3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Indianapolis Star
Indy vs. OKC Tale of the Tape: Outlaws, steaks and stolen teams. Who does it better?
It's the small-market NBA Finals, in case you haven't heard. Because apparently that matters.
Oklahoma City is the 44th-largest TV market. Indianapolis is No. 25. I'm no expert, but pretty sure that will have no bearing on the actual quality of basketball. So unless you're a TV executive or sponsor, shaddup?
But because we're dealing with such "small" markets, we figured we'd help you learn a little bit more about the cities hosting this year's NBA Finals — and which one is better. We go to the always scientific Tale of the Tape:
OKC: Softball
Indy: Basketball
The NCAA Softball World Series calls Oklahoma City home, the nearby Oklahoma Sooners are a national powerhouse and softball in the 2028 Summer Olympics will be in OKC — 1,300 miles from the rest of the Olympics in L.A. However, we're talking NBA Finals and the game's inventor James Naismith said, "Basketball may have been invented in Massachusetts, but it was made for Indiana." Edge: Indy.
OKC: Skip Bayless
Indy: David Letterman
You don't need a top-10 list for this one. Edge: Indy.
OKC: Cattle Annie
Indy: John Dillinger
A teenage outlaw, Cattle Annie joined with Little Britches to steal horses, sell alcohol to Native Americans and warn other gangs about lawmen in the 1890s. She was captured at 13 and after a year in a Massachusetts correctional facility, went legit. Dillinger became one of America's Most Wanted after a bank robbery gone wrong left a police officer dead. He robbed 24 banks and four police stations and was named Public Enemy No. 1. We're not proud of it, but... Edge: Indy
OKC: James Marsden, Blake Griffin, James Garner, Vince Gill, Olivia Munn
Indy: Mike Epps, Babyface, Oscar Robertson, John Green, David Letterman
This series won't have a celebrity row like the Knicks or Lakers. Timothee Chalamet isn't walking through that door. But Garner was great in "My Fellow Americans" and who didn't love Marsden in "27 Dresses" and "Sonic the Hedgehog"? Indy rode Letterman to one win already, but not this one. Edge: OKC
OKC: Jim Ross
Indy: Pat McAfee
You can't hear JR's voice without thinking prime "Stone Cold" Steve Austin or The Rock. McAfee does a good job on WWE broadcasts (and occasionally in the ring), but JR is the standard. Edge: OKC
OKC: Cattlemen's
Indy: St. Elmo
Opened in 1910, Cattleman's is Oklahoma's oldest continually operated steakhouse, and you'd imagine Oklahoma knows steak. St. Elmo, opened in 1902, is known more for its shrimp cocktail and the sinus-clearing sauce that sends diners reaching for any beverage and a napkin to wipe away tears. But it's still an iconic steakhouse any visitor to Indianapolis is steered toward. Edge: Indy
OKC: Pawnee, Okla.
Indy: Pawnee, Ind.
A town of less than 2,000 people, Pawnee, Okla., is home to the Oklahoma Steam and Gas Engine Show and has some affinity for "Dick Tracy." Indiana's version of Pawnee, albeit fictional, is home to one of the better sitcoms of the past decade with "Parks and Recreation." And you know Ron Swanson would love this Pacers team. Edge: Indy
OKC: Seattle Supersonics
Indy: Baltimore Colts
The Pacers may have a few extra fans in the Pacific Northwest these next two weeks. The Sonics left Seattle for OKC in 2008 — the season after a 19-year-old Kevin Durant won Rookie of the Year. The Thunder have reached the NBA Finals now twice since the move. And Seattle still doesn't have an NBA team. The Colts left Baltimore in the middle of the night in 1984, taking Johnny Unitas' records and that iconic horseshoe logo to Indianapolis. People in Baltimore will probably spit in your Old Bay if you tell them you're from Indy. But at least Baltimore eventually got a team back. Edge: OKC
Overall score: Indy 5, OKC 3. So there you have it, Pacers in 8.
