Da Fort is Back!

Danny Fortson's knee might still be gimpy, but it sounds like his elbows are in mid-season form:

For the first time in training camp, Danny Fortson participated in a scrimmage, which was open to the media. He fared well until getting frustrated and flooring rookie free agent Kenny Adeleke with an elbow.

Fortson, who has not played in a game since Jan. 23, then left the scrimmage, iced both knees and went into treatment. It looks more and more as if he will open the season on the roster and could receive playing time if his gimpy left knee holds up.

Read the rest in today's Seattle P.I.

And, in case you missed it the first time around, here's our Dannny Fortson comic book in all its glory:

Front Cover
Part One
Part Two

Sam's The Man

Thanks in no small part to the efforts of voters from supersonicsoul, Sam Perkins earned a spot on the Sonics' 40th Anniversary Team, joining Slick Watts as the 2 Wild Card entrants. Somewhere in Utah, Tom Chambers is cursing us all.

Dag! We're in Dime!

SELF-PROMOTION ALERT! Check out the latest issue of DIME for a brief (and I mean brief) Sonics season preview by yours truly. The guys at DIME are very cool, so please go buy several copies. Or just send them bags of money. Either way is good.

Battle for Backups

Not much news to report on the Sonics front with the exception of a nice story in the PI about Kareem Rush and Earl Watson returning to Kansas City. Kudos to Gary Washburn for finding a story most people would have skipped - I'll bet 90% of us thought of Nick Collison when the words "Kansas" and "Sonics" appeared in the same sentence, but Washburn delved deeper and found two guys with stronger ties than Nick to the area.

With no games to review, let's take a look at how the battle for the final roster spots are going for the Sonics thus far. As I see it, the following guys are locked in for the season:

Allen, Lewis, Collison, Ridnour, Watson, Wilkins, Wilcox, Petro, Swift, Gelabale, Sene, Fortson.

That's 12 people, leaving 2 or 3 open slots. Of those 12, they break down this way by position:

PG - 2
SG - 3
SF - 3
PF - 3
C - 3

(Some guys can play multiple positions, so it's not faulty math on my part).

The Sonics will likely carry 13 or 14 guys, including the "King of DNP-CD" Danny Fortson, at least until he's moved to somebody else by midseason. That means the rest of the guys on the training roster are competing for 1 or 2 spots. Here are the competitors (And wouldn't this make a better reality show than most of the crap out there? Really, do we need 2 nanny shows?)

1. Denham Brown, 6'6", SF, 8-1
2. Desmon Farmer, 6'5", SG, 20-1
3. Mike Wilks, 5'10", PG, 10-1
4. Milt Palacio, 6'4", PG, 30-1
5. Kenny Adeleke, 6'8", F, 50-1
6. Kareem Rush, 6'6", SG, 5-1

The last bit in each line is my guess at the odds of each making the roster. Palacio and Rush have a leg up on the rest with their relatively extensive NBA experience, but the fact Milt's only gotten 8 minutes in the first two games shows where he ranks in my mind. Wilks' presence on the roster last season should be an edge for him, and Brown's extensive minutes in the Portland game shows how the staff seems to like him.

Obviously, this is a total crapshoot at this point, and the ends of the roster have (almost) zero influence on how many games the Sonics will win, but, hey, it's a Saturday and there isn't a whole lot else to talk about, so there you go.

Sonics All-Star Team

The voting is mostly done for the Sonics' 40th anniversary team (Actually, in a strict interpretation of the word, next year would be their 40th anniversary, because the first year doesn't count. Think of it this way: You get married in 1971. Would that mean that 1972 would be your 2nd anniversary? No, it would be your first anniversary. The Sonics' first season was in 1967-68, which means their 40th anniversary would be the 2007-08 season, not the 2006-07 season. But I digress).

