Rally! Really.

If you're reading this, you're probably not at the Friday 7pm rally organized by our pals at SaveOurSonics.org/SaveOurStorm.org. No worries, though, because there will two more chances to show the teams some love this weekend (as seen on the site's front page):

Seafair Torchlight Parade
Saturday, July 29, 2006 at 7:00 AM

We will be walking in the parade with our banners and shirts.

Seattle Storm Game
Sunday, July 30, 2006 at 6:00 PM

This game needs to be a sellout. Bring your "Keep our Teams here" signs. Volunteers needed before the game.

And if you're like me and are unable to join the throngs in person, you could always show your support by turning the image above into a car sign... computer desktop wallpaper... or...uh, fashionable paper briefs and pirate hat, held together with Scotch tape.

Moore Dealt

The Sonics traded Mikki Moore to New Jersey today for a 2nd round pick in the 2009 draft. The Sonics roster now looks like this:

C - Sene, Swift, Petro
PF - Wilcox (?), Collison, Fortson
SF - Lewis, Gelabale, Wilkins
SG - Allen, Wilkins, Gelabale, Brown (?)
PG - Ridnour, Watson

Add it up and it's 13 guys, so we're still looking at a one, maybe two roster spots still available. Noel Felix impressed the heck out of everyone at the Rocky Mountain Revue (just curious ... am I the only one who thinks the Sonics' summer league sounds like something gay cowboys would put on?), so Felix may have an even better chance of making the roster. Otherwise, the Sonics may look to add another PG as a 3rd-stringer.

Shinn on New Orleans

George Shinn, owner of the Hornets, made a few comments yesterday regarding his team's move to New Orleans, implying that a final decision on where the Hornets will call home after next season should come "as early as September, maybe as late as December or January."

Shinn also indicated that he would prefer to spend this season in Oklahoma before moving to New Orleans in the 2007-08. The Hornets are slated to play 35 games in OKC this season.

Insert nasty comment about how the Sonics are on a one-year trial in Seattle here.

How I See It

Artwork by Rafael Calonzo, Jr (Click for larger pic)

If you’ve followed the arena situation at all in Seattle, you’ve heard two different arguments. One, we need to build it to retain the tradition of NBA basketball in this city. Two, the NBA is blackmailing the city of Seattle and the state of Washington into building them an arena. This second argument has been reinforced, of course, by the recent sale of the team to Oklahoma City investors.

Well, neither side is right. It’s not necessary to carry on the tradition, and it’s not blackmail.

It’s extortion.

Let’s consult a dictionary, shall we?

From Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary:

Extort \Ex*tort"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Extorted; p. pr. & vb. n. Extorting.] [L. extortus, p. p. of extorquere to twist or wrench out, to extort; ex out + torquere to turn about, twist. See Torsion.] 1. To wrest from an unwilling person by physical force, menace, duress, torture, or any undue or illegal exercise of power or ingenuity; to wrench away (from); to tear away; to wring (from); to exact; as, to extort contributions from the vanquished; to extort confessions of guilt; to extort a promise; to extort payment of a debt.

Now, Pete, you’re saying to yourself, isn’t that a little harsh? After all, are Clay Bennett and his colleagues holding a gun to our head? No, they are not. But a closer examination of the definition reveals that, yes, the city is being extorted. Or do you think that forcing the city to make a decision in 12 months isn’t duress? Or that moving the Sonics to Oklahoma would be anything but “tearing away” the team from its devoted followers?

Believe me, I have struggled with saying this out loud. As someone who writes for a website devoted to a sports team, it’s more than a little hypocritical of me to criticize those who throw their support and money behind the team. In fact, I admire the tenacity with which others have attacked this issue, trying to raise public consciousness of what is obviously a dire situation. And, most importantly, as someone who tied his shoelaces as a kid to mimic the way Gus Williams did, I have more than just a passing interest in Sonics’ basketball. But after having looked at this from every angle, I cannot legitimately justify going ahead with a new arena.

