Not satisfied with extorting money out of the pockets of Washingtonians, Clay Bennett has now shifted his attention to the good people of Oklahoma.
According to the AP, at a sports business conference (theme: "Finding Effective Ways to Get Government to Pay") at Oklahoma State University, Bennett stated that it did not make any sense for private individuals to pay for sporting venues, in that they are going to provide "such dramatic public return."
Unless, of course, they are in Seattle, in which case they have no affect on the local economy. This guy, he's killing me.
But if you want a real laugh, check out part of Bennett's rationale for why building these palaces for the wealthy are so economically relevant.
"... you've got players coming that are purchasing homes, buying vehicles ..."
Hey, we all know that NBA players are all about buying big cars and bigger houses, but would anyone with even a remote knowledge of economics agree with His Clayness on this point? Asking for $150 million from the state, then using the homes and cars of 12 individuals as an offset?
Man, when it comes to ridiculous, you can't top these guys.
Thursday, January 31
Wally's Out
According to Gary Washburn at the PI, Szczerbiak will be sitting tonight's game against Cleveland out. His sprained right ankle injury has not healed as expected, so Damien Wilkins and Delonte West will get some extra minutes tonight.
Again, the irony of watching Mickael Gelabale sitting all season because of a minute crunch, seeing him sent to the minors, then within 48 hours seeing his team actually in need of his services is somewhat frustrating. Considering that Wilkins is still recovering from the flu, Gelly could have gotten 10-20 minutes tonight. Instead, he's in the D-League.
Oh, well, at least Delonte will get a chance to prove (again) that he deserves minutes.
Which leads to the question: Assuming LBJ is healthy tonight, who on the Sonic roster do you feel is best-suited to guard him, one on one?
Again, the irony of watching Mickael Gelabale sitting all season because of a minute crunch, seeing him sent to the minors, then within 48 hours seeing his team actually in need of his services is somewhat frustrating. Considering that Wilkins is still recovering from the flu, Gelly could have gotten 10-20 minutes tonight. Instead, he's in the D-League.
Oh, well, at least Delonte will get a chance to prove (again) that he deserves minutes.
Which leads to the question: Assuming LBJ is healthy tonight, who on the Sonic roster do you feel is best-suited to guard him, one on one?
Minimum Wages
From Wages of Wins, here are the total Wins Produced (WP) for the Sonics’ roster thus far this season.
Player, overall NBA rank, WP, WP/48 min.
Kurt Thomas (38), 5.0, .302
Nick Collison (48), 4.4, .201
Chris Wilcox (129), 2.0, .097
Earl Watson (144), 1.5, .066
Wally Szczerbiak (161), 1.1, .055
Delonte West (263), 0.1, .004
Luke Ridnour (325), -0.2, -.019
Johan Petro (355), -0.3, -.036
Robert Swift (383), -0.4, -.250
Damien Wilkins (386), -0.4, -.020
Mickael Gelabale (395), -0.5, -.127
Kevin Durant (424), -1.0, -.037
Jeff Green (442), -2.1, -.100
Out of 446 players, Jeff Green ranked 442nd. Of the bottom five players, three are from Europe (Bargnani, Nachbar, Pavlovic) and two attended prestigious American universities (Green/Georgetown and Jason Collins/Stanford). The moral? Don’t bother saving your pennies for putting your kid into a private university or sending him to Europe!
Player, overall NBA rank, WP, WP/48 min.
Kurt Thomas (38), 5.0, .302
Nick Collison (48), 4.4, .201
Chris Wilcox (129), 2.0, .097
Earl Watson (144), 1.5, .066
Wally Szczerbiak (161), 1.1, .055
Delonte West (263), 0.1, .004
Luke Ridnour (325), -0.2, -.019
Johan Petro (355), -0.3, -.036
Robert Swift (383), -0.4, -.250
Damien Wilkins (386), -0.4, -.020
Mickael Gelabale (395), -0.5, -.127
Kevin Durant (424), -1.0, -.037
Jeff Green (442), -2.1, -.100
Out of 446 players, Jeff Green ranked 442nd. Of the bottom five players, three are from Europe (Bargnani, Nachbar, Pavlovic) and two attended prestigious American universities (Green/Georgetown and Jason Collins/Stanford). The moral? Don’t bother saving your pennies for putting your kid into a private university or sending him to Europe!
