Highly Touted

The National Basketball League of Canada is pleased to announce that the city of Oshawa, Ontario has been formally accepted as the first expansion team to join the league for its inaugural season.

“What a great day for the NBL Canada and for the city of Oshawa,” said National Basketball League of Canada President & CEO, Andre Levingston. “We are thrilled to bring professional basketball to this city. Oshawa’s team will not only provide an extremely high level of basketball and family entertainment, but will also serve as a fantastic vehicle to support the community through both traditional and creative ways of giving back.”

The Oshawa franchise was fully accepted upon finalizing an operating agreement to play their 18 regular season home game schedule at the General Motors Centre, also home to the OHL Oshawa Generals. Levingston says that he and the team’s ownership group are looking forward to continuing to build a working relationship between the NBL and Oshawa’s municipality.

“Oshawa’s city officials have been supportive of the team’s approval process, and are keen to bring exciting entertainment to its region.”

The team is currently holding an online contest to allow the city to name its first-ever professional basketball team. Those interested can submit their suggestions online at www.durhamnblcanada.com.

I was little confused at first about the use of “Durham”, but apparently that refers the region around Oshawa, Pickering, Ajax and more. My first reaction was the team should be called the Bulls, to cross market with the infamous Durham Bulls minor league baseball franchise and the Chicago Bulls of the NBA.

I don’t have any other brilliant ideas for team names yet, but let me know if you’ve got any.