How is it that Fred Brown and Dave Bean (the two B's in the B2 Inc. involved in the new arena proposal announced today) can so casually talk about raising $1 billion for their megaproject, and the city simultaneously have little or no success at raising $75 million to renovate KeyArena?
Since the two B's are so adept at raising cash, perhaps someone could persuade them to use their fundraising skills to raise the $75 million, inasmuch as that amount is a mere 7.5% of the figure they're tossing around.
To put it in perspective, $75 million is to $1 billion as 75 bucks is to a thousand dollars.
Tuesday, April 1
New Stadium Plan No Hoax
With former Sonic Fred Brown and NBA legend Bill Russell on hand, Wong Doody played host to a, well, interesting press conference on Tuesday morning in Seattle.The stadium proposal - tenatively termed the Emerald City Arena - offered, among other items:
-100 % privately funded ("the era of public funded arenas - at least in this region - is over")
-A possible retractable roof
-Locating the facility on the waterfront so that it would become the face of Seattle a la Sydney's Opera House, or near SoDo, or at the existing Seattle Center location, or on Mars, whichever works best
-Integrating an NHL and/or Arena Football team
-Eliminating luxury suites and introducing something called "private common areas"
-Pacific Northwest Sports Hall of Fame
-Open 365 days of year with all sorts of non-sports incomes
-An unknown group of investors
I'll try to put up some more information in time, but thought I should throw out a rough sketch initially. This whole thing sounds a little too vague and fantasy-land on first impression, as if it belonged more at a World's Fair than a real proposal. For example, there was no talk about specific investors and the plan is for an expansion team - not the Sonics - which the NBA has already stated it is not interested in doing.
According to Fred Brown, "We're not in competition with anybody." Well, except for the Ballmer group and every Sonic fan in Seattle who wants to see the initial plan succeed, he's absolutely right. And reality, because this plan is definitely in competition with reality.
If you feel like wasting 20 minutes of your life, you can visit www.emeraldcitycenter.com for more information.
SHOCKER: Bennett and Stern get married
It was bound to happen.Seattle Sonics owner Clay Bennett and NBA commissioner David Stern were married today in a private ceremony in Sweden.
"We've been in bed together over this whole Sonics deal, so I figured it was time to make an honest man out of Davey" Bennett joked.
"Plus, the sex is terrific," Stern added.
After the ceremony, the bridal bouquet was caught by the maid of honor, Aubrey McClendon.
"It was a beautiful wedding," said McClendon, dressed in a dazzling white evening gown. "There was nothing gay about it. This was an affirmation of two men's manly love for each other. You know, like pirates."
"Pirates who like to have sex with each other!" Stern shouted, giving McClendon a swift whack on the seat of his pants.
The newlyweds will be honeymooning at the posh "Steer's Rear" resort in scenic Oklahoma City. In lieu of gifts, the couple requests that donations be made in their names to the NBA civic demolition department.
Monday, March 31
Wayback Machine
The Sonics stink. It’s okay to say it; we’re not exactly hurting any sacred cows by stating the obvious, right?
There’s plenty of talk about whether Derrick Rose or Michael Beasley would better help the Sonics, about which player would be the best fit via free agency, or whom Sam Presti should send packing this summer.
All of that is important to the future of the franchise (as is, of course, where the team will be playing, but we’re all a bit tired of that, right?). But part of the fun of being a Sonic fan – heck, all of the fun these days – is remembering the better days, when Shawn Kemp dunked, Gary Payton scowled, Tom Chambers gunned, and Gus Williams wizarded.
Which leads me to this, if you could pluck one player from Sonic history and transplant them to 2008, who would you grab? Would it be Payton and his non-stop talk and defense? Or would you rather see what Kemp and Durant could do in combination?
