THUNDER. Yes, that is actually their name.

And although that, for some reason, reminds me of Hulk Hogan riding a boat, that will be the moniker Oklahoma City will go by in the coming 2008-09 NBA basketball season since there’s no way in hell those guys from Seattle will let Oklahoma use ‘’SuperSonics'’ after stealing one of the league’s storied franchises away from them.

And since a thunder can be heard miles away, warning New Orleans people that they might have to move to Oklahoma again (sorry… I couldn’t resist…) it was only fitting that everybody already knew Sooners country will be represented by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA even before an official announcement came.

‘’It’s hard to keep a secret,'’ team chairman Clay Bennett said after stepping to a podium on the ground floor of the downtown office building where the team is based.

In what has become the worst kept secret in the NBA this coming season, the team’s logo and colors also leaked out over the weekend prior to the official announcement. Hell, they even had Thunder merchandise already for crying out loud to preempt Bennett.

‘’I thought it was great fun. Maybe I have a warped sense of things,'’ Bennett said.

‘’There’s just all kinds of good thunder images and thoughts, and the in-game experience of Thunder. Just here was a good sense of how that evokes emotion. It’s very powerful.'’

As expected, the players and even head coach P.J. Carlesimo, who is as stoic as a fuckin’ rock on a desert, is excited. ‘’The guys in the jerseys, if they play, the jerseys are going to look real good,'’ Carlesimo said.

‘’It’s very unique,'’ Desmond Mason, a former Oklahoma State forward who the Thunder acquired in an offseason trade with the Milwaukee Bucks, said. ‘’It’s going to take some time getting used to, just like Utah Jazz or Orlando Magic, but I think it’s a great thing for the state and a great thing for the city.'’

Who will win the 2009 NBA Finals? Bodog sportsbook has the EARLY odds.

Boston Celtics 4.00

Los Angeles Lakers 4.50

Detroit Pistons 9.00

San Antonio Spurs 9.00

Want more odds? Visit Bodog for more basketball betting odds and the best betting lines on some of today’s biggest sporting events.

2008-09 NBA Season Oklahoma City Thunder