For the Birds

Come on, NBA. Must fans be forced to endure the farce you’ve hoisted upon the city of New Orleans? The Big Easy’s pro basketball team is named the Pelicans, primarily because the NBA confoundedly lets a team in Utah continue to be called “the Jazz,” much to every sports fan’s...

By Ric Delgado

January 2, 2014

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Come on, NBA. Must fans be forced to endure the farce you’ve hoisted upon the city of New Orleans? The Big Easy’s pro basketball team is named the Pelicans, primarily because the NBA confoundedly lets a team in Utah continue to be called “the Jazz,” much to every sports fan’s frustration. And because of it, the city that is the heart of jazz music has to take on the team name “the Pelicans.” It’s nearly criminal. Ridiculous team names aside, the New Orleans Pelicans will visit the American Airlines Arena (701 Biscayne Blvd., Miami) this Tuesday to face our hometown favorite, two-time defending champion Miami Heat. There’s still a whole month until the NBA All-Star Game, the unofficial halfway mark of the season, and both teams are already embroiled in playoff story-line tension. The Heat is in a life-or-death struggle with fits of malaise, trying to get the best record in the NBA to ensure home-court advantage through the playoffs, while the super-young Pelicans are trying to sneak onto the bottom wrung of the Western Conference Playoff seeding.
Tue., Jan. 7, 7:30 p.m., 2014

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