What about Spencer Haywood; he’d be a nice fit alongside Green and Durant, right? Don’t forget Jack Sikma’s scoring abilities as a big man, or DJ’s leadership as a combo guard, or Gus’ ability to score 30 points in any game. You can’t forget the X-Man, not if you’re a real fan, anyway, although the Sonics need another small forward about as much as they need out-of-state ownership.
Personally, I’m going with Payton without hesitation. You put vintage GP at the point, swing KD to the 3, use Green as a swingman between the 3 and 4, trade Earl/Ridnour/Wilcox to get a serviceable 2 in the summer and now you’ve got yourself a team.
Of course, you have to factor in Gary’s continuing desire to destroy the confidence of younger players, but I’m guessing he’d act a little different around a youngster such as Kevin Durant than he would around, say, Moochie Norris.
It’s ridiculous fantasy, I know, but when your team is on the verge of leaving for Oklahoma and entering the lottery in the same season, well, you don’t have much else, now do you?
There’s plenty of talk about whether Derrick Rose or Michael Beasley would better help the Sonics, about which player would be the best fit via free agency, or whom Sam Presti should send packing this summer.
All of that is important to the future of the franchise (as is, of course, where the team will be playing, but we’re all a bit tired of that, right?). But part of the fun of being a Sonic fan – heck, all of the fun these days – is remembering the better days, when Shawn Kemp dunked, Gary Payton scowled, Tom Chambers gunned, and Gus Williams wizarded.
Which leads me to this, if you could pluck one player from Sonic history and transplant them to 2008, who would you grab? Would it be Payton and his non-stop talk and defense? Or would you rather see what Kemp and Durant could do in combination?
What about Spencer Haywood; he’d be a nice fit alongside Green and Durant, right? Don’t forget Jack Sikma’s scoring abilities as a big man, or DJ’s leadership as a combo guard, or Gus’ ability to score 30 points in any game. You can’t forget the X-Man, not if you’re a real fan, anyway, although the Sonics need another small forward about as much as they need out-of-state ownership.
Personally, I’m going with Payton without hesitation. You put vintage GP at the point, swing KD to the 3, use Green as a swingman between the 3 and 4, trade Earl/Ridnour/Wilcox to get a serviceable 2 in the summer and now you’ve got yourself a team.
Of course, you have to factor in Gary’s continuing desire to destroy the confidence of younger players, but I’m guessing he’d act a little different around a youngster such as Kevin Durant than he would around, say, Moochie Norris.
It’s ridiculous fantasy, I know, but when your team is on the verge of leaving for Oklahoma and entering the lottery in the same season, well, you don’t have much else, now do you?
How Many Games Left?
Is it me or are the Sonics already in the off-season? Looking at the schedule, there are still some games remaining, but I'll be damned if it looks like any of the players are aware of it.
PJ Carlesimo and Sam Presti came to town singing the song of culture and defensive intensity, but here we are, almost at the end of the season, and can you honestly say that the Sonics are better at defense now than they were in September? Think how many points per game the Sonics would have allowed if Kurt Thomas hadn't been on the roster for half of the season.
(Speaking of the lack of D, has anyone noticed the increasingly bitter tone emanating from Gary Washburn's keyboard at the PI? Doesn't G know this is Seattle, where reporters never criticize and fans either cheer for the home team or else go for a hike?)
Anyhow, it's all well and good to blame this on youth, but Collison, Ridnour, Watson, Wilcox, etc. aren't rookies by a long shot. No, the blame has to fall squarely upon the shoulders of Carlesimo for not being able to convince his roster to play some D.
On Carlesimo, he finally remembered last night that Mo Sene is on the roster and no longer in Idaho, and the young Senegalese center managed to play 4 minutes last night in a 120-107 loss to the Kings at the Key.
Also at the Key, normally when a politician decides to take a position only for political gain it's called grandstanding, but what do you call it when a Republican candidate for governor takes a position at sits court-side? Is it courtsiding? Whatever you call it, Dino Rossi made sure all the newspapers knew he was taking the controversial position of supporting the new arena plan.
