A good friend of mine, Mike Sherman, is the sports editor of the Oklahoman, the newspaper in Oklahoma City. We're always talking shop, but our conversations also turn to sports more often than not.
One topic we keep discussing is whether the NBA will work in OKC. He saw his city go ga-ga over the Hornets in their two-season visit from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
He thought the NBA would come back and come back quickly. He also thinks his city will embrace the Thunder the way Sacramento has the Kings.
I keep asking him, why will a major college sports town like Oklahoma City succeed where others, like New Orleans and Memphis, have struggled?
The answer is that Oklahoma City has actively tried to be a pro sports city for nearly two decades. Ford Center was built in the hopes of getting an NBA or NHL expansion franchise.
Major college sports thrive less than half an hour away in suburban Norman. But when NBA opportunities came, Oklahoma City embraced them.
All its efforts might not guarantee the league success there, but Oklahoma City sure has made the NBA feel welcome.
What to do
NBA exhibition: Oklahoma City at Kings, 7 p.m. It might be the exhibition home opener, but there are lots of good seats available.
What to watch
NBA exhibition: Oklahoma City at Kings, CSN. For DirecTV viewers, remember that Comcast SportsNet West has moved to Channel 698.
What to surf
www.nba.com/thunder. The newest team's Web site is light on depth, and it's hard to find mention of the Seattle SuperSonics.
Thursday's results
NHL • SHARKS 4, Ducks 1
N.L. Championship Series • Phillies 3, Dodgers 2
The last word
What you're saying on the sacbee.com comments: • "They drafted this kid too high and too early in his college career. He needed more time in the NCAA, and even then he is a middle-round draft pick at best." – kingsrulal on "Hawes' flaws exposed in exhibition opener"
What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com
Sacbee.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. (See our full terms of service here.)
Here are some rules of the road:
• Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "report abuse" button to notify the moderators. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.
• Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.
• Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.
• Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand. If you want to discuss an issue with a specific user, click on his profile name and send him a direct message.
• Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.
• Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.
• Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.
• Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.
You should also know that The Sacramento Bee does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "report abuse" button to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at feedback@sacbee.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.
If you submit a comment, the user name of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them, but you may ask our staff to retract one of your comments by sending an email to feedback@sacbee.com. Again, make sure you note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us your profile name.
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.