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Oklahoma City Thunder dance team

The Oklahoma City Thunder hosted final auditions for its 2008-09 dance team, Thursday night at Toby Keith’s “I Love This Bar and Grill” in Bricktown. With a process that started with over 180 women last Sunday, 41 competed for a place on the team, and judges narrowed the selection down to 20 talented dancers.

Dance team hopefuls performed in pairs on Thursday night in front of over 500 Thunder fans. Of the 41 dancers to make the squad, six come from Oklahoma City, three from Texas, and one from as far away as Springdale, AR.

Auditions were open to females over the age of 18, who were energetic, had dance experience and were interested in performing at Thunder home games.

Below is the 2008-09 Thunder dance team roster:

1. Katie, hometown Oklahoma City, OK
2. Jada, hometown Oklahoma City, OK
3. Shereka, hometown Muskogee, OK
4. Erica, hometown Midwest City, OK
5. Crystal, hometown Dallas, TX
6. Sheri, hometown Dallas, TX
7. Kimberly, hometown Norman, OK
8. Ashley, hometown Shawnee, OK
9. Hayley, hometown Springdale, AR
10. Riane, hometown Oklahoma City, OK
11. Lauren, hometown Oklahoma City, OK
12. Christhian, hometown Oklahoma City, OK
13. Lindsay, hometown Edmond, OK
14. Nicole, hometown Mustang, OK
15. Brittany, hometown Oklahoma City, OK
16. Amy, hometown Long View, TX
17. Brittany, hometown Edmond, OK
18. LaTeshia, hometown Moore, OK
19. Natalie, hometown Altus, OK
20. Megan, hometown McCloud, OK

Thunder re-sign Robert Swift

The Oklahoma City Thunder re-signed restricted free agent center Robert Swift it was announced today by the team’s General Manager Sam Presti. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“We are pleased to have Robert back with our organization,” Presti said. “We look forward to his contributions this season.”

Swift, the 12th overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft, has career averages of 1.8 points and 2.3 rebounds in 71 games with the club.

The 7-1, 270 lbs center averaged 18.8 points, 15.9 rebounds and 6.2 blocks per game as a senior at Bakersfield High School on his way to being named a McDonald’s All-American.

Thunder sell over 10,000 season tickets in 3 days

In three days of sales, the Oklahoma City Thunder has sold more than 10,000 season tickets for its first year in the Ford Center. The team says the lower level of the arena is now sold out. The only remaining season tickets are in the upper and club levels The available club level seats are good for one year since they will be removed during the Ford Center renovation.

The team encourages fans with Thursday appointments to come to the Ford Center at their scheduled times to see what is available among the approximately 3000 remaining seats.

InsideHoops.com editor says: That’s obviously really good. Though, I’d like to know how much cheaper the ticket plans are for OKC compared to those of other NBA cities. I’ll keep an eye out for that info and quote it for you. And if you happen to see it, toss me an email.

Thunder have huge first sales day

In its first day of season ticket sales, the Oklahoma City Thunder sold more than 6,300 season tickets. The team’s select-a-seat event hosted fans who were selected in random order based on an initial ticket request list. Monday’s sales also reflect significant support from corporate sponsors.

“The response has been fantastic. We are trying to accommodate as many fans as possible with the seats of their choice but demand is very high,” said team spokesman Dan Mahoney. Mahoney said the select-a-seat process continues Tuesday, starting at 8:00 a.m. for fans with randomly selected appointment times.

Mahoney said the team expects it will hit its limit on season tickets before the weeklong select-a-seat process is complete and will have to put fans on a waiting list. “We have set aside more than 4,000 seats for single game tickets, group sales and eight-game partial season ticket packages,” Mahoney said. “We have taken steps to make Thunder basketball games as accessible as possible for a wide variety of fans”

The team also is limiting fans to six tickets per account. Fans not able to purchase full season tickets will be placed on the list for the partial ticket plans. That will also put them on the waiting list for future full season tickets.

The Thunder opens its 2008-09 regular season on October 29 at home vs. the Milwaukee Bucks. The team’s preseason schedule includes an October 13 game vs. the Houston Rockets in Tulsa and an October 14 game vs. the LA Clippers at the Ford Center.

Thunder have new operations director

The Oklahoma City Thunder promoted longtime employee Marc St. Yves, it was announced today by the team’s General Manager Sam Presti. St. Yves, entering his 30th year with the franchise, will assume the role of Director of Team Operations for the Thunder.

“We are pleased to reward Marc for his years of service for our team and in the NBA,” Presti said. “He is an invaluable part of the operation we are building in Oklahoma City and expect him to further enhance our organization with his professionalism and diligence.”

In his new role St. Yves will oversee all of the day-to-day team operations including facilities, equipment, travel and logistics for all team functions.

St. Yves previously held the position of Equipment Manager for the club, a title he had held since 1985. The Seattle native began his association with the franchise as a 13 year-old ball boy during the team’s 1979-80 season.

Oklahoma City Thunder store opens

At 5 p.m. Wednesday, the NBA franchise in Oklahoma City was officially named Thunder at a name and logo unveiling event in downtown Oklahoma City. At 5:15, the Thundershop was opened on the ground floor of the Leadership Square building and more than 1,000 fans made their way through the front doors.

Team officials say approximately 1,500 fans attended today’s name and logo unveiling event with the majority of them making their way to the Thundershop. Fans waited several hours to purchase Thunder merchandise, and each customer averaged at least two items per purchase.

“We were impressed with the great response from the fans in Oklahoma City,” said team spokesman Dan Mahoney. “We had customers lined up for several hundred feet outside the Thundershop. We appreciate everyone’s response to today’s announcement.”

Following the event, Thunder players Desmond Mason and Damien Wilkins joined the festivities in the Thundershop. Both purchased Thunder merchandise, while Wilkins helped out some of the fans by bagging their items.

The ThunderShop will be open on the lobby level of Leadership Square from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday.

It`s official: Oklahoma City Thunder

The Seattle Sonics are now officially the Oklahoma City Thunder. The name was finally confirmed by the team and announced Wednesday at 6 p.m. Eastern Time. The team’s logo was also revealed, and it did turn out to be the same one that spread around the internet a few days ago in a photo on a mini-basketball in plastic-wrap.

Hit the front page of insidehoops.com to see the logo, though I had to edit the surroundings and did a lousy job of that, so don’t blame the team for the white spaces at the bottoms. But, aside from that, there’s the logo.

I’m now posting two polls, asking if fans like the name, and if they like the logo. Hit insidehoops in a few minutes, and scroll down until you see the polls. Then, vote. Tell your friends to do the same.

I personally think ‘Thunder” is a decent name. It’s powerful. And it’ll grow on fans, the same way the Heat name and other names always do over time.

— Jeff