In Our Dreams

We now join an episode of Judge Judy already in progress ...

JJ: So let me get this straight – according to an email from your friend Mr. Kneeland, you overpaid for your franchise, do I have that correct?

CB: Well, ma’am, it’s a bit more ...

JJ: Sir, you want to say something to me? Then say it. Did you overpay for your franchise or not?

CB: Yes, ma’am, that is correct. It was a rushed situation and that fella David kept pressuring me, and, well, I guess I just acted foolishly. But that shouldn’t ...

JJ: I didn’t ask for your cockamamie excuses why you acted like a fool. Remember, beauty fades, but dumb last forever. I just wanted to know if you, in fact, overpaid for your team. You answered yes. Now let’s move on. As I understand it, you’re telling me that the reason you couldn’t contribute any money to a new stadium is due to the fact you overpaid for the team. Is that correct?

CB: Yes, that would be correct.

JJ: So let me get this straight, because you acted like a teenage boy with too much allowance money, the taxpayers of Seattle are now responsible for paying hundreds of millions of dollars for a new arena?

CB: Well, it’s a bit more complicated than that, ma’am. You see, we’ve got plenty of other cities out there that want us to move in, and ...

JJ: Just what exactly does that have to do with the price of tea in China, sir? Are you telling me that you think you can extort Seattle taxpayers by using some other municipality? Is that what you are telling me?

CB: Well, you see, I really was a man possessed to get something done in Seattle, and ...

JJ: You mess around with me, young man, and I’ll wipe the floor with you. We already covered that “man possessed” bit before the last commercial, and I don’t think you want to take a drive down that road again, now do you?

CB: No, ma’am, I do not.

JJ: So, back to what I asking you before you tried to re-direct the conversation. The fact you wanted to pick this team up and move it to your backyard does not have anything to do with this case, do you understand that? What I am trying to ascertain here is if you are required to fulfill the obligations of the lease you signed with the city of Seattle. Now, according to testimony we heard earlier, you said that Oklahoma City would derive $180 million in benefits from the Sonics relocating there. Is that correct?

CB: Um, yes, yes, that is correct, I did say that.

JJ: And you told someone else that the city of Renton would receive an “economic turnaround” from having a new arena. Is that correct?

CB: Yes, ma’am, that is correct.

JJ: But you don’t feel that Seattle would receive any benefit from your presence? Is that what you want me to believe?

CB: Well, you see, Seattle is such a real big city, and I just don’t think they would miss the Sonics all that much.

JJ: Sir, don’t pee on my leg and tell me it’s raining. That’s a nonsense argument and you know it. I’m going to ask you again, and I’ll remind you that you’re under oath, are you telling me that Oklahoma City and Renton would derive hundreds of millions of dollars in benefits from the Sonics, but that Seattle would get zippo? And because of that it’s all right for you to pick up and move the Sonics in the midst of a lease that you signed?

CB: Um, well ... let me check my papers, here ...

JJ: Hey, I’m the boss, applesauce! You keep your eyes up here! You know what, I’m tired of this. I can’t believe you’re wasting my time and the time of all of the people gathered here with this ridiculous case. I’m not even going to bother reviewing the rest so let’s just put an end to this nonsense once and for all. I’m finding for the city, and that’s the end of it.

CB: Um, your honor, do I get my $100 for showing up? Your producer, I think her name’s Jenny?, she told me I’d get $100 for being on the show. You see, my wife told me if I lost this case that I might as well get a hotel room ‘cuz of all the money this is costing us, and well, I could really use that $100 ...

Rally Notes

Probably, oh, 1/4 of the crowd (?) waits for the guests of honor to arrive (photo: Ravenal "Chunk's Brother" Calonzo)

by Rafael "Chunkstyle" Calonzo
Staff Cartoonist/Unabashed Homer

I can't pretend to know how many people were in the courthouse plaza yesterday afternoon. After all, I was a short dude standing at probably the lowest elevation on the entire block, surrounded on all sides by a sea of green and gold.

If I had to guess, I'd say the crowd easily broke 4 digits; when I relocated the family from one side of the plaza to the other a little before 4:30, we had to squeeze through a solid mass of people that spanned the width and depth of the plaza. The OKC media estimates of "a few hundred" must have been observed at two in the afternoon.

However many people were there, they were making enough noise to rival a sold-out Key Arena crowd with the Supes holding "the lead and the leather." Chants of "Save Our Sonics! (clap-clap, clap-clap-clap-clap)" and "Super! Sonics!" were near-deafening. And when Gary and X stepped to the mike, the volume became nigh ear-splitting.

