Bears of Bute

It may not seem like professional basketball has much to do with Bute and its Bears, especially a team from Memphis, Tennessee, but without the Bears that roam Bute and the surrounding area of British Columbia the Memphis Grizzlies might play under an entirely different banner.The name Grizzlies actually pays homage to the BC native bear breed, christening the Vancouver franchise when the National Basketball Association expanded to Canada prior to the 1995 season. The Vancouver Grizzlies joined the Toronto Raptors as the first NBA teams to call the Great White North home since Toronto Huskies, also named after a local product of the animal kingdom, back in 1946-47. Originally , the Grizzlies were set to be called the Vancouver Mounties, though due to objections for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, there Grizzlies moniker was chosen as a suitable replacement. Read the rest of this entry »