News for Thursday
- LBJ may not be in action tonight when the Sonics take on Cleveland at the Key. He apparently injured his ankle in the second quarter, then managed to come back and drop 17 in the 4th quarter as the Cavs topped the Blazers in Portland, once again proving that the Blazers suck eggs and the Sonics are the true champ.... oh, never mind.
- Jeff Green and Kevin Durant will be on the Rookie Team in the Rookie Challenge at the All-Star Festivities next month. Sadly, Mo Sene was not extended an invite to the Sophomore Team.
- The Sonic win against the Spurs came at a cost, as Chris Wilcox (elbow), Damien Wilkins (flu), Wally Szczerbiak (ankle, hair), Nick Collison (grit), and Kurt Thomas (everything) missed practice on Wednesday. Somewhere in Idaho, Mickael Gelabale is uttering curse words in French.
- Jeff Green and Kevin Durant will be on the Rookie Team in the Rookie Challenge at the All-Star Festivities next month. Sadly, Mo Sene was not extended an invite to the Sophomore Team.
- The Sonic win against the Spurs came at a cost, as Chris Wilcox (elbow), Damien Wilkins (flu), Wally Szczerbiak (ankle, hair), Nick Collison (grit), and Kurt Thomas (everything) missed practice on Wednesday. Somewhere in Idaho, Mickael Gelabale is uttering curse words in French.
Wednesday, January 30
14? A Distant Memory
Unbelievable. Well, considering the Spurs were A) without Tony Parker and B) coming off a 2-game losing streak, perhaps a little more believable, but still, who among you expected a Sonic win last night?
crickets chirping
That's what I thought. Some crazy stats from the win over San Antonio, including some gruesome shooting numbers from point guards.
Some other nuggets to chew on:
- The Spurs are 9-9 this year when one of their Big 3 is injured
- S.A. is 11-13 in its past 24 games
- Earl Watson was 0 for 8
- Jeff Green managed 1 assist, 0 rebounds, 0 points, 4 missed shots, and 1 foul in 20 minutes
- Seattle committed 6 turnovers. 6!
Well, in a year full of horrible news and horrible games, last night was a bright spot for sure. Durant hits a game-winning shot, Tim Duncan is miserable, Tony Parker doesn't play ... hey, what's not to like!
crickets chirping
That's what I thought. Some crazy stats from the win over San Antonio, including some gruesome shooting numbers from point guards.
Some other nuggets to chew on:
- The Spurs are 9-9 this year when one of their Big 3 is injured
- S.A. is 11-13 in its past 24 games
- Earl Watson was 0 for 8
- Jeff Green managed 1 assist, 0 rebounds, 0 points, 4 missed shots, and 1 foul in 20 minutes
- Seattle committed 6 turnovers. 6!
Well, in a year full of horrible news and horrible games, last night was a bright spot for sure. Durant hits a game-winning shot, Tim Duncan is miserable, Tony Parker doesn't play ... hey, what's not to like!
Tuesday, January 29
More Arena News
Both the PI and the Times (oh, and the TNT, too) have articles about the court date, from which we can glean the following information:
-The trial is expected to last six days, with another week or two for the judge to reach her verdict, meaning a decision would not be available until July 1 or so.
-The NBA schedule is due out in June (ish), which could conceivably mean that Bennett might be able to move the team, anyways, but the timing would be exceedingly tight.
-That is counterbalanced by the possibility of the loser appealing the decision, which would add another year's worth of waiting.
-The NBA will discuss the Sonics' application for relocation in April at their governor's meeting. Considering that there will be a pending court case involving the team, it would seem unlikely that the league would permit the Sonics to move prior to resolution of the case. Also, according to Greg Johns at the PI, "The city has said it will consider adding the NBA to the lawsuit should the league approve relocation of the Sonics to Oklahoma City while the team is still bound by its current lease." That sound you heard was David Stern frowning as hard as humanly possible.