In other news Rossi also announced he backs puppies, recess, and sunsets.
PJ Carlesimo and Sam Presti came to town singing the song of culture and defensive intensity, but here we are, almost at the end of the season, and can you honestly say that the Sonics are better at defense now than they were in September? Think how many points per game the Sonics would have allowed if Kurt Thomas hadn't been on the roster for half of the season.
(Speaking of the lack of D, has anyone noticed the increasingly bitter tone emanating from Gary Washburn's keyboard at the PI? Doesn't G know this is Seattle, where reporters never criticize and fans either cheer for the home team or else go for a hike?)
Anyhow, it's all well and good to blame this on youth, but Collison, Ridnour, Watson, Wilcox, etc. aren't rookies by a long shot. No, the blame has to fall squarely upon the shoulders of Carlesimo for not being able to convince his roster to play some D.
On Carlesimo, he finally remembered last night that Mo Sene is on the roster and no longer in Idaho, and the young Senegalese center managed to play 4 minutes last night in a 120-107 loss to the Kings at the Key.
Also at the Key, normally when a politician decides to take a position only for political gain it's called grandstanding, but what do you call it when a Republican candidate for governor takes a position at sits court-side? Is it courtsiding? Whatever you call it, Dino Rossi made sure all the newspapers knew he was taking the controversial position of supporting the new arena plan.
In other news Rossi also announced he backs puppies, recess, and sunsets.
Saturday, March 29
Sonics Drop Game to Bobcats
The end of the season can't seem to come soon enough these days. Normally, a team mired in losing inspires thoughts of draft-day gems in the minds of its fans, but not this team, not these fans.
The Sonics were down a point with 50 seconds left, but Earl Watson's turnover keyed the Bobcats' win, and yet another loss for Seattle. The Sonics won the 2nd and 3rd quarters, but it was the 1st and 4th quarters that killed them, especially surrenduring 38 points to Charlotte in the opening period. PJ Carlesimo was less than thrilled with the starters' intensity in the first quarter, something we as fans are just a little bit familiar with.
Once again, Mo Sene sat glued to the bench for the entire game, a mystifying experience for the young center, and a frustrating one for those of us trying to figure out why exactly he was promoted to Seattle from Idaho. Watson had a good night offensively, but allowed Ray Felton to go for 23 points on the defensive end.
The Sonics were down a point with 50 seconds left, but Earl Watson's turnover keyed the Bobcats' win, and yet another loss for Seattle. The Sonics won the 2nd and 3rd quarters, but it was the 1st and 4th quarters that killed them, especially surrenduring 38 points to Charlotte in the opening period. PJ Carlesimo was less than thrilled with the starters' intensity in the first quarter, something we as fans are just a little bit familiar with.
Once again, Mo Sene sat glued to the bench for the entire game, a mystifying experience for the young center, and a frustrating one for those of us trying to figure out why exactly he was promoted to Seattle from Idaho. Watson had a good night offensively, but allowed Ray Felton to go for 23 points on the defensive end.
Friday, March 28
Poll
The next “injury” to be suffered by a member of the Sonics’ roster will be:
A: Donyell Marshall – Dust Allergies
B: Francisco Elson – Dutch Elm Disease
C: Nick Collison – Excess Grit
D: Luke Ridnour - Emergency Pigment Augmentation
E: PJ Carlesimo - Chokes Himself
Wilcox Out for Season
Not that it's the biggest deal; the Sonics are not exactly chasing down any playoff aspirations. If anything, it helps the team's goal of losing as many games as possible down the stretch.
In any event, Chris Wilcox' right pinkie is hurt enough that both he and the team decided to shut operations down for the remaining ten games.
In other news, Gary Washburn details how Earl Watson is not into "moral victories" and misses the playoffs, David Stern also kept talking, but, well, I think you know where we stand on that sort of thing, and Art Thiel says that the city is - again - talking to the state legislature about funding the missing $75 million from the KeyArena deal, having realized that all other options are not going to play out.
