When the final buzzer blew at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California last night, the scoreboard read “Oklahoma City Thunder 119, Golden State Warriors 116.”  Judging by the image above, that means the Warriors managed to score 23 points during the final 12 minutes of the game, while the Thunder somehow managed to lose a whopping 72 points.  Luck for them, they were able to hold onto that 98-point lead that they were spotted by the generous people working the scoreboard during the Warriors’ home games.

You can watch the scoreboard error unfold in the video below.

Hat Tip – [The Score]

Truth be told, there is no evidence that anyone sustained a black eye, or any other sort of injury, during last night’s game between the Mavs and the Oklahoma City Thunder.  However, a few spectators did come awfully close after a frustrated Carlisle booted the ball into the front row at the American Airlines Center.

That act would earn Carlisle his second technical foul of the game, forcing him to take an early trip to the locker room, but not before apologizing to the fans who found themselves on the receiving end of his errant kick.

Check it out.

If Blake Griffin continues to make posters at this rate, environmentalists around the world may start thinking about breaking his knee caps in an effort to save some of those trees.

His latest posterization came during last night’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, as Blake soared up and over the 6-foot-10 Kendrick Perkins and threw the ball through the rim for the hoop and the harm.  And like every Griffin dunk these days, it was followed by an “Oh Me Oh My” from Clippers play-by-play man, Ralph Lawler.

Check it out.

The NBA journeyman who had been criticized many times for his lack of toughness and effort, was showing some toughness when he and Serge Ibaka engaged in a heated altercation during last night’s game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Dallas Mavericks.  It’s just too bad that Carter’s act of toughness came with half-a-dozen players and officials standing between him and the Thunder’s power forward.

Carter would also hit a late three-pointer with 1.4 seconds remaining to put the Mavs up by one.  But he would eventually be outdone by Kevin Durant. whose buzzer-beating three-pointer would give the Thunder the 104-102 victory.

Here is a look at Carter and Ibaka’s altercation, as well as the wild ending to last night’s game at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.

For pro sports teams to succeed these days, they need more than a loyal fanbase. If that was all that was needed, there wouldn’t be so many defunct pro sports teams. Instead, what pro teams really need under today’s business model is corporate sponsorship and media revenue. Without those two things, teams are going to flounder. And yet, somehow, there are more small cities with pro sports franchises than ever before.

Today, we’re taking on the task of ranking the most unlikely pro sports cities. The rankings will take into account a number of factors, but first and foremost will be the two criteria mentioned above.

But before everyone gets mad at me for insulting their town, this is in no way intended to a judgment on the quality of these cities or their fans. They are fine places, and I actually think it’s great that these fans have been able to enjoy top-tier professional sports. But you have to admit—they are unlikely homes for major sports teams, aren’t they?

9. Jacksonville

Technically, with 821,000 residents, Jacksonville is the largest city proper in the state of Florida. But that’s only because in 1968 the city of Jacksonville and Duval County were consolidated into one single entity. Today, Jacksonville is of course home to the Jacksonville Jaguars, one of the NFL’s lowliest teams with one of if not the worst media markets. The only reason they haven’t moved away from Jacksonville is that they have such a ridiculously favorable lease with EverBank Field. It runs until 2029, and it’s so cheap that it’s practically impossible for the team to lose money. But losing money is the only way the team could get out of the lease.

Note to smaller cities: study the Jaguars’ lease of EverBank Field. That’s how you keep your team. It’s brilliant.

8. Fort Lauderdale

Fort Lauderdale, with it’s population of 165,000, is not technically the home of a pro sports team. The Florida Panthers of the NHL actually play in a suburb of Fort Lauderdale called Sunrise.

“But wait,” you say, “isn’t Fort Lauderdale kind of a suburb of Miami?” And the answer is yes, sort of. All of which makes the Florida Panthers’ situation even weirder. They basically play their home games in the suburb of a suburb. Sure, they are part of the Greater Miami media market, which draws on a population of 5 million. But the heart of the population lives 30 miles away from BankAtlantic Center. So any way you cut it, Fort Lauderdale/Sunrise is an unlikely location for a pro sports team.

7. Memphis

Memphis is a great town with a rich music history and fantastic barbecue. And it’s home to the headquarters of FedEx, which is pretty cool. But as far as sports go, it’s always been a college (Memphis Tigers) and minor league (Memphis Redbirds) kind of town.

Then the Grizzlies moved there in 2001 as part of the most inexplicable series of team relocations in North American pro sports history. The Grizzlies moved from Vancouver—huge city—to memphis; then the Hornets moved from Charlotte to New Orleans; then Charlotte got an expansion team, the Bobcats; and then, last but not least, the Supersonics left Seattle for another city on this list. Thanks, NBA.

Now, Memphis is a large city. There are 650,000 people in the actual city and 1.5 million in the region. But like Nashville (which barely escaped making this list), there is much less corporate sponsorship available than other pro sports cities. Plus, the media market is hemmed in by other pro sports markets (like St. Louis, only 4 hours north) that have been around much longer.

6. Orlando

Orlando is nice and all, but it’s not a “normal” city. It wasn’t built on industry and manufacturing and jobs and all that stuff. It was instead just a small city until Walt Disney decided to build his world famous theme park there in 1971. That choice transformed Orlando and brought a ton of economic growth to the region—but it was all based on tourism. Which is totally fine. It just means that Orlando was kind of a one-trick pony when the Magic came along in 1989. Today there’s a lot more going on economically in Orlando, but there is a reason no other pro sports teams have followed the NBA to central Florida.