What our beloved ex-Sonics actually said was suitably thrilling and sentimental, but really, they didn't have to say anything to cast a spell on the crowd. Just the fact that they were there, perched gingerly on a newspaper box (well, GP was, X stayed on the ground), was enough to make the mob go bananas. It's also worth noting that Spencer Hawes was the only current pro who braved the League's wrath by appearing at the event. Gotta love it when the local boys stay true to their hometown.

I'm actually pretty amazed at how many people attended, and the passion that was on display. I've been asked by folks, "What's the point of going to this rally?," as if to say, "They're gone, you're not going to change anything by going." All my blind optimism aside, I disagree. Of course a rally does nothing (and really, should do nothing) to sway a judge's decision. But that wasn't the intent of the event. The rally is a symbol of unity, a gesture of affection. It's something you can point to and say, "People do still care, so stop with the 'no one cares about the Sonics' nonsense."

No matter the outcome of this whole ordeal, I firmly believe the fans have already changed the League's intended course for the franchise. Without the fans, the team would have left last year, no incriminating emails would have been revealed, there wouldn't even be the whisper of a possible replacement team, and there would be jeers from the rest of the country that we rolled over and let someone steal our history.

Finally, much respect is due to Brian Robinson, Steven Pyeatt and the feisty band of volunteers who made the rally happen. If they can put an event like this together for a court case, I can't wait to see what they do for a "Sonics Stay" party.

Rally Time

For those of us stuck in the hinterlands, we could only experience the Sonic rally at the Federal Courthouse in Seattle vicariously.

Judging by various reports, the crowd was upwards of 1,000 people [UPDATE: KOMO4 estimated the crowd at about 500, KJR quoted police officials as saying it was between 2,500 and 3,000 people; it appears that the city needs to hire an Official Crowd Estimator] and - when you add in Xavier McDaniel and Gary Payton's combined presence - made for some gripping video on the local news.

Hopefully, the rally will reach a national audience and let the rest of the country know that this situation is not a foregone conclusion by a long shot, and that Clay Bennett and David Stern are still in for one heckuva fight.

Bloomsday

As I mentioned many months ago, today - in addition to being a seminal day in the history of the Seattle SuperSonics - is also Bloomsday, the day in which James Joyce framed his classic work Ulysses.

And while there is no Nestor in this year's events (Nestor was the Greek figure who urged reconciliation between Argamenon and Achilles during the Trojan War, and served as the title of episode 2 of Ulysses, but you knew that, right?), there is Mayor Greg Nickels, who serves as, geez, forget the metaphors ...

Anyhow, Sonic supporters might be a little less than thrilled with Nickels' testimony today. While his work with the city's attorneys went swimmingly (except for an sustained objection that went against the city), he had a few pratfalls while dealing with the PBC's attorneys. To wit:

- Testified that he supported the Ballmer Group of Four purchasing the Sonics, "but did not work toward it." (quoting the KING-5 blog here). At which time, the defense presented a video showing previous Nickels' testimony wherein he says he was working toward it.

- Admitted he had only attended two Sonic games in the past 7 or 8 years. Which puts him behind me, and I don't even live in the U.S.!

- Admitted that KeyArena is not a good long-term building for the team.

Naturally, this bit of testimony isn't the end of the case, and it doesn't mean the city is going to lose. And, knowing that Clay Bennett is poised to take the stand and defend his indefensible position on the emails between he and McClendon and Ward certainly makes me feel a bit better. Still, it would have been nice to see the Mayor come off a little better on the stand.

Keep tuned to KING5 for ongoing updates.

And, Go Rocco!

Afternoon Delight

Somebody please set up a hoop in the Courthouse driveway so we can make the above scene happen.

There are five players in the starting lineup for a basketball team. So, here are five good reasons to attend today's rally (visit SonicCentral.com as always for updated information, but the gist of it is 4 pm, 700 Stewart Street, Downtown, Federal Courthouse Building).

1. Good weather? Check.

2. Xavier McDaniel, Gary Payton, Zaid Abdul Aziz, Will Conroy, Spencer Hawes (and possibly others) in attendance? Check.

3. Clay Bennett at the courthouse? Check.

4. Being able to talk to other people who can commiserate about the Sene/Petro/Swift draft picks? Check.

5. Demonstrating to the NBA that Seattle cares about the NBA? Check.

Basically, it boils down to this: Even if you don't care if the Sonics leave, even if you think the NBA is bilking individual cities to further its broken economic model, even if you believe David Stern and Clay Bennett are rat-fink liars, how often do you get a chance to stand in the sunshine and cheer for the X-Man and The Glove? Skip lunch, call in sick, take an "afternoon meeting", whatever, just be there!

words: P. Nussbaum / image: R. Calonzo
~

Ratings

Before the Finals started, almost everyone was in agreement that a Boston-LA series would be a ratings bonanza for the NBA.

