Notes From (Another) Loss

Notes from last night’s game – the 11th (!) consecutive loss for your Seattle SuperSonics.

1. Houston outscored Seattle 24-16 in the 3rd quarter. Not that that’s unusual; during the Sonics’ 11-game skid, they have been outscored in 3rd nine times, by a cumulative score of 295-242. The two exceptions were the other night’s game against Dallas (where the Mavs lead by 400 points at halftime and were obviously on cruise control), and the first game of the streak when the Sixers let the Sonics sort of get back in the game. The Sonics won that third in convincing fashion, 28-27. I believe that third quarter will be available on the 2nd disc of this season's DVD. I'm especially looking forward to the bonus features, where Mickael Gelabale gives the french language version, Wally Szczerbiak provides hair grooming tips, and Mo Sene fills us in on the Senegalese cuisine available in the NBA D-League.

2. Nick Collison now ranks 5th in the league in rebounds per 48 minutes in January (18.5), trailing Joel Pryzbilla, Erick Dampier, Marcus Camby, and DeSagna Diop. And, yes, you could have gotten 1,000:1 odds that that would come true had you walked into Bally’s last October.

3. Luke Ridnour is now averaging 11.9 assists per 48 on the road and 7.9 per 48 at home. Do you think Earl Watson calls Luke's hotel room and hangs up at 4 am the day of the game? Me, too.

4. Wally S. averages 13 ppg in Sonic wins and 13.2 ppg in Sonic losses, and also shoots almost the exact same percentage from the field, the only Sonic registering sizable minutes to do that. I believe that’s called “getting yours” in the vernacular, yes?

5. With yesterday’s loss, the Sonics have equaled Dennis Kucinich’s win total for 2007. At this point, I’m not sure who I expect to get one sooner.

Wally to the Rescue

Not sure if anyone else caught this (from Jayda Evans' blog at the Times):

When the idea [of talking to the Daily Oklahoman] was explained to him, he gave a crazy look and a firm "No" to the interview request. Szczerbiak also declined to speak to locals following the game, however, stating he didn't want to say anything that would get him "fined or suspended."

(Read the rest here)

So, there are two ways to look at it. One, Wally S. thought the idea of talking to the Oklahoman (the piece was to be a 'Here are the Sonics!'-type deal) was wrong, and he said no. Or, he was primed to make some nasty comments about the way the team is being run (either on-court or in the owners' box) and decided to keep his mouth shut.

Either way, doesn't it make you like Wally Szczerbiak just a little bit more?

Strange, But True

Sometimes, strange times bring enemies closer. Sometimes, people make comments they never dreamed they would make. Sometimes, in the midst of lies, they tell the truth.

One of those times was this week, when the Sonics put – in writing, mind you – the same argument anti-stadium activists have been making for the past two decades; the argument that the economic benefits derived from professional sports teams is a great, big pile of nothing, that every dollar spent on a team is a dollar which would have been spent elsewhere.

Did I mention that it was the Sonics who made this argument? Here, if you don’t believe me, read this:

“Entertainment dollars not spent on the Sonics will be spent on Seattle's many other sports and entertainment options. Seattleites will not reduce their entertainment budget simply because the Sonics leave.”

That quote is taken (via Jim Brunner’s article in the Seattle Times) from the Sonics’ legal papers filed in US District Court this week. And, yes, the papers were delivered to the court with flying pigs which had to dodge the snowballs emanating from Hell.

Obviously, the quote is rhetoric, especially considering the Sonics argued the exact opposite in all their previous utterances. It is rhetoric designed to convince the courts the Sonics are not an integral part of the city’s fabric, and that the judge presiding in the case will allow the team to flee to Oklahoma City.

You know Okalahoma, the city being asked to spend $100 million on refurbishing their new stadium so that they might enjoy the economics benefits of a pro basketball team?

For Clay Bennett’s sake, I hope the internet’s down in OKC.

Hornets whip Sonics, then support them. Sort of.

"Listen, you fool! We're trying to LOSE games! Don't you understand?"

After the WhatCityDoWePlayInAgain? Hornets beat the crap out of our Seattle Supersonics last night, their owner weighed in on the whole "destroying the hopes and dreams of basketball fans" deal:

“I think it’s a great market,” Shinn said of the Sonics, whose ownership group filed an application with the NBA to relocate the franchise to Oklahoma City. “I don’t know the circumstances. I’ve been in the arena, but it’s had to have been years ago.