-The trial is expected to last six days, with another week or two for the judge to reach her verdict, meaning a decision would not be available until July 1 or so.
-The NBA schedule is due out in June (ish), which could conceivably mean that Bennett might be able to move the team, anyways, but the timing would be exceedingly tight.
-That is counterbalanced by the possibility of the loser appealing the decision, which would add another year's worth of waiting.
-The NBA will discuss the Sonics' application for relocation in April at their governor's meeting. Considering that there will be a pending court case involving the team, it would seem unlikely that the league would permit the Sonics to move prior to resolution of the case. Also, according to Greg Johns at the PI, "The city has said it will consider adding the NBA to the lawsuit should the league approve relocation of the Sonics to Oklahoma City while the team is still bound by its current lease." That sound you heard was David Stern frowning as hard as humanly possible.
Court Date
Showing the wisdom one would expect from a judge of her stature, Judge Marsha Pechman listened to the Sonics asking for a March court date, the city asking for an October date, and split the difference:
June 16.
For those, like me, who wasted their time getting English minors/majors, that date should obviously ring a bell. It's Bloomsday, the date on which James Joyce based his eternally praised (by people who claim to understand it) and cursed (by students who have to slog through it) novel "Ulysses." The entire book, all 20,000 pages, takes place on June 16, 1904.
And now, a century later, the fate of a city's fandom will begin to be decided on June 16th. Let's just hope that 50 years from now that, in addition to being an Irish holiday, June 16th will be a date for Sonic fans to cherish.
[Oh, and on a side note - this screws Clay Bennett's chances of getting out of Seattle. I can't see the league allowing the Sonics to move to OKC after a decision is made in June as it wouldn't be enough time to allow schedules to be revised. I'll allow smarter folks to weigh in, but from my vantagepoint, this guarantees the Sonics in Seattle for at least one more year.]
June 16.
For those, like me, who wasted their time getting English minors/majors, that date should obviously ring a bell. It's Bloomsday, the date on which James Joyce based his eternally praised (by people who claim to understand it) and cursed (by students who have to slog through it) novel "Ulysses." The entire book, all 20,000 pages, takes place on June 16, 1904.
And now, a century later, the fate of a city's fandom will begin to be decided on June 16th. Let's just hope that 50 years from now that, in addition to being an Irish holiday, June 16th will be a date for Sonic fans to cherish.
[Oh, and on a side note - this screws Clay Bennett's chances of getting out of Seattle. I can't see the league allowing the Sonics to move to OKC after a decision is made in June as it wouldn't be enough time to allow schedules to be revised. I'll allow smarter folks to weigh in, but from my vantagepoint, this guarantees the Sonics in Seattle for at least one more year.]
Potential Trial Date Coming Today
As you should be aware, a very important decision may be made today by Judge Marsha Pechman regarding the court case involving the City of Seattle and Clay Bennett et al. From Eric Williams at the TNT:
Ruth Bowman, a spokesperson for the Seattle City Attorney’s office, said Judge Marsha Pechman has called a scheduling conference to bring the two sides together in the court case between the city and the Sonics for a 10 a.m. meeting Tuesday at the U.S. Federal Courthouse in Seattle. Bowman said Pechman may set a trial date during the meeting.
The Sonics, obviously, are keen to have the court date set earlier, in March, while the city is looking for a post-summer date. By scheduling the date for March, Judge Pechman would enable the Sonics to move to Oklahoma City for the upcoming season, while an October date would cancel that possibility, regardless of her verdict in the case.
If info becomes available, we'll try to post it as quickly as possible. Basically, if you want to see the Sonics play at KeyArena next season, keep your fingers crossed that Pechman has a couple of weddings to go to in March.
Ruth Bowman, a spokesperson for the Seattle City Attorney’s office, said Judge Marsha Pechman has called a scheduling conference to bring the two sides together in the court case between the city and the Sonics for a 10 a.m. meeting Tuesday at the U.S. Federal Courthouse in Seattle. Bowman said Pechman may set a trial date during the meeting.
