NBA Nicknames (Southeast)

Among the many interesting topics in the NBA – and in professional sports – are the meanings behind team nicknames. Bill Simmons noted in a recent article that the Utah Jazz have a meaningless nickname. The Jazz originated in New Orleans, a jazz destination, but the state of Utah isn’t exactly known for producing that type of music.
That got me intrigued about the reasoning behind every other NBA team nickname. I will go through the teams by division, beginning with the Eastern Conference’s Southeast division.

Atlanta Hawks

They formed in the National Basketball League (NBL) in 1946 as the Tri-Cities Blackhawks, representing the towns Moline and Rock Island, Ill. and Davenport, Iowa.
The nickname Blackhawk honored the Sauk Chief Black Hawk, whose tribe had been situated in Rock Island, among many other areas of the upper Midwest in the early 19th century. Chief Black Hawk battled for years with the U.S. government and was partially responsible for a war under his namesake that resulted in his capture.
The Tri-Cities Blackhawks joined the Basketball Assocation of America (BAA). The NBL and BAA merged into the National Basketball Association (NBA).
The Blackhawks moved to Milwaukee in 1951 and shortened their name to the Hawks. The team then relocated to St. Louis and finally Atlanta in 1968.

Charlotte Bobcats

The Bobcats obviously replaced the departed Hornets as the NBA’s Charlotte franchise in 2004.
The Charlotte Regional Sports Commission (SRSC) helped team owner Robert L. “Bob” Johnson in designating a team nickname. Flight, Dragons and Bobcats were the top three suggestions voted by the Charlotte community in the naming contest.
Another professional sports team in the Charlotte area, the NFL’s Panthers, has a cat-related name, so the CRSC and Johnson thought that Bobcats would make sense. It helps that the bobcat is an indigenous predator to the Carolinas. And since Johnson was often referred to as Bob, the nickname seemed to make perfect sense.

Miami Heat

Anyone who has been to Miami can attest to the aptness of this nickname.
The Heat became the first NBA team in Florida as they debuted in 1988. They were terrible at first, so they weren’t exactly heating up the building with winning basketball, but they eventually got there during the Glen Rice Era.

Orlando Magic

Orlando debuted a year later than their neighbor to the south, Miami. The Magic played their first game in 1989, as part of a four-team late ‘80s NBA expansion.
The Orlando organization and Orlando Sentinel held a community-wide competition to select the expansion team’s nickname, much the same way it was done in Charlotte for the Bobcats.
The final two nicknames for the Orlando team were the Magic and Juice. Juice referred to the immense Florida orange juice industry. Magic was in reference to the Orlando-based Disney World, a world-famous amusement park which opened in 1971. Disney World’s first theme park was called Magic Kingdom. Now it all comes together.

Washington Wizards

This franchise was originally the Chicago Packers, which began in the NBA in 1961. The team nickname was changed the following year to the Zephyrs. A year after that, the franchise moved to Baltimore and became the Bullets.
They held the Bullets nickname until the 1995, when owner Abe Pollin thought Bullets was too harsh of a word for a team. Critics exclaimed it promoted violence, although Pollin, like any other business owner who wants to expand his or her market reach, was probably more concerned about bringing in families to his games.
Parents typically don’t want their children to be exposed to terms such as Bullets, so Pollin instituted a name change. The recommended new nicknames from fans included the Dragons, Express, Stallions, Sea Dogs and Wizards.
A wizard, despite being a type of rank in the Ku Klux Klan, is largely associated within the children’s fantasy genre, hence the inherent appeal of the nickname to families. So the Bullets became the Wizards and it is now apparent it will take a Wizard (the magical kind) to put the team back into NBA title contention.

