Today seems to be the day for major transactional news in the world of big-league sports team mascots:

- With the “birth” of your Oklahoma City Thunder, the Golden State Warriors are pre-emptively disassociating themselves from any possible perceived linkage with the rival NBA team by firing their mascot, who’s gone by the name of “Thunder”. Alternatives abound in the Bay Area; I suggest ditching that useless (and fantasy-sounding) “Golden State” while they’re at it.

- It took eight years of existence and an ownership change, but the Minnesota Wild are finally ready to trot out their first-ever mascot. Note the challenge:

Given that the team’s nickname is more of a concept than a tangible entity, the options appear endless.

“That was the challenge,” John Maher, team vice president for brand marketing, said this morning. “The team name and identity didn’t lend it to a mascot.”

That’s what I thought when the NHL announced its return to the State of Hockey back in 2000, and why I considered it a particularly stupid name. However, someone pointed out to me that the usage could be construed more as “the wild”, i.e. a wilderness region, filled with fierce northern beasts and such. Which I could accept more readily than the more X-Games sounding state of excitement that would be the other definition; but overall, I still think it’s a dumb team name.