The Sonics, obviously, are keen to have the court date set earlier, in March, while the city is looking for a post-summer date. By scheduling the date for March, Judge Pechman would enable the Sonics to move to Oklahoma City for the upcoming season, while an October date would cancel that possibility, regardless of her verdict in the case.
If info becomes available, we'll try to post it as quickly as possible. Basically, if you want to see the Sonics play at KeyArena next season, keep your fingers crossed that Pechman has a couple of weddings to go to in March.
Saturday, January 26
Absolutely Awful
It was perhaps the worst performance I've ever witnessed from the Sonics - at least for the first half, anyways. With a minute or so to go before halftime, the Supes had scored the grand total of 23 points (!), and I don't even know how they got that many.
Did I mention that Friday night's game was against Atlanta, at home? That Wally Szczerbiak had 2 points? That Jeff Green played the role of the Invisible Man, again? That Kurt Thomas looked like he was 55, not 35?
Kevin Durant spent the whole game looking for his shot, but never seemed to find it. With the exception of dunks, he was horrific, finishing 7 of 21 on the night. Granted, no one else seemed to have the touch last night either, as the Sonics went 0 for 11 behind the arc. Atlanta knew it was coming, too, as they sagged in around the basket all night and conceeded the outside shot they knew the Sonics were not going to make.
On the bright side, Johan Petro had a coast-to-coast dunk in the fourth quarter that brough the crowd to its feet. Yes, Petro and coast-to-coast in the same sentence. I'm still in shock myself. And Chris Wilcox and Luke Ridnour - in an attempt to make me eat my words about the two of them in my mid-season grades - seemed to be the only other Sonics with any sense of energy Friday night.
But, truly, the entire Sonic season could be summed up by one play in the second quarter. The Sonics had, again, let the clock run down to single digits, and panic set it on offense. Durant took the ball, split two defenders, twisted and turned his lithe frame in traffic, cocked his hand back ...
And threw a dunk off the front of the rim.
That's the 2007-08 Seattle Supersonics for you folks. Crappy at the beginning, crappy at the end, and a little bit of sun in between.
Did I mention that Friday night's game was against Atlanta, at home? That Wally Szczerbiak had 2 points? That Jeff Green played the role of the Invisible Man, again? That Kurt Thomas looked like he was 55, not 35?
Kevin Durant spent the whole game looking for his shot, but never seemed to find it. With the exception of dunks, he was horrific, finishing 7 of 21 on the night. Granted, no one else seemed to have the touch last night either, as the Sonics went 0 for 11 behind the arc. Atlanta knew it was coming, too, as they sagged in around the basket all night and conceeded the outside shot they knew the Sonics were not going to make.
On the bright side, Johan Petro had a coast-to-coast dunk in the fourth quarter that brough the crowd to its feet. Yes, Petro and coast-to-coast in the same sentence. I'm still in shock myself. And Chris Wilcox and Luke Ridnour - in an attempt to make me eat my words about the two of them in my mid-season grades - seemed to be the only other Sonics with any sense of energy Friday night.
But, truly, the entire Sonic season could be summed up by one play in the second quarter. The Sonics had, again, let the clock run down to single digits, and panic set it on offense. Durant took the ball, split two defenders, twisted and turned his lithe frame in traffic, cocked his hand back ...
And threw a dunk off the front of the rim.
That's the 2007-08 Seattle Supersonics for you folks. Crappy at the beginning, crappy at the end, and a little bit of sun in between.
Friday, January 25
Juxtaposition
It's not every day that two headlines - run the same day - give two completely opposite impressions about the same situation. But then, this is the Sonics, in a year in which we are fully expecting James Cameron to be brought on board to help them further explore the depths of the NBA. ("Look, over there, off the starboard side, I think I can see the remains of Joe Barry Carroll! And isn't that a 1981 Cavaliers jersey over there?")
But back to where I began. Here is the headline from today's PI, story courtesy of Gary Washburn:
Sonics' Watson stays positive despite losses, unsure future
And, from the TNT, this time from Eric Williams:
Watson’s frustration surfaces amid skid
In Williams' story, it is revealed that Watson was irked about riding the pines down the stretch of the past two games, to the point where Sam Presti had a conversation with him about said subject. Don't misread the headline, though, Watson didn't come out and demand a trade, he only expressed dissatisfaction with the team's season and his lack of interest in rebuilding seasons. We hear you, big guy.