Information from team’s official Web sites and wikipedia.com

To Keep Yao or not

It’s tough to build a team around one injury-prone player. It’s even tougher to build it around TWO injury-prone players.
The Houston Rockets have a two-headed conundrum in recently-injured Yao Ming and perpetually-injured Tracy McGrady. Let’s look at Yao in this blog.
He averaged 81 games and 31 minutes per game his first three seasons with the Rockets, but 53 games and 35 minutes per game the last three.
Some may say that his duty for his native China in the 2006 World Championships played an instrumental part in his proneness to injury the last couple of seasons. But Yao played in the 2004 Olympics while following that with nearly a full NBA season. Perhaps you could make the argument that playing in those Olympics – along with his other offseason duties to China before that – set up his body for the sort of failure it has experienced the last three NBA seasons.
Now that Yao is out for the remainder of this season with a stress facture in his left foot, the popular topic is whether the Rockets should continue to build their team around him. Can Yao’s growing injury history be dismissed as simply bad luck or is this a precursor to further frustration for Yao and the Rockets? Some have even called Yao the next Bill Walton, another highly-skilled big man whose NBA career was cut short because of frequent foot injuries.
In defense of Yao, we need look no further than Zydrunas Ilgauskas as an example of a big man who can overcome foot injuries to become a reliable player. Big Z missed 205 games between the start of the 98-99 season and the end of the 01-02 season and it seemed at the time that his career would end prematurely. Yet Z has averaged 79 games per season going into 07-08 and has missed only one game this year while maintaining a solid level of play the entire time.
So Yao has a reason to be optimistic. And he is still in his 20’s, so his pace of healing is still much quicker than if he were in his 30’s.
The fact of the matter is skilled big men like Yao are held at a premium, especially when they run 7’6” and knock down 18-foot jumpers in their sleep.
Even the most casual NBA fan can understand the league is still a big man’s game. Teams that employ Shaq O’Neal and Tim Duncan have won eight of the past nine NBA titles. The resurrection of the Celtics and Lakers is due in part to the acquisitions of Kevin Garnett and Pau Gasol and the emergence of Andrew Bynum. The Magic, Mavericks and Suns are strong playoff teams, if not title contenders, because of Dwight Howard, Dirk Nowitski, Amare Stoudemire and Shaq.
After the Beijing Olympics this summer, in which Yao will likely play since he is the host country’s most recognizable athlete, the Rockets might try to hold Yao out of future international competition so that he can get proper rest during the summer. But unless they can get back a star big man in a trade for Yao, the Rockets best future title hopes remains building their franchise around their 7’6” asset.

Be grateful for Tiger

If you have never watched Tiger Woods play golf, then make sure you tune in the next tournament he plays. In fact, make it a priority to watch him play at The Masters this April.
Tiger has had an incredible career, including his magical nine-win 2000 season in which he won three of the four major tournaments and justified all the hype that had surrounded him once he joined the tour in 1997.
He has had some remarkable stretches in his career, but right now he is at the absolute peak of his career. He even mentioned after his Accenture Match Play championship on Sunday that his current five-game tournament winning streak is the best stretch of golf he has ever played.
It is so rare that a player of his caliber comes along in any sport. An athlete of his skill forces even those who don't enjoy the athlete's sport to watch, just for the sake of saying that they beared witness to a transcedent athlete.
Tiger is probably the greatest golfer this world has seen and he is in the prime of his career. It's simply amazing to watch an athlete combine his incredible physical skills with his relentless determination and competitiveness to become sort of an uber athlete. Tiger is the standard by which all future golfers will be measured. By the time he retires, he may be the standard by which all future athletes are measured.
Be sure to watch him while he is at the peak of his performance.

NBA All-Star

There are times when I forget how great the NBA was in the early '90s. I was watching the '93 All-Star game on ESPN Classic this afternoon and was blown away at the number of future Hall-of-Famers in the game.
There were Isiah Thomas and Dominique Wilkins past their primes. A 23-year-old Shaq O'Neal was there. But it was the amount of great players, in the primes of their careers, that drew me away from my computer and to the TV. Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, John Stockton, Hakeem Olajuwan, Scottie Pippen, Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone and David Robinson were all there.
It reminded me of all the great players the NBA has now. Even without in-their-prime superstars like Tracy McGrady and Gilbert Arenas absent, and an end-of-his-prime Kevin Garnett out with injury (not to mention Shaq missing the game), just look at all the possible future Hall-of-Famers playing today: end-of-their-prime guys like Tim Duncan, Allen Iverson, Jason Kidd and Steve Nash, in-their-prime guys like Kobe Bryant, Paul Pierce, Dwayne Wade, Dirk Nowitski and Yao Ming and then the just-entering-their-prime guys such as LeBron James, Chris Paul, Carlos Boozer, Amare Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony, Brandon Roy, Chris Bosh and Dwight Howard.
The NBA might still have an image problem, but there is no doubting the league has just as many talented players now as it ever has.