“I just would hope that a team could stay in Seattle. I think it’s a good market. And being an owner, I’d hate to lose that market. But that’s a decision to be made by whoever is affected. I’ll have one vote if it ever comes to that, and we’ll usually follow the lead of the commissioner.”

Read the rest in the News Tribune

Well, it sounded pretty supportive until that "follow the lead of the commissioner" line. That's democracy in action, folks! Why even bother having a "vote", if you just parrot whatever crap that spews from Stern's mouth?

Sonics do the right thing

The P.I.'s Gary Washburn writes about the Sonics helping out folks in tent city in New Orleans (via Seattlest):

A city that's nearing Mardi Gras and just weeks from hosting the NBA All-Star Game still has major, bleeding and exposed wounds from Katrina, and Tent City is one of them. Two homeless men from Tent City point out an abandoned hotel just across Canal Street that could house the disadvantaged with plenty of space to spare. A state that has set aside $6 million for the New Orleans Hornets practice facility is uncertain what to do with its homeless issue.

"When Mardi Gras comes, they want us out of here," said Luther Davis, 55, who shook hands with several Sonics. "They don't know what to do with us, and the rent is so high here that we can't afford it. So we're here."

But their gratitude toward the Sonics was apparent. The players and coaches lined up outside the bus, each with a food item. Assistant coach Ralph Lewis had sandwiches. Delonte West had dinners in a Styrofoam container. Durant had rolls.

"Man, this is great," Davis said. "The Hornets don't even come over here. Seattle is going to be my favorite team now. Nobody comes over here to help us. And this was one of those days where people were hungry, so we needed this."

(Read the rest here.)

We here at Supersonicsoul heap a lot of abuse on the current owners of the Sonics, but this story is a reminder of why we still love the team.

More Secret Sonics Stuff

Now this is just getting silly (via SonicsCentral):

On the surface, it appeared Seattle leaders and the NBA hadn't even been trying to make peace with regard to the Sonics' lease at KeyArena.

With the city suing team owner Clay Bennett to stop him from breaking the lease and moving to Oklahoma, the past several months have been marked by a public war of rhetoric.

But now it turns out Seattle officials have made at least one effort to smooth relations: In mid-October, they made a secret trip to meet with NBA executives.

(Read the rest in the Seattle Times)

After yesterday's news (or non-news as it may turn out), it's hard to figure out fact from fiction in this saga.

Top secret Sonics deal in works?

Mayor-Wan, you're our only hope!

Several sources close to the situation (who, for some reason, felt they could confide in Supersonicsoul, aka Queen Blabbermouth) have claimed that the city may be soon unleashing a new plan to save our Sonics. What could the Council of Doom Boom have in mind? Tax breaks for a new arena? A supergroup of local millionaires to make Clay an offer he can't refuse? Did they hire Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law?

(You have to wonder if the recently announced Hornets deal might be triggering some panic in the current ownership group--maybe Oklahoma doesn't look like such a safe bet after all.)

According to my Deep Throats, the announcement could come as early as tomorrow. All right, Supersonicsouliacs, let the wild speculations start . . . now.

300 Million reasons to keep the Sonics

Just look at that decrepit shack--it's nearly 15 years old!

As the Sonics continue their Bataan Death March, I thought I'd try to lighten the mood by sharing a piece I performed at a Save Our Sonics fundraiser last fall (and which was brutally paraphrased in a New York Times article last year):

As you might have heard, the Sonics are going to leave town unless we give them (at least) $300 million dollars for a new stadium. Since I’m a big basketball fan, I decided to make a list of 300 millions reasons why we should keep the Sonics. So far, I’ve come up with seven:

1) A lot of people think the $300 million dollars could be spent on “More Important Things”, like housing for the homeless. Let me ask you this: how many homeless people can dunk?

2) If Sonics point guard Luke Ridnour is not allowed to express his love for Jesus Christ on the basketball court, he might have to find somewhere else to do it—like in your pants.

3) Where else am I going to be able to pay seven dollars for a pretzel? Did I mention they were magic pretzels?

4) NBA games offer a safe place for closeted homosexuals to hang out with their straight friends, while secretly lusting after the giant, scantly clad men running around on the basketball court. Or so I’m told.

5) Everyone wants to help the less fortunate, but who stops to help the millionaires?

6) If the Sonics leave town, the Sonics Dance Team will be forced to return to their previous occupation: Iranian Death Squad Recruiters.

7) In 1979, the Seattle Supersonics won the NBA Championship. Have you?

Feel free to add to the list in the comments. Oh, and if you get a chance, please vote for me in the Famecast comedy competition. You can vote once a day, so feel free to stuff the (virtual) ballot boxes.

