Ben's first post when we first started out was entitled, "When One Door Closes....", so I felt that this title would be appropriate. A lot has happened since then, as we've moved from being a small blog on blogger named, "The Oklahoma City NBA Sports Blog....To The Max!!!!" to being a SB Nation Blog, stepping into someone elses' shoes.

Mr. Pappagiorgio has big shoes to fill, and I'm sure that I could fill them literally, but figuratively, I'll never be the same guy. Whereas Mr.P is a guy oozing with optimistic enthusiasm about his team, I'm more of a world-weary cynic. Don't get me wrong, I love my team, but I'm also very realistic in the way I view things. In any case, I've contacted him, and he's told me that he's totally fine and will try to comment here every once in a while, which is nice to hear. I wish him only the best in his future endeavors.

I guess I should continue this blog by telling you a little bit about where I come from, who I am, and what my credentials are.

I'm a freshman student of the University of Oklahoma, and I'm a alumnus of Classen School of Advanced Studies. I've lived in Oklahoma nearly my entire life (except for the first year of it, some of which was spent in London and Chicago). While I'll never consider myself a true Oklahoman, I am very familiar with the local culture, and do consider it a home.

As far as my blogging goes, I've been around. In 2006 I started commenting and making Fan Posts all over Golden State of Mind. Then, I moved on to frequenting Ballhype, and creating a short, foolish endevour called Adonal Obsessed. It was my attempt to write whatever I wanted about sports across the board, and there is no other sure way to fail. After previewing and predicting every College Bowl game, Ben and I were worn out, so we shut that one down.

Eventually, I moved out of blogging for a while, and I continued to follow the Warriors while the Hornets were gone. Long story short, I'm about to board a plane in London in July 2008, I call Ben, and I find out that Oklahoma City is getting its own NBA team. It was huge news, and I knew that I had to seize the opportunity to make the webs very first Thunder Blog.

Thus, our Blogger blog was born. We've had our share of trials and tribulations, but in October I was invited to Bloguin. It was almost a god send, as we thought we were the big men on campus, being the first Thunder Bloggers invited to join a network at all. Eventually, Royce and Joe combined to make Daily Thunder, and Mr.P went from his independent website to SB Nation, and we found ourselves in a distant 3rd place. 

Nevertheless, we kept blogging, and eventually this opportunity opened up. We'd be fools not to take it, so we've taken the spot, and are ready to deliver consistent, quality blogging, along with building a strong community. If you have your doubts, here's some examples of our work:

Zorgon:

Allen Iverson Won't Make the Playoffs....and Neither Will the Thunder

NBA Blogger Previews: The 2009-2010 Oklahoma City Thunder

12 Reasons to Miss P.J. Carlesimo

Top NBA Players 35 and Older

The Top 10 Oklahoma City Sports Franchise Logos/Team Names

Player Rankings

Ben:

Oklahoma City Sports Media Rankings

Thunder Cuts Ties With Lucas, Sign Hill

Draft Extravaganza

If the Ford Center Was Destroyed in a Tornado

Blockbuster Deal? Maybe Next Year

Are Bad Logos Contagious?

Also, I attended roughly 75% of the hornets home games (half of the first year, all of the next year), and I attend all of the thunder home games. If you were at the Ford Center during the Ultimate Fan Contest, on a night when I happened to be on camera, or you saw a huge guy waving Foam Fingers and/or French Fries and a desperate attempt to make the opposing team miss some free throws, then you've encountered me before. You might consider me insane, but I just like going out there every night and having as much fun as possible without ruining anyone elses. Its a huge load of fun, and if you've ever cheered of voted for me, then I thank you.

In any case, if there's anything else you want to get to know about me or Ben, just ask in the comments. I'm super excited to get this website underway, and even more excited for the season to begin on Wednesday. Keep checking back every day for more updates. Yeah boy!