I’m sorry, but when you look at the current situation objectively, you cannot come to any other conclusion. At the present time, basketball fans in Seattle are faced with two options in regard to Clay Bennett:

1. Buy scads of tickets, hoping to convince the city council/state government to build a new arena for Mr. Bennett. End Result: Mr. Bennett becomes wealthier, both via increased sales and the added value to his team due to the new arena.

2. Don’t buy scads of tickets, watch Mr. Bennett move the team to Oklahoma City. End Result: Mr. Bennett no longer has to fly to Seattle and pretend to understand how to pronounce Puyallup.

So, we either give him a sack of money, or he takes our team and leaves town? That isn’t extortion? For crying out loud, if this was The Rockford Files, James Garner wouldn’t even take the case it’s so painfully obvious what is happening.

I’ve said this before, but I’ll repeat it: I don’t begrudge Schultz or Bennett their reasons for making more money, as we all have the same motivations. But did anyone else read the comments of Ray Allen recently? Look, I like Allen, he’s a gentleman and a terrific player; the consumate pro that any fan would love to have on his team. But when he starts complaining about how the Key lacks wireless connnections in the lockerroom, about how the coaches don’t have proper offices ... well, it makes me want to vomit. Let me get this straight – we need to spend $150 million in taxpayer money so Ray Allen can check his email? Are you kidding me?

The argument these stadiums/teams produce economic benefits is provably false, so the only argument can be that we as fans want others to pay for our fun. Sorry, folks, but I won’t play that game, because that makes us no better than Bennett, Schultz, Stern, and all of their ilk – and, in fact, makes us co-conspirators in an extortion scheme. Thanks, but I’ll pass.

He once got busy in a Burger King bathroom

Has all this Sonics drama got you down? Then stop by Mirabeau Room on Queen Anne Wednesday night for ComedyNight, a weekly showcase of Seattle's best comedians (like me!).

This week's show will feature a guest performance by none other than Mr. Humpty Hump himself, Shock G of Digital Underground. Seriously. Plus, I will be doing a special piece entitled "Why The Sonics Are More Important Than Homeless Shelters". Seriously.

Save Our Sonics!

In case you haven't seen it yet, the good people at SaveOurSonics.org are organizing an effort to save our team. We've offered our services, and encourage everyone else out there to do the same. Keep hope alive!

More Kemp Troubles

You know, you want to believe the best in people, and then ...

...................

Shawn Kemp, 36, was arrested in Houston early Friday morning and charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana. Kemp allegedly had two ounces or less of the drug in his possession.

...................

The story comes from a Houston television station, complete with video footage.

Sonics top Sixers

The Sonics got a strong performance from young Robert Swift yesterday in Utah, as the 3rd-year center went for 13-10 with 6 blocks in only 25 minutes of play, and Seattle beat the undefeated Sixers 88-86. Louis Williams continued his high-scoring for Philly by grabbing 21 points, his 4th time in the +20 range this summer. Interesting to see how he fits in the Philadelphia equation when the pre-season gets underway.

Aaron Miles also made an immediate impact for the Sonics, as the former KU star scored 14 points in his first game for Seattle this summer. It's also worth noting that Swift got to the line 9 times on 11 field goal attempts, an outstanding mark for a young big man.

Also of note:

-Mouhamed Sene sat out his second consecutive game with a bum ankle
-Paccelis Morlende sat out
-Yotam Halperin only played 3 minutes
-Noel Felix continued to play well, and led the Sonics with 27 minutes played. It's beginning to look as though he'll get serious consideration for a roster spot this fall.

New Arena for Sacto

It appears the Kings won't be using moving vans any time soon.

"Negotiators for the city and county of Sacramento moments ago finalized a deal with the Maloof family to finance a new arena for the Sacramento Kings," report Mary Lynne Vellinga, Terri Hardy and R.E. Graswich of THE SACRAMENTO BEE. "The financing package would rely on voter approval of a new quarter-cent sales tax that would produce about $1.2 billion over a period of years, sources said."

from nba.com

Just wondering: If there was a vote today on a 1/4-cent increase in the sales tax, with the money dedicated to building a new arena for the Sonics, would you support it?