After all, in addition to the nostalgia factor, you've LA involved, not to mention Boston, which is a heckuva better proposition than, oh, San Antonio and Cleveland, right?

So I was a little surprised to see the ratings for the series so far. Now, these are just for the first three games (game four ratings aren't available yet to non-insiders such as myself), but take a look:

Game 1: 8.7
Game 2: 8.5
Game 3: 9.2

Now, bear in mind that these are overnight ratings, which are almost always higher than the official ratings which will come out later.

The chart shows how the ratings have gone since David Stern took over the league in 1984. And, while this year's numbers are obviously higher than last year's (and when you add in game 4 and game 5, they'll higher still), it's not much of an improvement in the grand scheme of things.

In fact, if you were a pessimist, wouldn't you be disappointed with these ratings? Considering the hoopla surrounding the matchup, wouldn't you expect this year's series to do at least as well as the the 2004 Lakers-Pistons series? Well, thus far, the ratings are below that series, and I'd label that as disappointing. When you factor in that these are overnight ratings, I would say it's even more disappointing.

So, while the media continues to parrot David Stern's company line about improved ratings, it's a faulty argument. Yes, ratings are up over last year, but considering that last year's series was the lowest-rated in modern NBA history, wouldn't you expect that? For a league so full of bad news as the NBA, this is the best week of the entire year, the time when all of its sins are washed away by the goodwill generated by a Laker-Celtic final.

Next week, the Finals will be over, and Stern will be forced to endure an unending series of questions about the Sonics and Tim Donaghy. I hope an 8.5 rating is enough to comfort him.

Simple Math

Fun in seeing an old-school Shawn Kemp jersey courtside at hte Finals < Joy of seeing Ray Allen score the winning basket on a layup < Pleasure of watching the Celtics come back from 20 < Joy in seeing Kobe Bryant's face while sitting on the bench, knowing he's blown a shot at his first post-Shaq championship < Joy in knowing that David Stern won't get a Game 7 this season.

Love ya, Ray!

X-Man's Coming

What’s so wonderful about this Monday’s rally at the Federal Courthouse in Seattle, is the fact that two of my heroes – Gary Payton and Xavier McDaniel – will be taking time out of their lives to come and show their support for the cause. Heck, if you haven’t rooted for the team in 15 years, isn’t a chance to see the X-Man reason enough to take off work early on Monday?

Growing up rooting for the Sonics, four players in particular had more impact on my fandom than any others. In the early 1980s, it was Gus Williams, because he was the best player on the roster, because he tied his shoelaces in a funny manner that I liked to replicate, and because his nickname was “The Wizard.” In the 1990s, it was Nate McMillan and Gary Payton, for coolness (Nate) and ferociousness (GP).

But in between was the X-Man, Xavier McDaniel. His turnaround jumper on the baseline, his starring role in “Singles,” his all-star game appearance, and, most of all, that famous poster “The X-Man Cometh,” where he donned a trench coat and glared out of the glossy paper with the fury of a man who would not be denied.

That poster had a place of honor on my wall in my dorm at the University of Oregon. There were others alongside it (Chris Sabo, Eric Davis, and others; I was a Reds fan those days), but it was the X-Man who drew the most attention. The sea of Blazer fans that inhabited my dorm always saw fit to mess with the Sonics, especially Gary Payton, and, boy, there’s nothing a U of O student hated more in the 1990s than an OSU grad (Payton) playing for the Sonics, especially when that OSU grad was full of more smack than Eliot Spitzer’s girlfriends on payday.

But Xavier McDaniel? No, nobody criticized the X-Man, at least not to my face. Seattle has long been known as a latte town, the kind of place where outsiders come in and get away with whatever they want. As a kid at the Kingdome watching the Mariners, my family was the only one that stood up and booed the Mariners (and there was plenty to boo about, believe me), and that’s only because my parents were from the east coast, where children are taught to boo before they learn to write.

The X-Man was different, though, he was a hard-ass in a town of huggers. A man in a city of mice. I ask you: Was it any wonder that the most famous memory of McDaniel in Seattle isn’t a winning jump shot, but of him choking the life out of the Lakers’ Wes Matthews?

Suffice it so say that the day I saw that photo of X in the Seattle Times I ran to my mom’s desk, grabbed the scissors, cut out the picture, and used up half a roll of scotch tape to put it on my pee-chee. It was a small tribute to my favorite player, but for a 14-year-old, it was as big a tribute as I could manage.

