Stern softens on Key Arena?

According to the Bring Back Our Sonics Facebook page, David Stern may be changing his tune (at least in the short-term) about Key Arena:

Steve Kelley of the Seattle Times was on with Ian Furness during @FurnessShow Kelley said he's heard talks that David Stern has said he's willing to let a team play in Key Arena for 2 years, if a new arena is being built for the future. - Jeff

So what does this mean for our beloved Sonics? Is Stern offering an olive branch to the heartbroken, discarded fans of Seattle or just more smoke and mirrors from The Wizard of Blahs?  No one knows for certain, but longtime Sonics fans will recall that not long ago Stern was a big fan of Key Arena, so anything is possible.

supersonicsoultoon: Ranger Howie

So maybe Schultz looks more like a Mountie than a forest ranger. I must have been influenced by Pete's Canadian brainwaves. Especially since he came up with the idea for this one! Add "Art Director" to your job title, Pedro.

~chunk

PS: For the background on this cartoon, read this article in the Seattle Times.

Supersonicsoultoon: Vertical Stripes are Thinning

I'm sure Clay is just giving his buddy Dave a hearty pat on the back.

Stern

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.