NFL Draft first round review (1998)

The NFL Draft first round is infamous as much for its misses (Ryan Leaf) as for its hits (Peyton Manning). With the 2008 NFL Draft a little more than two months away, I thought it would be fun to review the past ten first rounds.
The purpose of this project is to find out how long, on average, first rounders stay with their original teams and to measure the success of the players drafted.
I will use the infuriatingly complicated formula of 1-5 to judge the players. 1 is a bust, 2 is a poor player, 3 is average, 4 is good, and 5 is a Hall-of-Famer.
As I research future classes I will compare each one to the past first rounds that have been previously mentioned.

1. Indianapolis - Peyton Manning, Quarterback, Tennessee (5)
Played For: Indianapolis (98-Present)
Key Stats: Has thrown for over 40,000 yards and 300 touchdowns. Has eight seasons of 4,000-plus passing yards and four seasons of 30-plus touchdowns.
Recognition: Eight-time Pro Bowler, six-time All-Pro, two-time regular season MVP, one Super Bowl win, one Super Bowl MVP.
Notes: Manning is regarded as one of the best quarterbacks in the game today and will be considered one of the all-time greats when he retires.

2. San Diego (from Arizona) - Ryan Leaf, Quarterback, Washington St. (1)
Played For: San Diego (98-00), Dallas (01)
Key Stats: Played 25 career games. He committed 48 turnovers in those 25 games and his career touchdown:interception ratio was 1:2.5.
Recognition: Was thought of as a consummate prima donna and is considered one of the biggest busts in North American sports history.
Notes: He is hated in his home state (Montana) and blamed for years of ineptitude in San Diego.

3. Arizona (from San Diego) - Andre Wadsworth, Defensive End, Florida St. (1)
Played For: Arizona (98-00)
Key Stats: Lasted only three seasons, playing in 36 games and accumulating eight sacks.
Recognition: Had a very productive senior season at Florida St. and was regarded as a sure-fire annual Pro Bowler at defensive end.
Notes: Multiple knee surgeries compromised his athleticism, a key asset of his, and derailed his career.

4. Oakland - Charles Woodson, Cornerback, Michigan (4)
Played For: Oakland (98-05), Green Bay (06-Present)
Key Stats: Has started 133 of 136 games in which he has played. Has 29 career interceptions and has made more than 350 tackles.
Recognition: Four-time Pro Bowler and NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. Was considered one of the NFL’s best cornerbacks his first few years in the league.
Notes: Injuries caused him to miss one-third of the possible games he could have played in from 02-05, but he has been a solid player since signing with Green Bay in 06.

5. Chicago - Curtis Enis, Running Back, Penn St. (1)
Played For: Chicago (98-00)
Key Stats: Gained 61% of his rushing yards (916), made 76% of his receptions (45), and scored 83% of his touchdowns (5) in one season (1999).
Recognition: Was thought to fit perfectly (6’0”, 244, Big Ten-bred) into Chicago’s physical reputation and cold weather.
Notes: Injuries and lack of productivity did in Enis, whose only notable contribution to Chicago was that he carried on the team’s reputation for drafting running back busts (Darnell Autry, ’97; Rashaan Salaam, ’95; Brad Muster, ’88).

6. St. Louis - Grant Wistrom, Defensive End, Nebraska (3)
Played For: St. Louis (98-03), Seattle (04-06)
Key Stats: Recorded 53 sacks while playing five full seasons and missing only one game in two others.
Recognition: Was long viewed as the consummate high-motor player as he accrued 40 sacks in one five-year stretch (99-03), one-time Super Bowl winner.
Notes: Age has caught up to Wistrom, who was released by Seattle before the 2007 season due to lack of productivity and hasn’t caught on with another team since.

7. New Orleans - Kyle Turley, Offensive Tackle, San Diego St. (3)
Played For: New Orleans (98-02), St. Louis (03-04), Kansas City (06-07)
Key Stats: Started 96 of 97 possible games in his first six years.
Recognition: Despite being a solid player, especially early in his career, his helmet-throwing incident against the Jets in a 2001 Sunday Night Football game is his last legacy.
Notes: Was another player whose career was ravaged by injuries.

8. Dallas - Greg Ellis, Defensive End, North Carolina (4)
Played For: Dallas (98-Present)
Key Stats: Has recorded 69 sacks, including 12.5 this past season. He has had at least 7.5 sacks in six seasons.
Recognition: 2007 NFL Comeback Player of the Year.
Notes: Ellis has had an up-and-down career with Dallas, but played well in his prime and drastically resurrected his career in 07.

