Happy birthday Reign Man!

Happy belated birthday to the greatest athlete in Seattle sports history.

The Not-So-Secret Arena Plans

KING-5's Chris Daniels has posted a heap of Arena Porn for Sonics fans to drool over. Mmmmmmm . . . practice facilities . . . (cue wah-wah guitar).

Stern Talks Expansion (Maybe)

First found via the tremendous Tom Ziller at the fantastic Sactown Royalty.  Ziller's article attempted to ascertain whether David Stern was actually, possibly thinking about maybe going the expansion route rather than the scorched earth franchise relocation method when it came to Seattle and the NBA. 

At first blush, it seemed as though Ziller might be reading too much into the proverbial tea leaves (and, hey, can you blame the guy?), but when you watch the video at NBA.com, well, you can understand his sentiments. The video is here (and skip to around the 26 minute mark), but you can read the pertinent transcript below:

Q: Commissioner, regarding the Seattle new arena, is there a chance during the next five years when they’ll probably finalize it [the arena], that there’ll be an expansion team, a new Seattle Supersonics?

Stern: Are you the gentleman from Albania?

Q: Romania.

Stern: Romania, yes, Romania. You want to know about the Seattle Supersonics? I love it! 

Q: Yeah, because I grew up with Seattle.

Stern: Oh, well, good! You see, that’s the universality of our game. The answer is, there seem to be plans, uh, moving along for a new arena in Seattle. There was general agreement in the past that Seattle needed a new arena, and, uh, it would be my hope that within the time frame that you mentioned – five years – that if everything works out perfectly, there would be a new arena and a new team in Seattle. That’s always for the NBA Board of Governors , but I know that many governors are favorably inclined. 

Who knows what rattles around the in the head of David Stern, and who knows if he truly meant to indicate expansion was a possibility, or if he merely meant a "new" team in much the same way I tell my 3-year-old daughter that her shoes are "new," even though her sister wore them four years ago. 

Either way, God bless Romania.

And you thought NBA refs were bad.

Give the refs a break--they just forgot which guy slam-dunked the home run ball!

Sacramento Kings clearing the books for move to Seattle? Let the wildly unfounded speculation begin!

Seattle Supersonics fans know the pain of having a beloved team ripped from their home.

Four years ago, after being a Seattle institution for 41 years, the Sonics were shanghaied to the mid-south, never to be heard from again. Northwest basketball fans were devastated and many (like myself) vowed to never watch another NBA game again.

And yet, as the Seattle City Council votes to approve a new stadium to lure an NBA and/or NHL team here, I'm probably not the only one who has a Google alert set for "Sacramento Kings, Seattle".

With no expansion in the near future, to get Seattle back into the NBA country club, one must agree to a Faustian pact: to avenge your own heart being broken, you must break another's.

So it's with a stomach churning mix of optimism and self-hatred that I read the following report out of Sacramento this morning:

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – It’s a money meltdown for the Sacramento Kings as their biggest sponsor is splitting, and they’re not the only ones. 

One of the Kings’ most loyal corporate sponsors is taking a bite out of the owners’ already rickety revenue structure.  

Carl’s Jr. once touted them as billionaire brothers in an ad campaign, but now the fast food company tells CBS13 that its cravings for the Maloofs are over. 

“Carl’s Jr. is not seeking naming rights for the arena in Sacramento. While we have sponsored the Kings in the past, we will not be renewing our team sponsorship this season,” a company statement read. 

CBS13 has learned the Maloofs are only offering companies one-year sponsorship deals, no long-term commitments. As a result, some of the local companies who came together in a $10 million sponsorship pledge last year are also out.   

Read the rest here.

One-year sponsorship deals. No long-term commitments. These sort of self-inflicted revenue wounds sound eerily familiar to Sonics fans, who remember Big Boy Bennett using the same despicable tactics to make it look like there was no support for the team in Seattle the year before they moved. 

As a lifelong Sonics freak, I admit I'm excited about getting an NBA team. But as an empathetic sports fan who still feels the pain of having his team stolen away in the dead of night, this sort of story makes me more than a little queasy about our deal with the devil.

Chris Hansen: Seattle's new teen heartthrob

(See also.)

Seattle Supersonics savior Chris Hansen is making fanboys swoon across the Northwest (he even wants to buy you a beer tonight!). I'm sure at some point the honeymoon will be over ("I can't believe that idiot traded Xavier McDaniel Jr. for Devlin Schrempf!") but for now, let's just bask in his wonderfulness , like a 70s teenager with a copy of Tiger Beat.

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.

Seattle Supersonics, I choo-choo choose you!

(Courtesy of Bill Simmons)

See you at Occidental Park at 4pm!

Ballmer, Nordstroms Join Hansen's Group

Per this letter from Chris Hansen to King County and the City of Seattle, the prospective new Sonic owner has added Microsoft's Steve Ballmer and renowned locals Peter and Erik Nordstrom to his ownership/arena investment group. As Hansen points out, their association "reinforces my commitment that the team will never again leave Seattle."

(via King 5)

More Evins

Remember the bit in the Bible where God says He'd spare Sodom if Abraham could find 50 righteous men*? I was reminded of that story from my church-going days when I read this comment on last week's post:

EvinOKC said...
I never watched pro basketball much until the Thunder came to OKC. On a whim I got season tickets and split them with family. Over the years I've become a die hard fan and my boy has grown up watching the team. Now he yells and cheers and gets mad when I make him go to bed for the Celtics games. Im truly happy for the Thunder but watching my boy I realize what you lost and why it sucks so bad! If he lost his team it would be gut wrenching for me. I truly hope you get a team again. Any fans who keep a blog up four years later are obviously true fans in my book! Hopefully you get a team again soon so I can travel to Seattle for a Sonics Thunder game!

I shall spare thee, OKC**. Just findeth me 49 more Evins.

* Genesis 18:26***
** No, no, I'm not saying I'm God or have any smiting abilities on my resume. No, I just speak for Him. KIDDING AGAIN.
*** Actually, The more appropriate line would be Jeremiah 5:1, where God says He'd forgive Jerusalem if there was ONE righteous dude there. Pssh, way to play favorites, GOD.

SI's Classic Sonic Photos

Some fantastic stuff here from Sports Illustrated, although the quality tends to deteriorate towards the end. My personal favorite is the one shown above.

Heat wins series, setting up epic Finals of teams we hate

Wow. Heat vs. That Team? Time to bust out the Game Genie and dial up a double fatality.

Hey, Brother, Would You Like to Buy a Map?

"The results from today’s annual meeting are the corporate equivalent of riots in the street – with the fury pointed directly at McClendon’s debt-fueled empire building and the conflicted intertwining of his personal interests with those of shareholders. With such anger, it’s hard to see how he can govern at all."

(via Slate)

If I'm David Stern, I'm keeping a close eye on the Larry O'Brien Trophy for the next fortnight. With gold prices being what they are, there's a non-zero chance McClendon might try to swipe it and melt it down.