Attention Mr. Commissioner

Hello David Stern and the NBA Relocation Committee. Welcome to Oklahoma City...aka "The Big Friendly." We hope you'll enjoy your big day in our little hamlet. I assume it'll include lunch at Toby Keith's Bar, some line dancing at Club Rodeo and a good ole-fashioned talk around the campfire tonight at Mayor Mick's Corral. Because as you know, and as Bill Callahan pointed out, we are just a bunch of &*%$^#$ hillbillies 'round these parts.

Actually, that's what we'd like to talk to you fancy folks about. We've got a bit of a perception problem 'round here. A member of the East Coast media actually asked me this week if we have "Indians wearing headdresses walking around the malls and stuff." Charles Barkley doesn't think there's any black people here, and let's be honest, the 1st thing anybody thinks of when you say Oklahoma City is the bombing.

We're ready for a new image. We're ready to stop being America's Hee-Haw and join civilization. We're ready for a pro-sports team on the highest level that proudly wears OKC on its chest and not just on a patch. We're ready for a team that unites our state and shows the world that we're more than a flyover town.

Bring on the Sonics...or as I'd like to rename them...The Oklahoma City Hillbilly-Peace pipe-Tornado-Cats.