BREAKING NEWS: Chris Hansen, City Council reach agreement on new NBA / NHL arena in Seattle

UPDATE: Press conference at 9:30 this morning--stay tuned!

Chris Daniels at KING-5 News just broke the story that investor/saint Chris Hansen and the Seattle City Council have apparently reached a deal on the new NBA/ NHL arena that could lead the way to the return/rebirth of the Seattle Supersonics:

SEATTLE – Multiple Sources confirmed Monday that a deal has been reached between the Seattle City Council and the investor group led by Chris Hansen on the financial terms that would put a new sports arena near Safeco Field. 

A key, multi-million dollar concession by Hansen that could see his investor group spend more out of pocket to build the arena appears to have brought reluctant councilmembers onboard with the project.  City Council members are expected to make an official announcement outlining the terms of the agreement on Tuesday.

Read the rest at KING-5 News.

Bully Pulpit

Since the elected leaders of Boston and Chicago are so eager to condemn Chick-fil-A for the company's anti-gay-marriage stance, might I suggest an additional person for whom they could direct their vengeance?

Perhaps a boycott of all OKC games played in Boston or Chicago would be in order?

I'm not crazy. You're the one that's crazy.

Here at Supersonicsoul, it goes without saying we are pretty crazy about the Seattle Supersonics.  If prompted, I could name every player on every roster during the Bernie Bickerstaff era. I considered naming my children after several of them. To say, during a certain time of my life, I was obsessed with my favorite team would be a monumental understatement. 

Having said that, there is absolutely no way, even when the team was stolen away by a backwater baron,  I would consider comparing my plight as a beleaguered fan to 9/11.

Of course, this could just be an isolated wacko. I mean, I'm sure most Penn State fans are reasonable people, right? 

It's times like these that make me never ever ever never ever want to care about sports again. 

Thanks but no thanks

Um . . . thanks to whoever sent Supersonicsoul an invite to join the Romney campaign, but we have a strict anti-cyborg policy around here. 

Big Arena Meeting Tonight at Town Hall

He's short, like us!

Chris Hanson, on the big make-or-break arena meeting at City Hall tonight:

To all our supporters, 

I just wanted to reach out to all of you ahead of tonight’s joint public hearing. This is a fantastic opportunity for all of you to express both how important this project is to you and why this is a great deal for the City and County. While I first and foremost want to encourage all of you to attend, as a great turnout will really help our cause, I also want to express to you that it is important for us to handle ourselves with class. 

While I think we all feel that this is a great chance to make our case, I would just ask each of you to appreciate the fact that the democratic process here in Seattle is as much a part of our history and culture as the Sonics. The Councils are simply doing their duty in vetting our deal and asking tough questions, and as with most things in life, not every citizen is going to agree with our opinion. As such, we should be respectful of both the Council members and our opposition. Nothing good can come from rudeness, heckling, or booing. I’m sure that’s actually what many people expect from passionate sports fans. Let’s show them that we’re better than that. 

We have the facts squarely on our side, so I would just encourage any of you who plan to attend to take a deep breath and relax. If you plan to speak, do your homework, try to say something thoughtful, helpful, and factual, and above all do so in a polite and courteous manner. Never underestimate the power of being kind, genuine, and respectful. 

— Chris Hansen

For more info, go to www.sonicsarena.com. 

Dream Team

Kendall Gill AND Marv Albert? Count me in!

Reunited and It Feels So Good

So, you've no doubt read that Rashard Lewis has signed a contract with Miami, and that Ray Allen is expected to do the same some time this week (next week? not sure).

In any event, it obviously marks the sentimental reuniting of two players who never gave a damn about defense ... rather, it reunites two high-scoring former Sonics in the down phases in their careers, appealing to about 17 people outside of the 206 area code.

Surprisingly, this is not the first time two former 20-ppg teammates on the Sonics have found themselves teammates once again in non-Seattle jerseys. In fact, it's happened twice! (I know, it's right there with the ending of the Usual Suspects!)

First time:

Bob Rule and Lenny Wilkens

68-69 to 71-72 in Seattle

 72-73 and 73-74 with the Cavaliers

Second time:

Tom Chambers and Xavier McDaniel

85-86 to 97-88 in Seattle

90-91 with the Suns

Some other notable re-pairings ...

Avery Johnson and Dale Ellis

88-89 to 89-90 in Seattle

92-93 in San Antonio

Shawn Kemp and Detlef Schrempf

93-94 to 96-97 in Seattle

00-01 in Portland

Sam Perkins and Derrick McKey

99 to 01 Pacers

Best of all ...

Eddie Johnson and Derrick McKey and Ricky Pierce

95-96 Pacers (no wonder I loved those mid-90s Pacers so much; that, and Vern Fleming)

Of note, Marvin Webster and Spencer Haywood were teammates on the 78-79 Knicks, but were never teammates in Seattle.

For Sale: Cheap

C'mon guys, it's only $3000! Can't we pool our money together and find a good home for it?

Supersonic Schadenfreude

Not exactly sure what's going on here, but thanks guys! 

ESPN quoted me in this article on bitter sports fans. In related news, I am ecstatic OKC got their asses kicked tonight in the NBA Finals--time to light the  Jack Sikma shrine and do the Habegger Hop!

Stern-spiracy in Miami?

Photo from Sonicsgate Facebook page

This just in from the Sonicsgate Twitter feed:

 ‪#ZombieSonics‬ at the ‪#Finals‬ Game4. Arena staff inexplicably confiscated our signs in Q2http://www.sonicsgate.com  ‪#truth‬ http://twitpic.com/9ye4bv 

The Zombies have taken control of Miami--get out while you still can!!

Oh, History

Here's a fun trivia fact for you:

OKC's top three scorers are all 25 years or younger (using total point scores to determine said scorers). Well, actually, they're all 23 years or younger, but I'm going somewhere with this, so bear with me.

Can you guess the last NBA champion who featured under-25-year-olds as its three leading scorers?

Wait for it ...

Yep.

Amazing, no? (In case you were wondering, those three scorers were Gus Williams (25), Jack Sikma (23), and Dennis Johnson (24).

Cyborg spotting!

Sure, we're all happy that thousands of Sonics fans showed up for the rally yesterday. But what the hell was that CYBORG doing there? Was he an evil agent of the NBA? I smell a STERN-spiracy! I think it might be time to call in Danny Fortson to investigate.