9. Jacksonville - (from Buffalo) Fred Taylor, Running Back, Florida (4)
Played For: Jacksonville (98-Present)
Key Stats: Has rushed for over 10,000 yards and 60 touchdowns, including seven 1,100 yard-plus seasons and two double-digit touchdown seasons.
Recognition: Long considered the best running back to never make a Pro Bowl, Taylor finally earned Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors in 07.
Notes: Taylor is Mr. Jaguar. It’s tough to imagine the 13-year old franchise without their all-time rushing and touchdown leader.

10. Baltimore - Duane Starks, Cornerback, Miami (2)
Played For: Baltimore (98-01), Arizona (02-04), New England (05), Oakland (06-07)
Key Stats: Has made 350 career tackles and 25 interceptions.
Recognition: Intercepted a pass and ran it back for a touchdown in Super Bowl XXXV, one-time Super Bowl winner.
Notes: Starks accumulated 206 tackles and 20 interceptions while winning one Super Bowl in his four seasons with Baltimore. Since then, he has hung around the league without making any contributions.

11. Philadelphia - Tra Thomas, Offensive Tackle, Florida St. (4)
Played For: Philadelphia (98-Present)
Key Stats: Has started 149 of 150 career games. Has played five full seasons and missed one game in each of four other seasons.
Recognition: Two-time Pro Bowler
Notes: Thomas has been a solid bookend on a consistent playoff team for most of his career.

12. Atlanta - Keith Brooking, Linebacker, Georgia Tech (4)
Played For: Atlanta (98-Present)
Key Stats: Has made 100-plus tackles in each of the last seven seasons, a time in which he has started every possible game. Has also intercepted 12 passes and made 17 sacks.
Recognition: Five-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro.
Notes: Brooking isn’t quite Hall-of-Fame-caliber, but has been one of the best and most versatile linebackers in the NFL for most of his career.

13. Cincinnati - Takeo Spikes, Linebacker, Auburn (4)
Played For: Cincinnati (98-02), Buffalo (03-06), Philadelphia (07)
Key Stats: Averaged 114 tackles and three sacks per season in his first seven years in the NFL.
Recognition: Two-time Pro Bowler
Notes: Takeo was on his way to possible Hall-of-Fame credentials before injuries began decimating his career. He hasn’t been anywhere near the impact player the last few seasons that he was earlier in the decade.

14. Carolina - Jason Peter, Defensive Tackle, Nebraska (1)
Played For: Carolina (98-01)
Key Stats: Played 14 games his rookie season, but never played more than nine games in his next three seasons.
Recognition: Was an All-America at Nebraska, but never translated that success into the NFL.
Notes: Had to retire from the NFL due to a recurrent neck stinger.

15. Seattle - Anthony Simmons, Linebacker, Clemson (3)
Played For: Seattle (98-04)
Key Stats: Recorded 100-plus tackles in three seasons.
Recognition: None
Notes: Simmons was a fast, athletic linebacker coming out of Clemson, but would eventually retire due to injuries.

16. Tennessee - Kevin Dyson, Wide Receiver, Utah (2)
Played For: Tennessee (98-02), Carolina (03)
Key Stats: Caught 50-plus passes in two seasons and scored four or more touchdowns in three seasons.
Recognition: None
Notes: Scored the touchdown on the infamous Music City Miracle play against Buffalo in the 1999 playoffs. Was tackled one yard short of a possible game-tying touchdown as time expired in Super Bowl XXXIV.

17. Cincinnati (from Wash.) - Brian Simmons, Linebacker, North Carolina (3)
Played For: Cincinnati (98-06), New Orleans (07-Present)
Key Stats: Has made 760 career tackles, including 80-plus tackles in seven seasons and 100-plus tackles in three seasons.
Recognition: None
Notes: Has been a solid player for years, but never a noteworthy one.

18. New England (from Jets) - Robert Edwards, Running Back, Georgia (1)
Played For: New England (98), Miami (02)
Key Stats: Rushed for 1,115 yards and nine touchdowns in his rookie season.
Recognition: Was considered for the 1998 NFL Rookie of the Year award.
Notes: Edwards blew out his knee playing a flag football game during Pro Bowl week after his rookie season and was never the same.

19. Green Bay (from Miami) - Vonnie Holliday, Defensive Tackle, North Carolina (4)
Played For: Green Bay (98-02), Kansas City (03-04), Miami (05-Present)
Key Stats: Has made over 450 career tackles and 51.5 sacks. Has recorded seven-plus sacks in three seasons.
Recognition: None
Notes: Has been a positive and consistent contributor throughout his career.