Summer Fun

Lost amidst the furor of the Sonics' sale to Clay "You can call me Jaws" Bennett, the Sonics are on tap to play the Sixers this afternoon in the Summer League.

Philly's been the juggernaut of the League this summer, running off to a 4-0 start behind some serious whoopings. Louis Williams, who appeared in 30 games for the 76ers last year, has been pacing them with 20 point outings in 3 of the 4 games. It would be nice to Sene back in the lineup after turning his ankle a few days ago, but we'll have to wait until later (tune in to sonicscentral for up-to-the-minute coverage; kudos to them for have a man on the scene for all of us losers who follow basketball in the summer). Otherwise, we may be treated to another version of the Robert Swift Show. It really has been nice to see how well Sene's played; I still don't know that I'd have taken another big man project in the first round, but he's beginning to get me to come around.

Rethinking the Argument

Welcome to beautiful downtown Oklahoma City!

The more I chew over this whole Sonics to Oklahoma scenario, the more it makes me wonder if we aren’t just missing the boat here.

Maybe instead of begging the Sonics to stay here, they should be begging us instead.

Maybe letting the Sonics move to Oklahoma might be the best thing that ever happened to Seattle.

Why? Because maybe it’s time cities across the US finally stood up to professional sports teams and called their collective bluff. Everywhere you turn, a team is holding a city hostage. Seattle, Charlotte, Sacramento, Anaheim, they’ve all felt the pinch from NBA teams.

But does the NBA really think they’re better off with a team in Oklahoma City than Seattle? Really? Here are some numbers culled from the web, comparing the two cities (all numbers from 2004, when available):

Population
Seattle, 573,911
Oklahoma City, 531,324

Metro Area:
Seattle: 3.1 million
OKC: 1.1 million

Cost of Living Index (100% is national average)
Seattle, 118%
OKC, 92%

Most Literate Cities
Seattle, No. 1
OKC, No. 38

Murders per 100,000 people
Seattle: 5
OKC: 9

Rapes per 100,000 people
Seattle: 30
OKC: 70

Aggravated Assaults per 100,000 people
Seattle: 387
OKC: 546

Education
HS or Higher
Sea: 89%
OKC: 81%

Bachelors
Sea: 47%
OKC: 24%

Graduate:
Sea: 17%
OKC: 8%

Median Age
Seattle: 35
OKC: 34

Median Income
Sea: $46,000
OKC: $35,000

Okay, that’s a lot to digest, I know. But mull it over a bit, and ponder this question –

What if Seattle told the NBA, “You don’t want us? Fine. Leave. Go ahead. Nobody’s stopping you. But 2, 3, or 5 years from now, when the Oklahoma SoonerSonics are drawing 11,000 a game, ad revenue is half of what it was in Seattle, the TV/Radio contract is a quarter of what they got from KJR and Fox Sports NW, don’t come crying to us. We’re not the ones who opted to move to a metro area a third the size of the one they were already in. We’re not the ones who thought that opting for a city with a citizenry that’s nowhere near as educated, and therefore nowhere near as likely to afford $20,000 for luxury suites. Yeah, we’ll let you put your team here, but it’s not going to cost us one red cent.”

It’s not likely to happen, but it sure would be nice.

Goodbye, Mr. Schultz

So this is a "basketball" you say? Fascinating. And I used to own a "team"?

It's funny, a couple of days ago I was thinking of writing a piece about the greatest hair in Sonics history - X-Man, Sikma, Freddie Brown, and now Danny Fortson and Mickael Gelabale. I was hoping Chunky could put together some artwork to make it into a nice, funny piece about our favorite team.

Now? I'm barely motivated to write two words.

Look, Howards Schultz doesn't owe anybody anything. He made a business deal to get himself out of a financially precarious position, and as the front man for a conglomerate of other businesspeople, he most likely has been feeling as much heat from them to sell as he has from all of us to not.