Thiel quotes Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis as saying, ""The city can't do this on its own. We need a partnership with the state if we're going to [get a stadium deal done]."
Oh, and the Sonics play the Bobcats tonight at the Key.
You know, if you like watching basketball or something.
In any event, Chris Wilcox' right pinkie is hurt enough that both he and the team decided to shut operations down for the remaining ten games.
In other news, Gary Washburn details how Earl Watson is not into "moral victories" and misses the playoffs, David Stern also kept talking, but, well, I think you know where we stand on that sort of thing, and Art Thiel says that the city is - again - talking to the state legislature about funding the missing $75 million from the KeyArena deal, having realized that all other options are not going to play out.
Thiel quotes Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis as saying, ""The city can't do this on its own. We need a partnership with the state if we're going to [get a stadium deal done]."
Oh, and the Sonics play the Bobcats tonight at the Key.
You know, if you like watching basketball or something.
Thursday, March 27
Naievete
Well, there's things that never will be right I know,
And things need changin' everywhere you go,
But 'til we start to make a move to make a few things right,
You'll never see me wear a suit of white.
Ah, I'd love to wear a rainbow every day,
And tell the world that everything's OK,
But I'll try to carry off a little darkness on my back,
'Till things are brighter, I'm the Man In Black
-Johnny Cash
Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth didn’t have to care. Nobody asked Whizzer White or Sammy Baugh if they had an opinion.
In 1936, in Berlin, the Olympics were Nazi Germany’s crowning achievement, a chance to show the world how wonderful Deutschland could be. Even more, it was an opportunity for Adolf Hitler to demonstrate to his populace the magnificence of the Third Reich, how he had thrown off the shackles of the ignominy of World War I and restored the Fatherland to its rightful place among the elite of the world’s nations.
Nobody asked Gehrig, Ruth, Baugh or White because they had nothing to do with the Olympics, because no one had yet figured out that bastardizing every principle the Olympics stood for could be financially rewarding. So amateurs toddled off to Berlin – despite evidence showing that almost 50% of the populace wanted a boycott – and Hitler had another moment in the sun before the devil summoned him back home.
2008 is not 1936, though, not by a long shot. It is plainly evident that China – a nation that kills monks for speaking out, that detains dissenters for decades in work gangs when it’s not killing them, that executes thousands of people every year in stadiums, that backs the hideous government of Sudan in the brutal murders of hundreds of thousands of Africans in Darfur – is well aware that the Olympics is a stage from which the host country can advertise its magnificence to the rest of the world.
Even Steven Spielberg, never shy about making a buck, pulled out of orchestrating the opening ceremonies. “At this point, my time and energy must be spent not on Olympic ceremonies,” Spielberg said, “but on doing all I can to help bring an end to the unspeakable crimes against humanity that continue to be committed in Darfur."
Not everyone gets it, though.
"We believe, however, naively, ... that sports has something enormous to offer the world," David Stern said recently to the Associated Press. "And we also believe that the Olympics is a sporting event, and indeed, has a history in ancient times of being a time when war stopped so that people could play together."
The “naive” Stern is not alone. Dwyane Wade has spent the better part of this season resting up from injury in order to be better prepared for the Olympics. He echoed his commissioner right down the line.
“My job is to play basketball, to worry about the game. We'll let the Olympic Committee worry about everything else,” Wade told the AP.
I wonder, would Stern, a Jew, feel comfortable about sending his athletes to compete in Nazi Germany, knowing that the profits from the Olympics were being used to build gas chambers? Would he continue to spout inanities about the Olympics being a “sporting event”?
Or, rather, in this hypothetical world of 1936, would he grow a conscience and take a stance on the side of humanity rather than money? Decide that the large amounts of money to be made by the NBA in expanding to the lucrative German market were not worth the bloodshed?
