Song Titles Featuring NBA Teams

I was disappointed to hear that my favorite NBA player had not been chosen to compete in the league's All-Star game this year. Even without the presence of Steve Nash, the game has plenty of stars on hand. The roster includes my daughter's favorite players, Dwayne Wade of the Miami Heat and Kobe Bryant of the Lakers.

The game is not the only attraction off the All-Star weekend. The skills competitions offer plenty of entertainment, especially perennial fan favorite slam-dunk contest. I personally enjoy the three point shooting contest, though my daughter finds it a bit boring after a while.

In honor of the NBA All-Star weekend I decided to dedicate a list of ten songs that mention NBA team names in their titles. The list itself features some music all-stars.

10. "Two Fat Guys in a Hudson Hornet" by Randall Hylton: This is a bluegrass song with a pleasing touch of traditional country, typical of many of Hylton's recordings. His guitar picking resembles that of the legendary Doc Watson.

9. "Bull in a China Shop" by Barenaked Ladies: The band pokes fun at tired metaphors, just like the one in this title from the

Barenaked Ladies Are Me album. Singer Steven Page also manages to throw in a fresh metaphor or two. My favorite is in verse two, when he sings "I'm a bottle of diet poison."

8. "You Love the Thunder" by Jackson Browne: The Running on Empty LP is frequently spotted in discount bins, but it remains Browne's most enduring album. The album is dedicated to being on the road, ending with the classic hit "The Load-Out." In case you've been away from the NBA since last summer, its Thunder strikes in Oklahoma City.

7. "The Eagle and the Hawk" by John Denver: The song has the same sweetness as most of Denver's discography, and the lyrics are filled with nature's imagery soaring with the theme of flying.

6. "More of That Jazz" by Queen: The title of drummer Roger Taylor's composition fits snugly onto the Jazz album. It did not receive the airplay of "Fat-Bottomed Girls," "Bicycle Races" or "Don't Stop Me Now," but the slow electric beat needed Taylor's raspy vocals more than Freddie Mercury's operatic delivery.

5. "I Am the Warrior" by Scandal: The song's success was aided by the video, featuring the band dressed up as Native Americans in battle. I have had a crush on singer Patty Smyth since the first time I saw her war-painted face in the video.

4. "Pinball Wizard" by The Who: One of the major hits from the band's Tommy rock opera, the song has endured even after the virtual demise of the arcade machine itself. In fact, it even predates the NBA team by almost twenty years.

3. "I'll Follow the Sun" by The Beatles: I could sing this song, since my favorite player is a Sun. The song itself is a beautiful poem about leaving a comfortable situation with hope for something better than comfort, such as happiness.

2. "The Heat Dies Down" by The Kaiser Chiefs: The title could mean unhappiness for my daughter who worships Dwayne Wade's team. The song itself is an amusing look at getting married, old, and content.

1. "Rocket Man" by Elton John: Bernie Taupin's lyrics here are excellent, describing a man who seems an ordinary working stiff. He spends his down time up, as in high, as in flying like a rocket man, "burning out his fuse up here alone."