Still, it seems a bit hypocritical to me that Schultz would on the one hand trump up the emotional relationship between the city and the team when it's convenient for his argument (i.e., Seattle must build me a new stadium because of all those future Sonic fans that love their basketball), and then turn around and completely abandon that same relationship when it's convenient for his pocketbook.

Mr. Schultz, I have never met you, and I most likely never will. Hence, I am in no position to judge your character. Further, if I have learned anything in life it's that passing judgement the motivations of others is a foolhardy and worthless endeavor.

Regardless, Howard, I think I speak for the majority of the people who read this site when I say that I am disappointed in you. You have passed yourself off as a man of the city, the man who saved the Sonics from leaving and preserved the legacy of Blackburn, McDaniel, Shawn, DJ, and Lenny, and a man who was engaged in a Quixotian struggle with the city and state to keep the Sonics in their home of 40 years.

And yet, you sold that same team to a man who even a 10-year-old can tell is obviously intent on moving it to Oklahoma, guaranteeing that the Sonics will become the Cleveland Browns or Montreal Expos of the NBA.

It’s funny. Howard Schultz, easily the worst owner in Sonics history in regard to wins and losses, will also go down as the most remembered owner in Sonics history. I wonder, Howard, was that part of your five-year plan?

Honesty

Clay Bennett, the man holding the keys to the truck that is driving the Sonics to Oklahoma City, when asked about his connection to the Oklahoma, and the open spot that city will soon have in their arena:

"Coincidental."

I'm sorry, I shouldn't be angry about something like this and I should be able to forgive Howard Schultz for his dishonesty, Bennett for his dishonesty, and Wally Walker for his stupidity, but I am really struggling right now.

The Bomb has dropped

The Sonics are heading to Oklahoma. Sonics fan suicide watch starts . . . now:

SEATTLE - The city's oldest major league franchise has been sold to a group from Oklahoma City, according to a report in the Seattle Times quoting multiple sources.

The sale is reportedly being made to an investor group led by Oklahoma businessman Clay Bennett. Bennet was instrumental in the temporary relocation of the Hornets to Oklahoma City following Hurricane Katrina. But the Hornets are scheduled to return to New Orleans following the 2006-07 season.

A news conference to announce the sale of the Seattle Supersoncis has been scheduled for 3 p.m.

from KING 5

Thanks to Susan for the tip. I think I need several drinks and maybe some drugs. Anyone else?

Moments

As for some of you, this whole Zinedine Zidane controversy has been on my mind for the past week. One aspect of it in particular, though, is intriguing.

My wife had left for some errand or another on Sunday, leaving me with my 3-year-old daughter to watch the World Cup (honestly, does any husband remember what his wife says as she walks out the door while he’s watching sports? My wife could have said, “Pete, I’m going to the park to burn a cross, then stopping off to shoot some amateur porn with the weird-looking guy at the park.” I still would have just mumbled “whatever,” eyes fixated on the screen).

Anyways, as the game dragged into overtime, my daughter started losing interest (actually she started losing interest in the first half when she discovered a box of styrofoam in the basement; children have no appreciation for the majesty of sport). However, even she was drawn to the screen after the headbutt (helped no doubt by my screaming).

In that instant, the action on-screen was etched into my head, and I will forever remember where I was when Zidane head-butted Materrazi.

Why all of this rambling about soccer in a basketball blog? Well, I thought it might be nice to list the moments in Sonics history that are burned into my skull. Herewith a brief list of one man’s vivid recollections:

1. X-Man dunking against the Lakers
Not a huge moment in Sonics history; but I’ll never forget Nate McMillan alley-ooping to X on CBS against the Showtime Lakers. Must have been around 1986 or ’87, and the Sonics destroyed LA in the first half before blowing the lead and losing.

2. Tom Chambers wins All-Star MVP
Tommy Gun was a last-minute replacement for James Worthy, and he shot lights-out at the Kingdome. I still remember watching the game while my brother was shooting hoops by himself in the front yard. His loss.

