Gee, Bob, I Can Think of a Couple ...

Robert Irsay, owner of the Indianapolis Colts, as told to the AP. Irsay is referring to the city of Indianaplis' desire to renegotiate their stadium deal with the Colts, owing to the funding shortfall the stadium authority has experienced.

"What business would come in and negotiate with the city and the state for three or four years and get all the details ironed out, and then three or four months after you're in the building have them say that doesn't really matter and then take your brand and rake it over the coals."

What kind of business? Well, there's this guy, who decided he didn't like his building less than a decade after it was built, and who tried to renegotiate his lease even though there was still close to five years left on it. Or this guy, who pulled a team out of town even though they still had a year left on their lease.

Or, maybe, this kind of business, the kind which promises to let the mayor of the city in which it resides of a phone call if it decides to move, then gets 15 moving vans to load up in the middle of the night and haul ass for Indianapolis. Sorry, Bob, but people who pull that kind of stuff don't get the right to act sanctimonious.

Jerk

I think I've been rather clear where I stand on the new stadium debate. I'm not a fan of spending public money on private enterprises, especially when those enterprises routinely lie about their losses, and also use those losses for tax reasons.

The folks at Sonicscentral, conversely, are all for it. And you know what, I can see their point. They admit the Sonics are not a financial priority for the region, and their argument that the team provides a huge emotional boost to this area has merit. Again, I don't agree with it, but I can see where they are coming from.

And, more importantly, they've put their efforts behind that. The saveoursonics site is just the tip of the iceberg. From rallies to trips to Olympia to t-shirts ... these guys have gone all out in a concerted effort to help Clay Bennett's investment.

So when I read this quote from Bennett in the Kansas City Star about the reaction to the stadium failure, well, it flat-out pissed me off.

“No hue and cry, no letters to the editor, nothing by the media or talk on the call-in shows, or no new ideas on how to get it done,” Bennett said. “No private ideas on the table.”

That's just obscene. Here are these fellows at sonicscentral, completely unpaid, devoting all of their free time to help Bennett succeed, and he completely urinates all over their efforts.

I know Bennett is positioning himself to move to another city, or at least intimidate the city/state into getting what he wants, but this is just flat-out lousy. Further, he's lying, if the rumors about the Muckleshoot tribe or David Sabey are to be believed. For crying out loud, how many deals does he expect? Didn't he get the opportunity to buy the team solely because a group of men from Seattle failed to build a stadium in the first place? Does he truly expect us to believe him when he acts shocked that the stadium isn't built within 48 hours of his arrival?

Shame on you, Clay Bennett. I hope David Stern gives you the same treatment he gave the last carpet-bagging owner in the NBA, Bill Laurie, and sends you packing back home to Oklahoma.