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The Province [Vancouver, B.C] 12 Aug 1994

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Nov 27th, 2013
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  1. Swifter than a speeding Seattle SuperSonic fast break.
  2.  
  3. More powerful than a Chicago Bull.
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  5. Able to leap the Boston Celtics' leprechaun in a single bound.
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  7. More identifiable than the five rings of the Olympic Games?
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  9. Vancouver's NBA expansion franchise, officially named Grizzlies Thursday afternoon at the Haida longhouse on the campus of the University of B.C., isn't expected to be a league terror for at least a few seasons.
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  11. But its logo -- a turquoise Grizzly banner above a growling black and bronze bear clutching a red basketball with its right forepaw and its left forepaw raised to strike -- is supposed to be a championship contender in the name game.
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  13. "We're so optimistic because we've done a lot of testing, not only in North America but around the world," said NBA Properties president Rick Welts, who worked within the Vancouver group's criteria to choose the best name.
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  15. "We think that there will be universal appeal and we think this can be as big as any other name or logo has been in the history of sport."
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  17. The official naming of the team, which came amidst a backdrop of a giant video screen showing the grizzly in its natural habitat, ended weeks of spirited speculation, but Grizzlies team owner Arthur Griffiths said that with complicated trademark issues at stake, even his people had not made a final decision until quite recently.
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  19. "The name has been in a process with three or four other names," he said. "Up until three weeks ago, it was not even guaranteed that we could use the name. We'd made a commitment to this date (Aug. 11), but really, three weeks ago we said, `That's the name and we'll march through the legal issues that are remaining.' We've done that, clearing the last of them off last (Wednesday) night. Three weeks ago we got enough clearance from the NBA and our other lawyers that this would work."
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  21. There are eight different variations on the Grizzlies logo and the official color names are Spirit turquoise, B.C. bronze and Canadian red.
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  23. The team has not announced an official date for the unveiling of team uniforms.
  24.  
  25. Howard Tsumura
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