Say hello to the 2008-09 season

My Vikings fell to 1-3 today and looked terrible doing it, and I’m getting creamed this week in my fantasy league. But, hey, Thunder media day is Monday so my spirits aren’t too low. The season is here, and I’m excited for it. After a year without the NBA in OKC, we’re finally about to see some ball being played inside the Ford Center again.

News and information on the Thunder will pick up considerably starting Monday afternoon when the players and coaches meet the media for the first time. I’ll post continuous observations from media day here throughout the day Monday, and our Thunder coverage will be extensive in The Oklahoman and on NewsOK.com from here out.

In case you missed it in today’s paper, I had a story on Chris Wilcox’s critical season. I also wrote about position battles to watch as the Thunder opens training camp Tuesday.

In Monday’s paper, I explain why fans should temper their expectations for rookie point guard Russell Westbrook, who isn’t likely to post overly impressive statistics. As you’ll read in the paper Monday, only five point guards in the past 10 NBA seasons have averaged at least 12 points and six assists: Chris Paul, Kirk Hinrich, Steve Francis, Mike Bibby and Jason Williams. Paul and Francis (co-winner with Elton Brand) won the Rookie of the Year award in their respective debut seasons. Of course, here’s a guy who has the complete opposite take on Westbrook and says he’s going with R.W. or O.J. Mayo to win Rookie of the year.