20. Detroit - Terry Fair, Cornerback, Tennessee (2)
Played For: Detroit (98-01), Carolina (02), St. Louis (05)
Key Stats: Has seven career interceptions and 2,988 career kick return yards.
Recognition: Was regarded as an above-average kick returner for his first few years in the NFL.
Notes: Had hung around the NFL due to his speed, but once that faded, so did his place in the NFL.

21. Minnesota - Randy Moss, Wide Receiver, Marshall (5)
Played For: Minnesota (98-04), Oakland (05-06), New England (07)
Key Stats: Has caught 774 passes for 12,193 yards and 124 touchdowns thus far in his career. He has caught 100 or more passes twice, recorded 1,200 yards or more seven times, and scored double-digit touchdowns seven times.
Recognition: Six-time Pro Bowler, four-time All-Pro, 1998 Offensive Rookie of the Year, and holds the record for most receiving touchdowns in a single season (23).
Notes: Moss is probably the most dynamic receiver of his generation and one of the best playmakers in NFL history.

22. New England - TeBucky Jones, Cornerback, Syracuse (3)
Played For: New England (98-02), New Orleans (03-04), Miami (05), New England (06)
Key Stats: Made over 450 career tackles, including 102 during the 2004 season.
Recognition: None
Notes: He never more than a role player.

23. Oakland (from Tampa Bay) - Mo Collins, Offensive Tackle, Florida (2)
Played For: Oakland (98-03)
Key Stats: Played a full season twice.
Recognition: Absolutely none
Notes: He was a big boy, but never became a reliable bookend.

24. New York Giants - Shaun Williams, Safety, UCLA (3)
Played For: NYG (98-05), Carolina (06-Present)
Key Stats: Has 15 career interceptions and recorded more than 400 tackles.
Recognition: None.
Notes: He started for many years with the Giants, but, like Jones, worked mostly as a role player.

25. Jacksonville - Donovin Darius, Safety, Syracuse (4)
Played For: Jacksonville (98-06), Miami (07)
Key Stats: He recorded 70-plus tackles in his first seven seasons.
Recognition: Along with Taylor, he was considered Mr. Jaguar.
Notes: Darius was a hard-hitter who was among the most consistently good safeties in the NFL for nearly a decade.

26. Pittsburgh - Alan Faneca, Guard, LSU (5)
Played For: Pittsburgh (98-Present)
Key Stats: Has started 153 of 158 career games.
Recognition: Seven-time Pro Bowler, five-time All-Pro, one-time Super Bowl winner.
Notes: Faneca has been one of the best guards in the league since he was drafted. He should be considered as a Hall-of-Fame candidate once he retires.

27. Kansas City - Victor Riley, Offensive Tackle, Auburn (2)
Played For: Kansas City (98-01), New Orleans (02-04), Houston (05)
Key Stats: It took me a few minutes to even find stats on the guy. Eventually, I found that he played in every game in only three seasons.
Recognition: Probably that he was the one bad offensive lineman for the Chiefs in the early part of this decade.
Notes: There is nothing to add.

28. San Francisco - R.W. McQuarters, Cornerback, Oklahoma State (3)
Played For: San Francisco (98-00), Chicago (00-04), Detroit (06), NYG (07-Present)
Key Stats: Has made 481 career tackles to go with 14 interceptions and three punt return and defensive touchdowns apiece, one-time Super Bowl winner.
Recognition: Known as much for his dreadlocks as for his game.
Notes: McQuarters has never been a good cornerback, but he adapted his skills to fill a need and has now become a very reliable kick and punt returner. His ability to hang around in the NFL for a decade is a testament to his awareness to adapt his skills to whatever his team needed.

29. Miami (from Green Bay) - John Avery, Running Back, Mississippi (1)
Played For: Miami (98-99), Denver (99), Minnesota (03)
Key Stats: Rushed the ball 143 times for 503 yards and two touchdowns in his rookie year. He rushed six times for 21 yards for the rest of his career.
Recognition: None.
Notes: Was another poor draft pick from the Jimmy Johnson Era.

30. Denver - Marcus Nash, Wide Receiver, Tennessee (1)
Played For: Denver (98-99), Baltimore (99-00)
Key Stats: He caught four passes for 76 yards – in his career.
Recognition: He still managed to snag two Super Bowl wins.
Notes: He didn’t have a successful career from an individual standpoint, but anytime you have half as many Super Bowl rings as you do career catches, you have to take that deal.