Part of me hopes that people are capable of seeing depravity and evil in their own time, rather than only with the hindsight gained from history books. Part of me hopes that Dwyane Wade and LeBron James would say, no, we don’t want any part of a two-week festival honoring a country that forces women to abort their children and sells the organs of executed political prisoners.
But most of me knows that a blindfold sewn from a billion Chinese Yuan covers David Stern’s eyes.
Naive? Not me.
And things need changin' everywhere you go,
But 'til we start to make a move to make a few things right,
You'll never see me wear a suit of white.
Ah, I'd love to wear a rainbow every day,
And tell the world that everything's OK,
But I'll try to carry off a little darkness on my back,
'Till things are brighter, I'm the Man In Black
-Johnny Cash
Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth didn’t have to care. Nobody asked Whizzer White or Sammy Baugh if they had an opinion.
In 1936, in Berlin, the Olympics were Nazi Germany’s crowning achievement, a chance to show the world how wonderful Deutschland could be. Even more, it was an opportunity for Adolf Hitler to demonstrate to his populace the magnificence of the Third Reich, how he had thrown off the shackles of the ignominy of World War I and restored the Fatherland to its rightful place among the elite of the world’s nations.
Nobody asked Gehrig, Ruth, Baugh or White because they had nothing to do with the Olympics, because no one had yet figured out that bastardizing every principle the Olympics stood for could be financially rewarding. So amateurs toddled off to Berlin – despite evidence showing that almost 50% of the populace wanted a boycott – and Hitler had another moment in the sun before the devil summoned him back home.
2008 is not 1936, though, not by a long shot. It is plainly evident that China – a nation that kills monks for speaking out, that detains dissenters for decades in work gangs when it’s not killing them, that executes thousands of people every year in stadiums, that backs the hideous government of Sudan in the brutal murders of hundreds of thousands of Africans in Darfur – is well aware that the Olympics is a stage from which the host country can advertise its magnificence to the rest of the world.
Even Steven Spielberg, never shy about making a buck, pulled out of orchestrating the opening ceremonies. “At this point, my time and energy must be spent not on Olympic ceremonies,” Spielberg said, “but on doing all I can to help bring an end to the unspeakable crimes against humanity that continue to be committed in Darfur."
Not everyone gets it, though.
"We believe, however, naively, ... that sports has something enormous to offer the world," David Stern said recently to the Associated Press. "And we also believe that the Olympics is a sporting event, and indeed, has a history in ancient times of being a time when war stopped so that people could play together."
The “naive” Stern is not alone. Dwyane Wade has spent the better part of this season resting up from injury in order to be better prepared for the Olympics. He echoed his commissioner right down the line.
“My job is to play basketball, to worry about the game. We'll let the Olympic Committee worry about everything else,” Wade told the AP.
I wonder, would Stern, a Jew, feel comfortable about sending his athletes to compete in Nazi Germany, knowing that the profits from the Olympics were being used to build gas chambers? Would he continue to spout inanities about the Olympics being a “sporting event”?
Or, rather, in this hypothetical world of 1936, would he grow a conscience and take a stance on the side of humanity rather than money? Decide that the large amounts of money to be made by the NBA in expanding to the lucrative German market were not worth the bloodshed?
Part of me hopes that people are capable of seeing depravity and evil in their own time, rather than only with the hindsight gained from history books. Part of me hopes that Dwyane Wade and LeBron James would say, no, we don’t want any part of a two-week festival honoring a country that forces women to abort their children and sells the organs of executed political prisoners.
But most of me knows that a blindfold sewn from a billion Chinese Yuan covers David Stern’s eyes.
Naive? Not me.
Wednesday, March 26
Do Over
As you've probably heard, Clay Bennett has generously offered to leave our history, team name, and old jock straps behind when he steals our basketball team. David Stern (busy getting "wowed" in Oklahomie) seemed to back down yesterday from his previous hard-line stance against the NBA "ever returning to Seattle", hinting that we might someday get a new team if we play nice with Clayface.It's an interesting scenario. If we "own" our history, does that mean we could erase the Bennett Tragedy, granting Sonics fans a "do-over" for the past three horrible years? Hey, it worked for Spider-Man (sorta).
