of the drug? I’m guessing they still would’ve been sent home.)
But no, these Jayhawks are the champions, and they understand how to go all-out, how to lay it all on the line. Did they realize, they are champions in our eyes? Yes they did! And they still packed it up and brought it back the crib.
All I know is that for now, Chalmers and Pineapple Express Arthur have given us something to talk about.
Oh, and we also need to stop and congratulate the newest WNBA franchise, the Oklahoma City Thunder. And what a cute logo they selected! With happy colors! Look, their mascot is a meteorological condition — you know, thunder — but not the scary, ominous kind. Instead it’s the cuddly, cute kind. Of thunder? Of thunder!
In the Associated Press story about the naming of the franchise, there’s a lot about why they chose weather as their mascot:
Thunder is a fitting moniker for the Oklahoma City franchise, not only as a reference to powerful storms in the area known as Tornado Alley. The Oklahoma City-based 45th Infantry Division carries Thunderbirds as its nickname, and that’s a reference to the state’s American Indian heritage. Even one of Oklahoma native Garth Brooks’ biggest hits was “The Thunder Rolls.”
“There’s just all kinds of good thunder images and thoughts, and the in-game experience of Thunder,” Bennett said. “Just here was a good sense of how that evokes emotion. It’s very powerful.”
So, not only did they purposely choose Thunder because the area has a lot of tornadoes, which in turn often destroy homes and kill people, but they also selected Thunder because Garth Brooks had a song with “Thunder” in the title. Now, I’m no country music historian, but even I recall that the Garth Brooks song in question was about domestic abuse, not about, say, the weather. Which seems to make it a completely inappropriate choice to influence your franchise name.
I don’t think Thunder is a terrible name for a franchise, but, there’s really not “all kinds of good thunder images and thoughts.” If you’re going use Thunder, use it because it can evoke thoughts of fear and power.
But then, above all else, please don’t use colors from a bag of Skittles. The Thunder should be black and silver, with maybe some navy blue thrown in. But not orange and yellow and baby blue. Hopefully it’s not too late to change the logo.
There’s also Monta Ellis injuring his ankle in some mysterious way, but I’m waiting for the dust and tendons to settle before tackling that story.
Finally, I have it on good word that Josh Childress, who actually moved to Athens, Greece a few weeks ago, is at least adjusting to the food: He’s eating most of his meals at TGI Friday’s. I told him he should call it Thank Greece It’s Friday’s!
Anyway, I’m back. Holla.