3. Sonics lose to Nuggets in Game 5
My stomach has never felt any lower than it did that gray, Spring day. Let’s move on.

4. Eddie Johnson drains half-courter against Rockets
In 1993 the Sonics were the best team in West, and EJ’s incredible shot at the end of the 3rd (?) quarter will always be the play I remember. By the way, the Sonics didn’t lose to the Suns in Game 7. That just didn’t happen, right?

5. Sonics top the Jazz, go to Finals
For those of us too young to remember 1979, this is the highlight. It wasn’t enough that we were in the Finals, we were in the Finals after beating the freakin’ Jazz. Bonus points for watching the Mailman miss his free throws due to 17,000 people counting to 10.

Gelabale Inks Deal

Not only is Gelebale a great dunker, but he can also poop basketballs.

The Sonics signed their 2nd French player (and 3rd who's fluent in la Francais, including Saer Sene) by putting the finishing touches on a deal with wingman Mickael Gelabale Wednesday.

Gelabale's signing adds a unique piece to this team. Like Damien Wilkins, the Frenchman (can we start calling him Gelly?) can play 3 positions, although he is admittedly not an NBA-quality PG. His proficiency at 3-pointers remains to be seen, but there can be no doubt that he has the quickness and ability to defend 2-guards better than just about anyone else on the roster.

Plus, by signing Mickael, the Sonics have become the Official Team of Scrabble. Seriously, we've got Johan, Mickael, Mouhamed, and Denham, not to mention the triple-word score that is Yotam Halperin. Whatever happened to Jack, JJ, and Gus?

Sene signed, sealed for Summer League

The Seattle Supersonics signed the #10 pick in the NBA draft, Mouhamed Sene, to a two-year deal yesterday. Sene will join Yotam Halperin, Deng Gai and several other guys you've never heard of in the Rocky Mountain Revue summer league on Friday. Here's the complete summer league roster:

3 Tony Bobbitt G 6-3 200 10/22/79 Cincinnati

2 Denham Brown G/F 6-6 220 1/6/83 Connecticut

30 Ronnie Burrell F 6-9 220 7/21/83 UNC-Greensboro

9 Andre Emmett G 6-4 220 8/27/82 Texas Tech

15 Desmon Farmer G 6-5 220 10/7/81 Southern Cal

16 Noel Felix F 6-9 225 10/4/81 Fresno State

33 Deng Gai F 6-9 220 3/22/82 Fairfield NBDL

22 Yotam Halperin G 6-5 210 1/24/84 Israel

23 Keith Langford G 6-3 210 9/15/83 Kansas

5 Paccelis Morlende G 6-2 185 4/19/81 France

11 Kenton Paulino G 6-2 180 6/23/83 Texas

42 Jared Reiner F 6-11 255 4/8/82 Iowa

18 Mouhamed Sene F/C 7-0 230 5/12/86 Senegal

24 Omar Williams F 6-9 220 8/11/81 George Washington

What in the Wilcox is going on?

The Wacky World of Wilcox continues today with two conflicting reports on contract negotiations with Dunktron 3000:

Sonics won't trade Wilcox! (from the Seattle P.I.)

or

Sonics to trade Wilcox . . . for Shawn Marion! (from the Tribune)

This all proves, of course, that no one knows what the hell is going on. Stay tuned!

Agents

In the world of pro sports, there are few things people agree on 100% of the time. You like Duncan? I like Shaq. You like the Yankees? I like the Sox. You like the DH? I like to see the pitcher hit. And so on.

Yet one area with complete consensus is that everyone hates player agents. From the nonsense they say in the papers about their clients, to the way they seem to get money for doing very little (honestly, did Ray Allen's agent deserve 7% of his deal for negotiating a maximum contract? Couldn't my 3-year-old daughter have gotten him the same deal?), we all hate them.