5. Oklahoma City

I’m glad Oklahoma City has gotten a crack at major professional sports. But with a population of half a million and a metro area of 1.3 million—and with the NBA’s penchant for relocating teams at the drop of a hat—I just can’t envision the Oklahoma City Thunder staying there for the long haul. That being said, in their early years the Thunder have made great profits, so maybe I’m just being overly skeptical.

But regardless of what the Thunder’s prospects for staying in OKC actually are, it’s still an unlikely pro sports city.

4. Uniondale

Uniondale, in Nassau County, New York, is home to the New York Islanders. Yes, it is part of the New York Metropolitan Area, which is the most populous area in the entire country. But the Nassau Coliseum is in a suburban part of New York and 30 miles from midtown Manhattan, which in New York might as well be 90 miles. In terms of the media market the Islanders are okay because there are 1.5 million people in Nassau County. Still, these guys are basically third stringers in the New York area after the Rangers and Devils. So while I hope they find a way to make things work out on Long Island, it’s not a very likely place for a pro sports team.

3. Winnipeg

Winnipeg, Manitoba, has a population of about 690,000. But that’s not just the population of the city proper. It’s the population of the entire metro area. So if Canadians were not absolutely mad about hockey, there’s no way this town could sustain an NHL team. And even if the Winnipeg Jets do stay afloat, it’s hard to see how they’re going to compete with teams from major cities as the salary cap goes up. But at least Winnipeggers will get to watch top-notch hockey, which is probably all they really care about (for now).

2. Regina

Little Regina, Saskatchewan—population 180,000—is home to the Saskatchewan Rough Riders of the Canadian Football League. Now, while the CFL is not exactly a pro sports juggernaut like the NFL or MLB, it is a well-established and profitable pro sports league with a substantial following. And all the other teams in the league are from cities that range from three to twenty times larger than Regina. Winnipeg is the second-smallest market in the CFL, and as we’ve already seen, their population is almost four times that of Regina. So even for the relatively small scale of the CFL, Regina is an unlikely pro sports city.

1. Green Bay

You knew this was coming, didn’t you? Green Bay, Wisconsin, has a population of 104,000 with a total of 300,000 in the metro area. Yet the city is home to one of the NFL’s most storied franchises. The Green Bay Packers are of course a communally owned team, which means that they aren’t going to leave town to seek greater profits elsewhere. And it also helps that Green Bay is just an hour from Milwaukee. But being an hour from a major city hasn’t helped other struggling pro sports teams (like the Coyotes, Islanders, or Panthers). So the Packers and the city of Green Bay really are an anomaly.

This lockout is really boring..anybody playing flag football in Okc..I need to run around or something!

As you would expect, it didn’t take long for Durant to get a reply, as Oklahoma State student and Sigma Nu Flag Football member George Overbey offered the two-time NBA scoring champion a spot on his squad.  After exchanging numbers and giving Durant an address, the two hooked up and made their way to the field for a game of flag football under the lights at Stillwater.

With hundreds of people in attendance to watch, Durant put on a show, recording four touchdowns and intercepting three balls on defense, but it wasn’t his game that impressed the students at OSU.  Instead, it was his willingness to put all of his money and fame aside and make his way down to Stillwater to have some fun with his fans that impressed everyone the most.

Here is a look at some of the highlights from the game, as well as an explanation from Overbey regarding how he got Durant to show up.

One aspect of his game that Durant appears to have improved drastically is his off-the-backboard passing and dunking, which he put on display during a game on Saturday.  The defense in the Drew League may resemble that of an All-Star Game, but don’t let that fool you.  After all, this is a dunk that most players couldn’t make look this easy with an empty court and a trampoline.

I guess when Russell Westbrook isn’t around, Durant has no choice but to do both the passing and the dunking on his own.

Hat Tip – [The Big Lead]

Oklahoma City Thunder super-fan Meghan Dailey knew that yesterday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks could be her last opportunity to see James Harden and the rest of the Thunder players this season, so she decided to make the most of it by donning a wedding dress and professing her love for the 6’5 shooting guard from Arizona State.

Between watching Harden foul out in the fourth quarter, the Thunder blowing a 15-point lead with 5 minutes remaining, and having her proposal turned down (we’ll assume), last night turned out to be a rather rough one for poor Meghan.

The Oklahoma City Thunder not only won Game 2 of their Western Conference Finals series in Dallas last night, but they also sent a message to the Mavericks in the process.  And at no point in the game was that message heard louder than with one minute remaining in the first quarter.  It was at that moment that the Thunder’s Kevin Durant decided he would make a poster, and he wanted the Mavs’ Brendan Haywood to be a part of it.

It was a highlight reel slam that inspired TNT color commentator Mark Jackson to spit out the following phrase

“My goodness, Kevin Durant on the out-of-bounds play says to Brendan Haywood ‘excuse me, I got an appointment with the rim.  You’re in this poster big fella.’”

Who writes this stuff for him?

The dunk would give Durant three (he hit the ensuing free-throw as well) of his 24 points on the night, as the Thunder took Game 2 by a score of 106-100.  Above you can see Durant and Haywood’s cool new poster.  Below you will find footage of the dunk.  Enjoy!

Hat Tip Pic – [TwitPic]

I’m not sure I would be so quick to call Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook nerds, but they sure do seem to be playing the part during their post-game press conferences.  So with the Oklahoma City Thunder now headed to the Western Conference Finals after getting a big Game 7 win yesterday against the Memphis Grizzlies, should we begin to consider the 2011 NBA Playoffs to be yet another “Revenge of the Nerds” sequel?