As tempting as it might be to forget that Mo Sene or Wally Szczerbiak ever wore a Sonics uniform, we would also be forfeiting the future legacy of Kevin Durant, and the struggles it took to get him would have all been in vain. Imagine the '85 Bulls moving to Butte, Montana (The Butte Bulls!) with Chicago receiving the Clippers as a consolation prize. Do you think Chicagoans would enjoy watching Jordan and Pippen hoist those six banners in another city, while they got stuck with Michael Cage and Benoit Benjamin?
Maybe, a long time from now, these three years of hell will only be a blip on the radar (or a "just a comma" in history as GW likes to say). Perhaps someday, after a brief hiatus from basketball in Seattle, we'll raise a new championship banner into the rafters of Microsoft Arena next to the hallowed '79 version, while the Bennett Boys are relegated to the dustbin of history, along with fellow carpetbaggers Ken Behring, Jeff Smulyan other long-forgotten villains of Seattle sports past.
This isn't a horrible fate. Brooklyn never got a second chance at the Dodgers. After all the bad blood between the uppity city council and the ego maniacal commissioner of the NBA, it's somewhat of a miracle that the possibility still exists.
And yet, I'm still not eager to embrace this offer. We're still being robbed. If someone steals your beloved family dog, but gives you a new puppy two years later, does that excuse the crime?
I want Bennett and Stern to come out and admit collusion. I want Stern to tell the world that there was never any real opportunity to keep the Sonics in Seattle--that this was a back room deal of the sleaziest variety to get his pal Bennett a team by any means necessary and to scare other cities into giving owners whatever they want in the future. I want Stern to step down from the office which he has disgraced.
I want justice.
Tuesday, March 25
Sonics Rock
The chants were ringing from the rafters, and, for one night at least, it was fun to be at KeyArena.The Sonics managed to pull one out, knocking off the Blazers to snap an atrocious 11-game losing streak. More importantly, a number of players commented on the "Save Our Sonics" chants that echoed throughout the not-close-to-a-sellout arena, with some attributing the success of the team to the vocals from the fans.
Not surprisingly, PJ Carlesimo is still holding the reigns on Mo Sene. For some ridiculous reason, Carlesimo has decided that it makes more sense to give 16 minutes to Francisco Elson than to the former first-round draft pick who was summoned from Idaho earlier this month.
Elson - who figures in no way, shape or form into the Sonics future - is taking minutes away from Sene, who dominated the D-League and absolutely deserves a shot at some minutes.
But let's focus on the positive. The Sonics mustered up a well balanced attack, Johan Petro scored 10 points in one quarter, Luke Ridnour nearly finished with a double-double, Seattle shot 50% from beyond the arc, and Jeff Green and Kevin Durant were solid contributors, scoring nearly 40 points between.
For one night, being a Sonic fan was something to be proud of again.
Monday, March 24
The Great Depression
I try not to take sports too personally. It's not a healthy way to live. Why invest emotionally in something that A) is bound to disappoint and B) has no emotional investment in you?And yet, I continue on, like some kind of battered house wife who repeats over and over again "He's a good man!".
After 11 eleven losses in a row, the Sonics are almost assured of finishing with the worst record in franchise history. With the league in cahoots with Bennett to steal the team away, what's a Sonics fan to do? Pray for a post-Easter miracle? Be content with re-watching tapes of the 1996 playoffs?
(To top things off, my fantasy basketball league team didn't even make the consolation bracket this year--and it's MY league!)
How are you dealing with this Super sub-Sonic season? Watching other teams? Getting outside more? Booze? Supersonicsoul wants to know . . . and know quick, before we jump into the Sound.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)