The reason I bring this up is that I noticed the other day that Mickael Gelabale and Johan Petro have the same agent, Buona N'Daiye. That got me to thinking - who are the agents for the guys on the Sonics' roster? Well, after an hour searching the internet, I was able to come up with the following list:

Ray Allen, Lon Babby
Rashard Lewis, Carl Poston
Danny Fortson, Raymond Brothers
Johan Petro, Buona N'Daiye
Mickael Gelabale, Buona N'Daiye
Saer Sene, Jeremy Medjama
Nick Collison, Mike Higgins
Luke Ridnour, Lon Babby
Damien Wilkins, Mark Bartelstein
Robert Swift, Arn Tellem
Chris Wilcox, Jeff Fried
Earl Watson, Life Sports Management
Denham Brown, Henry Thomas
Yotam Halperim, Jason Levien

Surprisingly, it wasn't easy to get that information, either. The way agents talk, you'd think all you'd have to do is type in "Ray Allen, Agent" into Google and 270 pages of Lon Babby would shoot back at you. Instead, it's like trying to get information on Dick Cheney's current relationship with Halliburton.

In any event, there you go, perfectly useless information distilled into a nice, short list. Enjoy your Friday.

Wilcox: Yea or Nay?

Percy Allen has an interesting piece up regarding Chris Wilcox' contract impasse, and how this is Radmanovic all over again (he doesn't actually say that, but I think every Seattle fan is thinking it). Whether this impasse is more of a small footbridge or the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge in Japan is open to debate; after all, it is the job of Wilcox' agent to create hype. If he comes out and says everything is going swell in negotiations, he doesn't exactly have much pull, does he?

Regardless, I’m beginning to wonder how much Wilcox is worth. The prevailing wisdom is that Wilcox never got a chance in LA, languishing behind Elton Brand in a PF never-neverland, and that his burst of scoring in rebounding in Seattle wasn’t due to a salary drive, but to playing time. But is that the truth?

It may surprise you to know that this isn’t the first time Chris Wilcox has posted big numbers for an extended period. In fact, in November of 2004, Wilcox averaged 14 points and 6 boards, before seeing his playing time – and numbers – curtailed for the rest of the season.

But, Pete, you’re saying, doesn’t that mean that Wilcox just needed playing time to produce? Well, I suppose that’s one way of looking at it. It’s true, Wilcox was stuck behind one of the best 4’s in the game in Brand. But doesn’t it make you wonder just a little why Mike Dunleavy couldn’t find more time for an athletic 6’10” power forward who can score in traffic? Further, does it worry anyone else that Wilcox disappeared the final 5 games of the season, failing to score more than 10 points in any of them? Shouldn’t a guy who’s getting the money Wilcox is going to get put up solid numbers almost every night?

I’m sorry, but the longer this deal drags out the more I’m beginning to question the wisdom of locking up Chris Wilcox for 4 or 5 years, especially considering he hasn’t produced anything more than a one-month outburst. A common piece of wisdom in the NBA goes that it’s how you do the second time through the league that matters (see Murray, Flip), when defenses started planning for you and opposing coaches recognize you. Considering Wilcox has yet to produce in that sort of situation, I’d be hesitant to extend him the offer he’s expecting. And considering that someone like Drew Gooden is sitting out there, well, wouldn’t the money Seattle is earmarking for Wilcox be better spent on someone – like Gooden – who has produced consistently in the league for more than one month?

Radman and Kobe, Sitting in a Tree

It appears that former Seattle Supersonic Vladimir Radmanovic is bringing his erratic shooting, questionable hairstyles and armpit of doom defense to the other team in LA:

Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - The Los Angeles Lakers may have found a sweet-shooting big man to capitalize off double teams on Kobe Bryant, as the club reportedly agreed to a five-year contract with free agent forward Vladimir Radmanovic late Saturday.

The Los Angeles Daily News reports that the Lakers will sign the 6-foot-10 forward to a $30 million contract on July 12, the first day players can officially sign with teams.

from the Seattle P.I.

Wait a minute . . . five years for 30 mil? Isn't that less than the Sonics offered him last summer? I guess he must really like Kobe.