With this medal, I thee wed. You may now kiss my ass.
What can you say about this man?
'His Royal Smugness,' Steve Kelley at the Times calls him, and it's not an inappropriate moniker. David Stern, the man who seemingly revels in every ounce of good publicity for his league, has once again stomped his foot and tried to belittle the efforts of those who are working to keep the Sonics in Seattle.
"There's not going to be a new arena," Stern says. "There's not going to be a public contribution, and that's everyone's right. I mean that sincerely."
Stern went on to comment that he had read "in the newspaper" that Speaker of the House Frank Chopp had offered his support to the University of Washington's plans for a new athletic facility, but that Chopp had denied such support to the Sonics, further illustrating Seattle's ambivalence about losing their NBA team.
Which would make for a great soundbite, if it contained any kernel of truth, which, like most things out of Stern's mouth, it does not.
Reading Stern's comments, it is easy to become riled up and toss out invectives like a drunken fan, but, honestly, he's not worth the effort.
Remember, Stern is the man who publicly admonished Tim Hardaway for his disrespectful comments about homosexuality last year, because, don't you know, the NBA is all about cultural inclusiveness. David Stern, it seemed, would not stand for homophobes, not in his NBA, dammit.
Well, as we all know, that level of understanding doesn't have to extend to the owners. And that should tell you everything need to know about the Commish, a man who never met an idea he couldn't spin, a city he couldn't blackmail, or an emotion he couldn't twist.
You can keep talking, David, but we're done listening.
At PostSecret.com I saw one postcard say, "If I was diagnosed with terminal illness I would hunt down and kill Karl Rove and OJ Simpson."
ReplyDeleteFor me, I think that's a great starting point, but David Stern and Clay would definitely be on my list. No doubt.
Despicable. This man has no shame, no class, and no honor. He wants to pull our franchise, yet he wants to create teams in Europe? Good plan, expand when you are struggling in so many of your local markets. Seattle, NO, Memphis, Toronto, San Antonio (despite success)... hell, look around the league on televised games. Where are the fans? Staying home.
I'm about to abandon any thought of the league. David Stern, you are chasing away a guy who grew up loving the game and sport, played it in college and who has disposable income.
The NBA's problems in Seattle are the NBA's problems everywhere. Pulling the team will not solve them. If the team leaves, I hope the league dies, I truly do.
Why can't I put my name anymore? That was T Dawg above...
ReplyDeleteIf you pick the 3rd option down from the 'Choose an identity' buttons, it will allow you to type in your name.
ReplyDeleteGood point about the European expansion, I completely agree with you on that one.
Nuss, I know what you mean about the name thing, however the format is new compared to what it has been in the past and it simply would not let me publish comments.
ReplyDeleteWeird. Now it works. Hmmm. Go ahead and delete this one.
ReplyDeleteI'm starting to feel like T-Dawg. Call it sour grapes, but if this move goes down, it would be my fondest wish for the league to drop below Major League Lacrosse in terms of cultural relevance. I used to look for signs of hope that the NBA was returning to the prominence it had in the 80s and 90s, but now I savor news about crappy ratings and bad PR. Heck, the freakin' all-star game wasn't even sold out this year. Nice work, Commish!
ReplyDeleteI feel like Stern is blaming the rape victim here. Somehow it's OUR fault that the teams sucks, that the NBA sucks, that we don't want to pay for THEIR stadiums so they can charge more for OUR games, so of course it's OUR fault when some bastard comes in here and steals our team (a team that for most of it's 40 years has been one of the best in the league and has sold a TON of merchandise for the NBA).
ReplyDeleteNuss, how can we send letters to Stern? I can't find anyplace online.
ReplyDeleteHere is the mailing address for the league:
ReplyDeleteThe National Basketball Association
645 Fifth Ave
New York, NY 10022
Perhaps even more effective than writing a letter to Stern would be to write a letter to the Times or PI. As far as I can tell, one letter published in the newspaper is worth 100 letters to Stern as far as impact goes.
Well, Stern does represent the owners, rich guys who are looking to plunder the public.
ReplyDeleteHere are capitalists who tell us that free market capitalism doesn't work. Shysters, all of them.
Thanks, Nuss. Will do.
ReplyDeleteI feel for you Seattle...I live in a town that had to go through the same thing..give them their toys or watch them leave (we gave them the new toy and they stayed). But come on now. The team was stolen? I thought they were bought and paid for by that Okie. The previous owner (and everyone in town) should have known what was going to happen. So when the new owner says I want my toys, you either give him his toys OR watch the team leave town. One or the other. I guess option 3 would be for you personally to buy the team if you've got the cash laying around. But quit your damn crying that your team was stolen and that it's unfair for the new owner to do as he damn well pleases with something he bought.
ReplyDeleteWhat we're "crying" about is that he openly LIED about it. He said he'd make a "good faith effort" to keep the team in Seattle, and then refused to negotiate on his preposterous demands.
ReplyDeleteThis team has been in Seattle for 40 years. It's a public institution, not just a "toy" to be bought.
I liked the caption you used last time when you posted this tender picture of these two geniuses. It read something like, "I hereby name you Duke of Douchebagia". I chuckled about that for a few days.
ReplyDeleteYeah I added "King of Douchebagia" to Clay's Wikipedia page and linked it to that post as my source but for some reason it kept getting pulled. I'm about to change it back...
ReplyDeleteIf memory serves....didn't David Stern praise Key Arena when it was first remodled? Just because other towns have gone bigger and better doesn't mean that Key is a POS. It is a deadly cycle of replacing venues every 10-15 years and sticking it to the tax payers to build it. Bite me Stern!!!
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ReplyDelete