The lone remaining spot is for the "Wild Card," and your options are:

Tom Chambers
Slick Watts
Brent Barry (!)
Sam Perkins
Bob Rule

I'm sorry, but I don't want to live in a world where Brent Barry gets more votes than any of those 4 guys. For the love of all that is holy, get yourself to supersonics.com and vote as often as you can for any of the other 4 guys. Personally, I'll mark a big X for Mr. Sam Perkins.

Sonics Fall to Lakers

The big story out of LA wasn't that the Sonics lost a pre-season game to the Kobe-less Lakers, but that Nick Collison is a MAN ON FIRE!

Collison contributed 20 points in a scant 24 minutes, his second consecutive impressive showing in the two pre-season games. In fact, comparing Collison to Chris Wilcox through two games, you get:

Collison: 31 points, 16 boards, 4 fouls, 51 minutes
Wilcox: 11 points, 13 boards, 5 fouls, 46 minutes

Conclusion? Pre-season games don't mean squat. Still, it's nice to see Nick isn't racking up fouls like Alton Lister on crack anymore. Hopefully, it will be a trend he continues during the course of the regular season as well.

In other news, Ray Allen broke the shotclock on a dunk, Luke Ridnour's thumb isn't broken but he'll still miss the next game, the Sonics will be playing in Collison's old gym, the Sonics' trio of young centers stunk up the joint last night, Bob Hill doesn't think Earl Watson should start, Gelabale impressed Hill by scoring in the post in the late stages of the game, and the Sonics have been outscored 45 to 18 from beyond the arc.

Phew.

Sonics knock NateBlazers, 99-89

Preseason already? I guess that means the Supersonicsoul Summer Vacation is over . . . (sigh).

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Rashard Lewis scored 13 of his 17 points in the third quarter and the Seattle SuperSonics defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 99-89 on Wednesday night in the first preseason game for both teams.

Zach Randolph had 20 points and seven rebounds for Portland, which squandered an 11-point lead.

Dan Dickau, acquired in a draft-day trade, scored eight straight points and gave the Blazers a 35-24 lead in the first half. Jarrett Jack and draft pick Sergio Rodriguez made consecutive 3-pointers to give Portland a 53-45 halftime lead.

Lewis' third-quarter outburst helped close the gap to 70-67, and Nick Collison's layup gave Seattle a 73-72 lead.

Read the rest here.

Greatest Dunkers

In light of the Sonics’ celebration of their 40th season, we thought we’d do our part to honor the heroic history of the Sonics, such as it were. Today’s entry highlights the 5 greatest dunkers in Sonic history, counted down, Casey Kasem-style.

Keep in mind that I’ve only been following the Sonics since the early 1980s, so apologies to fans of Spencer Haywood, Bob Rule, etc., as I just never saw them in action.

5. DERRICK MCKEY
What? Derrick McKey? Pete, I thought this list was greatest dunkers, not most confounding small forwards!

Well, gentle reader, let me educate you on the gloriousness that was Derrick McKey in his young prime. Tell me, what other Sonic bumped his chin on the rim? I regret that YouTube is barren of evidence, but, trust me, McKey’s leaping ability had few equals.

4. XAVIER MCDANIEL
What McKey had in grace, the X-Man had in power. Whether it was an offensive board put-back slam, or the cruising-in-from-the-wing fast break tomahawk, X was arguably the most powerful dunker in Sonic history (non-Olden Polynice Division). My favorite Sonic dunk will always be his alley-oop against the Lakers in January 1986 on CBS.

3. DESMOND MASON
You have to respect the only man to win the Slam Dunk competition in a Sonic jersey. D-Mase’s speed and agility meant any number of beautiful, under-the-basket wraparounds, fast-break sprints, and just dozens of fantastic jams. His between-the-legs, show-it-left-and-right move sealed the deal for his 2001 Slam Dunk title at the All Star Game.

2. TERENCE STANSBURY
Ah, the Statue of Liberty: Seldom imitated, never duplicated. A forgettable career, but a remarkable feat, Stansbury was the true winner of the 1987 Dunk Contest, not the bald guy from Chicago. Stansbury’s dunk remains a thing of beauty, from the takeoff to the clenched fist at the end. I think everyone in my high school gym class at the time spent the next week trying to imitate that move.