Likewise, Washburn relays how Watson has decided to bite his tongue and not voice his displeasure with the ongoing minutes situation between himself and Luke Ridnour.
The upshot of all of this? The two stories are basically the same, with just slightly more information in one than the other, meaning, as always, that readers should always remember that the fellow who wrote the story isn't the fellow who put the headline on it.
But back to where I began. Here is the headline from today's PI, story courtesy of Gary Washburn:
Sonics' Watson stays positive despite losses, unsure future
And, from the TNT, this time from Eric Williams:
Watson’s frustration surfaces amid skid
In Williams' story, it is revealed that Watson was irked about riding the pines down the stretch of the past two games, to the point where Sam Presti had a conversation with him about said subject. Don't misread the headline, though, Watson didn't come out and demand a trade, he only expressed dissatisfaction with the team's season and his lack of interest in rebuilding seasons. We hear you, big guy.
Likewise, Washburn relays how Watson has decided to bite his tongue and not voice his displeasure with the ongoing minutes situation between himself and Luke Ridnour.
The upshot of all of this? The two stories are basically the same, with just slightly more information in one than the other, meaning, as always, that readers should always remember that the fellow who wrote the story isn't the fellow who put the headline on it.
Thursday, January 24
A Dirty Dozen
The only feeling more painful than enduring a 12-game losing streak, is enduring a 12-game losing streak wherein the 12th loss came when your team had a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter.
Ouch.
If Norman Vincent Peale were to review last night's loss to the Rockets, he would point to how the Sonics shot 52% from the floor, only committed nine turnovers, and basically showed they were as good as the Rockets, one of the better teams in the Western Conference.
Unfortunately, there are no moral victories in the newspaper agate, only carved in stone wins and losses. If Kevin Durant sinks the 3 at the end rather than sending it off the back iron, if the Sonics manage to keep the Rockets from going on an 18-4 run to close out the game, hey, we're not talking about any of this, now are we?
Sadly, it all happened, and now the Sonics are one game away from tying the longest losing streak in club history, and, thankfully, with the Hawks and Kings the next two opponents - at home - there is a good chance they'll keep it from happening.
Ouch.
If Norman Vincent Peale were to review last night's loss to the Rockets, he would point to how the Sonics shot 52% from the floor, only committed nine turnovers, and basically showed they were as good as the Rockets, one of the better teams in the Western Conference.
Unfortunately, there are no moral victories in the newspaper agate, only carved in stone wins and losses. If Kevin Durant sinks the 3 at the end rather than sending it off the back iron, if the Sonics manage to keep the Rockets from going on an 18-4 run to close out the game, hey, we're not talking about any of this, now are we?
Sadly, it all happened, and now the Sonics are one game away from tying the longest losing streak in club history, and, thankfully, with the Hawks and Kings the next two opponents - at home - there is a good chance they'll keep it from happening.
Wednesday, January 23
Great Washburn Story
Make sure to check out Gary Washburn's piece in the PI about a Sonic roster which is slowly beginning to boil. If you choose not to read for the strong research and insightful commentary, then take a quick look only for this paragraph:
"According to those close to the team, there is growing speculation that Carlesimo is losing some of the veteran players, many of whom are confused about their role, irritated with his abrasive style and disenchanted with the season-long evaluation process that has left several players confused about playing time."
Funny, but am I the only one who thinks that Gary Washburn could have cut and pasted that paragraph from either the Oregonian circa 1997 or the San Francisco Chronicle circa 2000?
The more things change, ...
"According to those close to the team, there is growing speculation that Carlesimo is losing some of the veteran players, many of whom are confused about their role, irritated with his abrasive style and disenchanted with the season-long evaluation process that has left several players confused about playing time."
Funny, but am I the only one who thinks that Gary Washburn could have cut and pasted that paragraph from either the Oregonian circa 1997 or the San Francisco Chronicle circa 2000?
The more things change, ...
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