A Transcript

The transcript from the inevitable David Stern press conference to discuss putrid NBA attendance:

DAVID STERN: While we’re certainly concerned with flagging attendance levels, I’d like to remind you that the season is still very early. I know the press likes to make a big story out of this, but if you review our attendance figures from years past, you’ll notice that our attendance levels tend to increase as the year progresses and fan interest improves.

REPORTER: While that may be true, the early levels have never been this low. Shouldn’t the creation of all these new buildings be a buffer against the current economic downturn?

DS: Well, just look at the numbers in Portland, in Atlanta, in Toronto, or in Cleveland, where you have teams playing before near sell-outs every night. I think that’s a testament to what happens when our superior marketing and innovativeness are given an opportunity to grow and prosper.

REPORTER: But what about Sacramento, where your team is barely beating Arena League numbers? Doesn’t that concern you?

DS: Well, with a new mayor in Sacramento committed to keeping the team in that city, I think you’ll see an improvement in the team’s fortunes in the near future.

REPORTER: You mean, when they get a new building?

DS: Yes, that’s correct.

REPORTER: You mean, like the new building in Memphis, where they average 11,706 fans a night?

DS: Well, Memphis is a unique situation …

REPORTER: Or in Philadelphia, where they attract only 62% of capacity with a playoff-caliber team in a sports-mad city?

DS: Now you’re just picking out random cities out to augment your point, but I think if …

REPORTER: Or in Charlotte, where a brand-new stadium and a brand-new team with a Hall of Fame coach and world-famous general manager have lead to less than 70% capacity? Or in Indiana? New Jersey? Minnesota? Miami?

DS: I think that if you look closely, you’ll see that nearly all of those situations involve teams which are struggling on the court, and that in almost all situations involving teams which are successful, the fans inevitably flock to the games. You can almost guarantee it.

REPORTER: So what you’re saying is that the buildings you extort cities to build while their police departments, educational systems, and infrastructure erode have less impact on attendance than the on-court product? That on-court success is more important than $300 million arenas? That a winning Sonic team in Seattle in an “old” building would draw more than a losing Grizzlies’ team in Memphis with a “new” building?

DS: Now you’re just putting words in my mouth.

REPORTER: That’s not the only thing I’d like to put in there.

Aubrey Keeping Busy

Fans of the Saugatuck Dunes in Michigan are cautiously optimistic, now that the man who planned to level those dunes and build McMansions in their place (you know, this guy), is now in closed-door talks with Saugatuck city to sell a portion of his land.

At first glance, one might come to the conclusion that either A) McClendon has grown a conscience, or B) needs the money. (Okay, fine, it's most likely B).

On the second glance, though, one might walk away with another thought. Why? Well, perhaps its because he is doing the same thing in his own backyard that he did in Michigan. And that other folks in other parts of Oklahoma aren't so thrilled with our boy Aubrey, either.

Arena Update

Chris McGann at the PI has an update on the KeyArena situation, specifically in regard to the likelihood of anything passing through Frank Chopp's iron fists this session in Olympia.

The posturing from the State Capitol is pretty obvious when you read the article, leaving an observer to come away with the clear message that, while the legislature may be willing to let the city keep its portion of the hotel tax, it may also be keen to keep using those funds for general revenue.

In a year where the national economy has gone from teetering on the brink of disaster to full-scale Defcon 5 emergency, Chopp and fellow members will have a pretty easy sell to the public if they cry poverty and give the thumbs-down to the city.

When World Collide

Anybody else wonder if they served Starbucks at the press conference?

Great Pics

In looking for a photo for a story recently, I came across this great cache of Sonic-related pictures, hosted on flickr by 'bballchico.'

Not all the Sonic photos are at that link, you'll have to surf around a bit to find them all. In fact, there's almost too much to look at, but if you're going to look at one photo, perhaps it should be this one:

There's a lot to see in that picture - the hair (of course), the knee pads, Rambis' glasses, the Hornet jersey, the odd combination of attraction and fear on the face of the woman in the blue shirt ... just a lot to digest. But after you laugh a little at the pure 80s-ness of that picture, more than anything, you're struck by this melancholy fact:

Neither of those teams exist anymore.

The NBA is Fantastic, or Something

Question:

What do you get when you cross a team with the fifth-worst home attendance numbers with a team with the sixth-worst road attendance numbers?

Answer:

10,165 in attendance, that’s what.

You also get a lot of pictures that look like this (try to ignore the blindingly white skin in the foreground and concentrate on the thousands of folks who came dressed up as empty seats instead):


Ah, it's too bad the Pacers don’t have a fancy-dancy new stadium. I’m sure that would solve all their attendance problems.

I’m sorry, what’s that now?