1. SHAWN KEMP
There are dunkers, and there is The Man. The fantastic dash through the Knicks in the middle of traffic ... the unbelievable dunk and quasi-kung fu move against the Warriors in the playoffs. Like ice cream, everyone has their personal favorite, but we all can agree that Shawn Kemp has no equal when it comes to dunking greatness.

Honorable Mention: Tom Chambers, James Bailey, Ruben Patterson, Sedale Threatt.

Support the team--GO TO THE GAME!

Do you want to keep the Sonics in Seattle? Of course you do. The best way to support the team is to buy tickets to the game, which is where my friend Jason Rubenstein comes in.

Jason works for the Sonics and is as passionate about the game as we are. He also wants to get as many people to games as possible, so he's offering some special deals to Supersonicsoul readers:

Hi everyone! We currently have seating available for season seats for the 2006-2007 season, 4 Games - $40 Total.

All-Star

Wed., Jan. 10 Miami

Tue., Jan. 23 Denver

Wed., Feb. 14 Phoenix

Tue., Mar. 13 Detroit



Weekend

Tue., Jan. 16 Cleveland

Sat., Feb. 10 Sacramento

Fri., Mar. 23 Minnesota

Fri., Apr. 6 Lakers



Seating is available in the $24 section, so it's a great value at almost 60% off. This also gives you guaranteed playoff priority and the privilege to add-on additional games at the package discount (This is the big benefit - add-on Opening Night, Chicago, Dallas, Spurs, etc...).

Seating is limited. Contact me with questions or to order your seats--I'm happy to assist!

Be sure to mention that you found my information on Supersonicsoul and I will be sure to get you down to the arena for a tour, complimentary game, and a great deal!

Jason Rubenstein
Official Supersonicsoul Ticket Representative,
206-272-2526
Jrubenstein@sonics-storm.com

If you want to help keep the team in Seattle, then do your part and buy some tickets.

Election Time

Ah, the leaves are turning, a crisp smell is in the air, and placards abound in front yards across the land - election time is here, friends.

While the citizenry ponders whether to vote for the devil they know, or to turn to the devil they don't, I could care less. In Canada, we don't bother with elections, we just elect people who will sleep with hockey players. Is it a better system? Hard to say, but it's certainly about as effective.

In any event, you're probably wondering just what the hell this has to do with the Sonics. Well, skeptic reader, supersonic.com is currently running a poll to name the GREATEST PLAYERS IN SONICS HISTORY.

Up first, the pioneers, the Sonics who put in the time and effort to build a team that would, well, most likely move to Oklahoma in a couple of years. Sigh.

Let us know who you think merits a vote. Personally, I marked my ballot for Haywood, Wilkens, and Downtown Freddie Brown, because, well, anytime you get a chance to vote for Fred Brown you should just do it. Honestly, Bob Rule deserves it more, but unless his nickname was Bob "Cool is the" Rule and I wasn't aware of it, he's not getting my vote.

The (Grass) Roots

Ray-Ray with the Cleveland High boys basketball team.

So, not much to report from supersonicsoul land. But there's plenty going on with our hard-working pals at Save Our Sonics & Storm.

As you may know, these folks have been a presence at the last Storm games, the Sonics Legends Tour events, a KJR fundraising thingy, probably the Seahawks and Huskies games too. I have been helping out, as best as a hermit can, on the promo side by creating signs and stuff for them to hand out at games and PR events.

I haven't been able to see the signs "in action" myself, so when I saw the following pictures of SONICS LEGENDS holding them I was knocked out of my socks.
(horked from kjram.com and sonicscentral.com):




Dude, the way I freaked when I saw these, you'd think they were pictures of me throwing an oop to Kemp in the 96 Finals. This might be the closest I'll ever get to that.

Video: '78 Finals

Today's Sonics flashback features Seattle's first trip to the Finals. Now if only I could find a video from the next season!