First there was the Utah Jazz. Next came the Salt Lake Buzz followed by the Utah Grizz.
In keeping with the double-z connection for Utah's professional sports teams, how about the Starzz?The new Utah entrant in the fledgling Women's NBA isn't expected to officially announce its nickname until sometime in February. The Deseret News has learned, however, that the name will be the same as the only professional basketball franchise in the state's history to ever win a league title.
Well, at least the name will sound the same as the only pro championship team from Utah. The spelling will be, well, creative, to put it nicely. English teachers will not approve.
The WNBA franchise will be known as the Utah Starzz.
The original Utah Stars played in the old ABA with such standouts as Zelmo Beatty, Ron Boone and the straight-out-of-high-school Moses Malone. The Stars won the 1971 ABA title.
The Starzz will build around 6-5 center Elena Baranova and 5-11 guard LeJuana "Lady" Hardmon. So far Baranova and Hardmon are the only two players on the Utah roster. The league will allocate two more players per team, while a draft and training camp will be held to finalize the roster.
Utah's WNBA franchise is owned by the NBA, but will be operated by the Utah Jazz front office and will play in the Delta Center. The team will play a 28-game regular season - 14 games at home - in an eight-team league beginning in June and running through August followed by a final four-style playoffs.
When contacted Wednesday morning, Jazz personnel would not comment on the team's nickname. They would not deny that the name would be `Starzz,' however.
A coach for the Starzz has yet to be named, but an announcement will likely come in the next month.