McClendon Keeps on Losing

First it was the value of the shares in Chesapeake Energy dropping by more than 70%, then it was being forced to sell off his shares at rock-bottom prices, and now Aubrey McClendon has lost at the ballot box as well.

Proposition 10 in California, which was heavily subsidized by our friend Aubrey to the tune of $3.5 million (which is, coincidentally, $3.5 million more than he volunteered to pay for the new arena in Renton), has gone down in defeat.

This comes despite the fact that backers of the proposition, including McClendon as well as T Boone Pickens and others, spent more than $25 million in support of the bill.

Opponents? They spent about $150,000.

The proposition, which would would have created rebate incentives for the purchase of cars and trucks running on natural gas or other alternative fuels looked to be losing by more than 15 points at the polls.

How sweet it is.

Memorial

As Brian Robinson points out at SonicsCentral, a public memorial for The Tuba Man will be held this Wednesday, Nov. 12th at Qwest Field in Seattle. The event is scheduled for 6:30 pm.

I'll assume that those reading this site are well aware of the tragic and disturbing circumstances surrounding Ed McMichael's death, but, if not, please read Robert Jamieson's fine piece at the PI for more in-depth information. It's a terribly sad story, and coming on the heels of everything else that's happened in Seattle over the past year, sadder still.

Anyone who has attended a game in Seattle in the past decade has memories of the Tuba Man. The baritone voice announcing the song just played, the odd times he would mix in an unexpected song ... it was, obviously, an underappreciated part of being a Seattle sports fan, and now he, like the Sonics, is gone.

If you're in the Seattle area, try to make time on Wednesday evening to attend the memorial. There is nothing we can do to bring the Tuba Man back to his family, but a large crowd would go a long way towards helping heal their pain.

Not Very Thunderful

Oklahoma City Attendance

Game 1, vs. Milwaukee: 19,136
Game 2, vs Minnesota: 18,163
Game 3, vs Boston: 19,136

You remember the Oklahoma City faithful, right? They were the ones who spent the past year deriding Sonic fans for not supporting their team enough, insulting us for not showing the respect inherently due to the great and glorious NBA, mocking us for having our heads so deep in our granola bowls and espresso cups we couldn’t appreciate the wonderfulness of David Stern’s universe.

Yeah, those people.

Well, less than one week into their lifetimes as NBA hosts, they couldn’t bother to sell out a Sunday night game.

I’ll say that again: Game 2 of the NBA Experience-Dust Bowl Version was not a sellout.

Hey, I get it, it was the Wolves. And, who knows, maybe the AP made a mistake and entered the numbers incorrectly for the attendance.

Um, yeah, that's likely.

But, for crying out loud, if you’re going to mock us every step of the way for being “fair-weather” fans, if you’re going to spend every last ounce of your energy insulting Seattle for lacking the balls to be a great NBA city, don’t you think you ought to step up when you get your chance?

SSS Xmas List: X-Man Pin

Okay, granted, it's the NYC version of the X-Man, but I still think it would pretty darn nice pinned to my Members' Only jacket.

Just curious, was this a Knick-only item, or are there brass-backed pins of, say, Armon Gilliam out there as well?

Answers

The NBA world is certainly focused on Allen Iverson today, with everyone weighing in on the demise of his career, and how he ranks as an all-time great.

Bob Ryan, the nattering nabob of negativity of the Boston Globe, had this to say about AI (via TrueHoop):

"'The Answer' is what his adoring public calls him. Well, today's question is, 'Can you win a championship with Allen Iverson as your best player?' Thus far, the answer is no, and AI is now 33."

Ryan is nothing if not confrontational in his writing, and you can't take what he says too much to heart. The man, after all, is paid to write paragraphs that get people talking.

Still, his point is dubious, at best. After all, could you not say the same thing about Paul Pierce prior to last season? Not only had he not won a championship entering last November, Pierce had failed to make the playoffs in more than half of his NBA seasons.

What changed? Was it Pierce, or was it the addition of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen? Were Pierce and Iverson to have swapped teams last season, who would have finished with a better record? Does the idea of a Pierce-Anthony-Camby trio sound more playoff-ready than an Iverson-Allen-Garnett trio? Is Pierce somehow now a "champion" and Iverson is a "loser," simply because Danny Ainge was able to take advantage of his relationship with Kevin McHale?

No, the 'answer' to all of these questions is not that Iverson has been lacking, it's that he's played on some lousy teams. It is nearly impossible for a guard to take an NBA team to the finals without help, and for Ryan to castigate Iverson for doing so is foolish.

Allen Iverson is one of the toughest competitors in the history of professional sports. He is also, simultaneously, one of the biggest ball-hogs in the history of the NBA. Regardless, to say that he is responsible for his teams failing to win a championship is just plain wrong.

Now That's Different

Through three games last season, Kevin Durant attempted 19 3-pointers.

After three games this season, he has attempted three (and missed all of them).