So, to see that McDaniel will be traveling all the way from his South Carolina home to Seattle just to make an appearance at the rally on Monday, well, it just validates everything I believed about him two decades ago. Tough then, and still tough today.

You can have your Steve Largents, your Edgar Martinezes, and your Jack Sikmas – I’ll take the X-Man, thank you, and won’t look back.

Interesting Move

As reported by the AP on ESPN, the Sonics have announced the relocation of their D-League franchise from Idaho to Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Picking for the Future

With the Finals upon us, and the NBA Draft weeks away, I thought it would be interesting to combine those two activities into one piece of information. Listed below are the players with noticeable playing time during the playoffs for both teams, followed by where they were selected in the draft.

BOSTON
Garnett, 5
R. Allen, 5
PIERCE, 10
RONDO, 21
Perkins, 27
Posey, 18
Brown, 29
POWE, 49
Cassell, 24
DAVIS, 35
House, 37
T. ALLEN, 25

LAKERS
BRYANT, 13
Gasol, 3
Odom, 4
FISHER, 24
Radmanovic, 12
VUJACIC, 27
WALTON, 32
FARMAR, 26
TURIAF, 37

That’s a total of 21 players, and only four of them were picked in the top ten of the draft. Also of note, six of the Lakers’ 10 players are home-grown, while only five of the Celtics’ 12 players came via a Boston draft (and, it should be noted, Andrew Bynum is nowhere on that list; the 10th overall selection was picked by LA in 2005).

What does all of that matter, though? Well, one point in particular may be derived: The majority of a team’s roster comes by way of either the bottom of the first or the second rounds. True, you’re not going anywhere without a superstar, but a superstar alone does not a champion make. Give some bonus points to Mitch Kupchak for finding people like Vujacic and Walton long after other teams bypassed them.

With the Sonics holding four second-round picks this season, in addition to dual first-rounders, it is crucial for the future of this franchise that Sam Presti find at least one player who can contribute to the team’s on-court success, other than what he finds with the #4 overall selection. It’s unfortunate that the Sonics need so much help at so many positions at this time, but that is the messy bed in which Presti is awakening. Personally, I can’t fathom why the Sonics would want someone like Roy Hibbert with the second of their two first-rounders, and the idea that Jeff Green’s talents would improve by having his old friend around is laughable.

At that point in the draft, you come up with one of two players: the Wayne Simiens of the world and the Luke Waltons. For Presti’s sake, for Seattle let’s hope he finds more like the latter (Courtney Lee, please!) than the former.

Well Done (Well, Sort Of)

Too often in the broadcast media, an important story is shoved below the radar, especially when that story is embarassing to the league or the network.

These days, it is difficult to separate those two entities. ESPN and ABC have paid a boatload of money for the rights to broadcast the NBA, and if the NBA should begin to show signs of deterioration, well, that would be bad for business at Disney. So, when Tim Donaghy's attorney dumped a great, big pile of steaming testimony upon the media's lap on Wednesday, I was skeptical that it would get much attention from the broadcast that night.

Which is especially frustrating, considering that Jeff Van Gundy was front and center in involvement in one of Donaghy's alleged conspiracies (I'm not denigrating here, just trying to be fair).

The way I look at it, commentators should act as our friends, as if we were sitting next to them in our living room. And, last night, if you were sitting next to Jeff Van Gundy, wouldn't the first words out of your mouth be, "Hey, what do you think about what Donaghy said today?" I know the NBA Finals are important, but, come on, how could you not ask that question?

And, thankfully, ABC/ESPN did just that, isolating JVG with lead man Mike Breen during a halftime segment. Sadly, Van Gundy tried to distance himself from Donaghy's allegations (dragging in that old, tired line about Donaghy "denigrating the league," as if the league was some religious entity), and he also tried to backpedal a bit from his comments during the Houston/S.A. series [edit: should have read Houston/Dallas] involving the league's apparent attempt to target Yao Ming.

Still, give credit to the broadcast team for not ignoring the situation. Should Mike Breen have asked more pointed questions? Of course, but that sort of interrogation will never happen between two partners in a broadcast, it's just not realistic to expect that of Breen, or any other commentator involved in such a situation. I'm just happy they didn't ignore what could be - combined with the ongoing Battle in Seattle - one of the most important stories of David Stern's tenure.

Sometimes, I Told You So Isn't Enough

With Time Magazine reporting that the Chinese government is backpedaling on promises it made to the various and sundry media entitities gathering at its shores in light of the negative reaction the torch relay received on its round-the-world voyage (and prompting some to wonder, what, if any, coverage we will be getting from behind the Red Curtain), it leads me to one, simple conclusion:

Ira Newble must be nodding his head somewhere right about now.