The Girls did it. Why can't we?

Well, we've got one pro basketball team staying in town:

Anne Levinson is a political dynamo, having served as a judge, chairwoman of the Washington State Utilities and Transportation Commission and deputy mayor of Seattle.

She's also a Seattle Storm season-ticket holder, and by the end of February, Levinson and three well-heeled friends will own the team they spend summers rooting for.

Levinson, Lisa Brummel, Ginny Gilder and Dawn Trudeau are in the process of buying the Storm from Clayton Bennett for $10 million, ensuring that the Women's National Basketball Association franchise remains here even if Bennett gets his wish and moves the Sonics to Oklahoma City.

Levinson said the group is buying the team for Storm fans and the community.

"This is driven by the enthusiasm of the fans," she said. "When you see Storm fans renewing their season tickets in the middle of complete uncertainty, saying, 'No, we want you here. This is important to us. Show us some support,' it's nearly impossible to turn that down."

Read the rest in the Seattle Times

So, what does this mean for us Sonics fans? Probably nothing. Clay had no interest in the Storm whatsoever and finding someone to buy the team is as much of a victory for Bubba and his Okie Woman Haters Club as the city of Seattle.

The interesting thing about this deal is the remarkable way it came together: four rich basketball fans buy their favorite team. Can you imagine if that happened with the Sonics? The Seattle Times' dares to dream about Sonics Super-fan Steve Ballmer sweeping in as a big, bald white knight. Granted, the Sonics aren't for sale, but as the Million Dollar Man used to say, everything is for sale if you have enough money.

Sonics: Just. Painful.

The Sonics are making it very difficult for me to keep my New Year's Resolutions:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Washington Wizards had just won their second straight game by more than 20 points, but coach Eddie Jordan wasn't happy.

At halftime of Washington's 108-86 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics on Sunday, Jordan lectured the team.

"We're not that good," Jordan told them.

Read the rest here.

Not that good? What does that make us? Wait, don't answer that.

After seeing a game like this, it makes you wonder: are the Sonics even trying? Do they have their eyes on the lottery already or, worse, on the moving vans? Is it any wonder the enthusiasm for basketball in this town ranks somewhere between George W. Bush and E. Coli? Sigh.

In other depressing news, I entered one of those cheesy online comedy competitions. If you have some free time, please stop by and vote for me. I need all the help I can get.

New proof that Sonics owners are evil

"What, Me Evil?"

Not content with crushing the dreams of Seattle basketball fans, it appears that Sonics minority owner Aubrey "McCreepy" McClendon is hell bent on spreading his evil one community at a time.

Seattlest's Seth Kolloen writes about McClendon's plans to wipe out a national park in Michigan.

Have I mentioned lately how much I hate these guys?

New Year's Resolutions

To start off 2008 right, I thought I'd try something new this year: blogging. Ha! Seriously, I haven't been blogging about the Sonics much lately. I know this, because I keep getting emails saying "Why the hell aren't you blogging about the Sonics much lately?"

Well, my faithful handful of readers, you'll be pleased to know that one of my New Year Resolutions is to write more for Supersonicsoul. In fact, here's my entire list of Resolutions, some of which I actually plan on keeping:

1) Lose weight. (I'm starting to look like Vin Baker, if Vin Baker were 5'10 and white)
2) Read more. (Sorry, Blogs don't count.)
3) Take the "next step" in my comedy career. ("Next step" = "get paid once in a while")
4) Write more for Supersonicsoul (See? I told you so!)

And what do other folks have on their to-do list this year?

• Greg Nickels: Eat more pie.
  
• Jeff Renner: Grow back mustache
  
• Steve Pool: Kick Jeff Renner's Ass
  
• Aubrey McClendon: Learn to lie.
  
• Clay Bennett: Teach Aubrey to lie. If that doesn't work, kill him.
  
• David Stern: Admit to world that Clay Bennett and I are life partners.
  
• Oklahoma City Council: Invent a way to print money and/or gold. Also, find way to tax all City Slickers and Fancy Pants.
  
• Scooter Presti: Get Supersonicsoul to stop calling me Scooter.
  
• Kevin Durant: Increase shots per game to at least 300.
  
• PJ Carlesimo: Find Danny Fortson's phone number.
  

O.K. Supersonicsouliacs, we've all shared, now it's your turn! What are you planning on doing this year to make yourself a more complete person and/or Sonics fan? Go to more games? Post more comments? Shave the image of Slick Watts in your chest hair? We wants to know!